November 2009 On Sale: November 16, 2009 240 pages ISBN: 0345508564 EAN: 9780345508560 Paperback $14.00 Add to Wish List Paranormal – Supernatural Buy at Amazon.com A “Must Have” how-to for the new vamp! The New Vampire’s Handbook by Scott Sherman, Anita Serwacki, Chris Pauls, Janet Ginsburg, Joe Garden A Guide for the Recently Turned Creature of the Night Being turned into a vampire is the easy part. Actually becoming a vampire is far more difficult. In today’s world of vampire-obsessed pop culture, misinformation abounds. A newly turned vampire who looks to movies and novels for answers to everlasting life’s questions will inevitably be reduced to a smoldering pile of dust. So whom can you, a neophyte immortal, trust to provide reliable information and proven strategies for leading your best and bloodiest existence? The Vampire Miles Proctor, editor of The New Vampire’s Handbook. In this definitive guide, the newly turned will find • a head-to-toe look at your vampiric body: how to harness your new powers to dispatch mortal enemies, maintain your fangs, and embrace your vampirosexuality • methods for luring prey, faking your way through meals, approaching other vampires, and creating a four-hundred-year financial plan • tips on acting your…

They start out as just a name—someone with a particular hair and eye color. Sometimes they have an extensive history and, sometimes, they have little more than a particular job or an odd quirk or two to help define them. But as you begin to write, as you begin to create the world around them, as you begin to make them interact with other names, something magical begins to happen… They become real. Welcome to my favorite part of the writing process. Creating characters in a series is like unwrapping a fairly innocuous gift and finding the most extraordinary present inside. And the best part of all? The present keeps getting better every single time you reach inside the box. When I started writing the Southern Sewing Circle mystery series, I knew my main character—Tori Sincliar—was a librarian. I knew her age, her general appearance, her basic personality. The same was true for the rest of the women in the Sweet Briar Ladies Society Sewing Circle—Leona, Margaret Louise, Dixie, Beatrice, Debbie, Melissa, and Rose. But as I continued to write, each and every one of them came to life to the point where they began to feel like true friends—friends…

The Day My Guardian Spirit Saved My Life Have you ever experienced a moment of premonition or a time that something unexplained intervened in your life?  I’ve had quite a few of those moments, but the one which really stands out is the day my guardian angel saved me when I would have died. Many years ago, I’d had a bad day in business.  I’ll spare you the details about that, but I ended up sitting in a restaurant in Marietta, Georgia, until very late, talking to a business associate I’d known for years.  My home was on the opposite side of Atlanta in the Stone Mountain area. I finally had to make that long drive home, which meant traveling on Interstate 285 after midnight.  I was drained from the bad day and I’d been up since 4:00 am. When I pulled onto the interstate it was in an area that had little commerce, so everything was pitch black around me.  The only thing I could see was whatever my headlights touched.  Back then, there were almost no cars on the road during the week at that time of night.  The speed limit was 65 and the weather was clear,…

September 2010 On Sale: August 24, 2010 384 pages ISBN: 1439123128 EAN: 9781439123126 Mass Market Paperback $9.99 Add to Wish List Romance Paranormal Buy at Amazon.com Demon From The Dark by Kresley Cole A DANGEROUS DEMON SHE CAN’T RESIST . . . Malkom Slaine: tormented by his sordid past and racked by vampiric hungers, he’s pushed to the brink by the green- eyed beauty under his guard. A MADDENING WITCH HE ACHES TO CLAIM . . . Carrow Graie: hiding her own sorrows, she lives only for the next party or prank. Until she meets a tortured warrior worth saving. TRAPPED TOGETHER IN A SAVAGE PRISON . . . In order for Malkom and Carrow to survive, he must unleash both the demon and vampire inside him. When Malkom becomes the nightmare his own people feared, will he lose the woman he craves body and soul? Excerpt Demon plane of Oblivion, City of Ash Year 192 in the Rule of the Dead “Do we go to our death—or worse?” Malkom Slaine gazed over at his best friend, Prince Kallen the Just, wishing he had a better answer for him, anything to ease the apprehension in Kallen’s eyes. As the vampire…

When I sat down to begin the fifth installment in my Lady Emily series, I thought very seriously about where to set the book. Location is an essential tool when writing about continuing characters, not only because it provides the opportunity to introduce readers to another place, but also because it gives the author a chance to drop her creations into a new environment, one that exposes them to a broader, different world. A world that can be difficult, but one that in the end allows them to grow. Because in Dangerous to Know, Emily is recovering from the ghastly wounds inflicted upon her at the end of Tears of Pearl, I wanted to send her somewhere idyllic and beautiful. But I also wanted it to be a place where terrible secrets could be hidden. Normandy proved the perfect choice. Its sweeping landscapes look straight out of an Impressionist painting, and dotted throughout I found the ruins of châteaux, crumbling medieval abbeys, and rambling houses that screamed for ghosts. I spent a good portion of last summer researching and writing there, getting to know the area, the people, and the food. It was Author Heaven (especially if, like me, you’re…

Crimson Moon #6 October 2010 On Sale: September 28, 2010 Featuring: Hunter; Sasha Trudeau 304 pages ISBN: 0312943024 EAN: 9780312943028 Mass Market Paperback $7.99 Add to Wish List Romance Paranormal, Fantasy Urban Buy at Amazon.com Left For Undead by L. A. Banks Secret government operative Sasha Trudeau earned a long vacation with her lover and fellow Shadow Wolf, Hunter, after the brutal wolf-like attacks that left New Orleans in an uproar. But when her team calls with news of vampire slayings, Sasha knows it’s only a matter of time before another war breaks out among the supernatural denizens of the world … The vampires are nobody’s ally, but the cold-hearted deaths of their own kind make them even more bloodthirsty than usual. But who is the culprit? With the Seelie and Unseelie courts claiming innocence and aligning together, Sasha’s team is at a loss. Until they discover that they’re facing ancient creatures from the depths of hell itself, bent on unleashing pure fury … Excerpt Elder Vlad stood by the desecrated mausoleum peering down at the charred male corpse. Blue blood slowly blackened beneath the visible pulsing veins in the paper-thin skin of Vlad’s bald head while his black irises…

Independent business owner. I’m eleven books and three novellas into the publishing business and the wise advice of a fellow author still remains in my head. &mquotYou are now an independent business owner. Treat writing that way.&mquot When I signed my first contract and months later turned in my completed manuscript, I believed my work was done and that I had fulfilled the terms of my contract. I was wrong. I had no idea about what laid ahead. There were so many additional aspects to becoming a published author that went beyond finishing the book. Writing a book is only the beginning. Here are a few items to consider: 1.Editing, Your masterpiece will come back and you will have to make some changes to it before it becomes a final product. 2. Promotions. Do you have a plan? Ideas for getting your novel to the reading population? Trust me, booksignings are not the answer; and 3. Keep writing. An author must keep writing. You must work on the next novel while doing all of the above and more. Authors don’t sit behind a desk and let the money roll in. We promote our work and invest our time in all…

“You work at home? You must have so much self-discipline!” Whenever I mention that I’m a writer and that I work at home, somebody in the crowd is amazed by my ability to be productive. A lot of people seem convinced that without a boss peering over the wall of their cubicle, they’d wile away the day shopping on-line, sneaking down to the kitchen, and tuning into Oprah. While I’ve never missed a deadline, most people would probably be surprised if they ever turned into that proverbial fly on the wall and watched me work. Even though I’ve never had a problem getting any of my books written on time, I’m hardly a nose-to-the-grindstone type. Whenever I’m sitting at my computer, I’m on alert for any distraction, any possible excuse to get up and do something else. Over the years, I’ve developed a few tricks to help keep me in my chair. The main one is keeping all the things I could use as an excuse to wander around the house nearby. Hand lotion, a nail file, and lip balm are always just inches away, as are my cell phone and my landline. So are tissues, a glass of water,…

With Halloween right around the corner I thought it would be time to discuss some authors who write paranormal romance. I know that there are tons of them out there, but I have to admit that I am not really a big paranormal reader….bad right? I am surely missing some really terrific stuff. I have read and really enjoyed Dakota Cassidy. I’ve had the chance to meet her personally and have to say that she writes just like she talks! I’ve been collecting Michele Bardsley and Jaye Wells because both these lovely ladies are authors who live in my area, and along with Dakota Cassidy are going to be appearing at Readers’n’ Ritas in November. I’ve also read Dark Lover by J. R. Ward because my friends insisted I was going to love it. I have to admit that I was hesitant, but did enjoy every page, and someday will move on to the rest of the series. I know that there aren’t many books dedicated to Halloween like there are books dedicated to Christmas, but with the vast array of paranormal romances available there surely has to be something to please everyone. What do you recommend for someone like…

October 2010 On Sale: October 1, 2010 Featuring: Annie Weaver 256 pages ISBN: 1426710666 EAN: 9781426710667 Paperback Add to Wish List Women’s Fiction Contemporary, Inspirational Fiction Amish Buy at Amazon.com A Simple Amish Christmas by Vannetta Chapman Annie Weaver always planned to return home, but the 20-year old RN has lived in Philadelphia for three years now. As her time of rumschpringe is about to come to an abrupt end, bringing for Annie an overwhelming sense of loneliness. She returns home and finds herself face-to-face with a budding romance with an Amish farmer and Annie has several important choices to make. A touching story of how the true meaning of Christmas can help us overcome life’s struggles. Excerpt Annie Weaver threw her coat and scarf into her locker, slammed it shut, and twirled the lock—once, twice, three times as Jenny had shown her. Turning to go, she nearly ran over her best friend. “Tell me you are not headed out on the floor.” Jenny’s voice sounded like Annie’s frrst-year teacher—stern and low and slightly disappointed. Sporting short blonde hair and a figure even slimmer than Annie’s, Jenny looked nothing like an Amish schoolteacher. “I’m not?” “You are, aren’t you?” Blue…