tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684713423382959212024-03-05T09:06:50.348-08:00Jenna Storm Paranormal Romance AuthorParanormal romance writer. Vampires, daemons and demons (depending on which world I'm writing about!), witches and psychics.Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-51520753789098464742014-04-11T13:03:00.001-07:002014-04-11T13:03:18.398-07:00Coventina, Goddess of Springs and Wells<span style="font-size: large;">Welcome to MFRW's Spring Fever blog hop!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Normally, spring brings to my mind images of pretty colored Easter eggs, white daisies, and nature's revival. Lately, I've been busy writing a paranormal with a heroine who's an Adept witch, descended from Celts. (Book Two in my series)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">While researching Celtic myth and magic, I came across Coventina, goddess of wells and springs, associated with abundance, rebirth and divination. She's depicted as a water nymph, naked and reclining on a leaf surrounded by rippling water or in triple form, holding a vessel and pouring water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Celts saw springs as magical places alive with water deities and nymphs. A place of magic and mystery. Offerings, as in coins, brooches, rings and pottery were made to the goddess in exchange for wishes, to enhance powers or make restitution.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now, spring brings to mind bubbling brooks, water nymphs, moss covered rocks and magic.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What do you envision when you think of spring?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Please leave a comment and include your email if you'd like the chance to win a digital copy of The Burning Seal, Book One in my paranormal series. Two random visitors will be chosen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoy the blog hop!
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</span>Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-21891104573395836282014-04-04T10:36:00.000-07:002014-04-04T10:36:01.427-07:00MFRW's Spring Fever Blog Hop...Coming Soon<!--LEFT-ALIGNED BANNER CODE STARTS HERE-->
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Join us in celebrating Spring during our blog hop, April 11-13, 2014</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Authors: It's not too late to join! </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/mfrwbloghoppers/" style="font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/mfrwbloghoppers/</a><br />
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Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-56978826640928240192013-06-20T06:08:00.001-07:002013-06-20T06:18:10.374-07:00The Burning Seal, Book One of The Elements Series by Jenna Storm...<h2>
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-size: large;"><i>Don't open the door.</i> </span></h3>
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-size: large;">Danni ignored the warning. Her life changed that night. Now, she must gather the remnants of her shattered confidence and discover why she's hunted by demonic forces, envisioning a killer's crimes and dreaming about a woman who lived and battled a demon centuries ago. </span></h3>
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I'm over at Mary Waibel's blog today spotlighting The Burning Seal, Book One in my paranormal series. Leave a comment on Mary's blog for a chance to win an ebook copy of The Burning Seal.</h3>
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Stop by and let's talk paranormal...</h3>
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<a href="http://waibelworld.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-burning-seal-by-jenna-storm.html" target="_blank">http://waibelworld.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-burning-seal-by-jenna-storm.html</a></div>
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Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-70545893265368957922013-05-06T04:00:00.000-07:002013-05-06T06:09:41.158-07:00Susan A. Royal talks writing, family and her May release IN MY OWN SHADOW (Fantasy Adventure/Romance)!<br />
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<span style="color: #b4a7d6;">I'm happy to welcome fellow MuseItUp Author Susan A. Royal to my blog! Thanks Susan for giving us a glimpse into your family, thoughts on writing and your upcoming release, <i>In My Own Shadow</i>, a Fantasy Adventure/Romance. Readers, please leave a comment with your email address to win an ecopy of In My Own Shadow...</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg42e19mWVgASJiTudyLrZeEh2W967jzjq0AO1Rmn-Zvu2Ed5q68ZzcyLkhJSOefusShuZt3wveVVfQyV1QP7A8unzJHTg0rw0uaZJTpJVtbxpkUa65D1Gw3VRHikhql7vIqWmflEJE-HJI/s1600/7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg42e19mWVgASJiTudyLrZeEh2W967jzjq0AO1Rmn-Zvu2Ed5q68ZzcyLkhJSOefusShuZt3wveVVfQyV1QP7A8unzJHTg0rw0uaZJTpJVtbxpkUa65D1Gw3VRHikhql7vIqWmflEJE-HJI/s320/7.JPG" width="233" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Hi Jenna! Thanks so much for having me. I’m delighted to be a guest on your blog. I signed with MuseItUp for the first time in June 2011, and what a journey it’s been. My life is filled with things I only used to dream about. In short, it’s been a wonderful experience. Along the way, I’ve met some wonderful people. Some of them live on the other side of the world, some on the other side of the country and some in my own little part of the world, but we all have one thing in common. We are wordsmiths. We write about worlds that exist only in our own minds. The voices of our characters speak to us, and we feel compelled to tell their stories.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I live in a 100-year-old farmhouse in a small east Texas town that comes complete with a female ghost who harmonizes from time to time with my youngest son when he plays guitar. I’ve never heard her, but at sometimes on a cold winter night, I’ve felt the covers moving across the end of the bed as though she’s making sure my feet stay warm. Sounds like a story, right? Some day…</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I’m married, with three children and four grandchildren who have been wonderful support in my efforts to be a writer. I couldn’t have done it without them. My family is rich with characters, both past and present. I spent my childhood listening to my grandmother’s stories of living on a farm in Oklahoma Territory with three sisters and three brothers and working as a telephone operator in the early 20</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> century. My father shared stories of growing up in San Antonio in the depression, and through her mother’s eyes I was able to experience how it felt to be a teenager during WWII. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My current book, <i>In My Own Shadow,</i> is a Fantasy adventure/romance and will debut May 10, 2013. My first book, <i>Not Long Ago,</i> is a time travel adventure/romance. Both ebooks are available through MuseItUp/Amazon/B&N. I am currently working on a sequel to <i>Not Long Ago</i>, because my daughter insisted there was still more of Erin and Griffin’s story to tell. She was right.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me tell you a little about <i>In My Own Shadow</i>.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i>Talk about the worst day ever! Lara lets her friend Carrie talk her into a blind date, only it turns out the handsome stranger waiting for Lara after work isn’t Carrie’s cousin after all. And, when they’re chased through a portal to another world, Lara realizes Rhys really is out of this world.</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i> Lyra, her alternate in another dimension, has left clues to the whereabouts of the Book of Secrets that explains the mystery of time travel in Lara’s subconscious. Or so Rhys thinks. Power-hungry telepaths pursuing them will stop at nothing to get it, even if it means breaking Lara’s mind</i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>.</i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i> To complicate matters, Lara gets tangled up in her feelings for Rhys while exploring her connection with Lyra.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i> With Rhys as her guardian, a bear of a man named Azle to guide her, and the spirit of Lyra haunting her dreams, Lara must find the Book of Secrets before it falls into the hands of those who want its power. Only then can</i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> <i>she return to her world safely</i>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I had fun writing scenes between Rhys and Lyra. At first she’s furious with him for ripping her away from a perfectly ordinary existence. Never mind that Rhys has saved her from the crazies in the parking lot and the nut job that appeared at her front door. Everything he says sets her teeth on edge, and sometimes he acts like he can barely stand to be around her. Every time it looks like they’re going to come to an understanding, something happens and it’s back to square one. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Your typical love-hate relationship.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s a little sample:</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Rhys seemed to have a hard time answering a simple question. “This is all too</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">bizarre for words. You can’t…I don’t…” With an unsteady breath, I threw my</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hands up, fingers splayed. “You’re out of your mind, and so am I for trying to</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">make any sense out of this.”</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rhys rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “I know someone who might</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">be able to explain things to you better than me. And he can be trusted. I know</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">where to find him, but it’s a long, hard journey.”</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I raised my eyes to the sky. “Sure, why not? I’ll just cancel my dental appointment this afternoon. No biggie.” Above the trees, the constellations</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">glittered in the evening sky, but the moon was ringed like Jupiter, and the stars</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">were spinning. “What’s wrong with the moon…and the stars…?”</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> He stared up into the darkness. “We’ve stepped through a portal into an</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">alternate universe—”</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I snorted laughter. “Sorry, I didn’t bring my passport. I wasn’t planning on</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">leaving the country, let alone the damn planet!” His blank expression told me</span></i></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">either he didn’t get my joke or else he didn’t think it was funny.</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please comment and don’t forget to leave your email address to be entered in a drawing to win an ecopy of In My Own Shadow. Thanks so much for having me. I have enjoyed it!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Buy link for In My Own Shadow:</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/bqbxm4l"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>http://tinyurl.com/bqbxm4l</b></span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Buy link for Not Long Ago: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/85vgye3"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>http://tinyurl.com/85vgye3</b></span></a><br />
Web Site: <a href="http://susanroyal.moonfruit.com/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>http://susanroyal.moonfruit.com</b></span></a><br />
Blog: <a href="http://ssnroyal.blog.com/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>http://ssnroyal.blog.com/</b></span></a></span></span>Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-34080217160505444562013-05-01T05:00:00.000-07:002013-05-01T05:00:17.552-07:00On Jenna Storm's blog today...Author V.S. Nelson chat's with the intriguing ladies of her Eternal Series<h4>
I'm pleased to welcome Author V. S. Nelson to my blog today! She's joined by the ladies of Eternal Lovers, Book One in her series. The room's getting crowded so I'm going to bow out and leave them to entice you with glimpses of the (intriguing and oh so sexy) men and the ladies in the Eternal series. Please leave a comment for a chance to win a free Kindle copy of book two.</h4>
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V: Jenna I want to thank you for the warm welcome. Like always you are such a lady of grace. So many others would have thrown us out for the unannounced intrusion. I’d like to start by introducing the ladies from Eternal Lovers, Book One of the series. Jennifer, would you come forward so I don’t have to shout across the room?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jennifer, Eternal Lovers</span></td></tr>
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(A petite brunette who couldn’t weigh more than a hundred pounds soaking wet gets up and sits down beside me. Her smile is warm and friendly but she remains quiet and waits for me to speak.)<br />
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V: Jennifer, I thought I would start with you since Eternal Lovers is really your story. What can you tell Jenna’s readers about you and the book?<br />
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Jennifer: I guess it all started when I went to visit my best friend Alice, who was in the Chicago area.<br />
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(A blond with red streaks in her hair stand, waves her right arm and announces, “That’s me!”<br />
V and Jennifer both give her a look and she sits back down.<br />
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Jennifer: Anyway as I was saying, I was visiting her at a Lake Michigan estate when everything started happening. You see, I’d gone to see her to ask her for her help. I was convinced something was wrong with me. I won’t go into details but I will tell you every man I can into contact with seemed … well, just edible… anyway to make a long story short, I became seriously attracted to Gabriel, the leader of Guardians Inc. Being the big chicken I use to be, rather than act on my feelings I ran. He along with Alice and Raphael followed me back to California and it’s a good thing they did or I wouldn’t be alive today. Everything worked out in the long run and I ended up meeting my real father for the first time. By the way, does Jenna know I’m half Selkie?<br />
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V: Guess she does now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZrnbvucRV89u08nqtK2O9Fta0Dq_E4ax1Rn279FbfuTlo95lAkT7Pqgx8quO7ExEBhL9sKxegUI9Ov2Xw6PZrvGd2tHwsjyM5iLvvbCg5FxzLa3Khf5_atazLxCQNmqnykw0GszHhwf4/s1600/cover+l4x6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZrnbvucRV89u08nqtK2O9Fta0Dq_E4ax1Rn279FbfuTlo95lAkT7Pqgx8quO7ExEBhL9sKxegUI9Ov2Xw6PZrvGd2tHwsjyM5iLvvbCg5FxzLa3Khf5_atazLxCQNmqnykw0GszHhwf4/s320/cover+l4x6.jpg" width="213" /></a>Jennifer: Woops, guess I’ve been hanging around Alice too long.<br />
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Alice: Hey, wait a minute! What is that suppose to mean?<br />
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V: Ladies, please take it down a notch.<br />
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V: I think Jenna’sreaders are getting a good idea of what I have to put up with on a daily basis but I can assure you each woman here and in the series is unique and special in their own way. Alice as you can see is the most out spoken one. She’s known for her love of shopping and sex – the two things that are always on her mind. Sadly the others tease her relentlessly about it. Alice plays a major role throughout the series and keeps us on our toes. She’s lifemated to Mick, the one time lead singer of the Immortals. She met Marie, that red head sitting on your love seat in England. Marie is married to the bands lead singer came over to the states a couple of days after Jennifer arrived. She’s doesn’t look it but she’s been around for over three hundred years. No she’s not an immortal but her mate is so as long as she samples his blood from time to time she will continue to remain as she is.<br />
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(Marie smiles and give me a little wave. The blond next to her elbows her and speaks up,)<br />
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Kathleen: She may not be, but I am.<br />
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V: That you are Kathleen. Meet Kathleen, the first immortal woman we introduce in the series. She’s mated to Bryan the band’s drummer. Sadly when Set’s Legions attacked the band during their last concert at Yankee Stadium she was kidnapped. Thankfully we got her back before the end of book one.<br />
The dark headed Middle Eastern looking lady on the far end of the couch is Jasmine. Like you and me, Jasmine is human. She is introduced to the reader just before Jennifer and Gabe’s wedding and becomes a major player in the series with the introduction of book two Eternal Nights. She now lives on the estate with Ronan, Jennifer’s father.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtljVJkLBhyVLW-8J4lD3sW9XwuXV-mrYXxgpGuCorPIf54I2fXHHeJWsi6XGmOduQhWxfpWEnt80Jmasd0iSvAOpXU1yTG7B2U-ryyCpb_rlRZtApsVhS6HoppZagUfwcfi_xajF73Qoz/s1600/BookCover+Promo+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtljVJkLBhyVLW-8J4lD3sW9XwuXV-mrYXxgpGuCorPIf54I2fXHHeJWsi6XGmOduQhWxfpWEnt80Jmasd0iSvAOpXU1yTG7B2U-ryyCpb_rlRZtApsVhS6HoppZagUfwcfi_xajF73Qoz/s320/BookCover+Promo+Cover.jpg" width="183" /></a>Not to scare you, but the dog we walked in with is no dog at all. That’s Nowaki, Jennifer’s wolf, who she has had since she was a small child. Nowaki also plays a big part in the series. See that young looking platinum haired woman holding the leash? Well that’s Jessica, Jennifer’s baby sister. Sadly Jessica was forced to share Nowaki’s body for twenty years until everyone discovered she existed. I’m happy to say, with the outcome of Book two, Eternal Nights; Jessica is now mated to Raphael, Gabe’s best friend.<br />
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The other two blonds in the room are Allison, a blood born immortal who found herself involved with one of Set’s Legions and Tshering Snow, a dancer from the Himalayas. Both are introduced and play a major role in Eternal Nights. Book three, Eternal Blades is actually Tshering and Lance’s book so you’ll be see a lot more of her and of course the other women.<br />
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I know we’ve taken up a lot of your time so I say good bye to you and your readers for now. I can tell Alice is getting antsy as I promised her we would stop at one more mall before returning to the estate.<br />
On another note, I’d like to mention, since today is release day for book two, Eternal Nights, I’ll be giving a Kindle version of the book away to some lucky person. All you have to do is leave a comment below.<br />
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If you would like to know more about the series please visit me and all the characters from the Guardians at any of the following places.<br />
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<span style="color: #0433ff; font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1nu_KhG9yU&feature=youtu.be">Book Trailer</a></span><span style="color: #a040ff; font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00AXYLHF0"><span style="color: #0433ff; letter-spacing: 0px;">Amazon</span></a> <span style="color: #0433ff; letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.authorvsnelson.com/">Website</a> </span></span><span style="color: #0433ff; font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: 0px;"> <a href="http://authorvsnelson.com/blog/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Blog</span></a> <u>T</u><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://twitter.com/AuthorVSNelson">witter</a> </span> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6887735.V_S_Nelson%22%3EV"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Goodreads</span></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SekhmetsGuardians"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Facebook </span></a> <a href="http://www.authorsdb.com/component/content/article/8-authors/804-v-s-nelson"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Authorsdb</span></a> <a href="http://authorvsnelson.com/blog/2013/04/22/michelle-muckley-is-in-the-house/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">BookB </span></a></span><br />
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All of my books are available for purchase in Kindle format, regular print and large print for those with less than perfect eye sight through my Amazon author page. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00AXYLHF0" style="font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: 0px;">Amazon</a><br />
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Jenna, it’s been fun and I hope you’ll consider having us back again.<br />
<br />Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-23508418717918611532013-04-29T06:21:00.000-07:002013-04-29T06:21:23.879-07:00Author Heather Greenis chats about writing and her June release, Natasha's Dream...<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I'd like to welcome Author Heather Greenis to my blog today. I love having guest authors visit and share their thoughts on writing, book blurbs and excerpts from their latest work. The cover for Heather's release is still with the art department, so I'm unable to post it here. Instead the author has included curiosity piquing blurbs for us to read and an excerpt to whet our appetite.</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px;">Natasha's Dream</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px;">Growing up, her only friends were her brothers and Nanny. In her parent’s mind, she was a mistake. As a result of an innocent swim, she discovered life existed beyond the walls of her home. Families, peers, underprivileged children. Can a dream turn into reality? Anything is possible, but dreams come with consequences that not only affect her, but those she loves. What is Natasha willing to risk to persevere? </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">First, I’d like to thank Jenna for allowing me to be a guest on her blog. It’s an honour. Writing is a dream come true, but I can’t say it was a childhood dream. I’ve always enjoyed reading. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I love reading a good drama that leaves me thinking at the end and perhaps with a tear or two along the way. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My husband has been known to walk into the room and see me sobbing as I read. He’ll say, “Ah, you’re enjoying it” and leave me be. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I’ve been known to have some rather weird dreams, and have since childhood. Like my character Keeghan, I remember most of my dreams in detail. My husband suggested I begin writing. Smart guy. I took his advice. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRh7ArQCETBy0QofEp1_rG_Bz2X1ZLslFqz5P9bnMCcAAu9Jt54lB9JJCaw0gSD0FQOy3be4avh3aV4QU7Bc-yucXz3h9QE3HyOd5OlOWjXLdvuMsld-RLSpjCUI0awizhm3FtF5C4boE/s1600/DSC_0009-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRh7ArQCETBy0QofEp1_rG_Bz2X1ZLslFqz5P9bnMCcAAu9Jt54lB9JJCaw0gSD0FQOy3be4avh3aV4QU7Bc-yucXz3h9QE3HyOd5OlOWjXLdvuMsld-RLSpjCUI0awizhm3FtF5C4boE/s320/DSC_0009-1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was a long, slow, but enjoyable process. I wrote and he read, giving me suggestions and feedback I think the toughest part is getting honest criticism when you’re not certain where to go for help. Friends and family would read the book and not comment. That was the toughest. I had to assume they didn’t like it. The lack of comments sent me back to the computer for intense rewrites and edits. Finally, I received the comment ‘It’s a really good story,’ so I sent it off to a few publishers, and I was accepted.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My biggest complement came from my MuseitUp editor. In an email she sent to me she wrote. ‘<i>I made a note a while ago in our database that I want first dibs on all your manuscripts in the future.’</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As a first time published author Teale made my day. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My husband has been my biggest supporter. I consider writing a hobby and a passion, and am thankful for the support I’ve been given from everyone. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Natasha’s Dream is the first book of a 4 part saga. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><i>The official back cover for Natasha's Dream...(June 2013 release date)</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Fifteen difficult years and then a chance encounter that changed life as she knew it. Gave her a reason and hope to dream. Alone and seeking refuge, an orphanage becomes her only salvation for those dreadful weekdays. The only thing that gave her life a purpose. Ironic the underprivileged giving such pleasure to a girl born into such privilege. A secret life. The truth hidden from everyone. It was imperative she keep her secret. What would he do when he found out? How many lives would be affected? Father’s approval was all she needed, but was that possible or simply a dream? Natasha’s Dream</span></div>
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<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_2589" style="text-indent: 27px;">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_2588" style="background-color: black; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The young man was skipping pebbles across the surface of the water. Terrified he would recognize her, she turned, dropping the blossoms. It was a mistake leaving the comfort and familiarity of the castle grounds. A foolish mistake.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_2509" style="text-indent: 27px;">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_6860" style="background-color: black; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Hello. Hello.” </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_6859" style="text-indent: 27px;">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_6864" style="background-color: black; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She heard him speak but tried to ignore him. </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_6857" style="text-indent: 27px;">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_6858" style="background-color: black; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Hello,” he repeated in a louder voice. “I have admired you as I sat under the tree and studied.” </span></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_6865" style="background-color: black; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Embarrassed, Natasha was mortified at her stupidity. She hadn’t attempted to hide, but sat out in the open. The heat burned her face, but she couldn’t be rude and ignore him. She turned toward him shyly, tilting her head down. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“My humble apologies. I have embarrassed you. Allow me to introduce myself. Stewart—Stewart Donovan.” </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_2503" style="text-indent: 27px;">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_2502" style="background-color: black; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She was afraid he would recognize her if she showed her face. But good manners insisted she acknowledge his presence. Perhaps she could tell him hello, and then leave swiftly and return home. She lifted her head. He was handsome, more so than she realized from a distance. He was her brother’s height, five feet-eleven inches with dark brown hair, a medium complexion on his face and a slight build. He appeared to be her age. His extraordinary blue eyes dominated his face. The colour was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Mesmerizing. Then he smiled. Her heart began to pound, so she shifted her attention away from his face. Nervous, she reached under her dark, wavy pony tail to scratch the back of her neck. When she looked up, their eyes locked.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_2507" style="text-indent: 27px;">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_2506" style="background-color: black; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Natasha,” she responded. Panic rose as she realized he had introduced himself using his formal name and would expect the same from her. Mind racing, she tried to think of a fictitious name. He wouldn’t question it, and, she could return to the castle and never see him again. But, for the first time in her life, her mind was blank. </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_2572" style="text-indent: 27px;">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_2574" style="background-color: black; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_2573">Think, Natasha. Think. Names. I need names. Think of your studies.</i> Only two came to mind: William Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway. Terrified of using the surname Shakespeare, she prayed Stewart would not make the connection. </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_2575" style="text-indent: 27px;">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1367157776223_2585" style="background-color: black; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Natasha Hathaway,” she stammered. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Find Heather:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/heather.greenis.5?ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/heather.greenis.5?ref=ts&fref=ts </a></span></div>
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<a href="https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=667&category_id=69&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1" target="_blank">https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=667&category_id=69&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1 </a></div>
<br />Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-3174789451890480782013-04-26T06:59:00.001-07:002013-04-26T06:59:29.144-07:00Get the scoop on devious Princess Arabella from Author Mary Waibel's debut novel, Quest of the Hart!<br />
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I'm pleased to welcome author Mary Waibel to my blog today. She's interviewing two characters from her release Quest of the Hart and giving away a copy to one lucky winner (details at the end of post). Join her and get the inside scoop on Princess Arabella and her devious plans for Prince Devlin and the kingdom! </h2>
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Me: Oh, look! I've managed to find Ladies Maeryn and Deirdre, Princess Arabella's close friends, here in the library. Excuse me, ladies, but would you care to share a bit about the princess?<br />
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Maeryn: Princess Arabella? Certainly. She's beautiful, talented.<br />
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Deirdre: Oh, y-yes. (She bobs her head.) Tell about the tournament.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23ywjyq0s73xe19wC5j7Y_wF2fF8AKU8pF0tVR61DoBUlNfmcSpJmz3B7IybZgSQYiuc7HrL_tnKLMDkAN76E2VQE-osPphl-N7V-3-MNf5pT86Wn4kfc-_22lT0znR00LMS1MrKCCfov/s1600/Cover+Quest+of+the+Hart+300dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23ywjyq0s73xe19wC5j7Y_wF2fF8AKU8pF0tVR61DoBUlNfmcSpJmz3B7IybZgSQYiuc7HrL_tnKLMDkAN76E2VQE-osPphl-N7V-3-MNf5pT86Wn4kfc-_22lT0znR00LMS1MrKCCfov/s400/Cover+Quest+of+the+Hart+300dpi.jpg" width="265" /></a>Me: Oh, a tournament? Did she give her favor to the winning knight?<br />
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M: (Snorts) No, the princess faced off against the best of the realm, defeating knights with swords and bow. If only her father would have allowed her to do hand-to-hand combat, she would have been champion. Instead, Prince Devlin was.<br />
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D: Hmm. Pr-Prince D-Devlin. (Her face takes on a dreamy look.)<br />
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M: I tell you, King Gareth should reconsider his heir. Breniera would do much better with Arabella ruling.<br />
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D: I d-don't know, M-Maeryn. She's so bl-blood thirsty. We'd pr-probably be at w-war all the t-time.<br />
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M: True, she can be quite determined to get her way. Sometimes I wonder why I spend time with her. I mean, I know we're the only noble girls close to her age, but she can be quite mean when she wants to. Of course, without her, we'd be quite lonely.<br />
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D: Y-Yes, we w-would. (She looks outside and gasps.) Oh, m-my! W-we're l-late!<br />
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M: (Jumps to her feet and grabs hold of her sister.) Sorry, but we have to leave. The princess is expecting us to help with her latest plans to take the throne from her brother. This one's a special spell.<br />
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Me: Wait! I don't want you to be late, but what kind of spell are you talking about?<br />
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M: I can't say, really. Don't want to spoil it. I'm sure you'll hear all about it soon! (They hurry from the room.)<br />
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Me: I guess we'll just have to read Quest of the Hart to see what that was all about!<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quest of the Hart</span></i></b></h4>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A reverse Sleeping Beauty tale where the princess goes on the quest to save the prince.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Princess Kaylee has never had to fight for anything. Her entire life has been arranged, even her marriage. But when Prince Devlin falls under an enchantment, she finds she is willing to do anything to save him, even if it means fighting a dragon.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Devlin's own sister, Princess Arabella, is behind the deadly plot. She wants the throne and will use any means necessary to gain it. Her perfect plan unravels, leaving Devlin caught in a magical sleep that is slowly spreading through the kingdom of Breniera. All Arabella needs to finish her spell and claim the crown is a drop of Kaylee's blood, but obtaining the single drop is proving more difficult than expected.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To save her betrothed, Kaylee embarks on a quest to find an ancient sword and gather a drop of dragon's blood, while trying to stay out of Arabella's traps. But Arabella's traps aren't the only danger. Time is everything. For once the last inhabitant of the kingdom falls asleep, the spell will be sealed, and not even true love's kiss will break it.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVezT_NQ4N5knpigUai7PVu1kf7c9rIk06Ix_LyQzZKc6lj1s6V0CXxbhA5boW5yq4f-NfG_LjC3gnhi577NwgGh8Huyf-cLfSuTZWAf4yRoKA9isYv72lVDCW-MMH_0c4suR01gPa-qdg/s1600/Author+Photo-+Mary+Waibel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVezT_NQ4N5knpigUai7PVu1kf7c9rIk06Ix_LyQzZKc6lj1s6V0CXxbhA5boW5yq4f-NfG_LjC3gnhi577NwgGh8Huyf-cLfSuTZWAf4yRoKA9isYv72lVDCW-MMH_0c4suR01gPa-qdg/s320/Author+Photo-+Mary+Waibel.jpg" width="316" /></a>Mary lives with her husband, son and two cats. When she isn't twisting fairytales, she enjoys reading, playing games, watching hockey, and camping. Her debut novel, <i>Quest of the Hart</i>, will be available from MuseItUp Publishing April 19, 2013. <i>Charmed Memories</i>, a companion novel, will be available from MuseItUp Publishing in August 2013.<br />
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You can find Mary Waibel at:<br />
<a href="http://marywaibel.blogspot.com/">http://marywaibel.blogspot.com</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/authormarywaibel">https://www.facebook.com/authormarywaibel</a><br />
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Twitter: @mewtweety14<br />
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Buy Link (Quest):<br />
<a href="https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=620&category_id=6&manufacturer_id=292&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1">https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=620&category_id=6&manufacturer_id=292&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1</a><br />
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Book Trailers (Quest):<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5SvEAbFQtE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5SvEAbFQtE</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d-ohY2CEVo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d-ohY2CEVo</a><br />
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For a chance to win a copy of Quest of the Hart please follow the link: <a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4773612/" id="rc-4773612" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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<br />Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-65927636146312620522013-04-14T20:00:00.001-07:002013-04-15T07:00:23.725-07:00Guest Author Kristina Knight blogs about writing & what/who influenced her to become a writer...<h4>
I'm pleased to welcome Author Kristina Knight to my blog. Kristina looks back on her childhood and shares with us the most important influences in her writing career. Comments are welcome! You can check out the blurb for her novel, What a Texas Girl Needs and read an excerpt below.</h4>
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My mom likes to tell everyone she meets that I was born reading a book. I think I actually learned to read when I was four, that is the earliest memory I have of sitting down with a book to actually read the words - not just look at the pictures and imagine. I like to credit that early reading compulsion with turning me into not only a lifetime reader but an author, too.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkDGKygHoMJqx6ZISaBLLRFMRZEejN9ep5lvHXDKW-JbYNgxBCerWs7mlAdFdQLiBEiIXKjnv22NcsQw4Ppe0dzmf-cXp6KQvTbB2T1RnlnpFqNg2NWkSAxr_ldL3YmQiZDgtIMyFEzfj/s1600/Kristi1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkDGKygHoMJqx6ZISaBLLRFMRZEejN9ep5lvHXDKW-JbYNgxBCerWs7mlAdFdQLiBEiIXKjnv22NcsQw4Ppe0dzmf-cXp6KQvTbB2T1RnlnpFqNg2NWkSAxr_ldL3YmQiZDgtIMyFEzfj/s320/Kristi1.jpg" width="293" /></a>I've had a ton of influences in my life. My mom and elementary-school-teacher grandmother (who got me hooked on non-Seuss books) pushed me not just to read for work but for fun. I had this teacher in high school (didn't we all?) who always pushed me to do more...and nearly every creative writing assignment I turned in, she wrote, "I can see this as a novel". Then she would give me a B (sometimes a B+) because she wanted more. But those comments, oh, they were inspiring. Listening to my talented husband on the radio inspires me to really work hard and pay attention. Watching my daughter grow and expand her knowledge every day is inspiring, especially since her first days were such a struggle. The list goes on.<br />
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One of my biggest influences? The Choose Your Own Adventure books. I remember vividly staying up late, reading by flashlight under the covers to see where those Adventure books would take me next...and thinking about where I might take them. When I discovered those books, I realized that I could control the book. I could 'write' the book, at least a version of it, by deciding what should happen next. I discovered my first Adventure book just after I turned 7 - yeah, way too young for them and I had to look up a LOT of words. But I couldn't stop reading them. I made different decisions and read and re-read the books until pages started falling out. It was soon after that that I started seriously writing stories - some of them still live in a basement somewhere. Most have been destroyed over the years.<br />
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When I think about my writing career, I give a lot of the credit to Mom, Big Mommy (my grandmother) and the Adventure books...because they all had a hand in making me a reader. And that turned me into a writer.<br />
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<u>Were you (and are you) an avid reader? Who was your influence?</u><br />
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<b>What a Texas Girl Needs</b><br />
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<u>Blurb:</u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZ2wXES8nkT-4Ft4RSsdi04nF-F3J3uU3HAKFQ1mkci1BGFsSuArMK6vXGF1AElQskoO7fSis9JbulqVIJcPBrrecIRcJHwZkB1DRTPY-90r74vuJTdK_z5wf1HGWi4sG8DNAAqM55Pc6/s1600/9781440555718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZ2wXES8nkT-4Ft4RSsdi04nF-F3J3uU3HAKFQ1mkci1BGFsSuArMK6vXGF1AElQskoO7fSis9JbulqVIJcPBrrecIRcJHwZkB1DRTPY-90r74vuJTdK_z5wf1HGWi4sG8DNAAqM55Pc6/s400/9781440555718.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
Vanessa Witte is ready to finally claim her life. The middle of three daughters born into the Witte family - a powerful Texas name - she’s been content to float through life. Being dumped by her shady ex? A blessing in disguise. Having a one-night-stand with Matias Barnes? Not one of her more stellar moments. But she’s back in Lockhardt with a secret and a reason to start fresh: A baby.<br />
Matias Barnes knows all about society women - it’s part of the reason he left his wealthy family behind and took a job on a ranch. He doesn’t like the endless string of parties, the inane conversation, or the gold-digging tricks those women have perfected. But that doesn’t stop him from wanting Vanessa Witte. Mat knows she’s so not right for him, but with her back in Lockhardt, can he resist her charms long enough to really let her go?<br />
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<u>Excerpt:</u><br />
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"I'll take the bill, Vern," she said, holding out her hand. It was about time she started paying her own way. One tank of gas wouldn't exactly repay the family, but it was a start. Added bonus, paying her own bills might help overhaul the character she'd found so seriously lacking in the last few months.<br />
"It's easier for ol' Mitch to keep his records if I just add it to the ranch total."<br />
"I'm not a ranch employee. This isn't a ranch vehicle. I'll take the bill." Vanessa couldn't remember ever paying for a tank of gas here. Come to think of it, unless she was trying to impress someone, she had rarely paid for anything to this point in her life.<br />
Vern handed her the receipt. Fifty bucks? Holy crap, how much did gas cost? Stupid question, Van, obviously it costs fifty dollars. She reached into her bag for her credit card and then remembered that was part and parcel of the Witte upbringing. Paying with Grandfather's credit card? Not character building. She pawed through the baby blue Coach bag but only came up with two twenties and some loose change.<br />
Damn.<br />
"Just charge it to the ranch, Vern." Mat Barnes's voice echoed under the station's overhang, chilling Vanessa. "The Double Diamond will cover it." We always cover her bills, his tone implied.<br />
Vanessa squeezed her eyes closed and swallowed. Her fingers closed over another bill. Please let it be a twenty. Or a ten. She opened her eyes.<br />
Three twenties. Triumph!<br />
"I've got it Mr. Barnes, thank you," she said, chilling her voice as she handed the cash to Vern. He looked from Mat to Vanessa, obviously confused over what was going on between them. Vanessa held his gaze for a moment. Vern took the cash and hurried inside.<br />
"I think we're past the 'Mr. Barnes' stage, don't you?" Mat watched her from beneath the tipped-low brim on his cowboy hat, his coal-black eyes boring straight to her soul. Yes, they were past the Mr. or Miss stage, technically, but not calling him Mat helped her keep her distance.<br />
The way her heart raced at the mere sight of him she desperately needed that space.<br />
She looked away, crossing her arms over her chest. Her gaze caught on the frayed edge of his jeans—which were worn in all the right places, she noted—and today's tee, tight across his shoulders, read, 'Chicks Dig Scars' over his well-muscled chest.<br />
Who was she kidding? Calling him Mr. Barnes didn't keep her from noticing just how delectable Mat was. Nothing could do that. Not in broad daylight. Certainly not the twinkling fairy lights during Kathleen's wedding reception.<br />
"I don't think a night spent in my grandfather's hayloft makes us best buddies," she said, hoping against hope he would just leave her alone.<br />
"Ahh, but what we did in that hayloft is another matter." He lounged against the side of her Porsche as if he might stay there forever.<br />
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<b>Buy Links:</b><br />
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Amazon:<a href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Texas-Girl-Needs-ebook/dp/B00AB3TF8Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355097492&sr=8-1&keywords=what+a+texas+girl+needs" target="_blank"> http://www.amazon.com/What-Texas-Girl-Needs-ebook/dp/B00AB3TF8Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355097492&sr=8-1&keywords=what+a+texas+girl+needs</a><br />
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iTunes:<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/what-a-texas-girl-needs/id580981410?mt=11" target="_blank"> https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/what-a-texas-girl-needs/id580981410?mt=11</a><br />
B&N: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-a-texas-girl-needs-kristina-knight/1114001402?ean=9781440555718" target="_blank">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-a-texas-girl-needs-kristina-knight/1114001402?ean=9781440555718</a><br />
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<b>Author Bio:</b><br />
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Once upon a time, Kristina Knight spent her days running from car crash to fire to meetings with local police--no, she wasn't a troublemaker, she was a journalist. When the opportunity to focus a bit of energy on the stories in her head, she jumped at it. And she's never looked back. Now she writes magazine articles by day and romance novels with spice by night. She lives on Lake Erie with her husband and three-year-old daughter. Happily ever after.<br />
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<b>Find Kristina online:</b><br />
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Website: <a href="http://www.kristinaknightauthor.com/" target="_blank">http://www.kristinaknightauthor.com</a><br />
Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/kristinaknightromanceauthor" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/kristinaknightromanceauthor</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/authorkristina" target="_blank">http://www.twitter.com/authorkristina</a><br />
Goodreads: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/kristinaknight" target="_blank">http://www.goodreads.com/kristinaknight </a><br />
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Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-80686213267410211222013-04-12T14:48:00.000-07:002013-04-12T14:48:11.059-07:00The Evolution of an Idea--How I came up with my paranormal series, by Jenna Storm<h2>
I'm over at Babette James' blog, <a href="http://babettejames.com/2013/04/12/the-evolution-of-an-idea-guest-post-by-jenna-storm-author-of-the-burning-seal/" target="_blank">http://babettejames.com/2013/04/12/the-evolution-of-an-idea-guest-post-by-jenna-storm-author-of-the-burning-seal/</a> talking about the development of my Elements series (paranormal romantic suspense). Come by and chat about writing process and how you come up with your ideas. </h2>
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Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-57906135585550085642013-04-11T07:04:00.000-07:002013-04-11T07:04:14.315-07:00How to Drive Blind...Discover how authors Heather Fraser Brainerd & David Fraser decided to co-write their book. <br />
Welcome to my blog Heather and David! I'm happy to have you visiting today. I enjoyed your post very much. It's always interesting to find out how other writers come up with a story or in your case, decide to co-author a book!<br />
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Readers, feel free to leave a comment or question for Heather and David.<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">How To Drive Blind</span></span></h4>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We love to co-write, emailing the manuscript back and forth, adding, deleting, and changing as we each see fit. And trying to crack each other up as much as possible. It's an interesting and entertaining method of writing. We never quite know where it will take us, so we refer to this method as "driving blind." Take, for instance, this article. Heather started writing it to explain the process. Partway through, it started bouncing back and forth between the two of us…</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How does one start down an unseen path? It can start in any number of ways. In the case of our first co-authored release, Deception Al Dente, it started while I was walking my dog. One beautiful autumn day, I was strolling with Desi, my crazy little terrier/pug mix, along our usual route. We walked past the horse farm, around the corner where the stately old cobblestone house sits, beside a wooded area that must have been ripe with the scent of deer from Desi's reaction, when I suddenly spotted something different in the distance.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It looked to be a "For Sale" sign. I squinted, trying to read the small sign with my middle-aged eyes. It was indeed a realty sign, and the realtor's name was José Picada. "Huh," I said aloud. This was quite an exotic name for our rural area. My mind instantly conjured up someone with dark, flashing eyes and a suave little mustache. As we drew closer to the sign, however, I realized that my aging eyes had played a trick on me. It wasn't José Picada at all, but a much more typical name for our town. To protect the innocent, I won't tell you the realtor's real name, but I laughed right out loud at my mistake.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started thinking about how funny it would have been if the sign really had been misprinted with the more exotic moniker. And then it happened. My mind started whirling with the possibilities of such a mix-up, and before I knew it, the character of detective Josie P. Cates had been born. I rushed home to call Dave with my latest inspiration.</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“What?” He sounded exasperated as he answered the phone. In the background, I could faintly make out what sounded like a wood chipper grinding away.</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Um,” I said, “Is everything okay?”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Yes, why wouldn’t it be?”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I don’t know. It’s just that you sound exasperated. And I can faintly make out the sound of a wood chipper grinding away.”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“That’s just the food processor. I’m crushing graham crackers for a pie crust.”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Oh, that sounds—”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before I could finish my sentence, there was a knock at the back door, the one in the kitchen leading out to the deck. That was strange, as Desi usually barks up a storm the second anyone gets within three miles of our house. I glanced down to see her lying on her back, staring up at me with a goofy grin on her face. Or maybe it was a silent growl. In either case, she didn’t seem to be getting up to answer the door, so I figured that I would have to. “Hang on a second,” I told my brother, “someone’s at the door.”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Not a problem. I’ve got you on speaker phone right now, since I need my hands to…” His voice trailed off as I lowered the phone and set it down on the kitchen table. I didn’t need to hear the longwinded description of his pie crust.</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I grabbed my can of wasp spray from an upper cupboard and headed for the door. I’d read that wasp spray is just as effective as pepper spray, but less illegal. A knock on the back door was cause for caution; it could be an intruder. Or a giant wasp.</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peeking through the window beside the door, I saw a short, slim man in old-fashioned clothes holding a green butterfly net. He didn’t look to be at all threatening, which was probably why Desi wasn’t freaking out. I held the wasp spray behind my back, just in case, and opened the door.</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Can I help you?” I asked.</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Why, yes,” he said in a British accented voice. “I was following a Danaus plexippus through the woods in back of your cottage and seem to have lost my way.”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Huh,” I replied.</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Could you point me back towards the moor?”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“More what?”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“No, my good lady, not ‘more’ as in quantity. ‘Moor’ as in the vast expanse of rolling land on the far side of the wood.”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As far as I knew, there was no moor this side of the Atlantic. And there certainly wasn’t one in my own back yard. I made sure my finger was on the spray can’s trigger, though I didn’t press it yet. “Would you excuse me for just a moment?” I said politely to the delusional and oddly attired man on my deck.</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Certainly, madam,” he replied.</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I closed the door and locked it, hurrying back to the phone. Before I could reach it, however, there was another knock on the back door. I sighed and fingered the trigger button of the spray can. Maybe I’d squirt the British guy just on principle. One interruption, I can forgive. Two is just plain rude. He’d better be suffering from an iliac artery dissection, or something similarly gruesome sounding but non-lethal. Nothing ruins your day like a dead British guy on your deck.</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn’t, however, the British guy. It was a giant wasp. Acting on pure instinct, my hand came up and pointed the spray directly at him. I didn’t have a chance to spray him, though. He (at least, I assumed it was a “he”) dropped to his knees (or whatever the leg joints of an insect are called) and grabbed at his abdomen. “Grunt,” he grunted, “I think I’m having an iliac artery dissection.”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(This is the part of the story where we’d have a two-hour phone conversation regarding whether the giant wasp was sprayed or not.)</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I closed the door and locked it again. When I picked up the phone, Dave was still talking.</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“…but, you know, I never did care much for Thomas Jefferson. Anyway, what was it that you wanted to tell me?”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I awoke with a start, realizing I’d fallen asleep at the kitchen table during Dave’s longwinded description of his pie crust. Relieved that the whole British guy/giant wasp thing was just a dream, I gave a slight chuckle. “Oh, nothing much. Just an idea for a story. It’s kind of dumb, though. I’m sure it won’t go anywhere.”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Are you kidding? This could be our first co-authored published work.”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Yeah, right.”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Just type something up and send it to me.”</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Maybe I will.” And later that day, I did.</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 15px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, so maybe this isn’t <i>exactly</i> how Deception Al Dente came to exist.</span></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or maybe it is.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">Contact Heather and David:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://drivingblindproductions.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://drivingblindproductions.wordpress.com</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BrainerdFraser" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://www.facebook.com/BrainerdFraser </span></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">José Picada, P.I.: Deception Al Dente</span></h4>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">By Heather Fraser Brainerd and David Fraser</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Excerpt:</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">“Hey, doll, is José around?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but I didn’t hear the speaker enter. I sat with my back to the door, looking out the big window behind my desk, absorbed in people watching while pedestrians passed on the sidewalk below. It wasn’t very stimulating stuff, but it beat sitting there twiddling my thumbs.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yk6ATxKQnlIpN9uqiTcD-oUX6tS5W6wPCMygTijR_ZiYdM_JUgBsHgLRB6QZXiNCnQ3lJJ1_z0J7DA1xOHVOJii6I0hbugGLCmxh4CYOacfhXpQzprFsSWT6_9faLiwZmTPwpX14YleP/s1600/deceptionaldente200x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yk6ATxKQnlIpN9uqiTcD-oUX6tS5W6wPCMygTijR_ZiYdM_JUgBsHgLRB6QZXiNCnQ3lJJ1_z0J7DA1xOHVOJii6I0hbugGLCmxh4CYOacfhXpQzprFsSWT6_9faLiwZmTPwpX14YleP/s320/deceptionaldente200x300.jpg" width="213" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Still, I should have heard a prospective client come through my office door. A good private investigator is supposed to have nerves of steel, the reflexes of a cat, and the senses of… I don’t know, something with really good senses. To make matters worse, the guy must have weighed in at two hundred fifty pounds, easy. There’s no way he made a stealthy entrance.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Um, no, he’s not here right now. Is there something I can help you with?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He plopped down into the seat across the desk from me. I held my breath, waiting to see if the old wood would hold together under his weight. Like everything else in the office suite, I’d bought it second-hand. The suite wasn’t very big, consisting merely of a small reception room with my office off to the left and a walk-in storage closet to the right. I didn’t have much of a budget for decorating, so the place had been completely outfitted via Craigslist. Well, almost completely. I’d also picked up a few things off the curb.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The chair held, at least for now. For its sake, I’d try to keep the meeting short.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“I’m Marco Augustino,” he said as if the name should mean something to me. My face must have been a blank stare, because when he continued, he sounded a little hurt. “Marco Augustino. Chef Marco. I own <i>Bistro Italiano</i>.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Still, nothing. A glance at my garbage can showed wrappers from all my regular fast food joints. Just the name of it told me that <i>Bistro Italiano</i> was way out of my price range these days. If business picked up, maybe someday. Or, if I did a good job on his case, maybe this Chef Marco would float me some free food. But I’d prefer cash.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Anyway,” he said with a chuckle, “I need to hire a private dick.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It wasn’t the first time I heard this particular line, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Usually, it didn’t merit a response, but something about Chef Marco annoyed me. I slipped into my best intellectual accent, the one used by all the talking heads on the Sunday morning political talk shows. The one that normal people like me use to try to sound smart.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“For what reason, sir, do you require a private <i>investigator</i>?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“I need…hang on a second.” Marco picked up the name plate from my desk, the one I brought with me when I left the Charles Harrison Insurance Company. “You’re Josie?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Yes. I’m Josie.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He let out a loud laugh. My eyes went to the chair to see if it would tolerate his shaking. It gave one little creak, but held. Thirty seconds or so later, he stopped laughing while wiping tears from his eyes.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Did I miss something, sir?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“No, it’s just… José… Josie. Anyone ever mix you two up?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">No, never, since José didn’t exist. But I couldn’t explain the whole thing right then and there. It would take too long and I had a chair in danger. </span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“No.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Okay, so anyway, I’m doing okay with my restaurant, right? It’s, like, packed with people all night. My kitchen is busy as hell. But for some reason, I’m not making any money. I think someone’s stealing from me.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Have you consulted a financial professional?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“I got me an accountant, yeah. Thing is, since money’s involved, he might be in on it, you know? Plus there’s more to it than just missing money.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Such as?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Such as someone slashed my tires a couple nights ago. Such as someone leaving hundreds of dollars of meat on a counter overnight so it spoiled. Such as at least once a week someone squashes my cannoli. There’s a bunch of other little things, too many to list. I’m telling you, someone’s messing with me, and I want to know who.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Do you have any known enemies, sir?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“What? No! Of course not!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I gave him a measured, knowing look, just to see what kind of reaction I would get. He began to fidget in the endangered chair. Interesting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Well, maybe. I mean, a man in my position… Us chefs are the new rock stars, you know? There might be a lady or two out there who thinks I owe her something.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Taking a pen and notepad from a drawer, I slid them across the desk to my potential client. “Write down their names, addresses, cell phone numbers, and dates of birth. E-mail addresses, too.” This last was an afterthought, but I thought it sounded good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Chef Marco muttered something about ladies not giving out their birthdays and then hunkered down over the pad, occasionally consulting his phone, scribbling away in what was sure to be almost illegible handwriting. After a couple of minutes, he straightened up and slid the pad back to me. “What’s next?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“I do a little recon, see what I can see.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He looked a bit skeptical at this. “You’re doin’ the recon? What about your boss?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It took all the self-control I could muster to keep from rolling my eyes. “I do the initial legwork, and then pass my findings over to him.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He nodded, apparently satisfied for the time being. “And if you don’t find anything?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I gave him a flat gaze, though my mind raced to come up with an appropriate response. “If the research doesn’t turn anything up, then we take it to the next level.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“What’s the next level?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Well, then we…” I paused dramatically, giving myself time to think. The answer occurred to me a beat later. “…go covert.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“You mean, like a spy?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">“Exactly.”</span></div>
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Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-11285807452868457952013-04-09T05:00:00.000-07:002013-04-09T05:00:01.469-07:00INSPECTOR OF THE CROSS by John B. Rosenman--Guest Author at Jenna Storm's blog <br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm pleased to welcome author John B. Rosenman to my blog where he is giving readers the chance to meet Turtan, an Inspector of the Cross and main character in his SF Action-Adventure Romance, <i>Inspector of the Cross</i>. </span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thank you John for stopping by and sharing an excerpt of your novel. </span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Readers, John and I would be happy to read your comments!</span></h2>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">****</span></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Coming Soon to a Star System Near You!</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>Inspector of the Cross</b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b> </b></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">(the first in a SF Action-Adventure Romance series) </span></h4>
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<span style="color: black; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Available at <a href="http://tinyurl.com/83a2ezn"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">http://tinyurl.com/83a2ezn</span></a></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-HoHSGaGb2FT9_USVPlT7dH8zQvr_kAlolAkm-0tdd3DNPOYhNfhXNgo8SORLQwnl9bLegw4Tg1cuUcGaOwi31zxJUhbG11NFTVL6acROQRj7RMpyXaGCGTNaxcDX_VOZKl70SDXDim4/s1600/inspector_333x500-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-HoHSGaGb2FT9_USVPlT7dH8zQvr_kAlolAkm-0tdd3DNPOYhNfhXNgo8SORLQwnl9bLegw4Tg1cuUcGaOwi31zxJUhbG11NFTVL6acROQRj7RMpyXaGCGTNaxcDX_VOZKl70SDXDim4/s400/inspector_333x500-2.jpg" width="266" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My name is Turtan, and I am an Inspector of the Cross.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I may be nearly four thousand years old, but I’m the only chance humanity has to survive. For all that time and longer, the human empire (the Cross) has done battle against their seemingly invincible alien enemy, the heartless Cen, who have crushed us in battle after battle. My job, as an Inspector, is to travel on freeze ships in suspended animation to distant parts of the galaxy to investigate reports of weapons that might turn the tide against our remorseless foe, who have brought us to the brink of ruin.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now, at long, long last, I have finally found a device that can span the stars and defeat them! Save us! </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s only one problem. A beautiful, dangerous woman has betrayed me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ah, women. Over the centuries, no, over the millennia, I have loved many of them and fathered many children. Usually I have left them, but this one has left me and taken what I have discovered and given it to the enemy. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me be clear: I am the best of the best, and I will do anything to save humanity.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But this time I have made a tragic mistake, and it appears I am too late.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Excerpt:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Here.” Yori placed a glass of rare Zontenian wine in his hand. “Drink this and maybe you can get some rest. So tomorrow…”</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“So tomorrow I’ll be in shape to resume my Flying Dutchman chase amid the stars?” he finished. “You think getting drunk is what I need?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“What do you need, Tan?” Her dark eyes implored him. “Tell me.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He raised the glass, his throat tight with terror. “Make me young again, Yori. As when I started.” He managed to find his mouth with the glass, only he was shaking so hard, half of the wine sloshed down his body. He dropped the glass.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Oh, Tan, I’ll make you young again. Take away all your pain.” She dropped wet-eyed to her knees and kissed the wine from his belly, licking him dry. Gradually she worked lower and despite the way he was shaking, he felt himself respond. Respond as he always did with her. He closed his eyes as she clasped him in a frenzy, hearing her words muffled by his flesh. “I’ll make you new again, Tan. Take away all your pain.” She rose and led him to bed, where he knew she would bring him love and warmth but no youth or Lethe of forgetfulness. All he knew was for this moment, he must try to find them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You can find out more about author John B. Rosenman by clicking the link to his website.</span></h4>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">John B. Rosenman’s website: <a href="http://www.johnrosenman.com/"><span style="color: #0433ff; letter-spacing: 0px;">www.johnrosenman.com</span></a></span></span></h4>
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Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-25679510207608172242013-03-26T13:00:00.005-07:002013-03-26T13:02:19.973-07:00Check out Jenna Storm's Fantastic Forty Interview on Jane Wakely's blog<h2>
I'm over at Author Jane Wakely's blog today participating in a fun Fantastic Forty interview. </h2>
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Stop by and let me know how you would answer some of the questions...it's all about your favorite things.</h2>
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Click the link to visit! <a href="http://janewakely.blogspot.com/2013/03/fantastic-forty-jenna-storm.html" target="_blank">http://janewakely.blogspot.com/2013/03/fantastic-forty-jenna-storm.html </a></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="yiv717322841Apple-style-span" style="color: #40007f; font-family: garamond, 'new york', times, serif; line-height: 1.22em;"><b style="line-height: 1.22em;">The Burning Seal, </b></span><span class="yiv717322841Apple-style-span" style="color: #40007f; font-family: garamond, 'new york', times, serif; line-height: 1.22em;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em;"><b style="line-height: 1.22em;">Paranormal Romantic Suspense,</b></span><b style="line-height: 1.22em;"> </b><a href="https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=341&category_id=157&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #2862c5; line-height: 1.22em; outline: 0px;" target="_blank"><b style="line-height: 1.22em;">https://museituppublishing.com</b></a></span></span></div>
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Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-34448014398434976162013-03-23T04:00:00.000-07:002013-03-23T04:00:12.197-07:00Jane Wakely spotlights her paranormal shifter romance JENN'S WOLF<br />
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Please join me in welcoming author Jane Wakely. She's here to spotlight her Paranormal Shifter Romance, Jenn's Wolf, published by Rebel Ink Press. </span></h2>
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks Jane for sharing a blurb and excerpt of your book. It was refreshing to read about a hero who is looking forward to finding the right woman not to mention going on a blind date!</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Jenn’s Wolf</span><span style="font-size: large;"> by Jane Wakely</span></span></h2>
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<b>Blurb: </b><br />
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Jenn is used to being overlooked by men. She’s short, slim, shy and her past keeps her guarded against others—especially men. It also gets her labeled as having a “good personality.” When she sees Matt for the first time, she realizes he’s the first man she’s willing to take a chance on.<br />
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Matt is a wolf shifter worried that he’ll never find his mate. Without a mate, a shifter’s life is incredibly drawn-out and lonely. Willing to try anything, he agrees to a blind date with Jenn and is stunned to find out she’s the one.<br />
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A misunderstanding interrupts their first night together and leaves them both miserable. After determining she may have overreacted, Jenn apologizes and they agree to start over. When Matt tells her about his wolf, she has to decide whether to trust her heart or run from the only man she’s ever wanted.<br />
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<b>Excerpt: </b><br />
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“Okay, Matt, you have to kiss the next girl that walks by.” His friend’s comment pulled him out of his thoughts.<br />
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“Huh?” He hadn’t been listening. They wanted him to kiss someone, but why? He didn’t go around kissing women he didn’t know.<br />
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“You lose so you have to kiss the next girl that walks by.”<br />
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“How did I lose?”<br />
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“You didn’t yell ‘not it’ like the rest of us.” They all broke out in laughter again. Oh geez, he needed to get home. Matt looked around and saw a hot blonde walking toward him. She was tall and cute. He could definitely kiss her. What if she was the one? He didn’t want to miss an opportunity, especially since he’d just been thinking about a lonely death.<br />
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He turned to face her right before she passed him.<br />
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“Can I kiss you?” He asked.<br />
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“Sure, handsome.” Her smile was genuine.<br />
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Matt stepped forward, wrapped his hands around her waist and gently touched his lips to hers. His friends were unusually silent—probably surprised he actually did it. The girl placed her hands on his shoulders and he licked her lips before sliding his tongue inside her mouth. It was a bold move, but he decided if he was stupid enough to kiss her, he might as well do a thorough job. She didn’t protest and even kissed him back.<br />
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It was nice, but the kiss did nothing for him and he broke away quickly.<br />
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“Thank you,” he said.<br />
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“Anytime, handsome.” She smiled at him again and walked toward the bar.<br />
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He smiled and tried not to lose hope. He had a blind date tomorrow night. While he doubted she’d be the one, he hoped they’d find something to talk about over dinner.<br />
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<b>Buy: </b><br />
Amazon: <a href="http://amzn.to/116bhls" target="_blank">http://amzn.to/116bhls </a><br />
Barnes and Noble: <a href="http://bit.ly/1458lX1" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1458lX1 </a><br />
All Romance: <a href="http://bit.ly/WtMrsU" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/WtMrsU </a><br />
BookStrand: <a href="http://bit.ly/110XBUW" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/110XBUW </a><br />
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<b>Find Jane:</b><br />
Blog: <a href="http://www.janewakely.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">www.janewakely.blogspot.com </a><br />
Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/JaneWakely" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/JaneWakely </a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JaneWakely" target="_blank">www.twitter.com/JaneWakely </a><br />
Goodreads: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/JaneWakely">www.goodreads.com/JaneWakely</a><br />
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Thank you so much, Jenna, for featuring my book today! :)<br />
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Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-31319707637606912532013-03-20T01:00:00.000-07:002013-03-20T01:00:01.525-07:00The Tax Man Cometh...guest post by SS Hampton Sr<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NJDSV9rgsIEXVu_eVJoa2ZaqnOi20L0poYYFSyuwJcs8K9f80CjzLTtXdqpHcdMIgVRT7WSvtOo5FeTaqjIMtv7LiYKPZRggVGnpqsuFgx5GF_KQ2UtuoyVUvkv3ZgGyIrW468hwWVzS/s1600/The_Sentinels_Full_72dpi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NJDSV9rgsIEXVu_eVJoa2ZaqnOi20L0poYYFSyuwJcs8K9f80CjzLTtXdqpHcdMIgVRT7WSvtOo5FeTaqjIMtv7LiYKPZRggVGnpqsuFgx5GF_KQ2UtuoyVUvkv3ZgGyIrW468hwWVzS/s320/The_Sentinels_Full_72dpi.JPG" width="213" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm happy to welcome SS Hampton Sr. to my blog. He has a topic that should interest many as the deadline to file taxes looms. I enjoyed his post and was impressed by his biography. Thirteen grandchildren, his dedication to the military, the writing he's had published and now the classes he's taking in photography and anthropology. A very busy and talented man! Thank you for guesting today and best of luck with writing and school!</span></span><br />
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Hampton’s Amazon Author Page can be found at:</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/SS-Hampton-Sr/e/B00BJ9EVKQ" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/SS-Hampton-Sr/e/B00BJ9EVKQ</a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Tax Man Cometh</span></span></h4>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>First and foremost, I am not a tax expert. I’ve done seasonal tax work and I do my own taxes, but that doesn’t mean I’m a professional. Therefore, consult a professional before tax season begins and definitely be sure to consult a professional before you file your taxes.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now that that is out of the way, be sure to take every business deduction that you reasonably can. Keep receipts—repeat, keep receipts!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So what can you deduct as a business expense? I </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">suggest</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> whatever is needed in order to assist and advance your writing career. If it is relevant and can reasonably be justified, I </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">suggest</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> the following:</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How about music CDs and DVDs? Well, what if you write a story that involves a belly dancer? Can you describe the music a belly dancer dances to? Can you describe how the various accoutrements of a belly dance costume move due to the dancer’s movement? Do you know what belly dance music is called? And what of the dance moves? Every dance has a named technique and style. You need information in order to write believably.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Office equipment and furniture? For sure filing cabinets, office chair, desk, a desktop organizer, a desk lamp, 3-hole punch, 3-ring binders, and even a big pencil cup. If you’re working out of your home, as many writers do, you need to organize your work space. And don’t forget that if you use a portion of your home you can claim a percentage of your rent or mortgage as a business expense. Probably even a percentage of your electric bill (power for the computer).</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Most definitely claim office supplies, whether ink jet cartridges, file folders, copy paper, paper clips, pens, writing pads, postage, etc. A writer can’t function without material that enables him or her to stay somewhat organized, whether for writing or to face an audit.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What about miscellaneous items such as storage boxes for research and correspondence folders, and electrical surge protectors so your computer won’t be fried? If you’re interviewing a subject matter expert for one of your stories, then might you need a digital recorder and lapel microphone? It makes sense to me.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Books, magazines and newspapers—I buy a lot of books not to simply read, but because the subject matter is relevant to my writing. Books on the French Indo-China War, the Vietnam War, even books concerning UN peacekeeping operations during the Bosnian Civil War, and the history of ballet. If I see a magazine that contains an article on subject matter that I have written or will write about, I will usually buy it. Newspaper articles often provide background material, or provide inspiration for stories. Have you ever needed a map from some historical period such as Sumeria or the Crusader kingdoms because you’re writing a story set in those areas? Sounds like a reasonable expense to me.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don’t forget that regarding your cell phone and Internet, a portion of your bill is due to your writing profession. Do you pay to attend conferences, or organize your own book signings, and buy SWAG to hand out as a part of your marketing/public relations strategy? After all, it takes money to make money; sounds like a reasonable expense to me.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As I stated, these are only suggestions. I am not a professional. It is critically important that you consult a tax professional in order to be sure of the various business expenses you can claim. And save your receipts! Repeat—save your receipts!</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Good luck with your writing and your record keeping.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMULqEf-ZrFpKgntjHOkFBavYhLSUZ_k4TUWi-sSAoovSgJb_vj31iE-fcSjRE7CrRHtBL70Sof7KsRqawPr8xmhLG7q0pf9slbuvfwVS3ezUgadlrliIMs1SJdeSuUN1Q3TZSfTLDMHcU/s1600/DSC02418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMULqEf-ZrFpKgntjHOkFBavYhLSUZ_k4TUWi-sSAoovSgJb_vj31iE-fcSjRE7CrRHtBL70Sof7KsRqawPr8xmhLG7q0pf9slbuvfwVS3ezUgadlrliIMs1SJdeSuUN1Q3TZSfTLDMHcU/s320/DSC02418.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BIOGRAPHY</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SS Hampton, Sr. is a full-blood Choctaw of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a divorced grandfather to 13 wonderful grandchildren, a published photographer and photojournalist, and a member of the Military Writers Society of America. He is a serving member of the Army National Guard with the rank of staff sergeant. He served in the active duty Army (1974-1985), the Army Individual Ready Reserve (1985-1995) (mobilized for the Persian Gulf War), and enlisted in the Army National Guard in October 2004; he was mobilized for Federal active duty for almost three years after his enlistment. He is a veteran of Operations Noble Eagle (2004-2006) and Iraqi Freedom (2006-2007). His writings have appeared as stand-alone stories and in anthologies from Dark Opus Press, Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy, Melange Books, Musa Publishing, MuseItUp Publishing, Ravenous Romance, and as stand-alone stories in Horror Bound Magazine, Ruthie’s Club, Lucrezia Magazine, The Harrow, and River Walk Journal, among others. He is an aspiring painter and is studying for a degree in photography and anthropology—hopefully to someday work in underwater archaeology. After 12 years of brown desert in the Southwest and overseas, he misses the Rocky Mountains, yellow aspens in the fall, running rivers, and a warm fireplace during snowy winters. As of December 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Hampton officially became a homeless Iraq War veteran.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please leave a comment for SS Hampton Sr. and thanks for visiting my blog today!</span></h4>
<br />Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-54144823413103816492013-03-17T10:08:00.001-07:002013-03-17T10:08:04.212-07:00Visiting MuseItUp Publishing's blog today...writing process pet peeves<a href="http://museituppublishing.blogspot.com/2013/03/pet-peevesand-my-writing-process.html" target="_blank">Pet Peeves and My Writing Process...</a><br />
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If you have a minute, please check out my guest post on MuseItUp Publishing's blog (click the link above). Difficulty focusing and poor memory are my topics.<br />
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Hope to see you there and <b>Happy St. Patrick's Day</b> for those of you celebrating!<br />
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<br />Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-33735901727690127752013-03-13T07:29:00.000-07:002013-03-13T07:29:09.820-07:00Author Julie Anne Lindsey on Falling in Love & writing the 'first' book <br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm excited to welcome Julie Anne Lindsey, a multi-genre author to my blog. With five releases slated for 2013, I don't know how she finds the time to sleep let alone guest on a blog! </span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you Julie for sharing your experience writing a story you love, with characters you want to keep close and how difficult it can be to let go. </span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following the author's post is a blurb and excerpt of Written on Her Heart, her sweet romance release. </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">*Please leave a comment for a chance to win a digital copy of her release. Thank you for visiting!</span></span></h4>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Falling in Love with the Heart</span></b></span></h4>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve spent tons of time wondering what love would look like with the lights out. Literally. No euphemisms. What if we somehow met our true love without seeing them? Forget love at first sight. What happens when two souls happen upon one another and simply know / recognize their counterpart? The idea has lingered in my heart and mind for years. After watching Meg Ryan fall in love with Tom Hanks in You’ve Got Mail, I wanted to see more. Why weren’t there more stories like theirs out there for my reading pleasure? I couldn’t get enough.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eventually, I lost patience. I had to experience that story again, no matter what it took. So, I wrote it. I’ve heard plenty of authors advise, “Write the story you want to read.” Well, my head’s a little thick, so it took me a while, but eventually my flickering light bulb of a brain finally caught up. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would write the story! Huzzah!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The trouble with writing the story of your heart is all the pressure. I wrote, revised, rewrote and culled this story until my brain bled. To this day I’m mildly dissatisfied with one scene because I couldn’t make it grand enough to suit me no matter how many times I tried. I love these characters so thoroughly, especially Mavis and Dr. Kennedy, that I wanted to knock my own socks off. I itched to call them many times for a better look at what they thought of how the story was going. Since I couldn’t, I stressed over each and every word and scene until I had to accept the manuscript as complete and let them go. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the end, I discovered writing the book of your heart is as traumatic as reading it. You don’t want it to end. You dread the days ahead because it’s over and won’t ever happen again. Even if you reread it or write another, it won’t be this one. It won’t be the first. *deep sigh* </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s a peek into my heart, I suppose. I hope if you’re in the mood for a sweet romantic read, you’ll consider a stop in Honey Creek. The sun’s warm. The sweet tea’s cold and romance abounds. Visiting Honey Creek is as easy as a click on Amazon. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span>*****</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Written on Her Heart, a Honey Creek sweet romance</span></b></span></h4>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emma’s falling in love with a man she’s never met, or has she? </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emma has her reasons not to fall in love, but fate has other plans. When she finds a journal near Honey Creek lake, she sneaks a peek at the words of a stranger, but finds the heart of a hero instead. Soon she’s savoring every word, opening her heart to the man inside and her mind to possibilities she gave up long ago.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Across town, Nicholas is devastated at the loss of his grandfather’s journal, one he’s written in since he left for Iraq a decade ago. The thought of a stranger mocking his words, or worse, someone from Honey Creek knowing his most intimate trials…. If his journal falls into the wrong hands, humiliation is sure to follow.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But what if it fell into the right ones?</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Excerpt from Written on Her Heart</span></b></span></h4>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When Mom pulled the door open, she nearly leapt into my arms. Tears already streamed from her eyes. It’d been two years since I’d been home, but not even secrets formed halfway around the world were safe from our small town. The moment I pulled my rental onto Route 22, I became fair game for gossip and ghost spotting. When a train lumbered along the only set of tracks and held me up for nearly five minutes, I watched a dozen bystanders take notice. First of the car they didn’t know, and then they dipped their heads for a look at the driver. The lady in front of me yanked her mirror to the side to check her face, and her chin dropped when our eyes met. By the time I lifted Mama into my arms, she’d received no less than four phone calls announcing my arrival. So much for surprises. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She looked smaller and more fragile than I remembered. Maybe after two years in a battle zone everything did. Her thin palms gripped my cheeks tight, and she kept saying, “Welcome home,” until my eyes filled to match hers. Tears streamed over the skin on her cheeks, and I never wanted to leave. The most important thing I could protect was right there in my hands. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Emma sniffled and wiped tears as she finished the passage for the third time. Her tears dropped onto the ink. She flung her body backward onto her bed and exhaled. The imagery astounded her. She knew firsthand how it was to arrive home. Every car in town must be inventoried somewhere. She shook her head, picturing the train. How awful to be held back by something as mundane as a train when you’re coming home from war to see your mother. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A gush of air filled her lungs, and she bolted upright. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Oh my Lord in Heaven, he’s from Honey Creek!” She looked around for someone to dance with. Grabbing the journal in one hand, she skimmed the words again though she’d practically memorized them already. Route 22. One set of tracks. His journal sat under her willow. “Wheeeee!” She scooped a pillow off her bed and spun until the floor tilted. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>He was from Honey Creek</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">About Julie Anne Lindsey<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRFskJs5qnezut2x6XL1KAPhgNFxwi5mz1Bx-8BaPNDYgj4uE2b0gFUaefYatoojDe_-FsDRSPbyPv8egtqnhoceFwmqYxZ6mu3qDstj2C3xkbF5bHgf5rCRvWqpV_PVySbyV4hR_C4lc6/s1600/tiny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRFskJs5qnezut2x6XL1KAPhgNFxwi5mz1Bx-8BaPNDYgj4uE2b0gFUaefYatoojDe_-FsDRSPbyPv8egtqnhoceFwmqYxZ6mu3qDstj2C3xkbF5bHgf5rCRvWqpV_PVySbyV4hR_C4lc6/s1600/tiny.jpg" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I am a mother of three, wife to a sane person and Ring Master at the Lindsey Circus. Most days you'll find me online, amped up on caffeine & wielding a book. I write sweet romance for Honey Creek Books. I’m anticipating five release in 2013, including two YA titles and my debut cozy mystery from Carina Press. I can’t wait to see what’s next. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Find Julie online</b>:</span></span></div>
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Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-12198245926175107922013-03-09T05:41:00.001-08:002013-03-09T05:41:06.294-08:00Strength of Spirit by Amanda Faith--guest author on Jenna Storm's blog <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Welcome to my blog Amanda Faith! I'm so pleased to have a fellow Muse It Up author make a guest appearance. I'm a huge fan of the paranormal and your book sounds mysterious and suspenseful. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Amanda kindly included an excerpt from <b>Strength of Spirit</b>, along with a description of her book. Please leave a comment for the author. If you'd like to contact or learn more about Amanda Faith, please visit her website <a href="http://www.amandafaith.net/" target="_blank">www.amandafaith.net</a></span><br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Strength of Spirit </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My name was Velvet Moon. Guess it still is. I never thought I would have an interesting life. It was ok, just not interesting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now my death is another story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Momma and I had no idea the day Wren Easton came into our shop would change our lives so much, or that he would involve us in his job with the government.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did I mention he was like a Ghostbuster 007? Interesting job.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now I have to solve my murder, protect my mother, and fight against an evil man that wants to rule the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why not? I have nothing better to do.</span><br />
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Excerpt:</h4>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">What a cool job.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Up until a few hours ago, I never knew a job like Wren’s existed. Now I discover his type of occupation has been around for at least a century. Goes to prove the government does all kinds of things we normal people don’t know about.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Like I would know what normal was. Yeah, right.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> I learned about his training and his testing. He had been targeted at a young age. and under consideration for the job from early in his life. It seems those intelligence tests we took in school are more than just information for the school system. The government wants to see who is “above the norm.” Wren proved himself to be extremely intelligent, physically fit, and had psychic abilities.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Apparently, he remained unaware how much ability he possessed, or he would not have been able to fend off his recent attack the way he did. It seemed his natural abilities took over.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I probed him, gently and in sections. I didn’t want to create more chaos within his head than was already there. His psyche needed healing. This was where my witchy talents came in. It took a little time, but at least I managed to bandage him up, so to speak. I learned more about the current case he was working on.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">His latest mission centered on Michael York a businessman always in the papers for one kind of philanthropic work at a hospital, or library, or something. He appeared to be the pillar of the community with more money than any three deities. Not married or having any children, he seemed devoted to his business. Little did anyone know his main source of income were drugs and weapons. He kept that hidden pretty well. At least he thought he did until Wren and his guys entered the picture. It was strictly a fluke the whole operation was discovered at all.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Wren learned how Michael York employed his own supernatural help.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Ghosts can go where they want, when they want to. Somehow, York had a medium enslave a spirit. This achievement meant the medium possessed a spell or icon powerful enough to hold the ghost in thrall. Using the spirit to gather information was too precious a commodity for York to ever release the spirit. The entity sold his soul, so to speak, to York, and couldn’t get out of the bargain.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">If a ghost sold his soul, who collected and where did it go?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Better yet, how do you store one of those things?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">There was a danger in trying to confine a soul. A spirit would only tolerate so much; then it gets even. If a spirit isn’t free to move on, the spirit will eventually possess the person who trapped them. Theoretically, the controlee becomes the controller. Possession had to be agony for both. Once the possession happened, one soul would not be complete without the other for as long as the human body could stand hosting them. I understood that. No one could control me when I was alive. I would get even in the end if someone tried to control me now I’m dead.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">What amazed me was how the spirits communicated with each other. At least it won’t be a lonely life once this situation with Big Burly was sorted. It explained where the voices were coming from. I can hear anyone—anything—close, it would seem. Maybe part of this ability came from being psychic. It’s all so new and not like I’ve had a lot of time to explore this new aspect of my existence. Wren didn’t appear to have any more useful information. He understood ghosts to a degree and how to summon one, but he didn’t have long conversations with one to learn about the inner workings of the spirit realm. He was strictly the hit man.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Apparently, Wren got caught going back to house of Michael York’s medium. Big Burly roughed him up, but Wren managed to escape. The whole thing became evident to me as I realized something.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">They let him go.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Wren possessed an item Michael York wanted; a charm of some sort. The talisman was extremely important. York wanted it back. It was worth killing over. Now Wren held the item, he’d hidden it. The importance of the charm wasn’t immediately obvious and I didn’t want to probe deeply since Wren was pretty banged up.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I let go. Wren came back into focus. The link worked both ways, and now he understood me a little better.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Velvet, I’ll see what new information I can find out about the amulet and about Michael York for you. Thanks.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Wren went into the other room and made a few phone calls. It didn’t matter who overheard what anymore. The cards were all laid out on the table, so to speak.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nia watched our communication transpire. Even though my probing only took a few minutes, watching it happen to someone you love must have seemed kind of freaky.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Velvet, is he going to be alright?”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“Yeah, Momma. He is going to be just fine.” I filled Momma in on what I had learned while she sat there, so quiet and subdued.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Wren came back into the room. “I left messages with some people who can help. I need to go stake out York’s home to see if I can discover anything. I can’t waste time sitting here.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nia jumped up. “No. You need time to heal. You’re only going to make matters worse.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Wren took her into his arms and held her close, kissing the top of her head. My heart warmed knowing Momma will be loved when I leave here. After a few minutes, he released her.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">“I have to, Nia. You know that I have to.” Without another word, he left.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once again, thank you Amanda for coming onto my blog and another thank you to those who have visited today! </span></div>
Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-14896067616714673722013-02-09T22:00:00.000-08:002013-02-09T22:00:05.263-08:00The "first kiss" in The Burning Seal...<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Welcome to MFRW’s “Firsts” blog hop! </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The moment is upon you...</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Your heart races with nervous anticipation...<i>this is it</i>...you’re seconds away from sharing your first kiss. Will there be fire? Will it fall flat? Excitement, worry, hope, all of these emotions play havoc with your feigned easygoing attitude. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Psychologist William Cane notes that kissing in Western society is most often a romantic act and describes a few of its attributes:</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“It's not hard to tell when two people are in love. Maybe they're trying to hide it from the world, still they cannot conceal their inner excitement. Men will give themselves away by a certain excited trembling in the muscles of the lower jaw upon seeing their beloved. Women will often turn pale immediately of seeing their lover and then get slightly red in the face as their sweetheart draws near. ... This is the effect of physical closeness upon two people who are in love.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope you enjoy the “First Kiss” excerpt from my Paranormal Romantic Suspense, <a href="http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=341&category_id=157&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1" target="_blank">The Burning Seal</a>. The main characters, Danni and Chase are working together to solve a series of murders while battling their growing desire for one another. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm happy to give away two copies of my ebook The Burning Seal to two random commenters. Please leave a comment about your first kiss, or the blog post to enter the giveaway. Include your email and the type of format you would like the book sent. </span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The First Kiss...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She tucked her hair behind her ear. His eyes narrowed on her trembling hand. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“What about yourself? Look at the effect this case is having on you.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>He moved toward her. She couldn’t breathe for other reasons now. He placed his hand over her heart; his palm was wide enough he touched the skin exposed by the V of her shirt. Her heart jumped. Her stomach flipped and pulled. She resisted moving closer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“If you can’t handle the case then you need to back out before Sam pulls you off.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>She stepped away. “Sam doesn’t have any reason to, unless you plan to give him one.” He folded his arms across his chest, stubborn and strong. She forced herself to speak calmer. “I know what I’m doing. I’m fine.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>He snapped, “Stop saying that. You’re not fine. Your heart’s racing. Body shaking. Your face is pale and I keep thinking you’re going to pass out at any moment.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“It’s not easy to touch someone so evil and not be affected. Look at me, I’m not physically hurt.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>He shoved his hands in his pockets. His mouth pressed into a hard line.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“I don’t know about you, but I’m done for the night,” she said. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With a stiff nod, he followed her to collect personal effects from their desks before departing. He was quiet as they walked to the parking lot which suited her fine since she was busy fighting powerful feelings that had nothing to do with the case. Was she the only one who felt the connection? Was it her imagination or did being with Chase feel familiar? </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>They stopped at her car. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“See you tomorrow.” She got in and shut the door, relieved to escape him, only to tense back up when his knuckles banged the window. She slid the key into the ignition and lowered it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>His forearms rested on the opening. His face inches from hers. “Call if you need anything.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Her eyes had a will of their own and kept dropping to his lips. She wondered how they would feel. Would the kiss sizzle or fall flat?</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“I mean it, Danni. No matter when, no matter what time.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Was it wicked hope or had his face drawn closer to hers? She parted her lips as much to breathe through her nervousness as to finally satisfy her curiosity.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Closing the distance between them, she seized his face between her hands and kissed him. His lips opened from shock, or desire, she didn’t know. At this point she didn’t care. She took advantage and finally tasted him. Warm cinnamon. His kiss was a mirror of his personality, bold and confident. She recognized the rough feel of his skin under her palms, the pressure, and rhythm of his kiss. Why did she feel so attuned to this man?</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The thought and her attraction frightened her. She released him abruptly. The car and everything around her seemed to shift, and then jerk back in place. Wow.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>She rolled her lips together. His heat and taste remained on them. “Thanks. I’ll call if I need you.” She tapped the silver button so the window shot up a notch. He jerked back and stayed there until she reversed and fled the lot. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Oh man what was I thinking?</i> Her cheeks flamed from her boldness, yet, it felt good to do something so out of character. She didn’t know where the compulsion to kiss him came from but it felt right to go with it. And to answer her earlier question—oh yeah, there was heat.</span></span></div>
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<script id="mfrw-firsts" src="http://justromance.me/mfrw-bloghops.js.php?hop=firsts" type="text/javascript"></script>Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-53583189546152548812013-01-27T08:49:00.000-08:002013-01-27T08:49:00.365-08:00Quotes to inspire, motivate and feel gratitude<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know how you feel about your life but mine seems to be on a roller coaster, positives and negatives, twists and turns, sometimes I'm thrilled and other times my stomach is sick. Everything seems to be changing and keeping an upbeat attitude is hard. But I'm determined to look at the positive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I wanted to share some quotes I came across in my reading. I don't know what it is about reading quotes that are motivational or filled with gratitude but I feel so much better afterward. My outlook alters and my worries are no longer consuming and my tasks insurmountable. While I bask in the afterglow of good...quotes (haha) I <i>know</i> I will reach my goals and the doors to fulfilling my dreams will open. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If they make me feel this good maybe they'll do the same for you...</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><i>"I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks." - William Shakespeare</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><i>"Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls." - David Thomas</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><i>"Count Your Blessings." - Og Mandino </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><i>(This one is so important to me. I do it everyday. And when something happens and I'm beginning to feel down I find more to be thankful for--Jenna)</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><i>"Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us." - Voltaire</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><i>"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." - Marcel Proust</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><i>"It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving." - Mother Teresa</i></b></span></div>
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Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-55304444037834122162013-01-01T09:00:00.001-08:002013-01-01T09:00:25.286-08:00Yours & your character's goals for 2013...Happy New Year!!<br />
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I can't believe it's already 2013 and the beginning of a new year filled with possibilities, exciting successes, the strengthening of friendships with family and friends and the beginning of new relationships. Thank you, thank you, thank you!<br />
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I'm not going to stress myself out and expect to make tons of changes at one time. I'm the type that shuts down when faced with a task that seems unmanageable...can anyone say writer's block? I'm pleased I've learned that much about myself and the importance of taking things a step at a time (which I plan to do with this blog topic).<br />
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My first move toward reaching my goals is to write them. Easy enough. I'm already moving in the right direction!<br />
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I've read advice suggesting to list your hopes and desires with as much detail as possible and then reread them often to remain focused. I know some people create dream boards or collages showing images representative of what they desire. I haven't yet. If any of you have I would love your comments on how it's helped you visualize or reach your goals.<br />
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TIP: Break your list into categories for ex. writing, relationships, finances, work, etc...<br />
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As I'm writing this I wonder what my main characters goals would be for the year. I bet writing them and actually letting my characters do the talking will reveal more of their personalities. Hopefully, creating characters who resonate with feeling.<br />
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Feel free to comment on how you plan to reach your goals, if you've set any and what your steps are to reaching them. I'll continue to blog about positive thinking, feeling gratitude, staying focused and anything I discover that others might find useful to make this year a great one.<br />
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Happy New Year!<br />
<br />Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-12956633724966415522012-08-06T06:11:00.001-07:002012-08-06T06:11:58.904-07:00MuseItUp Publishing: The Burning Seal Excerpts<a href="http://museituppublishing.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-burning-seal-excerpts.html?spref=bl">MuseItUp Publishing: The Burning Seal Excerpts</a>: Hello and thank you for stopping by to read some excerpts from my Paranormal Romantic Suspense, The Burning Seal. My first excerpt g...Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-89931958022007964082012-08-02T06:38:00.001-07:002012-08-02T06:38:15.734-07:00Jenna Storm Paranormal Romance Author: JD Brown's visiting...stop by for a chance to win ...<a href="http://jennastorm.blogspot.com/2012/08/jd-browns-visitingstop-by-for-chance-to.html?spref=bl">Jenna Storm Paranormal Romance Author: JD Brown's visiting...stop by for a chance to win ...</a>: Welcome JD! Thank you for visiting my blog and introducing Dark Heirloom to us. I'm excited to announce three lucky commenters will b...Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-8509276054376172682012-08-02T06:36:00.002-07:002012-08-02T06:37:48.791-07:00JD Brown's visiting...stop by for a chance to win a copy of her Urban Fantasy Dark Heirloom!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8uUOv1n-ZvPJtbrhpQy4-_pUcLynxMKq02JbA9C9SOemVE5Mhcy0oWxIUsO7RQ8ZXc03fA5tVIBTOktpBJga_0KxDA8RozG0jXdqK7DDgpvA3enOpk7WkTiQV8EpzzhrWa58_inTFWFl/s1600/darkheirloom_200x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM8uUOv1n-ZvPJtbrhpQy4-_pUcLynxMKq02JbA9C9SOemVE5Mhcy0oWxIUsO7RQ8ZXc03fA5tVIBTOktpBJga_0KxDA8RozG0jXdqK7DDgpvA3enOpk7WkTiQV8EpzzhrWa58_inTFWFl/s320/darkheirloom_200x300.jpg" width="213" /></a><b></b></div>
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<b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Welcome JD! Thank you for visiting my blog and introducing <i>Dark Heirloom</i> to us.</span></b></b></div>
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<b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I'm excited to announce three lucky commenters will be picked at random to receive a copy of JD's urban fantasy <i>Dark Heirloom</i> so don't forget to include your email address along with your comment. </span></b></b></div>
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<b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Thanks again JD for visiting!</span></b></b></div>
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<b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">***</span></b></b></div>
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Where’s the Romance?</span></u></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hello and thank you, Jenna, for having me on your blog today.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You know…vampires seem to have taken over Fabio’s roll as the expected romance hero in today’s media. I have no problem with that, I love vampires. I’m addicted to The Vampire Diaries and the Sookie Stackhouse series. But does it always have to be romance? Do they always have to be the sinner fallen in love with the virgin?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I hope not.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My debut novel, <i>Dark Heirloom</i>, is full of vampires, almost NO humans, and is an urban fantasy – <i>not</i> a paranormal romance. I know, <i>what’s the difference</i>, right? Sometimes my book is accidently miss-categorized by others as paranormal romance. Sometimes I correct the person and ask them to change it to urban fantasy, and sometimes I let it go because I also figure the similarities between the two genres are basically one in the same.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">However, there is a key difference between urban fantasy and paranormal romance that could potentially piss-off a lot of readers, specifically readers looking for a romance story.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Before I continue, let me just say that <i>Dark Heirloom</i> does in fact have a romance thread, but that thread <i>does not</i> tie into a cute little happily-ever-after at the end of the book.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And that is where the major difference between the two genres lay.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Paranormal romance is and will always be a love story with a deep attraction that quickly explodes into a die-hard passion and ends with an unconditional perfect unity.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Urban fantasy, on the other hand, can have some or all or none of those things that paranormal romance has because the romance isn’t the main point of the book. So when a PR fan reads a vampire urban fantasy, they may be disappointed when the romance thread isn’t as heavily sated as they’d like.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But I’m not worried about it. After all, <i>Dark Heirloom </i>is only the first book of the series and Ema and Jesu’s relationship will develop at a natural pace – you know, after she’s beaten all the vampires and other things after her. A girl’s got to stay alive if she wants a relationship.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you love vampires but are sick of the Bella’s, want to see a girl kick some ass instead of kiss it, and want a new twist on the lore and magic of vampirism, <i>Dark Heirloom</i> might just the choice for you. <b>Try it before you buy it! Read the first ten chapters for FREE from </b><a href="http://authorjdbrown.com/dark-heirloom-book-1/"><span style="color: #1738f5; text-decoration: underline;"><b>the author’s website</b></span></a><b> or download the first 10 chapters onto your e-reader for FREE from </b><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/172832"><span style="color: #1738f5; text-decoration: underline;"><b>Smashwords.com</b></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; text-decoration: underline;">About <i>Dark Heirloom</i>:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">“You’re a vampire” is <i>so</i> not what Ema Marx wants to hear when she wakes from a two-day coma in a cryptic yet exquisite castle in northern Finland. Unfortunately, it explains a lot. Like why she’s able to see in the dark and walk through solid objects. What she doesn’t understand is why the other vampires expect her to have all the answers. It’s their fault she turned into one of them…right?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Jalmari’s hatred for his old-man intensifies when he’s ordered to bring that troublesome girl to their castle. He has a clan to run, there’s no time for babysitting newborn vampires no matter how they were converted to their culture. But when a two-thousand-year-old premonition threatens to take the crown and his life, Jalmari sees no other choice than to take out the catalyst. Ema Marx. Fortunately for Ema, she could also be the clan’s only savior.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The race to figure out her vampiric origins is on. And maybe she’ll get the hang of the blood-drinking gig along the way…</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>Dark Heirloom</i> is available in paperback and ebook from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Heirloom-Marx-Novel-ebook/dp/B007RS8M5I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1343074791&sr=8-2&keywords=dark+heirloom"><span style="color: #1738f5; text-decoration: underline;">Amazon</span></a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-heirloom-jd-brown/1111299333?ean=9780615623993"><span style="color: #1738f5; text-decoration: underline;">Barnes & Nobel</span></a>, and most other book retailers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; text-decoration: underline;">About the Author:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">J.D. Brown graduated from the International Academy of Design and Technology with a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her two Pomeranians. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, her writing is influenced by the multicultural urban society of her youth which she continues to visit each summer. J.D. loves paranormal characters; from vampires and werewolves, demons and angels, to witches and ghost. Her writings are often a combination of suspense and romance.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">J.D.’s books are available in print and ebook formats from Muse It Up Publishing Inc. and major book retailers. She loves to hear from readers. You can reach her via email to DarkHeirloom@gmail.com or visit her website at <a href="http://authorjdbrown.com/"><span style="color: #1738f5; text-decoration: underline;">http://authorjdbrown.com</span></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You can also connect with J.D. and get all the lasted news about <i>Dark Heirloom </i>and her other books by joining her facebook fan page at <a href="http://facebook.com/authorjdbrown"><span style="color: #1738f5; text-decoration: underline;">http://facebook.com/authorjdbrown</span></a></span></div>
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<br /></div>Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-65140719287164746952012-07-09T06:57:00.001-07:002012-07-09T06:57:52.595-07:00Jenna Storm Paranormal Romance Author: Lisa Blackwood's love for writing opened the door ...<a href="http://jennastorm.blogspot.com/2012/07/lisa-blackwoods-love-for-writing-opened.html?spref=bl">Jenna Storm Paranormal Romance Author: Lisa Blackwood's love for writing opened the door ...</a>: Welcome to my blog Lisa! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your passion for writing and the work you do with Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue...Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-768471342338295921.post-2451190258796078772012-07-09T06:56:00.002-07:002012-07-09T06:57:09.678-07:00Lisa Blackwood's love for writing opened the door to another passion: Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Welcome to my blog Lisa! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your passion for writing and the work you do with Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue. This sounds like a wonderful organization. </span></b></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Life Events and Writing</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">First off, hello Jenna and thanks for having me on your blog today!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As writers, one thing we hear a lot (or get asked a lot) is how life influences our writing. Today I’m going to talk a bit about the reverse: how writing influenced my life, or at least changed it up a little—in a good way.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3yyGvDUNYXnQkjOca2JkBxfo4OKScnATK-jvH6WRoLxkq2CCjjhQ92yyy-LSOaUAjL1YTINwi6rdH52awoGX1rQabGHdfUtq6T4wmM7zkke96ZDi7rnke0d3e0dcY3wN-izzs4yd3H8TU/s1600/betrayals-price333x500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3yyGvDUNYXnQkjOca2JkBxfo4OKScnATK-jvH6WRoLxkq2CCjjhQ92yyy-LSOaUAjL1YTINwi6rdH52awoGX1rQabGHdfUtq6T4wmM7zkke96ZDi7rnke0d3e0dcY3wN-izzs4yd3H8TU/s320/betrayals-price333x500.jpg" width="213" /></span></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">But I have to back track a little first—a few years actually. When I was first learning how to write, I submitted chapters of Betrayal’s Price to an online workshop where other writers could critique it and offer advice, suggestions, etc. One day, a fellow author mentioned that if my main character was supposed to be a ‘good’ horsewoman, could I please write the scenes that way. My horsey bits were off and she being a horseperson found it a tad annoying. She suggested I take some riding lessons or something along that line to help research the topic for my writing since my novel was a fantasy world with a medieval-type setting. And horses (or horse-like beings) were a main mode of transportation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Like most girls, I always thought horses to be among the most beautiful of creatures, but never had the opportunity to interact with them. So in a nutshell, I knew zip about horses or horsemanship. So that crit partner’s advice sounded like a good idea. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I didn’t run out and take riding lessons right away, but the idea was now on my to-do-one-day-in-the-not-so-distant-future list. It wasn’t too long after that suggestion when I first heard about a horse rescue run by a fellow Haldimand County employee, and thought, ‘why not volunteer and learn some horse stuff?’</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The horse rescue is <b>Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue</b> ( http://www.whhrescue.com/ ) and they use the Chris Irwin Methodology of training. It’s a training method for people more than horses (Chris even calls his workshops Equine-Assisted Personal Development. LOL) Here’s a snippet from his <b>website</b> (http://www.chrisirwin.com/ ) to better explain...</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“...Chris’s work involves the horse directly as a teacher. A horse’s respect, trust, focus and willingness is only earned when a human learns to balance their predator-based behaviors with the horse’s prey-based behaviors. What a horse needs to see in the one it willingly elects as its leader, be it horse or human, is the same character traits we want to see in ourselves. Learning to <i>be the better horse</i> translates literally, not just metaphorically, into becoming a better person.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When I sat in on my first clinic, there was talk of buttons (?) crossing lines (??), and where, when and how to aim your core (???) to move a horse without pulling on its lead rope or reins. Heck, you can do a lot without even touching the horse. To put it mildly, I was confused and a touch doubtful, but after seeing it in action I became a believer. Mind you, believing your eyes and actually mastering it yourself are two entirely different things. LOL.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Thankfully, horses naturally communicate using the silent ways of body language. In fact they ‘read’ the humans around them all the time, and unfortunately for us, we naturally speak ‘predator’ or ask for one thing verbally while our bodies are telling the horse something entirely different.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Two years later, I now know more about horses (maybe about 15 percent of what there is to know. LOL.) and I even adopted one. A sweet-natured six-year-old standdardbred named Oakley. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Yes, horses take more time from my already sadly anemic writing time, but they’ve enriched my life and my writing so much that the good far outweighs the bad. I look forward to continuing to become a better person through horses. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Humorously, one of the main characters in the sequel to Betrayal’s Price is a horse-like shapeshifter. I wonder how much Chris Irwin methodology has worked its way into the book that I’ve have to edit out since there is such as thing as too much non-plot related details. Oy!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">While you’re here, don’t forget to leave a comment and your email address for a chance to win a <b>FREE</b> copy of Betrayal’s Price.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Thanks for having me Jenna!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">If you’d like to know more about Lisa, pop by her <b>website</b> (http://www.lisablackwood.com/ ) or <b>blog (http://blackwoodsforest.wordpress.com/ )</b> and say hello.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>Jenna Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12004059347853255095noreply@blogger.com8