On the Broomstick: March 2014

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Raven's Blood Release Day Party and Giveaway

We’re happy to celebrate the release for paranormal romance novel “Raven’s Blood” today. Happy release day!

To celebrate the release, we’re also hosting a giveaway. Three lucky winners will each receive an eBook copy of “Raven’s Blood”. Scroll down to participate.

Book Excerpt

Connor was shocked when Raven took off. She skipped the overgrown trail and headed straight into the trees. He followed her, awed by her graceful movements. If he’d been human, he never would have been able to keep up with her. With each step she seemed to gain strength.

Connor finally caught her arm. “Slow down some, little nymph.”

“Why?” she asked with a radiant smile. “Are you having trouble keeping up with me?”

Connor stepped in closer to her body and leaned in until she was trapped against a tree by his much larger body. Her gasp made him smile. She had obviously noticed his erection pressed against her belly. “Vampires get excited by the chase,” he said. “It weakens my self control.”

Her eyes widened. “I thought you said you didn’t want an unwilling partner.”

“I don’t,” he said. “That’s why I would have to lay you down on the ground and lick every inch of your sweet body until you begged me to take you.”

Her pulse quickened and Connor couldn’t resist the temptation to lean forward and run his tongue across it. That made him even harder and he hadn’t thought that was possible. Damn, but she seemed to be considering letting him do it. The green tint to her cheeks seemed to deepen. Never in a million years would he have guessed that green tinted flesh would be a turn on. This hadn’t happened before, so he assumed it had something to do with her proximity to nature. He suddenly wondered if other parts of her body flushed green when she was excited. Damn, he really would love to strip her naked and find out.

Finally, she let out a shaky breath. “Sorry, I’ll move slower.”

He released her and adjusted his jeans. “We need to stop for a minute so I can get things under control,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she said nervously. “I wasn’t trying to do that to you.”

“You never are,” he said mostly to himself.

About the Book

Following the death of her wood nymph mother at the hands of vampires, Raven worked hard to build a life for herself in one of the few remaining human settlements. Her life takes a frightening turn when she finds herself an unwilling guest in a vampire settlement, but things are not anything like she expected them to be. Still, she cannot help but feel that her attraction to the vampire leader is a betrayal to her mother’s memory and her human friends.

From the moment Connor first laid eyes on Raven she has thrown his entire world off-balance. In order to prove his strength as a leader, he has no choice but to take her up on her offer to trade her freedom for that of her human friends. Having begun his life as a slave, he has no interest in keeping the wood nymph captive. As a man, he has no desire to feel this overwhelming attraction to a woman who hates him and his kind.

As Raven spends more time with the vampires, her feelings for Connor grow even stronger and Connor finds that she may be the one thing he cannot live without. Unfortunately, a new danger emerges that could threaten the survival of vampires and humans alike. As Connor struggles to unravel the mystery of the attacks from a new species of vampire, a madman will go to any lengths to get Raven’s blood.

Author Bio

Cassandra Lawson is an author and homeschooling mother of three from the San Francisco Bay area. She has always had a very active imagination and loves making up stories. When she is not writing she enjoys baking, spending time with her family, listening to music, or curling up with a good book.

Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Author_C_Lawson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cassandralawsonauthor
Blog: http://cassandralawson.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7103612.Cassandra_Lawson

Giveaway

Win one of 3 eBook copies of “Raven’s Blood” to celebrate the release day!

GLAMOUR

Stealing the life she’s always wanted

is as easy as casting a spell.

GLAMOUR:

Townie. That’s what eighteen-year-old Christina Sundy is. All year round she lives in a one-stoplight town on Cape Cod and when summer comes she spends her days scooping ice cream for rich tourists, who she hates. So when one of them takes a job in the ice cream shop alongside her, she’s pissed. Why does a blonde and perky Harvard-bound rich girl like Reese Manning want to scoop ice cream anyway?

Something else weird is happening to Christina: tiny blue sparks seem to be shooting off her fingers. It isn’t long before she realizes the truth about herself—she’s actually a powerful hereditary witch. But her newfound powers are too intense for her to handle and, in a moment of rage, she accidentally zaps Reese into another dimension.

So that no one will notice that the rich girl has disappeared, Christina casts a disguising spell, or “glamour,” and lives Reese’s life while she tries to find a retrieval spell. But as the retrieval spell proves harder than anticipated, and as she goes about living Reese’s life without anyone on the outside noticing the switch, Christina realizes that there’s nothing to stop her from making the glamour permanent... except, of course, her fellow witches, a 16th century demon, and, just maybe, her own conscience.

Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Kobo.com, OmniLit

Excerpt:

An absolutely stunning woman answered our knock. She was tall with dark, wild hair, and razor-thin. When she spoke, her voice was a whiskey-and-cigarettes rasp with a vague, untraceable accent.
“Well, if it isn’t the radiant Bridget Bishop,” the woman said. “Shouldn’t you be making ice cream or something?”
Bridget laughed. “Nadia, I miss you.”
They hugged like old friends. Not that I was jealous, but I was confused. How come I’d never heard of this person? I knew most of Bridget’s friends. It seemed she’d been keeping all the witchy aspects of her life secret from me lo these many years.
“So this is the kid.” Nadia looked at me. I caught a glimpse of her house behind her as she opened the door a little wider. Chelsea Lately played on her television.
“Nadia, this is Christina,” Bridget interjected. “She’s the most powerful natural witch I’ve ever seen.”
“Mazel tov. Another teenager who thinks she’s special and different.”
Bridget mock-whispered, “But this one really is.”
“Oh yeah?”
“She performed a quantum banishment. Accidentally.”
“Holy shit. Really?”
I was getting used to being talked about like I wasn’t even there.
“Christina’s powers have been firing off all summer,” Bridget continued. “She’s been casting these very classical spells, real old-school stuff, without even knowing it.”
Nadia took a second to absorb this. “I guess you should come inside then, huh?”

Interview:

1. How did you get started writing?

I started reading at four and wanted to be a writer since I was six, so basically I can’t remember why or remember a time when there was ever any other idea in my mind.

2. What are your favorite kinds of characters to write about?

I love writing flawed characters, who make mistakes and screw up constantly and are so far from perfect it would be sad if they weren't so god damn delightful in their own entertaining, sometimes regrettable ways.

3. Heels or flats?

Oh dear god, flats. I'm a walking tour guide by trade, so without arch support I am literally ruined.

4. Burgers or sushi?

Burgers.

5. Plotter or pantster?

Pantser these days. I find writing a fast rough draft takes less time than laboriously plotting and outlining, is less boring, and essentially amounts to the same thing.

6. What helps you develop your characters-do you start with them or develop them as the story goes on?

Definitely develop them as the story goes on. I'll start with a certain quality, or event, or even just a name, and work from there: an ambidextrous scooper, a woman living with a ghost, a failed artist, a name I saw on a gravestone that sounded like a lady detective. Then I build out.

7. Name three things on your desk.

A can of dust destroyer, business cards, and a pen.

8. Do you write to music?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I have no set routines.

9. What was your favorite scene in Glamour?

I love the scene where they visit Nadia!

10. What are you working on now?

A ghost story about a woman living in a haunted condo in Rockaway Beach (that's in Queens).

About the author:

Andrea Janes writes horror, dark comedy, thrillers, and historical slapstick. She is the author of Boroughs of the Dead: New York City Ghost Stories. She is also a licensed NYC tour guide, and offers a variety of ghostly tours around the city.

Her many obsessions include New York City history, old photographs, Mabel Normand, all things nautical, and beer. She maintains a personal blog over at Spinster Aunt, where she discusses these obsessions in more detail than is probably healthy.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Twas the Darkest Night Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway

My characters are either naked or dressed to kill. Given they’re all monsters stalking the city of New Gotham’s twisted, cracked, and cobbled streets, the criminal wardrobe is part of the job description. Rockabilly princesses, corpse brides, leather queens…my city is full of them.

Where do they get their menacing threads?

There is a boutique hiding out between the fractured, narrow store-fronts lining the foggy docks. The shingles are ribbed and black. Washed, peeling paint and displays offer views into wicked leather and lace studded glam. The mannequins are ghoulish beauties stitched together from whatever was left from the last fool to cross one of the sinister witches.

Push open its shabby, frosted front door. Tiny white flakes of paint will pepper the wind like spectral dust. The minute you set heel onto waxy polished oak floors and step into the candelabra fire-light you know…

This is where the magic happens.

Welcome to Sinister Stitches

“…apparel for a wicked fairy tale.”

A spicy trinity of black magic sisters breathe star-dusted dreams to life with their gothic apparel boutique. They are schooled in the old ways of “fabric-bending” by the Needlewitches of old. With this knowledge, they’ve created an entire line of clothing that all share the same basic design element: one-size fits all. Each garment will magically tailor itself to its wearer once worn. There might be some “twirling” required, but a vampire’s steady hand should turn every wardrobe change into a stolen moment.

Care to take a peek at what the Sinister Stitches has to offer?

Check out some of the questionnaire Marcella Burnard’s Isa from Nightmare Ink was asked to fill out after she wandered into Sinister Stitches.

THE WITCHES WHO STITCH QUESTIONNAIRE

Please provide the witches with your name: Isa Romanchzyk

Please provide the witches with the following:

Hair Color: Black

Hair Length: [ ] Short and Sassy, [ ] Medium and Modern, [X] Lush and Long

Eye Color: Dark brown/black

Skin Tone: [ ] Ghoulish, [ ] Snow White, [X] Cina-baby, [ ] Mochalicious, [ ] Dark Chocolate,

[ ] Other:__________

Please provide the witches with your measurements and body-type.

a.) Height: 5’7”

b.) Body Type: [ ] Skeletal, [x] Lean and Tender, [ ] Lean and Tough, [ ] Ripe and Edible

Do you have any extra extremities? Place an “X” to all that apply.

[ ] Horns or [ ] Halo

[ ] 20 ft. of Hair or More

[ ] Gills and Fins or [ ] Hooves

[ ] Wings (Span: )

[ ] Tail (How many: )

How many heads do you have? NOT funny. One. Physically. I don’t care what *he* says.

I’m still in the driver’s seat.

Do you have arms and legs? If so, how many?

Yes, of course, but I don’t…*glances down at full body tattoo of winged demon* uhm. Usual number. For the moment.

How dead are you? [X] Living, [ ] Undead, [X] Astral Form – extra-planar travel as pertains to the working of magic. Can’t be helped.

What are you? (Species/Breed)

No one really knows, right? I mean, genetically, we’re told we’re still human. Ish. But the fact that I draw things that come true … suggests more. And this guy? *Gestures to the gleaming emerald eye of her tattoo* He’s complicated.

What is the occasion? (Ideas include: Wedding, Funeral, Sabbath, etc. Oh, and seduction is a valid occasion. The more details, the better.)

Apparently, I’m to be used as a ‘key’ to open a door between worlds. I gather this will end in my demise, thus it’s likely to also be a family reunion of sorts. Unless you can do something that would turn away a silver knife blade? Or at worst, something my funeral director can wash the bloodstains from?

What’s the occasion setting? (Beach, haunted castle, grand ball, etc.)

The rusty, cold hold of a fishing boat/Astral (Otherworld, Dreamtime – whatever you’d like to call it.)

Will you be running for your life at some point in the evening? (Helps with shoe selection.)

No. I’d like to think so, but no. Chains are likely to figure into the restraint plan. My nemesis seems to have a limited imagination on that front.

Will you be set on fire? Better yet, will you be setting other people on fire?

How I wish I could set certain people afire. I can guarantee, however, that bolts of magic, including the odd curse, will be flung with malicious intent.

Will you be grave-robbing? (Dirt is a dressmaker’s tedium.)

No! Desecrate sacred ground?? Is that what you think of me?

Is your neck a dinner plate?

If the demon sewn to my skin is to be free, he must rip out my throat and take over my body.

Life for life. So when we say ‘dinner plate’, think in terms of ‘last supper’.

Do you hope to be naked at some point in the evening? (All right, dirty birds. Such questions are actually intended toward the weres and shifters in regards to their transformations.)

Not on purpose.

Describe your last brush with Death in two sentences. (Helps us plan for the unexpected.)

Tortured and starved for six weeks, which is when the Living Tattoo was forced upon me with the intent of stealing my magic and my life. Spider Woman forbade my death.

Do you need a secret compartment for weapons, wands, tampons, etc.?

No. I have more than enough secrets, thanks.

What are your three favorite colors?

Black, black, dark gray. What? I grew up in a conservative household. My piercing artist tries to get me to wear other colors. I just don’t see the point.

What two colors rattle your kettle?

Light blue, white

Please pick a style that you feel embodies you the best. If none apply, feel free to surprise us by providing your own brilliant description in the “other” slot.

[ ] Rockabilly Starlet: This is for the spoonfuls of sugar. The good-natured and naughty girl next door types. Candy is the business and fairy tales are ultimate. More often than not, her head is in the clouds and her nose in the book. Our dreamers.

[ ] Leather Queen: This is for the warrior princesses. The type of girls who give boys a run for their money and wear tight jeans just watch the little vampires come undone. Hands for fighting and these heels for ass-kickings. Our protectors.

[ ] Medieval Mistress: This is for the no-nonsense girls. The ones who know better because they’re ten steps ahead. They’re schemers—they might be shy, or they might not be. More importantly, they’re selective. Our wisdom.

[ ] Gothic Dame: This for the mysteries. The ones no one can quite make heads or tails out off. She’s a mixture, a melting pot of sugar and sinister. She might be Rockabilly Starlet one day, or a Medieval Mistress other days. Our sisters.

[X] Other: Hard working, barely getting by tattoo artist and extra-planar traveler. Brought up in the Navajo Nation by a trio of elders who taught me healing, chant, and trance work. Other cultures say ‘shaman’. Special consultant to the Seattle Police Department’s Acts of Magic Unit.

Who is your favorite fairy tale villain?

No favorites. Monsters are real. I’ve known too many of them. Sometimes, I think I may be one.

If you could be any fairy tale princess, who would it be?

Is there a fairy tale princess of normal? I’d like that. To have people not be afraid of me or the magic. If only for a few minutes.

Now, tell us the twit you hate most.

So many choices… the one who kidnapped and tattooed me – Daniel. No. The monster tattooed on Daniel. No! My cousin Charlie. Oh yeah. He’s the one. All right. I admit it. If I could desecrate his grave? We’d be designing a very different dress.

Anything else you’d like to add…

I mentioned the demon tattooed to my hide. He’s sharing my living space – my psyche, my body, fighting me for control. You’d think I’d hate him. I don’t. He’s only looking for freedom. And maybe revenge. Thing is, if I lose control and he wins, people will die. A lot of people. Is it possible to design some kind of warning system into the clothing? While I’m me and throwing sparks of amber magic, the clothes stay one color? But if his midnight dark magic takes over – I don’t know – can the clothes turn into a flashing DANGER sign?

After many barrels of chocolate, a dash of magic, and furious sewing…

Sinister Stitches’ Gothic Dame,

Madame Mari presents Isa’s Completed Dress

“Rebel Angel”

Spanish Jasmine, spectral dust and Bayou willow leaves circle the slender figure shrouded in the midst. Twin viceroy swallowtail wings stretch high over her back and the sweeping evergreen evening frock spun from clover and cannabis pales in comparison to the sheer utter majesty of true court: Welcome to Sinister Stitches, shugah. I’m Madame Mari. This is my little shop of sissorhands. Now then, let’s get with the stitchin’.

First, the outfit begins very simple. We’ve spun you a simple tight form-fitting asylum blouse. It’s woven from black sheep wool found right here in New Gotham and outfitted with a coating of specter dust. It should be stain resistant and offer a great deal of protection against things like...well, just about anything really. If it’s moving the speed of a bullet (or faster) it’ll pass right through body without leaving a scratch on your...or the threads.

Gillian the Candy Witch, and my beloved eldest, was in charge of your skirt. The mini-tutu petticoat skirt is fashioned from sable silk spun from black butterfly cocoons and brimstone crepe imported from The Veil. The fabric is light, soft, and slightly crinkled to give you that extra effortless sweet and sour silhouette. Expect two volume adding tiers with ruffled mesh frills at the hems.

As far as your query about a “danger sign,” all you need for that is an accessory, dear.

Astrid, my daughter, got in touch with her friend, Elsa the Troll, from Bits and Pieces. Together, they scoured the goblin markets in search of just the thing. Pay special close attention to the beaded necklace, dear.

While you’re in control, they will appear as mundane Neverland black pearls. In the event all...well, demon should break loose, they will glow white. That way everyone’s kettle is rattled and there’s a chance to save the day in time for tea.

We’ve paired the outfit with a pair of merfolk net stockings and my dear pup, Brenda, threw in your knee-high, patent leather hooker boots from Hellish Heels. According to her, one shouldn't stalk around hell on earth in anything else.

Here, take your dress box. No, no, it’s on the house, dear. You’ve made an old girl laugh and that’s worth the world to me. Come back and see us for tea, sometime. I’m sure, Brenda, would so love to share a snarky giggle or two.

IMPORTANT BULLETINS from THE PIXIES:

Fancy a tour of New Gotham? Check out New Gotham’s Survival Guide! It might save your life! (Link: http://sophieavett.weebly.com/new-gotham-bonus-content.html)

For more information about Sophie Avett’s New Gotham novels and Sinister Stitches series and recent release, ‘Twas the Darkest Night, please check out her website: http://www.sophieavett.weebly.com

For more information about Marcella Burnard and Isa’s adventures in Nightmare Ink, please check out her website: http://www.marcellaburnard.com/books.html

Image Credit(s): chaoss

Twas the Darkest Night

A New Gotham Novel

A Sinister Stiches Spin-off

Sophie Avett

Genre: Erotic Gothic Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Skeleton Key Publishing

Date of Publication: March 15, 2014

Number of pages: est. 355 pages

Word Count: est. 160, 000

Cover Artist: Elaina, For the Muse Designs

Book Description:

Remember the story about the troll who lived under the bridge—yes, well, that twit didn't have to pay rent.

Owner and operator of Bits and Pieces, and resident expert on charms and glamours, Elsa Karr is a witch with a sour frown and a list of things to do as long as Thor’s hammer. Top of the list is saving her father's shop from ruin. If she isn't trying to claw her way out of debt, she's arguing with her cat, Fenris, or shoveling carts of cake into her gob. She's not interested in romance or the vampire who rents the flat above her shop. All she wants is a little peace and chocolate--fine, all right! All right! The vampire is kind of screw all cute. (Curse him.)

The disgraced son and heir of the Wingates House vampire clan and a mad-man to boot, Marshall Ansley spends most of his time working and dodging his mother's phone calls. Marshall is beyond family. He's beyond everyone, actually. Don’t be daft, he especially doesn't do…Christmas. But behold, the plague brings an original flavor of annoyance this year when his boss tasks him with acquiring the account of a recluse fey and her upcoming Gothic clothing boutique, Sinister Stitches. That is the ONLY reason he's bothering with his shrewish landlord. No, that's it. No…really. Fine, if you insist, the witch might be a tad bit...all right, she's adorable. (Damn her.)

Scrooge meets Scrooge. Dominant meets Dominant. Tempers…spark. In each other, they may unfold a tale that only comes to pass on the darkest of nights.

About the Author:

Sophie Avett is kind of a nerd. Like not even one of the cute, hip ones everyone brags about nowadays. More like the socially awkward hippie who eats way too much bread and dreams about being a dragon from behind towers of mythology books. Um...yeah. Picture old, tattered paperbacks and comic books--mostly Batman and Wonder Woman--dwarfing a tiny desk, with just barely enough room for the troll who writes there and the 70 pound hell-hound that insists of laying it's wet nose on top of her bare foot.

Granted not the most exciting existence, but she tries to make up for it by writing romances populated with her own peculiar ilk of paranormal beasties. Trolls, wyverns, the obscure Nordic brownie--she likes to keep things interesting. And bloody. (And mostly naked--but, we'll keep that bit between us.)

Sophie Avett loves to hear from her readers. (Hi, mom.) So if there's something on your mind, feel free to leave a message after the scream.

http://sophieavett.weebly.com/about.html

(Mom, seriously…you can just call me.)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SophieAvett

Post-Its, the Blog: http://sophieavett.weebly.com/post-its-the-blog.html

Brimstone Pub, the Blog: http://thebrimstonepub.com/

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7779293.Sophie_Avett

Take a trip to New Gotham!

A paid vacation to New Gotham is an expensive affair. So, the ravens have decided to cover the cost of travel and fashion this delightful "Carriage Charm."

"Naked wizards and scheming vampires? Where do I sign?!" all the witches scream and random sparks of black magic crackle across the ceiling.

We're getting to that, dearies...

An Appointment for Tea with Mrs. Potts the Storymaven (aka Fairy Godmother) will require the use of the earrings the pixies have fashioned out of raven skulls, AKA, "Raven Ear-wings."

The baubles should land the winners in New Gotham's clock-tower square. It could be that they do nothing at all. Or you might end up in oblivion. Good luck with that. The crickets will read about it in the papers, no doubt.

“What do I have to do?” everyone screams and waves their good silver stakes in the air. (Good girls.)

How to Win the Vacation of a Lifetime...

You have to fill out information in the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of the tour stops

Win a Dress from Sinister Stitches!

Sophie Avett's ravens have partnered with the Witches-Who-Stitch to offer a special prize. It’s a dress featured in Sophie’s upcoming release, ‘Twas the Darkest Night. The sinister witches made it special for Elsa but after many carts of cake offered to the trinity in sacrifice, they have agreed to stitch an exact replica for one lucky witch.

“What do I have to do?!” everyone screams and fails theirs arms like deranged daisies. (Just go with it.)

How to Win a Dress...

You have to sign up via the Rafflecopter form that will be posted at the bottom of each and every Sinister Stitches Tour Stop

At the end of Sophie Avett’s Bewitching Book Tours campaign (March 17 to March 31 2014) the ravens will announce a winner and gather that witch's measurements via email.

Well?

What are you waiting for?

Every girl needs a dress for a wicked fairy tale.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

March 17 Guest blog

Erotica by Cori Vidae

http://www.corividae.com/shiny/

March 17 Spotlight

Book Liaison

http://www.bookliaison.net

March 17 spotlight

Sapphyria's Steamy Book Reviews