How to Date Dead Guys

How to Date Dead Guys by Ann Noser

Series: Under The Blood Moon

Genre: new-adult, urban-fantasy

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Date of Publication: July 15th, 2014

Cover Reveal: June 2nd, 2014

Blog Tour: July 14 - 25th, excluding weekends

Cover Artist: Alexandria Thompson (http://alexandriadior.deviantart.com/)

How to Date Dead Guys on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21856356-how-to-date-dead-guys?from_search=true)

Description:

College sophomore Emma Roberts remembers her mother’s sage advice:  “don’t sleep around, don’t burp in public, and don’t tell anyone you see ghosts”.  But when charming Mike Carlson drowns in the campus river under her watch, Emma’s sheltered life shatters.

Blamed for Mike’s death and haunted by nightmares, Emma turns to witchcraft and a mysterious Book of Shadows to bring him back.  Under a Blood Moon, she lights candles, draws a pentacle on the campus bridge, and casts a spell.  The invoked river rages up against her, but she escapes its fury.  As she stumbles back to the dorm, a stranger drags himself from the water and follows her home. And he isn't the only one. 

Instead of raising Mike, Emma assists the others she stole back from the dead—a pre-med student who jumped off the bridge, a desperate victim determined to solve his own murder, and a frat boy Emma can’t stand…at first.  More comfortable with the dead than the living, Emma delves deeper into the seductive Book of Shadows.  Her powers grow, but witchcraft may not be enough to protect her against the vengeful river and the killers that feed it their victims.

Inspired by the controversial Smiley Face Murders, HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS will ignite the secret powers hidden deep within each of us.

How To Date Dead Guys Purchase Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.com/1620075199 

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1620075199

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-date-dead-guys-ann-m-noser/1119938862?ean=9781620075197

BOOK OF SHADOWS

In the book How to Date Dead Guys, Emma uses a witchcraft guide known as the Book of Shadows to raise the dead. Although I am not a witch, I spent a good deal of time researching the craft. I wanted every spell, candle, and symbol Emma used to have a real basis in the practice of witchcraft.

The Book of Shadows is a real thing.

Whether or not you believe in it is up to you…

A Brief History Lesson You Probably Didn't Learn in High School

Gerald Gardner, the "Father of Modern Wicca", began work on a scrapbook of magical instructions entitled Ye Bok of Ye Art Magical between 1945-1950. Doreen Valiente, the High Priestess of his Bricket Wood coven, helped him with revisions.

She claimed that Gardner reverted to the title Book of Shadows after discovering the term in a magazine article describing how to foretell the future based upon the length of a person's shadow.

Early on, a single copy of the Book existed for each coven, kept by the High Priest or Priestess. When a witch died, her Book of Shadows was to be destroyed to avoid detection.

Starting in the 1970s, it became much more common for solitary practitioners to each possess their own copy of the Book.

Although Gardner is credited with the idea and the original title, now the term Book of Shadows can mean several different things. Some Wiccans use it to refer to a personal journal of rituals and spells, rather than a traditional text. Those who utilize copies of Gardner's original Book may add rituals and teachings, but typically nothing is ever removed.

The term Book of Mirrors refers to a separate magic book, used to collect thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

Popular Culture References

The 1996 film The Craft referred to a special book where a witch keeps her spells and "power thoughts". Interesting trivia about the movie claims that filming was interrupted by strange happenings, including flocks of bats, altered tides, and power outages. Real witchcraft rites and language were used, since the actress Fairuza Balk (a practicing Wiccan) wanted to make the movie feel as realistic as possible.

Perhaps the most famous use of a Book of Shadows was in the television series Charmed. From 1998 to 2006, the well-dressed Halliwell sisters (Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs, and Shannen Doherty/Rose McGowan) used their "Power of Three" and their 300-year-old (note the timeline discrepancy) Book to fight paranormal evil.

How to Date Dead Guys Reference

Emma first encounters a Book of Shadows when her roommate's younger sister comes to visit. That night, when the three young women perform a love spell, Emma is the most skeptical.

After her would-be boyfriend Mike drowns in the Chippewa River, Emma turns to witchcraft and the same mysterious Book of Shadows to bring Mike back. The invoked river revolts, and spits out a stranger instead. The dead guy drags himself from the water and follows her home. And he's not the only one.

To help those she raised from the dead, Emma delves deeper into the seductive Book of Shadows.

But as her powers grow, so does her dependence on the Book. Everything has a cost. Will Emma be able to pay it?

--

About the Author:

My to-do list dictates that I try to cram 48 hours of living into a day instead of the usual 24.  I’ve chosen a life filled with animals.  I train for marathons with my dog, then go to work as a small animal veterinarian, and finish the day by tripping over my pets as I attempt to convince my two unruly children that YES, it really IS time for bed.  But I can’t wait until the house is quiet to write; I have to steal moments throughout the day.  Ten minutes here, a half hour there, I live within my imagination.

Like all busy American mothers, I multi-task.  I work out plot holes during runs.  Instead of meditating, I type madly during yoga stretches.  I find inspiration in everyday things:  a beautiful smile, a heartbreaking song, or a newspaper article on a political theory.  For example, a long drive in the dark listening to an NPR program on the SMILEY FACE MURDERS theory made me ask so many questions that I wrote HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS to answer them to my satisfaction.

I’d love to have more time to write (and run, read, and sleep), but until I find Hermione Granger’s time turner, I will juggle real life with the half-written stories in my head.  Main characters and plot lines intertwine in my cranium, and I need to let my writing weave the tales on paper so I can find out what happens next.

Social Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

(website: http://annandersonnoser.blogspot.co.uk/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnMNoser

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8124757.Ann_M_Noser)

Goodreads Book Giveaway

How To Date Dead Guys

by Ann M. Noser

Giveaway ends August 14, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

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Invoking Nonna: Tripple Goddess Series Book 1

        Title: Invoking Nonna

        Author: Sage Adderley

        Series: Triple Goddess Series (Book 1)

        Genre: YA, Paranormal

        Paperback: 186 pages

        Publisher: Sweet Candy Press; 1ST edition (December 20, 2013)

        ISBN-10: 0989709825

        ISBN-13: 978-0989709828

Book Description

Maggie Sloan is a free-spirited teenager growing up in rural Georgia. Unlike her peers, Maggie is a witch and so is her mother. In addition to normal teenager rites of passage, she must learn about her family lineage and witchcraft. Her mother, Laura, keeps a tight lid on their family secrets - like the mysterious life and death of her grandmother who passed away before Maggie was born.

Practicing the craft will test solid friendships and introduce Maggie to new realms. While seeking the truth about herself and her family, Maggie is faced with danger from churchgoing classmates who will stop at nothing to make sure she is found out. Laura and Maggie strengthen their bond through witchcraft and work together to overcome their enemies. Are their magical gifts enough to keep them safe?

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5Dnc1YczF0

Purchase Links:

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Invoking-Nonna-Sage-Adderley/dp/0989709825

Etsy (print & digital available) - https://www.etsy.com/shop/sage

Excerpt

My heart sank as Ruby stood there holding the blue book with the pentacle and a very confused expression. Oh man, why couldn’t Ruby keep her hands to herself? She always looked through my stuff. Normally, I didn’t have anything to hide, so I didn’t think too much about it. I had completely forgotten about the witchcraft book.

I took in a deep breath and just decided to go with it. “Yeah, I’ve been reading about Wicca.”

“What? Since when and why haven’t you told me about it?”

I ran my fingers through the madness on my head, and sighed. I knew this day would come, and I tried to pre- pare myself for the million questions that Ruby would fling at me. I sat on my bed and fiddled with the strings on my pink pajama pants.

“I started seeing these twinkles from the corner of my eye. They were like tiny sparkles of light that flashed quickly around my head. I thought I had low blood sugar and I was getting light headed, but it even happened when I felt physically fine. I tried to explain the sparkles with a rational reason, but I have yet to come up with one.”

“Wait, you see sparkles, and now you read about witchcraft. Call me crazy, but I am not seeing the connection here, Maggie.”

For the first time ever, Ruby was looking at me as if I had gone full blown nuts. I had no idea how to explain my- self or to transfer my thoughts into words that would make sense to her because honestly, I had a hard time understanding things myself. I am reacting on emotion and gut feelings - two things that can be hard to describe to other people not experiencing them. I sat down on the ground and took a deep breath and tried again.

“Ruby, I just feel different. When I see those sparkles, it’s as though I have a higher awareness of what is going on around me. I feel light, almost as though I am floating. It feels ... it feels really awesome.”

I could see Ruby’s brows crunching together, and her head tilts to one side. She was trying very hard to understand me. I saw her lightly nibbling on her bottom lip which meant she was unsure, but sympathetic to her best friend who just came out of the witchcraft closet.

“Well, have you cast any spells?”

Ruby sat down across from me and waited for my response. I picked up the book on Wicca and thumbed through some of the pages. I was waiting for words of wisdom to roll off my tongue.

“When you go to church with your family, do you feel something? Do you feel God?”

Ruby thought for a moment, “I guess so. I mean, I believe in God.”

“See, when I go to church or read about God, I don’t feel anything and it just doesn’t make sense to me. But this, this book makes sense to me. It just feels right.”

“Does your mom know?”

One confession was enough for today. I wouldn't open up the can of worms about my mom being a witch, too.

“No and I’d like to keep it that way for now. And that goes for everyone else, too. Not even Rhiannon!”

Ruby held her hand up in a gesture promising she would not peep a word. I wondered if she thought differently of me now. Ruby was one of the kindest humans I know. I’d be surprised if this shook up things between us.

And it didn’t.

Guest Post:

As I tossed around ideas for my young adult novel, I was positive that I wanted to write about an adolescent witch. I tried to think of what my teenage self would have wanted to read. Like my main character, Maggie Sloan, I grew up in a rural town in Georgia and stood apart from most of my classmates because of basic things like, music preference, clothing, and brightly colored hair. I would have loved to read about an alternative teen while going to school with pretty conservative-minded kids.

Being a teenager is awkward enough without having to worry about discrimination or harassment because of gender, race, class, religion, or sexual preference. I wanted a relatable character for a teen witch or any young person feeling out of place. Maggie is a 15-year-old on a journey to find herself while partaking in a magical world despite the odds set against her.

I adore fairy tales and fantasy, but I decided to focus on the realism of witchcraft when writing my book. No pumpkins turning into golden carriages or flying monkeys – but those are great, too! While I am not a practicing Wiccan, I do identify as a Pagan and I’m very familiar with the Wiccan path. I think presenting the facts behind the nature-based religion is important and made sure that stayed a priority throughout the story.

It was crucial for me to depict a witch practicing white magic and being mindful of how her actions would affect others. I wanted to emphasize the importance of being ethical while identifying as a witch and casting spells. And hopefully, I can reach a reader that may have some false preconceptions about “real life” witches.

I strived to maintain a respectful presence for all religions. I also played with the dynamic between two best friends who are involved in polar opposite religions. So yeah, maybe I have a not-so hidden message of let’s be kind to each other despite our differences.

It was heart warming to receive positive feedback from Christians who normally don’t read about witches and enjoyed Invoking Nonna. Likewise, I received reviews from witches who were excited to read a realistic portrayal of a witch.

I might be a little biased, but Invoking Nonna is an enthralling story with magic, mystery, and some paranormal interactions. Maggie is on a mission to search for her family’s history in order to unlock secrets that have been tucked away for years and repair the fractured relationship with her mother.

Follow Sage:

Website – http://sageadderley.com/

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7559413.Sage_Adderley

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MyNameIsSage

Twitter - https://twitter.com/sageadderley

Author Bio

Sage Adderley is a single (and very busy) mom of three humans and one cat. She is passionate about kindness, coffee, mental health, fat activism, and the DIY lifestyle. Sage is the owner of Sweet Candy Distro & Press, Sage's Blog Tours, and writes the zines Tattooed Memoirs and Marked For Life. She is also the creator of FAT-TASTIC! Sage currently resides in the magical land of Olympia, Wa.

Pure and Sinful Virtual Tour

Pure and Sinful

By Killian McRae

Book Description:

Statistician Riona Dade knows all about probabilities. Still, even she'd tell you the chances of discovering you’re a witch, being appointed to the demon-slaying trio known as the Pure Souls, and finding yourself sinfully attracted to a catholic priest who uses amen and other four-lettered words with equal enthusiasm are pretty slim. Also learning your ex was once Hell’s first-round draft pick, and realizing you're a prize catch for Satan’s soul-damning quota leaves a girl feeling like she just won the lottery while being struck by lightning while riding a unicorn across Atlantis.

Trying to keep her mind off role playing the Thornbirds with Father Angeletti, Riona leads the Pure Souls against a maniacal menagerie of Mephistopheles’s minions plaguing greater Boston. Giving in to lust is a direct flight to damnation for both her and the priest, leading Riona to distract herself by striking up a romance with her new, foxy neighbor, Lucy. But she can't shake her attraction to Marcello, and as the tension between them grows thicker than a lumberjack’s beard, temptation may become too difficult to resist.

How long can they deny the pull growing between them, knowing there will be Hell to pay? 

Book Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc-lnD1Kx3I

As Dee sauntered away, Riona focused on the priest’s expression. He wasn’t in his collar and coat today, but always carried the air of the clergyman within to some degree, like he wore his collar on the inside.

“How did you end up here?”

She took in the rugged cut of his jaw, the stubble that showed he hadn’t shaved in a day or two. He wasn’t bad looking by any measure, and he probably could have been quite the heartbreaker if he wasn’t a man of God. His eyes weren’t brown, they were black, and glistened like onyx pendants. A firm jaw and supple lips were likely often employed more for battling the fires of Hell than fanning the flames of lust. Nevertheless, the tools were there to be used, if he so desired. For a man of the cloth, he sure cut that cloth fine.  The priest rose to what she considered the perfect height, had a body not too muscular, but hardly milk toasty, and a swagger in his walk that would make a lady think he could move his body in all the ways the good Lord intended.

If only his collar and his personality weren’t pressed with double starch.

“Paolo’s is the best pizza in town. Trust me on that, I’m Italian.” Sarcasm wasn’t his most attractive trait, but it was one of the most prominent.

“Don’t deflect the question,” Riona commanded with a click of her tongue. “I mean being one of the Pure Souls. I know how you found me…”

“… secured in a straitjacket and pending shipment to a cushy psychiatric facility?”

She crossed her arms and grimaced, wondering suddenly if the hex she’d learned to give demons jock itch would work on humans. “Look, you walk through the steel wall of a meat locker and try to explain it to the police in a way that doesn’t get you 5150’ed, and then you can talk. But, I mean, a priest? Isn’t the Catholic Church, you know, kind of not kosher with the whole magical powers and battling goblins thing?”

“Technically, the Catholic Church isn’t kosher with anything,” he returned. “Kosher’s a Jewish thing, not that I think the people of the book are anymore approving of mortal combat with the spawn of Hell. I was born into it. Magic is a birthright, you know. It shows up in my family every couple of generations. Just like being a priest - like my father before me, and his father before him.” 

Character Interview:

McRae: It was a difficult task for me to decide whom to interview for this post today. My thoughts, of course, turned firstly to the three demon-fighters themselves, the Pure Souls. Unfortunately, at this time Riona Dade is inconsolable and Dee  Zitka is being all over-protective-big-brother-leave-her-alone-y. I would have called Jerry Romani, but last time he got ahold of my phone number he kept texting me less-than-appropriate messages and pictures. (I will never be able to get the image of him and that platter of Egg Fu Young out of my head. Seriously, the bleach required would make Clorox shares hit all-time highs.) Luckily Archangel Ramiel, the official liaison between Heaven and the Pure Souls, agreed to sit down with me.

Ramiel: I’m getting paid for this, right?

McRae (chuckles uncomfortably): We agreed I’d slip you a twenty. Like you have any need of money.

Ramiel: I don’t really have a need for food either, but you try coming between me and a tray of White Castle hamburgers and see which one of us walks away the wiser.

McRae: We’ll settle up later. Now, be good.

Ramiel: (winks) Always, baby. You know that.

McRae: Of course. Anyways, in Pure & Sinful we learn a lot about Riona, Dee, Marc, and even the sexy but sinister Jerry Romani, but you sort of dance around the edges of their story. At one point, someone mentions that you’re not allowed to get involved directly in Pure Soul battles. Can you tell us why that is?

Ramiel: Well, ya, it’s basically like fielding a baseball team. I can practice with them, give them insights and the benefit of my own experience, and teach them every dirty trick I know. When it comes time to take the field, they’re on their own. It’s all set out in the Heaven-Hell Accords.

McRae: (looks back through notes)  Right, that’s another thing I wanted to ask you about. The HHA. What are those exactly?

Ramiel: Just an agreement between both Councils of Seven about the regulations of the Elites – that’s the Archangels on Heaven’s side, and the Grigori on Hell’s side – what we can do, can’t do. What the definition of sin is, what gets one damned. Oh, and it also sets out all the rules of engagement for the Pure Souls on Earth versus Lucifer’s minions.

McRae: But it was only drafted in the sixteenth century. Humans have been judged upon their deaths for eons before that.

Ramiel: True, but up until that time, hardly anyone lived in a society where they had a choice of belief systems. The line between damnation and getting short-listed for Heaven was pretty clear cut. After that, things began getting mottled. Both sides laid claim the same soul. Big Boss wanted to advance our policies and become more inclusive, but Lucifer insisted he was owed what was due him under the old rules. The accords allowed us to grandfather in some belief systems – the Catholic Church, for example, while making salvation a more one-size-fits-all thing.

McRae: So it’s some sort of deified detente then?

Ramiel: Yeah, I guess you could say that. We drafted, negotiated, finalized, then both sides signed.

McRae: Signed? Like an actual physical piece of paper?

Ramiel: What do you think? We’re pretty up on the technology curve, but the only Apple either side had back then already had teeth marks in it.

McRae: And who’s your mediator?

Ramiel: (so totally feigning deafness) Excuse me?

McRae: Your independent third party. Someone who doesn’t benefit on either side, and mediates any disputes. Surely given the contentious nature of angels- both revered and fallen-you wouldn’t have overlooked that part.

Ramiel: That information is classified.

McRae: But-

Ramiel: NEXT question, Ms. Author. I’m going to be like Fort Knox on that particular.

McRae: (shifts, clears throat) Um, okay, fine. But you should know, I have other sources willing to talk to me on that issue. I think you know of whom I speak.

Ramiel: (raising eyebrow) Persephone doesn’t know anything.

McRae: (scrawls on paper) Per-seph-on-e. Right, then. (looks up) I wanted to ask you about something that happened… Well, something that almost happened in Pure & Sinful. At one point, you make a play at bedding Riona, but claim afterwards you only did it to get her to admit to her feelings for Marcello Angeletti. Is that true?

Ramiel: Absolutely. I never would have carried through with it. Angels only sleep with humans they’re willing to take a metaphorical bullet for. The act usually leads to negative consequences.

McRae: I’m also curious that, in that scene, though your plot succeeds a Riona turns you down because of how she feels for Marc, she admits to being totally attracted to you in dangerous ways. Is there a particular reason for that?

Ramiel: Screwed up chemistry.

McRae: Really? Do tell.

Ramiel: Okay, well angels, Archangels in particular, are more closely descended from the Light. The divine spark, whatever you want to call it. Human women in the child-bearing years of their sexual lives can pick up on that on a very primal level. The desire to screw us has nothing to do with pleasure. It’s all to do with reproduction. I know, not really that sexy when it comes down to it.

McRae: And would that work?

Ramiel: My plumbing is fine, Killian.

McRae: I mean the reproducing part.

Ramiel: (looking disapprovingly) You played an angel in the Christmas Pageant when you were ten. What do you think?

McRae:  Touché. So, you’ve never slept with a human then?

Ramiel: Mess around? Yes? Fool around with other non-human things? You bet your sweet bippy. Actually consummate with a human? No en perpetua. Seen others do it, always turns out badly in the end.

McRae: Kinda like it did this time?

Ramiel: (bolting up) Okay, this interview is over.

Okay, that was great. Thanks for joining me on the blog today and I hope you find Pure and Sinful as exhilarating as I did.

 

About the Author:

Killian McRae would tell you that she is a rather boring lass, an authoress whose characters’ lives are so much more exciting than her own. She would be right. Sadly, this sarcastic lexophile leads a rather mundane existence in the San Francisco Bay Area. She once dreamed of being the female Indiana Jones, and to that end she earned a degree in Middle Eastern History from the University of Michigan. However, when she learned that real archaeologist spend more time lovingly removing dust with toothbrushes from shards of pottery than outrunning intriguing villains with exotic accents, she decided to become a writer instead. She writes across many genres, including science fiction, fantasy, romance, and historical fiction.

facebook fan page: 

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Goodreads: 

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