The Cuteness It Burns

You've been warned! There is no escape now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It just goes to show you cute comes in all shapes and sizes.

Annie Nicholas
www.annienicholas.com

Scent of Salvation releasing from Samhain Publishing on July 30th.

Love blooms across species, culture, and time.

 

 

Can a Statue Be Cursed? My Encounter

Photo Courtesy of ImTyUk 2013

I had said last month this was going to be my topic for July, so it was fortuitous that the 3000 year old statue of  Neb-Senu in the Manchester Museum started mysteriously turning in its display case every night. In the mornings the statue will be found with its back facing out, while the other statues on the same glass shelf haven't budged an inch. The statue rotates exactly 180 degrees each night and not an inch more. Speculation surrounds the fact that the back of the statue is inscribed with a request for bread, beer, oxen and fowl and has taken to turning around so people will see his demand. Maybe he's worked up quite an appetite in all those centuries?

Photo Courtesy ImTyUk 2013

I don't get any vibes from looking at photos of Neb-Senu. If he's cursed, he's pretty mild about it. I recently had a statue in my house - briefly - that seemed to be really something else.

Since I write paranormal romance books set in Ancient Egypt, I'm always on the lookout for what I call "Egyptiana" - replicas of Egyptian statues or jewelry, or items with Egyptian themes, ranging from vintage advertising to Disney snowglobes. I like to use the items as illustrations for blogs and sometimes as the topic of the blog post, as with my Dick & Liz Cleopatra and Mark Antony Paperdolls from the 1960's.  I can't afford the real stuff, which belongs in museums anyway!

Recently I bid for and won an unusual statue of the Crocodile God Sobek on eBay. There's no photo of it to share - sorry. The eBay photo is long gone and I never took even one shot with my camera. Before I tell you what happened the day the box arrived, let me preface the story with the fact that my family is of Irish descent and the women, including me, have a touch of the "sight." No, I can't pick lotto winners or tell your future, but from time to time I get "feelings" or outright psychic flashes and I absolutely pay attention to them.

So when the mailman delivered the box, I eagerly tore into the wrappings and soon was lifting the statue out onto the table. I couldn't put it down fast enough. My two cats left the room in a hurry. I had a definite sense of unease and foreboding. Now I love Sobek. He's become kind of a good luck charm for me, since my first published book, "Priestess of the Nile",  had him as the hero. I have a variety of representations of him. So it wasn't anything to do with the fact that this was the Crocodile God.

The statue was about 12" tall, in a black stone or resin and depicted an unusually cruel-looking Sobek, half man, crocodile headed, with a much smaller woman standing in front of him, classic Egyptian sculptural style. I have no reason to believe it was anything but a replica of a genuine artifact.

And it made me extremely uneasy. Gooseflesh uneasy. I didn't even take it into the room upstairs where I keep my collection, to think about it for a day or two. I did not want this statue moving upstairs. OK, I thought, I'll put it in the Goodwill box for now and then eventually I'll give it to them. As I went to place the statue in the box, it was almost as if someone standing next to me said don't keep the statue in the house at all, not even overnight. So I didn't. I put the thing outside, on the opposite side of the iron gate and in the morning I detoured on my way to the day job to put the statue in the nearest Goodwill collection spot less than a mile from home.

(My theory is that the charities do so much good that their blessings cancel out any less-than-benign influences, ok?)

I pondered this for a day or two and then I e mailed the eBay Seller to ask if there was anything unusual about the statue, or any history about it that he might be aware of. I made it clear I wasn't going to return it. He said that his wife and daughters were extremely "upset" by the statue, wouldn't let him keep it and insisted he sell it immediately! He said it never bothered him to look at it. And that was all the information there was to be had.

So,  dear Reader, what do you think?

Never Give Up, Never Surrender

I’ve been catching up on Glee since …well I think the last episode I watched was Rocky Horror Glee.

It’s been a while.

Anyways, I’ve been catching up with Glee on Netflix.

This week I heard Will Scheuster say this to Finn Hudson

“It’s not the broken dreams which break us. It’s the ones we don’t dare to dream.”

This quote spoke to me on so many levels because this year I made one of my goals come true when I sold to Harlequin.

I absolutely refused to sit there and “let” my dream come to me.

I never wanted to look back and regret it.

Plus the voices in my head wouldn’t let me.

I’m where I am because of hard work and never giving up. Rejections, sure I’ve got them. Any writer worth their salt gets them.

Bad reviews. Yep, got those too and though they sting it’s part of being an author.

I move past them after some chocolate. I don’t lash out.

I hold my head up high and work harder.

And I’m going to keep working hard, bettering myself, learning and becoming an even better author.

This is what I signed up for the moment I decided to become an author. This is what I wanted.

And I hope I write until I drop and it will be a life without regrets.

The point of this little ramble is to hopefully inspire aspiring writers or even just people who are trying to obtain any goal in their life.

Don’t give up the dream because you’re scared. You’ll regret it if you do.

And I’ll leave with a bit of an inspirational song:

You can find out more about Amy here: Website: http://www.amyruttan.com Twitter: @ruttanamy Blog: http://amyruttan.blogspot.com

Spotlight on Lorelei's Song by Maureen O. Betita

Discover a hidden gem with a little something extra for the kink and the play, so what does happen when the sons of Cthulhu stalk a siren? 

Nicholas and Jerrod already know that what others consider a normal human experience is far from the insanity of their heritage. Yet, they still have hope for change. The answer to the primal drive that is slowly tearing their humanity away may rest in that opulent hotel preparing to host its first steampunk convention.

Lorelei is bored and well aware of how she appears; a spoiled, rich girl whose sexual tastes run toward the twisted and unpleasant. Looking to cure the discontentment winding through her soul, she arrives at the convention hoping for diversion. Instead, she finds Nicholas and Jerrod.

When the sons of Cthulhu stalk the daughter of a siren, the world shakes.

Amazon | All Romance | Decadent | Barnes & Noble

The Mercy Moon: When and Where?

Last month, we talked about the characters in our "novel in development", The Mercy Moon, so this month we're turning to the setting. While The Mercy Moon is set in today's world, it's definitely today's world with a great big twist: werewolves are real (which isn't much of a stretch for readers of this blog, who are used to seeing vampires, werewolves, demons, and the like). 

These werewolves have their own culture and hierarchy, and their contact with the human world is limited. There are six clans ruled over by the wolf king, and each has their own leader. To be alpha is both a trait and a role, and the king is the most alpha of all—something that will surely cause problems for Audamar and Soren. 

Generally, there is no shame in being omega. However, taking on the status of omega in punishment isn't unheard of. To be in disgrace (in ungnade) and forced to take on the role of omega is a difficult position to be in. 

And that's going to cause problems for Audamar and Soren too…

About Us

Anah Crow and Dianne Fox write sci-fi, paranormal, and contemporary queer romance for Carina Press, Samhain Publishing, and Amber Allure. They’ve been writing together for more than 10 years. You can find them on the web at anahcrowdiannefox.com and on Twitter at @anahcrow and @diannefox.

Angels, demons, sex. Heaven, hell, war. And a giveaway.

Angels, demons, sex. Heaven, hell, war. Blood and royalty, history and magic, fire and ice. And a story you cannot put down. This is fantasy at its best.

—Stephen Graham Jones, author of It Came From Del Rio

The quote above is for the first book in my Arkhangel'sk trilogy, The Fallen Queen, but it's even more appropriate for the final book, The Armies of Heaven, which I'm excited to say is now available. To celebrate the release, I’m giving away prizes to three different winners on my blog tour: a $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble or Amazon, a complete set of print books of The House of Arkhangelsk trilogy, and a collector’s edition of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen illustrated by Vladyslav Yerko. Just enter via the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the post. This giveaway is international.

In Heaven, all hell has broken loose…

Full-scale war has broken out in Heaven, and Anazakia must embrace her destiny, leading an army of Virtues into battle against a Host of enemies to restore the House of Arkhangel’sk.

Furious with her for putting her trust in the angel who has done them all irreparable harm, Vasily tries to ignore his growing resentment, while Belphagor returns to the world of Man with a cadre of beautiful androgynous Virtues to restore the sundered alliance between the Fallen and the gypsy underground. Without their help in enlisting the terrestrial forces of Grigori and Nephilim, Anazakia’s Virtues are hopelessly outnumbered.

But there are more things in Heaven and Earth than any of them have dreamt of, and those they cannot see will mean the difference between victory and losing everything.

EXCERPT:

After Anazakia had fallen asleep snuggled against him, Vasily extricated himself and made a quiet exit, heading into the woody area beyond the lakeshore for a walk to blow off some steam before he ended up melting the tent.

The pain of believing he’d lost her had been supplanted by mounting anger at Belphagor. It had been building since the first night at the lake when Belphagor had admitted—only after Vasily had demanded to know what was going on, since it was obvious he was up to something—that he intended to take his little “fall.” He refused to say anything more, as if Vasily had no right to know. In all the years they’d been together, this secretiveness, this refusal to fully let Vasily in, remained his most irritating trait. And Belphagor knew it fueled Vasily’s worst trait—his jealousy and insecurity—yet he persisted in it.

Training that pretty Virtue of his as a submissive was bad enough. Belphagor said Loquel had asked him to. It wasn’t sexual, he claimed, and that much Vasily could believe; as often as Belphagor had wandered in the years before their breakup, he had a type, and Loquel was far too feminine for him. Though it still drove Vasily mad with jealousy to think of someone else kneeling before Belphagor, at least he’d told Vasily about it and given him the option to veto the relationship. If Vasily found it too upsetting, Belphagor had promised, he’d tell Loquel no.

Try as he might, however, Vasily couldn’t stop thinking about the sleek and sinewy Misha touching Belphagor when he’d found him in the Unseen World. They had a history together that, unsurprisingly, Belphagor had told Vasily nothing about until the leshi sought him out in St. Petersburg. Misha had been Vasily’s replacement while they were apart.

Vasily had stopped to relieve himself, watering the ground harshly as if it were the object of his resentment, when he heard a crack in the brush behind him. He jerked his head around to find Belphagor watching him from a few feet away.

“What the hell are you doing skulking around behind me?”

Belphagor gave him a devilish smile. “Just admiring your aim.”

He thought he was so damned cute. Vasily turned, still pissing, and let it splatter Belphagor’s boots.

“Ne baluysya!” Belphagor swore as he jumped back. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Guess my aim isn’t that great after all,” Vasily growled. “I meant that to be higher.”

Belphagor’s dark eyes were bright with anger in the moonlight. “All right, malchik, let’s have it out.”

Vasily buttoned up, glaring fire at him. “It’s not enough you lie to me. You have to tell her to lie to me, too?”

“I haven’t lied to you about anything. And I didn’t tell Nazkia to lie to you. I just suggested she leave out the bit about Misha because I knew you’d overreact.”

“Oh, so now you’re the judge of what an appropriate reaction is.”

“You just pissed on my shoes. You don’t think that’s a little over the top?”

Vasily breathed out a thin sigh. “You almost left me for him, Bel. After everything. After Ola—” His voice caught on the name and he took a step back, horrified to realize he was on the verge of tears.

Belphagor’s demeanor changed instantly. “Lyubvi moyey.” He stepped toward Vasily with his hand held out. “We’ll find her.”

Vasily wanted to slap the hand away, to stay angry, because anger didn’t hurt, but Belphagor’s fingers brushed his and Vasily was in his arms in a heartbeat.

Belphagor held him tightly. “She’ll be home soon. Everything’s going to be all right. I promise.”

He hated when Belphagor made promises about things he couldn’t control, but this once, he let it go. This time, a lie was what he needed.

“And I didn’t almost leave you.” Belphagor kissed his throat, as high as he could reach without pulling Vasily’s head down or pushing him to his knees, and whispered against his skin. “I will never leave you. I thought you were leaving me, and I was being a fool once more and letting you go. But I have no intention of doing that ever again, either.”

With Vasily’s defenses down, it took him completely by surprise when Belphagor grabbed his locks at the crown and twisted, spinning him onto one knee.

Stepping in and pinning the leg with his boot, Belphagor forced Vasily to look up at him, his face the hard stone that made Vasily’s spine tingle—among other things. “You are to trust me, malchik. Ponimayesh?” He loosened his grip just enough to let Vasily nod. “I will never do anything to hurt you. That we haven’t agreed on.” The addition of the last phrase made Vasily weak with need. A slight smile crept into the dark glint of Belphagor’s eyes. “And if you ever pee on me again, Vasya…so help me, I’m going to make you sorry in a way you won’t like.”

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Full On...

Summertime!

Wow the 4^th has come and gone! Summer is moving way, way too fast for me because I love the heat—sweat and all. I even got the chance to enjoy having the holiday off coupled with a regular day off which doesn’t happen often in my working life. But, stupidly, I made an appointment for 7am this morning so had to get up at 6. DUH! Somehow I forgot I could stay in the cat cave for 2 whole uninterrupted days!! *sigh* Today I’m going to leave you with a piece of QUENCH, coming soon…

 

If you dare enter this cat’s lair, you’ll give more than blood!

Alek Foress is cursed. A tiger and lion mix, he’s also infected with the vampyre bloodlust. He refuses to take a female mate fearing she’ll uncover his secret, carnal need for his prince. Then he meets Viviana, the one woman who ignites a fierce fire in his soul. She makes both cats purr with desire, and the vamp in him salivates for her blood.

Viviana, a warrior, comes face-to-face with the only creature that can turn her cold blood into a molten river. Her powers stolen, she has to count on him for everything—blood, and even her life. She becomes a wildcat in his arms, and not even royalty will stand in her way when her mind’s made up. Viv wants Alek no matter what, she’ll show him how to quench his thirst.

Excerpt

The hallway he traveled was empty. Alek stopped in front of the room housing Law, Dace and an unfamiliar scent of a full vampyre. Strange. Masking his odor, he vanished to materialize on the other side of the door. Before he could move a stranger had him at knifepoint from behind. The lights were dim but he could see two human couples lounging sleepily on the sofa. Dace glared from a small bar in the back.

Law was the first to speak. “You’re living dangerously tonight.”

“We flashed by you and thought we’d stop later and catch up.” Dace’s low laugh was sinister. “We were grabbing a feed first.”

Alek remained motionless with the knife pressed into the skin of his throat. A cold trickle of blood slid down his neck as the stranger used one hand to pat him down as if it were a cheap stickup. When the hand came around and grabbed his cock, he made his move. Lightning fast, he reached over his shoulder and grasped the stranger by his head and flipped him onto the floor. The tip of Alek’s knife now pierced the other’s neck and drew blood. “Unless you want what you just had to be your last meal, I suggest you don’t put your hand on my balls again.”

“Get your ass off me and I’ll be glad to oblige. Fuck, never mind, your cock feels pretty damn good right where it is.” A slender body pushed up against him.

The voice stilled him and he inhaled deeply. Alek’s breath caught in his throat. Truth assaulted his nostrils and he wondered how the hell he’d missed it. Delicious female scent wafted over him. Shit! A freaking woman had held him at knifepoint and she smelled full-out vamp. Pulling his blade back, he released her and stood while she came to her feet with a lithe move that impressed him. Close to his height, taut muscles twitched with readiness as her weapon flipped back and forth through nimble fingers.

“What the fuck did you think you were doing?” Alek asked.

“What in hell were you doing trying to sneak up on us? You ever hear of knocking? I thought you Kind had a thing about privacy.” She peered at Law. “Who the hell is this guy?”

“Trust me, Viv, he’s not a cat you want to mess with, understand? Put the knife away.”

Dace’s snicker filtered through the room.

“Don’t call me Viv, no one here knows me that well. I’m Viviana. If anyone gives a shit about a last name, too bad.”

The vamp amazed and flustered Alek at the same time.

Her feminine chin jutted toward him. “Who’s Mr. Got-a-helluva-package?”

Law choked. “That’s Alek.”

“Ahh, your lofty Reign leader. How you doing? Nice cock you got there.” She motioned to the couples on the sofa. “Help yourself to a bite.” Viviana laughed in his face when his jaw dropped. “You cats need to stop being so damn finicky.”

Surprised by her boldness, he snapped his mouth closed. He’d never met a woman like her in his life. She had the foulest mouth he’d ever heard, no modesty at all and she felt like a wet dream about to pop. Alek’s dick was hard as a stick of dynamite and it felt ready to blow any damn minute. Christ! What was up with this female? And what the fuck was up with him?

Her moonlit blue eyes pierced him before she vanished.

He wasn’t hungry anymore. Not for food anyway.

Before he sheathed his knife he ran the tip of it over his tongue. The vamp’s blood tingled there, sending another hot stab of desire right to his crotch. The taste of her called so loudly to him he followed Viviana right through the door. The last thing he heard was the brothers laughing.

Alek blatantly checked out her backside, pleased by the sight of her tight ass swinging in front of him. The package she fondled earlier was still hard. Platinum blonde hair hung down her back in a severe plait. Black leather hugged her lithe body like a second skin and her long legs ate the hallway up. She was tall, damn near reaching his six foot four inches in her stiletto boots. Oh, he could work her for a long time. His hands itched to touch the walnut brown skin he knew would feel like satin. And her smell drove him nuts. Damn! Could one drop of blood have…Hell, maybe he was in heat. Strictly a cat man, he couldn’t believe how much the bloodsucker turned him on.

“You’re a bloodsucker too and no matter what you cats believe, you’re no better than we are.” She pushed at his mind, trying to enter his thoughts.

Alek jumped at the echoing sound of her voice.

Concentrate. Keeping her out wouldn’t be impossible but it required him being more aware if she intended to hang around. Locking his shields tight, Alek slid his tongue over lips that still held her exotic taste. He did something he wouldn’t normally do out of respect for other’s privacy. Alek eased past her mental barrier and invaded her mind. It was too easy. Viviana wanted him there. What he saw had his cock leaking like a faucet. She wanted to handle him, stroke and hold his cock, guide it inside her.

Oh yeah, he was willing to be handled by her for a couple hours before sunrise. Suited him fine.

She continued into the main area of the club with him on her heels. He continued to pick around in her head and found she couldn’t read Law or Dace either. Unaware of the lion’s pure royal blood pumping through his veins, Viviana made the mistake of thinking he was just a Kind tiger.

Alek stopped dead in his tracks. What was he doing? A woman like her, a vamp, wouldn’t understand his weakness. His thoughts turned to his beasts. For some odd reason his lion lay still, quietly purring. His ever-vigilant tiger stood at peace. Neither animal displayed agitation or cried out for blood. In a fog of anguish, Alek started to walk again with Viviana’s eyes following him from where she sat at the bar. He went straight through the club and out the door.

How fucked up his life was.

When he reached the parking lot, he raised his head and roared into the night not caring who heard or saw him. Pain too great to hold inside poured from his body into air. The inhuman sound battered surrounding trees, hurled limbs violently against the building, some thunderously crashing to the ground leaving gouged crevices in the earth.

The walls of The Looking Glass shuddered.

 

Growl and roar-it’s okay to let the beast out.-J. Hali Steele

Sharks and Tornadoes

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a weather buff. I watched every single episode of Storm Chasers when it was on the Discovery Channel. I watch Hurricane Hunters when it airs on the Weather Channel. (The fact there is a Weather Channel in the first place makes me all tingly).

Then there's the Discovery Channel's Shark Week. Don't even get me started there.

I also love all manner of WTFery.

For instance, I love the SyFy channel's B-movies. (So we've established that I like to watch television, right?) So when I saw the trailer for their latest offering, my little weather bug's heart nearly beat right out of my chest.

There are sharks.

There are tornadoes.

There are sharks IN tornadoes.

Wheeee!

That just hits all my weather, shark and WTFery buttons right there.

It's Almost Time!

I'm so excited for my release scheduled at the end of the month, July 30th actually. The coolest part is sharing my release day with one of my good friends and crit partners, Annie Nicholas's, first release with Samhain Publishing! Woot!

Here are the deets:

They just might survive…if they don’t kill each other first.

Araneae Nation, Book 3

Once the future Segestriidae maven, Kaidi lived a privileged life. Now she spends her nights haunting cities ravaged by the plague. Spade in hand, she stalks rows of freshly dug graves for corpses…and then she takes their heads. 

Her new life is caked in blood and spattered with gore, but it’s hers. At least until—to her fury—she’s caught napping.

A plague survivor by the skin of his teeth, Murdoch risks his neck to solve the mysteries left in its wake. Bodies have gone missing. Guards have left their posts and never returned home.

When he rouses a female dozing among the dead, he’s unprepared for the violence of her response. Or his. Beneath the grime, she’s lovely. Too bad the blood under her fingernails belongs to his clansmen.

He has no choice but to follow this alluring creature deeper into her world of winged beasts and flesh-eating monsters. She holds the knowledge he craves, but the price is high—and they may both pay for it with their lives.

Warning: This book contains one heroine in desperate need of a bath and one hero willing to wash away her sins. Expect threats, swears and general cursing. Love is a slippery slope, and these two are sliding. 

You can find an excerpt and buy links on my website: http://araneaenation.haileyedwards.net/books/by-series/araneae-nation/a-time-of-dying/

Plagiarism...Yes, it happens

The act of appropriating the literary composition of another author, or excerpts, ideas, or passages there from, and passing the material off as one's own creation.

Just to be clear I got this definition from a free legal dictionary online.  You can find it here. http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Plagerism

Plagiarism.  It’s a real thing people.  In this day and age, authors have to be really careful about this issue.  It’s not only Nora Roberts who’s work gets stolen. Entire passages of someone’s work appeared on a blog just recently as someone else’s work.  

Amazon has just approved Fan Fiction for their shelves, which opens up all kinds of problems. Personally, I don't know how I feel about people taking characters that don't belong to them and writing their own stories with them. But, I get that fan fiction is a great way to express yourself and to let your imagination go if that's your cup of tea. I digress.

It basically comes down to this.  I am not an opera signer. I cannot carry a tune. When I was fifteen I went to the MET and I was blown away.  This does not mean I am meant to be an opera singer. 

I don't care if you *want* to be a writer.  If you cannot come up with your own ideas, do not go and take someone else's and try to pass it off as your own.  Go find what you are meant to be doing and do that.  Maybe its not to tell stories, maybe its to review them, or to edit them, or to teach science.  Do not cut and paste someone's words and try to claim them as your own. If you can't adequately write your own and be published that way...you are not a writer. Plagiarism does not make you one. 

Authors, please be careful with your work. You might be surprised how easy it would be for someone to take your stuff and use it for their own financial gain. Let's watch out for each other.