It’s hard to believe the month of October is over. It seemed to go by so fast. Thank you so much to all the readers and authors who visited this month. Now I can’t wait for next year.

In the meantime, November is Naughty November at my regular blog and starting tomorrow I will have guest authors posting their hottest scenes to tempt and tease you all long month. I hope you’ll stop by, say hello and partake in some great sexy time reading.

On to the winners…

From the final week:

The lovely Bronwyn Green offered three prizes to three different winners and they are:

Molly Daniels

Sarah M

Anne R

For the wonderful RG Alexander contest the winner is:

Dawn

For an ecopy of Hot, Hard & Howling from Mari Freeman the winner is:

Elaing8

For a box of books and goodies from Eliza the winner is:

Leagh C

And the grand prize winner of the Nook I mentioned back at the beginning of the month is:

Jen B

Winners if you will please email me at elizagayleauthor at gmail dot com, I’ll arrange to get your prizes sent to you.

Thanks again!

ELIZA

*All winners were chosen randomly this month by the use of random.org

Okay, so I was puzzling over what to write today. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Mina Carter and I write tales of hot alpha men, and the women stubborn enough to tame them. I hover between paranormal and sci-fi a lot of the time but when I write paranormal, I do like a shifter or a gargoyle (or two ).

I’m British so we don’t really have the same thing with Halloween as other parts of the world, although the parties and costumes are catching on here now. As a kid, trick or treating was the exception rather than the norm. (I grew up in a sleepy English village so all that ‘mucking about’ was more likely to get you a chat with the village bobby than any treat)

But I do have more than a passing acquaintance with all things spooky and paranormal, and this, I am afraid, is where it gets gruesome (bear with me, I’m gonna plug a book with the Grim Reaper so I have to go all dark first…).

I’m part gipsy. It’s from way back when but it seems the look or aura or whatever you want to call it, never leaves a bloodline. Even though my great-grandmother stopped travelling the early part of last century and settled down (to open an ice-cream parlour of all things), whatever that intrinsic thing that made her a gipsy was passed down through the maternal line. Although we occasionally have trouble with gipsys where I live…I never do. The neighbors do, but one look at me and more than one family have moved on or been very, very polite. (Apparently I have the ‘evil eye’ but, trust me, I have NO clue I’m doing it!)

This also extends to palm-reading, fortune telling and tarot cards. Several times I’ve been refused a reading by people, who won’t go into any more details than I ‘block’ the reading. Go figure. I’m a bit skeptical about stuff like that so I never bothered to get more details and just went along with it.

So when a woman at the place I was working at brought some tarot cards in and offered to do everyone a reading, I thought why not? She did a couple of others and it was the usual stuff…journeys and decisions and whatnot. Then she gets to me and we started out well. Again, the stuff I’d expected…vague hints of waiting for something and making a decision. Then we get to the last card.

It was the hanged man.

Okay, cool. She explained it didn’t mean a real hanged man but something else (which I can’t remember right now). Nothing sinister. Everyone was happy and we all went home.

Except over that weekend, I KEPT seeing hanged men. That night there was a documentary on the TV about the last Hangman in Britain, the night after a re-run of a cop show with a hanged victim. The night after that a forensic type show in which the victims were hung. It didn’t stop there, all through the weekend, little things like seeing a hangman image in a shop (it was nowhere near Halloween), someone wanted to play a word game to pass half hour and chose hangman.

By Sunday, I was a little freaked out.

Monday got worse. At dinnertime my mom called me. My mom never calls me in the work day so I went outside to call her back. A member of my family had been found. Hung.

It was a shock but a long time ago. And since then, I have always had a healthy respect for anything out of the ordinary but now, if anyone wants to do a tarot reading, you can’t see me for dust!

The heroine of my upcoming release, Reaper, has a similar problem with tarot readings. In a world where everything that goes bump in the night walks the Earth, Andy is something unique. Death made reality, she is the grim reaper in flesh and blood, continually called to dispatch those whose number is up to the afterlife. Some go easy, some make it more…interesting for her.

The World after the End of the World will never be the same again…

Sanctuary. Clichéd name, but the sentiment is still the same. Ten years after the end of the world, ex-soldier Mason and a small group of humans defend their fortified town against creatures of myth and legend made real. But with dwindling game to hunt and a lycan pack in the area looking for an easy meal, just surviving is getting harder every day.

Andy has a few screws loose, and she knows it. She’s been on the road since the bombs fell and changed humanity forever. Driven by inhuman instincts, she tracks the newly and soon-to-be dead and dispatches their souls to the afterlife. Sometimes they go quietly, most put up a fight. She doesn’t care either way. Her ambition in life is to find her next hit of coffee and one day, maybe, sleep in a real bed again.

Then Andy’s instincts bring her to Sanctuary and its enigmatic leader, Mason, and even the world after the end of the world will never be the same again…

Product Warnings:Contains a snarky female Reaper with a hair-trigger temper and a caffeine addiction, a hot ex-commando with an attitude and a twisted sense of humour and a happily ever after that defies death itself.

Available for Pre-order from Samhain Publishing | Amazon UK | Amazon

Halloween has got to be one of my favorite times of year. Costumes, parties, ghosts, gouls. What’s not to love? I mean really.

I love the good scare. My daughter and I are constantly trying to startle each other. But I’ve found that scary movies don’t do it for me as much as they used to. Paranormal Activity bored me. I still love the good ‘ole movies…The Shinning, Poltergeist, and Jaws.

Jaws is the classic perfect scare. It’s as frightening today as it was 20 years ago. Why? Because it could really happen to you. I mean how many of you who have seen Jaws and no matter how long ago or rational you are, hesitate for just an instant before stepping in each time you stand on a shoreline. Admit it.

My Hot, Hard series has a little scary mixed with a little humor and whole lot of sexy. Hot, Hard & Howling is the first in a three book series about some very special, half-demon sisters. The poor Halflings, their human blood ties have diluted their magic, leaving them some very unreliable demon powers.

Nell Ambercroft is the smart, sassy heroine of this first book. She is the oldest and the most traveled of the three. Telekinesis is her demon magic. But her inability to control it leaves her frustrated, makes her the butt of many jokes, and eventually, it puts her life in danger.

Nell and the sexy, restrained Werewolf, Trent Nicholas, find themselves in New Orleans and lost in the bayou for some hot lovin’ and fast action while working to determine who is trying to kill Nell.

Her daring demon, his raging wolf… It gets wild when things go bump in the night.

And Just for Eliza and her D.A.M.M blog. I’m debuting the cover for the second in the series. Hot, Hard and Hexing.

Hexing returns us to New Orleans when Nell’s sister, Sonja, tries to use a blood magic talisman to boost her shaky psychic abilities. She want to save her kidnapped cousin on her own. Instead of stronger abilities, the spell gets Sonja smoldering sexual visions.

Sexy ex-police officer, Ray Burgess, stumbles onto the scene and he becomes the star of all Sonja’s erotic visions. Sonja struggles to know what’s reality and what’s fantasy. Are her feelings for Ray something real or an illusion created Dreamstalker?

Much more than her sanity is at stake on hot Louisiana nights.

Here’s an little treat from Hot, Hard and Howling to warm up your cool fall night…

Then, tell me your favorite scary movie and one lucky commenter will get a real treat: an ebook copy of Hot, Hard & Howling.

Happy Halloween!

~Mari

Half-Demons, Werewolfs, and Hot Mountain Evenings

Hot, Hard and Howling

Chapter One

Naked, covered in blood and in the shower with a dead human on the bathroom floor was not exactly how one wanted to greet guests.  She tossed the toothbrush aside. All the scrubbing in the world wasn’t going to get the blood out. Nell looked in the mirror.  Curly golden hair hung wild from partially drying on its own as she had tried to save the grout, her face was still flushed from the struggle and the scrubbing, and her cheeks and chin were scratched and bloody.  The scratches didn’t matter, she was half demon and the small wounds would heal quickly.  Nell rubbed with her fingers to try and get smears of blood off her face.  She looked around for her robe and found it lying under the dead guy’s shoulder.  Nell snorted. “Great.”

She scanned the rest of the contents of the vanity, nothing left.  She’d tried all the cleaners under the sink, and none was getting the pink stains off.  Her gaze crossed the floor. The pool of blood there would come up with no problem.   She stood and propped her hands on her hips.  “Damn.”

“What’s going on up there?” Her sister’s voice rang from the living room.  “I had a funky vision.”

Vision? Yeah right. Nell’s and both her younger sisters were half demon, so their demon gifts were unpredictable, at best.  The curse of the ‘halfling” their Mi-ma always said.   When Sonya had visions, everyone was wary of the information in them.  Usually the crazy things were so confusing that no one could decipher the things.  However, every now and then, especially when the family was concerned, they were pretty darn accurate.  Evidently, this one had been close enough to send Sonya into the night.  Hadn’t the girl ever heard of a phone?

“And, of course, you rushed right over.” Nell found a dirty t-shirt behind the bathroom door and pulled it on.  “Up here.  Did you bring bleach?”

“Bleach?” Sonya’s voice echoed up the stairs.  She stopped in the door of the master bath.  “Oh.  You know, I almost did.” She bent over the body on the floor to get a better look.  “Nell,” she whispered in disgust “he’s human”.

“Duh.  Do you smell blood magic?  I did when he attacked, but since I started trying to save the grout, I lost track of the scent.”

Sonya raised her eyebrow.  “Blood magic? Really?  How would a human have the smell of that?” She stepped over the body, looking down at the object sticking out of the man’s chest.  “Is that a…”

Nell cleared her throat.  “Yeah.”

Sonya bit her lip, but failed her attempt to hold back laugh.  “You killed a man with a Dildo?” With her sister lost control over her laughter and let it roll.  Tears leaked from her eyes as she braced herself on the doorframe.

Nell straightened her spine. “It was close.” She protested and gestured wildly at the dead man.  “And I think the scissors actually killed him.” So what, she had toys, everybody did.  She just happened to have a very large collection of them. “I was in the shower.  I had to use what was close.” Her demon gift of telekinesis was as inconsistent as Sonya’s visions.  Sometimes she would move the wrong thing. Sometimes her power surged and whatever object she was moving ended up being hurled at he speed of…well a flying dildo.  The toy had been on the counter, among other things, and it had just flown with everything else.

“You use those things in the shower?  God, Nell.  You are the strangest woman.”

“I wasn’t using it in the shower.  I cleaned it before I got in the shower.  Don’t you clean yours?”

Nell was the wild one, the extrovert, the only one of her sisters that had truly ventured out in the world.  She had traveled, explored, and experienced things she wouldn’t ever be able to explain to her younger sisters.  Her collection of sex toys came from all over the world, even a few from other realms.  The piece that was currently sticking out of the chest of the human man on her floor was one of her favorites.  She had gotten it from a demon sect in India and it was a beautiful work of art in Nell’s mind.

“Death by Dildo!” Sonya laughed.  “Oh my, Nell, the Prime is going to have a field day with this.”

“Shut up.”  Nell plopped down to sit on the closed toilet lid and put her head in her hands, her bloody knees pushed together.  She didn’t want to see the Prime.  Not yet.  Her Mi-ma had probably had a vision too, and since their grandmother was in the neighborhood of three hundred years old, the crazy old woman’s visions were much more accurate than Sonya’s.  Knowing her luck, Mi-ma was on her way over and had already contacted the local Prime.

Nell pulled herself off the toilet and started to pick up the mess that was scattered all over the bathroom floor, snatching up her makeup, which was fell causality of the assault.  When she started using her telekinesis to throw things at her attacker, she didn’t pay much attention to what went flying, thus the very long, thick, dildo that was currently lodged between his ribs.

“Stop Nell.  You killed a human.  Blood magic on him or not, you have to report it.” Sonya’s voice stopped Nell in her tracks.  The sudden change in her tone from amusement to panic making Nell curse.  “You know the rules.”

Yeah, Nell knew the rules. They all knew the rules.  THE RULES were jackhammered into the brain of ever supernatural being from their time of birth or creation.  The rules were all part of keeping the magical world a secret and keeping peace between supernatural species.  And rule number one was if you killed a human, even in self-defense, it had to be reported.

The Prime would come and be judge, jury, and hangman, if needed.  But, it wasn’t the consequences she didn’t want to face, it was the Prime,  Trent Nicholas.  She needed more time before seeing him.  She hadn’t come up with a good enough plan yet.  Even after years of cavorting with some very powerful and amazing creatures, Trent made her knees weak and other things moist.

“You can’t smell the blood magic anymore.” Nell said as she paced into the hall.  “I can’t prove it.  This guy attacked me and someone or something put him up to it.  Do you think the high and mighty Prime Nicholas is going to listen to me about that?”

“I’m calling Mi-ma.  If she hasn’t already seen this, she’ll summon him.” Sonya put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.  “We have to.  The longer you wait the worse it’ll be.  Calm down.  This is work we’re talking about.  He won’t be such an ass.  Well, maybe he won’t be.” Sonya gave her a meager smile.  “Okay he’ll be an ass, but we still have to report it.” Sonya headed down the stairs.  “Don’t move anything else.  Come on down and I’ll make tea.”

Nell looked around her wrecked bathroom.  The blood would come off the walls and the tub and sink, but she still worried about the grout.  She paused in the doorway to look over the body once more.  She didn’t recognize the guy splayed dead on the floor.  Didn’t know why he would attack her in her own home.  She lived out in the woods, in her father’s old log cabin.  When he died last year, she had inherited the place.  Her sisters got chunks of money, but she had always wanted the house.

The smell of the old logs and the big fireplaces in the living room and the master bedroom brought back fond memories of her childhood.  The deck overlooked the side of the mountain, so there were no lights from the city to block her view of the stars at night.  After traveling the world for years, she was more than happy to settle here in the woods and just be home and quiet for a while.  She thought about the dead guy.  So much for quiet.

The doorbell rang as she headed down the stairs.  Sonya beat her to it.

***

Trent stood stock still as Sonya flung the door open to him without a care.  Nell Ambercroft was standing on the stairs, half dressed and covered in blood

“Jeeze, Sonya, do ya think you could have checked to see who it was, considering.”  The demon motioned to her disheveled state.

“Well, who else would be out here at three in the morning but Mi-ma or him.” she gestured to him. Neither had actually acknowledged him. “Relax sis.”

“Relax.  Relax?  I swear.  You don’t know who it could have been.  Someone sent that guy here.  What if it had been another crazy trying to kill me?”

“How likely is that?  “ Sonya said, drawing her eyebrows together and putting her hands on her hips, completely ignoring him.  “Whoever that was has only been dead, what, thirty minutes.  Do you think his boss or whatever has even had time to realize he’s gone?”

Nell took two more steps down the stairs.  “What if he had a partner?  God knows what could have been hiding in the woods.”

“Would a partner ring the bell?”

Gritting his teeth, Trent Nicholas, stood and watched the discourse between the sisters.  Nothing changed with this family.  They were all nuts.  Demon nuts to top it off.  He was a Prime and if that wasn’t enough to command respect, he was a high ranking Were.  Finding himself ignored by these two halflings was just about all he could take.

He let his gaze drifted past Sonya and back up the stairs.  As much as he hated it, Nell had always stirred his wolf.  He disliked demons in general. They pissed him off.  Then again, everyone generally pissed him off.  He did manage to tolerate and judge fairly when he was summoned as Prime, but he preferred his pack to other species.  Lately the pack weren’t his favored company. He was his favored company, and he kept to himself whenever possible.

Then there was Nell.  For years, she had lurked in his fantasies Tales of her travels, of her living in a vamp nest in Paris, or of her convincing a full demon in Scotland to take her across several realms haunted his dreams.  Moons only knew what else the woman had gotten into.  She was a wild thing.

There she stood, arguing and animated, wearing only a silky shirt that barely covered her.  Trent could easily make out her curves, and he clenched his fists as his wolf growled in appreciation of her form.  She wasn’t a Hollywood beauty.  Far from it, even a little on the short side, but that did nothing to hide the wildness of her personality, which shone through her skin and sparkled in her eyes.

A mane of tawny golden curls hung past her shoulders and highlighted eyes that were the color of a fawn’s coat. A lush brown that Trent noticed darkened, as she got angry.  Her legs were well shaped and the shirt almost let him get a look at her more private areas.  Somehow, the little halfling got to him on a far deeper level than he was comfortable with.  He’d fought it for years, and had hoped the time they had spent apart would cool that desire.  It hadn’t.  Nell made him want things that could only lead to disaster.

He eyed the blood that was drying on her legs, face and arms.  There was none on the outside of the shirt, so he figured she had put it on after the incident.  He would love to ask, but they wouldn’t…“Shut up!”

“Trent Nicholas, do you have any manners?”  Sonya asked, her eyes widening at his tone.

Trent raised his eyebrows at the little imp.  Manners?  Who gave a shit about manners at a time like this? “Where’s the body?” He all but growled at Nell, ignoring the woman at his side.

I love writing paranormal romances, and while I do write a few straight contemporaries and historicals – the combination of the magical and mundane are my first love. And psychics are fascinating characters to write.

Despite being brought up in a family where Tarot readings at family gatherings were common, I tended to think that psychics were cons. Then I met Merry. I’ve known Merry for about twenty years. I met her when she hired me to do some sewing for her. We ended up sharing a love of cats and books and became friends.

I knew Merry did phone readings for people, but I didn’t think too much of it until one crazyass day. Around this same time, I was doing daycare to help make ends meet. I was about six months pregnant, had about seven kids here, including my oldest. Yeah—it was pretty much a madhouse. Now, Merry likes kids, but she prefers not to be around them in large groups. And honestly, a crabby pregnant lady stuck in a house entertaining seven kids between the ages of 2 and 6 is no one’s idea of a picnic.

I got a phone call in the middle of lunch. It was Merry, and I asked her if I could call her later. She told me that she needed to talk to me immediately—that it was life or death. I remember laughing a little, but it was sort of a strangled sound because it was quickly dawning on me that she wasn’t joking. She asked me if I had a daycare mom who was pregnant.

At first, I’d said no, but then I remembered that a lady I was filling in for was pregnant. Her regular provider had flaked out and quit, and I’d been subbing for her for a week. She asked me if the woman had two daughters. I told her she did.

Then she told me I needed to call her immediately and tell her to go to the emergency right away. She said that there was something wrong and the baby was basically suffocating. She also mentioned that he had a developmental issue, but there wasn’t anything that could be done about that. But that if she wasn’t seen soon, he wasn’t going to make it at all. I didn’t ask if she was sure. I could tell that she was.

Here’s the thing—Merry didn’t even know about this woman and her kids. It had been a new development since we’d last talked. I felt like my stomach had dropped to the floor, and I was covered with goose bumps in the middle of sweltering August heat in a house with no air conditioning.

I looked up the daycare mom’s work number and called. My hands were sweating and shaking and I felt like I was going to throw up. And for once, it had nothing to do with my own pregnancy. How do you say to a virtual stranger, “Hey, so I have a friend who’s psychic and you really need to get to the hospital right away. Your baby’s life is in danger”?

Truth be told, that’s pretty much how it came out. I called her and told her that I needed to tell her something that was going to sound more than a little crazy, but I quickly explained who Merry was and what she’d said. The daycare mom surprised the hell out of me when she said she’d felt like something had been wrong all day and she’d just made an appointment to go in to her OB. I suggested that maybe to be safe, she should go to the ER instead. I told her I’d keep her girls until we knew what was going on.

To make a long story short (too late) she went to the hospital where they did an emergency C-section. For some reason the amniotic fluid was gone and she wasn’t producing any more. The doctor said the baby had, for all intents and purposes, been suffocating and had the mother not come in when she did, he would have been stillborn. Even waiting the hour until her doctor’s office could get her in would have been too long. The baby survived, thankfully, but was also born with Down’s Syndrome – the developmental condition Merry had mentioned.

Later that night, she called to thank me and asked me to thank Merry. She told me that she believed that her regular provider flaked out so she would end up at right place at the right time with access to a woman who would be able to save her baby’s life.

To this day, fifteen years later, I still get chills. In fact, I’m covered with them while writing this post. Now, I definitely don’t think all psychics are legit—but I know Merry is. Since then, I’ve had plenty of experiences with her that have reinforced that. But this one will always be the thing that sticks out in my mind when I think of psychics.

What about you guys? Have you ever had any experiences with psychics? Please share—I love hearing about this kind thing!thing!

And to celebrate Halloween—which is by far my favorite holiday—I’m giving away three (single author) e-books to three commenters—psychic experiences not required!

Bronwyn
Website
Bronwyn’s Blog
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Who Do That Voodoo? Apparently I do.

Speaking of scary…I have to admit that before I started writing about voodoo, people being ridden by spirits and the ghosts of New Orleans-voodoo freaked me out. My only references were movies like Serpent and the Rainbow, stories about killing chickens and voodoo dolls, hexes and zombies-oh my. The Day of the Dead, when the ancestors and loa roamed freely about…well let’s just say dressing up as a naughty nurse and collecting candy sounded a hell of a lot safer.

Then I saw it through Bone Daddy, the main character throughout my three novella anthology Possess Me‘s eyes, and everything changed.

He is very persuasive

In writing the book he taught me that it is the mystery that makes a thing frightening. The whispers. The shadows. That nothing is what it seems when seen clearly, with humor and light. But speaking of shadows…did I mention Gabriel? He is the hero in the book’s sequel Tempt Me-which comes out November 1st of this year. (YAY)

If Bone Daddy introduced me to the Mamas, the love and light that is a part of the voodoo religion, Gabriel Toussaint Giodarno reminded me that there was still some darkness to be afraid of. Still some places where it is almost impossible for the light to shine. Mysteries we’re not yet ready to solve. Luckily, when you have love on your side–and an attractive but irritatingly melancholy guardian angel–nothing is too difficult to overcome.

Neither of these stories could have happened anywhere but New Orleans, with the spirit of mambos past looking on in approval. Magic is everywhere there, never more so in the graveyards, at the grave of a voodoo queen, close to All Saint’s Day. Halloween.

Just don’t go looking for a certain cemetery…or it will come looking for you. So I’m told.

Possess Me excerpt-All Saint’s Day:

He was in the St. Louis Cemetery near Basin Street. Drawn before the first rays of the dawn, compelled to this place, though he wasn’t sure why. He’d arrived in time to witness the departure of the teenagers in ghoulish masks who’d dared each other to brave Halloween beside the mausoleums and grave sites.

Luckily for them, the Ghede looked after foolish children. In his experience, when humans looked for trouble, they usually found it.

He reached a beautiful marble mausoleum, smaller than the others. The profile of a lovely woman’s face was carved into the doorway like a heartbreaking cameo, just above the image of a small boy at play. She looked young. Had she died in childbirth? He searched for a name but there was non. No family name, nor the years she’d lived and died. Why would someone go to all this trouble to make a remembrance so lovely, only to keep the dead’s identity secret?

That was his idea of hell. To be unremembered and unsung.

“You’re here.”

Bone Daddy whirled around but saw only shadows. Still, he knew the old man’s voice.

“I am. I though All Saints’ didn’t require me to possess a body. Please don’t tell me I must pry open a grave and take over a corpse.” He shuddered. “I would not enjoy my last day on earth in a state of decay.”

The laughter wrapped around him like an embrace, making him smile.

“No, son. You’ll have a body all your own, fresh and living, as promised, for the day. I’ll tell you why you’re here, but first I have to warn you to be careful. You’ll be human. No powers. No magnetism other than your own natural charm. You’ll feel hot and cold, suffer pangs you never felt, ever when you rode Rousseau. And you’ll feel strong emotions, just as humans do. And just as with humans, there will be repercussions for your actions. If you step too far out of line, you may not like the consequences.”

Bone Daddy rubbed his hands together in excitement. His mentor was always so ominous. He really needed to lighten up. “Sounds like fun, old man. Want to join me? I know a few spots down the road that you would love.”

The deep sigh was a breeze in the damp morning air. “Some of us have to stay behind, to keep the home fires burning. It’s time, BD. Time for you to have your day. Use it well. Try not to waste a moment.”

“Why aren’t the others here? You said you’d tell me why I had to come to this cemetery.”

“One journey begins where the last met its end.”

He knew the old man was gone, he could feel it. “A riddle. Lovely.”

Bone Daddy didn’t care. The dawn was coming. The sky had lightened, setting the stage for the new day. His day. He would seek out his friends, have as much food as he could fit in his stomach and take as many lovers as he could. Maybe he could convince Rousseau to put the past behind them. He’d grown fond of the boy.

He’d grown rather attached to all of them. Michelle and Ben, Allegra. He’d come to the conclusion over the last few days that the other Loa were right. He’d lost his perspective. He was no family ghost. No pet. He was supposed to help. To guide humans as the others did toward a better life. Or in his case, a better sex life.

Attachment was not wise.

Soft morning light hit the graying stones and monuments around him, and he began to feel it. A shimmer. A tingle. Little ants on his skin.

Skin?

He looked down and saw himself change. Slowly. With every second it hurt more. Everything hurt. Heaviness, like lead in his limbs, dropped him to his knees.

“Damn.”

What was going on? The ants on his skin had become a vicious mass of fangs and stingers, piercing him, sending fire racing through his veins. Blood. Blood pumped by a heart beating far too fast to be natural.

Something was wrong. This couldn’t be right. Would he be given life just to die? Surely the others didn’t willingly go through this year after year. Was this part of his punishment for staying so long?

Dizziness swamped him, and bile rose in his throat as he smelled the stench of grabage and death. Smelled the staleness of sweat. His own?

He gagged, but nothing came out. His stomach began to spasm and he looked up wildly, seeking purchase, balance, in a world gone sideways.

And saw her. The carving in marble. She looked so serene. So lovely.

Familiar.

Why did she look familiar?

He collapsed, looking down in surprise to see a wound carving itself into his side. He cried out, but before the blood could flow the wound healed, a scar forming before hi eyes. A raised, ugly slash.

It felt as though he’d been gutted. His hands closed into fists, body curling into a fetal position as the pain overcame him.

This was not what he’d been expecting.

The last thought he had before he fell into unconsciousness was of her. The woman in the carving. At least he’d be lying beside her as he died.

The thought was comforting.

CONTEST
Tell me your favorite thing about New Orleans and have a chance to win your choice of 1. a signed print copy of Possess Me 2. a signed print copy of Tempt Me 3. a $15.00 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card

Another cool week filled with lots of Halloween goodness leading up to the big event. Thank you so much to the authors that stopped by this week, it’s been great having you.

Now let’s get to our contest winners:

From author Jae Lynn Davies – A halloween goodie bag and a copy of her vampire novel, Mythic.

The winner is: Elizabeth Bancroft

From author Moira Rogers – an ARC copy of Demon Bait

The winner is:  Cathy M

From Eliza – A Halloween goodies bag with books

The winner is: Elaing8

And last week I forgot to post a winner for Sommer Marsden’s PDF copy of BIG BAD. (so sorry Sommer!)

The winner is:  Regina Ross

Please be sure to email me at elizagayleauthor at gmail dot com

Thanks everyone!

Eliza

Anyone who knows me is aware that I’m a horror movie nut. Fortunately, Halloween is the perfect time to kick back and enjoy my favorite genre of film. In celebration of the holiday, I wanted share my top ten movies to view during Halloween. Most are oldies, but they are films I can never seem to get enough of.

10. Black Christmas (the original). This movie is one of the few horror films I enjoy during Christmas. The atmosphere is fantastic and the villain is killer.

9. Halloween (the original). Who doesn’t turn to this film when they want to be scared? The music combined with edge of your seat moments? A definite winner.

8. A Nightmare on Elm Street (the original). No list would be complete without Freddy Krueger. This movie was my introduction to horror and created my fascination with the darker side of film.

7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original). Scary weirdos. Leatherface. Meat hooks. How could you possibly go wrong?

6. The Dolls. This little known flick is a gem and remains a favorite to this day. As someone who has never been a fan of dolls, the concept continues to freak me out. Not to mention, the story is pretty kick ass.

5. Poltergeist. “They’re here…” Who doesn’t shiver upon hearing those two words? This is one movie that always gives me chills. Yes, it’s dated, but that doesn’t lessen the scare factor or the creepiness a viewer experiences while enjoying the flick.

4. The Company of Wolves. Another gem and quite possibly my favorite werewolf film. The movie is beautifully shot, the stories are captivating, and the music is to die for.  If you’ve never seen it, you’re missing out.

3. Trick ‘r Treat. This movie became an instant favorite when it released a few years back. I’m partial to several of the “stories” but the werewolf one is definitely a delicious treat.

2. Fright Night 2. It’s rare that a sequel can live up to the original, but Fright Night 2 goes above and beyond. The cast is spectacular, the effects are spot-on, and the story keeps your interest and doesn’t let go.

This brings me to my number one film…

1. Fright Night. This remains my favorite vampire film of all time. The music is haunting, the acting is stellar, and the story is brilliant. I’ve seen Fright Night dozens of times and it never gets old. Don’t bother watching the remake. If you want to see this film as it was intended, go for the original.  Chris Sarandon IS Jerry Dandrige. Accept no substitute.

Now that I’ve shared my favorites, why don’t you tell me a couple of your favorite Halloween movies? It wasn’t easy narrowing down a list. Trust me when I say there are plenty more where those came from.

Happy Halloween!

Jaime AKA J.A. Saare
Website

When Eliza invited me to appear on the D.A.M.M. blog, I thought long and hard about what in the world I’d write about.

Sure, there’s candy, costumes and movies to cover, but we’re all here to celebrate Halloween and I’m willing to bet there are some of us who take the term ‘celebrate’ to an entirely new level.

Last year, a group of friends and I decided to do some traveling for the express purpose of joining in Halloween festivities. On October 28^th, we boarded a plane destined for New Orleans, Louisiana. Now, I’ve always wanted to travel to NOLA, but the allure of the October 31^st event was far too great to pass up.

For those who aren’t familiar, New Orleans is home to many paranormal and supernatural sightings and occurrences. The city has become a popular Halloween destination due to several factors including the town’s burial requirements in above ground tombs due to the high water table. These cemeteries are known as ‘cities of the dead’.

New Orleans is also well known for its deep roots in Voodoo. Marie Laveau, the notorious Voodoo Queen both practiced and lived in New Orleans. She is a celebrated figure and is buried in one of the ‘cities of the dead’.

There are whispers of mysterious events that have occurred in the French Quarter and its surroundings, which sparked rumors of vampires. Some even claim to have seen the creatures of the night. The St. Germain house on the corner of Royal and Ursuline Streets is quite possibly the most famous of those vampire stories.

While I didn’t experience any paranormal activity, I will tell you when five of us paraded Bourbon Street dressed as Fangtasia waitresses complete with fangs, straight off the set of HBO’s True Blood, I don’t think any of us were prepared to see a crowd that rivaled Times Square on New Years Eve. The swarm of people trying to walk down the street while carrying drinks in their hands was the scariest part of the entire trip! I had a blast celebrating Halloween in New Orleans and I look forward to repeating the experience.

My decision to travel to celebrate Halloween led me to wonder how others enjoy the holiday. Have any of you traveled to far away destinations such as London, Salem, Romania, or Sleepy Hollow, NY? Or do you celebrate by watching horror films and giving candy to the neighborhood kids?  Share your experiences and I’ll give one lucky commenter a Halloween goodie bag filled with candy, swag, and a rare print copy of my vampire novel, MYTHIC!

Happy Halloween!

Blurb:  Centuries after the death of her family, human/vampire hybrid, Gianna Marino is determined to shed the blood of the vampire responsible.

Disguising herself as a human wanting to be turned, she infiltrates the enemy’s coven with the hope of bending him to her will and destroying him from the inside.

But when a handsome stranger enters the scene and is lured into their seductive game that results in a heated love triangle, she discovers a secret that blurs the lines between good and evil, forever changing the course of her existence, and destiny will soon determine on which side she’ll stand.

Mythic is now available at All Romance eBooks

To learn more about Jae Lynne, please visit her website:  http://www.jaelynnedavies.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Jae-Lynne-Davies/100001587731488

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/JaeLynneDavies

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/jaelynnedavies

So, it’s the second to the last week of October and I have yet to give any thought to Halloween until just now. My mom was here for 3 weeks. My son has been immersed in little league and Lego classes. My daughter is…well a teenager. My husband is traveling on business. And me, I’ve just been trying to keep it all together while I try to write, revise, edit, contact, format, and learn how to self-publish. Not much brain space left for Halloween.

From years past, y’all know I’m not a big Halloween person. It’s just the gateway to the Winter holidays for me. It’s the start of crisp Fall air and the leaves are really bright right about now. Stores have come out with their spice scented candles and soaps. And Starbucks has started to bring back their Fall line-up of drinks, starting with the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Pardon me if you like it, but ICK!

I’m a big food person but we all know this. I love trying new recipes and we’ve been making our treats at home rather than buying packaged for a while and it’s a lot of work, but well worth it. Halloween and Fall bring loads of pumpkin recipes and I just don’t like pumpkin. So, I’m going the route of popcorn. I want popcorn treats and every season there are awesome recipes! So, this year, I’m gonna break down and yry my hand at making some.

I don’t generally buy candy from the grocery stores. Since eliminating white sugar from the house, one has to find other solutions most of the time. But this recipe calls for candy and candy melts and such. It’ll likely only be able to eat a very small amount of it, but I am bound and determined to make some… And this one looks to be really easy. The kids will love it…

Monster Munch Popcorn Mix from Smells Like Home

You can definitely melt regular chocolate (semisweet, bittersweet, milk, or white) in place of the bark/candy melts but the bark/candy melts set up and sit better at room temperature than chocolate does. It’s really your choice here!

Ingredients:

1 package Almond Bark (1 lb) or 1 bag (14oz) Wilton candy melts
12 cups popped popcorn (from about 1/2 cup kernels)
1 cup candy corn
1 cup dry roasted, honey roasted peanuts
3/4 cup M&Ms

Instructions:
1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Melt chocolate according to package directions.
3. Put the popped popcorn in a very large bowl, taking care to remove all of the unpopped kernels before proceeding – you don’t want any cracked teeth! Note: You may need to do this step in two batches if you don’t have a big enough bowl for all of the popcorn. Add the candy corn, peanuts, and M&Ms to the top of the popcorn. Pour the chocolate over the top of the popcorn and mix-ins. Using a large spoon, carefully stir the chocolate into the popcorn, working in large scoops up from the bottom of the bowl.
4. Spread the popcorn mixture out on the baking sheets and let set-up for 30 minutes at room temperature before breaking the popcorn into chunks. If you’re in a hurry, you can pop the baking sheets in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.

What new recipes will you try for the season? What are your favorite Halloween treats?

For another treat, of a decidedly different sort, here’s a peek at my latest release, Masked.

Bobby tells himself the mask he’s been wearing all month is just part of the Halloween theme of Abyss, the alternative lifestyle club he frequents. But it’s not the truth. He’s in the closet and he’s ready to come out. Only problem is the man he’s interested in is a friend. And straight.

For a month of weekends, the man in the black mask has been watching Thor as he’s flogged, paddled, and whipped woman after woman. His unwavering gaze prompts Thor to wonder what he could possibly want. Is he a stalker? A jealous dominant or boyfriend? Thor is unsure, but decides it’s time to find out.

As he steps closer, something in the eyes of the masked man strikes Thor as familiar, but he’s unable to place him before the man makes his wish known. He wants a spanking. Bare-handed. In private. From Thor.

Secret identities and hidden desires unfold between the seemingly straight Dominant and the submissive harboring a deep, long-held onto lust in Masked, the first in a trio of short stories about the developing feelings between submissive Bobby and dominant Thor.

Excerpt:

The man was back again tonight. Since Abyss’ Halloween House opened, the masked man had been watching Thor’s every move and what Thor couldn’t figure out, was why. Why did the man stand there, his eyes unwavering, sometimes for hours on end? The man didn’t leave, didn’t go to the bar for a drink, didn’t go upstairs to the private rooms. No, he simply stood outside the ropes of Thor’s flogging station and watched.

Thor looked around the downstairs, or at least as far as he could see from his station. He hated Halloween parties. And that’s what the whole month of weekends in October were. One big Halloween party. Lifestylers, kinksters, and goths of all kinds flocked to the two-century old three-story house on the outskirts of town. One of the partners in Abyss had bought it, had it gutted and renovated to be the perfect kinky playground. It was opened up each year for the month of October and people came from all over the state, sometimes from out of state to play in its upscale turned haunted environment.

During the week it was a haunted house open to the public, all aspects of BDSM and fetish play hidden or disguised so as not to offend any vanilla sensibilities, but on the weekends? On the weekends it was where Abyss clientele and their friends gathered to indulge their deviances and play.

Three flogging stations, a violet wand and fire play station, and one of the bars all occupied the first floor. The second floor, which at one time held four bedrooms, now housed only three separate rooms. To the right of the staircase, were two of the original bedrooms. One was currently being used for storage and the other, a second bar. To the left, what used to be the other two bedrooms had been converted into one large room for dancing. The third floor, once open attic space, had been renovated to include four small, well equipped, and functional rooms. Each floor had two bathrooms as well.

Thor’s play area was located in a room adjacent to the bar on the first floor. Practitioners were not allowed to drink and neither were those that signed up to be used and toyed and played with. A computer system had been installed in the house as well as an electronic sign-up and when someone was carded at the bar, it was logged into the house’s system. If one of those someone’s tried to sign up at a play station, their name was flagged as having been purchasing alcoholic beverages. It was house policy and taken seriously. Alcohol impaired judgment and the last thing anyone needed was a tipsy or outright drunk patron strapped down to a table for hot wax play or a spanking bench for a whipping.

His St. Andrew’s cross and sawhorse complete with eye hooks for both ankle and wrist cuffs were set up in what used to be the formal parlor. Thor loved the house and wished that Abyss could move there permanently, but the partners owned a warehouse in a quaint, artsy section of town that worked very well for the needs of the club’s members on a regular basis.

He turned to Mick, the other dominant who shared the room with him. They helped one another set up and take down, cuff people, and double team flog when it was requested. Sharing space and skills also allowed each of them time to take a break when needed. “Do you have anyone left on the list?”

Mick flipped through the electronic sign-up log and shook his head. “No, I think we’re done. Seems to be an early one tonight.”

Thor was actually glad of that. He would be able to get home before three and into bed before dawn. Truth was, he’d been dragging the last couple of weeks between his weekday job as a construction worker and his active weekend life. The two were sapping all his energy. If he had the time, he could sleep for a week and probably still not catch up.

Abyss was a volunteer gig. He didn’t have to do it, but he loved it, felt alive in a way he couldn’t explain when he was wielding a flogger or a whip. He didn’t have a regular play partner and he wouldn’t give up the chance at the small bit of play, however controlled, that the club provided as an outlet.

Out of the corner of his eye, Thor saw the masked man shift from one foot to the other, the movement hinting at impatience. He wanted something. Thor just couldn’t figure out what. There was a familiarity about the man that stumped him, but for the life of him, Thor couldn’t put his finger on it to save his life. He’d lain in bed for weeks trying to figure out how and where he knew the masked man from.

He packed up his floggers and loaded his paddles in his bag, cleaned up the table and wiped down the cross one last time. He would leave it until later in the week when he would need it at the warehouse again.

When he couldn’t put it off any longer, Thor crossed over the rope, effectively causing the man to take a few steps back. The look that passed between them was one of immediate hunger and lust. It hit Thor, straight and solid as any physical blow to his gut and the force of it shocked him.

The man’s face had been covered with the same black leather mask all month. The only part that was visible was his clean shaven jaw and full lips that held a brand of sensuality which gripped Thor right between his legs. He wore two gold hoops through his earlobes and Thor wondered if they were part of his black roguish costume tonight of tight, hip-hugging pants, knee-high boots, and flowing pirate-style shirt opened to reveal a good portion of his chest, or if they were part of him all the time. The eye cut-outs framed thick, dark lashes, but the low light of the room kept Thor from being able to tell the color of his eyes.

He was nearly as tall as Thor and while not quite as broad, he looked solid enough. Straight, dark hair brushed the nape of his neck and secretly Thor smiled. There was enough there to grab hold of from above or behind. He was exactly the type of man Thor liked. Which was odd, even for him. Thor very, very rarely ever indulged his preference for men. Oh, he liked women well enough, dated them, loved fucking them, but his preference was and always had been men. He wanted a male lover, a male play partner, but he’d kept that a well-guarded secret. However, this man in the mask turned him on, made him hard inside the leather pants he wore, and Thor cursed, knowing tonight his secret would come out. He’d deal with any questions later, for now, though…

“Do I know you?” Thor hoped his voice didn’t give his sudden surprise and arousal away.

“Yes.”

The man’s voice was raspy and unsteady, but he didn’t cower or look away. Thor gave him props for that. Up close, Thor knew he was an intimidating sight, with his big build and long hair, so that the man didn’t falter filled Thor with a pride he didn’t quite understand. “I can’t seem to place you with the mask on. Take it off?”

“No. I’m not ready for that yet.”

The next question simply begged to be asked and Thor couldn’t resist the lure of what the answer might be. “What are you ready for?”

A slow, sensual smile formed on the man’s lips. Thor could come just from looking at those lips and that smile. The man was every sexual fantasy Thor had about men and the mystery surrounding his identity only made him more so.

“A spanking,” came the soft reply.

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

~lissa

The Bree half of writing duo Moira Rogers is here to talk about their new series and why it doesn’t have a genre.

As a writer, sometimes you have an idea and you know what it’s going to be. A paranormal romance. An urban fantasy. A romantic suspense. A mystery.

Donna and I almost never know what our books are going to be.

Our Southern Arcana series straddles the line between Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy. Our Bloodhounds series mixes Weird West Alternate History with borderline Erotic Paranormal Romance and just a hint of Steampunk. And our new series, Children of the Undying

Well. We’re still not sure what to call it. But we know what’s in it!

#1) Spicy Romance

The intro novella, Demon Bait, and the first novel, Hammer Down, both contain no holds barred loving between halfblood demons and women brave enough to take them on.

#2) The Apocalypse

Yes, it’s the end of the world. Demons razed civilization as we know it fifty years before the start of the book, leaving humanity divided and the children of those demons and the summoners who brought them into our realm of outcasts.

#3) Demons & Magic

The demons passed on different brands of magic to the children they had with humans, and when demon blood mixes with summoner blood, look out! Magic is running wild in this brave new world, though the humans who are left aren’t too pleased with that fact.

#4) Virtual Reality

Since humanity had made a good deal of technological progress before the demon apocalypse, humans in the Children of the Undying universe had perfected Virtual Reality. (And with much more stylish glasses than the ones pictured.) With humans hiding underground to stay away from the demons, the Global Network is their only real chance for relaxation and entertainment.

#5) Truckers

Humans may be living underground, but not every town is self-sufficient. Trucks running on bio-fuel, outfitted with anti-demon technology and run by hard-edged mercenaries are the only chance of getting supplies from one city to another. The pay is high, but the life expectancy is not.

So there you have it!

Spicy paranormal romance with a demon apocalypse, a side of virtual reality, and some badass truckers. What genre should we call it? We’re not entirely sure either. What we do know is that it was a ton of fun to write, and we can’t wait to share it with the world.

Demon Bait goes on sale November 29th, but we’re going to give away an advanced reader ebook copy here to one winner! If you want to help us out, how about you make up a name for our new genre?