Fallen is out now! And other readerly news

Michele's latest Nocturne is out now!!

Description:

Wanting to be a part of mankind, the angel fell—losing his halo, the prize that held his earthbound soul. Now Cooper must retrieve it. But wherever the Fallen walk, a Sinistari demon intent with slaying one is not far behind. Cooper knows he must be wary of this demon. But his first encounter with her leaves him curiously hungering for more...

 

To reclaim her own soul, Pyxion must kill an angel. Not just any angel, but one who's fallen to earth and taken on an irresistible, seductive human form. She never expected that she would feel an attraction for the man she hunted—or that she might need his help. When faced with a powerful mutual threat, she and Cooper form an alliance. But as the danger heightens, so does the passion...and if they give in, all could be lost.

You can get your copy of Fallen at all the usual locations, or click here to be directed to the Nocturne website for all information pertaining to Harlequin books, including current releases.

More cool stuff 

*Marta Acosta has put her Scottish romance, Wolfish in Sheep's Clothing, up on Smashwords for only 99 cents!  This story originally appeared in The Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance which came out last February. Click here to get your ebook copy. 

 *Game of Thrones is set to debut on HBO beginning April 17th and I'm really looking forward to this adaptation, and what an excellent way to pass time while waiting for True Blood to begin. I haven't finished the book yet because Flyboy is hogging it at the moment, but I plan on being ready before episode one airs. Anybody else interested in this show? 

*And since I mentioned True Blood I thought it might be nice to take a look at my favorite blonde vampire. Like I need an excuse.

*I've been slacking on the Being Human posts, extra time has not been plentiful of late, but I will put up a 2 week recap this weekend, along with some cool tech news that I've been meaning to share.

*The President's Vampire comes out on April 28th!! Only 29 days and my patient waiting will come to an end. Maybe I need one of those counter thingies to demonstrate my barely contained excitement. Sometimes I am such a dork. Seriously, I have been waiting for this book since I turned the final page in Blood Oath, which happens to be one of the best books to come out in recent memory and was actually one of my early reviews. Christopher Farnsworth has a really cool website so stop by and check it out. And read these books!!!!

Dracula Event: Marta Acosta

"Vampires are the new vampires" according to Dr. Derek Tatum, internationally renowned vampire scholar, and that's one of my favorite quotes.  I've been around paranormal/urban fantasy long enough to hear claims that vampires are "over" (and this comes up every few years), or that werewolves are the new vampires, or zombies are the new vampires.  But there are good reasons for the continued popularity of the vampire myth: it allows writers and readers to explore themes of immortality, sex, death, sin, power... The myth is flexible enough to be used in thrillers, horror, romance, mystery, comedy, fantasy, historicals, scifi, and any combination thereof.- author Marta Acosta

Marta Acosta is the author of the Casa Dracula series, including the just released Haunted Honeymoon, which I absolutely adored, and she blogs daily over at Vampire Wire.

Guest: Marta Acosta

What can I say about Marta Acosta?  She's a dear, sweet, snarky bit of Internet joy who writes werewolf haikus in her spare time, not to mention recruiting members for the Naked David Boreanaz Club when she's not battling her arch-nemesis, the Sci/Fi Guy, to Death By Diabolical Mind Games.  Not only is she a fab writer of vamp fiction, she is also the Grand High Pooba of the excellent paranormal blog Vampire Wire.  If you aren't following her blog—what's up with that?  :-)  To promote her latest in the Casa Dracula series, HAUNTED HONEYMOON, she's got a plan, and she's kicking ass!

Make Your Character Kick-Ass without Kicking Ass

It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so it’s a compliment to Joss Whedon’s imagination that hundreds of Buffy Summer’s type heroines inhabit urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Buffy was a wonderful, groundbreaking character: a suburban cheerleader who discovers that she’s the one person of her generation fated to fight demons and vampires.

There was a thrill every time a demon or vampire looked at Buffy and saw her as just another girl…and then Buffy smote that baddie with extreme prejudice while tossing off some snarky teenage quip. I think women and girls responded to her because we know what it’s like to be dismissed and underestimated; we know what it’s like to be “just a girl.”

Buffy always treated her usual normal girl concerns –dating, friends, family, paying bills – with the same importance as she did saving the world.  And we loved her for that. But not every heroine needs to kick ass to be a kickass chick.

Marta, disguised as a sweet ballerina (we know better)

My favorite characters have always been those who use their cleverness to succeed: it’s brain over brawn. I like the underdogs, the ones who aren’t as gorgeous, rich, or powerful as their enemies, but still figure out a way to win battles. I like the mumblers and the bumblers, the oddballs and the losers, the freaks and the frauds. They don’t fit in anywhere, and their desire to be accepted is always in conflict with their greater calling.

The heroine of my Casa Dracula novels, Milagro de Los Santos, is a bright, funny, sexy young woman who tries to make a living by cobbling together freelance writing gigs and gardening jobs. She’s easily distracted by cute guys, parties, and lunatics. She wants to be just a normal human chica, but she can’t help being herself.

After she survives infection by a vampire, she gains physical strength, but that’s never her first option when faced with a problem. Nope, she’s rather come up with some nutty plan to conquer enemies and many of them seem to involve costumes and out-of-control parties. She’s a kick-ass chick who doesn’t have to kick ass.

Buffy was one of a kind, but she couldn’t have done it (and it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun) without her team of eccentric friends.  They overcame fear, physical weakness, and personal issues to fight for a greater cause. Nope, they weren’t beautiful cheerleaders with unique deadly skills, but they were each wonderful, brave, and worthy of love.

Visit Marta at her Website

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Saturday Shout Out post and Chloe Neill contest winner

Without further ado, the lucky winner of our Twice Bitten book and swag giveaway is...

Vickie, who said her favorite part about the vampire mythology is:

I like the eternal life gig and I like that Chloe's vampires eat real food as well as sipping some blood. Sleeping all day....sigh...would love that....

Congrats Vickie! Please email me with your mailing info so that I can pass it on to Chloe and get your book and swag out to you. And I quite agree that sleeping all day sounds sublime!

Thanks again to the fabulous Chloe Neill for making Bite Club part of her blog tour and having a Twice Bitten giveaway.


And in other news:

*Marta Acosta, of Vampire Wire and Casa Dracula fame, announced yesterday that her YA gothic, The Shadow Girl of Birch Grove, has been picked up by Tor books! So let's hear a round of applause for Marta *claps and cheers*

*Richelle Mead has had her Vampire Academy series optioned for the silver screen. Let's hope that the movie big-wigs actually do something with that and we get us a new and cool vampire series to watch besides Twilight. Her blog also has updates on Georgina #6, titled Succubus Revealed.

*J.R. Ward, writing as Jessica Bird, has a new book out called An Unforgettable Lady. Isn't the cover just gorgeous? If you look closely the cover says: She crossed the line between fear and desire. Ooh, I wanna know all about that!

*Rom Con is this weekend in Denver. I'm sure all those attending will have a blast! If anybody is attending and would be interested in doing a recap post for me, email me and we can set that up. I'd love to get a first hand accounting of the fun and games. Info about the event can be found here.

*Vampire Romance Books has a great post for July releases. Check it out! They also have a review up for our side read title, My Love Eternal.

Well, that's all for now. I still have a house full of guests so I haven't read much lately. I do have some great books ready and waiting for when things slow down some. Ha! Like that's going to happen:) Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday Shout Out: News and Notes from Around the Web

*One of my new daily stopping points is Vampire Genre, a comprehensive look at all things going on in the world of vampire fiction. The site is easy on the eyes and I love the revolving book widget at the top! This week Vampire Genre had a post describing Rain Lashed, a free Kyndred e-book by Lynn Viehl that is posted over at Scribd. You'll definitely want to add this blog to your list!

*Hot off the Vampire Wire press...Marta Acosta also has a new story available over at Scribd! Monster Motel is the original version of Midnight Brunch which was published in 2007 and the new/old version comes complete with an Alfred Hitchcock inspired cover. Marta has this to say about her decision to make Monster Motel available:

"... I thought fans of the series might enjoy reading Milagro's adventures among eccentric movie people. You'll find some of the same characters, and also different versions of the characters, as well as those who never made it to the final cut. It's really quite a different book."




*And since this post seems almost dedicated to free e-books I thought I'd add one more for fans of super sexy werewolves! Midnight Moon Cafe has announced that Cora Zane has a steamy new story available over at Smashwords called Under A Midnight Moon. Fair warning- this book is intended for those 18 and older. Don't say I didn't warn you.


*Rebecca over at Dirty Sexy Books has completely overhauled her site and it's looking good! The new color palette is various shades of black and gray which gives the site a grittier feel. I can't wait to see the finished product.

*Abigail from All Things Urban Fantasy has teamed up with Tynga of Tynga's Reviews to bring us the Paranormal Summer Fest which runs from June 1st to June 30th and will showcase various authors, titles and awesome giveaways each and every day. You do not want to miss this!



Bite Club Contest Reminders:


*The Halo Hunter contest ends on June 16th.


*My Dead in the Family word scramble contest ends on June 17th. All entries must be emailed to me at vampchixreadbooks@gmail.com