Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Teaser Tuesday!! **MAN CANDY ALERT**


This weeks teaser is on Julie Morgans new book, City Lights, ( Southern Roots #2 )


Coming October 2014!!






Doesn't Blaine just sound like he needs your shoulder to cry on??  Or maybe he needs help relaxing with a nice full body massage!  Yummy!!





For those of you that haven't read Julies first book, Southern Roots, here is a little ditty just for you : )




Wouldn't you just love the be the meat in that sandwich!!
If you're not familiar with Julie's work, click here on the link to visit her website!  And check out my interview with Julie, right here on my blog!  She is an awesome person, and a great writer.  I am also hosting a GIVEAWAY, posted along with Julie's interview. 

Happy daydreaming ladies ; )

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

*** Giveaway!! *** and my interview with Julie Morgan

I had the great opportunity of meeting Julie in Charlotte, during the Authors After Dark Convention back in August.  That was my first time ever hearing her name, and ever since then I have followed her, like a stalker!  LOL!  No, seriously... I started my blog, and began my quest to learn and read as much as I could on Julie.  I read her book, Fallen, then had the pleasure of reading her new book Southern Roots.  I had a good feeling about Julie when we met, and want to do my best to help her succeed.  

So, now that I'm done brown-nosing, hehe...

Julie has so generously agreed to give some awesome stuff away!  YAY GIVEAWAY!!  I am the lucky person that gets to host said GIVEAWAY.   There will be a first place winner, and a second place winner.



A signed copy of Julie's new book Southern Roots!  



A signed postcard, and four key chains, each representing the book covers from her Fallen series.  



This is how you enter: 

Click on "follow me" on my blog, then post in the comments section below the # you are and that's it!  The winner's will be picked randomly and announced on my Facebook page.  Good luck, and enjoy the interview!  Kim's Facebook Page
**US residents only please**




















Kim:  What was your inspiration for Southern Roots? 

Julie:   I watched teens one afternoon jump from a cliff into a lake here in Florida. It reminded me of when we used to cliff jump back in Texas. The story formulated itself after that.


Kim:  During the creative process of character development, was there anyone based on your real life? 

Julie:  LOL! Yes, actually. Keeping names aside, Bobby Ray and Blaine were based off of people I knew in my past.


Kim:  You go girl!  LOL!!


Kim:  When can we expect your next book release?  Please, tell us about it : )

Julie:  October is the planned month for City Lights, book 2 in the Southern Roots series. You meet Blaine in Southern Roots. In City Lights, you’ll get a deeper dive into his life, understand why he is the way he is, and watch him grow into a better person. City Lights revolves around addiction issues (reader beware!)


Kim:  Will you return to the paranormal world of writing after this series? 

Julie:  Absolutely! Paranormal is my go to genre. It always has been, even as a child.


Kim:  You know this next one was coming, lol...
Did you intentionally name the character Xander Harris in your book Fallen after the character  in Buffy the Vampire Slayer?   

Julie:   LOL no I did not name Xander Harris after the Buffy character. That was purely coincidence.


Kim:  What was your favorite book as a child? 

Julie:  This is hard to answer. I had SO MANY!  


Kim:  and now? 

Julie:  Now my favorite book, well there’s more than one. The Hunger Games trilogy, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Divergent (hello, love Four!) and a few others.


Kim:  How do you balance your writing time with your family time? 

Julie:  It is difficult at times. The human behind the books also works full time. I usually write in the evenings a few days a week. I set up at my local coffee shop, plug in the headphones and get into the story.


Kim:  For everyone out there who doesn't know, you have a daughter with autism.  You must have a GREAT support system within your family to be able to do what you do.  Does your community have good resources for families with children and/or adults with autism?  

Julie:  Yes, we have an excellent community. Her school system is amazing with her! I could not ask for better people to teach my child in school. She was diagnosed with 17th Chromosome Duplication. What this means is she has epilepsy and autism. She’s highly functional and LOVES talking to people and loves books. I foresee good things with this little girl!


Kim:  It is so great that you show your support on autism publicly.  You have an outlet to share and spread the word through your books.  Would you like to say something now, to the people who may or may not be familiar with you or autism?  

Julie:  Take time to look deeper. Autistic people (adults and children) think differently, but this does not mean they are different. They are people, just like the rest of us. Don’t treat them differently, don’t make them feel ‘special’, and please, don’t tell me “I’m sorry” for my child being autistic. There’s nothing to be sorry about. I love her for who she is. She has brought so much love into my heart. I have the rare ability to see the world through her eyes. Not everyone has that opportunity. If you would like more information and/or would like to donate to research, there are many outlets to look into, like Autism Awareness.


Kim:  That concludes my questions for you.  I hope my efforts to promote your book bring you some success, (small fish, big pond) cause you are a wonderful person and a great writer : ) 


Julie:  Thank you SO MUCH!!! It was a pleasure meeting you and I hope to see you again soon!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Southern Roots, (Southern Roots series #1)

Book review on Southern Roots, (Southern Roots series #1) by +Julie Morgan
Copy provided by the author for an honest review, a Contemporary Romance Novel




Rated it

Blurb:  Returning home never looked so good...
Home from college to help her mother on the family farm, Lexi Griffin expects things to be quiet and normal. She's back in her hometown, and everything is the same as she left it, including the slowly mending broken heart given to her by her high school sweet heart, Blaine.

After years away, Robert Shaw has returned to his hometown for his father's wedding, looking forward to reconnect with old friends, but he has no clue what's in store for him when he sees Lexi again. Sparks fly between the two, and Lexi is a bit reluctant to start anything with Robert, especially when past wounds haven't healed the way they should have. Robert is determined to have her, against all odds and good sense. A girl like her came around once in a lifetime, and he never forgot her.

And then Blaine comes back to town, intent on rekindling what he had with Lexi, even though his past cheating and drug use has slightly soured him in her eyes. She still loves him, but can she forgive him?

As Lexi takes a leap of faith, she suddenly faces the ultimate betrayal from one she trusted. Will she realize the truth in time or will corruption ruin the best thing that has just walked out of her life?



I thought this book was so romantic!  When we are introduced to Robert in the beginning of the book, we are immediately filled in on his family drama.  He lives in Georgia near his mother and step father, the Senator, and his father and soon-to-be step mother live in Texas, which is where Robert is from.  Robert is returning to his home town for his father's wedding to Sabrina.

When he returns, we are introduced to his cousin Makayla, who is a pistol!  I love her character, and her relationship with Robert!  Even though they hadn't seen each other in years, it's like they were never apart.  Makayla is how Robert meets Alexis Griffin, aka Lexi.  Lexi and Makayla are best friends and when Robert is dragged to a party by Makayla, that is when everything begins to change for Robert.  

We are taken through a weird relationship development between Robert and Lexi, because they are not dating, they make that very clear, because of the baggage they both carry.  Lexi has just split with her cheating boyfriend and Robert is only there for the summer and then has to return to Georgia and Law School.  However, they are attracted to each other, and can't stay away from one another, so they are friends, and just hanging out.  During their getting-to-know-you phase, they start falling for each other.  

This is a straight forward romance story, right?  NO...here comes Abby, Lexi's other best friend, who is a back stabbing, bitch whore!  Abby is in constant destructo mode!  Oh, Lexi looks happy, let me go frack it up!  We can't have anyone close to me being happy when I'm not!  Along with Lexi's selfish ex-boyfriend Blaine, the two stir up a world of shit that threatens to ruin lives, including their own.  

It was totally exciting and nail biting to find out what was going to happen with the mess that Blaine and Abby had started.  The deceit, the cheating, the setup, it was great!  The betrayal gave such flavor to the story, and it pulls you in.  It's a total chic flick that I would pay to see in the movie theater!

Southern Roots (Southern Roots series, #1)


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Kitty and the Midnight Hour

Book review on Kitty and the Midnight Hour, (Kitty Norville #1) by +Carrie Vaughn




Rated it
Blurb:  Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station - and a werewolf in the closet. Her new late-night advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged is a raging success, but it's Kitty who can use some help. With one sexy werewolf-hunter and a few homicidal undead on her tail, Kitty may have bitten off more than she can chew?


I thought this book offered more than what I was expecting, I loved it! My initial thoughts before even starting the book was it was going to be pretty mellow, because it's about a radio talk show DJ, but who happens to be a werewolf. Boy, was I wrong.

Kitty works as a DJ in a radio station in Denver, the night shift. One day she makes a comment, and poses a hypothetical question about a local murder on the air, and the calls roll in. No one could have anticipated the snowball effect that Kitty's actions would have.

The big problem with Kitty's success is that it poses a threat to her pack as well as the local vampire family. See the humans don't know they exist. When people, supernatural's I should say, start calling in, everyone human thinks that this is all a big joke, and aren't taking the discussions seriously. But the vampires and werewolves are taking it seriously, and in a big way!

Arturo, the head of the vampire family in Denver has a meeting with Carl, the werewolf pack leader, about Kitty quitting her show immediately! It is an embarrassment to the leaders of the supernaturals, and a threat that one day the humans may start to believe that they are real.

When Kitty is called by Carl for a "talk", she goes to her friend TJ first, the second in command of the pack. TJ's character is very much the best gay friend, who sympathizes with Kitty a lot, and knows how to comfort her when she needs it, but also is tough, and can kick ass and hold his own within the pack. As we go along the story, we are introduced to the pack. Their is great detail on the pack dynamic and the personalities of each pack member. I really enjoyed how the author created this world, it was very unique and refreshing.

As Kitty's show becomes more and more popular, and she refuses to quit despite the order from her pack leader and the vampire dude Arturo, the threats start, and Kitty is faced with life and death on many different occasions. She has multiple people trying to kill her, the police get involved in one of those cases. Thinking that they are getting nowhere, the detective on the murder spree case decides to ask Kitty for her assistance. So now we have Kitty trying to help solve a crime, dodging death attempts by multiple factions, and oh, did I forget to mention the psycho occult church leader dude that claims he has a "cure" for the surpernatural's?

There is also a potential love interest underlining this story, but to talk about it, I would have to kill you afterwards. lol...

As Kitty's fame rises, so does the action in this book. The only negative thing I have to say is about the "bad people" in this book. I am pissed they didn't get their heads ripped off and shoved up their ass! I know this is a series though, so I'm hoping justice is served to them very soon!


Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville #1)


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And now Kim Harrison...

Previously on Raleigh, NC meets Kim Harrison...

Kim is announced and I catch her coming down the aisle to my left.  She's smiling and waving as she steps up to the podium.  We are all frozen, holding our breathes and no one is making a sound, it's like we were hypnotized from looking directly at her, wtf is wrong with all of us, someone move!!! Kim's husband announces, " It's ok, you can clap, lol ", and here's us, " Oh!  OK, clapping, hu hu.. "  As Kim begins to speak, blood rushes through me with excitement.   Oh boy, here we go!  Kim thanks everyone for coming and says they will start with the Q & A and end with the raffle. The prize is a custom tote bag!  Weeeee!  Kim's husband had accompanied her down the aisle and had his camera, and the raffle totes in hand.  We begin with the questions:

Ok, so I was still trying to get my head out of my ass, and was fumbling with my recorder when the first question was asked, so I missed exactly how the question was asked, all I know is it had something to do with the camp Rachel and Trent were in as children.  Sorry, so this is me guessing at the actual question...



Q:  Will Rachel ever remember details about her time in the camp as a child with Trent?


Kim:  I was really using it as a back story to how Rachel and Trent were really meant for each other and now that it has become very obvious, I really don't need to go back into it.  Rachel really doesn't remember a whole lot, Trent is kinda bumpy, it will open up new threads and I closed them up, so probably not.  I really thought this book, The Witch with no Name was my last say...it is not!

I was done with the rewrite and I said, " I'm not quite done yet", and Al said, " Yes, I know ".  So Al is going to get the last word. There is a very short story coming out, it's like 16 pages, as an ebook, probably in October, I mean, they're really hammering on it.  It's called Sudden Back Track.




Q:  Back in the elevator at Trent's compound, Trent tells her he's never lied to her, except maybe once, I think it was more than once...


Kim:  At the time that I wrote that, I couldn't actually remember when he had.  So I was covering my base by throwing that in there.  I'm still waiting for the person that comes up to me with their book and says, " Mrs. Harrison, he lied right here, right here, and here".  So far nobody's done that. Oh, you found some (laughing).


Q:  Jenks is my favorite character, he's so random, how did you come up with the idea of Jenks?


Kim:  Jenks was my way of trying as a writer to have Rachel not talking to herself. 


Q:  Ciri and Pierce, did you intend for them to go out like that?


Kim:  Ciri was a very happy accident.  I didn't expect her at all, she kinda stepped out behind that tombstone, that's when you first meet her, oops, their goes my outline, laughing...  So when we got to the crux of it, and I realized she wasn't really adding anything more to the story, her role was kinda introducing Rachel to the bad part of the Elves and also the teachings that she gave to Rachel, and when I didn't need that anymore, or Rachel had moved passed it, she wasn't doing anything unfortunately, except cluttering up where I wanted to go, and unfortunately that is why Ciri had to leave.

I took her out with Pierce, because again, his part was done, and they had worked together before, so it wasn't like I was breaking new ground or with a precedent, that's why they went out together. Oh, and the reason I didn't show the actual conflict was 1: the book is first person and I really couldn't, and 2: I didn't want to make those deaths become the crux of the book. 


Q:  Were you directly involved with the choosing of the narrator, Margaret Gavin?


Kim:  Isn't she good?  She was in a stable, I was allowed to hear three or four narrators, and I picked Ms. Gavin because I liked the way she handled Jenks.  She was the only one who gave him some cred.  Everybody else had him talking like this, ( Mickey Mouse impression ), and I was like, that's not Jenks!   Sorry, but that is just not Jenks.  The Outlaw Demon Wails, when we have that other narrator, she did a good job, but Ms. Gavin is the voice of the Hollows.  The switching of narrators happened because Harper originally had the books produced out of house, and then they brought them in house, and wanted to use their own narrator.  That's why we got all those weird pronunciations, and then there was such an uproar that we had to get Ms. Gavin contracted for the rest of them.

Ya, let me just add, to the narrator of said book we are talking about, REALLY?!  Ley line, L E E line, I mean, come on!  Would it have killed you to listen to ONE book that Margaret Gavin did to see how the names and words were pronounced?!  OR Takata, you butchered that name so badly, I wanted to end you myself!


Q:    Did you get to visit the tunnels when you were in Cincinnati? 


Kim:  I did!  They opened it up special just for me.  There's a little video out on it.  I'm hoping that they release more than that because we spent two days down there.  My first impressions were of course the smell, I got right, with the dusty cement smell was humified.  You could still hear the traffic, going overhead, but it was muffled, and silent, and apart.  Very apart from everything else, I mean one minute your in the city, then you go down a few steps, and your gone.  It was very cool.


Q:  As A writer, how do you decide which method you use to write, do you use an outline of some sort?


Kim:  I'm going to preface this with, everybody writes different, and even authors who have a very successful way of writing will not always use the same method on every book, and I found that is kinda how I am.  I've got a method that I like, but if it doesn't work I will try something else.  I am a religious plotter, I love to plot.  It's the Ivy in me coming out, laughing...I can't write a thing unless I know where I'm going, so I will have a page for every chapter of what we're doing, where we're going, what we're going to see, and then when I'm ready to write that chapter I will write the dialog down really fast, usually on the computer, and I'll take that as my backbone and then I will write the chapter, and doing that, I can produce quite a bit.

As long as I don't try to go back and re-write, I just have to just keep pushing forward.  But then there is this Rachel side of me, and I will get to a certain point usually, it's about page 100 on the manuscript, and about 300, where all these little things have come together, and it's changed where the books going, because I like surprises, I will through my outline out and follow that new trail, and that's where I have to decide if what I'm doing is working or not working, but I will also re-write my outline.  Everything I write by the seat of my pants is the last chapter, and by the way, the last chapter in this was a complete surprise.  They were suppose to end up on a beach and that IS NOT what happens, laughing... So I like what happened a lot better.


Q:  What is next for you?


Kim:  What is next!  YAY!  I'm stepping away from the Hollows, completely.  I'm stepping into a new universe.  The really short version of it would be Bourne Identity meets Minority Report.  It's faster, it's quicker, it's almost thrillerish.  I'm stepping away from the vampires and witches as well.  I'm using the idea of accelerated science to replace the magic, if your science is so far out there it looks like magic, that's kinda what I'm going for.

My characters I'm working with are Perry and Jack.  I don't want to say to much because my editor hasn't seen it yet, he's going to see it...later.  Perry picks up kind of where Rachel is leaving off, she's at the top of her game, she knows who she is.  She's got a high profile, exciting job, she's got a sexy man next to her, who knows what he's doing and he's smart, intelligent, and they work really well together, and then I go to page 9, laughing... and it all falls apart.  It's Perry's past that catches up her rather than her bad decision and I am so excited to be working with her.  I loved working with Rachel, but I needed something different to stretch my writing muscles.


Q:  Do you know the timing of the new book being released?


Kim:  I will know better once my editor has looked at it.  It will probably be a year, maybe less.  The manuscript is done, my big chunk of the work is done, so it's all up to the publishers.


Q:  How did you go from a Biology major to becoming a writer?


Kim:  I don't know, laughing... I don't like to say it just kinda happened, because that makes it sound easy, and it wasn't.  I was working in a biology related field, vaguely, and it got down sized, and I ended up at home with two young kids, and the whole city was closing up because the employer was leaving.  I decided to stay home with the boys, so I decided to start a family daycare.  It worked really well, except I was a little nuts by the end of the day, laughing.... So I started writing to release some of that, and one hour turned into two hours, then turned into four hours on the weekends, and I got a lot of support from my husband, and my neighbors and eventually I found a writer critique group, and I think we're at year five now.

It was what I was really meant to do.  My whole mind set is geared towards what you need to do to really become a writer.  I read veraciously when I was growing up.  Although I did not take any English classes, except what I had to, to graduate, I pulled a lot of plot and pacing, character development, and how to string books together into a successful series from the science fiction and fantasy writers of the late 70's, early 80's.  If you look closely you can kinda see threads of my masters.  So that's how it happened.  Sounds like you write.


     Q:  Well, I'm a biology major, laughing...but I would like to write.  I have all these ideas, but then I just don't where to go with it.


     Kim:  Ya, give it a go!  My dad, he scratches his head, but you were a biology major!  Why!  But dad, I use it everyday!  And I do, I do use my biology degree everyday.


Q:  Where do you get your spells, the curses, the Elvin words from?


Kim:  OK, the Elvin spells, the words, I made up.  It just sounded right, tonashay, doesn't that sound right?  Laughing...  The demon curses and spells I pulled from a Latin source book.  Latin's a weird language, I don't know how to speak it, and if you try to go from English to Latin back to English, it doesn't work, it's weird.  So I would just pull the words for the spells themselves, as far as crafting them, I would spend five minutes online, and just kind of pull things from here and there, and look, oh I want to make a sleeping potion, so what herbs are good for sleep, and then I pull those out, worms, and moonbeams and whatnot and it would all go together, but then I would use my Biology background, to try and make it scientific, and it's ALL MADE UP, laughing...don't try to straighten your hair, you may not have any in the morning, laughing...


Q:  How important is it to have good chemistry with your editor?


Kim:  It makes all the difference between success and failure.  For me it's very important.  I have to be able to trust them, I have to believe that they know at least as much as I do, in order to give me good advice, and it's hard to know who to take good advice from, and that's a huge measure of trust.  When you are in one of the " big 6 ", your editor is your champion.  They are the ones that go out and say, " this is a great book, we have to get behind it, we need marketing to get behind it, we need to get the good artist ", and if they're not excited about it, the person two seats down is about their authors, and that's where the energy goes.


Q:  Did your biology background influence your book with the tomato virus?


Kim:   Absolutely.  With that aspect of the book, with the T4 angle, absolutely. A lot!  The Elves are falling apart because of a genome failure, the demons can't breed because their genomes have been damaged, the tomato took out half the human population.

It was also when I'm developing my species, like Jenks, he's a pixie, he's like an insect, he's got lots of kids, he's going to need a high energy source, he's going to eat nectar and pollen.  He's going to have to hibernate, and migrate, so it all comes together. 


Q:  Who is your favorite author?


Kim:  My favorite author? Ok I'm going to date myself.  My favorite author from growing up is a toss up between Ray Bradbury, and Heinlein.


Q:  Was it hard to kill off the characters that you loved?


Kim:  That would depend on the character, laughing...  No one has ever come to me and say, " why did you kill Pascari?!"  Laughing...  Or Nick, laughing...  It was very hard to kill off Madelina, and Kisten, the pain is still there, but it is getting better.  It is difficult, but I don't ever kill off characters just willy nilly, there's a reason, and if I can believe that reason, then it's it's not quite so hard.


Q:  I know it didn't work out with CW picking up your book, is that something you ever plan on revisiting?


Kim:  Probably not with CW.  When we were talking with CW I don't believe we had a #1 yet.  Now that we have had a #1 on the NY Times Best Seller, there might be a renewed interest. My agent is still fielding offers.  Maybe next time I would like it to be handled a little bit more intelligently.  Not that CW isn't intelligent, but they were just looking at this little card, and the Hollows is so much bigger than two women solving crimes.  I really wasn't upset when it curled up and died.  But if the right offer comes along, and I feel that measure of trust, you bet I would!




Looks like we are done with the questions, so I think it's time we give some cool stuff away!  Crowd applauds and raises noise with excitement.   Kim's husband proceeds to ask some trivia questions and the winners get a tour t-shirt.  Then they moved onto the raffle.  I was #77, and the first three numbers he called were like 55, 99, 11, so I was totally putting money down that I would win, right?  No, I didn't win... but my friend Elecia won with the #78!  It was so awesome, congrats Elecia!




Now that we are done with that, it's time for our " Family picture ", Kim announces.  So, all the people who bought the tour t-shirt online during a limited time, was going to get their picture taken with Kim and the picture put on her blog.  I did not purchase the tour shirt only because I knew I would be getting a picture with Kim anyways, cause I'm cool like that.  Moving on now to get in line for the book signing.  Now this kinda pissed some people off, so I'm not sure you want to run thangs like this, but who am I to tell you your business.  If you bought Kim's new book at this store during the event, you received a " line ticket ".  The line ticket gave you first dibs in line, and everyone else who didn't buy a book, had to wait til all of us who did buy a book was done.  Sucks for you...  Cause at each signing, we were able to sit down and talk to Kim as well as take photo's, so this took a while, you know what I'm saying!  I bought the book because it was a first edition with the blue butterfly in it, ; )  AND I didn't want to have to wait that long in line.




While we waited our turn in line, Kim's husband entertained us with stories of Kim and her youth, how they met, how they spend their days together, and we got to ask him questions about Kim, ones that she might not tell!  My question for him was, do you read her books?  and do you like them?  His answer was YES to both!  He also passed out the Bunny Cam to the crowd, which raised the giggles and good times in the limbo of line waiting...  I must say, Kim and her husband sure know how to entertain!  They are so funny, and seem very comfortable in that roll.


                                                                                                          


Then, it was my turn coming up quick!  Oh no!  I have no clue what to talk to her about!!  I have nothing, my mind is blank!!  Frack it, I will just wing it, and wait for her to say something first.  I had a chance to talk to the staff member that was there to take pictures for you, and I let her know it's ok to take LOTS of pictures, don't be shy, lol...  The next few moments were so fast, I never saw it coming.  I walked towards the chair next to Kim and she said " Hi, how are you? "  I said, " Fine, how are you? " .  I sit down and then boom!  I just blurt out, no thought, or self control, all about my blog and how I would love for her see it when once I have this event up on it, and she says she would love to!  Please email me when you do, you do have my email, right?  Yes, I do.  Then I pull my customized notepad out of my purse, the one that has my name, blog address and photo on it, and hand it to her, and I said, " So you don't forget me when I email you ".  Kim hands me my books, and I say thank you and get up.  I was handed my camera back and headed toward the door.

                                                                                       
                                                                              





  Now, I have no recollection of the pictures being taken, the feeling in my whole body, or any thought crossing my mind from the moment Kim said Hi.  Is that what star struck means?  You go stupid?!  You leave your body and someone else takes over so you don't go limp and fall down?  I obviously was breathing because I spoke but why did it feel like I was holding my breath?  OMG I've been abducted!  Should I go to a support group now, to piece together what has happened?!    Oh, the trauma of it all, lol...gotta laugh or you will cry. 

On my way out the door, I ran into this man, putting his contribution in the bucket for the local food bank.... Dam!  I forgot my tomatoes!!  Sorry Kim, I did buy some, just forgot them in all the excitement of you, lol...


       For those of you who missed this event, sucks for you...  It was awesome!  Everyone came together with the commonality of Kim and her books.  We all had a great time making new acquaintances, talking and sharing our love of books.  Thank you for the memories Raleigh, and most of all a big THANK YOU to Kim Harrison. 

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Raleigh, NC meets Kim Harrison

On Friday, September 12, 2014, I had the pleasure of meeting +Kim Harrison at a book store in Raleigh, NC.  Kim is on tour for her new book, The Witch With No Name. It's the last installment to her Hollows series starring Rachel Morgan.  The anticipation of this release has had me on edge ever since I heard about it, and the day has finally arrived!

(If you haven't started this series yet, what's wrong with you? Go get the first book now! You won't regret it. In fact, you might as well get all of the books if you can. You'll be saving yourself extra trips to the store.)

For this book signing, there wasn't any real prep work involved on my part, other than following Kim's blog to see if there was anything I should know about before getting to the event.  Reading about her signing in Cincinnati, where the tour kicked off, and the sheer number of people that showed up to the event had me on edge.  I had no idea how many people would be swarming to the book store in Raleigh, and I had a three hour drive to get there.

So how early should I get there? I asked myself.  Well, mother nature answered that question for me.  My husband and youngest son came down with the flu, so I had to pick up my oldest from school.  After that, I was on the road solo!  My first time taking a long trip like that alone, it was liberating!  I faced my fear head on, determined not to miss out on a milestone. I was going to meet, greet, and have fun at Kim's event!

I was so excited about getting to the big event that I neglected to eat. I also forgot to bring the canned tomatoes (spaghetti sauce) I bought just for this event, as requested by Kim on her blog.  It was part of her tour, collect tomatoes, and deliver them to the local food bank.  As I drove, I listened to an audiobook, which made the time seem to fly by.  I had the best luck ever with the weather and traffic, it was a sign for great things to come.

I arrived at the book store at 6:20 p.m., about an hour before it started. When I walked in, there were a few people already claiming their seats in front of the podium, but not too many, sweet!  I purchased The Witch With No Name (the special edition with the blue butterfly), and needed a desperate potty time out.  The restroom was the most fascinating restroom I have ever seen!  They had put up 5x7 pictures of authors, which were all signed!  These pictures covered every wall, it was crazy!













After my break, I took a few pre-Kim pictures of the set up that the store had for her and her fans. Since I was so early I walked around for a bit and decided to check in with my husband. By the time I returned to the store it was 7:15.  I noticed quite a few more people had arrived since I first got there.












The first person I spied was a woman that looked awfully familiar.  I approached with caution.  As I got closer to her, she spotted me walking her way, and smiled.  Oh good, she's a friendly!  I introduced myself to her and commented how much she looked like someone I knew.  She smiled and responded, "I am dressed like Rachel Morgan". Faux Rachel's real name was Jennifer, from Spartanburg, SC.  Jennifer has been the biggest fan I have met to date of Kim Harrison's!  It was nice to meet you Jennifer, and thanks for the picture!




As Jennifer walked away, I decided to find a seat.  There was a bench with my name on it.  I sat down accompanied by two women, one with two young children with her.  Just as I took a seat, the store dude, didn't catch his name, speaks with a microphone to announce the raffle, and if you haven't bought Kim's book, this is where it is, blah, blah, blah.  I really wasn't paying attention, something about signing up to join their book club.  The raffle announcement caught my attention though and just when I was getting ready to ask, the woman sitting next to me turned and asked if I had gotten one.  I said NO!  Using a tone that indicated how outraged I was for the store staff to forget to give ME one!  Apparently it was supposed to come with the book purchase? WTF?  So I get up and go to the counter and nicely ask for one. Hmph...

As the crowd anxiously waited for Kim's arrival, I chatted up the woman next to me, the nice one that asked me if I had received a raffle entry.  Her name was Elecia, from Burlington, NC.  Elecia was nice enough to let me ask her questions for my blog.  She also engaged me with her story of when she read her first Kim Harrison book.  Now 26, she was 16 and on a cruise when she read her first Harrison book.  My comment to her was, "must have been a crappy cruise, lol." That made her laugh.

I asked her how she thought the newest book would end.  She had to think about it, and her answer was pretty vague, like how Rachel and Trent stay together, and the Demons coexist with the Elves and Witches.  I joked about how awful I am with predicting endings, and the woman with the children agreed.  We then discussed books, and she recommended a couple of different ones for me to check out, they really did sound intriguing.  Thanks Elecia btw!

It was time!  We both stopped talking and switched our attention to the podium, where dude from earlier came on the mic to announce Kim, YAY!  He goes into this long monologue of an introduction, and I'm just like enough already, where's Kim!  We are all aware of her accomplishments, we are her FANS!  Get on with it!  And now please welcome Kim Harrison...

To Be Continued...









Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Fallen

Book review on Fallen (Chronicles of the Fallen #1) by +Julie Morgan


Rated it


Blurb:  Lisa Adams wants what every other woman wants: The perfect job. The perfect home. The perfect guy. When she receives the opportunity of a lifetime, Lisa has no idea what she’s actually signed up for. Her boss, who is tall, dark and incredibly sexy, starts making advances towards her and she’s having a hard time telling him no. Lisa begins seeing things that are scaring the Hell out of her. Nightmares are leaving her frightened.

Then there’s this new guy that’s come into her life. He brings a new light into the darkness that threatens to claim Lisa. He’s mysterious, heartwarming and kind. Not to mention the most beautiful man she’s ever met. But something with him seems to be off.

Faced with love, seduction, sacrifice and deceit, Lisa will find herself being pulled in two directions; one pursues her to claim her soul and the other will sacrifice everything to save her.




This book begins and ends with Lisa Adams, a smart, sophisticated, beautiful woman.   The story begins with her preparing for the job interview of a lifetime.  A PR firm that is a career maker for someone like Lisa.  She aces the interview and lands the job!  As she makes her way up the ladder, she starts feeling an empty place in her heart for someone to love.  Here comes hot, sexy, I want him, Alex.  They meet in her very own condo building, yes ladies, he lives there!!  Naturally, they start dating...  As we walk through their courtship, it started reminding me of when my husband and I started dating, (insert aww's here).  You know how it is when you first start dating, you want to be with him ALL the time, and feel giddy whenever he calls.  This is what it was like for Lisa.  

As Lisa begins to become more successful, her boss, Samuel begins to make his moves on her.  She really likes Alex, but there is something about Samuel that draws her to him, making her want him.  Once the seduction starts with Samuel, Lisa begins to start seeing shadows, and swears she saw Samuel's eyes flash red.  She begins to see things in her bathroom mirror that really freak her out!  And this is where the true nightmare for Lisa and Alex begin.

The story was very captivating, sexy, and alluring.  I felt connected to Lisa and empathized with her feelings towards Alex.  I wanted them to be a couple, to make that final leap in their relationship.  As I learned more about Samuel, I really didn't like how he ultimately ended up deceiving Lisa, but this did not tear her and Alex apart, it only made them closer.  Which in retrospect, tells you a lot about how Lisa and Alex really feel for each other, even though they haven't admitted it to themselves or each other.  

I also liked how down and dirty the author got with the creation of the other-worldly creatures and their abilities.  The author takes us into such a dark, and scary place that can only come from someone with a great, imaginative, creative, and brilliant mind!  I really enjoyed this book and will venture on to the next one in the series. If this book sounds like something you would want to read, go ahead and purchase the next one at the same time, because there is a doozy at the end!


Fallen (Chronicles of the Fallen, #1)

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Sunday, September 7, 2014

Heart of the Wolf

Book review on Heart of the Wolf by +Terry Spear



Blurb: Their forbidden love may get them both killed. Bella is a red werewolf, sole survivor of the fire that killed her entire pack. Devlyn is a beta male werewolf in a pack of grays. Forced to flee her adopted gray pack when the alpha male becomes a vicious threat, she struggles to live as a lone wolf, until Devlyn, the gray male who rescued her as a pup, comes to bring her home.

When a local red werewolf goes on a killing spree, Bella and Devlyn must flee the murderer, the police and their vengeful pack leader. With the full moon rising, and her heat upon her, Bella can't resist the pull to her destined mate, even if means Devlyn will have to face the wicked alpha male in a fight to the death.


Rated It




My thoughts on this book go back and forth from great to good to great again. Let me explain. The story line was great! However, there seem to be long parts of the book where it gets slow and repetitive.

This is a love story about Bella and Devlyn. Bella is a red wolf, that lost her family in Colorado to a fire. Devlyn, a gray wolf, rescues Bella from the fire and takes her back to his pack where they adopt her.

Growing up, Bella and Devlyn become good friends and eventually fall for each other. But there is a big bad wolf named Volan, the gray's pack leader, who wants Bella for his mate. Bella is deathly afraid of Volan, a secret as to why, not revealed until much later in the book. Because of her fear of Volan, she keeps Devlyn at arms legnth, because she knows the only way she can be with Devlyn is if Devlyn challenges Volan, in a fight to the death, and become the new pack leader.

This is where the story gets interesting. Bella runs away, and lives as a lone, or rogue wolf, for over a hundred years, always moving, to keep in hiding from Volan. She settles in Oregon. She has a career, a bestie that lives next door, Chrissy, a divorcee with two kids.  Chrissy's character turns out to be a key role in the book, and let me tell you she's a hoot!  Bella is trying to keep her friend out of harms way, but finds it difficult because every time Chrissy comes to her house, Devlyn is buck naked!  Chrissy can't resist seeing Devlyn's ass and knick knacks, and I don't blame her!  I would be going over there every chance I got too!

Just when Bella thinks that she is safe, she goes to her cabin in the woods for a weekend "run", and discovers the scent of another of her kind. When she follows the scent, this leads her straight in the cross hairs of a Zoologist named Thompson. Thompson captures Bella in her wolf form, trying to "save" her red wolf species. This in turn exposes her to the red wolf pack that live in the area that Bella was unaware of. Now that they know she is here, and a lone wolf, as well as a red, no less in heat. They now have a mission to rescue her from the clutches of the zoo and capture her for their own, to mate with.

The theme of the book seems to be mating. Everyone's pack seems to have a shortage of female wolves at the "mating" age, so this ensues a fight to the death over Bella, because she is in heat and they need pups to sustain their packs.

 In Oregon is where we are introduced to the red's pack leader Alfred, and his goons Ross and Nicol. All the while Bella's heart belongs to Devlyn, but he won't step up until Bella admits to him that she wants him as her mate.

The whole time she was in hiding, she stayed in contact with one gray wolf, Argos. Argos was the one who raised her, and she has always loved him like a father. But even Argos can not save her from Volan. Argos has to obey his pack leader just as everyone else, even though he was the previous pack leader.

 The story doesn't fall short there though. Once Bella was captured, that, along with a murder spree in the city, caught the attention of the gray pack leader and prompted a rescue party to retrieve Bella and bring her home, where she was to be mated with Volan.

 Argos, Devlyn, and his two cousins were sent to bring Bella back. Once Devlyn and his team have Bella, the constant heat between her and Devlyn cause complications for the both of them. Bella is in heat, Devlyn wants her, Bella wants him, but they can't because she's afraid of Volan killing Devlyn. Bella would rather be a lone wolf than to have to face the death of Devlyn.

And don't get me started on the constant nudity. Everybody's naked every chance they get! OMG, Bella and Devlyn, sleeping in the buff together but not "doing anything", was driving me insane! They wanted to, I wanted them to, but they didn't, because she was Volan. Hate Volan, he's an ass!

The story takes a turn when Bella decides she is not going back to Colorado until she solves these murders that have been happening, afraid that if she doesn't it will expose her kind to the humans. Devlyn follows suit easily and the adventure begins.

The sleuthing brings the most unlikely people together to solve these crimes, which creates tension, excitement and danger. I really enjoyed this part of the book. The whodunit was great for the story line. I do highly recommend this book, however it would have received an extra star if it weren't for the slow, repetitive parts.

Heart of the Wolf (Heart of the Wolf, #1)




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Friday, September 5, 2014

Spanish Nights GIVEAWAY!!

 Spanish Nights, A Jinn’s Seduction
Release Date:  September 24, 2014
Publisher: Valerie Twombly
Paranormal Romance



After a bitter divorce from her cheating husband, Makayla searches for her muse in the remote hills of Spain. When she flings open the door of her villa, she finds it in the form of intense blue eyes and a killer body attached to a thick Spanish accent.

Armand has lost everything. His magic and his freedom are taken when an evil curse is placed on the Jinn, bounding him to earth. With only his immortality and ability for seduction, he sets his sights on the dark haired newcomer in town.

What begins as desire in the steamy nights of Spain, quickly leads to something more meaningful. However, when evil emerges from the shadows, Makayla learns she must choose between her mortality and Armand’s freedom.


Excerpt:

Makayla had been positive Armand was going to kiss her. Instead he'd set her aside and almost seemed angry that she had trusted him. Their ride back to the mainland had been quiet and almost tense. What had caused the sudden change? The kiss on the cheek? Everything had certainly gone to hell after that, but she could have sworn he wanted her.

She brushed the hair from her face. What did she know about men anyway? It had been two years since her last relationship and it had failed. She had failed. The entire idea was a mistake and she should just chalk it up to a lesson learned and move on. Tears stung her eyes. She thought she saw something good and decent in Armand. Even if only for a one-night stand, she thought he would have catered to her every need, giving her something her past relationships always lacked. Maybe she should just hire the deed done. Women did it all the time now and why not? Their sexual urges were the same as a man's, only the rules were different.

Half an hour later, they were back at the dock and Armand helped her off the boat.

“I'll escort you home.”

Really? She pursed her lips. “I'm sure you have lots to do. I can see myself home. Thank you again for a nice day.” She spun and started to walk away, but he was on her heels.

“I wasn't asking.” He moved in beside her.

Kayla kept her gaze ahead. She could feel the heat rising up her neck. “Suit yourself.” If he wanted to walk with her then fine, but she refused to converse with him. The mixed signals he kept sending were making her dizzy. He went from seductive to demanding to angry with god-knows-what. The confusion running through her brain gave her a headache.

Ten silent minutes later, she finally reached her front door. She slipped the key into the lock and turned the handle. The door opened to reveal a darkened room and she could hardly wait to escape back into it. She wondered if the entire trip was a waste. Good manners had her turning around to face the sexy man who'd towered beside her all day.

“Thank you again. It was lovely.”

His hands gripped her upper arms and his body pinned her against the doorjamb. His lips crashed down on hers. Bruising. Demanding. His tongue pushed passed and swept into her mouth. He tasted of danger and sin and she wanted to swallow him whole. Every lean hard muscle of his chest pushed into her breasts causing them to ache. Her nipples pebbled against her bathing suit and begged to have his hot tongue glide across them. His erection, thick and hard, pressed into her belly. She wanted to touch him, but with her arms pinned at her side she could do nothing except remind herself to breathe.

He consumed her.

Armand nipped her bottom lip then pulled away causing her to moan. Even in the dusk of the evening, she could see the desire in his eyes. It burned her soul.

“Querida, never trust a strange man again. I will be your one exception,” he whispered. “Do you understand?”

She swallowed. Her throat parched from the inferno brewing inside her like a wicked storm. “Y—Yes.”

“Good.” He released her then backed away. “Go inside now. I'll pick you up tomorrow evening for dinner.”

“O—Okay.”

Kayla stepped past the entry and closed the door behind her. She leaned against the cool wood both to quench the fire that raged within and for support. She brought her fingers to her swollen lips and could almost feel him still pressing against her.

“What the hell just happened?”

Her legs were like Jell-O and her heart raced. She hadn't expected him to kiss her. Not after the way things had ended. Even in her surprise, her body couldn't help but respond. She had never been kissed like that before. It had been raw. His heat had seeped through her skin igniting something deep inside her.

“So that's what it's like? Holy hell.” She pushed herself off the door and walked across the living room on wobbly legs. She needed a cold shower. Ice cold to be exact.





This book was steamy, sexy, raw with a side of chocolate dipped cherries on top!  I finished reading this book in record time it was so damn juicy!

The story has two elements, a Jinn that lives on another world, and Makayla, a human that lives here on earth.  Fate has brought them together by extreme circumstances.  Who would have thought that they would ever meet if not for outlandish magical forces.  Why can't this happen in real life, right?!

Armand is a Jinn, the son of a mighty King, who is destined to take his fathers place.  Cyndel is a Genie, the daughter of a King, who seduces Armand in hopes to secure his hand in marriage, but not for love.  After they have HOT sex, they argue.  Armand will not marry her because he does not love her, and she is a greedy, nasty, she bitch, his words, not mine, lol..  So playing up to her reputation, Cyndel curses Armand to earth, that strips him of his powers, and leaves him only with his immortality and healing abilities.  The oh-so-kind Cyndel allows Armand's one brother Crone to visit him every six months as well, gee, did that hurt??  Stupid skank!

Then you have poor, pathetic, but you feel sorry for her, Makayla.  She's an attractive 20 something writer.  She was horribly treated by her cheating husband, who she finally left, and had been divorced for two years.  Since the breakup, she has been unable to write a damn thing!  She is a paranormal romance writer to boot. ;)

Makayla has been locked up in her own head the whole time, void of dating, having sex, all the fun stuff in life, but for her visits from her bestie Nikki.  Her friend Nikki is the only person she has.  Her family is all gone, dead.  Nikki is a hot model btw, so she has some hookups for Makayla!  She convinces Makayla to go on a retreat to try and get her groove back, for both writing and doing the nasty.  Nikki wins, and hooks Makayla up with a villa in Spain owned by a friend of hers. 

Makayla is not even in Spain 24 hours, when she meets Armand, at her own front door!  He came to welcome her, and offer a tour of the town.  The sexual attraction was instant!  These two needed to get busy right then and there, but then, what fun what that have been!  They play the seduction game with each other, neither one wanting to make the first move for some ungodly reason.  The whole thing was torture, for me!  AHHHH!!!  Do it already!!

Once we establish what is going to happen between them, that's when the shit hits the fan.  Cyndel and her sadistic nature gets a bug up her butt and starts fracking with Makayla.  The story gets even juicier as the relationship between Armand and Makayla develops and things take a turn for the bad, then the ugly.  I was never expecting the story to go where it went with Makayla! I figured the whole premise was lying in Armand because he was a Jinn and of royal family, but NO!  This book had me at the seat of my pants when the Makayla's truth was revealed.  That's all I'm saying...  You will not be disappointed with this book, it has romance with hot sex, mystery, intrigue, and awesome kick ass, F*** you bitch, chic fight!




Pre-order link:
Amazon
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B&N



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Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Kim Harrison is coming to Raleigh, NC!

+Kim Harrison is kicking off her tour for the last book in her Hollows series, The Witch with No Name, on Monday, September 8th in Cincinnati, OH.

She will be gracing us with her presence in Raleigh, NC, my neck of the woods, on Friday, September 12th at 7:30 pm at Quail Ridge Books.  I am super stoked about this event, because I loved the Hollows series so much, that after reading book 7, White Witch, Black Curse, I had to finish the 12 Days of Pixie Christmas song she started in the book, but didn't finish!

Granted, she did finish it on her blog in 2009, but I hadn't seen it, and didn't even think to look on her website for it.  Like I said in previous posts, I'm kinda slow like that sometimes...and if you REALLY want to see my version, just leave your request in the comment box below.

Back to the topic at hand, Kim is asking all her fans that attend her signings, if you bring a canned good, preferably of the tomato family, but not required, that you will get a hug from Kim herself!  That's your fifteen minutes baby, ya!  Plus, all donations will go to the local food bank.  So if you see a tomato, you are now clued in to what it means!  Kim is also promising this tour to be scary huge!  With cutouts to take your picture with, and book totes to give away at each stop.

Now, I don't know about you but I am so abso-fracken-lutely there!  I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would become a blogger, and start stalking authors!  Shameless, I know... but what makes THIS signing so special is that it is the last book of the most awesome series EVER!  I am so sad that this is the end, but so excited to read it, at the same time.

So children of mine, find something now to entertain yourselves, cause we're going on another road trip!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Interview with Jeaniene Frost

Part 2:

Previously, on Release the Blogger...

I was getting up from my chair, after hearing Jeaniene and the store manager spotting, and me raising my hand.  I walked over and introduced myself, sticking my hand out for a shake.  OMG, Jeaniene touched me, she shook my hand!  Keep it together Kim.

Jeaniene was all smiles, and said, "nice to meet you".  As we were seated, I explained to Jeaniene how much research I've done in preparation for this interview, and how excited I was to be there. So far so good with not trembling, whew!  I pulled my cell phone from my purse to start the voice recorder, and test it to make sure we could be heard; there was a lot of background noise in the store.

I avoided small talk because I knew I would frack it up, and let my nerves get the better of me.  I was only going to speak if spoken to, lol!  Better to be safe than sorry, and look like an babbling idiot!  So after the sound check, I just got straight to the questions.  God bless her for being so nice!


Kim:  My first question is, will you be explaining in future books why Ivy didn't know who she really was?

Jeaniene:  In the beautiful Ashes, Ivy knows she's adopted. And what she knows of one of her parents is that she was found by the side of the road as a newborn baby, after a tractor trailer jackknifed, and a bunch of illegals ran for it, you know, they had been riding in the back of the tracker trailer.  Ivy grew up always knowing that people that raised her were her adoptive parents and not her biological parents.  It's not like it was a shock to her that these were not her real parents.

She always knew she was adopted, and what she finds out in the beautiful Ashes, which has kinda been alluded to, is that she had a recurring dream her whole life about seeing a dark haired woman leave a baby by the side of the road, but wasn't part of the accident. She saw the accident and she left the baby by the side of the road and drove off. But what Ivy hears from Zach is, 'your dream was real, you saw what happen with you, your mother she didn't abandon you cause she was running from the police, she did it to protect you.'  So that is laid out in the beautiful Ashes as a teaser. And the history of why her real mother left her as if she were someone who had been abandoned at the sight of an accident will be revealed in the second and third book.

Kim:  What was your favorite chapter ( or part ) to write and why?

Jeaniene:  You know, I don't have one favorite chapter. I mean I have several, which I think makes sense, because if I bothered to write a book with thirty some-odd chapters and I only had one, if I'm bored, what's the reader feeling? So I had several different things that I really enjoyed writing. I really liked writing the first time Ivy and Adrian meet, and also their early interactions, before he realizes who she is.

And I mean it's probably kind of a dark part of me that enjoyed writing the demon realm, and pulling something out of my mind, as far as trying to imagine if there were demon realms, what would they look like? What would they feel like? And I came up with the lack of sunlight. Then came the obvious next thing, they would be freezing. But still not so freezing, because then you couldn't have people live there because of the forest gateways and the gravitational fields, which I kinda go into very briefly at the end of the book. And I'm sure no one cares about it but me, but this is why they're totally not frozen, I have a reason.

It was neat coming up with the different realms. And it was kinda fun coming up with new creatures because I'm a geek at heart and I've loved paranormal since I was a kid. I like the idea of having a totally different world that I can do anything with. What sort of creatures do I want? I loved writing the scene with the gargoyle. And also loved the scene with Ivy when she is confronted by the hell hounds and then later when she's actually disguised as one and then when she has to run with them in a pack. What was that like? So, as you can see, there are a bunch of different scenes I got a kick out of writing. I have to enjoy a book I'm writing or else I will never get through a book, I'm too lazy.

Kim:  This is a three part question, What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author?

Jeaniene:  Oh gosh!  I'm only suppose to pick one? (laughing).

Kim:  Like the worst one.

Jeaniene:  I still can't narrow it down to just one (laughing ).  People online will say absolutely anything and sometimes there are wonderful things. People will say 'I love what you write'. You will get wonderful heart warming things. And sometimes people will just drop by your inbox or your Facebook page and say 'I hate your books so much, it was the worst thing I ever read, I can't believe that piece of crap was published, you should be ashamed of yourself for writing it and/or you should get your head examined.'  I've actually had comments like that directly in my email, not just on reviews. I don't read negative reviews anymore, it just destroyed my self esteem years ago. People will email me to tell me how much they hated something and/or I should be ashamed of writing it and/or they want their life back.

I will say I don't hold the record. A friend of mine got what I think is the most classic angry feedback on a book. A reader emailed her to tell her she hated her book so much when she was done reading it she took it into her backyard and burned it. I haven't gotten an email from somebody telling me that, so I don't think I have achieved true success yet (laughing).

I've only gotten, 'What were you thinking? Were you on meds?' I've gotten that a couple of times.  When it is funny is when they are asking because they are concerned. They're not even trying to be mean, they're serious. It's kind of a cute concern in a way, because they are like, 'I liked your first two books but then your third book was so awful, are you ok?  Did someone give you meds?'  I never know how to answer that, ( laughing ).

Kim:  Second part of the question, How did you react or how does it make you feel?

Jeaniene:  Logically, no matter what field you're in, you're going to get negative feedback.  If you're a public school teacher, you're going to get negative feedback. I think you try to respect the opinion of the person giving it, because if you can take the positive feedback you have to take the negative. You can't say, ok people can only send me sunshine and roses. If one is good, so is the other, you have to accept it.

At the same time I think you try and not let it get in. Because objectively, you know that no book can please every reader and you're writing the book first, for yourself (because again, if you don't love it, how can anyone else?)  Secondly, you're writing the book for the people who will enjoy it, and for the ones whom it is the worst book they ever read obviously you weren't writing it for that person, (laughing).

It's unfortunate and you feel bad, I don't think anyone likes to hear that they wasted that persons day. You try to not let it in, but it does get in. And that's why I stopped reading negative reviews years ago, because it was giving me writers block. I would sit down at my keyboard and instead of thinking of the scene I had to write, I would think of all the different ways I sucked as had been explained to me by people who disliked a book I had written at the time.

So I take critical feedback from my three critique partners, an editor, and a freelance copy editor. So I get plenty of critical feedback from them (laughing). I'm not blocking that out, but you have to put up a wall, or at least I do, between getting some critical feedback that helps me grow as a writer, and listening to all the opinions of people who for whatever reason, subjective or objective, just didn't like the book.  Because if you take everything in...I couldn't keep doing this, some people can, but I couldn't.  If I read every negative comment, I would never write another book again!

Kim:  People suck...

Jeaniene:  No, no, no they don't. And I'm glad we're rolling, I want to clarify: Unless they email me directly I don't assume people are talking to me. I think they are talking to other readers, and they're talking about their opinion, and their opinion is valid, and they're talking about a book.

I have bought books from negative reviews, because what one person hates could be what I like about the book. And also, if I see a TV show that I hate, I will tell people, I thought that was a piece of crap or I totally hated that. I don't think it comes from a mean place, except for the people that email me to say I think you suck so bad, I think you should quit. That might come from a mean place because they're telling me directly. But if they're just talking in a conversation about a product, that's not meant for me.

Talking about it is what every author wants readers to do, they're talking about books, their talking about my book.  Sometimes talking about them in a negative way is better than no one talking about them at all.  I'm glad for the chatter.

Kim:  Third part of the question, What has been the BEST compliment?

Jeaniene:  Let me just say, any and all compliments are great.  Especially when someone says, your book made me happy, I loved your book, or whatever the circumstances are. That's great, I love that. I'm shallow enough to admit I love that. It keeps me going some days (laughing).

One of the things I take as special and personal to me is when someone says your book has got me to love reading again, or your book introduced me to the paranormal genre, or something like that. Because I remember the first book I read, like my first romance novel, and my first paranormal novel, the things that get you into a genre that you love, or a field that you love.

For instance, when someone tells me, I hated reading, and I just graduated high school and I read my first non-school book, and I really love reading now. And I'm reading 50 books a month because I realize I love reading, and I hated what they made me read in high school. That's special because I can relate.

Their are books that have gotten me through a hard time. You know, something's going on in my life, I need the escapism. There are books that have gotten me into certain genres.

That being said, all compliments are equal. But those are the ones that sit with you a little longer.

Kim:  How do you feel about fan fiction?

Jeaniene:  I'm fine with it, as far as, I think there's a place for it.  As far as the fan fiction community goes, most of the time, they self regulate a lot more than I would ever think to.

They don't want readers to sell fan fiction. And they do it for entertainment purposes, so I think of it as a compliment that I'm not involved in.

I don't read fan fiction because I don't want anyone to feel like I ripped off their idea of something that they've done. And also because of my limited reading time. As an author you lose so much of your reading time. So when I'm reading something I don't want it to be about my characters, I want it to be about someone else's characters! I consider it a compliment but I stay away from it, because again, it's not for me, like reviews, they're not for me, they're for other readers.

Kim:  Would you be open to fan fiction with your work?

Jeaniene:  Oh, it already exists, I know it does.  I mean, I couldn't point you where exactly, again because I don't read it. But I hear readers sometimes say, I found you through a fan fic blog. Or when I posted the alternate version for Destined for an Early Grave on my website, I had some people say, This is better than the fan fiction I read of it, and it's like oh, ok! (laughing).  So it's already out there.

Kim:  Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way, either growing up or as an adult?

Jeaniene:  There's a lot, (laughing).  Did you expect a short answer? Because you haven't gotten one yet, (laughing).

The first romance novel I read was Sky O'Malley by Beatrice Small, and it introduced me to the romance genre, and I've been an avid reader of that ever since. So that was my gateway drug. That's an important novel for me.

Dean Koontz - a lot of his earlier work, because that was some of the first paranormal fiction that I have ever read. That got me into paranormal fiction, so that is very important to me.

Outlander, I read that right after I graduated high school, and I think that might have been one of the first ones that I read that had first person heroine point of view that also had a romantic sub-plot. I had never read that before, and that got me hooked on first person narrative, which is the majority of what I write in, so that was pretty significant.

Chances by Jackie Collins, I read that in the 80's. I might have been in middle school, but it was a book about a monster who was, at heart, a good guy. But he did kind of terrible things, and that made me fall in love with the anti-hero idea, and you see a lot of anti-hero's in my book.

Kim:  Is there anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Jeaniene:  Oh gosh, thank you for reading.  Thank you for talking about my books. Again, whether you liked them or loved them.  If you gave it a chance to read it, I'm so appreciative. And if you bothered to tell someone your opinion about it, whatever the opinion was, I'm so appreciative.

Because when you're starting out, it's your dream to have someone else read your books. I mean it's a dream, and then when it happens you just feel so grateful in some ways it's so surreal, so I mean, I couldn't be more appreciative to the people that give my books a try and who still talk to other people about them.

Kim:  That was it for my questions Jeaniene, thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me.

Jeaniene:  Your welcome, and let me know when the interview is posted on your blog, so I can put a link on my blog.

Kim:  I will, and again, thank you.

HOLY MOSES!  I did it!  I made it through like a champ! Could I hurl now?  As I was grabbing my things, I almost forgot to ask her to sign something for me!  And take a picture!  I was ready to just stroll right out of there, WTF Kim?!   I headed towards Jeaniene and asked her if she would sign my notepad for me, since I didn't have a hard copy of a book to sign, and she sweetly took it from me.

As she was signing away, I dug my camera out of my purse, and Jeaniene called her sister over to take the picture for us.  We checked to make sure the picture came out well, and we said our goodbyes again, me trying to stifle the STRONG urge to bow for some ungodly reason.  What the hell is wrong with me sometimes!  I mean, really?  Bow, seriously??  I need to get the hell out of this store, NOW!


I was on such a high from the experience, that I agreed to everything my husband said all the way home, LOL!  If he had only known that, I'm sure he would have taken full advantage of me.

THE END