n immortal war has been brewing in the darkness…and now one woman has stumbled into the shadows.

Chicago private investigator Kira Graceling should have just kept on walking. But her sense of duty refused to let her ignore the moans of pain coming from inside a warehouse just before dawn. Suddenly she finds herself in a world she’s only imagined in her worst nightmares.

At the center is Mencheres, a breathtaking Master vampire who thought he’d seen it all. Then Kira appears – this fearless, beautiful….human who braved death to rescue him. Though her burns for her, keeping Kira in his world means risking her life. Yet sending her away is unthinkable.

But with danger closing in, Mencheres must choose either the woman he craves, or embracing the darkest magic to defeat an enemy bent on his eternal destruction.

Seriously…how are you not running to the bookstore to purchase this yet?  Okay, so maybe I’m a little bias – I’m already a huge fan.  Regardless, make sure you stick around, we’re giving away three copies of Eternal Kiss of Darkness to three lucky readers.
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Beginnings

Imagine you’re on a blind date. You wait at the restaurant you’ve agreed to meet at, hoping you’ll have a nice time. Just in case, though, you’ve arranged for a friend to call you after about twenty minutes so you can fake an emergency if your date turns out to be boring, insufferable, or both. No one wants to sit through a miserable evening if they don’t have to, and sometimes you can tell right off if you and your companion are not a good fit.

On the surface, blind dates might not look like they have much in common with the beginning of a book, but let me point out some similarities. In my example, the reader will be the person at the restaurant, and a new book will be the date she’s waiting to meet.

Let’s assume I show up on time (literary equivalent would be a book being available for you to browse through), I’m dressed presentably (you liked the cover), and hey, if I’m lucky, some of your friends have said nice things about me (you’ve seen good reviews/had my books recommended to you). But until we sit down together and interact, you just don’t know if we’ll click. After all, you’ve got a lot of other options (just look at all the titles online and in book stores) so you’re open-minded, but it’s up to me to impress you into staying. And if I don’t, well…you’ve got that phone call scheduled for a quick getaway (you usually give books a chapter or two to hook you before you move on to another one).

Beginnings. They’re on my mind as I write the first few chapters of the sixth Cat and Bones novel. They’re critical to any relationship, whether friendship, romance, or the relationship readers have with a book. As an author, the pressure’s on me to write beginnings that give readers enough information about my world to intrigue, but not too much to bore. I only have a small window to highlight my protagonists’ personalities, too, because with every word, a reader is deciding whether to spend more time with them, or to signal for the metaphorical check. If I’m writing in a series, I also have to include enough information about important prior events that new readers won’t feel lost, but not too much information that existing readers will feel overburdened (had a date who droned on and on about their prior relationships? Yeah, you’re probably not still with him or her).

Considering all the above, it’s probably no surprise that beginnings are what I struggle the most with as an author. Not because I don’t care about other parts of the book, but because the beginning chapters are the ground that the rest of the novel will stand – or topple – on. To give you an idea, it takes me about the same amount of time to write the first 20 thousand words of a book as it does to write the next 80 thousand. Setting up the foundation is a painstaking process, but first impressions might be all you get before your date decides to get up and leave. But when it’s done properly, a solid beginning can lead to a promising relationship (your date just told her friend thanks for the getaway call, but she’s decided to stay for the rest of the evening).

What do you think about beginnings, readers? Am I stressing too much over them? Does a slow or bad beginning make you put a book down, or do you soldier on through several chapters first? Everyone who answers will be entered in a giveaway of my latest novel, Eternal Kiss of Darkness. I’ll have Randomizer select three winners out of the comments, and yes, I’ll ship internationally. Good luck!

And in honor of beginnings, below are links to the first 20% of my books. If you haven’t tried me out before, here’s a strings-free way to do so. You won’t even need to schedule that phony emergency call in advance *wink*.

Halfway to the Grave, Night Huntress book one: via HarperCollins
One Foot in the Grave, Night Huntress book two: via HarperCollins
At Grave’s End, Night Huntress book three: via HarperCollins
Destined For an Early Grave, Night Huntress book four: via HarperCollins
First Drop of Crimson, Night Huntress World, book one: via HarperCollins
Eternal Kiss of Darkness, Night Huntress World, book two: via HarperCollins

-Jeaniene Frost

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Want to purchase Jeaniene’s novels?
Night Huntress

1. Halfway to the Grave at Amazon or the Book Depository
2. One Foot in the Grave at Amazon or the Book Depository
3. At Grave’s End at Amazon or the Book Depository
4. Destined for an Early Grave at Amazon or the Book Depository
5. This Side of the Grave at Amazon or the Book Depository (2011)

Night Huntress World

1. First Drop of Crimson at Amazon or the Book Depository
2. Eternal Kiss of Darkness at Amazon or the Book Depository

Anthologies
Weddings From Hell at Amazon or the Book Depository
Unbound at Amazon or the Book Depository
Four Dukes and a Devil at Amazon or the Book Depository
Death’s Excellent Vacation at Amazon or the Book Depository
Haunted by Your Touch at Amazon or the Book Depository
_______________________________________________

Thank you Jeaniene for taking the time to visit Literary Escapism!

Contest Time! Jeaniene has graciously offered to give away three copies of her latest novel, Eternal Kiss of Darkness. All you have to do is answer this one question: What have been some of your favorite beginnings?

As always, there’s more ways of getting your name in the hat (remember, these aren’t mandatory to enter, just extra entries):

• +1 for each place you post about today’s contest on your blog, social network, or anywhere you can. Digg it, stumble it, twit it, share it with the world. Wherever you share it, make sure you add a link to it along with your answer.
• +1 to any review you comment on, however, comments must be meaningful. Just give me the title of the review and I’ll be able to figure it out from there.
• +1 If you are a follower of Literary Escapism on Facebook and/or Twitter
• +10 Purchase any of Jeaniene’s novels (listed above) or any novel through LE’s Amazon store or the Book Depository sometime during this contest and send a copy of the receipt VIA email for your purchase to: jackie AT literaryescapism DOT com. Each purchase is worth ten entries.

There is one thing I am adding to my contests now…the winner must post a review of the novel someplace. Whether it is on their own blog, Amazon, GoodReads, LibraryThing or wherever, it doesn’t matter. Just help get the word out.

The contest will stay open until September 9th, at which time I’ll determine the winner with help from the Research Randomizer and the List Randomizer.

I have not been contacting winners, so you will need to check back to see if you’ve won.

TALK IS CHEAP WHEN LIVES ARE IN JEOPARDY

Sirantha Jax is a “Jumper,” a woman who possesses the unique genetic makeup needed to navigate faster than light ships through grimspace. With no tolerance for political diplomacy, she quits her ambassador post so she can get back to saving the universe the way she does best—by mouthing off and kicking butt.

And her tactics are needed more than ever. Flesh-eating aliens are attacking stations on the outskirts of space, and for many people, the Conglomerate’s forces are arriving too late to serve and protect them.

Now, Jax must take matters into her own hands by recruiting a militia to defend the frontiers—out of the worst criminals, mercenaries, and raiders that ever traveled through grimspace…

Make sure you stick around, we’re giving away a copy of Skin Game and a Sirantha Jax novel (winners choice) to two lucky readers.
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Literary Escapism: Why Jax? What was it about her that drew you and made you want to tell her story?

Ann Aguirre: I didn’t really have a master plan; I didn’t have anything created when I started writing. It was an exercise to write to please myself. I have always really loved SciFi movies and television, but I was unable to find the kind of SciFi that I wanted to read. I wanted the books to be more like the television and movies we love – Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek – and Farscape is one of my favorites. I thought, why can’t the books have that same quality and magic with the crew that you fall in love with. It’s really character driven and the technology is familiar enough that you don’t have to spend pages and pages going into the technicality of it. I really don’t think, by large, that women are looking for that. For those that are, I think that’s amply represented in the genre. I felt like there was a market opportunity that was really being missed that women would probably be hungry for science fiction that was more like their favorite shows and movies. So I did have that in my mind when I started to write, but I really started to write with a blank mind and Jax is what came.

Literary Escapism: I’m generally not a fan of science fiction romance, but when I first picked up Grimspace, I couldn’t get enough of it. There’s just something about it…

Ann Aguirre: It’s not actually science fiction romance. My contract say Romantic Science Fiction. So it is science fiction with a romantic thread. It’s not a romance in the sense that the story ends after book one; and it’s not a romance in the sense that it’s all about the couple. It really is Jax’s journey. It’s about her adventures, her emotional arc, her growth as a character. She’s almost unrecognizable by the time you get to her in Killbox. She has grown so much and changed so much.

Literary Escapism: Especially once you threw March at her. It seems like she developed a lot more when she actually had to fight for him.

Ann Aguirre: She did. That was a big change in Doubleblind. At any other point in her life, she would have said “frak this guy, he is far too much work and I could have five more who are just as suitable. Why put so much effort in; why not just have the fun?” She’s not like that any more, she has more of an emotional depth. She has the ability to commit now. She really grows over the course of the four books, so far. She grows from, pretty much an anti-hero, who cares only about herself – her own fun, her own agenda, her own interests. By Killbox, I think everyone will be really surprised at what she is willing to do. When I think about what’s in Killbox, I get chills.

Literary Escapism: I can’t wait to read it, I know that. Editor’s Note: I am currently in the middle of Killbox and loving every moment of it.

The grimspace, when Jax is hooked in…I keep seeing the Matrixesque contraption where she’s hooked in through the back of her head. That’s not how it is, though, is it?

Ann Aguirre: No. She has a shunt in her wrist. I envision it like a little panel, where the skin pops back and there is some hardware in there. It’s almost like a telephone jack, but it’s a flesh jack.

Literary Escapism: But it’s also genetic, because it’s not just anyone who can be a jumper, right?

Ann Aguirre: Anyone can have the shunt installed, but they would go insane when they made the jump into Grimspace because the B10 would basically fry their mind. In the early days, when they first discovered the phase drive technology and they found the plans for it and they built their prototype and they didn’t know that you needed a special ability and they lost a lot of people and a lot of ships. They were like Okay, let’s try this out…oops they are gone, what the hell?

Literary Escapism: Trial and error does not work here.

Ann Aguirre: I don’t go so much into the back story, but conceptually, the people do come from our earth, but it’s so far into the future that there is really no way of determining exactly how far it is. They set out with earth pretty much a flaming ball of stinky polluted wreckage, they set out in generation ships and it was a long the way that they discovered this phase drive technology. They thought hell if we could speed up this process, let’s do that and they then used the Old Ones technology to build the first phase drive vessel and as they were able to move faster, they start to meet the alien races and they discovered New Terra, which was suitable for colonization. After they got settled there, they…

Literary Escapism: They colonized out…

Ann Aguirre: The diaspora went further and they established other colonies.

Literary Escapism: Yous aid you’re a fan of Battlestar Galactica and Farscape, have you had any thought about making Grimspace into a show? I would think with the current market, it would be perfect for it.

Ann Aguirre: That’s totally outside of my control, I would obviously be thrilled if someone were to be interested, but…

Literary Escapism: No hits yet? It seems like a lot of books are starting to get snapped up.

Ann Aguirre: I have had queries on other projects. My urban fantasy has had a couple of queries. In fact, I believe they are pitching it in Hollywood right now.

Literary Escapism: The Corinne Soloman series, really?

Ann Aguirre: That has had some nibbles. My YA has had some movie rights nibbles, but Jax is actually a very surprising series. It seems to be really picking up steam as it nears the end of the series. So maybe in time, the book don’t end in 2012, they come out one a year. Killbox comes out this year, the fifth one in 2011 and the final one in 2012. So perhaps, if it continues to pick up steam, maybe someone will notice or if one of my other projects gets optioned, they may look to see what other projects I have.

Literary Escapism: It seems like Jax would fit perfectly with the SyFy channel right now.

Ann Aguirre: I do think it would make an excellent show. I have been told that it is a very visual type of novel. Someone actually said this and he meant it as a criticism, but I take it as a compliment because it’s totally what I wanted. He said reading my book was more like watching a TV show than reading a real science fiction show. I was like ‘Yes Awesome!”. Because you know, ten million people will watch a SyFy show, but what percentage of those will read a very technical scifi novel. You, yourself have said, you don’t enjoy the hard scifi.

Literary Escapism: Its because they generally put too much technology in there (and thus do a lot of info-dumping with big technical terms) and the technology you do include, it’s not hard to see.

Ann Aguirre: No. The reason I went the way I did with it…Jax is the perfect narrator to introduce you to that universe because she doesn’t know anything about anything. So as she learns things, the reader learns things, but she’s not overly curious about it. I mean, I know how to drive a car, but I can not rebuild an engine. I know how to microwave a burrito, but I don’t know exactly how the burrito gets hot. I think that makes sense in a science fiction context, because it’s not as strange bizarre world of technology to them, it’s the universe they live in and they do know how to push all the buttons and they know how everything works. They know the effect, but they don’t know what quantum engineering went into this gizmo that they are using. The average person just doesn’t know that.

Literary Escapism: I know what I’m visualizing while Jax is hooked in, but what is she like? When you actually look at her, while she’s in Grimspace, I don’t know what I’m seeing there. Does her eyes go blank and does she look like she’s staring off into space? Does her eyes turn black or something weird?

Ann Aguirre: No. I would say…have you ever seen someone in a mental hospital who is kind of catatonic, or comatose, but their eyes are open? I would say it’s like that. She’s sitting in the chair, with her arm jacked in, and her eyes are open, but she can’t see the real world. Her face would just blank.

Literary Escapism: So you know she’s there, but you know you can’t have any kind of conversation because she’s just not…

Ann Aguirre: Right.

Literary Escapism: Whenever I read about her being in the Grimspace, I always think of her being in all these colors, when you’re in hyper-speed or something. But I had never thought of it the other way.

Ann Aguirre: Right. That’s totally what you see. Until she docks out, she has no ability to see what is going on. Actually, if something were to happen to the ship, she would be totally helpless unless she jacked out. March would have to warn her that there was danger and to get out of the navchair.

Literary Escapism: March seems to be an interesting character. Where did he come from? I want to say that the first story I read was his POV.

Ann Aguirre: Oh really?

Literary Escapism: I want to say I read his POV and that’s what lead me to Grimspace.

Ann Aguirre: I would have to say, that just in general, I have a real soft spot for hitman, for mercenaries, for men who are very violent in their professions, but are very gentle where their woman are concerned. I love that duality. Like the very fierce brutus guy who will totally rip someone apart and yet their heart is very tender and they love very deeply. That is one of my personal favorites, so I guess that’s where he comes from.

Literary Escapism: His abilities, though, they seem like they are going to drive him mad or if he’s not driven mad…are we going to see more of that or have we seen what we’re going to see of him and his abilities?

Ann Aguirre: He’s fragile. That’s an interesting juxtaposition, because he is very physically strong, but both mentally and emotionally, he is quite fragile. He has been broken and rebuilt twice now; if you know anything about the laws of cohesion, if you drop a vase and reassemble it, it has the fracture and stress points ever after. Then if you break it a second again, it’ll have even more pieces that’ll need to be reassembled. He’s definitely emotionally and mentally weaker than Jax. He has the physical strength and the fighting prowess, but…

Literary Escapism: Does he have the will power though?

Ann Aguirre: I guess you’ll have to find out.

Literary Escapism: That’s another interesting point. With both March and Jax, their abilities, it gives them that mental weakness since you can only jump so long into the Grimspace before she’ll go catatonic and you never know when that’s going to happen.

Ann Aguirre: That’s true.

Literary Escapism: You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but will Jax get a happy after ending or is it going to be a “well, we’ll wait and see, she may not end up dead, but…”?

Ann Aguirre: Even though this is a science fiction book, I am a romance reader at heart…so I will tell you that you won’t have to worry about me kiling off March or Jax. Anyone else is fair game. There are some very sad moments in Killbox. I do promise her a happy ending, but it may not be a happy ending in the…

Literary Escapism: Typical romance sense?

Ann Aguirre: strictest romance sense. But I think everyone will really like how it ends. I have a found a solution that will make everyone very happy.

Literary Escapism: Does this mean that you have written the last two books or have they been plotted?

Ann Aguirre: I have actually written the ending to book six. The book itself is not done, but the last page I have written.

Literary Escapism: Will there be more at the ending than one page? In some novels, the ending is like and they live happily ever after. I tend to be that’s it?, or will we know what will happen after the big finale?

Ann Aguirre: I can’t be more specific.

Literary Escapism: I didn’t think so, but I had to ask.

Ann Aguirre: I don’t think anyone will be sad.

Literary Escapism: That’s good. There’s happiness.

What about Vel? When I think about Vel, I keep thinking of this dragon character that is standing on two feet, like a Tyrannosaurus Rex guy. Do I have the right visual?

Ann Aguirre: Noooo. He’s a praying mantis.

Literary Escapism: Does he look like a praying mantis, in the bug sense, or is he more humanoid?

Ann Aguirre: Vel is human sized, so he is humanoid, but he does have a mandible. He does have side set eyes. He has chitinous and a carapace. Instead of speary legs, he does have claws and digits he can use. His legs are more like a bend and a hinge, they are not normal.

Literary Escapism: They are not straight, but they are not bug legs either.

Ann Aguirre: No.

Literary Escapism: I like to visualize my characters and sometimes there’s that one character that you just can’t re-create. Are we going to see more of Vel’s kind in the future?

Ann Aguirre: Vel is in Killbox. You do get to find out more.

Literary Escapism: Are we going to meet anyone else with interesting origins? Like Vel has a very interesting background within his race. Is he going to be one of a kind or are we going to find out more? Especially like the Morguts?

Ann Aguirre: Have you read Doubleblind?

Literary Escapism: Yes.

Ann Aguirre: That has pretty much all the information you’re ever going to get about the Ithorians. It goes into quite a bit of detail about their culture, their religion, their belief system, their wa.

Literary Escapism: I wasn’t sure with the way Doubleblind ended, with their escaping, if there wouldn’t be some…

Ann Aguirre: Their involvement is more peripheral. The alliance has been made. With the war coming, they have ships to build and whatnot. That part of it is done. There is a war coming. Killbox is war. I have little words that represent the books in my head. Grimspace is the fugitive book. Wanderlust is the road trip book. Doubleblind is the diplomacy book. Killbox is the war book. Aftermath is picking up the pieces. Endgame is…

Literary Escapism: Endgame?

Ann Aguirre: Yeah.

Literary Escapism: That actually gives us a hint as to what we’ll find at the end. It’s not like we’re going to find at the end where she gets a happy ending, but we’ll get to see something as to how she’ll settled. Right?

Ann Aguirre: I can’t really answer those questions.

Literary Escapism: I know. That always happens.

Ann Aguirre: I mean, I could, but people would not thank me for it.

Ended about 18:30

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You’re looking for Ann’s novels now, aren’t you?
Stone Maiden at Amazon
Razorland at Amazon or the Book Depository
Primal at Amazon or the Book Depository

Sirantha Jax

1. Grimspace at Amazon or the Book Depository
2. Wanderlust at Amazon or the Book Depository
3. Doubleblind at Amazon or the Book Depository
4. Killbox at Amazon or the Book Depository

Corine Solomon

1. Blue Diablo at Amazon or the Book Depository
2. Hell Fire at Amazon or the Book Depository
3. Shady Lady at Amazon or the Book Depository

Skin (written as Ava Gray)

1. Skin Game at Amazon or the Book Depository
2. Skin Tight at Amazon or the Book Depository
3. Skin Heat at Amazon or the Book Depository

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Thank you Ann for taking the time to chat with me after the hectic Saturday signing at RT!

Contest Time! Ann has graciously offered to give away a copy of Skin Game and a Sirantha Jax novel (winners choice) to two lucky readers.  All you have to do is answer this one question: What is it about science fiction that draws you in? Or simply ask Ann a question.

As always, there’s more ways of getting your name in the hat (remember, these aren’t mandatory to enter, just extra entries):

• +1 for each place you post about today’s contest on your blog, social network, or anywhere you can. Digg it, stumble it, twit it, share it with the world. Wherever you share it, make sure you add a link to it along with your answer.
• +1 to any review you comment on, however, comments must be meaningful. Just give me the title of the review and I’ll be able to figure it out from there.
• +1 If you are a follower of Literary Escapism on Facebook and/or Twitter
• +10 Purchase any of Ann’s novels (listed above) or any novel through LE’s Amazon store or the Book Depository sometime during this contest and send a copy of the receipt VIA email for your purchase to: jackie AT literaryescapism DOT com. Each purchase is worth twenty entries.

There is one thing I am adding to my contests now…the winner must post a review of the novel someplace. Whether it is on their own blog, Amazon, GoodReads, LibraryThing or wherever, it doesn’t matter. Just help get the word out.

The contest will stay open until September 9th, at which time I’ll determine the winner with help from the Research Randomizer and the List Randomizer.

I have not been contacting winners, so you will need to check back to see if you’ve won.

Even the most powerful hands need a delicate touch…

Emmaline Gallagher is a master of wielding personal glamour. As a free fae who lives among humans, she must hide her true self at all times as she works undercover within the powerful Phaendir—for if certain factions within the Phaendir gain control, the fae will be wiped from existence. Now, an object of fae power lies within a locked ancient box. And there is only one fae who can forge the key.

Known as “the Blacksmith” Aeric O’Malley can create or destroy almost anything with his forging skills. Emmaline has come to him in need, but he and Emmaline have a past—and he has spent centuries wanting to take revenge on her for her transgressions. But now that he has her within his grasp, something about her keeps him from exacting his vengeance—or is it merely her glamour blinding him?

Trapped by fate, Emmaline must hope that she can reach Aeric’s furious heart before it’s too late….

Make sure you stick around, we’re giving away a copy of either Wicked Enchantment or Cruel Enchantment – winner’s choice.
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A few years ago book videos were the big new thing and it seemed like every author was making them or having them made. The craze seems to have died down a bit, but book videos are still definitely on the scene. They can be as fancy as the ones made by Circle Seven Productions, some even with live actors, or as simple as a few second vid of a book blurb set to music.

I’ve done numerous surveys of my readership to see what people think of book trailers and have come to the conclusion that they’re not really a cost effective method of book promotion. I’ve definitely sold a few books thanks to the videos I make, but probably not enough to justify the cost. I still make them anyway because I love them, and life is too short not to do things I love. They’re really more of a hobby than anything else for me, but if one of my vids should tempt a reader into buying one of my books—well, then, score.

The book videos I do for my books cost an average of $100. That cost is stock music, stock video footage and stock photography. Notice the term ‘stock’. I buy licenses for everything in my book vids and never, ever infringe anyone’s copyright. You can’t just pluck your fav song off your iTunes list; you need a royalty free piece.

Music is the most important element in my opinion. Very rarely do I easily find the right bit of stock music. The search for the right music is the most time consuming part of book video production because music invokes emotion, and that emotion you’re invoking in the viewer needs to fit the feel of the novel. I used high-energy goth type music for my Elemental Witches series. For my Dark Magick series, the music I search out is dark and mystical. Once I find the right music, it’s (pretty much) downhill from there. My favorite place to buy stock music is www.stockmusic.net.

Creating the storyboard with stock photography/stock video is my next step. I plan out the text for every “scene” and find the images that work best to tell the story. When I’m texting out the book video I distill the novel down to its very basic parts, pretty much just down to the main conflict(s). That’s not an easy thing to do (as any author who has ever written a synopsis or a book blurb will tell you).

I love to use little bits of stock video to add movement and give the vid a more polished feel. My fav find was the section in my Wicked Enchantment video that depicts my villain, Gideon Amberdoyal. I could never have found a more perfect bit to depict him. In my Cruel Enchantment video I used an approaching thunderstorm with sound effects to symbolize the coming conflict between my hero and heroine. My favorite place to buy stock photos/video is www.istockphoto.com.

After that I decide which image to use to open the vid and put everything together using Windows Movie Maker. I hear there are more complex programs to use, but Movie Maker is simple, has always worked well for me, and it came free on my computer, so bonus.

Below are a few videos I’ve made. If you’re interested in seeing any others, here’s a link to my channel on YouTube.

So, how do you feel about book vids? Do you love them? Hate them? Has a book video ever convinced you to buy a book…repelled you from buying a book? Below are a few examples of books videos I’ve made recently. I’ll give away a signed copy of Wicked Enchantment to one commenter.

Cruel Enchantment, by the way, releases on September 7th. It’s the second book my Dark Magick series.

Visit my web site for an excerpt.

Cruel Enchantment: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp7zbg4TFE0)

Wicked Enchantment: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MvMFjvP1bA)

Witch Fury: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5DhT2Fgh3Q)

)

My YouTube channel with all my book videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/anyabast

~ Anya Bast

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Want to purchase Anya’s novels?

Embraced

1. Blood Of The Rose at Amazon or the Book Depository
2. Blood of the Raven at Amazon or the Book Depository
3. Blood of an Angel at Amazon or the Book Depository
4. Blood of the Damned at Amazon or the Book Depository

Elemental Witches

1. Witch Fire at Amazon or the Book Depository
2. Witch Blood at Amazon or the Book Depository
3. Witch Heart at Amazon or the Book Depository
4. Witch Fury at Amazon or the Book Depository

Dark Magick

1. Wicked Enchantment at Amazon or the Book Depository
2. Sweet Enchantment (in Hot for the Holidays) at Amazon or the Book Depository
3. Cruel Enchantment at Amazon or the Book Depository
4. Dark Enchantment (2011)

_______________________________________________

Thank you Anya for taking the time to visit Literary Escapism!

Contest Time! Anya has graciously offered to give away a copy of either Wicked Enchantment or Cruel Enchantment – winner’s choice. All you have to do is answer this one question: What is your take on book trailers? Or simply ask Anya a question.

As always, there’s more ways of getting your name in the hat (remember, these aren’t mandatory to enter, just extra entries):

• +1 for each place you post about today’s contest on your blog, social network, or anywhere you can. Digg it, stumble it, twit it, share it with the world. Wherever you share it, make sure you add a link to it along with your answer.
• +1 to any review you comment on, however, comments must be meaningful. Just give me the title of the review and I’ll be able to figure it out from there.
• +1 If you are a follower of Literary Escapism on Facebook and/or Twitter
• +10 Purchase any of Anya’s novels (listed above) or any novel through LE’s Amazon store or the Book Depository sometime during this contest and send a copy of the receipt VIA email for your purchase to: jackie AT literaryescapism DOT com. Each purchase is worth ten entries.

There is one thing I am adding to my contests now…the winner must post a review of the novel someplace. Whether it is on their own blog, Amazon, GoodReads, LibraryThing or wherever, it doesn’t matter. Just help get the word out.

The contest will stay open until September 7th, at which time I’ll determine the winner with help from the Research Randomizer and the List Randomizer.

I have not been contacting winners, so you will need to check back to see if you’ve won.

1. Halo by Alexandra Adornetto
2. The Beast Within – an anthology featuring Erin McCarthy, Bianca D’Arc, Jennifer Lyon
3. Love Bites by Adrienne Barbeau (Vampyres of Hollywood #2)
4. When Blood Calls by JK Beck (Shadowkeepers #1)
5. Sparks by Laura Bickle
6. A Star Shall Fall by Marie Brennan (Onyx Court #3)
7. Blameless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate #3)
8. The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (The Infernal Devices #1)
9. Demon from the Dark by Kresley Cole (Immortals After Dark #9)
10. Game of Cages by Harry Connolly (Twenty Palaces)
11. Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
12. Rebel by Claire Delacroix
13. Dark Peril by Christine Feehan (Carpathians)
14. The Darkest Edge of Dawn by Kelly Gay (Charlie Madigan #2)
15. Ghost of a Chance by Simon R Green (Ghostfinders #1)
16. My Soul to Keep by Sharie Kohler (Moon Chasers #4)
17. Renegade by Lora Leigh (Elite Ops #5)
18. Truthseeker by CE Murphy
19. Radiance by Alyson Noel
20. Born to Bite by Lynsay Sands
21. Unraveled by Gena Showalter
22. Primal Instincts by Susan Sizemore (Primes #8)
23. Chosen by Jeanne Stein (Anna Strong #6)
24. Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan (Shadow World)>
25. The Native Star by MK Hobson
    

    The year is 1876. In the small Sierra Nevada settlement of Lost Pine, the town witch, Emily Edwards, is being run out of business by an influx of mail-order patent magics. Attempting to solve her problem with a love spell, Emily only makes things worse. But before she can undo the damage, an enchanted artifact falls into her possession—and suddenly Emily must flee for her life, pursued by evil warlocks who want the object for themselves.

    Dreadnought Stanton, a warlock from New York City whose personality is as pompous and abrasive as his name, has been exiled to Lost Pine for mysterious reasons. Now he finds himself involuntarily allied with Emily in a race against time—and across the United States by horse, train, and biomechanical flying machine—in quest of the great Professor Mirabilis, who alone can unlock the secret of the coveted artifact. But along the way, Emily and Stanton will be forced to contend with the most powerful and unpredictable magic of all—the magic of the human heart.

26. Married with Zombies by Jesse Petersen (Zombie Therapy #1)
    

    A heartwarming tale of terror in the middle of the zombie apocalypse.Meet Sarah and David.
    Once upon a time they met and fell in love. But now they’re on the verge of divorce and going to couples’ counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things – the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client’s throat.

    Meet the Zombies.
    Now, Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But, just because there are zombies, doesn’t mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don’t eat their brains, they might just kill each other.

27. The Haunted by Jessica Verday (Legend of Sleepy Hallow #2)
    

    After a summer spent reclaiming her sanity and trying to forget the boy she fell in love with–the boy who must not exist, cannot exist, because she knows that he is dead–Abbey returns to Sleepy Hollow, ready to leave the ghosts of her past behind. She throws herself into her schoolwork, her perfume-making, and her friendship with Ben, her cute and funny lab partner, who just might be her ticket to getting over Caspian once and for all.

    But Abbey can never get over Caspian, and Caspian has no choice but to return to her side, for Caspian is a Shade, and Abbey is his destiny. They are tied not only to each other, but also to the town of Sleepy Hollow, and to the famous legend that binds their fates–a legend whose dark truths they are only beginning to guess….

There is also a fabulous collection coming out over the next couple of weeks to. Do you have your shopping list ready?

Live fast, fight hard and if you have to die then take as many of your enemies with you as you can. That is the Amazon credo and it was one Samia lived and died by. Now in contemporary New Orleans, the immortal Amazon warrior is about to learn that there’s a worse evil coming to slaughter mankind than she’s ever faced before.

Shapeshifter Dev Peltier has stood guard at the front of Sanctuary for almost two hundred years and in that time, he’s seen it all. Or so he thought. Now their enemies have discovered a new source of power- one that makes a mockery of anything faced to date.

The war is on and Dev and Sam are guarding ground zero. But in order to win, they will have to break the most cardinal of all rules and pray it doesn’t unravel the universe as we know it.

• Aug 2nd – Syrie James is giving away a copy of Dracula, My Love: The Secret Journals of Mina Harker.
• Aug 4th – LE is giving away a copy of Marjorie Liu’s A Wild Light.
• Aug 5th – Tracey O’Hara is giving away a signed copy of Night’s Cold Kiss.
• Aug 6th – Jocelynn Drake is giving away signed copies of Pray for Dawn and Wait for Dusk
• Aug 10th – Rowena Cory Daniells is giving away a copy of The King’s Bastard.
• Aug 11th – Pamela Palmer is giving away three copies of Desire Untamed.
• Aug 12th – Kelly Gay is giving away a signed copy of either The Better Part of Darkness or The Darkest Edge of Dawn – winner’s choice.
• Aug 13th – Kat Richardson is giving away signed copies of Vanished and Labyrinth with a limited edition puzzle.
• Aug 16th – Amberkatze’s Book Blog is giving away a massive prize package.
• Aug 19th – Cheryl Brooks is giving away two copies of Hero.
• Aug 23rd – Vicki Pettersson is giving away a copy of Cheat the Grave and City of Souls.
• Aug 25th – Carolyn Crane is giving away a signed copy of either Mind Games or Double Cross – winner’s choice.

I know I’ve been lacking on it, but the August NA Mini Challenge is going on and up for grabs is a the RT Board with 40 different author signatures!!  This contest is ending Tuesday night!  You have until Wednesday to get your reviews in.  At the moment, I’m looking at 3 reviews, so odds are pretty good right now.  Remember, they don’t have to be new to you authors, just no re-reads and reviews posted in August.

Now, when Kitt and Noa saw my list of babysitters, they just couldn’t resist coming up with the worst characters to leave with your kids.  That is what I have for you today.  Here are the eight babysitters Kitt and Noa wouldn’t recommend.

Recently Jackie popped her guest blogging cherry and we at Paperback Dolls were lucky enough to get that first. In celebration of her newest Monkey, Simon, Jackie has given her eight candidates to most likely be the best choice to babysit her adorable little tea cup humans.

After reading it, my (Kitt) first thought was to how did she miss the boys in the Black Dagger Brotherhood?!? While I know Jackie’s not a huge fan, I do know she’s at least made it to Phury’s book, so why not the Brothers?!? These warriors have dedicated their entire life’s to training and spending their every night fighting to keep the streets of Caldwell, New York safe for us all. Did I mention their love for the wee ones? With children being a rare and precious gift among the vampire race, they would stop at nothing to keep your little Monkeys safe. Just throwing them out there…

Then my second thought was “Shouldn’t she know who NOT to ask in any case of babysitting needs?” So, I contacted Noa and we’ve compiled a list of absolutely worse options for babysitting duties:

1. Pam Ravenscroft (from Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse) While we all love Sookie’s vampire BFF (and sort-of stepchild) to bits, we just aren’t sure if she has that maternal instinct. Like the one that tells you not to throw out the baby with the dirty diaper, or throw him up in the air and pretend its a baby shower…or have him for a midnight snack…well, you get the point. Then again, in Pam’s hands your baby would be dressed to the nines…
2. The Omega (from J.R.Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood) This nasty little devil is more likely to turn your sweet little tykes into Mr. M lessers to do his bidding and corrupt all of those they come in contact with. That sweet baby powder smell that you love so much? Could turn into something more nauseating and dangerous.
3. Saiman (from Ilona Andrew’s Kate Daniels) – While Saiman may seem innocent on any given day, depending on his bodysuit of the week, any guy who will flat out challenge Curran has a death wish. Nope, if we needed a babysitter for a little monkey or two, it wouldn’t be Saiman we’d drop them off with….The Keep, now there is a safe option, most days.
4. Myst, Queen of Mayhem (from Yasmine Galenorn’s Indigo Court) Beware of this ancient vampiric fae. With her stunning face and sweet voice you might assume your getting a nice nanny until you look a bit closer to realize that- yes, those arms do bend like a spiders and those teeth are needle point sharp. Beware: she’ll not only feast upon their blood, but there might be nothing left.
5. V’lane (from Karen Marie Moning’s Fever)- The man is beautiful, that’s for sure, but lets face facts, were he in the mood, precious Monkeys would be lost in Fairy indefinitely. And lets not forget, while he may be runway model material, he isn’t exactly a role model… the things he might do to others in the presence of your precious? Not for the under 16′s, and if they were over 16 – better keep them away from this death by sex fae. Need a babysitter in Dublin? Call Dani. She never lets you down.
6. Algaliarept (from Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan/Hollows) As much as we absolutely love the funny demon, this bad boy can morph into anyone he desires to fool you, so you must be absolutely careful or they may end up like Caridwen. Though, he’s more likely to sale your sweet little darlings in the Ever After’s slave market to make a quick buck.
7. Stefan (from Patrica Briggs’ Mercades Thompson) We love Mr. Scooby Doo, we really do. But his boss is scary, the crowd he moves around with is scary, heck, he’s scary! So, while Stefan would be great for a supervised visit including juice boxes and old episodes of Scooby Doo, we’re not quite sure about leaving him alone with your special cargo. He might get peckish….
8. Anita Blake (from Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake) Let’s face it, this woman is one we all love to hate and her around children, in any form, would be one of the worst ideas ever. Not only does she have shifting morals, quick trigger finger and severe anger issues, she also carries around with her a number of were-animals just itching to escape her fleshy cage, the power to raise the dead and what is quite possibly the worse? She’s been inflicted with the need to feed the ardeur. No one knows when these “episodes” may happen and as a result, she travels with at least one man to help suit her “needs”… Do we really need to say more?

In no particular order, these are our eight absolute worse choices that Jackie could ask to attend to her little Monkey’s. We’re sure there are more out there that we have missed, so who are your worst sitter-characters ever? Let us know in the comments.

Steven de Selby has a hangover. Bright lights, loud noise, and lots of exercise are the last thing he wants. But that’s exactly what he gets when someone starts shooting at him.

Steven is no stranger to death-Mr. D’s his boss after all-but when a dead girl saves him from sharing her fate, he finds himself on the wrong end of the barrel. His job is to guide the restless dead to the underworld but now his clients are his own colleagues, friends, and family.

Mr. D’s gone missing and with no one in charge, the dead start to rise, the living are hunted, and the whole city teeters on the brink of a regional apocalypse-unless Steven can shake his hangover, not fall for the dead girl, and find out what happened to his boss- that is, Death himself.

A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin

Two years after his untimely death, Matthew Swift finds himself breathing once again, lying in bed in his London home.

Except that it’s no longer his bed, or his home. And the last time this sorcerer was seen alive, an unknown assailant had gouged a hole so deep in his chest that his death was irrefutable…despite his body never being found.

He doesn’t have long to mull over his resurrection, though, or the changes that have been wrought upon him. His only concern now is vengeance. Vengeance upon his monstrous killer and vengeance upon the one who brought him back.

Monster Hunter Vendetta by Larry Correia

Accountant turned professional monster hunter, Owen Zastava Pitt, managed to stop the nefarious Old One’s invasion plans last year, but as a result made an enemy out of one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Now an evil death cult known as the Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition wants to capture Owen in order to gain the favor of the great Old Ones.

The Condition is led by a fanatical necromancer known as the Shadow Man. The government wants to capture the Shadow Man and has assigned the enigmatic Agent Franks to be Owen’s full time bodyguard, which is a polite way of saying that Owen is monster bait.

With supernatural assassins targeting his family, a spy in their midst, and horrific beasties lurking around every corner, Owen and the staff of Monster Hunter International don’t need to go hunting, because this time the monsters are hunting them. Fortunately, this bait is armed and very dangerous . . .

Eve’s life is a living hell of her own choosing. She struggles to survive in a dark world of magic and horror, all in an attempt to please her vampire master. Now Eve has crossed a line and and innocents have been harmed. This hasn’t gone unnoticed by a well meaning cabal of occultist that’s mandate is to police the occult world. What will happen when these two forces clash? Is there ever a”winner” in the supernatural underworld of Dusk?

____________________________________________________

Dusk – The DVD Extras.

When writing you realize that regardless of your intent or meaning, readers will interpret your writing in interesting and surprising ways. So I’d like to kind of share my thought process in how I came about the stories for Dusk – Volume 2, so it can be viewed in a different context. Not trying to tell a person how to perceive the story, just giving a behind the scene look.

And before I go into each story, I wanted to go over the format of Dusk. Dusk is not a whole complete story, but instead several short stories. I’ve gotten feedback that either people like it or don’t so I’m sticking with it for the moment to see if I can pull off the grand design I have in mind. Since Dusk is about vampires and the supernatural, I prefer the shorter stories because with that way you can illuminate certain details but at the same time conceal others. Since the supernatural is meant to be mysterious and unknown, I like a little obfuscation to help with that mystery. Also with shorter stories I can change the mood, tones and styles several times in the same book.

I don’t think I’ve perfected this format yet, but I don’t think I’ve totally broken anything yet. Anyways onto the specific stories.

Route 66

This story came from more of a feeling about a location than anything else. I do some Horror Conventions up in Tulsa a lot because all the people are great and there’s some pretty good writers hiding out there.

(Quick plug for Belladonna Drakul http://www.myspace.com/thevampirecollectionand Charles Martin www.literatipressok.com)

So there was this one show that was a eclectic mix of horror, music and even burlesque. It was at the historic Rose Bowl on Route 66. As I was driving down Route 66, I looked at all the old buildings and I was stuck with a curious feeling of melancholy. It was like I was viewing the past through a cracked and dirty window.

Then I met a friend that I usually see only at the shows and she was dressed as a Demon as she normally does at such events. So I was struck with this idea about a story about long forgotten things lurking about old forgotten back roads.

Bad Mojo

This story is actually a sequel to the second story in the first volume of Dusk. In that story there a small part where the protanagist, Eve, finds out a minor detail about this private investigator. The investigator is destroying his marriage. So instead of just letting it go, Eve projects herself in that situation and feels the need to fix the “problem”using her black arts. I thought about how that was a tad invasive and creepy, so I thought to turn the tables a little. So in Bad Mojo, Eve is now the antagonist and new characters are there to play protanagist to get Eve to fix what she had done with magic.

The Endless Desert War

This was a story where I wanted to comment or address two different topics, but I really wanted to keep the message simple so I made a fairly short story out of it. What I’m addressing is Zombies and the wars that the US is currently involved with. On the Zombie side of it, I feel they’re becoming even more overexposed than Vampires. I always find it interesting things like the Undead can be so happily popular despite their darker nature. So I tried to tell a Zombie story that was more tragic and not as action packed as seems to be the trend nowadays. On the War side, I’m not really preachy about such topics, so I kept to a simple view of how a War effects one on a personal level. I didn’t want to be political about it, just put it in a smaller frame of context.

Obey Your Master

One thing about me that I find contradictory as a writer who focus on Vampires a lot is that I don’t like how so many people think Vampires are cool. Vampires are evil, bad, damned souls that are meant to be feared, not admired. And I realized that even my character Eve, was in that mindset, so I had to setup a story to show that the vampire world is not fun by any means. The horror shown to Eve is simple but again it’s at a more personal level. That’s another aspect of current vampire stories I think has been lost, is the personal horror of it all. Everything has to be large conflicts with everything at stake. I like the slower decent of smaller fights for your sanity as you watch it chip away with each encounter you have with the darkness.

Love in a Bottle

This actually just started pretty simply. I was at a comic book show and had a table next to a friend who is an artist. He said write him a small story to draw and he would do it. So I had to think of something to fit in the space restraints that I had. So I decided to focus more of the “human”relationship between the human Eve and her vampire “lord”Ash. Also I wanted to play more with the addiction that Eve has to the vampire blood. That’s another thing I think has been lost in a lot of vampire stories, is the sensuality and the character of blood itself. I think that symbolism should play a big, but subtle, role in a good vampire story. But nowadays you read a lot of synthetic blood this, or blood farm that. I think things like that rob the intimacy of a vampire drinking blood from a victim.

Teenage Vampire Drama

So I was trying to watch an episode of Vampire Diaries because I heard a lot of hype about it. I never gave Twilight a chance, so I was trying to be open minded and give this show a chance. But as I was watching it, one thing kept sticking out, and I couldn’t look past it and enjoy the show.

If I was over 500 years old, the last place I would want to hang out is a high school. I did not enjoy school at all growing up and to this day I still have nightmares that I missed one credit and I have to go back to school all over again.

So this is a parody of sorts where I try to explain what sort of vampire would go to school.

Good Samaritan

My lead character Eve has several big emotional issues going on in her head. They’re so prevalent, she tends to see herself in other people’s problems. So this whole story is based around her getting into a whole “adventure”just because she is trying to fix a relationship like it would vicariously fix her own problems. It goes back to the a common theme running in Dusk where sometimes one’s biggest battles are ones of our own making.