Never Trust A Skeleton In A Top Hat

It's that time of year again, my pretties!  Ghosts and goblins are calling my name (well, not really calling my name, because that would be creepy), but my spirits are definitely rising at the thought of Halloween!

 

I'm still hard at work on book #5 in the Nicki Styx series, HAPPILY NEVER AFTER, but I couldn't let October go by without some special Halloween treats for my readers.  Let's go back to the beginning, where Nicki Styx's story began, and re-visit some old haunts in DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY!

 

Those of you who read DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY may remember Nicki's midnight encounter with Baron Samedi, the cheerful but deceptive voodoo god of the dead.  "Eat drink, and be merry," says the skeleton in a top hat, "for tomorrow you be mine."  Well, I've turned the tables on the old bonehead, and decided that HE can be YOURS instead!  :) This is a very cool vintage-style decoration that says "Halloween Greetings" in black glitter.  It's box-shaped, and the perfect size and shape to contain a signed copy of DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY.  What better way to celebrate Halloween than with a quirky ghost story about a young woman who suddenly begins to see dead people, hm?  :)

 

Enter the drawing for Baron Samedi and an autographed book by CLICKING HERE or by sending an email to terrigareycontests@gmail.com with a subject line that says, "Never Trust a Skeleton in a Top Hat!" 

 

And speaking of untrustworthy devils, look who else showed up!  :)

 

Sammy Divine, High Prince of Darkness, isn't going to let Halloween pass while playing second fiddle to a skeleton - how about a DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE t-shirt (size XL), and a signed copy of the book, with matching bookmark?

 

Enter the drawing for the t-shirt and book by CLICKING HERE or by sending an email to terrigareycontests@gmail.com with a subject line that says "Sammy Divine Is One Sexy Devil!" 

 

And hey, if you know anyone who'd like to read something different this Halloween, or just enter a couple of cool Halloween contests, make sure you forward this newsletter. Go ahead, spread the word about the Nicki Styx series and the Devil's Bargain series!  Post a link on your Facebook page, Tweet about the contests, put a call in to your mother (you probably needed to do that anyway).  Word of mouth is an author's best friend, and 'tis the season to be spooky!  :)

 

           

 

Oo, oo, speaking of midnight encounters with dancing skeletons and untrustworthy devils, I almost forgot to tell you about the most fun you could ever have, alone in a darkened wood on Halloween night. (What? You don't want to hang out in darkened woods on Halloween night? Stop being such a baby.)  Steel your nerves, take a deep breath, and go play this fun little text adventure game, created as a companion piece for my last anthology, BLOOD BY MOONLIGHT!  (Don't forget to check out the "Hints" as you go exploring... you might live longer that way!)  Trick or treat, my pretties, trick or treat!  :)

 

  

 

 

 

 

And finally, one more treat before I go -- a super-simple and super-cute Halloween recipe that even a Mummy could love:  Frankenstein Pudding Cups!

  

1) Draw faces on clear plastic cups with a Sharpie.

 

2) Fill with vanilla pudding, tinted with green food coloring.

 

3) Sprinkle with crushed oreos or chocolate chips. 

 

There ya go... little green monsters for your little monsters.  Even someone as "cooking-impaired" as I am can't mess these up!  :)

 

I hope you enjoyed your Halloween tricks and treats, and don't forget - both drawings (Baron Samedi's "Halloween Greetings" and a signed copy of a DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY, or the t-shirt with a signed copy of DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE) will end on October 15, 2013.  You're perfectly welcome to enter both drawings... Halloween treats like these are hard to resist!  :) Winners will be notified by email.

Have a wonderful Halloween, and keep reading!

The Countdown Has Begun!

Time to get serious, people! Halloween 2013 is coming up! Here's a cute and spooky little countdown clock to enjoy while you wait, and don't be a wuss... go ahead and click "creepy sounds" in the lower right hand corner for the full effect!

Halloween Countdown at FlashBannerNow.com

An Upcoming Release, and some Goodies

To all who've written to ask me what I'm working on these days, I'm thrilled and happy to finally be able to show you. Take a look at the cover for HAPPILY NEVER AFTER, book number #5 in the Nicki Styx series!

I took a break from this award-winning paranormal series for a while to write about hot devils and steamy angels, but I just couldn't seem to let Nicki Styx die. :) I never gave Nicki and her fiancé, Joe Bascombe, their happily ever after, and neither character was willing to just quietly go away and rest in peace. (Ha!) Neither was Evan, or Grandma Bijou, or the myriad of spirits that need Nicki's help to cross over.

I'd hoped to release HAPPILY NEVER AFTER earlier this year, but what started out as a short novella centered around Joe and Nicki's wedding has blossomed into a full-length murder mystery. The troublesome spirit of an elderly soap opera star has decided that Nicki can't have her happily ever after until she gets hers, which forces Nicki to mingle with the strange yet moneyed members of the Atlanta-area country club set. Since a novel obviously takes longer to write than a novella, I hope you'll be patient. (Look for this one in early 2014.) In the meantime, I just couldn't wait any longer to show you the gorgeous new cover, and let you know that I'm working on a new Nicki Styx book! :)

Since I can't give you any pre-order links yet, I've got some early Halloween goodies to give away instead. (Oh, c'mon - you knew there would be goodies!) The most delightful night of the year is barely two months away, and I've already started my preparations! My annual Halloween bash includes a trip through "Madame Zelda's Haunted Graveyard", and I have lots of ghouls and goblins who stop by for candy and giggles -- I have to stay on top of new ways to tickle a few funny bones while sending a chill down their spines!

Look at these adorably awesome little Coffin Keepsake Boxes, which I couldn't resist filling with appropriately ghoulish treasure: a bottle of deliciously tart Decayed Bone Powder, a skull bracelet, skull and crossbones necklace, dark jewels, and a miniature skull. :) Each of these coffins has a glittery skull painted on the lid: one red, one purple, one green and one silver. They're the perfect little gift for the Halloween fiend in your life, especially if the fiend is YOU! I'm going to give three of these to three lucky readers, via drawing on Sunday, September 1, 2013. I'm keeping the silver one for myself, but if you'd like to win one of the other three, you need to answer a Nicki Styx wedding-related question. (Hey, no tricks, no treats!) :)

Go back to the day that Nicki and Joe got engaged in SILENT NIGHT, HAUNTED NIGHT (Book #4 in the series), and tell me what Nicki's engagement ring looks like. There will be an email link to enter the contest at the end of the excerpt. Good luck, ghoulfriends, and happy reading!

An Interview with Paranormal/Fantasy Author Terri Garey

by Kelly Smith, Reviewer

“Come to the dark side…we have cookies.”

Terri Garey burst onto the paranormal romance scene back in 2007 with her ghostly debut novel Dead Girls Are Easy, based on the story of a woman who has a near death experience and wakes up to find out she can now see and hear the spirits of the dead. The series spans through right until today with books narrated by Mrs. Garey’s heroine, Nicki Styx (The Nicki Styx Series), and also into books about her most lustable villain, Sammy Divine (The Devil’s Bargain Series).

She was also featured in the Avon Romance collection Weddings From Hell with a short story based on Nicki titled Ghoul’s Night Out. Currently, she is working on a new novel based on Nicki and I had the pleasure of being able to interview her about her past novels, her future novels and her views on the paranormal and mythology. Enjoy! If you like what you read, links are provided below to purchase her novels and interact with her online!

1. You started out as a computer analyst and then decided to quit and write full-time. For people reading this who are unfamiliar with your background, can you tell us why that was?

I loved working in the computer field, but computer analysis is a very logical, linear job. If a program isn’t working, you fix it. If software or hardware needs to be installed, you install it. Great for the left side of my brain (logical, analytical), but the right side of my brain (creativity, expression) had no outlet.  I was blessed and lucky enough to leave one career field to begin an entirely new one.

2. As opposed to “typical” romance/erotica, you chose to go darker with the paranormal. What made you make that decision?

I’ve always been fascinated with the spooky stuff. Not horror so much, but the spooky stuff that raises the hair on the back of your neck, and makes you look over your shoulder for fear that something might be hiding in the shadows. As a child, I slept with a glow-in-the-dark cross above my bed to keep away vampires, read Edgar Allen Poe, loved and adored old monster movies like Creatures from the Black Lagoon and Bride of Frankenstein, and was addicted to shows like Dark Shadows and the Twilight Zone. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday, and still is, because it combines “spooky” with “fun” – I consider that a perfect combination!

3. Vampires and werewolves are usually what people write romance novels about, but you choose to use ghosts and the Devil. Why did you choose that route?

Ghosts and demons/devils speak to the concept of good vs. evil, and how the choices we make affect the course of our lives, and perhaps even the course of our afterlife. Of course, nobody knows for sure, but given that I write fiction, I’m allowed a lot of creative license with both concepts! :)

4. Sammy was inspired a bit by rock star Billy Idol. Were any of your other characters inspired by real people?

I guess you could say that Nicki Styx is my “alter ego”, in that her thoughts, emotions and reactions are mine. Her personal style (fun, funky, adventurous with her hair and clothing) is one I would’ve like to have, if I hadn’t gone the more conservative route of wife, mother and extremely logical computer analyst. :)  The character of Finn Payne in DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE was inspired by Finnish goth rocker Jyrki Linnankavi of The 69 Eyes, a lovely man with a complex personality and a kind heart. Various other characters like Evan, Butch, Caprice, Bijou Boudreaux, Granny Julep, Kelly Bascombe and Spider are really just amalgams of the many different people I’ve met in my life. I grew up in the South, where there are no shortage of colorful characters to draw upon!

5. Instead of the typical femme fatale, you chose to make your heroine Nicki Styx a Goth/vintage bad gal. While your fans adore her I have to ask what made you decide to sway from the norm with her?

I wanted Nicki to come across as a real person, not just a character on the page. I personally don’t know any women who are half-vampire or half-werewolf and can kick a super villain’s ass while wearing high heeled boots and a corset, do you? :) I wanted a character who’d experienced a life-changing moment of a paranormal nature, and then had to learn how to deal with it, vs. a woman who was born with “special powers” or had to hide her secret identity from mere mortals. I wanted a real woman who’d been thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and became a better person in the end because of it. Her personal style is a little edgy, but it's just a fashion choice, it doesn't define who she is.

6. Nicki and Evan Owenby own a vintage, upscale fashion boutique and you have a lot of fashion commentary in your novels. Are you interested in the world of fashion yourself?

As the youngest of four sisters, I grew up wearing a lot of hand-me-downs, very few of which were actually ME, if you know what I mean. These days, I do pay attention to fashion, but I am not a slave to it. Fit and flair are a very important part of fashion, so in that way, yes, I’m interested in it, and choose my clothes with an eye toward “casual elegance”, which means well-fitting jeans with a great top, cute shoes and interesting jewelry. That’s my idea of everyday wear. 

7. The 69 Eyes made your debut novel Dead Girls Are Easy popular in the music/Goth scene when they recorded their single of the same title. Are there any other musicians you might hope to do a collaboration of sorts with in the future?

That was not a collaboration, that was an Amazing Cosmic Coincidence! I became a fan of The 69 Eyes after seeing one of their live performances on YouTube, knowing nothing about the song, which had already been written but not yet recorded. The lead singer emailed me to tell me he had a surprise in store for me, having found my book in a bookstore in Sweden. Hearing the song for the first time, knowing that both the title as well as the lyrics were based on my novel was super cool, as was actually meeting the band in person! Smokin’ hot rockers from Finland (who also happen to be soft-spoken gentlemen) don’t show up out of the blue every day! As to future musical collaborations, if Billy Idol ever emails me with the same type of news, I would not be disappointed. :)

8. What authors did you enjoy when you were younger? What authors do you enjoy today?

Now, as I did when I was younger, I read a wide variety of fiction by a wide variety of authors. As a kid, I loved Poe and Dickens, but basically read anything I could get my hands on. As an adult, some of the best books I’ve read in the last few years are SILENT IN THE GRAVE by Deanna Raybourne, DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor, and GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn.

9. Why Satan? There were many possibilities you could’ve gone with for a sexual villain in Nicki’s life. Why choose the Devil?

Good vs. evil, Light vs. Darkness… it seemed pretty clear that Nicki was going to need a whole LOT of temptation to deal with, so I went with the biggest Tempter of them all!

10. In Silent Night, Haunted Night you use a lot of mythology with the Moirai (AKA the Norns/the Three Fates for those reading who may not know), the Night Hag and Selene, the Moon Goddess. Is mythology of interest to you personally or did you just study it to enhance the novel? (Either way, I loved it!)

Thank you! I absolutely love, love, love mythology, so weaving it into each and every one of my novels is just plain fun. Taking stories that have been around for centuries and putting a new twist on them is one of the best parts about my job!

11. Instead of focusing more on the romance between Nicki and Dr. Joe Bascombe, you write equally about that, Nicki’s family dynamics and also the ghosts that surround her. is it difficult writing about the main story plus the numerous subplots?

Yes, it’s difficult, but that’s what makes a story – and life itself – interesting. Everyone has their own story, but every story is surrounded by subplots, some of which help us and some which hurt us as we grow and change throughout our lives. Life is not a straight line from start to finish, and neither are my novels.

12. You branched out from having Nicki as the narrator to stories in the third person about Sammy. Why did you decide to do that?

He’s an extremely complex character, who had his own story to tell. When my editor suggested I tell it, I jumped at the chance!

13. You said that you were currently writing another Nicki Styx novel. Can you give us any inside secrets or is it all still too far under wraps?

What I can tell you is that it’s centered around Nicki and Joe’s wedding, and that ghosts and moral choices abound. :) Oh, and I absolutely LOVE the cover far more than any other cover I’d had to date, but I’m forbidden to show it until closer to the time of publication.

14. If you weren’t writing chilling paranormal romance for Avon Books, what would you be doing?

Writing chilling paranormal romance for someone else. :) 1

5. Thank you again for doing this interview with me. It was a pleasure having you respond to these questions that I, personally, have wondered about! Can you leave the readers with three things about yourself that may surprise them?

Hmmm… I like collecting things in miniature because I don’t like clutter (I have small curio cases for each collection: perfume bottles, opal carvings), I’m not a big meat eater, and I have a major weakness for extremely tart frozen yogurt. Gee, what a wild woman I am! :)

Thanks for having me, Kelly, and I hope that some of your questions have now been answered!

Interact with paranormal author Terri Garey at the following Websites:

http://www.tgarey.com
http://www.twitter.com/TerriGarey
http://www.facebook.com/terrigarey

Her novels are available for purchase at your local Barnes And Noble/Nook store (also at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/terri-garey?store=book&keyword=terri+garey), on Amazon and Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_11?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=terri%20garey&sprefix=terri+garey%2Caps%2C259)!

Revisiting Old Friends

When I become emotionally attached to someone, I often have a hard time letting them go, which is also true of my characters. This is why, after a hiatus of three years, what I'm up to these days is revisiting the character of Nicki Styx, who made her debut in my RITA award winning novel, DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY.  Nicki's adventures with the dearly (and not-so-dearly) departed went on to fill four more books and a novella before I moved on to other projects, but Nicki (much like the spirits who plague her), simply refused to die.  True to form, she demanded her OWN happily after ever, which I may or may not give her -- the story isn't finished yet -- but HAPPILY NEVER AFTER is my current project. 

In my spare time, I'm also working on the third and final book in the DEVIL'S BARGAIN series, which will be the one where the devilishly handsome Sammy Divine finally gets what he deserves, and revisiting a couple of historical novels that I wrote a few years back involving Roman warriors, ancient Druids and the Egyptian cult of Isis.  (Say what???)  :)  Oh, and then there's a Victorian mystery involving mesmerism and spiritualism that keeps calling my name... I hope to get to that one sometime next year.  If you'd like to find out more about any of these books, including the release dates, you should probably sign up for my newsletter, which is also a great way to win free books, cool t-shirts and all around awesome writerly swag (I love holding contests!).  And look, you can even sign up via text message!  Isn't modern technology wonderful?  :)

 

In other news regarding revisiting old friends, tomorrow I shall head off to Atlanta, GA for the 2013 Romance Writers of America conference.  Once there, I'll attend workshops, parties, laugh, eat, and laugh some more, as I see some of my dearest writing pals, many of whom I only get to see once a year.  Here I am with two of my best buds, Harlequin Medical author Janice Lynn and Harlequin Superromance author Anna Sugden.  We met online over ten years ago when we were all still unpublished, and have hung together ever since.  I can't wait to see them again!

So, in honor of old friends like Nicki, Anna and Janice, I'm offering a giveway today of ALL FOUR books in the Nicki Styx series:  DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY, A MATCH MADE IN HELL, YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I HAUNT, and SILENT NIGHT, HAUNTED NIGHT.

All you have to do is tell me the name of YOUR oldest friend, and you're entered!  A winner will be chosen on Thursday, July 18th.  Good luck, and here's to good friends!

Isn't Modern Technology Wonderful?

Now you can stay up to date on news of my latest releases and latest contests without clicking any links!

Spring has sprung, my pretties, and guess what I found while doing a little Spring cleaning?

Four (4) copies of BLOOD BY MOONLIGHT were hiding in my office! It seems a shame to let them go to waste, so I'm going to sign them and give them away to four lucky readers! (Who needs cute little bunnies, chirpy little robins or daisy chains to celebrate Spring when you can have three spine-tingling stories of witches, ghosts, vampires and werewolves, huh?)
 
Just for fun, I'm going to include one of these adorable little tins of Death Mints (guaranteed to give you fresh breath to die for... ha!) along with each signed copy. Eat your heart out, Easter Bunny!

Entering the contest is simple, as always. Just CLICK HERE to send me an email, and you're entered. Winners will be drawn on Easter Sunday, March 31st, 2013, and notified via return email.

Graveyard Gothic Garden Giveaway!

Only one week left until Halloween, and I'm already handing out the treats!

Come to the dark side of the garden with this super cool "Graveyard Gothic Garden" terrarium... you don't need a green thumb when a black one will do! :)

Spooky plants like Moonflower, Black Dragon Coleus, Dragon Tree Dracaena and the mysterious "Sensitive" plant, grown in a creepily decorative little container complete with tombstone stakes, blood rocks, skulls and spiders! Go ahead, enter! Winner will be announced on (when else?) October 31, 2012!! a Rafflecopter giveaway

As Halloween grows ever closer, I thought it might be time for a little "trick-or-treat"!  While I can't hold your hand while I take you from door-to-door, I can offer you a completely different type of treat - a spooky first-person adventure through some moon-lit woods!

Are you brave enough?

Take a moment, and gather your nerve, while I tell you a little about BLOOD BY MOONLIGHT, an upcoming Halloween anthology from Avon Impulse.

Here's the official description, straight from Amazon:

Just in time for the scariest season of all, three popular paranormal authors come together to tell original tales of romance beneath a Halloween moon . . .

In Terri Garey's The Ghoul Next Door, a witch and a warlock battle it out for possession of a haunted house, but the ghost may have her own agenda . . .

Tempers flare and passions rise in Jocelynn Drake's Of Monsters and Men as the local werewolf pack clashes with the Winter Court's Wild Hunt . . .

And, in Trick or Treathen by Caris Roane, a master vampire struggles to stay away from the mortal woman who enflames his very soul.

Yep, that's three all-new spooky tales of love and romance, all for only $1.99!! Werewolves, witches, ghosts and vampires... BLOOD BY MOONLIGHT is now available for pre-order, and will be officially released on October 23, 2012!

Ok, are you ready for a little Halloween adventure?

Play the BLOOD BY MOONLIGHT game!

A MONSTER Book Giveaway!

Mourning, boils and ghouls!

While I'm unable to hand out treats to each and every one of my readers, I can make you aware of a very special Halloween Giveaway over on the Supernatural Underground, a group blog I share with some incredibly awesome HarperCollins authors, all of whom (like me) write and love the spooky stuff!

Twenty-four (count 'em, 24!) free books to one lucky winner!

The Body Finder (and swag) by Kimberly Derting
Nightspell by Leah Cypess
Ascension by Sable Grace
Afterlife + Fathom (ebook) by Merrie Destefano
A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer
To Hell And Back (ebook) by Juliana Stone
The Heir of Night, US edition by Helen Lowe
Dream of Asarlai trilogy (Secret Ones, Power Unbound, Rogue Gadda) in ebook by Nicole Murphy
Night Forbidden by Joss Ware
Angel's Ink by Jocelynn Drake
A Devil Named Desire by Terri Garey
Tatsania's Gift (ebook) by Kim Falconer
Darkness Becomes Her by Jaime Rush
Last Vamp Standing by Kristin Miller
Diamond Eyes by AA Bell
Wanted: Undead or Alive by Kerrelyn Sparks
One Grave at a Time + Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost
Diaries of an Urban Panther by Amanda Arista

What are ya waitin' for?  Look how many people have already entered!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Of Wine, Cheese and Italian Sunsets

I've just returned from 10 glorious days in sun-drenched Italy, and thought I'd share a few of the highlights, beginning with this photo I took on the very first night, from the window of my hotel in the heart of Florence. This beautiful old building is the Basilica di Santa Croce, the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians ever known, including Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli.
Standing before the tomb of Michelangelo was a surreal experience, in part because of the exquisite nature of the marble sculptures that decorate his resting place (so very lifelike, and so very sad), and in part because of the Basilica itself, filled with funerary sculptures and monuments, gorgeous frescos and chiseled remembrances, in an atmosphere of awestruck silence and reverential respect nearly impossible to describe. 

For the next few days, we roamed the streets of Florence, down narrow, winding cobblestone lanes into wide, beautiful piazzas filled with more sculpture, more history, sparkling Florentine fountains and numerous colorful little trattorias.  I lost count of the times we stopped to just sit and people-watch, enjoying cheese, olives, and wine while street musicians played played and vendors hawked their wares.

We spent a memorable afternoon at the Uffizi Museum, home to some of the most famous and beautiful artwork in the world, including Botticelli's "Birth of Venus", and gorgeous original works by Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian and Michelangelo.  We strolled across the Ponte Vecchio, one of the colorful and busy bridges spanning the River Arno, and visited the famous Boboli Gardens, once owned by the Medici family, who reigned as undisputed royalty in Florence for hundreds of years.  We mingled with the crowds at the busy "Mercanto Centrale" where I happily haggled over a gorgeous red leather bag (now mine, all mine!), and bought a few other souvenirs.  We discovered the joys of gnocchi al pesto (potato dumplings with fresh pesto, made from basil & olive oil), Pecorino cheese, Italian gelato, and rich Cappucino.



After three days glorious days in Florence, we embarked on a completely new adventure, taking the train from Florence into Pisa, and then on to the seaside village of Camogli, just south of the port of Genoa.

Ahh..........

Warm Mediterranean breezes, brightly colored homes and boats, more cheese, more wine, and a completely laid-back attitude.  They don't call this part of the Ligurian coast the "Italian Riviera" for nothing!

Here's one of my favorite shots, taken from the balcony of our room overlooking the sea.  I've NEVER seen colors like this in a sunset, and I live in Florida!  Some of my favorite memories will always include sitting on that balcony, just reading, enjoying the crash of the waves and the cries of the gulls.

Here in Camogli we relaxed for four more days, enjoying strolls through quiet streets, some wonderful seafood, more cheese, more wine, and crusty fresh-baked bread.  One of those days we took the ferry south to the city of Portofino, though we both agreed that - despite Portofino's reputation as a "must-see" destination - the village of Camogli was far prettier, and much less touristy.

Finally, it was time to go home, so we took one last shot on our balcony overlooking the sea, and left Camogli with regret, taking with us some happy memories, some great photos, a new interest in Italian cuisine, and... dare I say it?... some inspiration for a new book!!  (I'll say no more than that for now, because I don't want to jinx it.)  :)

I've posted a lot more pictures on my Facebook page if you're interested, but in the meantime, thanks for letting me share my memories and photos, and as they say in Italy, "Arrivederci!"

BLOOD BY MOONLIGHT

I know it's still August, but I am SO ready for Halloween!!

Luckily, my publisher is, too, and when I was asked to write a Halloween novella for an upcoming anthology, I was only too pleased to say "Yes!" The result was a spooky little tale called The Ghoul Next Door, and I can't wait for you to read it - the anthology just became available for pre-order. (Look at that cover... don't you LOVE it? I think it's BOOOO-ti-ful.) ;)

Here's the official description, straight from Amazon:

Just in time for the scariest season of all, three popular paranormal authors come together to tell original tales of romance beneath a Halloween moon . . .

In Terri Garey's The Ghoul Next Door, a witch and a warlock battle it out for possession of a haunted house, but the ghost may have her own agenda . . .

Tempers flare and passions rise in Jocelynn Drake's Of Monsters and Men as the local werewolf pack clashes with the Winter Court's Wild Hunt . . .

And, in Trick or Treathen by Caris Roane, a master vampire struggles to stay away from the mortal woman who enflames his very soul.

Yep, that's three all-new spooky tales of love and romance, all for only $1.99!! Werewolves, witches, ghosts and vampires... BLOOD BY MOONLIGHT is now available for pre-order - check it out!

What, Another Giveaway?

Yep, I'm giving away a "Winner's Choice" of one of my books today, at TWO different blogs! Stop by Literal Addiction or Book Monster Reviews to enter, and you could win a free, signed copy of DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY, A MATCH MADE IN HELL, YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I HAUNT, SILENT NIGHT, HAUNTED NIGHT, DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE or A DEVIL NAMED DESIRE!

What the heck are ya waitin' for?  :)

What I Do When I'm Not Reading

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.

        ~ from A Midsummer Night's Dream

Though it is February, I live in Florida, and this time of year, I garden.

Here in the Sunshine State, Feb. thru April is prime time in the bloom department. By the time May and June gets here, it's just too hot to spend too much time outside, and flowers definitely take a beating under the summer sun.

The picture above is of my azaleas, who have been fooled by a false early Spring into blooming early.

To the right is a white rose from a bush given to me on Valentine's Day one year by my husband.  The rose variety is called "Love".  (Can I get an "Awww!")?  I counted over 30 blooms on it yesterday. I have several varieties of roses, and find them very easy to grow as long as I water them often, and trim them ruthlessly.

These are snapdragons, who seem to have gone crazy all of a sudden.  They're among my favorite flowers, and these are big and pink, with a deep yellow throat.

I also love impatiens, which come in so many different colors and really need a shady spot to thrive down here in Florida - the sun will do them in. These are a dark "lipstick" pink, and getting bigger every day.  I'll trim these soon, and stick the snipped pieces into a vase full of water, where they will quickly root.  Voila, more impatiens!

New Guinea impatiens, on the other hand, love the sun, but require plenty of water to withstand it.  These on the left are bright orange.  (In the same photo, you can see a rabbit's foot fern, a hoya, a large pot of ivy, and the trumpet vine that covers my fence.  All sun-loving.)

There's a lot more to see, and I would show you more, but my little friend Pan is calling... he hides in a shady spot to play his flute among the flowers of my garden, probably hoping to lure Titania, Queen of the Fairies. She could be out there now, drinking nectar from my passion flowers.

One never knows!

A DEVIL NAMED DESIRE - Sneak Peek!

January 31st is getting closer, but still seems all too far away!

I can't wait any longer to share the second book in The Devil's Bargain series with you, and show you what happens when an angel and a devil go head to head in a scorching battle over one woman's soul.

Read the opening scene of my newest novel,
A DEVIL NAMED DESIRE by clicking here:

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...

The lawn is pressed by unseen feet, and ghosts return
Gently at twilight, gently go at dawn,
The sad intangible who grieve and yearn....
                                                    --T.S. ELIOT

I've always loved a good ghost story.  Put me in a spooky old house full of creaks and moans, thunder and lightning crashing, a mystery, a tragedy, or a love story, and I'm in heaven, which is why I cannot WAIT to see this upcoming movie, A WOMAN IN BLACK:



(Yes, it's Harry Potter all grown up, but more importantly, it's a good, old-fashioned ghost story!)

As a storyteller myself, I couldn't resist trying a hand at a few ghost stories of my own, and one is about to be released as in ebook form:

GHOULS NIGHT OUT

A missing bridesmaid, some embarrassing relatives, and a "girls night out" gone bad land Nicki Styx in the middle of a murder mystery. Can she expose the killer, put a poor girl's soul to rest, and still look calm, cool and collected while wearing the ugliest bridesmaid dress on earth?

GHOULS NIGHT OUT was originally published as part of the Avon anthology, WEDDINGS FROM HELL, but as of January 17th, it can be downloaded as a stand-alone e-book for only $1.99!

(I absolutely love this new cover, btw.)


  

Let me warn you, GHOULS NIGHT OUT is a modern-day ghost story - it has no creaky old house and no thunder and lightning, but holds plenty of scares, spookiness, and more than just a bit of dark humor.

If you'd like to read an excerpt, you can do it HERE. And if, by chance, you feel a cool breeze on the back of your neck while you're reading it, don't be scared... maybe ghosts like to read, too!

What's in YOUR E-Reader?

One of the unexpected benefits of switching to an e-reader is the virtual "library" it creates for you. With just a quick glance, you can look back and see what you've been reading for the past year. I did that this morning, and decided -- just for fun -- to list the ebooks I've read in 2011 (excluding my own).

*Note: This isn't a complete list of the books I've read this year, as I still love a good paperback! 

In my E-Reader Library:

BLACK SHEEP by Georgette Heyer
FRAGILE THINGS by Neil Gaiman
NATURAL BORN CHARMER by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
THE WISE MAN'S FEAR by Patrick Rothfuss
WHAT THE NIGHT KNOWS by Dean Koontz
LOVE, LUST & FAKING IT by Jenny McCarthy
DESCENT INTO DUST by Jacqueline Lepore
THE GRAND SOPHIE by Georgette Heyer
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman
JUST KIDS by Patti Smith
AIN'T SHE SWEET by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
MIDNIGHT'S WILD PASSION by Anna Campbell
DON'T BREATHE A WORLD by Jennifer McMahon
CHARITY GIRL by Georgette Heyer
SANDMAN SLIM by Richard Kadrey
HIDEAWAY by Dean Koontz
THE SINISTER MR. CORPSE by Jeff Strand
GRAVEMINDER by Melissa Marr
THE GOOD SISTER by Drusilla Campbell
THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins
CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins
MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins
WOLF HUNT by Jeff Strand
KISS OF MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian
MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN by Ransom Riggs
THE BODY FINDER by Kimberly Derting
FIRST LADY by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett
GIRLS IN WHITE DRESSES by Jennifer Close
GAME OF THRONES by George R.R. Martin
NEVERWHERE by Neil Gaiman
THE SHOP OF SHADES AND SECRETS by Colleen Gleason
ANANSI BOYS by Neil Gaiman
FAITHLESS by Joyce Carol Oates
CHASING RAINBOWS by Kathleen Long
HAWK OF MAY by Gillian Anderson
THE KINGDOM OF SUMMER by Gillian Anderson
IN WINTER'S SHADOW by Gillian Anderson
SINGLE WHITE PSYCHOPATH SEEKS SAME by Jeff Strand
THE LAND OF THE PAINTED CAVES by Jean Auel

12 Days of Supernatural Christmas Giveaways!

Some of my writer friends and I are counting down the final twelve days to Christmas by talking about our “first holiday memories”, and giving away a book a day over in the Supernatural Underground! Each day will bring a new author, a new memory, a new book giveaway until December 25th, when one lucky winner will win a Grand Prize Packet, filled with books from some of today's hottest (and coolest) voices in Speculative/Supernatural Fiction!

Join me, Sable Grace, Kim Falconer, Joss Ware, Leah Cypess, Anita Bell, Dakota Banks, Nicole Murphy, Josephine Angelini, Juliana Stone, Helen Lowe and Kerrelyn Sparks as we share Christmas memories over the next twelve days.  Pop in and leave us a comment over at Books That Go Bump In the Night to be entered in the giveaways!

Reviewers Choice - Devil Without a Cause

Great news! I just found out that DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE was the Reviewers Choice for November 2011 over at GraveTells Paranormal Reviews. The reviewer includes several excerpts in her review, including one of my favorites... a scene where Samael the Fallen, Lord of the Abyss, comes face to face with both his past and his conscience, and doesn't like what he sees.

So, because I love getting Reviewers Choice awards and because pretty silver ribbons across my book covers makes my heart sing, I thought I'd share the excerpt with you here:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

Samael stared bitterly into the pool, seeing now only his own reflection, and the blackness that surrounded him, as always.

Ariadne turned away, heading back into her cave, and he let her go, knowing himself a fool for wishing for things he could never have. Nicki Styx was beyond his reach, and part of him, Darkness help him, was grateful for it.

He stayed by the pool a long time, soaking in the quiet. There were no further visions, and he didn’t expect them—the pool revealed what it wanted to reveal, when it wanted to reveal it, and he had long ago ceded control of its moods to Ariadne. She was the Weaver, farseeing and complex, and the black pool her familiar. He did not begrudge it, for he had plenty of familiars of his own.

After a time, in no hurry to return to the eyes that watched him constantly in Sheol, he climbed the narrow path that led from the cavern into the bright light of day, thinking he might wander down to the sea and watch the waves beat against the cliffs. Ariadne’s isle was isolated, a hard little rock in a chain of larger rocks, remote from the rest of the world. He’d brought his favorite pair of Ray-Bans just for the occasion, and slipped them on just as he reached the top.

“What do you think you’re doing, Samael?”

Sammy whirled, shocked to hear another voice. He’d been coming to this island for millennia, and never seen another soul save that of the Weaver’s. His old friend Gabriel stood at the head of the path, emanating light, radiating disapproval.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Samael snapped, not at all pleased to see him.

“I’m here to speak with you,” Gabe said, taking a step forward. “Without your army of darkness behind you, hiding in the shadows.”

Sammy drew in a breath, reining his temper. “How did you find me?” he demanded.

“You’re not the only one who knows of this place—we found it together, remember?”

He remembered. They’d circled it, eons ago, he and Gabriel, on a beautiful day just like this one, sea winds holding them aloft, the sun warm on their wings. The skies surrounding them had been cloudless, but a gray fog had clung to the island, shrouding it, marking it as different. It had appeared so barren, yet so alive; its sinister aspect had drawn him like a lodestone. Gabriel hadn’t wanted to explore, but Samael had been unable to resist. He’d come back one day, alone, and it had been then that he’d met the old woman who lived in the cavern, and learned for the first time that he and his brothers were not the only immortal creatures in the universe.

“What do you want, Gabriel?” he asked shortly.

“I want to know what you’re doing to Faith McFarland,” Gabe answered grimly. “You were supposed to help her, to look out for her—instead, you’ve turned her into a thief.”

Sammy felt his temper rising—he answered to no one. “And a whore,” he agreed, flatly. “I made her into a whore, too. Don’t forget that part.”

Gabriel’s eyes flashed, for even angels were capable of anger, particularly when it was on someone else’s behalf.

“You were supposed to stay out of it, mind your own business, remember?” Sammy ignored Gabriel’s anger, and brushed past him to the head of the path, following it downward to the sea. “She’s unharmed, and the boy is in remission. More importantly, we agreed to do things my way.”

“You could heal the boy in an instant,” Gabriel stated, stopping him in his tracks.

“True,” he agreed, eyeing Gabriel over his shoulder. “Is that what guardian angels are supposed to do? Remove every trial from life and grant every wish as though they were someone’s fairy godmother?”

Gabriel made an exasperated noise, and Sammy knew he’d made his point. He turned and started again down the path. A moment later he heard the clatter of stone as his former comrade followed. They made their way in silence, single-file down a narrow track through the rocks. Soon the scent of the sea surrounded them, clean and sharp, and their ears became filled with the rumble of crashing waves, growing louder until they reached the end of the path, which opened onto an empty beach.

There Sammy stopped, feeling the wind whip through his hair, watching and listening to the thundering waves. The wind and the waves did only as they pleased. Nature had no need of a conscience, and neither did he.

It was several minutes before Gabriel, who watched the waves in silence beside him, finally spoke. “What are you up to, brother?”

His anger had passed, or Sammy might’ve struck him for using the word. As it was, he merely shrugged, still watching the waves, and stated, “I’m helping her. Her son is home from the hospital, isn’t he?”

“You’re using the child to get something you want. That was never part of the bargain.”

“Speak to me not of bargains,” Sammy said, not realizing how he’d fallen into a much older speech pattern, “for you know nothing of them. Everything you have has been given to you with an open hand.” He demonstrated, opening a hand to the cool touch of the wind, though his eyes stayed on the waves. “Beloved of the One, the universe your playground,” he added, without heat. “You know nothing of struggle, of pain, or of loss.”

“That’s not true,” Gabriel said firmly, but Sammy chose not to hear him, listening only to the crash and boom of the sea, pounding stubbornly against the rocks that surrounded the island.

“I told you I would do this thing my way,” Samael repeated, keeping his eyes on the ocean. “Go back where you belong, Gabriel, and don’t come here again.”

Gabriel’s laughter took him by surprise. “I’m not one of your servants, Samael.” He shook his head, apparently amazed by his old friend’s arrogance. “You do not command me. You reign within your hidden temple, and you play at evil among the shades of dead while you torment the living, but mostly you just hide—you hide from the One and you hide from yourself.” The angel took a step back, unfurling his wings. The sea winds caught them, buffeting the edge of his feathers, bearing him aloft, where he drifted. “We are brothers still, born of the same womb, that of the infinite universe. You hate me now for what I am, as I hate what you have become, but our fates will always be entwined.” The winds bore him higher, out of reach. “For that reason, and that reason alone, I give sway here today. Do what you will with Faith McFarland, at least for now, but do not disappoint me, my brother.”

Then he dissolved in a burst of light that made Sammy shield his eyes, despite the Ray Bans.

“Showoff,” Sammy muttered, beneath his breath, then turned back to the waves, letting them sooth the jealousy that had speared his veins at the sight of Gabe’s feathers, fluttering in the wind. The wind taunted him by bringing one of them to rest in the sand near his feet, where without hesitation, he crushed it beneath his heel.