Jan 29, 2010

Ecstasy Unveiled Blog Tour and Contest



Forever, January 26, 2010
[this contest has ended]


A Demon Enslaved…
Lore is a Seminus half-breed demon who has been forced to act as his dark master's assassin. Now to earn his freedom and save his sister's life, he must complete one last kill. Powerful and ruthless, he'll stop at nothing to carry out this deadly mission.

An Angel Tempted…
Idess is an earthbound angel with a wild side, sworn to protect the human Lore is targeting. She's determined to thwart her wickedly handsome adversary by any means necessary-even if that means risking her vow of eternal chastity. But what begins as a simple seduction soon turns into a passion that leaves both angel and demon craving complete surrender.

Torn between duty and desire, Lore and Idess must join forces as they battle their attraction for each other. Because an enemy from the past is rising again-one hellbent on vengeance and unthinkable destruction.




Contest 
[this contest has ended]

Thanks to Anna Balasi of Forever Romance two lucky readers will each win a copy Ecstasy Unveiled (Demonica Series)


[The above statement is a correction. The copies are not signed as stated earlier. My apologies for any misunderstanding]

This contest is open only to residents of the U.S. or Canada (No P.O. Boxes)


To be eligible do one or more of the following:

*Answer this question: What do you think of the tattoo on Seminus's right arm and shoulder (see cover)? Examples: Should it be brighter? bigger? smaller? on his chest? nowhere at all? Does it have a special meaning? Use your imagination. All answers are correct.
1 point

*Link this interview to your own site or a social network site, and be sure to let me know the URL.
1 point for each link.

If your email is not associated with your ID, please put the address in your response.

Contest ends Feb. 19, 2010

Jan 28, 2010

Laurie Rauch - Executive Editor of Samhain Publishing- Questions and Contest

Please welcome Laurie Rauch Executive Editor of Samhain Publishing. 

She will be stopping by throughout the day to answer your questions about Samhain and publishing in general


Place your questions in the comments field!

[Questions sent to me earlier have been forwarded to Laurie]



Contest: Two commenters will be selected to receive a copy of an ebook. This contest open internationally!


To get things started Laurie has answered questions I sent to her earlier.


PVN: How long have you worked in the publishing industry?

LR: I’ve been with Samhain Publishing since 2006, and I took on the
Executive Editor role in mid-2009. I've worked as an editor since
1997, in all sorts of industries, including finance, marketing,
telecommunications, legal, and insurance, but I find editing romance
the most fun. Education-wise, I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in
Theatre and a post-graduate diploma in Book and Magazine Publishing.

PVN:  Describe your typical day as an editor.

LR: I answer emails, process forms, review cover art, review blurbs, talk
books with my authors, talk books with aspiring authors, talk edits
with my editors, and spend some time editing. And try to get in some
time reading submissions. And answer more emails.


PVN:  Are you looking for any particular types of manuscripts  at this time?

LR: We are open to all genres and all heat levels of romance and erotica,
as well as fantasy, urban fantasy or science fiction with strong
romantic elements.

PVN:  Would you discuss Samhain's interest in paranormal romance?

LR: We love paranormal romance. Shifters, vampires, any kind of paranormal
creature, we want to see it.






Jan 26, 2010

Upcoming Event - Laurie Rauch of Samhain Publishing Plus Contest



On Thursday January 28  Laurie Rauch Executive Editor of Samhaim Publishing will visit PVN to answer your questions about the publishing world

Have your questions ready!  You can send them to me now - paltner@verizon.net or leave them in the comments area. I will pass them on to her.

Of course you can also ask them Thursday. Laurie will be dropping by throughout the day. She is also offering 2 commenters a digital book. The contest is international!


Samhaim Publishing  launched in November 2005 and was founded with a
goal of bringing to compulsive readers books that allow them to
discover new worlds and be taken on adventures through the creative
minds of today’s brightest authors. Primarily a digital publisher,
Samhain also publishes print versions, which turn our stories—and
beautiful cover art—into something to touch and hold and love.






Jan 25, 2010

My Interview with Marta Acosta


Please be sure to visit Marta Acosta's Vampire Wire. We recently did an interview and the results are posted on her blog.

Comments and questions are welcome!

One reader will receive a copy of Vampire Readings: An Annotated Bibliography. Contest is open worldwide! It ends Feb. 3.

Patricia

Gentlemen Prefer Succubi - Blog tour and Contest

Gentlemen Prefer Succubi (Succubus Diaries)Gentlemen Prefer Succubi
by Jill Myles
Pocket Star (December 29, 2009)

     [This contest has ended]
                    
Who Knew An Angel Could Get A Girl In So Much Devilish Trouble?

Jackie Brighton woke up in a Dumpster this morning, and
her day has only gotten weirder. Her familiar B-cups have somehow become double Ds, her sex drive is insatiable, and apparently she had her first one-night stand ever...with a fallen angel. All she remembers is gorgeous Noah's oddly hypnotic blue eyes...and then a dark stranger whose bite transformed her into an immortal siren with a sexy Itch. With help from Noah, Jackie begins to adapt to her new lifestyle -- until she accidentally sends Noah into the deadly clutches of the vampire queen and lands herself in a fierce battle for an ancient halo with the queen's wickedly hot righthand man. Who just happens to be the vampire who originally bit her. How's a girl supposed to save the world when the enemy's so hard to resist?


Wait there's more. On January 19 the sequel Succubi Like It Hot was published.




CONTEST

Pocket Books is offering a copy of Gentlemen Prefer Succubi to 2 US readers (no P. O. Boxes).

*Answer the following question: Does the guy on the cover look like a gentleman to you, why or why not?  One point

*Link to this contest on any of the social network sites or your own page. Let me know the url. One point for each link.

*If your email is not associated with your ID, please put the address in your response.

The contest ends Feb. 15 at 11:59 PM PST. Good luck to all!

Jan 21, 2010

Succubus Blues - Book Review


Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid, Book 1)
by Richelle Mead
Kensington (March 1, 2007)


From the publisher: "Succubus (n.) An alluring, shape-shifting demon who seduces and pleasures mortal men. Pathetic (adj.) A succubus with great shoes and no social life. See: Georgina Kincaid.
When it comes to jobs in hell, being a succubus seems pretty glamorous. A girl can be anything she wants, the wardrobe is killer, and mortal men will do anything just for a touch. Granted, they often pay with their souls, but why get technical?


But Seattle succubus Georgina Kincaid's life is far less exotic. Her boss is a middle-management demon with a thing for John Cusack movies. Her immortal best friends haven't stopped teasing her about the time she shape-shifted into the Demon Goddess getup complete with whip and wings. And she can't have a decent date without sucking away part of the guy's life. At least there's her day job at a local bookstore--free books; all the white chocolate mochas she can drink; and easy access to bestselling, sexy writer, Seth Mortensen, aka He Whom She Would Give Anything to Touch but Can't.

But dreaming about Seth will have to wait. Something wicked is at work in Seattle's demon underground. And for once, all of her hot charms and drop-dead one-liners won't help because Georgina's about to discover there are some creatures out there that both heaven and hell want to deny.."

PVN: Georgina, a reluctant succubus, is a demon with a conscience.  Like others in the lower demon community she was once mortal, but now lives forever and never ages. Humans, male or female, feel drawn to her succubus charms, a trait which comes in handy as she works her day job as an assistant manager at the Emerald City Book Store and Cafe.

As a rule Georgina loathes vampires (although it turns out two of her best friends, Peter and Cody, are undead),  "Most vampires were arrogant, devoid of social skills, and obsessed with territoriality."  The sleezy Duane was an exceptional example. One night when she's had enough of him. She forms her hand into a claw and manages to scratch his face before his lightening reflex kick in. Her boss, the archdemon Jerome confronts her the next day.

Very bad manner on her part, striking another immortal, she's told. But things get really sticky when Duane turns up truly dead.  Someone has killed an immortal. Something not possible, or so it was thought. Now it's feared all are in peril.

The myriad creatures of earth, heaven and hell make their appearance. Each character, even the minor ones are so well drawn that Mead seems to have achieved the literary equivalent of 3D. The angel Carter, who, like Jerome, has been around from the beginning of time, is a brilliant addition by Mead. Why does an angel hang around with demons? The jaded Georgina doesn't trust him at first, but he has a moral strength she slowly comes to appreciate. And then there is Seth Mortensen, the shy, brilliant author whom she adores. They meet one day when he comes to the bookstore for a signing.

Some seriously bad things happen. We catch glimpses of a Biblical horror involving angels and human women. But Mead knows how to lighten the mood  with humorous scenes and plenty of witty repartee.

I found this book to be in the "I don't want this to end" category. Mead creates such an imaginative, captivating world. I had no desire to leave it.

Succubus Blues was recommended to me by a bookseller at Barnes and Noble. Bless her! After reading it I went out and bought the other three books in the series. A fifth will be published in 2010.
                                

The Succubus Books by Richelle Mead

     


FJJEB5K444W6

Jan 17, 2010

New Vampire Releases for January 2010

Bad Blood (Blood Coven)


Bad Blood (Blood Coven)
by Mari Mancusi
Berkley Trade; Original edition (January 5, 2010)
Young Adult

Sunny McDonald is in the ultimate forbidden relationship. Her boyfriend Magnus is a vampire, and the leader of the Blood Coven. And when the Coven decides that Magnus needs a mate to be his co-ruler, Sunny's humanity puts her out of the running. The Coven's chosen candidate is Jane Johnson, a magna cum laude graduate of Oxford University who just happens to look like a vampiric supermodel.

Sunny is suspicious of a Rhodes Scholar who can't answer the most basic poli-sci questions, but Magnus brushes it off as petty jealousy. Still, when the Blood Coven goes to Las Vegas for a vampire convention, Sunny and her twin sister Rayne secretly tag along. And Sunny's not going home before she learns the truth about Jane. Because not everything stays in Vegas-especially bad blood.





Bitten By Cupid 
(Lynsay Sands, Jaime Rush, and Pamela Palmer)
Avon (January 12, 2010)

Vampire Valentine by Lynsay Sands
Mirabeau LaRouche knew she had a job to do, but she never expected her assignment to take her through New York City′s dark, dank underground-in her bridesmaid gown, no less! And when her partner turns out to be mortal private investigator Tiny McGraw, Mireabeau knows it′s no ordinary Cupid′s arrow that has struck her heart this Valentine′s Day.

Hearts Untamed by Pamela Palmer
Ten years ago Zeeland left D.C. to join the Therian Guard, needing to put some distance between himself and the still-too-young Julianne. Now he′s returned, in the midst of a Valentine′s celebration to find Julianne more beautiful than ever, still angry at him for leaving, and up to her lovely eyebrows in an intrigue that threatens both of their immortal lives.

Kiss and Kill Cupid by Jamie Rush
Kat Morgan has no use for Valentine′s Day, since hearing other people′s thoughts puts a real damper on any kind of intimate relationship. When she overhears the Killer Cupid serial killer targeting her for his Valentine′s Day murder, Kat is terrified. But is Adrian, the one man whose thoughts she can′t hear, her savior, or killer?






Blood Cross (Jane Yellowrock, Book 2)
by Faith Hunter
Roc (January 5, 2010)

The vampire council has hired skinwalker Jane Yellowrock to hunt and kill one of their own who has broken sacred ancient rules-but Jane quickly realizes that in a community that is thousands of years old, loyalties run deep...






Come Hell or High Water: A Broken Heart Novel
by Michele Bardsley
Signet (January 5, 2010)

Everybody makes mistakes-and my first one was named Connor, a heart- stealing Scottish hottie. I thought our night together was the beautiful beginning to a love story, which turned out to be my second mistake. I, Phoebe Allen, lifelong Broken Heart resident and vampire, am now mated to a half-demon.

Thankfully Phoebe's four-year-old son Danny is safely away at Disneyworld with his human father. Because Phoebe's right in the middle of major paranormal drama, helping Connor and his rag-tag group of friends retrieve part of an ancient talisman in order to ward off Connor's vicious stepmother, an uber-demon named Lilith. Phoebe swears she isn't falling for any of Connor's demon charm. But still, he's willing to do anything to protect her and prevent demons from storming into Broken Heart. And her undead heart can't resist a bad boy with identity issues...





Dark God Descending
by Tony-Paul de Vissage
(Sam's Dot Publishing, January 2010

Dark God Descending is the story of a friendship--between two men separated by millennia, cultures, and customs. Threatened by their love for the same woman, it is strengthened when they share something more precious--their lifesblood--and from that time on, their lives and fates will be inextricably bound...for eternity. James Tucker Upchurch III is a graduate student, studying the past but living very much in the present. Semris the Second is a demon, the son of a god, and his life has been the same for five thousand years. Tuck never expected to lose his girl to a demon or get near-immortality in exchange and Semris never thought he'd experience mortal love. When the two meet, not only their own lives but those of their friends and families will also be changed, as well as the world in which Semris dwells.




Deadly Liaisons
by Spear, Terry
Samhain Publishing (January 5, 2010)

He resisted the dark huntress…now he’ll use all his powers to make her his own.
Tezra Campbell treads a dangerous line between her job as a telepathic investigator for the Hunter Council and her alternate life as a renegade. Beneath her cool, professional exterior lies a dark obsession to find the rogue vampire who murdered her parents ten years ago and left her sister a traumatized shell. An obsession that drives her to use herself as bait.
Daemon, former bastard prince of Scotland and now head of the American vampire clans, sees Tezra as a danger to herself and to his people. Especially if the killer vampire takes her bait. Concerned his own brother might be accused of the crime, Daemon takes Tezra into custody, intending to keep her out of the way so he can find the killer himself.
Things don’t work out the way either planned. The more she fights him with her telepathic powers, the more she stirs up his sexual bloodlust—the kind only a mate can cool. And Tezra begins to wonder…is her desire for him real, or just a way to use Daemon to find the murderer?
It’s a deadly game they both aim to win—even while they try to keep their hearts intact.




Death's Mistress (Dorina Basarab, Book 2)
by Karen Chance
Onyx (January 5, 2010)

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir-half-human, half-vampire. Back home in Brooklyn after the demise of her insane Uncle Dracula, Dory's hoping her life is about to calm down. But soon Dory realizes someone is killing vampire Senate members, and if she can't stop the murderer, her friends may be next...






Everlasting KissEverlasting Kiss 
by Amanda Ashley
Zebra (January 26, 2010)

Desire Never Dies

Daisy O'Donnell doesn't get the attraction some women feel for vampires. She likes her men with a heartbeat. And she's just met one who's full of life: Erik Delacourt, the unreasonably sexy man she keeps meeting at a popular L.A. nightclub called the Crypt. She barely knows him, but there's no resisting the connection she feels. . .

There's one important detail Erik hasn't gotten around to telling her yet. He's a powerful vampire out to hunt the Blood Thief who is draining young vampires all over the city--and who has just raised the stakes by destroying one of Erik's friends. To Erik, Daisy is a bright spot of innocence in a world of darkness and menace. He'll do anything--even lie to her--to keep her safe and pure.
If only he knew that Daisy has something of her own to hide. . .






How To Seduce A Sinner
by Adrienne Basso
Zebra, Jan. 1, 2010

Dorothea Ellingham is waiting for the man who can ignite a spark of consuming passion with just a kiss. For when that happens, she'll know she's found the one. But after three suitors miserably fail her test, she's about to lose all hope until she lays eyes on Viscount Carter Grayson. His devilish good looks and charm send her pulse racing - and when he kisses her, she finally finds what she's been craving. Viscount Carter Grayson is in no hurry to wed. But when he meets Dorothea, he's captivated by the urgent need she sets off in him. Knowing he must have her, he proposes. But as they soon discover, a union forged on passion alone is never enough - and explosive desires can often lead to love.





Hunger
by Barbara J.Hancock
Samhain Publishing (January 5, 2010)

Love might stand a chance…if they can keep from killing each other.

Holly Spinnaker is a monster. Really. Fangs and all. Never mind the petite figure. Pay no attention to the once-bouncy blonde mane. When Jarvis Winters first encounters…it…he prepares to exterminate freak number one hundred thirty two without a flinch.

Mistake number one: following it back to its lair. Mistake number two: watching and listening to her…it…replay voice mail messages from loving, clueless parents again and again and again. Mistake number three: having an actual conversation with a bloodthirsty fiend.

“Make them see you as a person.” Holly remembers the advice from a self-defense class her mother made her take her freshmen year. She couldn’t save her own sister, who ended up a pile of ashes at her feet only one month ago. The night they both found out monsters were real. The night her sister embraced the change. And Holly began to fight it.

“Make them see you as a person.” Kind of hard when you aren’t even sure if you are a person anymore.

Warning: This title is not vampire-lite. There is blood. Sometimes sexy. Sometimes, well, not. There are fangs, fights and even a zombie or two. But most of all there’s yearning and burning and aching and angst… It is called HUNGER after all.







Kitty's House of Horrors (Kitty Norville, Book 7)
by Carrie Vaughn
Grand Central Publishing (January 4, 2010)

Talk radio host and werewolf Kitty Norville has agreed to appear on TV's first all-supernatural reality show. She's expecting cheesy competitions and manufactured drama starring shapeshifters, vampires, and psychics. But what begins as a publicity stunt will turn into a fight for her life.

The cast members, including Kitty, arrive at the remote mountain lodge where the show is set. As soon as filming starts, violence erupts and Kitty suspects that the show is a cover for a nefarious plot. Then the cameras stop rolling, cast members start dying, and Kitty realizes she and her monster housemates are ironically the ultimate prize in a very different game. Stranded with no power, no phones, and no way to know who can be trusted, she must find a way to defeat the evil closing in . . . before it kills them all.






                                            
The Sin Eater's Prince
by Keta Diablo
RAVENOUS ROMANCE , January 14, 2010
Male/Male vampire erotica

Owen Rhys, a sin eater in Wales, has been shunned by the local villagers his entire life--except for Andras Maddock, the local physician. In love with the one man he thinks will never return that love, Owen is shocked when Andras saves him from death at the hands of a vampire and admits he cares deeply for him.

Dagan, son of Traherne, the vampire Andras killed to save Owen, will stop at nothing to avenge his father’s death and obtain the Prince of Wales’s mystic sword. The divine claymore holds the power to grant immunity from the sun’s harsh rays—the one exemption the dark Lords of the Underworld has sought for centuries.

Star-crossed love, sorcery, and bloodlust collide on a vengeful path where only one side can remain victorious. Revenge and redemption. Dark versus light. Good versus evil.







Stephenie Meyer: The Unauthorized Biography of the Creator of the Twilight Saga (Paperback)
by Marc Shapiro
St. Martin's Griffin (January 5, 2010)
 
The romance of vampire Edward and human Bella in the books Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn has captured the imaginations of millions of readers and become an amazing success story. No less amazing is the story of how an unknown Arizona wife and mother, Stephenie Meyer, became a superstar author.
    
In this revealing biography, fans of all things Twilight will follow their favorite writer on her roller-coaster ride to bestselling author—from a childhood steeped in great literature, to a comfortable domestic life, and finally to that fateful dream one night that thrust Stephenie Meyer into a world she could only have imagined.
In this book you will discover:
* An exclusive interview with Stephenie’s creative writing teacher who reveals what kind of student she was
* The in-depth story of how Twilight started with a dream and became a reality
* The tension Stephenie experienced in writing Twilight in secret
* The challenges and pitfalls involved in her books reaching the silver screen
* Stephenie’s possible plans for the future
* And much more!

With eight pages of full-color photos, original interviews with people who are a part of Meyer’s life, never-before-revealed details, and info on all of her fabulous books, this biography is a must-have for every Twilight fan.






Succubi Like It Hot
by Jill Myles
Pocket Star (January 19, 2010)
  
NOBODY SAID SUCKING WAS EASY

With a hot new figure, her dream job as an archaeologist, and two gorgeous boyfriends to scratch her seductive Itch -- an angel and a vampire -- Jackie Brighton is totally getting the hang of life as a succubus. Then she accidentally knocks the pizza guy unconscious with her touch. Great -- she's cursed. After striking a deal to get the curse lifted by a crafty demon, Jackie and her best friend Remy take a road trip to deliver a cryptic message to the nation's oldest succubus. Unfortunately, neither of her jealous lovers is talking to Jackie right now, and due to the curse, she's desperate to get her Itch scratched very soon. Their journey gets weirder with every mile -- demonic possession, a charming stalker, a cryptic warning -- and when they get to New Orleans, Jackie discovers a dangerous catch to her supernatural bargain. Someone wants her dead -- again. Can a brainy vixen in a miniskirt outsmart the forces of evil?









Through Stone and Sea: A Novel of the Noble Dead
by Barb Hendee and J.C. Hendee
Roc Hardcover (January 5, 2010)

Wynn journeys to the mountain stronghold of the dwarves in search of the "Stonewalkers," an unknown sect supposedly in possession of important ancient texts. But in her obsession to understand these writings, she will find more puzzles and questions buried in secrets old and new-along with an enemy she thought destroyed...









Vampire Maker 
by Michael Schiefelbein
St. Martin's Press (January 19, 2010)

Victor Decimus has been a vampire for over 2,000 years. Once a Roman Legionnaire, for millennia Victor has remained a step or two ahead of rivals, would-be executioners, and the mysterious Dark Kingdom, which sets the rules for vampires' existence. Having left New York and his lover Paul Lewis - the vampire he made then abandoned to escape the vengeance of the Dark Kingdom, Victor sets himself up again - with his thrall - in New Orleans. 

But in New Orleans, his thrall becomes the point of a new, larger conflict. On the one hand, a local priest seeks to break Victor's hold over the thrall; on the other, the Dark Kingdom fears that Victor is going to become a Vampire Maker - one who continually creates new vampires, while refusing to take his place on the next plain of existence and thus creating an imbalance in the powers of the universe. And between both walks Victor, determined to have his own way, exerts control and remains defiant to the end.