tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32201786349441557102024-03-23T13:51:46.335-04:00Immortyl RevolutionDenise Verrico AuthorDenise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.comBlogger281125truetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-54084407385654314682015-04-29T20:53:00.000-04:002015-04-29T20:58:19.998-04:00Win Free Books!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: #990000; color: #fff688; font-family: Andale Mono; font-size: medium;">On 5/1/15 Crazy Duck press is releasing the new edition of My Fearful Symmetry. Friday is launch day. The first 50 people to RSVP will receive a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1829592300598345/">FREE EBOOK</a>. We will also be giving away five paperback copies.</span><br />
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-67730037852061719182014-10-16T00:16:00.000-04:002014-10-16T00:16:35.048-04:00Mysti Parker's New Release: The Roche Hotel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> The Roche Hotel <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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One<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A serial romantic
comedy by Mysti Parker<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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After
her husband ditches her for a blonde actress wannabe, Jane Seymour needs a job
that pays the rent. The struggling Roche Hotel needs a miracle. With the former
owner’s wife butting her nose into the renovations and new owners who are in
way over their heads, Jane may be the answer to their prayers. Sure, she can
handle The Roche Hotel’s quirky staff. But, can this skittish divorcee keep it
all together when handsome Henry the Donut Guy makes his first delivery? This
collection of serial fiction stories is a Tudorific romantic comedy that will
leave you laughing out loud and hungry for more.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">****<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Story Behind the
Stories<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">THEY say a lot of things, don’t they? Like don’t
wear white after Labor Day or don’t fry bacon with your shirt off (that’s
probably good advice, come to think of it). Most of what THEY say goes right in
one ear and out the other. But, in terms of writing, when THEY say “write what
you know”, it makes a lot of sense. So, that’s where The Roche Hotel got its
start—from my own experience working in a hotel way back in the ‘90s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many of these first 10 episodes are based on some
very real incidents that happened during my days as a front desk clerk in a
little mid-priced hotel. Sure, a lot of stuff’s made up purely from my crazy
imagination, but there <i>were </i>5:00 AM
donuts—delicious being fresh from the bakery. Henry the Donut Guy—not real, but
I wouldn’t have argued one bit if he had been! Among the many other
true-to-life items that appear at the Roche Hotel are a popcorn machine, a
Muzak (think elevator music) that never played at the right volume, at least
one “lady of the night”, and a dead body.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thanks so much for your support! Happy reading!
~Mysti Parker<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">****<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mysti
Parker (pseudonym) is a wife, mom, author, and shameless chocoholic. She is the
author of the Tallenmere standalone fantasy romance series. Her other writings
have appeared in the anthologies Hearts of Tomorrow, Christmas Lites, Christmas
Lites II, The Darwin Murders, Tasteful Murders and EveryDayFiction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Other writing pursuits include serving as a class
mentor in Writers Village University's seven week online course, F2K. She finished
her first historical romance this spring and has one children’s book (Quentin’s
Problem) soon to be published, with one more waiting for illustrations, and
many more stewing in her head.<br />
<br />
When she's not writing fiction, Mysti works as a freelance editor and
copywriter. She also reviews books for SQ Magazine, an online specfic
publication, and is the proud owner of Unwritten, a blog voted #3 for
eCollegeFinder's Top Writing Blogs award. She resides in Buckner, KY with her
husband and three children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.mystiparker.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Subscribe to my blog, Unwritten</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Visit my webpage: </span></i><a href="http://www.mystiparker.com/"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">www.mystiparker.com</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> (in construction)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mysti-Parker/103786449704221" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">LIKE my fan
page on Facebook! </span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/MystiParker" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Follow me on Twitter @MystiParker</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-23623606536239336012014-09-15T00:00:00.000-04:002014-09-15T00:00:00.060-04:00Fantasy Author Anne Marie Lutz<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Today, I welcome Anne Marie Lutz back to Immortyl Revolution! She has agreed to share some insights into the main character of her novels.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">AM: It’s great to have an opportunity
to tell you about the main character in my fantasy novel, <b>Color Mage</b>,
and its sequel, <b>Sword of Jashan</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Q: What is his name?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;">AM: His name is Lord Callo ran Alkirani. He </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;">is a man who struggles with a rare magical power -- a power that brings
him the contempt of his friends even as it draws the attention of Kings and
mages. He journeys to the enemy land of Ha'las with his manservant and the
young healer, Kirian. There, he learns of his heritage -- and finds that great
power is his birthright, but only if he sacrifices everything he has ever stood
for.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Q: When and where is his story set?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">AM: The novels are set in the
fantasy world of Righar. This is a feudal land ruled by a King who magically
Collars powerful mages to force them to use their magic to protect the land. In
return for this magical servitude, the Collared Lords have unimaginable power,
and they tend to use it without regard for the wishes of others. Here’s a link
to a blog post I did a little while back about <a href="https://annemariesblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/the-collared-lords-of-righar/"><span style="color: #0000e9;">the Collared Lords of Righar</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lord Callo is the
illegitimate son of the King’s sister. He occupies a strange position – because
of his rank he is nominally accepted, but his bastard status means he is
scorned. He is used to seeing the turned back, hearing the whispers as he
passes. His only true friends have been his manservant, Chiss, and his
half-brother Lord Arias, who befriends him in spite of the disapproval of his
peers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Q: What is the main conflict? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">AM: Callo finds out who – or,
should I say <i>what</i>? – his father is. And then finds out something
unsettling about himself, something that sets even his half-brother against
him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Callo (and Healer Kirian)
flee the country ahead of the anger of a powerful Collared Lord. When Callo
discovers he has a power that corrupts everyone it touches, he wants to learn
how to keep others – especially Kirian, whom he has come to care for – safe from
his dangerous magic.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Q: Can we read more about
Callo and Kirian?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">AM: Yes! <b>Color Mage</b>
– which I’ve talked about above -- is the first story of Callo and Kirian. It’s
available from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Color-Mage-Anne-Marie-Lutz/dp/0985081783/ref=tmm_pap_title_0"><span style="color: #0000e9;">amazon.com</span></a> and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/color-mage-anne-marie-lutz/1112801205?ean=9780985081782"><span style="color: #0000e9;">barnesandnoble.com</span></a>. It was published in
September, 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In <b>Sword of Jashan</b>, the
walls Callo has maintained all his life to guard against his dangerous power
are failing. Fighting with his own abilities, Callo still resolves to protect
the young heir to the throne from the intrigues of the King. And Ander himself
must decide whom to trust, as he becomes the target of an assassin. <b>Sword of
Jashan</b> was published last fall and is also available from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Jashan-Color-Mage-Volume/dp/1940466059"><span style="color: #0000e9;">amazon.com</span></a> and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sword-of-jashan-anne-marie-lutz/1116911839?ean=9781940466057"><span style="color: #0000e9;">barnesandnoble.com</span></a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A very big thanks to Anne Marie for stopping by!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Anne Marie was part of the “Meet
my Character” tour, which continues with two other speculative
fiction writers discussing their main characters. Please check out their blogs –
you may find something you’ll enjoy reading!</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Marian Allen</span></u><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> has
been lying ... er, creating fiction for as long as she can remember. She has
had work published online and in print, working mostly in speculative fiction
and mystery, but with some mainstream, romance, and horror tossed in to keep
things lively. She is a member of the Southern Indiana Writers Group and is one
of three owners of a new micro-press, Per Bastet Publications.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can read about her character
beginning September 15 on her blog, <a href="http://www.marianallen.com/"><span style="color: #0000e9;">here</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Tracy Lawson</span></u><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;">'s
New Adult dystopian thriller, Counteract, was released on August 6, 2014–which
just also happens to be her birthday! The sequel, Resist, is slated for release
in spring 2015, and she’s currently working on the third volume in the series.
Tracy lives in Dallas with her husband, daughter, and three spoiled cats.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can read about her character at
<a href="http://counteractbook.com/"><span style="color: #0000e9;">her website</span></a>,
beginning September 15.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-91827164227806313842014-09-11T00:00:00.000-04:002014-09-11T00:00:00.117-04:00Danielle DeVor's Vampire Mathias<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Today, Danielle DeVor is here to talk about a character from her upcoming release. </span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;">1. What is your character's name? </span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mathias Drvar.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;">2.) Is he fictional or a historic
person?</span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Completely fictional, though his last name is my family’s original last
name.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> 3.)
When and where is the story set?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The story is set in the present and alternates between
a school in Siberia and a demon’s castle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> 4.)
What should we know about him?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;">He’s very torn. On one hand, he really
wants to be a good person, but on the other, his rage makes him do things he
isn’t proud of.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> 5.)
What is the main conflict? What messes up his life?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The king of the vampire world has been
kidnapped and because Mathias is the only one who has an object in his
possession that once belonged to the king and has not been cursed, he must
embark on a quest to save the king.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> 6.)
What is his personal objective? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;">To save his own skin and the skin of his
friends without too much trouble. That, and get some sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;">7.)Is this
novel part of a series, and where can we read more about it? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The official title is The Devil’s Liege. It
is the sequel to the novel, Tail of the Devil. </span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Here’s the blurb for The Devil’s
Liege:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="color: orange; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Being a vampire isn't all it's cracked up to be- in
fact, it kind of sucks. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="color: orange; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">After surviving his duel with Lilith, Mathias thought
that he could relax. That is until he discovers that, Nossy, the new king, has
been kidnapped. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="color: orange; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When the investigating vampires seem to have no clue
how to rescue Nosferatu, Mathias must step in. Everything is peachy until
Mathias is named the next new king in order to stop the man behind Nossy’s
kidnapping from taking over the throne. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span class="null">Suddenly, his life is not his own again, and Mathias
must make a choice: risk his life to find his friend, or sit back and watch
disaster unfold.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="null"><span style="font-size: x-large;">8.) When can we expect the book to be
published?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">It will be published on September 26, 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Thanks for being my guest today, Danielle, and good luck with your new book. Readers can find out more about Danielle and her books at <a href="http://danielledevor.wordpress.com/">her blog</a>.</span></div>
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-79509108402520572162014-09-09T09:00:00.000-04:002014-09-09T09:00:02.515-04:00Meet Faolan O’Connor<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Today, I'm featuring Brian Mckinley. He's here to talk about his character Faolan O'Connor from his upcoming release </span><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Drawing Dead</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1.) What is your character's name? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">His name is Faolan O’Connor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2.) Is he fictional or a historic person? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He is fictional, though he interacts with many historic
people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3.) When and where is the story set? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Drawing Dead</i> is
set in the late 1930’s in New York City. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">4.) I love that period! What should we know about him? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Faolan is not the typical protagonist, and certainly not a
“good guy.” In fact, he’s the type of person who would probably be the villain
in someone else’s story. He’s a gangster, a cold-blooded killer looking to move
up in the world by any means necessary. He does have a good sense of humor,
however, and a very practical view of the world that I think is attractive to
many readers despite his lack of traditional morals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">5.) What is the main conflict? What messes up his life?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The story begins when Faolan is recruited into The Order:
the global society of vampires who secretly control much of world politics and
society. He’d been serving them as a mortal agent previously, but this is his
big promotion. More than anything else, he wants to run New York. The Big Apple
is his city and the current boss is a brute and a megalomaniac, so Faolan
thinks that he can do better. The problem is that the boss has a pretty strong
set-up and Faolan has to walk a fine line between appearing loyal and finding
others who see things the way he does. Ironically, the thing that messes
everything up for him is the reappearance of his conscience. The more he sees
of how the boss runs things, the more Faolan wants to see it changed, but his
humane motives come into direct conflict with the brutal and treacherous things
he has to do to achieve his goals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">6.) What is his personal goal? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Faolan’s personal goal is to be a “somebody.” All his life,
he’s felt over-looked and unappreciated. He wants respect and believes that the
best way to achieve that is by acquiring power. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">7.) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read
more about it? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The book is called <i>Drawing
Dead: A Faolan O’Connor Novel</i> and it’s the first in a planned series that
will span several decades.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">8.) When can we expect the book to be published? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Unfortunately, I don’t have a release date from my publisher
yet, but the novel is currently in the formatting stage, so I expect it to be
released before the end of the year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">I'd like to thank Brian for being my guest. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Keep posted for publication info at Brian's blog </span><a href="http://brianpatrickmckinley.wordpress.com/about/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-large;">Ravings of a Sick Mind</a></div>
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-88054538173591061052014-09-01T00:00:00.000-04:002014-09-01T21:46:00.628-04:00Meet my Character Blog Tour: Interview with Cedric MacKinnon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Welcome to Immortyl Revolution! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’d like to thank Laurel Anne Hill for
inviting me to take part in this MEET MY CHARACTER BLOG TOUR. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Please visit Laurel’s blog and read an </span><a href="http://laurelannehill.com/blog/laurel-anne-hills-stories/meet-laurel-anne-hills-character-juanita-a-heroine-of-color-a-meet-my-character-blog-tour-posting/" style="font-size: x-large;">interview with her character Juanita</a><span style="font-size: large;"> and learn about her books.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've recently signed with a new publisher, <a href="http://www.crazyduckpress.com/">Crazy Duck Press</a>,
and we’re about to bring out a revised edition of my urban fantasy novel, <i>My Fearful Symmetry</i>, the story
of a rather unconventional Scottish vampire named Cedric MacKinnon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>My Fearful
Symmetry </i>is part of the Immortyl Revolution series, which can be read as a
stand-alone novel. The rest of the books in the series will be issued within the next year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Since Cedric is running a little late (he loves to make a
dramatic entrance), I’ll set the stage for him. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Imagine a remote palace in India, where life in the present
day continues much as it did thousands of years in the past. Here, the Chief Elder of the Immortyls holds
the power of life and death over his subjects. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In a secluded section of the palace, we find a spiritual
retreat, an <i>ashram</i>, where <i>devidasi</i>, servants of the goddess Kali perform their devotions. At the center is a courtyard,
surrounded by lush gardens, where a sacred spring bubbles. Over this stands the
many-armed image of Kali Ma. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A tall young male Immortyl enters the courtyard. With his milky skin, long auburn hair and
green eyes, he’s an unlikely inhabitant of this exotic location. A wicked grin
inches up the left side of his face. His saunter suggests a tiger’s deadly grace.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CEDRIC: My dear authoress, what brings you here at this
hour?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DENISE: Some people would like to meet you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CEDRIC: (Executes a flawless bow) Always a pleasure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DENISE: So Cedric, I’d like you to tell the readers a little
about yourself—and do try to behave. If you’re a good boy, I'll write some new
adventures for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CEDRIC: (He sinks into the Lotus Position) Promise? I'd like
that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DENISE: First off, they’re probably wondering how a boy from
Scotland ended up a vampire in India?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CEDRIC: My dear authoress, you know we don’t care for the V
word. We are Immortyls, semi-divine children of Mother Kali. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DENISE: You don’t believe that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CEDRIC: I’m not as skeptical as I once was. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DENISE: Why is that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CEDRIC: (Nods toward
the statue) It seems Kali Ma has plans for me.
Why would this ginger-haired Scot end up in the Chief Elder’s court at
the moment revolution threatened to tear it all down? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Look where I came from; I was nobody. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My parents died when I was little. I grew up in a children’s
home and ran away to London when I was fifteen with dreams of becoming a rock
star—needless to say, not a great idea. I ended up on the streets and made my
living selling the only thing I could. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To make a long story short, rent boys in London have a 33%
HIV infection rate, and I became a statistic. I turned to playing my guitar in
the underground to supplement what I got from the government. One night I
encountered this lovely Indian man—or so I thought. Rakesh made me the man I am
today, that is to say, an Immortyl. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DENISE: You have an unusual occupation. Elaborate on that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CEDRIC: I’m an adept of the ancient arts, an Immortyl temple
artist in service to Kali Ma.
We dance and sing to her glory. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DENISE: But there’s a bit more to it, isn’t there?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CEDRIC: (His eyebrow rises) Indeed. Adepts are employed as
courtesans in political intrigues by the Chief Elder of the Immortyls. The Chief needed me to smooth things over with
elders of the Grand Council, to curry favor, so to speak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DENISE: Any elder in particular? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CEDRIC: (Satisfied smile) Lord Liu. Of all of them, he knows
how to treat a lad right. Liu Li Cheng is a true gentleman. As for the rest of that lot, I’d cheerfully
cut their throats, given the chance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The job is a total drag—except for the singing and dancing
bit. No one does a blues riff on a sitar like me. Music is my true passion. I
play the guitar as well as Indian instruments. My prized possession is a
vintage Stratocaster. I love all kinds of rock music, especially that of David Bowie. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DENISE: You do love the flamboyant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CEDRIC: (Chuckles) Despite my vows, flashy clothes, fast
cars and the latest electronic gadgets are my weakness—and beautiful lovers,
male and female. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DENISE: Ah, you mentioned Lord Liu, but is there also a
special woman?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CEDRIC: My guru, Sandhya. She’s the senior adept. Until I knew her, I was a selfish, little
tart. She showed me that I’m more than just a pretty face and taught me so many
things… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DENISE: Any last secrets to reveal?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CEDRIC: (Shakes his head.) They
will just have to read my tale when it comes out and learn all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">If the nice boys and girls leave me a saucy comment and a
contact email, the authoress will draw a name for a free
ebook <i>of Annals of the Immorytls</i>. There’s
a short in there, featuring yours truly. You can read another of my adventures in </span><span style="font-size: large;">Vampire News. </span><span style="font-size: large;">And don’t forget to check out my </span><a href="http://sexycedric.blogspot.com/" style="font-size: x-large;">blog</a><span style="font-size: large;">, darlings. </span><span style="font-size: large;">You can also chat with me </span><a href="https://twitter.com/CedricMacKinnon" style="font-size: x-large;">@cedricmackinnon on Twitter</a><span style="font-size: large;"> or at my </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/cedricvampire" style="font-size: x-large;">Facebook page</a><span style="font-size: large;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">DENISE: Yes, I did indeed create a monster. </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Thanks for stopping by! Next week, 9/8/14, the tour continues with Anne Marie Lutz, Brian McKinley and Danielle DeVor. </span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><a href="http://annemariesblog.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Anne Marie's Blog</span></a></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://danielledevor.wordpress.com/">Danielle's Blog</a></span></o:p><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/danielledevorauthor">Danielle's Facebook Page</a></span><br />
<br />
<o:p><span style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13.9636354446411px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">twitter @sammyig </span></span></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13.9636354446411px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></o:p>
<o:p><span style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13.9636354446411px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></o:p>
<o:p><span style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #3e454c; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 13.9636354446411px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Drawing-Dead-A-Faolan-OConnor-Novel/293992367362825?sk=info">Brian on Facebook</a></span></o:p><br />
<o:p><br /></o:p>
<o:p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://brianpatrickmckinley.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/my-writing-progress-blog/">Brian's Blog</a></span></o:p><br />
<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Please give them a look and learn more about their books. </span></div>
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-58117295153714020602014-06-22T20:27:00.000-04:002014-06-22T20:27:09.953-04:00What's Up with Denise?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Insane Author Person</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Okay, I promised not to drop off the face of the Earth, but right after that I received edits for the Crazy Duck Press edition of <i>My Fearful Symmetry</i>. After I finished those, I had to do some re-writes on Cara Mia, which I should be done with tonight. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Dance!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvczEVlJGhplTpp_0NTPHBmOIp3r57wviut7k6TZJEiBY5nD-UKMtWMykuYkgA4ieMH3zFsK75mgFA192T0ZUJrLCLz-K4wMO4aX_JFdR1n5c9gkm7W7XZxzoh3NWJ9iJoJfcScByWzbo/s1600/Skelly.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvczEVlJGhplTpp_0NTPHBmOIp3r57wviut7k6TZJEiBY5nD-UKMtWMykuYkgA4ieMH3zFsK75mgFA192T0ZUJrLCLz-K4wMO4aX_JFdR1n5c9gkm7W7XZxzoh3NWJ9iJoJfcScByWzbo/s1600/Skelly.png" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">All that being said, I'm looking forward to a July release of <i>My Fearful Symmetry </i>from Crazy Duck Press. I hope to have copies of this new edition at Confluence in Pittsburgh.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In addition to all these new editions of the Immortyl Revolution books, I've been doing research for a fantasy novel set in an 18th century-esque, South Seas culture. A lot of this has been on exotic diseases and archaic medical practices. A serious yuck factor, but it's interesting stuff. Yes, I'm one of those crazy people who read the CDC and NIH sites for fun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For the urban fantasy novel I finished last summer, it was bugs that had me obsessed. Giant centipedes to be exact. Have you ever seen a centipede fight? If you haven't, look at this video on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooFSFR2s7Ig">YouTube</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Seriously, you'll never sleep tight again.</span><br />
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-24702724014721505952014-04-06T10:51:00.000-04:002014-04-06T11:30:01.353-04:00Spotlight Summoned by Rainy Kaye<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Twenty-three year old Dimitri has to do what he is told—literally. Controlled by a paranormal bond, he is forced to use his wits to fulfill unlimited deadly wishes made by multimillionaire Karl Walker.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dimitri has no idea how his family line became trapped in the genie bond. He just knows resisting has never ended well. When he meets Syd—assertive, sexy, intelligent Syd—he becomes determined to make her his own. Except Karl has ensured Dimitri can't tell anyone about the bond, and Syd isn't the type to tolerate secrets.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then Karl starts sending him away on back-to-back wishes. Unable to balance love and lies, Dimitri sets out to uncover Karl's ultimate plan and put it to an end. But doing so forces him to confront the one wish he never saw coming—the wish that will destroy him.</span><br />
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Summoned is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA.<br />
<span style="background-color: #660000;"><span style="color: magenta;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #660000; color: magenta; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Summoned-Rainy-Kaye-ebook/dp/B00JAZT88G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396797029&sr=8-1&keywords=summoned+rainy+kaye">Buy Summoned on Amazon</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Find out more at <a href="http://www.summonedtheseries.com/">http://www.summonedtheseries.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Author Bio</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Rainy Kaye </b>is an aspiring overlord. In the mean time, she blogs at <a href="http://www.rainyofthedark.com/">RainyoftheDark.com</a> and writes paranormal novels from her lair somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona. When not plotting world domination, she enjoys getting lost around the globe, studying music so she can sing along with symphonic metal bands, and becoming distracted by Twitter (<a href="http://www.twitter.com/rainyofthedark">@rainyofthedark</a>). She is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA.</span><br />
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-40657134239932844732014-03-10T23:08:00.000-04:002014-03-10T23:19:26.400-04:00Elves<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #660000; color: white; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">In one of the novels I've been working on, I deal with elves and assorted fae. I thought it might be fun to discuss some of the folkore and literature surrounding elves.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">In folklore, elves are usually extraordinarily long-lived or immortal beings that often possess magical powers. They've become common fixtures in fantasy literature, entertainment and popular culture.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"> We've seen them in commercials baking cookies in hollow trees, in film and fantasy literature as bad ass warriors, on TV as would-be dentists and even as video game characters. But where did the legends of these beings spring from?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">In Folklore, the term elf and fairy are generally interchangeable. The word elf comes from the Germanic languages (aelf) whereas fairy derives from Latin (fata). Elves and fairies are generally thought of as nature spirits and stories of them are found all over the world. They are also referred to by the terms faery, fairie, fay, fae, Wee Folk, Good Folk, People of Peace or the Fair Folk.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">The elves that we are familiar with in fantasy and pop culture stem from the folkloric traditions and mythology of the Germanic and Norse peoples as well as the Celts.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">The Norse believed that there were both “light” and “dark” elves, the first a benevolent, shining race of beings and the latter as malevolent creatures bent on harming humans. Stories of the two races of elves appeared in the Prose Edda, but it is unclear whether the distinction between the two types was a creation of the author or a result of the importation of the Christian belief in angels.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">J. R. R.Tolkien was influenced by the Norse concept of elves when he created Middle Earth. The light elves of Norse myth inspired the elegant, mysterious inhabitants of Lothlorien and Rivendell, where the dark elves became the orcs. The word orc is derived from the Latin term for monster (orcus), which is also the root of the name of the Killer Whale (orca) and the term ogre.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Tolkien was not a fan of industrialization. He was repelled by the harshness of his experiences during WWI and romanticized the “simple life” of an earlier age. But he wasn’t the first to do so.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">In the Victorian age, many adults became caught up in a “fairy craze”, which some scholars believe was partly influenced by the Industrial Revolution. Fairy paintings and stories of the time were rich in nostalgia for a vanishing way of life. The Pre–Raphaelite school of art, in particular, depicted pastoral and woodland scenes from romance, legend and myth, many of which featured elves and fairies.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">In Celtic mythology, fae fall into two categories derived from Scottish folklore: the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court. Seelie are the benevolent fae and unseelie malevolent. The term seelie is thought to be the origin of the English word “silly”. The Seelie court and unseely court fae are similar to the Norse division between light and dark elves. Later, William Butler Yeats, in Irish Fairy and Folk Tales, divided the fae into Trooping Fairies and Solitary Fairies. The Celtic tradition includes many fairy-type creatures, from pixies and brownies to ogres and giants.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Baobhan sith (pronounced baa'-van shee) are femme fatales found in Scottish Gaelic oral tradition. These siren-like creatures waylay male travelers and insist they dance with them. They are similar to Banshees and the Rusalka and Wila of Eastern Europe as well as the sirens of ancient greece. Wila is sometimes spelled as Veela. Fleur Delacourt in <i>Harry Potter</i> is part Veela.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Folkloric and mythological traditions throughout the world feature their own versions of elves and fae. In classical myths we find nymphs, fauns and satyrs.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="background-color: #660000;">Dryads are a type a nymph, considered to be the souls of trees. In </span><i style="background-color: #660000;">The Chronicles of Narnia </i><span style="background-color: #660000;">by C.S. Lewis, dryads fight alongside Aslan and the Pevensie Children. A Dryad named Juniper appears in the </span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: #660000; color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"> </span><i style="background-color: #660000; color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Percy Jackson and the Olympians</i><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="background-color: #660000;"> series.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">So how did elves become bound up in the Santa Claus legend? Elves have long been associated with Scandinavian and German gift-giving customs, but much of the belief in the USA surrounding Jolly Old St, Nick has evolved largely out of popular culture and advertising.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Back in the sixties, my family used to have a plastic elf who allegedly reported back to Santa when we kids were naughty. Imagine my surprise when I learned of that there is a book now called <i>The Elf on the Shelf</i>. And I thought my Dad invented the custom. Talk about your zeitgeist. Or is that zeitalp? Did all parents get the same idea about these creepy plastic and felt figures at the same time? Not my favorite custom surrounding elves.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">It’s not really clear where and when Santa’s elf army cobbled their way into the mythos. Perhaps, like many Christmas customs we observe today, the presence of benevolent elves is a reminder of an earlier time, when people drew together in the shortest days of the year and feasted and made merry in hopes of dispelling the cold and gloom of winter.</span></span></span></div>
Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-22237743878042749952014-01-27T21:37:00.003-05:002014-01-27T21:37:51.528-05:00Paranormal Creatures A-Z<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Greetings! Lots of news to share! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've been absent from the blog for some time, but I've been busy moving, taking on another job, working on revised editions of the Immortyl Revolution books, as well as completing an entirely new urban fantasy novel and other projects. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sadly, my former publisher, L&L Dreamspell, closed its doors after the tragic loss of one of the owners, Linda Houle. After my rights reverted back to me, I started a search for another small press that would pick up the series. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That being said, I have some exciting news to share. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.crazyduckpress.com/">Crazy Duck Press</a> has picked up the series and a new edition of <i>My Fearful Symmetry</i> will be available later this year, followed by <i>Cara Mia</i>, <i>Twilight of the Gods</i> and <i>Servant of the Goddess</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Since MFS can be read as a stand alone novel, we decided to go ahead and release it first, while I finish revisions on the prior two books in the series. Cedric, of course, will not be silent, so I'm developing the next installment of the Immortyl saga, which will be called the <i>Immortyl Assassin </i>series. The books will be narrated by Naveen, a century-old child vampire, introduced in MFS, who becomes Cedric's sidekick. Look for a short tale that intros Cedric and Naveen's upcoming adventures in this year's <i>Vampire News</i>!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last year, I made the decision to change the focus of this blog to mythological and folkloric topics rather than author interviews and promos. Also, Cedric was clamoring for his own saucy corner of cyberspace, so we launched <a href="http://sexycedric.blogspot.com/">Sexy Cedric</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had started a feature here, called Paranormal Creatures from A-Z, which relates to one of the PowerPoint presentations I do for libraries, schools and conventions. The series began with three posts on <a href="http://immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2013/02/paranormal-creatures-z-week-1-angelic.html">Angels and Angelic Beings.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Yes, I am crazy busy! My apartment is still in an unfinished state, and the dust bunnies are growing larger than my grey parrot, but </span><span style="font-size: large;">I'll be adding additional posts in the series in coming weeks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Please stop back. I promise I won't disappear again!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Annals-Immortyls-Denise-Verrico-ebook/dp/B0083NUZEC/ref=la_B003DKLGDY_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390875068&sr=1-2"><img alt=" Annals of the Immortyls" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_k5x2NQr8mDCFJYWqQR17L-QQV2MmwuqX8stTpAtuNWFCfxsWPU1PMboATOmhaF8wpHCclmZnAQnbY8nNNC2BnS30B8Dgmxf8FiVM14KfYa-9CS37nVQPHg0V5PWkbTO_R4uBYsaaJ0E/s1600/annals+sm.jpg" height="320" width="232" /></a></div>
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*Although the Immortyl Revolution novels are currently out of print, my short stories, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Denise-Verrico/e/B003DKLGDY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1">Annals of the Imnmortyls</a>, are still available.</div>
Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-82414607908846188482013-04-05T08:00:00.000-04:002013-04-05T08:47:12.932-04:00Sidekicks: Editor Sarah Hans on a Quest for Diversity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I’m really thrilled to be writing here on Denise Verrico’s
blog, my very first attempt at guest blogging! Denise asked me to talk a little
about the process of selecting stories for the anthology I just put together, a
discussion of the genres represented by the stories I chose, and my personal
quest to include diverse stories about characters of many genders, races, and
sexual orientations. So here goes: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The hardest part of being an editor is deciding which
stories to buy and which to reject. While rejecting an author you’ve never met
is not fun, it’s truly difficult to reject a story from someone you know and
like, and whose work you enjoy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is the position I found myself in during the story
selection process for my editorial debut, an anthology called <a href="http://sidekicks.alliterationink.com/"><i><span style="color: #1155cc;">Sidekicks!</span></i></a> As you’ve
probably already guessed from the title, the anthology is about...that’s
right...sidekicks. When I say the word “sidekicks” the first person you think
of is probably Robin of “Batman &”. If you didn’t think of Robin, you
probably still thought of a superhero sidekick (and if you didn’t, have a gold
star for Thinking Outside the Box). Most likely, he’s a white male sidekick
working for a white male superhero. It’s not your fault that this was your
first instinct. White males make up the vast majority of comic book content
creators, even in 2013. So naturally a lot of their stories, and the subsequent
movies, reflect this. Our culture is permeated with images of white male heteronormativity.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It’s paramount for authors, however, to fight against the
tide and write about the idea that is <b>not
</b>the most obvious one. So in general, unless you’ve been writing for many
years, it’s a good idea to toss the first and maybe even the second idea you
have. Work with the ones that come after that. The obscure ones. The unique
ones. The ones that make you really excited. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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That, as it turned out, was the key to having a story published in <i>Sidekicks!</i> I asked for stories from a
variety of settings, about characters of color and LGBTQ characters. I received
a number of these, and I’m proud to say that the book contains three stories
with gay or lesbian protagonists (we would have had four, but I asked one of my
authors to change their protagonist to a male--more on that in a minute) and
three stories with protagonists of color. Sadly I didn’t receive any stories
about trans characters, and I think that six total stories out of twenty is not
really enough total representation. So while I’m proud of this first anthology,
and the broad spectrum of characters it represents, I have a personal goal to
do better in future where minority representation is concerned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was also interested in stories outside of the superhero
genre. I wanted a range of good guys and bad guys, settings and locations,
themes and styles. So I purchased only a handful of superhero stories and
filled in the rest of the anthology with tales from other genres. Those who
sent me science fiction, westerns, fantasy, etc. had an edge. Their stories
stood out in a sea of superhero tales. Even so, some stories just weren’t the
right fit for one reason or another. And two stories were submitted about
characters based on Igor, that most classic of sidekicks. Both were good, but
again, diversity won out: I picked the one with the gay romance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That’s right, Igor gets his gay romance on in <i>Sidekicks!</i>, courtesy of author Kathy
Watness. Am I making you want to read it yet? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, you get the point I’m making, right? Should I beat
you over the head with the DIVERSITY SELLS STORIES stick some more, or shall we
move on?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Interestingly, after the first wave of submissions, I had a
gap in the anthology. I had 18 stories and not a single one was about a male
sidekick with a female...we’ll call it a “dominant” person, because not all of
the characters in the book are good guys, making the term “hero” inappropriate.
(Let’s just get the “OMG dominant, that’s kinky” snickering out of the way,
shall we? I’ll wait.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I asked one author to change the gender of a particular
protagonist to male (I’ll give you a cookie if you can guess which story) and
commissioned three other stories with male protagonists and female dominants,
two of which I purchased, rounding out the anthology with a tidy 20 stories,
and giving me three with male protags and female dominants. One of these has an
alien protagonist, which still makes me grin--thanks go to author Neal
Litherland, who deserves a gold star AND a cookie for really stepping it up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope that after reading this you’ll give <i>Sidekicks!</i> a try--it’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sidekicks-Alex-Bledsoe/dp/1939840015"><span style="color: #1155cc;">on sale at Amazon.com</span></a> right now for less than
$10!--and also consider reading (and writing) more diverse fiction. If you’d
like to hear <i>Sidekicks!</i> authors read
their work live, we have events coming up in Dayton, Ohio at Epic Loot Games
and Comics (4:00-6:00 pm on Saturday, April 6) and in Madison, Wisconsin at A
Room of One’s Own (6:30 - 8:00 pm on Wednesday, April 24). If you’d like to
discuss the contents of this guest blog post, you can find me on <a href="http://sarahhans.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">my blog</span></a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/steampunkpanda"><span style="color: #1155cc;">twitter</span></a>,
or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sarah-Hans-Author/186650511364781"><span style="color: #1155cc;">facebook</span></a>! Thanks for reading!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-22562718619730583632013-04-01T00:04:00.000-04:002013-04-01T00:04:27.072-04:00Dark Salvation by Katie Salidas Launch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Book Launch </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Dark Salvation by Katie Salidas</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A gathering storm of violence is on the horizon. Whispered
threats of the Acta Sanctorum’s return have the supernatural world abuzz. Only
recently aware of the other world hidden behind our own, Kitara Vanders has
barely scratched the surface of what being supernatural truly means. A special
woman in her own right, she possesses unique telepathic abilities, gifts that
have recently come under the scrutiny of the Acta Sanctorum, a fanatical
organization whose mission is to cleanse the world of anything supernatural.
Targeted and marked for death, Kitara’s only hope lies with the lethally
seductive yet emotionally scarred warrior Nicholas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Knowing full well the atrocities of which the Acta Sanctorum
is capable, Nicholas is all too eager for the battle to begin. Fueled by pain
and rage from the loss of his mate, he’s itching for a fight, but one thing
stands in his way: Kitara, a beautiful dark-haired woman with unique psychic
abilities and an unusual link to the Saints. Despite his resolve to remain
focused on his mission, a purely physical relationship binds them together in a
way neither of them expected. And when her life hangs in the balance, Nicholas
finds his own is teetering on the edge too.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> Excerpt:</span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“You really don't care about human life, do you?"
Though her heart pounded erratically with fear, there was none in her angry
voice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Nope.” Nicholas was not about to get into a morality war
with this woman. He pulled out the dead man’s wallet and tossed it aside.
“Nothing good here.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“You’re an asshole, you know that?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He’d been called that by so many people, but somehow hearing
her say it struck a chord with him. “I’ve been called worse.” He tried to sound
as if he didn’t care, but for some strange reason, he did. He opened his mouth
to say something, but found the words escaped him. Humans never understood.
Perhaps it was better off she thought him a jerk. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“I can’t believe you. Human life has to hold some meaning.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“It does. If humans weren’t around, I’d have to eat
animals.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“You’re nothing but a monster, just like Jeremy said.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That hurt. He had saved her life, and she hated him for it.
He turned on her, anger setting his heart pounding. How dare she talk this way
to him after he’d saved her? “He would have killed you without a second
thought. That’s what the Saints do. They are the real monsters, not me.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps it was his suddenly sharp tone, or maybe she
realized he was telling the truth; whatever it was, Kitara paused. He heard her
take a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. You
did save me. I’ve... I’ve just never witnessed a murder.” Her body was still
trembling, and her heart thumped so erratically that he wondered if she might
pass out. The tang of her fear wafted up to his nose. “You tore that guy’s
throat out, in front of me. You killed him. You drank his blood.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nicholas attempted to temper the anger in his voice with
patience in the hopes of getting her to relax. "Vampires drink blood,
sweetheart.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=immortrevolu-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00C3GXCFE&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Salvation-Immortalis-Vampire-Series-ebook/dp/B00C3GXCFE" style="background-color: #990000;">Amazon UK </a></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 15.454545021057129px; margin-top: 10px;">
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-salvation-katie-salidas/1114959062?ean=2940016657998" style="background-color: #990000;">Barnes & Noble</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/298704" style="background-color: #990000;">Smashwords</a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #990000;"><a href="http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Dark-Salvation/book-FiM5qhsd2EiRY_TnCwktCA/page1.html?s=4EEJODl65UWD40Wpfc8TKA&r=10">Kobo</a> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRenE6bOMh-RA-R7jrnqADjDZzBsNHbcCmy07k_ei-HYZCZUx7tL5mAeqJOrVgJE7C4-ijJbNGY95iy7IZxcDVZtp8cKU0Fp4XWM-MeOnMyzWEgO2v06bzbcq_hKHPHnPqpmrJNquRaU/s1600/KatieSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRenE6bOMh-RA-R7jrnqADjDZzBsNHbcCmy07k_ei-HYZCZUx7tL5mAeqJOrVgJE7C4-ijJbNGY95iy7IZxcDVZtp8cKU0Fp4XWM-MeOnMyzWEgO2v06bzbcq_hKHPHnPqpmrJNquRaU/s320/KatieSmall.jpg" width="288" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Katie Salidas is a Super Woman!
Endowed with special powers and abilities, beyond those of mortal women, She
can get the munchkins off to gymnastics, cheerleading, Girl Scouts, and swim
lessons. She can put hot food on the table for dinner while assisting
with homework, baths, and bedtime… And, She still finds the time to keep the
hubby happy (nudge nudge wink wink). She can do all of this and still have time
to write. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> And if you can believe all of those lies, there
is some beautiful swamp land in Florida for sale…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Katie Salidas resides in Las Vegas,
Nevada. Mother, wife, and author, she does try to do it all, often causing
sleep deprivation and many nights passed out at the computer. Writing books is
her passion, and she hopes that her passion will bring you hours of
entertainment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.katiesalidas.com/" style="background-color: #990000;">Blog</a></span><br />
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-65552877792414609212013-03-29T09:00:00.000-04:002013-03-29T23:39:45.781-04:00Paranormal Creatures A-Z: Angelic Beings in World Mythology<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Greetings! This weekend I'll be at Marcon in Columbus, OH. One of the panels I'll be on concerns the popularity of angels in fantasy. Since I'm currently writing an urban fantasy featuring an angelic being, I thought this panel would be fun, especially since I've been doing research on the topic and sharing my findings here at the blog.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">In the previous posts I discussed angels in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Today, I'll touch on angelic beings from other cultures and religious traditions.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Angelic Beings in
World Mythology<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Beliefs in beings similar to angels are found in many cultures
throughout human history. The idea of
representing spirits as winged figures is thousands of years old. Ancient
Egyptians portrayed the sun god Horus as a winged disk. The Assyrians believed in the <b>Shedu</b> or <b>Lamassu</b>, a protective spirit or deity often depicted with a man’s
head, a bulls body and eagle’s wings that may have influenced the Israelite’s
view of angels. Winged beings can be
found in ancient Greek and Roman art, such as the depiction of the god of love Eros
and his consort, the personification of the soul, Psyche. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Indian mythology includes several beings that act in a
similar way to angels. <b>Devas</b> are
gods and goddesses whose name literally means “shining ones”. They are also referred to as <b>Sura</b>.
Evil spirits or demons that embody baser instincts are called <b>Asura</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the retinue of the chief of the gods Indra are also beings
called <b>apsaras</b> and <b>gandharvras</b>. Apsaras are beautiful, seductive female
dancers and gandhavras are handsome male musicians. Apsaras are often the wives of
gandhavras. The apsaras are guardians of
fallen heros, like the Norse Valkyrie and like the muses in Greek mythology
they represent various forms of art.
Gandhavras may be warriors as well as performing artists. Both apsaras
and Gandhavras are said to fly and act as intermediaries of the gods.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Dakini</b> are female spirits in Buddhism, Hinduism and Tantra. The word Dakini means essentially a “woman who walks in the sky”. In India, dakini are the attendants of Kali and sometimes inhabit
battlefields and cremation grounds. In Tantric
Buddhism, the dakini is seen as the embodiment of enlightened energy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tennin</b> are female
heavenly messengers in Japanese Buddhism.
They are depicted as beautiful women who wear exquisite feathered
kimonos and have the ability to fly. They
sometimes are companions to <span lang="EN">Bodhisattva,
enlightened beings that are looked upon as angels or gods by some. The term Bodhisattva, however, also means
anyone on the path to enlightenment.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some Central African tribal groups, particularly in Gabon,
believe in<b> Ombwiri</b>. These are ancestor spirits similar to guardian
angels. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Orisha</b> are spiritual
beings in the West African religion Yoruba that have been compared to
angels. The Yoruba believe that the
Orisha were once human beings who led notable lives and became Gods at death. Orishas are also important in Santeria.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Norse believed in the <b>Valkyrie</b>, female spirits that could either take the form of swans
or Amazonian warriors, depending on the source.
<b>“Light” elves</b> are fair, beautiful
beings with supernatural powers, similar to angels. However, surviving tales depicting these
elves may have been somewhat be influenced by the Christian belief in angels brought
into Scandinavia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I've said before, this particular topic is vast. I've barely scratched the surface in these posts. If any of the readers would like to contribute to the discussion, please feel free to mention your findings in the comments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My next post in the series will be on BANSHEES. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Have a great day!</span></div>
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-86772432054467290122013-03-09T16:33:00.000-05:002013-03-09T16:33:12.360-05:00Paranormal Creatures A-Z: Angels Part 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Greetings! Today, I have a little more about angels. As I said in my last post, there is a lot of information out there on the subject of angels, so I decided to break this topic into smaller bits. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Characteristics of
Angels<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Angels lack a physical body, so they manifest in a variety
of ways. They sometimes take the form of as human beings if the mission
requires, or may appear with wings, as beings of light, or in other forms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Many Christians regard angels as asexual beings. However, biblical angels have masculine
names. Angels are usually depicted in painting and sculpture as winged male
human beings, yet in Western decorative arts they are often shown as winged
female figures. In the Bible, only cherubim
and seraphim are said to wings. No lower
level angel is ever mentioned as having wings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Angels are sometimes portrayed as being composed of Aether.
Aether (also called ether) is a substance said to have filled the whole of
space. This term was adopted from ancient Greek philosophy and science. Aristotle believed that the physical world
was made up of four elements: air, earth, fire and water. According to him, Aether was the fifth element
and most important element that held these together. In Greek mythology, Aether, or Acmon, is one
of the primordial Greek deities, the first-born elementals and the
personification of celestial light. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Similarly, in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, everything in
the universe is composed of <i>Akasha </i>(Aether). It is considered to be the unifying energy
which exists in every living being, and the basis and essence of the material
world. It was the first material element
created from the astral world, followed by air, fire, water and earth. So, in a sense “The Force.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some more angels:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fallen Angels</b> are those who are seen as rebelling against God. They are often called devils or demons and portrayed as the opposite of angels. They are associated with evil, death and destruction.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sataniel/Satan</b>- Tempts humans, serves as an adversary, and
brings people's sins before them in the heavenly court. He is known by many names, such as:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lucifer</b>- First Light of the Morning; Morning Star, God's
first living creation. Most beautiful of all angels, betrayer of the hosts of
heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Beelzebub<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Mephistopheles<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Other Angels in
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Uriel</b> (translation: God is my light), leads us to destiny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Samael</b>- An angel of death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sandalphon</b>- Battles Samael and brings humankind together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Camael/Chamuel</b>- Expelled Adam from the Garden of Eden and
punishes those who transgress against God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Metatron</b>- God's heavenly scribe recording the deeds of all
that is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Angel of the Waters- </b>In John 5:1-4 an angel "troubles" the waters of the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, giving the water healing properties that will heal anyone who bathes in it. On Bethesda Terrace in Central Park in NYC, there is a statue atop a fountain commemorating the event. <span style="color: white;">John 5</span></span></div>
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-66339693347160447392013-02-23T10:24:00.000-05:002013-02-23T23:09:37.654-05:00Paranormal Creatures A-Z Week 1: Angelic Beings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Greetings! As I write this, I'm looking out on a cold, gray morning in Central Ohio and wishing spring was here. I've been busy trying to finish a novel and some other projects that I hope to talk about soon, but I wanted to make sure I didn't neglect the blog. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I mentioned in my earlier posts, I'm changing the focus of my blog to center on mythology and folklore topics. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since I was a little kid, I've been fascinated by cultural traditions and beliefs from around the world. As a fantasy author, I’m always on the hunt for monsters and supernatural beings to spark the imagination. In this research, I've come across of lot of neat information that I’d like to share with readers and writers in upcoming posts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This post is the first of a feature I’m calling “Paranormal Creatures from A-Z”. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, let’s start with A:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Angelic Beings</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Angels are common figures in fantasy fiction and pop culture these days, so I thought I would start with them. Heck, I even have an angel in the novel I'm currently writing. There is a multitude of information written about angels, both from religious and folkloric points of view. It's rather daunting to delve into, but fascinating stuff. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For the purposes of this post, </span><span style="font-size: large;">I use the term “angelic beings” rather than “angel”. Why is this? Although I’ll talk about biblical angels, there are many examples in world mythology </span><span style="font-size: large;">of beings</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">that resemble Judeo-Christian angels. These I'll discuss in a later post. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today, I'll touch on the role of angels in four religious beliefs that are based on revelation: Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity. I'll also talk a bit about the Catholic hierarchy of angels.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The word angel in English is a fusion of the Old English <i>engel</i> and the Old French <i>angele</i>. Both of these terms derive from the Latin <i>angelus</i> and the ancient Greek <i>aggelos</i>, a word roughly meaning a “message bearer”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Angels play an important role in Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Zoroastrianism. In these religions, angels bridge the gap between God and humans. They teach lessons, deliver commands or carry information from the divinity to humankind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Zoroastrianism, the force of good, called Ahura Mazda, fights that of evil, Ahriman. These two forces command armies of angels and devils, similar to those of Yahweh (God) in the Old Testament.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are other interesting parallels between these two beliefs. Like Zoroastrianism, Judaism divides the universe into earth, heaven, and hell. In both religions, angels fulfill a similar role, acting as an intermediary between heaven and earth in order to reveal God's plans and laws. They serve God, carry out his will, reward goodness, punish evil and conduct righteous souls to heaven. Angels also perform a revelatory function, helping people to understand God's will. These angelic functions are also true of Christianity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Islamic angels are also similar those of Judaism and Christianity. However, while the former beliefs divide spiritual beings into angels and demons, Islam goes further and divides such beings into angels, demons, and djinni. Djinni (genies) may be either good or bad. They were created from fire, can be either visible or invisible, and have the ability to assume human or animal form.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Christianity, angels are spiritual beings. Some of these can see the face of God and are in a state of perpetual bliss. God is said to have bestowed angels with wisdom, freedom, and power, but some angels were proud and turned away from their creator, becoming the fallen angels. Catholic tradition assigns the angels to nine hierarchies or choirs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Nine Choirs of Angels</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Seraphim</b>- The highest choir, attendants or guardians before God's throne. They praise God, calling, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts”. Seraphim have six wings; two cover their faces, two cover their feet, and two are for flight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cherubim</b>- Second highest of the nine choirs. Manlike in appearance and double-winged. The Old Testament gives no evidence that the Jews considered them as intercessors or helpers of God, but in the New Testament, they are alluded to as celestial attendants in the Apocalypse. Catholic tradition describes them as angels who have an intimate knowledge of God and continually praise Him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Thrones</b>-Thrones are angels of humility, peace and submission. They reside in the area of the cosmos where material form begins to take shape. The lower angels rely on Thrones to access God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Dominions</b>-Dominions are angels of leadership. They regulate the duties of the angels, making known the commands of God.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Virtues</b>- Known as "Spirits of Motion". Sometimes referred to as "the shining ones." They govern nature and control the elements, seasons and celestial bodies. They facilitate miracles and inspire courage, grace, and valor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Powers</b>- Warrior angels (also known as potentates) that defend both the cosmos and humans. They fight evil spirits who attempt to wreak chaos through human beings. Their chief is said to be either Samael or Camael.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Archangels</b>- C</span><span style="font-size: large;">hief or leading angels. The most frequently mentioned angels in the Bible. There are seven who stand before God. They may belong to other choirs, such as St. Michael the Archangel, who is also a Seraph. Archangels have a unique role as God's messenger to humanity at critical times.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Three of these are mentioned in the bible:</span></div>
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<b>St. Michael</b> is viewed as patron and protector of the Church from the time of the Apostles. The Eastern Rite and other sects place him over all the angels, as Prince of the Seraphim. He was the leader of the forces of heaven in their triumph over Satan and his followers.</div>
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<b>Gabriel</b> first appeared in the Old Testament in the Book of Daniel. In the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke, he appeared to Zechariah to announce the birth of St. John the Baptist and proclaimed the Annunciation, telling Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus. Tradition (but not scripture) says he will sound the trumpet signaling the Apocalypse. </div>
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<b>Raphael</b> first appeared in the book of Tobit. He announces "I am the Angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the throne of God." He is known as Raphael the Healer.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Principalities</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've read conflicting information regarding this order. Principalities are described as having given valuable skills and gifts to man, yet they are described in some accounts as hostile to God and human beings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Angels</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These are closest to the material world and human begins. They deliver prayers to God and carry God's answers and other messages to humans. They have the capacity to access all other angels at any time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This hierarchy, of course, reflects Catholic beliefs, other Christian sects don't necessarily subscribe to this view and may have radically different beliefs regarding angels</span><span style="font-size: large;">. In upcoming</span><span style="font-size: large;"> posts, I'll touch on some other angels and beliefs from the Judeo-Christian tradition, as well fallen angels or demons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope you found today's post informative. I'm hoping the brief tidbits in this feature will serve as a jumping off point for those who want to learn more about the beings and creatures I discuss. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is the complete list of creatures I'll be featuring in </span><span style="font-size: large;">Paranormal Creatures from A-Z: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p>Angels and Angelic Beings</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Banshee<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Fox Spirit (Kitsune}<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ghost<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-19080299333148621402013-02-14T08:30:00.000-05:002013-02-14T08:30:01.821-05:00Love and Courtship Customs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">A lot of folks are anxious about finding that perfect Valentine’s
Day tribute for that special guy or gal.
Many of us will be spending money on flowers, candy, fancy dinners and
sparkly jewelry. That set me to
wondering about these customs. So, off I
went into the wilds of the internet. I found some fun facts about customs
surrounding love that I’d like to share.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Medieval Courtly Love</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Did you know that a lot of the courtship rituals practiced today have their roots in history? Medieval marriages were generally arranged to acquire property
and money or form political alliances. The
notion of courtly love was a reaction to this practice. Marriage in those days had little to do with love. Courtly
love was celebrated in poems and song and became a way for nobles to express
the tender feelings not found in their marriages.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Chastity and honor were highly regarded virtues in medieval
times. Courtly love idealized pure love,
not sex. It relied on elaborate codes of behavior and emotional attachments.
"Lovers" had trysts in secret, which were never physical. Yet the church condemned courtly love.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Although much of the poetry and other writings of the time allude to courtly love, there is some doubt as to whether the practice of
courtly love really existed or was just an elaborate, ritualized smokescreen for adulterous affairs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Many of today's courtship rituals evolved from customs of
medieval chivalry, such as serenading a loved one with music, writing love
poetry and giving gifts of flowers and sweets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, this Valentine’s Day, when you get that long-stemmed
rose or dive into that box of chocolate truffles, remember those long ago knights
and ladies.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Fun Facts about Love, Courtship and Valentine’s Day</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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The Catholic Church recognizes at
least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were
martyred, but the celebration of Valentine’s Day has its roots in a pagan fertility
festival, Lupercalia.<o:p></o:p></div>
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During the Middle Ages, it was
commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of
birds' mating seasons.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Americans probably began
exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1900s, printed cards
became more popular.<o:p></o:p></div>
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According to the Greeting Card
Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Women purchase approximately 85
percent of all valentines.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Delicate twine is used in the
Hindu Vedic wedding ceremony to bind one of the bride's hands to one of the
hands of the groom.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Chivalrous English gentlemen
often sent a pair of gloves to their ladyloves. If the woman wore the gloves to
church on Sunday it signaled her acceptance of his proposal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In Norway when a girl came to the age of marriage, her
father let it be known she was available to suitors. The girl then wore an
empty sheath on her belt. If a young man liked the girl, he would place a knife
in the sheath, signifying betrothal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Puritans considered jewelry frivolous, so a man would
give a woman a thimble when they became engaged. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-14666909594396158722013-02-05T21:18:00.000-05:002013-02-05T21:37:03.696-05:00Vampire Lore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">When I set out to
write my first <i>Immortyl Revolution</i> novel, I read a lot of books on
vampire legends and the classic stories. Although I decided to go with a more
science fiction take on vampirism, I do play around a little with the myths in
my books. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In my reading, I
found that almost every culture has some sort of vampire myth. Most of the legends with which we are
familiar come from the Slavic tradition of Eastern Europe. These along with the legend of the real life
Vlad Dracul inspired Bram Stoker to write the most famous vampire tale of all
time, <i>Dracula. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I find the
real-life Dracula far more scary than any literary vampire. Vlad Dracul (son of the dragon) or Vlad the
Impaler was a 15<sup>th</sup> century Wallachian prince. As a boy of eleven, the Ottoman Turks took
him hostage along with his brother, Radu the Handsome. It is probable that during this time that
Vlad suffered sexual abuse at the Ottoman court. His brother, however, converted to Islam and
went on to serve the Sultan. These
factors may well have contributed to Vlad’s intense hatred of the Turks and
inspired him to invent a particularly ghoulish way of dealing with his
enemies. Vlad’s victims were impaled
with a large wooden stake that went through the anal cavity and up through the
internal organs, ending out of the mouth.
The impaled prisoners were then set up around Vlad’s castle to terrorize
their comrades. Legend has it that these
unfortunates often suffered for two days before dying. Recently scientists have explored the story
with computer models, concluding that it is indeed possible to impale a body
this way to prolong suffering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The folkloric
traditions of Eastern Europe have inspired much of the popular vampire
lore. In Slavic culture, belief in spirits
both good and evil abounded. Demons in
either human or animal form were said to feed on the blood of livestock and
human beings. Vampires were the
resurrected dead, pale of complexion with long fingernails and elongated
teeth. Sometimes they had only one
nostril. They were bloated, mindless
creatures that preyed on their own families and haunted their villages</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Differing stories surrounded the creation of
vampires. Some said that if one was
illegitimate or the seventh son of a seventh son one was destined for
vampirism. Death in childbirth or a cat
or dog jumping over a corpse could result in a vampire. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Slavic vampires
didn’t exactly sparkle in the sunlight, but in some Malaysian stories they
do. Chinese vampires hopped. In Russia they were said to be witches who
rebelled against the church. Yet many of
the popular conceptions of vampires came from books and films not
folklore. For example, the idea of
vampires catching fire when hit with sunlight is most likely from the German
film, <i>Nosferatu</i>. Vampires did
hunt at night in legend, but this is most likely because it’s the best time to
catch people in a vulnerable state like sleep and not get caught. A stake through the heart is traditional but
not as the killing weapon. The stake
only held the vampire pinned to one spot for beheading, the only way to truly
kill one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Although most of
the pop culture vampire myths were spawned in Eastern Europe, a lot of evidence
points to the legends arising out of India.
The <i>Immortyl </i>culture of my series arose from ancient India. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Indian mythology gives us many examples of
vampire-like spirits and deities. In the
various regions are found a plethora of demons that inhabit cremation and
burial grounds that bear a striking resemblance to the vamps of Eastern
Europe. Many of these are said to be the
spirits of those who died an unnatural death, or a woman who died in
childbirth. Others are succubus-like
creatures that drain men of energy yet leave him with a feeling of
euphoria. It is likely that traders
along the Great Silk Road and gypsies carried these stories west. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In Greece, the tales gave inspiration to the
Lamiae, or female vampire-like spirits.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">One deity often associated with vampirism is Kali, a
fierce form of the mother goddess and consort of Shiva. Like her husband she both creates and
destroys. She’s often shown standing on
the body of Shiva, symbolizing that in the scheme of the cosmos the male
principle is subordinate to that of the female. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Kali is usually depicted with dark blue or black skin and three
eyes. She wears body parts as jewelry
and has a tongue that sticks out in defiance.
Her favorite places are battlefields where she becomes intoxicated on the
blood of victims. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Yet she is often
misunderstood in the West. Kali is the goddess
of time, not death. She only slays evil
demons. Symbolically, she annihilates
the selfish impulses and ego that bind us to our material bodies. Her aspect is fearsome, but she is called
Kali Maa (Mother Kali) and is revered in many parts of India. Kolkata (Calcutta) is sacred to her and named
for the goddess.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tantric cults
often focus on Kali. Tantrism is an
older religious tradition than Hinduism, dating back before the Aryan tribes
migrated into India. These groups center
on Shakti worship and sometimes use sex and even blood in their rituals. The idea behind this is to gain control over
the body to capture divine energy and gain blessings. The <i>adepts of the ancient arts</i> in my
novels practice a form of tantrism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Only one group
associated with Kali was violent and that was the <i>Thugees.</i> These devotees would waylay travelers and use
them as blood sacrifices to the goddess.
The <i>Thugees</i> were the inspiration behind the Kali worshipers in <i>Indiana
Jones and the Temple of Doom</i>.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">No discussion of
vampire myth would be complete without Lillith.
In Hebrew tradition, Lillith is the first wife of Adam. She refuses to accept male dominance and
leaves for her home by the Red sea. She
couples with demons, giving birth to one hundred offspring a day. God sends three angels, Sanvi, Sansavani and
Semagelaf to bring her back to Adam and slay her demon children. Lillith takes revenge by preying upon the
children of Adam and Eve. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The three
angels force Lillith to swear she will leave anyone alone who wears an amulet
bearing their image or names. Up until
the nineteenth century such amulets were given to newborn children and
child-bearing women to ward off Lillith.
There may even be a connection between Lillith and the mythology of
India. Some say that the name Lillith
means “Lily” or “Lotus”. This flower
symbolizes female genitalia, or <i>yoni </i>and the gateway to the underworld.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In my research, I
found it curious that while so many vampire myths of the east seem to be
centered on a fear of female power, the vampire stories of the west often focus
on the male vampire. The zombie-like
revenants of Slavic culture somehow arose into the suave and sophisticated
“gentleman vampire” of Gothic literature.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The evolution is
attributed to the novel, <i>The Vampyre</i>, written by John Polidori. It’s commonly believed that the 19<sup>th</sup>
century English poet, George Gordon, Lord Byron, inspired the depiction of the
vampire in this book. Polidori, a recent
medical school graduate, accepted a position as Byron’s personal physician and
traveled with him to the continent.
Byron was a kind of rock star in his day, known for his scandalous love
affairs with both sexes. He created what
is known as the “Byronic hero”, a deeply flawed man given to bouts of
melancholy. Lord Byron, his mistress
Claire, the poet Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley and Polidori participated in a
contest to write a ghost story. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The most
famous of these, Mary Shelley’s <i>Frankenstein</i>, spawned the genre of
science fiction. Polodori’s tale was
most likely begun by Byron and abandoned.
In any case, Polidori finished and published it. While not as well known as Frankenstein’s
monster, the compelling vampire, Lord Ruthven set the stage for Count Dracula,
Anne Rice’s Louis and even Twilight’s Edward Cullen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Vampires have been
a staple of popular culture since the nineteenth century. The popular “penny dreadful” <i>Varney the
Vampire </i>was a serialized tale that was eventually published in book
form. Comic books gave us <i>Vampirella,</i>
an alien vampire of the planet Draculon.
Everyone is familiar with the friendly Count of Sesame Street. I sometimes wonder if it was intentional that
he shares the vampire’s legendary, obsessive compulsive need to count things
like spilled grains of rice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The twentieth
century took a more sympathetic view of the vampire. In the nineteen fifties, we saw the rise of
the science fiction vampire, with the publication of Richard Matheson’s
classic, <i>I Am legend</i>. In this
story, vampirism is caused by a virus, to which the hero, Robert Neville is
immune. Night after night he kills off
the vampires, eventually coming to the conclusion that he is the monster. The novel has inspired three films. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The sixties gothic
soap opera <i>Dark Shadows</i> starred Jonathan Frid as the reluctant vampire,
Barnabas Collins. The show became a pop
culture phenomenon, long before Stephanie Meyer’s <i>Twilight</i>. Later, Chelsea Quinn Yarborough’s Saint
Germain novels, Anne Rice’s <i>Vampire Chronicles</i> and the long running TV
series, <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> also presented vampires in a more
positive light. Stephen King’s novel <i>Salem’s
Lot</i> and films like <i>From Dusk Till Dawn</i> featured the horrific
vampire, proving that the genre has many viable facets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the
twenty-first century the vampire became a romantic hero, the love interest to the
human heroine of paranormal romance, as in Twilight. Authors like Charlaine Harris combined
mystery with paranormal elements, creating a new type of urban fantasy
novel. Justin Cronin’s bestseller, <i>The
Passage</i> and others like my <i>Immortyl Revolution</i> series hearken back
to the sci fi vampire of the fifties.
Horror novels may not be as popular as in years past, but the horror
vampire is alive and well in films like <i>Thirty Days of Night.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There’s a lot of
talk out there as to whether vampires are a fad that will die out
eventually. I say no. Vampires have established themselves in
literature and entertainment as a genre with many sub-genres, catering to all
tastes. Of all the monsters, they are
the most human in aspect, the dark reflection of humanity and a powerful
archetype that will continue to evolve as we do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-87393540030304042822013-01-19T08:00:00.000-05:002013-01-19T08:00:08.408-05:00Sexy Cedric Interviews the Vampire Queen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeyGMIk3gJzp4Awwi7qsTORQ9uDlGgidOgQc29_yLjwQTvqeph7Bpu7rRpHHQp2yWCBMFNapFI5jZAYQ5NNw25sylUvGVu3t4Eed7uuaAngKXF58iq_pEuefEliJxismo9Vm9NCFQTUY/s1600/Cedric+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeyGMIk3gJzp4Awwi7qsTORQ9uDlGgidOgQc29_yLjwQTvqeph7Bpu7rRpHHQp2yWCBMFNapFI5jZAYQ5NNw25sylUvGVu3t4Eed7uuaAngKXF58iq_pEuefEliJxismo9Vm9NCFQTUY/s320/Cedric+image.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Your Host with the most, Cedric MacKinnon</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Welcome back, my loves! I hope you had a wicked time over the holiday season. There will be a few changes coming for yours truly. The authoress and I have decided I should have my own blog, so I'll soon be striking out on my own. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Today, I have a special treat for you! I'm pleased to welcome the Vampire Queen as my guest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Welcome to Sexy Saturday with Cedric! I do hope you’ll share a few spicy tidbits,
my darling. It’s always a pleasure to
interview a daughter of the blood. So, settle
into my hot seat of love and introduce yourself to the readers.</span><div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">CM: To start us off, why don’t you share some of your
history—don’t spare any juicy details. </span><span style="font-size: large;">I understand you’re a queen.</span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Trust me, you’re not the first queen I've interviewed here.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">I rather seem to attract them.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">I wonder why.</span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Do I need to call you, “Your Majesty” or something like that?</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">You must have a lot of interesting stories to
tell.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ffe599;">You may call me The Vampire Queen or Countess De Lourdes. I
am THE ancient one, creator of all early vampires, the mother of the race and
purifier of the race as I’m fed up with pretenders. It is my mission to purify
my race by all means possible. My emotions range from bitchy, savvy,
seductress, lover, powerful and feisty, just to name a few. I lay down into the
earth when I am fed up with the times and rise in about 100 years to a whole new
world. However, I must relearn everything I knew as over the time my mind
starts to forget all I once knew. I try to keep those around me that I can
trust for when I rise but you never know where one’s loyalties lay. I strive
for control and power and take every advantage of situations that will allow me
to enforce my power. I took control on my night of redemption upon my latest
rising, a looked for control in Venice, and I was in total control in my school
in Scotland. I take lovers of both sexes as I’m not big on gender roles but who
the person is.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">CM: Ah, I agree. Why limit oneself to one sex? Or one lover for that matter. You have a rather interesting mission concerning your
fellow vampires. I’m a rebel
myself. Can you share a little about
your vampire culture?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">My wish is to be worshiped, but I hate pretenders. They just
piss me off. I want to know that MY people love me and worship me and can do so
in the open without fear from the pretenders. In Japan, I learned of my
heritage, and that I was born to rule. I’m not a hybrid but a purist. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">CM: I understand you have a connection to my homeland of
Scotland. Tell the readers a wee bit
about that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">I was looking for a secluded, spacious piece of land for my
school. I’m partial to castles so I did some research and found the most
beautiful castle that I could rebuild and turn into my school. (Plus there’s a
relation of it to my author).</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">CM: Now, onto my favorite bit of the interview. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, my love, what <i>do</i> you look for in
the ideal partner? </span><span style="font-size: large;">I've had my share of tumultuous relationships, but I must admit, I prefer those that present a challenge. Do you like someone who lets you take the lead, or do you like strong-minded lovers? </span><span style="font-size: large;">Describe your object
of desire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">I prefer women as I can exert my control over them easily. I
just want to be loved and worshiped and if you’re beautiful and willing to do
those things just for me, I’m interested in you. Men, on the other hand, can be
brought down to accept a woman in control and at that point, I’m interested.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Like I said, I have to be the one ‘who takes the lead’ as
you say as that’s just my personality. I don’t really like those around me who
challenge me since I’m the Ancient One and all-knowing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">CM: Turn-ons?
Turn-offs?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: large;">Turn on: Power, control, sensuality, worship<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: large;">Turn off: conflict, larger than life attitudes (that’s
reserved for me)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">CM: What is your idea of the
perfect evening? All great lovers have
their trade secrets. How would you
create the perfect romantic atmosphere?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">I once had the perfect evening
with my Kendra. We just laid under the stars, drinking ‘wine’, feeding from
each other and kissing. I allow the elements to produce the atmospheres I
desire.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">CM: And how do you feel about naughty
Scottish vampire lads? How do you feel
about electric guitars? And do you like
David Bowie? Because, if you don’t, it
just will never work out between us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: large;">I always like naughty, and the fact that you’re Scottish
intrigues me. However, you must let me be the one in control or I’m afraid I’m
not interested. Electric guitars are cool and who the hell is David Bowe? LOL<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> CM: My dear, I like strong women. With the right person, I find it blissful to surrender control--just ask Mia or Lord Liu. I'll forgive the David Bowie quip, as you're only teasing. So, it looks like a date. </span></o:p><span style="font-size: large;">Thanks for being my guest today! I had a brilliant time getting to know you, and I look forward to knowing you better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anything else you’d like to share? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ffd966;">Thanks for having me. Drop by my school and we’ll see where it leads us!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: large;">Readers, please
visit my links for more information:</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="mailto:www.thevampirequeen1@gmail.com" target="_blank">www.thevampirequeen1@gmail.com</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><a href="http://www.thevampirequeen.webs.com/" target="_blank" title=""><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt;">http://www.thevampirequeen1.weebly.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">http://<a href="http://www.jodiepierceauthor.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">www.jodiepierceauthor.blogspot.com</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt;">http://<a href="http://www.thevampirequeen1.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="">www.thevampirequeen1.blogspot.com</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><a href="http://www.vampiricallyrical.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://www.vampiricallyrical.blogspot.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jodie.pierce.14" target="_blank" title=""><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.0pt;">https://www.facebook.com/jodie.pierce.14</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/jodie.pierce779" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/jodie.pierce779</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/authors.authority" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/authors.authority</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/vampirelyrical" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/vampirelyrical</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">http://<a href="http://www.groups.yahoo.com/groups/Sink_Your_Fangs_In" target="_blank" title=""><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">www.groups.yahoo.com/groups/Sink_Your_Fangs_In</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">http://<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5216941-jodie-pierce" target="_blank" title=""><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">www.goodreads.com/user/show/5216941-jodie-pierce</span></a><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jodie-pierce/25/357/b22" target="_blank" title=""><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jodie-pierce/25/357/b22</span></a><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/thevampirequeen" target="_blank" title=""><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/thevampirequeen</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.authorsden.com/jodielpierce">http://www.authorsden.com/jodielpierce</a></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt;"><br />
</span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Twitter: vampiregds</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abAql94HrHA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abAql94HrHA</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><i><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="http://www.blogaholicnetwork.com/profile/TheVampireQueen" target="_blank">http://www.blogaholicnetwork.com/profile/TheVampireQueen</a></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/564557440224437/" style="background-color: #cc0000;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;">http://www.facebook.com/events/564557440224437/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p> <span style="font-size: x-large;">Thanks to all the readers for joining us today! Please leave the Vampire Queen a comment or question and keep posted for details of my new blog.</span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Love and Dark Kisses,</span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Cedric MacKinnon</i></span></o:p></div>
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-35406211305722332282013-01-10T00:00:00.000-05:002013-01-10T10:18:35.016-05:00The Next Big Thing Blog Hop<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Greetings and Happy New Year from Cedric and me! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-WSpZk3V1eIeIm6-RZglxCyTfYpZGCySqUG_2Yee7LAKPKTnFxzLNM0cYVj75FXx2yrEh-LYCR9jmZYA4ug8Fg1ymceBLpzSTL10Rh39odysqH6HYoccOKqgdIiqxqZPISQr70LOoJ0/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-WSpZk3V1eIeIm6-RZglxCyTfYpZGCySqUG_2Yee7LAKPKTnFxzLNM0cYVj75FXx2yrEh-LYCR9jmZYA4ug8Fg1ymceBLpzSTL10Rh39odysqH6HYoccOKqgdIiqxqZPISQr70LOoJ0/s200/photo.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I took a rather long hiatus from blogging to enjoy the Holidays with the family. We laughed a lot and ate too much, but it was a blast! Yes, I'm writing this from my Christmas present from my husband and son, a brand-spanking-new notebook computer. (Cedric says he's supplying the spanking part.) No more banging on my ancient desktop. (Cedric will miss the banging.) The danger for me now is fooling around too much on social media instead of writing. (Cedric favors more writing about fooling around.)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeyGMIk3gJzp4Awwi7qsTORQ9uDlGgidOgQc29_yLjwQTvqeph7Bpu7rRpHHQp2yWCBMFNapFI5jZAYQ5NNw25sylUvGVu3t4Eed7uuaAngKXF58iq_pEuefEliJxismo9Vm9NCFQTUY/s1600/Cedric+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeyGMIk3gJzp4Awwi7qsTORQ9uDlGgidOgQc29_yLjwQTvqeph7Bpu7rRpHHQp2yWCBMFNapFI5jZAYQ5NNw25sylUvGVu3t4Eed7uuaAngKXF58iq_pEuefEliJxismo9Vm9NCFQTUY/s200/Cedric+image.jpg" width="123" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cedric MacKinnon</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The focus of this blog will change somewhat in the coming year. I won't be </span><span style="font-size: large;">hosting</span><span style="font-size: large;"> blog tours anymore, although I'll occasionally have another author as a guest blogger. Cedric will still be conducting sexy interviews, but will soon be getting his own blog. My posts will </span><span style="font-size: large;">concentrate</span><span style="font-size: large;"> on mythology and folklore topics or personal observations and humor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That being said, when my good friend, A. J. Scudiere, asked me to take part in <b>The Next Big Thing Blog Hop</b>, I thought it would be a good time to present the new format and introduce myself (and my naughty Scottish vampire lad Cedric) to some new readers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are the books everyone has heard about: <i>Twilight,
Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Gray.</i> But what about all those books written
by people you've never heard of? Some of them are treasures, just waiting to be
found, and that’s what this blog hop is all about: the books you might <i>not</i>
have heard about, but that you might end up loving. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This blog hop is like a game of tag. One author posts and
tags other authors who link back to their website the next week and tags new authors. If you follow the blog hop long enough, you’re bound to find
some books you’ll love! Maybe you’ll even discover a book that ends up being <i>the
next big thing</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The immensely talented A.J. Scudiere tagged me. Her recent novel <i>Phoenix</i> (AND novel #3 <i>God’s Eye)</i> Just got top honors at the
USA Book Review Awards for 2012. (2 out of 6 awards given in Suspense.) You can
find out more about A.J. and the Intelligent Suspense novels she writes at <a href="http://www.ajscudiere.com/">www.AJScudiere.com</a> and follow the snarky <i>Smart Chickens </i>blog at <a href="http://www.smartchickens.com/">www.SmartChickens.com</a> or search ‘Smart
Chickens’ on iTunes for the podcast.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A big thanks to A.J. for inviting me to the hop!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For those of you visiting for the first time, welcome! I'm the author of the <b>Immortyl Revolution</b>, a series of four Urban Fantasy novels and one collection of three short tales. The novels are published by L&L Dreamspell. My latest release is <i>Servant of the Goddess.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog hop includes ten questions to help you learn more about an author’s current work in progress, so here’s a little info about my current project:</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1: What is the working title of your book? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Denise:<i> Prophetess.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2: Where did the idea come from for the book?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Denise: I originally had an idea for a mystery story set in a rural town where I once lived, but decided to fictionalize the town and add fantasy elements.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3: What genre does your book fall under? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Denise: Urban Fantasy/Thriller.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Denise: Oh maybe <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlize_Theron">Charlize Theron</a> as the prophetess heroine, Marena, and <a href="http://www.squarehippies.com/2010/01/paul-bettany-in-inkheart/">Paul Bettany</a> as Lothian, the half-elf demon hunter. For Gabe, Marena’s much-younger boyfriend, who is possessed by an angelic being, someone pretty and intense, maybe <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/sep/29/ezra-miller-perks-of-wallflower">Ezra Miller</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Denise: A young woman, haunted by visions of an impending apocalypse, finds the corpse of a teen-aged boy and sets out on a quest to find and slay the demon responsible for his murder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">6: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Denise: I’ll be seeking representation once it’s completed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Denise: This was a Nanorimo project from 2010, so one month. I put it aside to finish my commitment to my Immortyl Revolution series. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Denise: I’d say it’s similar to books by Kim Harrison in that there'</span><span style="font-size: large;">s a central mystery, magic and a variety of supernatural creatures.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">9: Who or What inspired you to write this book?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Denise: I looked at images of male angels, sculptures, painting etc.. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It struck me that they are kind of bad ass and cool. Think of Michael, he's a warrior who battles his fallen brethren I wondered a lot about how a war between angels and demons would be fought</span>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Denise: The demon antagonist is inspired by a creature out of Japanese legend. I wanted a truly horrific monster in this story. One day, a house centipede dropped from the ceiling and landed on my husband. Now, I’m a tomboy at heart, the kind of gal who caught toads and snakes as a child, but centipedes just give me the willies. It’s all those legs. Well, I did some research to find out if there was a folkloric centipede demon and learned of the Japanese <i>Omukade</i>. I also researched real centipedes to give my monster some authenticity, but I do give mine qualities that are definitely supernatural. My <i>Omukade </i>is able to incubate within a human host and act through her until she gathers enough power to manifest, adding to the creep factor</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are two more authors who will be joining the hop. I hope you’ll visit their blogs next week and learn
more about their books. Maybe one of them will become your new favorite author!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. Cherie Noel writes fun, steamy love stories, adventure and sci fi with a m/m focus. If men loving men is your cup of tea, check out her sci fi adventure Tian's Hero the First Book of the Akanti series and her other work at </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://talesfromthewritingcave.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">http://talesfromthewritingcave.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3220178634944155710#editor/target=post;postID=2435434964941233635">Read Cedric's interview of the main players Tian's Hero.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. Anne Marie Lutz's first fantasy novel, <a href="http://immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/review-of-color-mage-by-anne-marie-lutz.html">Color Mage</a>, just came out this past summer from Loconeal Press. She's currently at work on the sequel, <i>Sword of Jashan</i>, <o:p></o:p><a href="http://annemariesblog.wordpress.com/">http://annemariesblog.wordpress.com</a></span><br />
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-46318532989068265092012-11-10T09:45:00.002-05:002012-11-10T09:45:41.805-05:00Sexy Cedric Reviews Submission Therapy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Greetings, my darlings! I hope you're having a sexy Saturday. Here is a little something that might make "sleeping in" a bit more enjoyable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Submission Therapy by Katie Salidas and Willsin Rowe is a naughty vignette for those who enjoy
a little B&D with their erotica. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Natasha is a high-powered, billionaire executive, who is wound just a bit
too tight. No amount of therapy has been
able to cure her stress or sex-addiction. When her therapist recommends a more radical approach, Natasha
reluctantly finds herself at the mercy of the powerfully persuasive Master
Sweet. His bedside manner is hardly
gentle, but when he gives Natasha a dose of her own medicine, she finds herself
eagerly responding to his course of treatment and begging for more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The book is just the right length to make for a steamy
bedtime tale and Master Sweet delivers the precise amount of wallop (to another
sort of tail) that the reader craves.
Read it alone under the covers or with a special someone to initiate a
little adult playtime. Either way, you’ll find it was just what the doctor
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Amazon.co.uk<o:p></o:p></div>
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Excessica<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Until next time,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Love and dark kisses,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Cedric MacKinnon</i></span><br />
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-55007166200429855472012-11-03T00:00:00.000-04:002012-11-03T00:00:05.043-04:00Sexy Cedric Spotlights a Kinky New Release/Excerpt from Submission Therapy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Greetings, my darlings! I hope you survived Halloween without any blood loss. I did. If you, like Sexy Cedric, are of an experimental nature, here is something to set your pulses racing!</span></div>
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<b>SUBMISSION THERAPY</b></div>
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Billionaire CEO of Blakely Incorporated, Natasha runs her
empire with an eagle eye for every detail. She’s an obsessive, compulsive,
micromanaging hard-ass, consumed by the need to control every aspect of her
life and her business.<br />
But underneath that seemingly strong façade, Natasha is a swirling mess of
anger, anxiety and sexual addiction. Only her therapist, Dr. Benson, knows how
close she is to burning out...or exploding. He insists on a radical form of
treatment – Submission Therapy – knowing that it’s her only hope.<br />
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Skeptical but intrigued, Natasha agrees to attend the first session. What she
finds there is an erotically-charged environment that will forgive none of her
habitual bad behavior. And a steely-eyed man who seems to read her every desire
- even the ones she won’t admit to herself.<br />
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Will Natasha learn what it means to submit? Or will she allow her brittle pride
to rob her of what she truly needs?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>Warnings: </i>This title contains graphic
language, sexual situations, bondage, discipline, rudeness, and a twist on the
billionaire genre.</b><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Submission Therapy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">EXCERPT:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext;">© November 2012 by Willsin Rowe and Katie Salidas</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“If your spirit is the equal of
your body...” He ran his fingers across my shoulders and down the gully of my
spine. “...then it will be a rare pleasure breaking you in.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Despite my initial apprehension,
his words and his touch sent a thrill through me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">He moved from behind me and my
back suddenly felt cold. I watched his muscular form as he prowled to the
chair, and admired his grace as he mounted it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“Bind her. Bring her to me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Chloe appeared beside me with a
length of smooth rope in her hands. My instincts cried out to run, to fight,
but I bit down on them. I could see where this was heading and…and I wasn’t
sure I hated it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">With practiced efficiency, Chloe
had my wrists secured in under a minute. She led me over to Master Sweet and
handed him the loose end of rope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“Slave, lay across my lap.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I couldn’t help it. I hesitated.
This was so new to me. He curled the rope around his wrist and pulled steadily,
with a strength I couldn’t resist. With Chloe’s help he had me prone across his
lap, my bare ass angled out and vulnerable. My heartbeat sped with a mixture of
excitement and uncertainty. Even though there was something so degrading about
being put over someone’s lap, there was a part of me that found
it...invigorating. I wasn’t about to let him know I felt that way, though. I
held my tongue and watched blankly as Chloe worked, binding me in place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">She took the rope and fed it
through the eyelet at the base of the chair, leading it underneath and through
a matching eyelet on the other side. She walked around and crouched behind me.
From my angle I could only see her hands taking the rope, but I could sense her
body heat on the backs of my thighs, feel her breath tickling across my ass…and
everywhere else. I wondered if she was there to do more than just tie knots.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The rope’s firm grip around my
right knee took me out of that reverie. I watched as Chloe fed the rope back
through the loop and then around my left knee. I understood the chair’s
construction much better now. Looped around it, with Master Sweet’s strong legs
as a cushion, I had nowhere to go. Intriguingly, there was still enough slack
in the rope that I could spread my knees apart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“Look in the mirror.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I raised my head and stared. I
barely recognized myself. In the low light, my black hair almost blended with
the room. I could see enough to know it was a mess, though.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">He slipped his hand onto my ass
and rested it there, soft, unmoving. The deceptively light touch sent chills
rippling across my body.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“You’ve earned a spanking for
your disobedience. You will watch as your punishment is delivered, and you will
count the strokes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">My breath hitched in my chest.
Spanking. I hadn’t had one of those since I was a little girl. So demeaning,
and yet the thought of it sent heat rushing between my thighs. There was a part
of me that longed for it. In a world where I constantly had to think at least
six to twelve months ahead, a consequence that was both immediate and tangible
somehow felt like a luxury.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">He raised his hand, cocked it
like a gun. I followed the movement instinctively, admiring the pure power of
it, knowing full well that its force was about to come crashing down on me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“No. Look into your own eyes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I did as instructed. My mouth
hung open as I tried to catch my breath, which had begun racing. I clenched my
muscles and squeezed my thighs together, waiting for what came next.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The blow, when it landed, cracked
like a pistol shot. For the slightest instant all I felt was the jolt through
my body. My vision blurred with the impact. Then the sting bloomed on my ass
and began to tingle. I watched my own mouth stretch, listened as my breath
hissed in. I would not cry out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“Count it!” he demanded.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Get your copy today!</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Amazon.co.uk<o:p></o:p></div>
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All Romance Ebooks<o:p></o:p></div>
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Excessica<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Stop by next week for my review!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Love and dark Kisses,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Cedric MacKinnon</i></span><br />
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-57335312374069674242012-11-01T20:32:00.001-04:002012-11-05T19:58:06.828-05:00Halloween Winners<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">These are the results I have thus far in the Halloween Giveaways:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">B.K Walker </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Giftbasket- Chastity Brewer</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Ebook of Choice-Tiffany Christie, Mary Preston, Denise Zacky, Shielena Cook and BN 100</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Katrina Michaels PB of <i>Tainted Blood</i>- Pamela Moore</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Vanessa Morgan Ebooks- Shielena Cook</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Roy Hudson Ebooks- Shielena Cook, BN 100 and Rene Odgen</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Denise Verrico <i>Annals of the Immortyls</i> Ebook-Mary Preston, Patty Hulstrand, Denise Z., PP Rhomy and Soniya Hodgkinson</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Lee Taylor PB- Shielena Cook</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Katie Salidas' ebook <i>Moonlight</i>: Crystal Newman and April Kirkland.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Laura Bickle's <i>The Hallowed Ones</i> PB: Shielena Cook</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">A. J. Scudiere Book-<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">Denise Zaky</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">More to come as I get results from the authors! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The authors will contact you directly to award your prizes. If you have not provided an email with your post, please contact me at deniseverrico(at)yahoo(dot)com. </span><br />
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-77618205111914170342012-10-31T09:40:00.002-04:002012-10-31T09:40:20.555-04:00Dracula in a Comedy Vein by Charles E. Butler/Final Day of Halloween Giveaways <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 26pt; line-height: 114%;">Okay guys and ghouls! The big day is finally here. I want to thank all those who have stopped by to support the authors and enter the giveaways! If you haven't entered, you have to 11 p.m. EST. Links are at the end of the post! </span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 26pt; line-height: 114%;">Dracula - In a Comedy Vein!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22pt; line-height: 114%;">By Charles E. Butler<u><o:p></o:p></u></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: large; line-height: 114%;">First,
I would like to thank Denise for asking me to write something for her blog. As
my fanaticism is very limited, I find it harder to actually think what more to
write about the canny Count? I thought that I would concentrate here on the
movies that lean towards humour as opposed to the regular blood-letting. <i>Nosferatu
(1921</i>) is a movie that is very, very dark. There are only a few shots of
the monster, Graf Orlok, that survived the match that destroyed the original
negatives way back in 1929. Played today, they take up around all of fifteen
minutes. Although the film is my favourite vampire movie, it is creaky today
and does send itself up for unintentional laughter. I would love an aspiring
film maker to blend those snippets of film to happy music in the way Walt
Disney did in the forties and fifties on his celebrated wildlife shorts. Max
Schreck, bopping with his coffin under his arm, dancing to the strains of <i>‘grab
your partners’, </i>is a surreal image
that I just have to see…one day!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: large; line-height: 114%;">Now,
more serious work. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: large; line-height: 114%;">Dracula
was first parodied internationally in the
ground-breaking movie, <i>Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein
(1948), </i>directed by Charles Barton for Universal. Fans queued around the
block in England to see the new dynamic duo, advertised as <i>A&C meet the
Ghosts! </i>The film itself had been assembled as straight horror with the
title, <i>The Brain of Frankenstein, </i>but the studio’s new discovery had to
be unleashed. As Lugosi pats Costello on the head - <i>‘What we need today, is
young blood…and brains!’, </i>his comic turn literally brought the house down.
It is perhaps the last time that Lugosi was taken seriously in a movie. He
would continue in comedy both intentional and unintentional, in such fare as <i>Old
Mother Riley meets The Vampire (1952) </i>and <i>Spooks Run Wild! </i>Not
forgetting of course, the very dire contributions of Edward D Wood Jr.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 114%;">Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 114%;">had touched an impressive nerve and
Lugosi gives his best performance as Dracula in Clown white make up and satin
cape. The perfect straight-man foil for the bungling boys from burlesque. The
comedy set a standard that would be repeated often in films like <i>Fright
Night (1985) </i>and <i>The Monster Squad (1987), </i>in which Duncan Regehr’s
very serious Count is laid out with garlic pizza! At the end of this scale is
the bullseye from Stan Dragoti. <i>Love At First bite (1979), </i>is a wacky
metaphor on urban life in Los Angeles, as the Count is ejected from his
ancestral home by jack-booted authoritarians who want to turn the Castle into a
training facility for the Country’s gymnastic prospects. When Dracula romances
a hopeless nymphomaniac, he easily drags us into his broken world better than
any of the serious ‘lost love’ movies that would follow, whilst still keeping
his power and his dignity. Christopher Lee stressed that, <i>‘You may laugh at
things in the film, but you never laugh at Dracula!’ </i>All the above movies
adhere to this quote. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 114%;">“Oy, vey! Have you got the wrong Vampire!?” </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 114%;">Alfie Bass shirks the crucifix with
this quote in the biggest cult vampire movie, <i>The Fearless Vampire Killers
(1967). </i>Directed by Roman Polanski, this schizoid addition to the myth
hangs on a knife thread as many set pieces leave us wondering whether to be
horrified, or to laugh out loud! He makes many nods to Stoker and previous
vampire classics, and I got the impression that, although the film was
heartfelt, he wasn’t totally at ease with the material and had his name taken
from the credits when producer, Martin Ransohoff, re cut and re-edited his
opus. It was Polanski’s version - titled, <i>Dance of the Vampires </i>- that
gave the picture the adulation that it holds amongst fans today. A more notable
movie of this period is the excellent Harvey Kurtzman brainchild, <i>Mad
Monster Party (1967), </i>that has Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Creature From the
black lagoon, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Invisble Man and Baron Boris Von
Frankenstein on its roster of famous fright figures. Topping it all off with a
guest spot by It, a sculpted Claymation mannekin of King Kong!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: large; line-height: 114%;">Christopher
Lee himself, although he hated making many of his Dracula movies, has never
laughed at his most famous creation. In 1959, he did a comedy titled Tempi Duri
Per I VampireUncle Was A Vampire/Hard Times For A Vampire. In this Italian
production, Lee was Baron Rodrigo who returns from the grave to bite his
aristocratic cousin, Renato Rascel. Rascel begins imitating Bela Lugosi with
fangs and indulging in some serious slapstick comedy. Lee’s next comedy vampire
movie is the fabled Dracula, pere et fils/Dracula, Father and Son (1977), in
which, despite the title, he is actually called Le Prince Des Tenebrae, a
peri-wigged throwback of French Aristocracy.
Directed by La Cage Aux Folles Edouard Molinaro, it is the deplorably
dubbed USA cut that announces Count Dracula as the real villain. The French
release is a very amusing whimsical fantasy with Les Prince letting nagging
brides walk into the sunlight without warning them first.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: large; line-height: 114%;">Throughout
the 70s - who can forget David Niven as Dracula in the terrible Vampira/Old
Dracula? Or Ferdy Mayne losing his trousers in The Vampire Happening?- and 80s,
many movies touched on the vampire as straight comedy material such as Saturday
the 14<sup>th</sup> , with husband and wife team Richard Benjamin and Paula
Prentiss living in a house over-run by ghosts and vampires. Teen Vamp and Once
bitten were very dire teen nerd comedies of the worst order. It is also hard to
believe that Nicolas Cage was playing it straight in the oddball, Vampire’s
Kiss. When Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula held a thousand unintentional
laughs, it is no wonder that Mel Brooks found it a hard movie to send up.
Winning the day as Van Helsing in the acting stakes, Brooks peppered his
screenplay with some great one-liners, “Yes, we have Nosferatu! We have
Nosferatu today!” Leslie Nielsen’s fatherly approach to everyone’s favourite
Count wins simply because Nielsen is always amusing and watchable. The film
itself finds very few things to laugh at.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 114%;">As
my typing commences, the cinema is opening its doors for the eagerly awaited
Hotel Transylvania starring irritable slapstick comedian Adam Sandler as the
voice of Count Dracula. As the film is lovingly animated in the The Incredibles
mold, I can see a sure fire winner at the box office!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Charles E. Butler resides in the UK and is the author of <i>The Romance of Dracula</i>. You can follow Charles and chat about the Count at this Facebook page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/countdeville">Count Dracula</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Okay, kiddos! Here are the links to all the Halloween Goodies! It's easy as pumpkin pie to enter. You just need to leave comments at the various posts or enter the Rafflecopters (for my Bitten By Books Giveaway and B.K. Walker's Halloween Basket. </span><b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">(These are run </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">separately</span><span style="line-height: 27px;"> and </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">have</span><span style="line-height: 27px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">different</span><span style="line-height: 27px;"> rules so please check)</span></span></span></span></b><span style="font-size: x-large;">. Leave a comment here for Charles and you'll be entered to win one of the five copies of <i>Annals of the Immortyls</i> I'm giving away!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Halloween Giveaway Links</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;"><br />Paperback, The Hallowed Ones Laura Bickle </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;"><a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/laura-bickle-on-fear-of-unseenhalloween.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/laura-bickle-on-fear-of-unseenhalloween.html</a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;">Paperback book from Katrina Michaels and ebook of Annals of the Immortyls: <a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-tainted-blood-by-katrina.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-tainted-blood-by-katrina.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;">Paperback book from Lee Taylor: <a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/lee-taylor-on-halloweenpaperback.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/lee-taylor-on-halloweenpaperback.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;">Ebooks by Vanessa Morgan: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;"><a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/vanessa-morgan-talks-about-scary.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/vanessa-morgan-talks-about-scary.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;">Ebook from Katie Salidas:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;"><a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/sexy-cedric-interviews-fallon-from.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/sexy-cedric-interviews-fallon-from.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;">Ebook from Roy Hudson:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;"><a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/roy-hudson.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/roy-hudson.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;">Two Paperbacks from A. J. Scudiere:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;">B. K. Walker Halloween Gift Basket Rafflecopter:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 114%;"><a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/b-k-walker-halloween-gift-basket.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/b-k-walker-halloween-gift-basket.html</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20id=%22rc-82e2fd35%22%20class=%22rafl%22%20href=%22http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/82e2fd35/%22%20rel=%22nofollow%22%3Ea%20Rafflecopter%20giveaway%3C/a%3E%20%3Cscript%20src=%22//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js%22%3E%3C/script%3E"></a><a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/82e2fd35/" id="rc-82e2fd35" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a> <script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script> </div>
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-58743464214939478972012-10-30T09:49:00.000-04:002012-10-30T09:49:24.181-04:00Halloween Giveaways Galore!/Review of Tainted Blood by Katrina Michaels<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Welcome! We are just two days away from Halloween and all the giveaway drawings! If you haven't yet entered, at the end of this post will be links. All you need do is comment on the posts, or enter the Rafflecopters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Tonight, I'll be live at <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/edinroad/2012/10/30/halloween-spooktacular--paranormal-author-denise-verrico">Edin Road Radio Halloween Spooktacular</a>, talking about <i>Annals of the Immortyls </i>and <i>Servant of the Goddess</i> and doing a short reading.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvczEVlJGhplTpp_0NTPHBmOIp3r57wviut7k6TZJEiBY5nD-UKMtWMykuYkgA4ieMH3zFsK75mgFA192T0ZUJrLCLz-K4wMO4aX_JFdR1n5c9gkm7W7XZxzoh3NWJ9iJoJfcScByWzbo/s1600/Skelly.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvczEVlJGhplTpp_0NTPHBmOIp3r57wviut7k6TZJEiBY5nD-UKMtWMykuYkgA4ieMH3zFsK75mgFA192T0ZUJrLCLz-K4wMO4aX_JFdR1n5c9gkm7W7XZxzoh3NWJ9iJoJfcScByWzbo/s1600/Skelly.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Tomorrow, I have the author of <i>The Romance of Dracula</i>, Charles E. Butler, who will blog on the Comic Side of the Count.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A very big thanks to all those who came over to <a href="http://www.bittenbybooks.com/58197/author-denise-verrico-character-interview-and-20-00-amazon-gift-card-contest-live-here/">Bitten By Books</a> yesterday, and welcome to those who just joined me from that event! You can still enter and read the interview with Cedric.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20id=%22rc-82e2fd35%22%20class=%22rafl%22%20href=%22http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/82e2fd35/%22%20rel=%22nofollow%22%3Ea%20Rafflecopter%20giveaway%3C/a%3E%20%3Cscript%20src=%22//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js%22%3E%3C/script%3E"></a><a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/82e2fd35/" id="rc-82e2fd35" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a> <script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tainted Blood by <a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-tainted-blood-by-katrina.html">Katrina Michaels </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Review<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tainted blood is the third in the Preternatural
Investigation Agency series by Katrina Michaels. The story finds Tom Duncan and his agents,
preparing to celebrate Lilith’s Day, a day of celebration among vampires. <st1:place w:st="on">Holiday</st1:place> plans
are upset by a slew of grisly, mysterious deaths, and the PIA is drawn into the
investigation. Finding a clear motive
for what appears to be murder by poisoning is difficult, and a possible
connection between vampire blood products and these deaths ignites conflict
between humans and vampires. Meanwhile, a dangerous psychopath is on the loose
and the stakes are rising.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tainted Blood is a quick and enjoyable read for those who
enjoy paranormal mysteries. The old gang
is back and there are lots of thrills, chills and surprises. If you’re looking for a fun read for
Halloween, with mystery, a colorful cast of supernatural characters and a
healthy dose of mayhem, you should check out Tainted Blood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first two books in the series are Midnight Reflections
and Dead Awakening.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">You can enter to win a paperback copy of Tainted blood, by following the link below. Don't forget to enter all nine giveaways!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Halloween Giveaway Links</span></div>
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Paperback, The Hallowed Ones Laura Bickle </div>
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<a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/laura-bickle-on-fear-of-unseenhalloween.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/laura-bickle-on-fear-of-unseenhalloween.html</a></div>
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Paperback book from Katrina Michaels and ebook of Annals of the Immortyls: <a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-tainted-blood-by-katrina.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-tainted-blood-by-katrina.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Paperback book from Lee Taylor: <a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/lee-taylor-on-halloweenpaperback.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/lee-taylor-on-halloweenpaperback.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Ebooks by Vanessa Morgan: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/vanessa-morgan-talks-about-scary.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/vanessa-morgan-talks-about-scary.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Ebook from Katie Salidas:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/sexy-cedric-interviews-fallon-from.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/sexy-cedric-interviews-fallon-from.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Ebook from Roy Hudson:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/roy-hudson.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/roy-hudson.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Two Paperbacks from A. J. Scudiere:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/author-j-scudiere-on-darkside.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/author-j-scudiere-on-darkside.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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B. K. Walker Halloween Gift Basket Rafflecopter:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/b-k-walker-halloween-gift-basket.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/b-k-walker-halloween-gift-basket.html</a></div>
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Denise Verricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07109783871993360843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3220178634944155710.post-67784799983404320082012-10-29T13:55:00.000-04:002012-10-29T15:57:18.503-04:00I'm Chatting Live Today at Bitten By Books! $20 Amazon Card Giveaway!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Here is the link for <a href="http://www.bittenbybooks.com/58197/author-denise-verrico-character-interview-and-20-00-amazon-gift-card-contest-live-here/"><span style="color: lime;">Bitten By Books</span></a>. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20id=%22rc-82e2fd35%22%20class=%22rafl%22%20href=%22http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/82e2fd35/%22%20rel=%22nofollow%22%3Ea%20Rafflecopter%20giveaway%3C/a%3E%20%3Cscript%20src=%22//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js%22%3E%3C/script%3E"></a><a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/82e2fd35/" id="rc-82e2fd35" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a> <script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script> <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">There is a Rafflecopter there to enter the drawing!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">While you're here at the blog, enter the great Halloween Giveaways below:</span></div>
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<script cptr.js="cptr.js" d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net="d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net" embed="embed" http:="http:" rafl="rafl" rel="nofollow" src="//<a href=" target="_blank">d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js</a>"></script><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Halloween Giveaway Links</span></div>
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<br />Paperback, The Hallowed Ones Laura Bickle </div>
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<a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/laura-bickle-on-fear-of-unseenhalloween.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/laura-bickle-on-fear-of-unseenhalloween.html</a></div>
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Paperback book from Katrina Michaels and ebook of Annals of the Immortyls: <a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-tainted-blood-by-katrina.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/spotlight-on-tainted-blood-by-katrina.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Paperback book from Lee Taylor: <a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/lee-taylor-on-halloweenpaperback.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/lee-taylor-on-halloweenpaperback.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Ebooks by Vanessa Morgan: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/vanessa-morgan-talks-about-scary.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/vanessa-morgan-talks-about-scary.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Ebook from Katie Salidas:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/sexy-cedric-interviews-fallon-from.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/sexy-cedric-interviews-fallon-from.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Ebook from Roy Hudson:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/roy-hudson.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/roy-hudson.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Two Paperbacks from A. J. Scudiere:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/author-j-scudiere-on-darkside.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/author-j-scudiere-on-darkside.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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B. K. Walker Halloween Gift Basket Rafflecopter:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/b-k-walker-halloween-gift-basket.html" style="color: #ddbb99; text-decoration: none;">http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/b-k-walker-halloween-gift-basket.html</a></div>
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