Category: Interviews

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Kimberly reviews There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done by Lynn S Zubernis

TITLE: There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done
CHARACTERS: Supernatural The CW Characters
AUTHOR: Lynn S Zubernis
PUBLICATION DATE: 05/05/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Fifteen years. Two brothers. Angels and demons. A story like no other. And one of the most passionate fan bases of all time.

That’s Supernatural.

There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done: Actors and Fans Celebrate the Legacy of Supernatural is an emotional look back at the beloved television show Supernatural as it wraps up its final season after fifteen unprecedented years on air.

With heartfelt chapters written by both the series’ actors and its fans—plus full-color photos and fan illustrations—There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done traces Supernatural’s evolution, the memorable characters created by its writers and brought to life by its talented actors, and the many ways in which the show has inspired and changed the lives of both its viewers and cast.

Both a celebration of Supernatural and a way of remembering what made it so special, this book is a permanent reminder of the legacy the show leaves behind and a reminder to the SPN Family to, like the series’ unofficial theme song says, “carry on.”

Including contributions from:

Jared Padalecki (“Sam Winchester”)
Jensen Ackles (“Dean Winchester”)
Richard Speight, Jr. (“Gabriel”)
Andrea Drepaul (“Melanie”)
Carrie Genzel (“Linda Bloome”/”Linda Berman”)
Julie McNiven (“Anna Milton”)
Tahmoh Penikett (“Gadreel”)
Shoshannah Stern (“Eileen Leahy”)
Brendan Taylor (“Doug Stover”)
Lauren Tom (“Linda Tran”)
And many more, including a special message from Mischa Collins (“Castiel”)
Edited by Lynn S. Zubernis, a clinical psychologist, professor, and passionate Supernatural fangirl, There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done is the ultimate send-off for this iconic show that has touched and changed the lives of so many fans across all walks of life.

REVIEW:
As a fan of Supernatural I really enjoyed this book which is coming out at a great time. The show was due to end last tv season but with the pandemic the show is being aired this fall…. Lucky fans!

This book is really a great read for any fan of the show. Of course, if you are not a fan this is not the book for you. But as a fan you will enjoy every word. The stories the author shared were emotional knowing these times were coming to an end. But as any fan laughing is part of the show and part of this book.

I loved the pictures and revisiting favorite characters.

Great for any fan!

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

4 Hearts

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Interview with Taelon & Lisa from The Lasaran by Dianna Duvall.

Hello! Thank you for joining me. I’m very excited to be here, celebrating the release of THE LASARAN, the first book in my new Aldebarian Alliance series. To help you get a feel for some of the characters you’ll encounter in the story, I thought I would borrow Sheldon (a character from my Immortal Guardians series) and have him interview Taelon and Lisa, the hero and heroine of THE LASARAN:

Sheldon: Hi, guys. Nice to meet you. I’m Sheldon.

Lisa: Nice to meet you.

Taelon: Good to meet you.

Sheldon: Everyone around here is very curious about you, Taelon. You really caught us by surprise.

Taelon: I’m equally curious about all of you.

Sheldon: Would you mind answering a few questions? Not many are in the know as far as what you are, but those who ARE tend to be . . . how should I put this . . .

Marcus: *calls from a room down the hallway* Enormous gossips?

Sheldon: *laughs* Yeah. But we keep it in the family so to speak.

Taelon: *smiles* I’d be happy to answer your questions.

Sheldon: Good. So . . . you’re an alien.

Taelon: Yes. I’m from the planet Lasara.

Sheldon: Okay. I think the one burning question that’s currently on everyone’s mind is . . . What’s up with aliens and butt probing?

Taelon: *blinks* What?

Sheldon: I said, what’s up with aliens and—

Taelon: I heard you the first time. I just have no idea what you’re talking about.

Sheldon: You know . . . Aliens are always abducting humans and probing their butts.

Taelon: *looks askance at Lisa*

Lisa: Hey. Don’t look at me. He said ALIENS do it.

Taelon: I admit this is the first time I’ve heard of such.

Sheldon: Really? Lasarans don’t do that?

Taelon: We do not. And on behalf of the Lasaran people, I can tell you with absolute certainty that none of us are interested in discovering what’s up your butt.

Marcus: *calls from the room down the hallway* Good move! With Sheldon, you never know what you’ll find.

Lisa: *laughs*

Sheldon: *scowls* Oh ha freaking ha.

Lisa: *turns to Taelon* By the way, I forgot to mention that Susan and Dana said you should NOT under ANY circumstances read Sheldon’s mind.

Taelon: *regards Sheldon with suspicion* Why? 

Sheldon: It’s nothing. I’m not plotting against you or anything. They just like to tease me about some of the sex stuff they see up there.

Taelon: *eyes widen suddenly* Oh. *looks flabbergasted* Really? That sort of thing is legal on Earth? In public?

Sheldon: *face reddens as guffaws erupt down the hallway* She said NOT to read my mind. NOT to read it.

Taelon: *swiftly nods* I will certainly refrain from doing so in the future.

Lisa: *peers up at him curiously* Why? What did you see?

Taelon and Sheldon: Nothing!

Lisa: *lips twitch*

Sheldon: Anyway, as I was saying . . . *pauses* Wait. What was I saying?

Lisa: You were talking about butts.

Sheldon: Right! Speaking of butts, Lisa . . .

Taelon: *expression darkens* Speak of Lisa’s butt and I’ll kick your ass.

Sheldon: Wow. You’ve really got Earth vernacular down, don’t you

Taelon: *narrows his eyes*

Sheldon: *grins* I wasn’t going to mention her butt. I was going to ask her about someone else’s.

Lisa: Taelon has an awesome butt.

Taelon: *grins and takes her hand* Like it, do you?

Lisa: Hell yes.

Sheldon: Gross. 

Taelon: *laughs *

Sheldon: So, Lisa, rumor has it you held one of the network’s special ops soldiers at gunpoint and ordered him to strip down to his skivvies.

Lisa: Actually, I held him at gunpoint and Taelon ordered him to strip.

Sheldon: Kinky.

Taelon: *looks at Lisa* I don’t think that word is translating correctly.

Lisa: What is your translator telling you it means?

Taelon: Curly.

Lisa: *grins* Yeah. That’s not it. Not the way he used it anyway.

Sheldon: You have a translator?

Taelon: Yes.

Sheldon: Where?

Taelon: Embedded in my brain.

Sheldon: Cool.

Lisa: *smiles* It is. But we’ve discovered it’s a little like autocorrect and can really miss the boat sometimes. I’ll explain what kinky means to him later.

Sheldon: *winks* I bet you will.

Lisa: *laughs*

Sheldon: So you really did disarm and hold a network special ops soldier at gunpoint?

Lisa: Yes.

Sheldon: That was pretty ballsy.

Taelon: *smiles* Yes it was.

Sheldon: Strong women are so hot.

Taelon: I agree. *wraps an arms around her* And Lisa is the strongest woman I know.

Lisa: *leans into his side* Flatterer.

Sheldon: Don’t go getting all lovey dovey on me, guys. I still have more questions to ask. Taelon . . . *looks at Taelon and sighs* Ah hell. You’re thinking about her butt now, aren’t you?

Lisa: He probably wouldn’t tell you if he was, but I have no problem admitting that I’m thinking about his.

Tracy (Sheldon’s girlfriend): *strolls down the hallway in form-fitting yoga pants and a tank top.* Hi, Guys. Don’t mind me. I’m just passing through on my way to get a drink after my workout.

Sheldon: *stares after her* And now I’m thinking about HER butt. *rises* Catch you later.

Lisa: *watches him leave, then looks at Taelon*

Taelon: *offers her a boyish grin* I WAS thinking about your butt.

Lisa: *laughs*

______________________________

I hope you’ll enjoy Taelon and Lisa’s story!!

 

The Lasaran
Book #1 Aldebarian Alliance
By Dianne Duvall
April 21, 2020

New York Times bestselling author Dianne Duvall brings readers the first novel in a thrilling new sci-fi romance series full of action, intrigue, humor, and happily-ever-afters.

Taelon searches the galaxy for his younger sister, who mysteriously disappeared while on a diplomatic mission. When an ally reveals that she was seized and is being held prisoner on Earth, Taelon descends upon the blue planet, intent on freeing her and exacting vengeance. However, all does not go as planned. Before he can find her, Taelon is captured and becomes the subject of torturous experiments. For what feels like an eternity, all he knows is pain and fury… until a mind tentatively touches his own and a woman’s voice forever changes his world.

After suffering tragic losses, Lisa is finally beginning to carve out a future for herself when chance sends her to the Anomalous Cognition Research Institute. What at first appears to be a benign organization seeking participants for a psychic study instead turns out to be a government facility harboring a much darker intent. Lisa discovers this too late and soon becomes the unwilling subject of a terrifying experiment. Just as fear and desperation threaten to consume her, a deep, compelling voice penetrates the looming insanity and lends her hope.

Having seen only the worst of humanity, Taelon is shocked when Lisa risks everything to free him. Together the two make their escape, and Taelon finds himself fascinated by the small human woman who—despite all she’s suffered—can still laugh and tease and lure smiles from him. Friendship swiftly grows between them as they work together to evade soldiers intent on capturing them and find themselves hunted by mystifying preternatural beings. Through it all, Lisa steadfastly remains by his side, stealing more of his heart each day while she helps him unravel the mystery of his sister’s fate. Can they find his sister before the hunters find them? If they survive their quest, will Taelon have to bid Lisa farewell… or can he coax her into leaving her planet and joining him for the adventure of a lifetime?

Kindle | Kobo | B&N |  iBooks | Audible | Paperpack 
AmazonUK | AmazonAU | AmazonDE | AmazonCA | AmazonFR 
 
 


The Immortal Guardians Series:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dianne Duvall is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Immortal Guardians series and The Gifted Ones series. Reviewers have called Dianne’s books “fast-paced and humorous” (Publishers Weekly), “utterly addictive” (RT Book Reviews), “extraordinary” (Long and Short Reviews), and “wonderfully imaginative” (The Romance Reviews). Her books have twice been nominated for RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards and are routinely deemed Top Picks by RT Book Reviews, The Romance Reviews, and/or Night Owl Reviews.

Dianne loves all things creative. When she isn’t writing, Dianne is active in the independent film industry and has even appeared on-screen, crawling out of a moonlit grave and wielding a machete like some of the vampires she creates in her books.

For the latest news on upcoming releases, contests, and more, please visit DianneDuvall.com. You can also find Dianne online . . .

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Pinterest | Goodreads | Book Bub | Instagram

Tour-Wide Giveaway:

– (1) $50 Amazon Gift Card
– (2) An Aldebarian Alliance, Immortal Guardians, and The Gifted Ones by Dianne Duvall Prize Pack
*Please be aware, that should conditions worsen due to COVID-19, the author reserves the right to substitute an Amazon.com gift card of their choice amount for the prize pack. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. 

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B-n-K interviews Kelli Wilkins! Author of The Viking’s Witch.

Kelli CliffsInterview with Author Kelli A. Wilkins
www.KelliWilkins.com

SEE KIMBERLY’S REVIEW POSTED YESTERDAY!

Today we are chatting with romance and horror author Kelli A. Wilkins. Kelli is sharing her thoughts about the writing process, her latest releases, and more!
Q: Let’s talk about your romances for a bit. To date, you’ve written 19 romances in almost every genre: contemporary, paranormal, gay, fantasy, and historical, and they all vary in heat level from sensual to super-spicy. How do you decide what to write next and where do you keep getting ideas?
A: Each book and every character comes to me in a different way. Sometimes I get ideas for books in dreams, other times I’ll see or hear something that sparks my imagination and gets me thinking, What if?.. Once in a while a character “comes” to me and I try to figure out his or her story.
For example, Dangerous Indenture is one of those books that jumped into my head. One day, I overheard the name Shawna Farrell, but I thought I’d heard Shauna Farrow. The name stuck with me and I wrote it down. A few minutes later, I knew all about her: she was an Irish indentured servant who came to Pennsylvania Colony and worked at a house where another servant was murdered. Once I knew that, I started outlining the book.
Everett (the main character from A Secret Match) was a secondary character in my other wrestling romance, A Perfect Match. I loved writing for Ev and always thought “one day” I’d give him a book of his own, but I didn’t have a clue as to what the story would be. I put thoughts of him aside and then one morning he popped into my head with a four-line book summary. Within an hour, I had the whole story in my head and I started writing.
Sometimes I’ll get an idea for a new book while I’m in the process of writing or revising another book. When that happens I write down everything about the plot and characters and come back to it later. So I often have the “next” book waiting for me. After I finish a book, I give myself a little bit of time off to relax and recharge, and before I know it, I’m working on another story.
Q: Do you make an outline for your books or do you just write whatever pops into your head?
A: Before I start writing, I make sure I have an outline completed and I know what the first line of the book will be. I outline each scene, what the purpose is, which character’s point-of-view the scene will be in, high points of the scene, and any snippets of dialogue I want to include. When I sit down to write the book I have a map of where the story is going. I find that it’s easier (and faster) for me to write this way and I don’t get lost in the middle or forget something I wanted to include.
But as I write, I allow myself some leeway to explore things I hadn’t considered in my outline. I might add entire scenes or write scenes that are later omitted. Sometimes I’ll be writing a scene and the characters “take over” and decide the scene should go a different way, or something I planned on happening changes. When that happens, I go with it and see where the characters are leading me. I’ll write scenes for them and delete them later if they don’t work or if they’re not a good fit for the plot.
Q: Let’s talk about your horror and sci-fi stories for a moment. Most authors stick to one genre or write in related genres but your writings are very diverse. Do you prefer one genre over the other? Is one easier to write?

A: I go where my stories and ideas take me, so I’m not married to one particular genre. I like to switch back and forth between horror and romance. After I finish a few romances I’ll take a break and write horror or sci-fi. It stretches my imagination and lets me explore different characters, settings, and plots that I can’t write about in a romance. My horror and sci-fi stories are a lot shorter that my romances, so in a sense that makes them “easier” to write and edit. My horror stories tend to be more psychological and creepy than bloody, and my sci-fi stories are about strange things that happen to ordinary people.
Q: You are a prolific short story writer. What is your key to creating a successful piece of short fiction?

A: The best advice I ever got for writing short stories is: write tight. Take out anything and everything not essential to the story, such as extra words, details, dialogue tags, whatever. This is especially important when I’m writing horror short stories. Too many words or distractions can break the tension, ruin the suspense, or otherwise distract the reader.
You also need a compelling story that draws readers into the world of the characters and holds them there. Not everyone believes in ghosts, but if you write a ghost story that sucks readers into that world and scares them, you’ve done your job. A “hook” beginning and a great ending are musts in creating a good short story.
Q: What is your favorite part of the writing process?

A: My favorite part of writing is the actual writing of the book. I like creating the outline and developing the plot and characters, but the story really comes alive for me as I’m scribbling away. (And I do scribble—I write everything in longhand with paper and pen!) The writing of the first draft lets me get inside the characters’ heads and dig deep into the story. When I edit and revise, I have to focus on the mechanics of writing, grammar, and cutting away what’s not essential to the story—all the technical “not so fun” stuff that helps pull the book together.

Q. Does your approach to characters or relationships differ in your historical romances?

A: Not really. Many of my historical characters are outspoken, rebels, or otherwise considered “not proper” for their time. Each of my books is a look into a different world, and each character is unique to that book, that time period, and that setting.

Not all my historical heroines are virgins just because most people expect them to be. Many of them work a job to stay alive or are forced to fend for themselves, much like a contemporary heroine would. And not every hero is a knight in shining armor who always acts like a gentleman. Rothgar (from The Viking’s Witch) has a reputation as a fierce warrior, but is hiding a vulnerable side and a dark secret. These are traits which could easily carry over to a modern-day hero. I don’t hold back on anything with my characters or their relationships just because I’m writing a historical romance. I let them tell me their stories, and I go with it!

Q: What advantages or challenges does a writer face in today’s fiction market?

A: The world of publishing is changing every day and that can either be an advantage or a challenge — depending on your point of view. Self-publishing has opened up countless opportunities for writers; you can set your own price and self-publish a book on many platforms with low overhead. However, some people see self-publishing as less “real” than working with a traditional publisher. Of course, more authors publishing independently leads to more competition.
Aside from self-publishing, authors are challenged with doing a lot of their own marketing and promoting. However, social media, electronic newsletters, book groups, and blogs make it easy to reach people instantly. I do the best I can when it comes to promoting my books and I apply the same marketing strategies to all my writings—both the books I’ve self-published and the ones that were traditionally published. You never know where something will lead!
Q: You’re a busy person! You had two books published this summer. One is a historical romance and the other is a collection of science fiction short stories. Tell us about them.

In August I released Extraterrestrial Encounters: A Collection of Sci-fi Stories. Here’s the blurb:

Extraterrestrial Encounters: A Collection of Sci-Fi Stories

Are you ready to step into the unknown?

In these 18 sci-fi stories, you’ll encounter aliens of all shapes and sizes, curious (and sometimes unlucky) space explorers, and ordinary Earthlings having otherworldly experiences.

Some of the out-of-this-world tales in this short fiction anthology include:

“The Hoax” – A reporter learns that a creature from another planet is a dangerous thing to fool with

“It Grows on You” – A strange kind of mold has invaded an office, and it’s the perfect tool for revenge

“What Lurks Below” – Everyone knows there’s no life on Mars, but nobody thought about what might be lurking under the surface…

“The Con” – An alien becomes an unlikely ally to a down-on-his-luck petty crook

“Space Cowboy” – When a second-rate rodeo star is abducted by aliens, he makes the most of the situation

“They Just Keep Eating” – A Nebraska farmer encounters a menace from space… and it’s hungry

This collection of speculative fiction will stimulate your imagination, unnerve you just a little, and make you wonder… “What if we’re not alone?”

Order it here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W5JG1DC

All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/3JVJ9e

Back in June, I released my historical romance, The Viking’s Witch. This full-length novel is set in Celtic Scotland and blends a sensual love story with adventure and paranormal elements.

The Viking’s Witch
About to be burned at the stake by her fellow villagers, Odaria does what any betrayed witch facing certain death would do. She calls down a curse. Within seconds, rampaging Norsemen raid the village, capturing everyone except her.
But her reprieve is short-lived, and Odaria lands in the clutches of the Norse leader Rothgar. Can she remain true to herself and fight her growing attraction to this domineering man, or will she fall under his influence and be used for his ambitions?
After Rothgar witnesses Odaria’s powers firsthand, he strikes a bargain with her. The raven-haired beauty will use her magical abilities to help him with his quest in exchange for safe passage off the isle. But can this cunning woman be trusted, or is she using him to exact vengeance on her village?
Together they must fight bloodthirsty villagers, battle a mutinous band of Norsemen, find a missing Norse ship, and learn to trust each other…before time runs out.

Order it here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/%20ebook/dp/B07T15MHSW
Link to all other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/4EQe0o

Q: What are your current projects?

A: I’m working on a re-release of my historical western romance, Lies, Love & Redemption. I’m also outlining two new romances (a contemporary gay novella and another historical romance) and revising a paranormal contemporary.
Readers can learn more about all of my books on my site, sign up for my newsletter, or follow my blog and social media posts for updates on new releases.
Thanks for letting me share my thoughts today. I welcome questions and comments from readers and other authors.
Happy Reading,
Kelli A. Wilkins

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 19 romance novels, 5 non-fiction books, and 2 online writing courses. Her romances span many genres and heat levels, and she’s also been known to scare readers with her horror stories.
She released Extraterrestrial Encounters, a collection of 18 sci-fi stories, in August 2019. If you like horror fiction, don’t miss her disturbing novella, Nightmare in the North.
Her latest historical romance, The Viking’s Witch, was released in June 2019. This full-length novel takes place in Celtic Scotland and blends a sensual romance with paranormal elements.

In March 2019, Kelli published Dangerous Indenture, a historical mystery romance set in Colonial Pennsylvania. She released the second half of her flash fiction series, Cupid’s Schemes, in early 2019. These two volumes of lighthearted mini-romances are perfect reads for a quick lunchtime escape or an after-work indulgence.

Kelli released her latest Teachable mini-course, Fiction Basics: Finding Ideas in February 2019. She authored Fiction Writing for Beginners through Teachable in 2018. These courses are perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to write. Visit: https://kelliwilkins.teachable.com/ for more details.
Not just an author, Kelli is also an amateur photographer. Visit her pages on Shutterstock https://www.shutterstock.com/g/kelli+wilkins and iStock https://www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/kelliwilkins to view her photos.
Kelli posts on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor.
Visit her website www.KelliWilkins.com or blog http://kelliwilkinsauthor.blogspot.com/ to learn more about all of her writings.

VikingsWitchFINAL COVER vikings witch final Extraterrestrial Encounters cover

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Interview with Seth from Death of Darkness by Dianne Duvall

BADGE_BLOGTOUR_1

Hello!  Thank you for joining me today. I’m thrilled to be here at Books-n-Kisses, celebrating the release of DEATH OF DARKNESS, the ninth book in my Immortal Guardians series, which features powerful immortal heroes, strong heroines, and a lot of action, passion, humor and romance. For those who aren’t familiar with my series, I thought I would give you a glimpse of my Immortal Guardians crew in a character interview. (Also, if you’re new to the series, don’t worry. Each book can be read as a stand-alone. You’ll just be more familiar with the secondary characters if you read them in order.)

Today Sheldon, one of the mortals in my series (and a favorite of myself and many readers, thanks to the comic relief he provides) will be interviewing Seth and Leah, the hero and heroine of DEATH OF DARKNESS.

Sheldon: Thanks for agreeing to do this.

Seth: No problem.

Leah: I didn’t get much sleep last night, so I’m a little slow on the uptake. What are we doing again?

Sheldon: I’m not going to ask why you didn’t get much sleep, because I’m pretty sure I already know. I’m interviewing you two.

Leah: For what?

Sheldon: For the Network. Some of the humans who work at Network headquarters have been a little… antsy after everything that’s happened in the last couple of years.

Leah: Well, I can kind of understand that. Seth has been catching me up on some of what’s been going on. Considering the enemy the Immortal Guardians face now and how jacked up his track record is, Network employees are probably worried the battle will land on their doorstep again.

Sheldon: That’s definitely a concern. But… *glances at Seth* that isn’t all that’s making them… nervous.

Leah: What else worries them?

Seth: *rueful smile* We do.

Leah: *eyebrows flying up* You and me?

Seth: *grins* No. Immortal Guardians.

Leah: Oh. *frowns* Why? They work for you. Their whole job is to help you. They wouldn’t do that if they didn’t know you’re the good guys. I mean, without Immortal Guardians, psychotic vampires would roam unchecked, killing humans at will.

Seth: And the Network employees understand that. That’s why they help us. It isn’t so much that they fear us. It’s that they find us a little… intimidating.

Leah: *stares up at him* Why?

Sheldon: *laughs* You are the ONLY person on the planet who is completely unfazed by the power this guy radiates.

Leah: *sends Seth a flirty look* Because I like what happens when he UNLEASHES some of that power.

Seth: *eyes acquire a faint golden glow* You do, do you?

Leah: Hell yes.

Sheldon: *grimaces* Let’s keep the sexual innuendo to a minimum today, please.

Seth: *winks at Leah* We’ll try.

Sheldon: Leah, until the last two or three years, very few Network employees actually encountered Immortal Guardians in person. Much of what they do is behind the scenes kind of stuff. They spend their time in labs researching the virus that infects immortals and vampires, or developing new weapons and technology that make their job easier, or in offices monitoring the internet for leaks and the like and aiding with cover-ups when all hell breaks loose.

Seth: And knowing they’re working for powerful immortals who possess special gifts and spend their nights hunting and slaying psychotic vampires is one thing. Bumping into them at work is another.

Leah: Oh. *shrugs* Okay.

Sheldon: *smiles* You aren’t intimidated by them at all, are you?

Leah: No.

Seth: She’s very good with different.

Sheldon: She is. Strong, too. Leah, rumor has it you can really kick ass.

Seth: *slides Leah an admiring glance* Yes, she can.

Leah: *nods* I can.

Sheldon: Strong women are so hot. How did you acquire your butt-kicking skills?

Leah: Years of martial arts classes my step-dad enrolled me in. We live in a dangerous world, so he wanted to make sure I could protect myself.

Sheldon: That’s awesome. And, honestly, you’d HAVE to be strong in order to handle Seth. I mean, he’s the most powerful man on Earth. He even intimidates other immortals.

Leah: *waggles her eyebrows* Oh, I HANDLE him very well.

Seth: Yes, you do.

Sheldon: Gross.

Seth and Leah: *laugh*

Sheldon: *stares at Seth*

Seth: What?

Sheldon: I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile and laugh as much as you do with Leah.

Leah: *leans into Seth’s side* You smile more when you’re with me?

Seth: I do a LOT of things with you that I didn’t used to.

Sheldon: Hey. What’d I say about keeping the sexual innuendo to a minimum?

Seth: I made no promises.

Leah: *laughs*

Sheldon: Well, the Network employees are very curious about you both, so I asked them to offer up some Hot Seat Questions they’d like me to ask you.

Seth and Leah: Okay.

Sheldon: *consults his tablet* All right. Here we go. Sneakers or flip-flops?

Leah: Sneakers.

Seth: Boots when I’m working. Barefoot when I’m not.

Leah: *smiles* I love his big bare feet.

Seth: *winks* I know.

Sheldon: Weird.

Seth and Leah: *laugh*

Sheldon: Coffee or tea?

Seth and Leah: Tea.

Sheldon: Dogs or cats?

Seth and Leah: Both.

Sheldon: Leah, I’m guessing this one is for you. Beard or clean-shaven?

Leah: *reaches up and cups Seth’s jaw* Five o’clock shadow.

Seth: *turns his head and kisses her palm* Because you like the way the stubble feels against your bare skin.

Leah: Absolutely.

Sheldon: *shakes his head* Cold showers or hot showers?

Seth: Cold showers before Leah and I became lovers. Hot showers afterward.

Leah: *grins* Very hot.

Sheldon: Great. Now his eyes are glowing. And I doubt this will help. Regular bath or bubble bath?

Seth: Regular bath. I don’t want bubbles to obscure my view of Leah’s—

Leah: *claps a hand over his mouth* Don’t say it!

Sheldon: Seth, looks like this one is for you. Boxers, briefs, or commando?

Leah: *stares* Network employees want to know what kind of underwear he prefers?

Sheldon: You’d be surprised how often that question comes up when I ask what they want to know about immortals.

Seth: Boxers.

Leah: *whispers* I like it better when he goes commando.

Sheldon: Don’t encourage him. Taking risks or exercising caution? Leah, I’m going to guess you’re more into taking risks.

Leah: Actually, I prefer to exercise caution.

Seth and Sheldon: *eye her with disbelief*

Leah: *frowns* What?

Seth: You’ve taken countless risks since meeting me.

Leah: And you were worth every one of them.

Sheldon: If I were Tracy, this is the point where I would say, Awwwww. That’s so sweet.

Leah: *laughs*

Seth: Smartass.

Sheldon: Moving on. *glances at his tablet and frowns* Seriously?

Leah: What?

Sheldon: *sighs* Sex in the front yard or sex in the backyard?

Leah: *laughs* Neither. Seth lives at David’s place, the hub of the Immortal Guardians world here on the East Coast. That place sees a LOT of traffic and I have no interest in putting on a show.

Seth: *nods* And even if they didn’t see us, every immortal within a five-mile radius would be able to hear us if we were outside.

Sheldon: Which leads me to my next question. Leah, is Seth a screamer?

Leah: *laughs*

Sheldon: He is, isn’t he?

Seth: *narrows his eyes* That wasn’t on the list, was it?

Sheldon: *grins* Nope.

Seth: You like to live dangerously, don’t you?

Sheldon: Next question. *looks at his tablet* I really shouldn’t ask you this one. Fast and hard or slow and sweet?

Seth and Leah: Both.

Sheldon: *mutters* Now his eyes are glowing even brighter. *consults list* Oh, come on!

Leah: *smiles* What?

Sheldon: *sighs* On top or on bottom?

Seth: *frowns* Sheldon, where did you get these questions?

Sheldon: Mostly from female employees who think you’re hot.

Leah: He is. VERY.

Seth: *whispers in her ear* Only because you make me burn.

Sheldon: Let’s just skip that one and move on. Naughty or nice?

Seth: Leah is very naughty.

Leah: So are you.

Sheldon: Long sword or short sword?

Seth: You’d better be talking about weapons, Sheldon.

Leah: *laughs* Long sword.

Sheldon: *sends Seth an uncertain look* Saddle or Bareback?

Leah: Well now everything is just making me think of sex.

Seth: *stares down at Leah, his eyes bright with desire* Want to ditch the interview and go for a RIDE?

Sheldon: That’s it. I’m out. *rises* Thanks again for the interview. *heads for the door* Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.

Seth: I don’t think there IS anything you wouldn’t do.

Sheldon: *laughs and closes the door behind him*

Seth: *turns to Leah with a smile* Now. About that ride.

Leah: *smiles and wraps her arms around him*

***

death of darknessSeth has led the Immortal Guardians for thousands of years. With them fighting by his side, he has protected humans from psychotic vampires, defeated corrupt mercenary armies, defended military bases under attack, and more. But the latest enemy to rise against the Immortal Guardians has proven to be a formidable one, wielding almost as much power as Seth. His goal is simple. He wants to watch the world burn. And he will use every means at his disposal to accomplish it. Seth and his Immortal Guardians have succeeded thus far in staving off Armageddon despite heartbreaking losses. But they have never before faced such danger. Seth has only one wish: to protect his Immortal Guardians family and ensure the continuation of humanity by defeating his foe. But then Leah walks into his life and sparks a new desire.

Leah Somerson has suffered losses of her own. It has taken her a long time to rebuild her life and find some semblance of peace. Then one night a tall, dark, powerful immortal with what appears to be the weight of the world on his shoulders stumbles into her shop, and everything changes. Peace and contentment are no longer enough. Now she wants more. She wants to find happiness. She wants to erase the darkness in Seth’s eyes and replace it with love and laughter. She knows he’s different in ways that make most fear him. Even some of his immortal brethren keep a careful distance. But Leah will not. Nor will she shy away when danger strikes.

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The Immortal Guardians Series: 

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Darkness Dawns (Immortal Guardians, #1), Night Reigns (Immortal Guardians, #2), Phantom Shadows (Immortal Guardians, #3), In Still Darkness (Immortal Guardians, #3.5), Darkness Rises (Immortal Guardians, #4), Night Unbound (Immortal Guardians, #5), Phantom Embrace (Immortal Guardians, #5.5), Shadows Strike (Immortal Guardians, #6), Blade of Darkness (Immortal Guardians Book 7), Awaken the Darkness (Immortal Guardians Book 8)

Author Bio:AuthorPic_DianneDuvall

Dianne Duvall is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Immortal Guardians series and The Gifted Ones series. Reviewers have called Dianne’s books “fast-paced and humorous” (Publishers Weekly), “utterly addictive” (RT Book Reviews), “extraordinary” (Long and Short Reviews), and”wonderfully imaginative” (The Romance Reviews). Her books have twice been nominated for RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards and are routinely deemed Top Picks by RT Book Reviews, The Romance Reviews,and/or Night Owl Reviews.

Dianne loves all things creative. When she isn’t writing, Dianne is active in the independent film industry and has even appeared on-screen, crawling out of a moonlit grave and wielding a machete like some of the vampires she creates in her books.

For the latest news on upcoming releases, contests, and more, please visit DianneDuvall.com. You can also find Dianne online . . .

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Pinterest | Goodreads | Google Plus | Instagram 

Tour-Wide Giveaway:

1 — $50 Amazon Gift Card
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AudioBook Lovin’ Presents: An Interview with Lia Langola

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Viviana, Enchantress of Books and I are pleased to welcome Lia Langola

Hi Lia and thank you very much for joining us for Audiobook Lovin’!!

For those that may not know you, why don’t we start by having you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became a narrator?

I am theatre trained actress that got into narrating audiobooks about five years ago. An old theatre colleague recommended I try it & I loved it! I also spent a few years working at an “adult novelty” store, so I have a big heart-on for sex self-help books. There is so much to learn about sex & intimacy… I find the psychology around it fascinating. Plus, the “accessories” one can discover to amp up pleasure is fun, too!

Do you narrator full time? Are there other voice over jobs you’ve done (still doing)?

I am a full-time narrator. Yeah! Recently, I started auditioning for some animation projects just to get a feel for it. I’ve been cast in two projects that are being worked on. One should be out by the end of the year, with the other having pre-view clips by then, too. I’m pretty excited about it.

Do you record at home or use studios? (tell us a little bit about your home studio..)
I am fortunate to have a home studio. It’s a Studio Bricks one. LOVE. IT. It’s been so much easier to record since I got it. (I live fairly close to an airport, so when the planes went by, I had to stop recording until they went past. Such a time suck!)

What do you love/like about audiobooks?
I love reading books from new authors. It’s been such a lovely experience to narrate for them. And, as I meet more and more fellow narrators, I’m listening to their work, in all kinds of genres. The talent out there is staggering!

Many of us are a sucker for accents! What is your favorite accent to perform? Which accent is the hardest for you to perform?

It’s fun doing accents. I’ve done several, but Texan, Irish, and French are my favorites. Australian is my downfall… It starts off great, but by the end of the sentence, it’s melded into Cockney.

How do you prep for a new book? (i.e. read the full book?)

I read the manuscript, take notes on characters (age, accents, character traits), review any notes the author or publisher may have provided, research any words/phrases/locations I am unfamiliar with, then head to the booth to record.

How do you select how the characters are going to sound/their tones?
The descriptions authors provide are the key. There is so much information to be gleaned from a manuscript. Then I add my interpretation to figure out where to place the voice for each character.

How do you manage or what is your process of remember what the character from a previous book sounds like when they reappear in a new book (or if not part of a series, but standalone, characters as they pop in and out of the story)?

I keep all my hand-written notes for review, then go back & listen to clips to remind myself of the characters voice. If I know it will be a series, I ask in advance if there are returning characters to help with that, too.

What is your favorite sub-genre of Romance to perform?
Hmmm…. I enjoy sex-self help books, as that can lead to all kinds of heightened romance for the listeners, Along with erotica that shows respect for all the players in the book.

Is there a genre that you have yet to narrate in that you’d like to?
I’ve not yet narrated a paranormal/fantasy/sci-fi romance. It would be fun to try something like that.

When you’re not working… what do you do for fun?

Sit outside & enjoy the sun! Being in a small, dark booth all day really makes you appreciate being out in nature.

What are you working on next? (NOTE: this will be published in June)

Just finished two novels from Lauren Gallagher, “All the King’s Horses” and “The Best Laid Plans,” co-narrated with the wonderful Michael Ferraiuolo. Plus, the “Vegas Heat” series by Erika Wilde will be out soon. More projects in the works, too.

Let’s have a little fun before we go and get to know you a little better…. ready?

Vanilla or Chocolate? – Both
Coffee or Tea? – Tea
Winter or Summer – Niether
West Coast or East Coast? – West
Pie or Cake? – Both
Texting or Talking? – Talking
Marvel or DC? – Both
TV or Movies? – Movies
Facebook or Twitter? – Facebook
Paperbooks or Digital? – Paperbooks
Classic Rock or Old School Hip Hop? – Both
Cats or Dogs? – Both
Thank you Lia for joining us today and being part of the Audiobook Lovin Series! Looking forward to your upcoming releases!!!

 

Lia ImageLia Langola is a sex-positive audiobook narrator.  She loves the pleasure of narrating quality erotica/sexy stories that encourage sex-positive, pleasurable listening experiences, while having a great sense of fun about it! And, from having worked in an adult novelty store for several years, books involving sex education are a favorite. So many customers asked questions on how to talk, stimulate, fantasize, kiss, touch, feel, orgasm by themselves and with lover(s). She want to encourage listeners of theses audiobooks to have a positive experience learning about the many aspects of sex, including the physical, emotional, and psychological aspects. With these audiobooks, she is able to continue helping people share all the wonderful things that consensual, safe sex can be!
You can find Lia at  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Romance Narrators | Audible 

 

Make sure to enter Lia’s giveaway

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Make sure to check out Viviana’s post on her blog

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Kelly’s interview with Molly Harper & Amanda Ronconi

Books-n-Kisses is excited to have one of my favorite authors Molly Harper and her amazing narrator Amanda Ronconi on the blog to talk about Molly’s new release The Single Undead Mom’s Club

When Molly Harper was eight years old, she set up a “writing office” in her parents’ living room, complete with an old manual typewriter and a toy phone. And she (very slowly) pecked out the story of her third-grade class taking a trip around the world and losing a kid in each city. She had a dark sense of humor even then.

When Molly was considerably older, she headed for Western Kentucky University, where she majored in print journalism. After graduation, she landed a job with The Paducah Sun and married her high school sweetheart, David, a local police officer. After six years at the newspaper, Molly took a more family-friendly secretarial position at a local church office.

Her husband worked nights and Molly was alone with their small child in the “The Apartment of Lost Souls.” A big fan of vampire movies and TV shows, she decided to write a vampire romance novel. Molly created Jane Jameson, a bit of an accidental loser. Jane is single, almost 30, and a librarian working in Half-Moon Hollow, Ky. She has become a permanent fixture on her Mama’s prayer list. And despite the fact that she’s pretty good at her job, she just got canned so her boss could replace her with someone who occasionally starts workplace fires. Jane drowns her sorrows at the local faux nostalgia-themed sports bar. On her way home, she’s mistaken for a deer and shot by a drunk hunter. And then she wakes up as a vampire. The three-book Jane Jameson series–which includes Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs,Nice Girls Don’t Date Dead Men and Nice Girls Don’t Live Forever—was released in 2009.  A fourth and final installment, Nice Girls Don’t Bite Their Neighbors, was released in 2012.

Molly continues stories in the Jane Jameson universe through her Half-Moon Hollow series,Driving Mr. Dead, The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires, Undead Sublet, and The Dangers of Dating a Rebound Vampire. The next title, The Single Undead Mom’s Club will be released in October 2015. Molly updated her popular Naked Werewolf romance series in 2013. How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf, was released in February 2011, quickly followed by The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf. A third installment, How to Run With a Naked Werewolf, was released in December 2013. Her first-ever “haunted house story,” Better Homes and Hauntings, was released in June 2014.

Molly’s books are published by Pocket Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. They are available in print, as e-books and audio books at major book stores and on Amazon. Molly is a native of Kentucky. She lives in Paducah with her husband and children.

You can find Molly at Website |Facebook |Twitter | Goodreads |Audible | Tantor

*****

Amanda Ronconi headshotAmanda Ronconi: Amanda is an actress, narrator and writer who divides my time between New York City and Upstate New York.  She has a BFA from NYU where  she studied at the Stella Adler Conservatory.  Amanda has performed in theaters around New York City as well as regionally at The Alley, Capital Rep and many productions at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

Amanda’s Off-Broadway solo comedy, Shirley at the Tropicana, received critical acclaim and was subsequently featured in The New York Times.  Film and TV credits include Daydream Believer (Slamdance 2001’s Best Dramatic Feature winner), The Understudy, Deadly Sins (ID Discovery), IFC’s Get Hit and Chasing Paradise. National network and regional commercials include Chase Bank, Sony and Blue Cross/Blue Shield.  Her voiceover work encompasses over 70 audiobooks available on Audible.com.

Amanda’s newest solo show, Kempner, will debut in 2015.  You can learn more about Amanda and her awesomeness here: Website| Facebook | Goodreads | Audible Page 

 

 

Now that you have met the ladies lets get started.

 

Hi Molly and Amanda,

I am super excited to have you both on the blog again. I love you both dearly!!!   I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to sit down and talk with me about Molly’s newest release The Single Undead Moms Club and of course the amazing Amanda will be narrating this book.

Ladies, for my follower who missed how much I love you too or for my new followers can you each tell me a little about yourselves.

Molly: I’m a former newspaper-reporter-turned-church secretary-turned-romance-writer. (That’s the normal career trajectory, right?) I’m the author of the Nice Girls vampire series and the Naked Werewolf series, plus several contemporary romances. I live in western Kentucky with my high school sweetheart/husband and our children.

Amanda: I grew up in the country in upstate New York without a TV, so reading Molly’s books (with her references to the deep cuts of American pop culture) has forced me into many searches of the internet-machine to look up TV of the 20th century that I missed growing up. Thank you, Molly. I am an actor who ended up getting to do audiobooks, which is a great pleasure of mine. Early on in my audiobook career I got my first Molly Harper book to narrate. And I knew immediately that it was special.

Molly, can you tell us what we can expect from Single Undead Moms Club.

Molly: Adorable and preciously snarky children! Hot tattooed single dads! Mean girls in the PTA!

Oh, and our hero and heroine have sex in an abandoned tobacco cult barn. I always forget that one.

Amanda, I heard a rumor that this story may or may not have made you cry a time or two. Can you confirm these rumors?

Amanda: Wow. There are no secrets around here! I get teary when people overcome adversity in a more supernatural and less whiny way than I would.

*looks around* Is that Molly’s evil laugh in the back ground?

Molly: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Amanda, what is your favorite thing about narrating Molly’s stories?

Amanda: The characters are great. The humor, of course, is fun and the writing is just so smooth and emotionally true, which makes it a joy to read.

Molly, what is your favorite things about having Amanda narrator your books and bring your characters to life for your readers?

Molly: She totally gets the inflection and the timing needed to get the humor right. I swear, you would think that she’d spent hours talking to me to get that tone down, but she did it without even contacting me once.

Can you share a snippet of The Single Undead Moms Club?

Suddenly, the door popped open and smacked me in the forehead, knocking me back on my heels.

“Oof!” I cried, clutching my face. Thank goodness I had rapid healing powers, because I was pretty sure I’d just sustained a concussion.

“Are you OK?” a gruff voice demanded.
“What the hell— Who are you?” I demanded.
“I’m the guy with the keys to this closet. Who are you?”
My eyes went wide. This was the school janitor?

The contemporary school janitor was made from a slightly different mold. Tall, lean, almost wiry, with respectable cords of muscles rippling over arms covered in a swirling cloud of colorful tattoos. His face was long and lean, with sharp features only softened by a scruff of white-blond beard and longish darker blond hair that brushed against the collar of his T-shirt. If Thor had a pissed-off, tattooed younger brother, he would be the guy blocking my exit from the supply closet.

“I came in here for a fresh shirt,” he said, nodding toward the flannel shirts hanging neatly from hooks on the closet wall. “The air conditioner was on the fritz . . .” He stared down at the ruined doorknob. “What the hell did you do to the door?”

“Nothing!” I exclaimed, but I hid my hands behind my back as if it would keep me from being caught red-handed.

“What are you even doing in here?” he demanded. “You don’t have any good reason to be in here, damaging school property. What the hell is wrong with you parents? Ya know, just ’cause you pay taxes doesn’t mean you own the school!”

“I got turned around.”

“Well, turn back around and get out.” He jerked his thumb toward the open door behind him as he shrugged out of his sweat-stained gray Half-Moon Hol- low Howlers T-shirt and into a blue cotton uniform workshirt with “Wade” stitched on the breast pocket.

My jaw dropped. Who the hell was this guy, and who did he think he was, bossing me around? Nobody had talked to me like this in . . . well, I couldn’t remember the last time someone talked to me with such an irritated tone, certainly not since I became a tragic terminally ill widow. I’d been treated with kid gloves lined with cotton balls for the past two years.

And holy Hades, he had even more tattoos underneath the shirt. Even with my super-vision, I couldn’t take in the details in the brief glimpse I got. Still, I got a good look at the big picture, and the picture was pretty damn nice. Long, sinewy arms, a broad chest, and a flat stomach tapering to hip bones that jutted out just a few inches above the waistline of his worn jeans.

How perverse was it that between the pretty face, the tattoos, and the surliness, I was actually beginning to feel the faint stirrings of attraction? Fine, they weren’t so much faint stirrings as a deep, reverberating echo between my thighs, like a super-dirty version of those Tibetan meditation bells.

“Just as an FYI, in case the policy manual is outside your reading-comprehension level, most school employees don’t strip in front of parents.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Why had I said that? That was mean. But my insult hadn’t even fazed “Wade,” who was waving me toward the door. “Keep walking, Bree.”

“My name isn’t Bree.”

He scoffed. “Your names are always ‘Bree’ or ‘Krissy’ or ‘Elizabeth.’ And then you slap it on everythin’ you own, including those stupid little stick figures you stick on the backs of your minivans.”

“It’s Libby,” I shot back.

“Which is short for Elizabeth. Thanks for proving my point.”

“Do us all a favor and try to develop a nicer attitude before the kids come back to school.”

“I don’t need to. The kids know better than to go where they’re not wanted!” he shot back as I walked out to find a bemused Jane Jameson standing outside the closet.

Molly: When writing a Jane or Half Moon Hollow story do you ever think “Oh, poor Amanda is going to kill me for that”?

Only while writing sex scenes. I know that humorous stuff, she will throw her voice into whole-heartedly. But there are times when I’ll use a certain word or describe an act and think of poor Amanda trying to make eye contact with the sound engineer after recording it.

Amanda, Is there ever a time when you are narrating and you think “What the heck Molly?” or “Do I really have to read that part out loud?”

Amanda: Nah. I used to get all blushy about the sexy stuff, but I am mature now. And I can handle it.

Molly, what is the best or hardest part of writing The Single Undead Moms Club?

Molly: Getting Danny (the son’s) voice right. Because he’s based on my own 7-year-old, Carter, and while Carter has this wonderful dry and creative sense of humor, I realize that not all kids sound like him when he speaks. Also, I wanted to balance those heartwarming moments of parenthood without coming across as too schmaltzy.

Molly, what is next in the Half-Moon Hollow Series?

Molly: FANGS FOR THE MEMORIES, a flashback story featuring Dick and Andrea, comes out in print, ebook and audio in November.

Molly: What other secret projects are you working on?

Molly: I’m working on something for a younger audience. That’s all I can say.

Molly, because I love hearing all about your kids. Please ask them: My mom is the best mom ever except when she…….

Darcy: Does the “I told you so” dance. She even does jazz hands.

Carter: Tells me I can only have one dessert.

 

Let’s take a look at The Single Undead Mom’s Club

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In the next book in Molly Harper’s Half Moon Hollow paranormal romance series, Libby (a widow-turned-vampire) struggles with her transition, and finds out it sucks to be the only vampire member of the PTA…

Widow Libby Stratton arranged to be turned into a vampire after she was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. It wasn’t the best idea she’s ever had, but she was desperate—she’s not about to leave her seven-year-old son to be raised by her rigid, overbearing in-laws.

On top of post-turning transition issues, like being ignored at PTA meetings and other mothers rejecting her son’s invitations for sleepovers, Libby must deal with her father-in-law’s attempts to declare her an unfit mother, her growing feelings for Wade—a tattooed redneck single dad she met while hiding in a closet at Back to School Night—and the return of her sire, who hasn’t stopped thinking about brave, snarky Libby since he turned her.

With the help of her new vampire circle, Libby negotiates this unfamiliar quagmire of legal troubles, parental duties, relationships, and, as always in Harper’s distinct, comedic novels, “characters you can’t help but fall in love with” (RT Book Reviews).

Order here: S&S | Amazon | B&N | BAM| INDIEBOUND |  IBOOKSTORE (ebook) | GOOGLE PLAY (ebook)

Here is an audio sample from The Single Undead Mom’s Club

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Kelly’s interview with Jennifer Lyon + a tourwide giveaway

 

Caged Magic Tour Banner

I am so excited to have Jennifer on the blog again and to be talking about the Winged Slayer Hunters.  I fell in love with these guys a few years back (Key is my favorite :D, but don’t tell Phoenix).   So when I heard that Jennifer was returning to the world the Winged Slayer Hunters to say I was excited would be a little but like saying a firework is just a sparkler.   I was super excited.   If you have not started this series  I would highly recommend.  But enough about me.  Let me introduce you to Jennifer.

 

Jennifer Lyon Author PicJennifer, can you please share with us a little about yourself

Hi Kelly! Thank you for having me back on Books-n-Kisses. So about me, I write under two names: Jennifer Apodaca, which is my real name and Jennifer Lyon is the name I took when I started writing paranormal romance. It can be confusing to remember which Jennifer I’m supposed to be, LOL! I originally published in mystery and soon transitioned to romance although there’s usually some mystery or suspense in my books. Writing is my passion, and when I’m not doing that, I enjoy baking, hanging out with family and friends, wine, chocolate and often, I’m thinking about the next book I want to write.

Learn more about Jennifer here: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Have you always wanted to be an author?

Pretty much, although it took years for me to get the courage to try it, and more years to publish.

Can you share with us your typical writing day. Is there anything you have to have while writing?

Depends on where I am in the book. The beginning is always slow as I’m getting to know the characters, then the pace picks up the book moves along. I usually get up early, 5:30ish (unless I’m at the end then it can be 4:30), make coffee, checked email and handle anything pressing. Then I write or plot for a while until my husband gets up. I stop to clean up and dress, eat and exercise, then back to it. I generally write the rest of the day until four or five, then have a glass of wine and cook dinner with my husband. After that, I usually have an hour or two of more emails, social media, etc. But if I’m up against a deadline, I’ll ignore all that and write until 9 or so at which point I’m brain dead until the next morning when it starts all over again.

Most challenging or rewarding part of writing?

I get to do what I love every day! That and the fans are the most rewarding part. The challenge is that I wish I wrote faster, and juggling real life with the demands of my career.

Can you please tell us about your latest book?CagedMagic Cover

I’m happy to! CAGED MAGIC is the book I’ve promised readers for a few years, and I’m so pleased to finally deliver it. Linc and Risa desperately need each other to battle back a dark curse and to find Risa’s missing goddaughter. What begins as a deal between two people who need each other grows into a love so powerful, Linc gambles everything—his heart, soul and life—to save Risa from a demon. This story was hard to write, but I fell in love with the Linc and Risa’s fierce ability to fight for what they love, their sheer loyalty, and am pleased to have given them the happy ending they deserve.

How did you come with the idea for this story?

Linc appeared in earlier books, and I always knew his handsomeness and charm were hiding a torturous past. And I knew his heroine had to be very special and unique. The idea for the plot of a demon spawning on Las Vegas Boulevard, well my husband has asked me that same question: Where do you come up with this stuff? I don’t know exactly. At some point, I thought – wouldn’t it be cool if someone who appeared to be human spawned into a demon right in front of a witch? And Oh! What if it’s right there in the middle of Vegas, the city of sin? That would be a huge challenge to the Wing Slayer Hunters and their witches. And then…a story was born.

Can you share with us your current work in progress?

Well at the moment I’m promoting this book, and EXPOSING THE HEIRIESS, book three in my Once A Marine series written as Jennifer Apodaca. That book releases August 4th, so it’s a bit wild around here. But next up I’m beginning a new contemporary series that I am excited about, and then after that, it’s Primal Magic, Eli’s story in the Wing Slayer Series.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

I have so many!  My early loves were Jude Deverux, Linda Howard, Julie Garwood, Diana Gabaldon…I could go on forever!

Do you feel that any of your favorite authors have inspired your writing style?

I imagine so. If nothing else, they inspired me to go after my dream – both in writing and in never settling for less than I’m worth in my life. For that, I am very grateful. But when I’m writing, I’m focusing on the story in my head and not much else. The lovely thing about writing is the premise of a book might be similar to others, but it’s the writer’s voice that makes it unique.

Open your book to a random page and please reads us a few lines.

Here’s a few lines between Linc and Risa:

“But there’s a price.”

She jerked her gaze up. “What?”

He lifted her hand to his mouth, his warm lips sliding over her knuckles. “You’ll let me kiss you first. A deep, owning kiss.”

Her heart started to pound. “You want to kiss me?”

“I want to kiss you so hard you’ll go to sleep and wake up with the taste of me. No one else, Risa. Me.”

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?

Oh! I can’t even remember all the books I’ve preordered lately. My one-click finger has been twitchy.  Off the top of my head: SERVICING THE TARGET (Masters of the Shadowlands series) by Cherise Sinclair. WICKED EDGE (Realm Enforcers series) by Rebecca Zanetti, and BEGGING FOR IT by Lilah Pace are a few.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you for having me here today! I’m absolutely thrilled to bring lovers of paranormal romance CAGED MAGIC. While it’s the fifth book in the Wing Slayer Hunter series, it can also be read as a standalone.

CAGED MAGIC

CagedMagic Cover

Order here:  Amazon | B&N | iBooks | GooglePlay | Kobo

Risa Faden is a witch whose ultra-powerful shield magic is slowly breaking her mind. But when her beloved goddaughter is snatched by a demon, she’ll risk anything to rescue the baby—including lying to the handsome, intriguing stranger who has the power to help her keep her sanity, save the child…and steal her heart.

Linc Dillinger is a Wing Slayer Hunter whose sexy, rich, bad-boy charm hides a treacherous betrayal that left him emotionally scarred. As a result he risks his life to protect innocents, but is incapable of love—until he meets a beautiful witch who can save his cursed soul. Risa’s fierce courage and loyalty reaches past his barriers and he begins to believe she has the magic to free his caged heart.

But Risa’s lie explodes into dark danger that forces Linc into a hellish high-stakes gamble: He must either win the witch he loves and her godchild…or endure a loss that will destroy them all.

Make sure to check out Kelly’s review HERE

About the Author

Jennifer Lyon, who also writes as Jennifer Apodaca, lives in Southern California where she continually plots ways to convince her husband that they should get a dog. After all, they met at the dog pound, fell in love, married and had three wonderful sons. So far, however, she has failed in her doggy endeavor. She consoles herself by pouring her passion into writing books. To date, Jen has published more than fifteen books and novellas, including a fun and sexy mystery series and a variety of contemporary romances under the name Jennifer Apodaca. As Jennifer Lyon she created a dark, sizzling paranormal series, and The Plus Once Chronicles, an emotionally sensual adult contemporary series. Jen’s won numerous awards and had her books translated into multiple languages, but she still hasn’t come up with a way to persuade her husband that they need a dog.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

GIVEAWAY TIME

There are 3 tour wide giveaways!

Open to US, CAN, UK

(1) grand prize $50.00 electronic gift card (Amazon or B&N)

(2) runner up winners of one $25.00 electronic gift card each (Amazon or B&N)

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Audio Book Lovin’ Presents: Kelly’s Interview with Dianne Duvall & Kirsten Potter + a giveaway

Audio Book Lovin BannerViviana, from Enchantress of Books and I am so excited to have Dianne Duvall and Kirsten Potter on our Audio Book Lovin’ Series. Let me introduce you to the ladies. 

Dianne_Duvall_AuthorPicDianne Duvall is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Immortal Guardians paranormal romance series and The Gifted Ones series. Her books have twice been nominated for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance and are routinely deemed Top Picks by RT Book Reviews, The Romance Reviews, and/or Night Owl Reviews. Reviewers have called Dianne’s books “fast-paced and humorous” (Publishers Weekly), “utterly addictive” (RT Book Reviews), “extraordinary” (Long and Short Reviews), and “wonderfully imaginative” (The Romance Reviews).

Dianne loves all things creative. When she isn’t writing, Dianne is active in the independent film industry and has even appeared on-screen, crawling out of a moonlit grave and wielding a machete like some of the vampires she creates in her books.

For the latest news on upcoming releases, contests, and more, please visit www.DianneDuvall.com. You can also find Dianne online here: Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Tsū | YouTube | Pinterest | Goodreads | Google Plus 

 

Kirsten PotterKirsten Potter is an actress and narrator who has performed in dozens of major theaters nationwide, voiced over a hundred audiobooks, and portrayed numerous vixens, villains and polar bears in various video games. Favorite audiobook titles she has narrated include Station Eleven, Madapple, Hattie Big Sky, Brooklyn; and Lisa Gardner’s DD Warren, Diane Duvall’s Immortal Guardians, and Joanna Bourne’s Spymaster series’. She currently voices the Queen of the Reef for the Bungie franchise “Destiny”, a role she likes to imagine she was born to play.  Learn more about Kirsten here: Website | Twitter

 

 

Kelly: Ladies can you tell me how did the author/narrator relationship begin?

Dianne-My publisher contacted me and let me know Tantor Audio had bought the audio rights to the first three books in my series.  I was thrilled.  I had been so busy focusing on the paperback and ebook formats that I hadn’t considered the books being made available in audio, too.  And Kirsten had an excellent reputation as a narrator.

Kirsten- Tantor emailed me saying they had a new series for me. I was a little apprehensive at first. I had just been offered a swell of romance books by multiple production houses and I didn’t want to get type cast exclusively for that genre. But then I read a short excerpt from the first Immortal Guardians book, and I was hooked! There is so much going on there! An action-adventure-suspense- thriller romance. And really, who wouldn’t want to voice a vampire?

Here is a sample from Darkness Dawns, book one in the Immortal Guardian series

Kelly: Dianne, what sort of information do you provide Kirsten with prior to her starting the narrating process of a your book(s)?

Since Kirsten has narrated every novel in my Immortal Guardians series, she’s already familiar with the major players, some of whom also appear in A SORCERES OF HIS OWN, the first book in my new series The Gifted Ones.  So I often simply provide Kirsten with the latest manuscript, then wait to see if any questions arise.  Usually the few that do pertain to name pronunciations.  Some of the characters in my series are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old and are from foreign countries.  The names that were common back then sometimes aren’t used at all today.  And those that are may not be used in America, making it difficult to nail down the right pronunciation.  J

Kelly: Kirsten, how do you go about selecting how each of the character are going to sound like?

Kirsten- If I’m lucky, as with Dianne’s books, the author gives me a colorful description of the character and that leads me in a particular direction. Dianne’s cast ranges from across the globe, so I make sure to get the regional dialect right first, then I try to take into account what era they come from—those who first surfaced during the Classical Age I thought might have a more articulate edge then the more modern ones. That said I do want to make sure they all sound like they belong in a single book together. I try to make my choices subtle enough to do that.

Kelly: Kirsten, Along the lines of the previous question, how do you manage or what is your process of remember what the character from a previous book sounds like when they reappear in a new book? 

Kirsten-I take pretty detailed notes about the voices I’ve chosen. The notes are on pitch (low, mid, high in relation to my natural voice), texture (if I’ve added a little extra roughness to a voice), and where in my throat or mouth I’ve placed the voice (some characters go up in the nose, others way back in the throat.) If a character brings someone I know or a celebrity strongly to mind I will sometimes “cast” someone in the role instead, then do my version of that person’s voice for the role.

Kelly: Kirsten, tell us about the narrating process (i.e. do you read the book before narrating it? How long are the recording sessions per day? How long does it take for you to narrator a book?  If you make a mistake while recording, what happens?)

Kirsten-I do like to read the books ahead of time. Sometimes—especially with such fantastical books like Dianne’s—you get surprises about a character revealed later in the book. He or she might mention where they come from 100 pages in, and then it’s—“Oops! She’s from Scottish and I’ve been doing standard American!” I’d rather get all the info up front and avoid the errors. Detective books too. If the murderer is an anonymous voice until revealed at the end, I need to make sure the one who did it and all those red herrings we think might have done it, sound alike enough to be mutually implicated throughout the book.

Kelly: Kirsten, authors have writer’s cave, do narrators have something similar?

Kirsten- I call it “the box”. It is a heavy, dark, black cube that sits in my studio and soundproofs the narration from outside noise. It can be pretty depressing to get in there on a bright sunny day, but I live in Seattle so it’s grey a lot! And once I get started in the story I’m not really too aware of my surroundings anymore.

Kelly: Here’s a fun question for Kirsten that both Viviana and I have been wondering… as a narrator, do you get “oh say it in ‘the voice’” question often?

Kirsten- Not about books so far. I’m the voice of the Queen of the Reef in the video game Destiny though. I get asked to do that one fairly often.

Kelly:  I would ask you to talk like Seth… *dreamy* 

Kelly: Dianne, once the audiobook has been recorded, do you then listen to it or have final approval or is it automatically done when it’s done recording?

Dianne-I don’t have final approval.  That’s all on Tantor’s end, so I listen to the books for the first time when I receive my author copies.  And I’ve enjoyed them all.  I think Kirsten has done a wonderful job narrating my books.  I’ve thrown a lot of accents at her—British, French, Russian, Celtic, Egyptian—and she’s mastered every one.  J

Kirsten—I thought Seth and Marcus’ voices were going to kill me! Dianne has created these semi-gods. They hail from multiple continents and centuries and possibly even other dimensions. Assembling a voice majestic enough to encompass all that was daunting.

Kelly: Dianne, what do you love about having your books in audiobook format?

Dianne-I’m always interested in hearing someone else’s take on the characters and how they sound.  I read all of the dialogue in my manuscripts aloud several times before I finish editing them to make sure it flows smoothly and admit I don’t mimic some of the accents very well.  (And, yes, that’s probably an understatement.)  So it’s nice to hear someone else’s take.

And, too, we live in a very busy world.  The only way some booklovers out there can get their fiction fix is by listening to audiobooks during the long commute to and from work or while cooking dinner or grabbing some exercise time.  Listening to my own books on audio totally hooked me on the format for just that reason.  I wasn’t finding any time to read, but now can listen to favorite books on audio, so I’m very happy to provide other readers with that option.

Kelly: Kirsten, of all of Dianne’s books, which one has been your favorite to narrate and why?

Kirsten- That’s a hard one. I suppose I approach audio books much as I approach theater in that my favorite one tends to be whatever I’m currently gnawing on. But trying to think a little more broadly, I think I’ve enjoyed the Sorceress of His Own the most. This book takes us back to the beginning of the legend. We get to learn the origin of these mythical characters we’ve been with throughout the previous series and it’s exciting to have some of their mysteries revealed. I can’t wait to find out where Seth and Marcus really come from!

Speaking of A Sorceress of His Own.  Let’s take a little listen into the world of The Gifted Ones.

Kelly:  Ladies, if someone has not listened to any audio book before what would you tell them?

Dianne-If you’re like me, and aren’t able to indulge your love of reading because of time constraints, I highly recommend you give audiobooks a try.  And, even if you do have plenty of reading time, listening to audiobooks can make time pass much more quickly when you’re doing something tedious . . . like waiting in line at the post office.  I know some are skeptical and don’t think they’ll like audiobooks.  I believed the same thing until I listened to my own.  But most sites, like Amazon and Audible, even offer samples you can listen to so you can get a feel for the narrator before buying.  A talented narrator can make all the difference

Kirsten- I think having a story read to you taps into something we all connect to from a very early age—since childhood, since our days around a campfire millennia ago. When it’s done well, it gives us the freedom to close our eyes and visualize these people in a very satisfying way. A gifted narrator can transport us to these other worlds. We get to dream while awake.

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

To enter Dianne’s giveaway for a copy NIGHT UNBOUND audio book (CD set), please fill out the rafflecopter below

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And don’t forget to enter our giveaway

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Make sure you swing over to Enchantress of Books for another fun Audio Book Lovin’ post and more chances to win!!!!
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My interview with Vice Cop Alexandra Monzelle from Rebecca Zanetti’s Wicked Ride.

WR-6-10

Hi all! Welcome to Books-n-Kisses. So, it’s fun to interview the heroes in romance books, but today I thought it would be interesting to interview the heroine from Rebecca Zanetti’s WICKED RIDE. The heroine is Alexandra Monzelle, and she’s a pretty tough cop. Short blonde hair, intelligent blue eyes, compact and very watchful.

She recently met Kellach Dunne, but she has no clue that he’s a hero or a, well, a witch. They’re both hunting for a drug manufacturer and distributor, but they don’t know they’re both looking for the same guy. Anyhoo…here we go.

BnK: Thank you for sitting down with us today, Alexandra.

LEX: Please call me Lex, and you’re welcome. I was told by a source that you might have a line on a distributor of Apollo, the drug that’s killing people on Seattle streets.

BnK: (It hurts witches, too, BTW). Well, I do keep my ear to the ground, but first, let’s chat.

LEX: Ah, all right. What about?

BnK: Kellach Dunne and the Titans of Fire Motorcycle Club (or MC).

LEX: Er, okay. Well, I met Mr. Dunne in an alley in Seattle the other night, and he fought a guy on fire, and then took me back to the MC. I was injured. In the morning, I arrested him. Well, I took him in for questioning.

BnK: That had to go over well.

LEX: Not really. And instead of cooperating, his cousin, Simone Brightston, showed up to act as his attorney. We didn’t get much information out of Dunne.

BnK: He’s sexy, isn’t he?

LEX: Well, if you like the bad boy type.

BnK: (Geez. Who doesn’t, right?) I see. So you’re not attracted to him at all?

LEX: Of course not. He’s an enforcer with the Titans, he breaks the law, and he’s arrogant. Sure, he has a great brogue, and he’s nice to look at, but chances are, I’ll be arresting him soon.

BnK: Right. It sounds like you’re a little interested.

LEX: Nope. I put away the bad guys. I certainly don’t sleep with them.

BnK: I didn’t mention sleeping with him, did I?

LEX: Whatever.

BnK: What if he’s undercover, too. I mean, what if he’s a good guy just doing a job?

LEX: Then I won’t arrest him, but he’d better stay out of my way.

BnK: (Man, does she have some interesting times on the way). Since I know you’ve been tailing Dunne, I have to ask, have you seen any other guys around him? Ones with odd, metallic eyes? (I’m so hoping some of the Dark Protectors show up in WICKED RIDE).

LEX: (Clears throat). Actually, yes. There’s a guy they call ‘King’ who has silver eyes; his nephew, Garrett, who has grey eyes, and another nephew called Logan. His eyes are green, though. Kellach wasn’t happy to see them, which I thought odd.

BnK: (Yay! I wanted to see more of Garrett and Logan). Hmmm. I wonder who they are.

LEX: Right. I’m thinking you know.

BnK: Nope, not me. I’ve been doing some research lately, and this is going to sound odd, but what do you think of the supernatural? Or rather, the immortal world?

LEX: No such thing.

BnK: (Yep. That’s what I figured). Are you very good with rolling with the punches, Alexandra?

LEX: No. I prefer to do the punching.

BnK: (I can’t wait to see her go toe-to-toe with Kellach. I’m not sure who to bet on, to be honest). Alrighty then. Thanks for the interview.

LEX: Wait. Now you give me information.

BnK: Oh yeah. Well, I heard the distributor of Apollo has connections to the Grizzlies, which is another MC.

LEX: Excellent. I’ll go check them out. Thanks!

BnK: (I feel kinda bad, because the Grizzlies are clean. But since they’re shifters, I guess it might be fun to watch Lex check them out.) You betcha! Have a great day.

WR-6-15

Let’s take a little looksie at WICKED RIDE

Wicked Ride

Realm Enforcers #1

by Rebecca Zanetti

23403599
Amazon | B&N 
If you love the Dark Protectors, these wicked hot Realm Enforcers are for you!Alexandra Monzelle is a hard-fighting, heat-packing Seattle vice cop, and she’s not much interested in being protected. Her short skirt and sex-kitten heels are tools to lure her suspects into talking about the deadly new drug hitting the streets. She can take care of herself and then some. Unfortunately, she can’t seem to get that through to Kellach Dunne.Kellach is a fresh import from Dublin, and he’s landed at the heart of a vicious motorcycle club that deals in guns, narcotics, and mayhem. He’s all male, all rough power—and all interference in her damn investigation. Maybe he’s one of the good guys. Maybe not. Lex knows an affair with an immortal like him would risk everything. No matter how delicious he looks.
Want a little sneak peek?  Of course you do.

Excerpt:

The woman cringed against the brick building. “I don’t understand. What kind of a weapon throws fire?”

Kell shot forward and slid an arm around the guy’s neck, spinning him into a headlock, their backs to the woman. Fire burst along the guy’s arms, burning Kell. Pain dug under his skin. With a low growl, Kell allowed his own fire free. Deep and green, it crackled along his body, shielding him from harm. With a puff of smoke, Kell’s fire quelled the human’s.

The human convulsed. Hard and fast, he shook against Kell, who held him upright. It was too late to help the guy—he had taken too much. Way too much. A wretched scream spilled from the human’s throat.

Kell released him and stepped back.

The guy fell to the wet ground, still convulsing. Red poured from his ears, his eyes, and then his nose. The rancid stench of burned flesh filled the alley. He hit hard, shook, and then went still. His eyes retained the bizarre colors, and he looked sightlessly up at the cloudy night. The rain mingled with blood across his face.

Kell sighed and pushed wet hair out of his eyes. Another dead end, and he’d wasted more time, which he absolutely did not have right now. He needed to get rid of the body and then somehow convince the woman she hadn’t just seen what she’d just seen. Plastering on his most charming smile, he turned around and froze.

“Seattle PD. Freeze, asshole,” she whispered, her stance set, a Sig Subcompact in her hands and pointed at his head

 

Rebecca Zanetti PicHere is a little about Rebecca:

Rebecca Zanetti is the author of over twenty-five dark paranormals, romantic suspense, and contemporary romances, and her books have appeared multiple times on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks bestseller lists. She lives in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest with her own Alpha hero, two kids, a couple of dogs, a crazy cat…and a huge extended family. She believes strongly in luck, karma, and working her butt off…and she thinks one of the best things about being an author, unlike the lawyer she used to be, is that she can let the crazy out. Her current series are: The Dark Protectors, The Maverick Montana Cowboys, and the Sin Brothers series. Upcoming series are: The Realm Enforcers and The Scorpius Syndrome. Find Rebecca at: www.rebeccazanetti.com

 

*****

GIVEAWAY TIME:

Rebecca has an extra print copy of MARKED she’d love to sign and send to one commenter here.

I’ll randomly choose a name within a few days.

Leave a comment for the chance to enter. Do you like bad boys?

 

 

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Audio Book Lovin’ Presents: Kelly’s interview with Yasmine Galenorn + a giveaway

Audio Book Lovin BannerViviana, from Enchantress of Books and I am so excited to have Ms. Yasmine Galenorn on our Audio Book Lovin’ Series. 

Yasmine GNew York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy for Berkley: the Otherworld Series, and the upcoming Fly By Night Series and Whisper Hollow Series.  She’s also known for her Indigo Court Series, her paranormal mysteries, and her nonfiction metaphysical books. She is the 2011 Career Achievement Award Winner in Urban Fantasy, given by RT Magazine. She lives in Kirkland WA with her husband Samwise and their cats.  Learn more about Ms. Galenorn and her books here:  Website| Facebook| Facebook Discussion Group | Twitter | Goodreads

Kelly: Ms. Galenorn, what do you love/like about audio books?

A: My favorite thing about audiobooks is that it offers my readers who are sight impaired the chance to read my books. I wish every book I had could be in audio, but I don’t have any control over that in anything published by a traditional publisher.

Kelly: Can you tell us what involvement do you have in getting your novels turned into audiobooks?

A: I’m sorry to say, but none. Not with a traditional publisher. Unless I was able to withhold audio rights—and that’s very hard to do in some situations—I have no say about it, other than to say YES when I’m notified an audio publisher wants to license the rights from my publisher.

Kelly: How is your narrator selected for your novels?

A: Again, I have no clue. J That’s up to the audiobook publisher. But I do know that Cassandra Campbell, who has been the narrator for all of my audio books, has done a wonderful job.

Kelly : What information/guidance do you provide to the narrator?

A: We actually talk now and then about how to pronounce certain names/words. That started when I realized that some of the names weren’t quite spot-on. But now, every time she has a question, she comes to me and I am happy to help her.

Kelly: Do you listen to your audiobooks after they are finished?  Why or why not.

A: No, though I have heard excerpts. I simply don’t have the time to sit and listen to them, and I tend to turn whatever I’m listening to into white noise when I’m busy working. But my husband started reading a lot more again once he discovered audio books, because it’s just easier for him to do while he’s busy with other things.

Kelly: If you have one book in your backlist that is not already on audio, which novel would you want to be turned into an audio book.

A: That’s easy! Night Vision and Night’s End. I really felt bad that the last two Indigo Court books weren’t picked up by the audio publisher, but there wasn’t anything I could do. And I cannot get audio rights back on those book at this point to try to find a producer/publisher on my own.

Kelly: If you could pick one person (male or female) to narrator your life who would it be and why?

A: Interesting question! Hmmm…I’ve thought about this one and…well, if it were a woman narrating my life, I’d say Pepi Gilpin (she played Roz Doyle, on Frasier). I love her voice—it’s throaty and sultry. If it were a man…either Gary Numan (my favorite singer) because I love his voice. And David Bowie would be the other choice—I could listen to him all day long. I find it interesting they both have an accent. *grins*

Kelly: For anyone who has not listened to an audiobook before.  What would you tell them to try to convince them to listen?

A: If there’s any reason why you have trouble holding a book, or reading, or if you are looking for a way to relax before going to sleep—an audio book might be just for you.

Let’s take a listen to a clip from Ms. Galenorn’s Witchling, book one of the Otherworld/Sisters of the Moon series

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And don’t forget to enter our giveaway

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Kelly’s interview with Donna Grant

Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome one of the nicest people on the planet Ms. Donna Grant.  I had the amazing opportunity to meet Donna at RT this year.  And of course we talked Dragons.  Because how can you meet Donna and not talk about her Smexy as hell Dragon Kings.

But for those of you who don’t know Donna yet, please let me introduce you to the one and only Ms. Donna Grant.

donna_grant_newDonna Grant is the New York Timesand USA Today bestselling author of the sizzling Dark King series featuring dragons, immortal Highlanders, and the Fae.

She was born and raised in Texas but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica, Mexico, and Scotland. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna’s Cajun side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin’ and bareback riding.

Despite deadlines and voracious reading, Donna still manages to keep up with her two children, four cats, and one long haired Chihuahua.

You can learn more about Donna and her amazing books here:  Website | Facebook | Twitter @donna_grant| Goodreads 

 

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So now let’s get to the good stuff….Welcome Donna, Thank you so much for stopping by Books-n-Kisses to talk a little about your upcoming release Soul Scorched.

Donna: My pleasure! I love being here.

BnK: Can you tell us who Rhi ends up with?

Donna: lol No, I’m afraid not. That is one spoiler I won’t leak.

BnK: Fine…. Let’s talk about Soul Scorched then. Tell me a little about Warrick

Donna: There have been Dragon Kings who hated humans, so I wanted one who found them interesting. Warrick can’t get enough about humans. He follows all the gossip regarding actors, and he follows Rhi’s Facebook page.

His affinity for all things human he’s tried – unsuccessfully – to hide from the other Dragon Kings because he knows how many of them despise the mortals.

Warrick also has a hard time being around others. He finds it difficult to get his thoughts into words. As a result, it’s known that he always works alone. Until now.

BnK: Tell us a little about Darcy, Warrick’s love interest.

Donna: I knew it was only a matter of time before another Druid entered the picture. When it happened, I knew it was going to have to be something big. So in walks Darcy. She’s intelligent, savvy, and very powerful. She’s making her own way in the world away from the Isle of Skye and the elders who want her to return.

She’s happy and content even though by helping Ulrik and touching dragon magic she now knows about the Dragon Kings. She figures that’s all that is going to happen until Warrick arrives one night and saves her from the Dark Fae.

BnK: Who is Rhi’s Dragon King?

Donna: lol. Nice try!

BnK: Hey I had to try…..

Donna: I completely understand. 😉

BnK: Okay back to Warrick. What would you say was the hardest part about writing Warrick’s story?

Donna: Having a heroine who can do magic. Lol.

BnK: I don’t want to spoil anything before the public gets to read Soul Scorched, but how many more Dragon Kings will be waking up.

Donna: All of them!

BnK:  Do you think that there is hope for Balladyn?

Donna: I think it could go either way for Balladyn. I think a lot depends on Rhi.

BnK: Everyone is really worried about Rhi and the rest of her journey. You had told me that I needed to buckle up and hang on. Can you give us a morsel of the future for Rhi and the Dragon Kings?

Donna: Rhi will do things others don’t expect. She’ll follow her own wants for a bit, and there will be fallout from that.

BnK: I love getting a glimpse into your books. So Donna, can you open Soul Scorched to a random page and read a few lines to us.

Donna:

Darcy rolled her eyes and once more took her seat. “He didn’t tell me much. He gave me details of the Dragon Kings because I wished to know.”

Con’s condemning look was fierce. “You sided with him.”

“There are two sides to every story. Warrick told me his. Ulrik shouldn’t have attacked the humans, but what did you expect him to do? He was angry at them, and at his friends. He didn’t want to hurt any of you, so he did the only thing he could do.”

BnK: And one more time…. Rhi’s King????

Donna: Love ya, girl, but I’m not telling.

BnK: I knew you would not answer. I think we all have an idea of who we think it is. But I have come to figure out that authors are sneaky evil creatures and will keep us guessing until the end.   Donna, thank you so very much for being on the blog today.   I wish you tons of luck with Soul Scorched and I am already dying!! DYING I tell you for Thorn’s book.

Let’s take a look at Warrick’s book

Soul Scorched

Dark Kings #6

Soul Scorched

Pub date: June 30, 2015
Amazon | B&N 

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Darcy was floating on a cloud of pure passion. Everywhere he touched, Warrick was leaving a mark on her, forever changing her. She could feel it through her skin and muscle, through bone and into her soul. It was as if he was changing her. And she welcomed it…

Her power is a blessing.

Born on the Isle of Skye, Darcy is a beautiful woman of many gifts. Fortune-telling is her forte, and she remains the only Druid who could unlock the secrets—and desires—of a Dragon King. His name is Warrick. And now that Darcy’s seen into his dragon heart, nothing will ever be the same…

His passion is a curse.

Warrick never intended to put Darcy in harm’s way. But ever since she revealed a shocking truth, Darcy has been hunted by the Dark Fae, who want to use her powers for their own evil purposes. Now it’s up to Warrick to do whatever it takes to keep the woman who sets his soul on fire safe. But protecting Darcy means putting himself—and his entire race—in jeopardy. Is his desperate longing for one woman worth the risk of losing everything… for eternity?

Dive into Soul Scorched, the sizzling next novel in the Dark Kings series from New York Times bestselling author Donna Grant.

Watch for my review of Soul Scorched coming soon. 

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Audio Book Lovin’ Presents: Kelly’s interview with Dani Harper & Justine Eyre + a giveaway

Viviana, from Enchantress of Books and I am so excited to have Dani Harper and the awesome Justine Eyre our Audio Book Lovin’ Series.  

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Today I am talking to the ladies about Dani’s Grim series.   I have had the pleasure of listening to Justine narrate Dani’s amazing story and as always Justine blows me away with her amazing talents.  But enough about me and my love of all thing audiobooks (I will be talking more about this tomorrow).  Let me introduce you to the ladies. 

DANI HARPER AVATAR APRIL 2015Dani Harper is a former newspaper editor whose passion for all things supernatural led her to a second career writing paranormal fantasy. There isn’t anything she likes better than exploring myths and legends from many cultures, which serve to inspire her stories.

Love fairies? Dani’s new Grim Series is bringing Celtic faery legends into modern-day America: Storm Warrior, Storm Bound and Storm Warned. (Storm Warrior earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly.)

Die-hard werewolf fans will want to meet Dani’s unique take on shapeshifters: the Macleod clan in Changeling Moon, Changeling Dream, and Changeling Dawn. (Book 1, Changeling Moon, was a 2012 RITA finalist.) Need more shapeshifters? Try First Bite, a Dark Wolf story. Learn more at here Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads

 

Justine EyreJustine Eyre is a classically trained actress who has narrated over three hundred audiobooks. With a prestigious Audie Award and five AudioFile Earphones Awards under her belt, Justine is multilingual and is known for her great facility with accents. She has appeared on stage in leading roles in King Lear and The Crucible, and has starring roles in four films on the indie circuit. Her recent television credits include Two and a Half Men and Mad Men.  Learn more about Justine here: Goodreads | Brilliance Audio | Tantor | Audible

 

Dani/Justine can you tell us how  the author/narrator relationship begin?

Dani:  Montlake let me know that Justine Eyre would be voicing the first book of my Grim Series, Storm Warrior. I didn’t have the opportunity of meeting her or speaking with her, but I immediately sought out samples of her narration work – and she was wonderful!  I was so happy (and honored) to have such an accomplished actress reading my story.

610YP95icdL._SL300_Even though I was certain it would be good, actually hearing the finished audiobook of Storm Warrior brought tears to my eyes. I was in awe! Justine did an amazing job of bringing my characters vividly to life (in fact, I remember wondering if she was part Fae herself!). Even better, she handled the intricate Welsh and Faery languages with an ease and a fluency that few people could have matched (certainly not me, LOL!).

My readers adore Justine’s narration of the stories too. So naturally, I’ve requested her as the narrator of each Grim novel since, and counted myself very fortunate that she’s graciously said “yes” each time. I just can’t imagine anyone else reading them aloud!

Justine:  Ms. Harper’s first title in her Grim Series was entrusted to me by Brilliance Audio and after reading the first few pages, I knew I was in for a treat! I felt that not only was it a story that I would love being in the studio with, it was a tale that I’d want as part of my personal bedside reading. The Holy Grail, for a narrator!

 

Brilliance Audio was kind enough to share an audio clip of Storm Warrior for us to share with you.   Enjoy. 

 

Dani, what sort of information do you provide Justine with prior to her starting the narrating process of one of your book(s)?

Dani: I do fill out some very basic forms and bare-bones questionnaires about characters and such, which I believe are shared with her. Mostly, I just want Justine to “read it as she feels it” – I’d never want to interfere with her creative process. Speaking of which, I’m dying to know just how she works her magic!

Justine, how do you go about selecting how each of the characters are going to sound like?

Justine: Dani writes in a very visual and beautifully descriptive way so coming up with voices for her characters was a completely organic process, I felt like I could kind of sidle into the shoes of each person and start using their voice. They read very much as three-dimensional, breathing beings. I tried to stay true to the text and then vocalized how these characters appeared to me, as the reader.

Along the lines of the previous question, how do you manage or what is your process of remembering what the character from a previous book sounds like when they reappear in a new book?

Justine: I am a nerd! I always take copious notes when prepping a title and looking back at those notes helps jog my memory. There are characters that never need that prompt so when I read that Ranyon made a reappearance, I had the biggest grin on my face, he is definitely a memorable personality. I wouldn’t mind having him live in my own garden!

Justine, tell us about the narrating process (i.e. do you read the book before narrating it? How long are the recording sessions per day? How long does it take for you to narrator a book?  If you make a mistake while recording, what happens?)

Justine: I always read a book first, paying strict attention to any clues the author has written, from dress (does this character always appear in jeans) to personality tics (is this one constantly flipping her hair, suffering from allergies, etc). Even though it is solely my voice that is fleshing out the words, I feel more prepared if I can envision the person, from flashing, twinkly eyes, down to scuffed boots.

My studio time varies for each title…per finished hour is always the go-to expression. For every hour that you listen to a completed audiobook, it has taken me anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours in studio to obtain. Yes, mistakes are made! Sometimes I flub a line and have to go back in and redo it, sometimes I will say something in a character’s voice and go, yikes, that didn’t sound right at all! I am both actor and director when in the studio and that director, whew, she is a task-master, let me tell you!

Justine, authors have writer’s caves, do narrators have something similar?

Justine: I love the image of the author’s writing cave! Yes, my working environment is similar though thanks to my builder hubby, my studio has a large, sound-proofed window out to the garden. So, I don’t lead a troglodytic existence, hurrah. Psychologically and physically, I love having natural light pouring in during daylight hours and knowing that night has fallen outside. Funny enough, I don’t get distracted by the window…we have had major weather changes, sudden rain squalls, huge wind gusts, and I am so wrapped up in the story that I remain completely unaware. I did know when we had a mini earthquake as my studio actually shook but apart from that, it is a world unto itself.

Dani:  I have a question that I’ve been dying to ask Justine myself – is there something in your background or experience that has helped you to speak the Welsh and Fae languages so beautifully? My gramma was from northern Wales, but I didn’t get to hear her speak much of the language.

Justine: Dani, thank you for the huge compliment!!! I had an Irish grandmother with a very pronounced, lilting accent and I do have somewhat pointy ears so I’d like to claim Fae blood, ha! I grew up overseas and would hear so many different accents and languages, they always seemed like the passport to enter into a secret world. I was inspired to then study and learn as many languages as I could…though Welsh was an exciting new realm for me.

Here’s a fun question for Justine, that both Viviana and I have been wondering… as a narrator, do you get “oh say it in ‘the voice’” question often?

Justine: Occasionally at dinner parties, I will be asked to do a voice…usually it comes down to broad accents, ‘oh, can you do the young Pakistani girl’ or ‘how do the Welsh Fae creatures sound?’ So, I then continue our conversation in that particular voice for awhile. See, invite me to a dinner and you aren’t getting just me, a whole coterie of Other World creatures are coming along too!

Dani, once the audiobook has been recorded, do you then listen to it or have final approval, or is it automatically done when it’s done recording?

Dani: When the audiobook is done, it’s done. I’m definitely anxious to listen to the finished product at the first opportunity, but it’s as a fan of Justine.

Dani, what do you love about having your novels in audiobook format?

Dani: I have a growing number of readers who have discovered just how convenient it is to be able to listen to a story while driving or performing other activities. (My personal favorites are listening to books while I exercise, and also at night when my eyes are too tired from writing to read anymore.) So I’m thrilled that my novels are available in audio format, and I hope they reach a wider audience because of it.

What I find especially interesting is that I experience the story differently when I hear someone narrate it rather than read it myself. This is even true with my very own novels! There are always nuances and details to be discovered through someone else’s interpretation. So I’m not surprised when readers tell me that they’ve read one of my books AND gotten an audio version to enjoy as well.

Justine, of all of Dani’s books, which one has been your favorite to narrate and why? Do you have any favorite characters so far?

51WQEWbwhqL._SL300_Justine: I have had the pleasure of narrating the three (so far) titles in the Grim series so that is a tough question, to pick a favorite. I do know that I was very giddy after reading the first book and I told my husband how much I loved being in this romantic, magical world. STORM BOUND had some of my favorite characters, I felt as though Brooke could have been a friend of mine and her rapport with her best friend, George, had me in stitches. I’d pause between takes so I could stop laughing and get my voice under control. So, George completely rocked my world, I will forever have a soft spot for the witticisms of Ranyon and as for Lurien, he embodies the haunting, alluring darkness of the fae kingdom.  I am an ardent believer in both true love and the possibility of there being a faery kingdom out there so for me to inhabit that world, three times, was a gift. Now I am waiting with the rest of Dani’s fans for book 4!!

Dani/Justine, if someone has not listened to any audio book before what would you tell them?

Dani:  I’d definitely encourage them to give audiobooks a try. Not only for the convenience, as I mentioned before, but for the sheer pleasure. I think there’s a child in all of us who still enjoys being read to. There’s simply nothing like it!

Justine: I love Dani’s answer! For a first-time audiobook listener, I would tell them to pick a story they are eager to read and then sit back and get ready to be transported. I am a voracious reader and I think audiobooks now make reading more accessible in so many ways – I have friends who spend even more time in their car because of audiobooks, they will drive around the block until the chapter finishes or pull up to their house and wait, breathless, for a moment when they can pause the tale. I think the combination of a great author/narrator bringing the story to life is magic indeed, ‘dontcha know’!

Ladies, it has been a pleasure and honor to have you on the blog today. And as a special treat to our readers here is a sample from Dani’s Storm Warned narrated by Justine Eyre. 

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!

Dani is giving away a set of all three audiobooks in the Grim Series.

Open to USA, Canada, and the UK

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And don’t forget to enter our giveaway

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Make sure you swing over to Enchantress of Books for another fun Audio Book Lovin’ post and more chances to win!!!!EOB Post Button