The winner of Phoebe Matthew’s book, Vampire Career, is Robin D. Congratulations! I’ll be in touch soon.
Thanks to everyone for stopping by the blog. My guest blogger this Friday will be the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Maggie Shayne! She’ll be talking about her vampire romances and sprinkling a little of her magic our way. You won’t want to miss that!
I have a fascinating guest author on the blog today – Phoebe Matthews, a very talented writer whose work spans several genres, including Regency historical romance, young adult, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy. Her YA, When September Returns, was first published by Silhouette and was #1 on the national B. Dalton YA bestseller list. Oh, and she writes short stories, too, in genres that include Steampunk and paranormal.
To say that Phoebe has serious writing creds is an understatement!
After years of writing more traditional romances, Phoebe is now writing in her favorite genres – urban fantasy and paranormal suspense. In addition to all her other work, she currently has three series on the go: the Turning Vampire series (urban fantasy), the Mudflat series (urban fantasy), and the Sunspinner series (paranormal suspense).
Here’s what RT Book Reviews had to say about the Mudflat series:
“…Mudflat series is a supernatural comic romp full of non-stop action, fantastic characters and a hero you’ll love…” 4.5 rating, RT Book Reviews
The first book in the Mudflat series, Tarbaby Trouble, won the 2009 Eppie Award for best fantasy, and two subsequent books in the series, Welcome To Mudflat, Baby and Mudflat Toy Boy, were both Eppie finalists.
And for you vampire lovers out there (I’m one of them!), you’ll really enjoy Vampire Career, which kicks off the first book in her urban fantasy series, Turning Vampire.
Here’s the blurb for Vampire Career:
A begining vampire… A gnawing hunger… A friendly guy… Disaster…just a heartbeat away. Newly turned vampire Gerogia can deal with the “dead all day” part, but she definitely wished the rest of her new lifestyle came with a training manual. Despite all the legends, she definitely can’t turn into a bat at night and finding a vein to suck doesn’t come easy. Luckily, she’s got a new boyfriend willing to help her. Unluckily, a vampire hunter with a stake may prove at least one myth true: how to kill an undead girl.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? I think both readers of urban fantasy and paranormal romance will love this book.
Fortunately for us, all of Phoebe’s books – including her backlist – are now available, either in e-book or print. You can check them all out on her website, or on her Amazon page.
And just for my readers today, Phoebe is giving away a digital copy of Vampire Career. Just tell me who your favorite vampire is, either in movies or fiction. I have to say, I fell in love with vampires way back when I watched the vamp soap opera, Dark Shadows. I loved Barnabas Collins! So tell, me – who do you love? Or do you firmly believe that vampires remain on the creepy side of the line? One person who comments will win a copy of Vampire Career!
I’m thrilled to welcome New York Times best-selling author Angie Fox to the blog! Angie’s paranormals are sexy, adventurous, and a whole lot of fun. I’m going to turn things over to her now, and she’s going to tell us all about riding with the dogs.
Riding with the Harley Dogs: One Author’s Adventure
I’d always known writing would be an adventure, but I never predicted my writing would put me on the back of a coal black Harley Davidson, with an Irish Setter in tow. I’d set out to write a paranormal about a straight-laced preschool teacher turned demon slayer who has to run off with a gang of geriatric biker witches. But my heroine has a smart-mouthed dog that, thanks to her new powers, can talk…and talk…and talk. And I really loved that dog. What’s a writer to do? Well, I went online and learned that there is a nationwide club of Harley bikers who ride with their dogs. So my heroine could have her pink Harley, and her Jack Russell Terrier too.
And of course I had to meet these Harley riding dog lovers. I called up a few of the members of a Biker Dogs Motorcycle Club and the adventure began. They invited me into their homes, introduced me to their dogs and, like my heroine, the bikers hoisted me up on the back of a Harley, with a dog in tow.
Things I learned right off the bat:
1. After an hour on a Harley, you’ll walk like John Wayne for a week
2. Helmets hurt when they are worn backwards
3. Dogs love riding motorcycles
Stone, the biker who spent the most time making sure I didn’t fall off his hog, showed me how to ride, invited me to some biker rallies (note to self: don’t wear pink next time), and helped make the Accidental Demon Slayer series as real as it can be (for books about a somewhat sheltered preschool teacher turned demon slayer).
So just when I thought I was writing fiction, it seemed my made-up characters from the Accidental Demon Slayer books weren’t so imaginary after all. One of the bikers I met even has a wife who is a biker witch. I’m wondering if she, like my heroine’s biker witch grandma, wears a “Kiss my Asphalt” T-shirt and carries a carpet bag full of Smuckers jars filled with magic. Maybe I’ll find out on my next adventure.
Want to win a copy of The Accidental Demon Slayer?Just take the What’s Your Biker Witch Name? quiz. Post your biker witch name in the comments and you’re entered to win. Good luck!
Vanessa, here. Just for the record, my Biker Witch Name is Hog Wild Harriett Wheelie-Gig! So hop on over to Angie’s quiz and find out what your kick-ass name really is!
Angie Fox is the New York Times bestselling author of several books about vampires, werewolves and things that go bump in the night. She claims that researching her stories can be just as much fun as writing them. In the name of fact-finding, Angie has ridden with Harley biker gangs, explored the tunnels underneath Hoover Dam and found an interesting recipe for Mamma Coalpot’s Southern Skunk Surprise (she’s still trying to get her courage up to try it).
Angie earned a Journalism degree from the University of Missouri. She worked in television news and then in advertising before beginning her career as an author. Visit Angie at www.angiefox.com.
Most of you know that I usually feature authors who write historical romance. Today I thought I’d mix it up a bit. If you haven’t yet read her, I’d like to introduce you to Elisabeth Naughton, who writes sexy, globe-trotting romantic suspense and dark, seductive paranormal romance. She already has one romantic suspense series in the stores – the Stolen Trilogy – which revolves around an antiquities gallery in Miami. These books will definitely appeal to fans of Romancing The Stone and Indiana Jones, and what’s not to love about that?
The Stolen books have garnered fantastic reviews, including this one from the prestigious Chicago Tribune: “Naughton deftly distills deadly intrigue, high adrenaline action, and scorchingly hot passion into a perfectly constructed novel of romantic suspense.”
Elisabeth’s latest story is now in stores. It’s a novella called Acapulco Heat in the anthology, Bodyguards In Bed. Is that not a most excellent title? It sure makes me want to run right out and buy it! Here’s the blurb for Acapulco Heat:
Sun, sand, skin and plenty of sex. That’s the name of the game in beautiful Acapulco.
Bodyguard Finn Tiernay’s new gig in the sultry city is nothing short of perfect. Too bad he can’t stand it. Hired to protect supermodel Lauren Kauffman during her very public, very sexy cosmetic shoot on the beach, Finn’s itching for a serious assignment and the chance to get away from the hot bod who’s set her sights set on him. Their mutual attraction has been brewing for some time, but he’s got no use for the super wealthy, isn’t about to become another diva’s boy toy. His no-fun-at-work motto might get him booted out of her bed, but when danger strikes, she won’t be able to shake him. And when he discovers things aren’t what they seem and that she’s more than a pretty face and smokin’ body, all bets are off. Lauren Kauffman’s about to take Finn for a ride he never saw coming. And there’s no telling who will survive.
You can read an excerpt from the novella on Elisabeth’s website.
The first book in Elisabeth’s new paranormal series, The Eternal Guardians, will be out in September. It looks awesome, so I’ll be sure to feature it in a few months.
Bodyguards In Bed and Elisabeth’s previous books are all in bookstores or available at on-line retailers like Amazon. To help Elisabeth celebrate the release of her novella, I’ll be giving away a copy of Bodyguards In Bed. Just tell me what kind of romantic suspense you like to read – do you like stories with hot FBI agents and serial killers, police procedurals, or ordinary men and women caught up in dangerous situations? Feel free to tell me your fave romantic suspense writers, too. One person who comments will win a copy of the anthology.