Adrienne Woods Crate full of goodies!

Do you know about crates? They're the best giveaways ever. PLAYING WITH FIRE, the boxed set of paranormal stories dealing with forbidden love is sponsoring a whole bunch of different crates this month and next. Check this one out here.  This is the crate sponsored by writer Adrienne Woods between now and the end of May.

Playing With Fire pre-order live!

 💕💕Romeo and Juliet. Lancelot and Guinevere. Edward and Bella. 💕💕
They all had one thing in common...Forbidden Love.
Discover twelve incredible new worlds from international and USA today best selling authors in this forbidden love themed box set. Playing with Fire is now on pre-order for only 99c. Free boxset with over 1600 pages with every pre-order.  Get it here, 

Fantasy Freebie Giveaway

Looking for something to read while you wait for the next season of Game of Thrones to start?(Tomorrow. Squeee!)  Grab some freebie fantasy reads here.  And see you in Westeros tomorrow.

Moonlight Mist

This limited edition paranormal romance collection has been extended through the fall. Which is good news because it's a fantastic collection of work. (And I'm not just saying that because I'm one of the authors in the set. (My novella, Waking Dream, was written just for this set.)
You can get it on Kobo.
On Barnes & Noble
on Amazon

Here's the blurb:

The creatures of this alternate plane lurk beyond the mist. 
Searching.
Hungry.
Craving for what they need. 
Some may find it. Some might even curb that hunger. But a few will not.
Without knowing what it is they need to satisfy a primal need, they seek out something more. Something that will test their limits in search of something greater. Something powerful... Something everlasting. 

This collection includes:

PLAYING WITH FIRE on pre-order

I know, you've got boxed et fatigue. It happens! 
But you really want to check out PLAYING WITH FIRE, the set I'm in coming this fall.
It's a collection of tales themed to FORBIDDEN LOVE.

Get your pre-order here (iBooks and Amazon links are not yet live.)
Claim your freebie gifts!

My story is a version of the classic Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot tale I call The Poisoned Cup. I had
A.S. Oren of Glass Crocodile make the cover and am quite pleased.

Deadly Southern Charm...a crime fiction collection

This new collection of crime fiction from Wildside Press features more than a baker’s dozen of stories about “steel magnolias”—strong southern women who “embody that legendary mix of femininity and fortitude. The contributors are members of the Central Virginia Chapter of Sisters in Crime and some “guest authors” and the tales run the gamut from period pieces like “Southern Sisters Stick Together” by Stacie Giles to the opening piece, “the Girl in the Airport” by Frances Aylor, a neatly done bit of airport noir.

The tone of the tales ranges from Lynn Calhoun’s Gothic tale “Cayce’s Treasures,” (with its references to the fad for wearing “lover’s eye” jewelry to the black humor of Libby Hall’s “Stewing” and the flinging around of dog carcasses to the hilarious send-up of country music songs (“”Take My Heart, Leave the Dog”) in Sherry Harris’ “Country Song Gone Wrong.”

A couple of stories touch on the supernatural—Ronald Sterling’s “Just like Jiminy Cricket” for one, and Brad Harper’s “Shadow Man.” Food comes up a lot and the reference to grilled bacon and pimento cheese sandwiches will make any reader’s mouth water. (K.L. Murphy’s “Burn.”)

Twist endings, unfaithful spouses, unreliable narrators, and lots and lots of southern local color—pick your poison (and yes, there’s poison here too). 

If you love crime fiction, pick up Deadly Southern Charm and enjoy. You can buy it on Amazon or directly from Wildside Press. For more Sisters in Crime anthologies with Virginia writers, check out the SinC website.

A review of Monkey Justice by Patricia Abbott

Patricia Abbott crafts stories like Cartier designs jewelry, one polished gem of a word at a time. And yet there’s nothing “precious” about any of these stories—gritty, gravely, raw stories about people and their worst impulses. Many of these stories take place on the margins, in the places between memory and the present. Things aren’t always what they seem, and if there is any justice to be had in the end, it is rough justice, vigilante justice, final justice.

Abbott’s stories are character-heavy, and dialogue-rich. Even the internal musings of the characters have substance. Her descriptions are precise, and immediately relatable, as when she describes the “gluey, mousey” smell of all used bookstores. “I thought only cops used the word vehicles,” one character muses, “but maybe prisoners and cops traded words like a cold.” It’s an offhand comment but it seems like the perfect combination of words.

Most of the stories here are dark, effortlessly noir-ish and strongly rendered slices of low-life pie. But there are also delights like “Bit Players,” which features the late, great character actor Jack Elam and a telling bit about the way casting directors work in Hollywood.

Feed your reader!

I love boxed sets, both as a reader and a writer. I love being able to sample work from writers I don't know and I love being a part of a group of writers putting together collections of work with a common theme. (You'll be hering a lot about PLAYING WITH FIRE in the coming months. It's a boxed set of stories about forbidden love and I'm reworking the Arthurian myth in my tale.) But Playing with Fire won't be up for preorder until next month. In the meantime, here's a set you can preorder.

CURSED LANDS. Twenty-two tales  where magic, danger, and romance lurk between the shadows and the light.  All the authors you love and more!

Delayed gratification isn't for you? No problem. Here are a couple of boxed set you might have missed. First, The Witching Hours, a collection of eleven noels about witches and witchcraft withbooks from Christine Pope, Stacy Claflin, Yasmine Galenorn, Sarra Cannon, Phaedra Weldon, and more. (Including me--my MAGIC IN THE BLOOD is included.) Get it here for FREE.

For 99 cents, you can snag another boxed set, FATED MATES. It's all about shape-shifters and their mates and if you're curious about what all the "reverse harem" hype is all about, there's that too. Here's the Amazon blurb:

Once Upon a Star, a review

Fiddlehead Press has a whole series of ONCE UPON A … sets of retold fairy tales and this newest one may be its best. The fourteen fairy tale-inspired science fiction tales are all fresh and inventive and lots of fun to read, from Sarra Cannon’s Matrix-meets-Robin Hood spin on the classic tale (“Loxley”) to Christine Pope’s “The Cyrano Solution,” which is an epic take on “The Princess and the Frog.” The “inspirations” for the stories run the gamut from a trio of Russian tales to “The Goose Girl,” and while there’s a Cinderella story, it’s quite unlike the classic tale. One of the best things about the set is that it doesn't fall back on the same old/same old stories that everyone seems to retell--Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, the Little Mermaid, but bring in a much more diverse set of stories.

The writers all seem to be having a lot of fun, but there are some lessons to be had here as well—revenge and redemption figure large in several of the stories.

There’s also nice world building. Some of the stories, like those by Anthea Sharp and Christine Pope, take place in between “episodes” of their long-running series, while others are “one-offs” the writers admit were a genre stretch. Moreover, while it’s possible to see some of the influences on the stories, the writers have augmented their ideas with other bits and pieces of lore and myth and folktale. And so, we have Grimm’s fairy tales coexisting with Pinocchio and Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow. Wrapping a science fiction skin around these old stories makes them feel as shiny as the titanium hull of a space craft.

If you like science fiction and fairy tales, this is a boxed set you NEED to get.  You can buy it here.

Author Interview with Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw

Born in Lisboa, Portugal to parents of Portuguese/Russian descent, Veronica Marie and her partner of seven years and wife of four years, Christina Anne, are "still very much on honeymoon!" 

When not teaching, Veronica writes noir and crime fiction. She has been published in Pulp Metal Magazine, The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology, the horror anthology 100 Horrors, from Cruentus Libri Press, Katherine Tomlinson's Nightfalls: an End of the World anthology, Drunk On The Moon 2: A Roman Dalton anthology, Gloves Off: Near To the Knuckle's debut anthology, and Lily Childs' new horror/urban fantasy anthology, February Femme Fatales, which went "live" on Amazon on 8 February 2014. She has also appeared in the inaugural issue of Literary Orphans magazine. 

What is the first piece of writing you ever sold and do you remember how much you got paid for it? Once I decided to let the world see my writing, I jumped right into anthology submissions, mostly charity anthologies; I liked the idea of my words helping others. I haven’t given much thought to submitting to a publication or online entity for pay, although I see Switchblade is doing an open submission call during the month of February.

      You primarily write short fiction. Is there a novel in your future? Definitely! Or a series of novellas; I’ve been tossing that idea around too. My novel is a contemporary/noir crime fiction, whose main character is a female lesbian police detective – Aimee Belanger. Aimee has a past… don’t we all… and balancing that against her new career in law enforcement, coupled with her sexual identity and ‘help’ from a sometimes ally – an eight-hundred-year-old lesbian vampire - presents a unique set of challenges.

Free Sci Fi Books

There's a freebie sci-fi book giveaway going on now until March 17. Check it out here.

Need a place to party?

Come hang out at the Playing with Fire boxed set people. You'll get a WARM welcome. There will be giveaways and takeovers and prizes and games. Meet the writers and readers supporting this limited edition boxed set of stories about "forbidden love."  Check out the action here on Facebook.

Swag! Don't you love swag?

New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren has a new book out and to celebrate, she's offering a great package of prizes. Click here for more information and to enter.

Christine Pope's UNQUIET SPIRITS

Christine Pope, the USA TODAY bestselling author, has just released the first in a new series and it's a bit more urban fantastic than her usual PNR. Unquiet Souls: Project Demon Hunter book one is a great introduction to a new set of characters running around Southern California, a landscape the California native knows well.

The premise is simple--a demon hunter teams up with a psychic for a reality television show that gets just a little too real--but the characters are complex. Both Audrey and Michael harbor secrets underneath the incendiary sexual attraction they have, and the revelation of those secrets leads to a terrific finale that leads right into the next book.

Pope has clearly done her homework when it comes to demonic infestations, hauntings, and things occult, and there are some genuinely creepy moments as the heroine and hero confront the forces of darkness. The pair are a refreshingly non-cliche cople. He's not an alpha-hole and she's no shrinking violet. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.

Witchy Book Giveaway

The weather is gray and drippy where I am right now, which means it's a perfect day for reading. (Let's face it, most days are perfect for reading as far as I'm concerned.) If you're looking for something to read without spending any money, check out this giveaway of urban fantasy and paranormal fiction. A little magic, a little mayhem, a little romance. There's something for everyone. Click here to start downloading books.

Summer Solstice is here!

Nicole Morgan's limited edition romance collection SUMMER SOLSTICE is now available for pre-order at all your favorite ebook retailers. Click here to snag yours for just 99 cents. This is paranormal romance with the sensuous summer solstice as a focal point. My fairy romance novelette, Soul Kiss, is in the collection and I'm excited to read everyone else's story.

February Book Fair

Celebrate the month of love by going to a virtual book fair. Click here to see what's on offer, including the upcoming boxed set GUARDIANS. (My novelette REZSO is in the set.)

Stephen King Giveaway

Click here for your chance to win a paperback copy of The Gunslinger (first in the Dark Tower series) and a $10 Amazon gift certificate. I don't know about you, but I can do a LOT of damage with a $10 gift certificate.

Interview with Berkeley Hunt

Photo by Joanne Renaud

Berkeley Hunt is a freelance writer and story analyst specializing in horror.  She has 15 years' worth of experience under her belt working on such films as Looper, The Reaping and Ocean's 11.  She is based in North Hollywood, California, home of the Academy Of Television Arts And Sciences and the infamous Circus Liquor, home of the towering neon clown.   Her story "Camel Jockeys'" appears in Strangers in a Strange Land: Immigrant Stories, published last week by Down and Out Books.

.        What inspired your Strangers in a Strange Land story “Camel Jockeys?”    I stumbled across a documentary while surfing YouTube and was enthralled by the subject.  I described it to my editor, who immediately told me to write it.

      Did you do a lot of research for it?   Oh, yeah.  Everything from camels’ names to one sheik’s announcement that from now on, only robotic jockeys would be used in racing.  Additional research showed that hasn’t been the case, as natives of and tourists are still reporting seeing child jockeys. 

Thank you Gillette!!

I was brought up by a father who was way ahead of his time. A fifties father, he celebrated and supported me in every way possible. My younger brother turned into a really good guy himself. My best friend is the kind of man every mother would be proud to have birthed and every person would be proud to know.

I know that a lot of people--a LOT of people--have not been as lucky. The Gillette ad that's runing? That's got people talking boycott? What are they afraid of? It really doesn't bash men--there are positive images of men and boys throughout. That ad made me cry. there's a moment where a guy puts his hand on a wman's shoulder and "mansplains" her views to a room full of people. I have so been there. And out in the real world, I've heard "Boys will be boys" used to explain all sorts of behavior.

If you haven't seen the ad, take a look at it now. This is a transformative moment and Gillette has nailed it.

Interview with James L'Etoile

1.Author James L'Etoile's crime fiction work has been recognized by the Creative World Awards, Acclaim Film and the Scriptapalooza Television Script Competition. Bury the Past was a 2018 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award finalist for best procedural of the year. Specializing in gritty crime fiction, his complex, edgy stories are fueled by two decades of experience in prisons and jails across the country. Realistic crime fiction requires an eye for detail while immersed deep within the darkest criminal elements. James brings these stories to life with his background in probation, parole, investigation and prison operation. An experienced Associate Warden, Chief of Institution Operations, Hostage Negotiator and Director of Parole, James is unique among crime fiction authors.

Major social themes weave through his work, including the world of human trafficking and future releases include stories set around black market organ transplants, homelessness, domestic terrorism, political corruption and the pharmaceutical industry. James is represented by Elizabeth K. Kracht, of the Kimberley Cameron & Associates Literary Agency. Follow James.

What is the first piece of writing you ever sold and do you remember how much you got paid for it? Technically, the first paid crime writing gig was preparing pre-sentence investigations. As a probation officer, I would pore over the police reports, talk to the investigators, get victim statements, and interview jailed defendants, all to pull together a “crime story” and a recommendation for the judge. I didn’t know it at the time, but it prepared me for becoming an author. There will never be a critic of your written work, more vocal than a public defender with a client looking at 25 years to life. The first piece of commercial fiction sold was a human trafficking themed thriller, Little River, to a small press in 2013. I didn’t receive an advance for that sale and I donated a portion of the royalties to NotForSale.orghttps://www.notforsalecampaign.org/about-us/, a not-for-profit organization devoted to the fight against human trafficking.

The Inspiration for Secret Hexe

As you all know by now, I am part of a boxed set of novels and novellas (Rite to Reign) that's about royal witches. The stories are an eclectic collection--a retelling of the "Little Mermaid," an intriguing take on a familiar Oz figure. The minute i heard the theme of the boxed set, I knew I wanted to write a story about the German princess who became Catherine the Great.


My interest in the empress was partly kindled by Eva Stachniak's wonderful historical novels about her.  But I also have a long-standing fascination with Russian popular culture. I love that beautiful

Cover Reveal...MotherNature

This cool apocalyptic cover was created by A.S. Oren of Glass Crocodile. She also did the covers for my "Artifacts of Chaos" series and also my "Mortal Cravings" vampire series. I love what she does with saturated color. You can find Glass Crocodile on FB here.