Day 5: Who Roams Here?

It's the last day of the 2015 Realms Faire, hosted by M. Pax. This year there are twelve games going on, and there is still time to have fun and win prizes. Be sure to check out all of these great games! 

Riddle Me This ~ Dueling Bards ~ Phasers ~ Unicorn Hunt ~ Beware the Vortex ~ VelociRaffle ~ The Hero’s Dilemma ~Stockade Brigade ~ Hall of Doors ~ The Joust ~ Drench-a-Wench/Soak-a-Bloke

Here at the House of The Spirits, I am welcoming a different ghost each day to take over the blog. I will leave clues throughout the day and the first person to guess the ghost's identity in the comments wins a prize. You don't need a google or blogger profile to participate - anonymous users are welcome to guess but please just make sure I can contact you in case you are a winner.

In addition, everyone who leaves a comment before midnight on Saturday, November 14th will be entered in the Grand Prize drawing at the end of the Faire. The Grand Prize will be a $30 Amazon gift card, an ebook bundle of my books Polar Night, The Turnagain Arm, & The Ghosts of Aquinnah, and the Once Upon a Nightmare Collection ebook set by Cherie Reich.

Want to know about today's prize? Today my ghostly guest and I are giving away a $5 Amazon gift card, an ebook copy of Of Blood and Sorrow by Christine Rains, and an ebook copy of my story Polar Night.

Thanks to Christine for the donation!

And now for our last guest of the week. You're up, ghost!

**ETA: Today's ghost has already been correctly identified. He is Jacob Marley, guessed first by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Congrats, Alex!! If you would still like to be entered into the Grand Prize giveaway just leave a comment before midnight tonight. I will post the winner on Monday, 11/16. Thanks to everyone who has come by and played my game this week! 

I'll add the rest of Marley's clues and his picture so he doesn't feel left out of the ghost party. 

Who am I? 

1.       When I was alive I was a partner in a London financial institution

2. I was quite greedy

3. I died on Christmas Eve

4. Now I spend eternity carrying a heavy chain made of padlocks, steel purses, ledgers, and cash boxes

5. My partner was Ebenezer Scrooge

My picture:

Of Blood And Sorrow by Christine Rains

Hello, all! I hope ope everyone had a nice weekend. It's my pleasure today to share Of Blood And Sorrow, the latest release from the very talented Christine Rains. Congratulations to Christine!

OF BLOOD AND SORROW

By Christine Rains

Blurb:

Erin Driscol works the perfect job consoling fellow demons by feeding off their grief at Putzkammer & Sons Funeral Home.

When fledgling vampire Nicolas Reese comes to Erin for help, she learns the truth behind the legends and hides him from his sire and the vampire hunters who seek him. But when the Putzkammers begin to die one by one, Erin is caught between her act of kindness and the need to save her adopted family. Only by facing her own personal demons can she stop the slaughter and still rescue Nicolas from his dark fate.

Add it to read on Goodreads.

About the author:

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She's married to her best friend and fellow geek living in south-central Indiana. They have one son who is too smart for his parents' own good and loves to pretend he's Batman. Christine has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not reading or writing, she's going on adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. (South Central Indiana Fiction Interface). She has several short stories and novellas published. Of Blood and Sorrow series is her first urban fantasy novel.

Please visit her website and blog 

You can also find Christine on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Buy links:

Amazon
B&N
Kobo
Smashwords

Best of luck to Christine on another great release!! As for me, after saying I was taking a break from my writing for a while last week I got a fresh burst of inspiration. It was almost as if my story was telling me that I absolutely was not going to take a break and instead I needed to buck up and get to work. :D I'm going to take this unexpected burst and run with it, so I hope to be holed up in my writing cave for the next few weeks. Maybe I'll actually emerge with something worthwhile this time. Fingers crossed! 

Have a great week ahead! :)

IWSG & A Visit from Christine Rains

Happy IWSG day, all! It's time once again for our monthly support group hosted by the Captain himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh. This month's co-hosts are Chemist Ken, Suzanne Sapseed, and Shannon Lawrence. Thanks to Alex and his co-hosts!

If you're not already a member of the group and would like to join in, visit the IWSG sign-up list here.

This month I am grappling with the same insecurity that has been gnawing at me for the past few months. I can't seem to get anything written and I have totally lost my focus. I am determined that I will not have this same problem by the time our April meeting rolls around and the only thing for it is to sit down and write, but for now I'm turning things over to the wonderfully talented Christine Rains. Christine is here to talk about the insecurities that come along with publishing. I'm thrilled to be a stop on Christine's tour to promote her new book, the contemporary erotic romance Loose Corset.

Take it away, Christine!

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.

Working with a publisher brings with it a whole mess of new insecurities. I didn't think it would be all a breeze after being accepted, but I underestimated how much the things I can't control would get to me.

I can't see my sales stats even though I'm doing all the marketing. Is anything I'm doing working? I won't know until the next pay period, and they send out checks every quarter.

There are two more books in the Dice & Debauchery series. They're complete, but they're waiting in a queue for a new editor. I don't know where in this queue I sit. But I do know it depends on my sales how quickly I move up the line. It could be the summer when the second book is released or maybe not until the end of the year. I don't have any control over it.

Have readers asked for more? Do they like me? Could they decide to cancel my contract if I don't sell well? I don't know. And it's driving me bonkers!

There are advantages to having a publisher, but there are also ones for self-publishing. No matter which way I go, I get new gray hairs.

What are your insecurities this month?

Book Blurb:

Geek girl Morgan Reid has been to many conventions, but none that had her wishing it would never end.

Dressed as their characters from the online game Steampunk Quest, Morgan and her best friend meet the other players for the first time in real life. Morgan's attraction to the gorgeous Dean Bradley is immediate, making it difficult to breathe in her tight corset. Even after a few dice shattering orgasms, she doesn't believe this can be anything more than a con fling. But Dean is making her feel things she's only read about in books. Can Morgan let go of her cool-headed logic and allow herself to fall completely for the perfect geek guy?

About the author:

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She's married to her best friend and fellow geek living in south-central Indiana. They have one son who is too smart for his parents' own good and loves to pretend he's Batman. Christine has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not reading or writing, she's going on adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. (South Central Indiana Fiction Interface). She has several short stories and novellas published. The Dice & Debauchery series is her first contemporary erotic romance.

Please visit her website  and blog

You can also find Christine on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Purchase links:

Amazon 

B&N 

Ellora's Cave 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Untethered Realms News from Christine Rains & Angela Brown

As many people know I am proud to be part of the Untethered Realms writing group. So it's exciting for me to be able to share great news from two of my fellow UnRealms members and help spread the word about their work.

I had also planned to shamelessly beg people to help me promote the Thunderclap campaign I want to start for Polar Day today. But as is typical for me lately I can't seem to get in gear to actually set up the campaign, so I will save my begging for another day. Twelve days into 2015 and I am apparently still as lazy as I was in 2014. One of these days I will get my focus back.

For now though I'm happy to share the new release from Christine Rains, Loose Corset. Yay, Christine!

Loose Corset is the first installment in Christine's Dice & Debauchery trilogy with Ellora's Cave. It's a contemporary erotic romance and was released on Friday, so here are the purchase links for you to get your copy now:

Amazon
B&N
Kobo

You can also add Loose Corset on Goodreads.

Unfortunately my Word and Google drive software decided to act up last night when I was trying to open the document with the book blurb on it so I can't share that here, but you can read the spicy synopsis at any of the above links. In addition, Christine is hosting a fun and geeky giveaway this month to go along with the release. Enter through the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post!

I also want to share some awesome new covers from Angela Brown for her Shadow Jumpers Trilogy. (I've read the first one and it is a fantastic book!)

Here are the original covers, which were wonderful in their own right. But as Angela put it, these covers did not let readers know that the titles were part of a series.

So Angela conferred with designer Heather McCorkle and together they came up with these exciting new covers!

Duty or love...there can be only one.

A love worth fighting for...

Aren't they gorgeous? I've been meaning to read Book 2 for ages anyway and this made me want to hurry up and get to it ASAP.

Just click on the covers to get the titles on Amazon.

Congratulations and best of luck to both Angela and Christine! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Aquinnah Tour, Diamonds and Dust, and Hop Winners

The Ghosts of Aquinnah tour continues today with visits to Christine Rains and Annalisa Crawford. Thanks to both ladies for hosting me! I'm sharing my top ten favorite things about Martha's Vineyard at Christine's place and an interview with my character Christopher Casey at Annalisa's, so please stop by and see me.

Lexa Cain and I are also excited to announce the winners of our blog hop! We are in the process of contacting everyone but wanted to share a full list too. So without further ado, the winners!

An ebook copy of The Ghosts of Aquinnah ~  Sheri Larsen

An ebook copy of Soul Cutter ~ Crystal Hicken Collier

A 5 page critique from Lexa's agent Michelle Johnson of Inklings Literary Agency ~ Christine Rains

A query critique from Michelle Johnson ~ Magaly Guerrero

An ebook bundle from Julie's publisher Ink Smith Publishing ~ C. Lee McKenzie

An ebook copy of Champion in the Darkness by Tyrean Martinson ~ Susan Swiderski

A digital copy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection by Christine Rains ~ Kim Graff

An ebook copy of Drowned Sorrow by Vanessa Morgan ~ Beverly Fox

An ebook from M. Pax ~ Cathy Keaton

A Kindle copy of BESTEST. RAMADAN. EVER. by Medeia Sharif  ~ Suzi

An ebook from Nicki Elson - winner's choice of Three Daves, Divine Temptation or Hans & Greta ~ Tania Miclau

A Kindle copy of The People We Used to Be by Madeline Mora-Summonte ~ Beverly Stowe McClure

A 5 page critique from C. Lee McKenzie ~ Michael Di Gesu

An ebook set of Murder, Madness & Love and Memories of Murder by Yolanda Renee ~ Shah Wharton

An ebook set of Murder, Madness & Love and Memories of Murder by Yolanda Renee ~ Alex J. Cavanaugh

A Kindle copy of Marionette by TB Markinson ~ Samantha Geary Jones

A Kindle Copy of Dangled Carat by Hilary Grossman ~ Diane Burton

An ebook copy of  AlmaMia Cienfuegos and Other Stories by Magaly Guerrero ~ Hilary Rick Grossman

Also, we had a nearly impossible time picking a winner for our special best picture prize, so we have two! Nutschell Windsor won first place and Magaly Guerrero was the runner-up. Both of these ladies will be receiving ebook copies of Soul Cutter and The Ghosts of Aquinnah.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Also, River Fairchild's Diamonds and Dust was released yesterday and it is my pleasure to be able to share some information about it. Congratulations to River!!

Diamonds and Dust

by River Fairchild

Book 1 of the Jewels of Chandra series

Magic is real. So is betrayal.

Two heirs. A Kingdom of dust on a troubled world. One might resurrect it. One might destroy it all.

Archaeologist David Alexander investigates the cave where his father disappeared and hurtles into another world, one filled with magic and bizarre creatures. The mad ravings in his father's journals of icemen and dragons may not be fantasies after all.

Convinced his father may still be alive, David begins a treacherous journey to find him and discover a way home. Along the way, he encounters a few unlikely friends. A Dreean warrior, a beautiful thief and a satyr join him as he searches.

David's arrival into this new world sets off an explosive chain reaction of events. Faced with powerful adversaries and few clues, he may not get the chance to rescue his father before disaster strikes, condemning both of them to death. Or worse.

Buy it here:

AmazonUS

AmazonUK

AmazonDE

Kobo

Barnes & Noble

Apple

SmashWords
Paperback

**********************

 

About the author:

River Fairchild is somewhat odd, brandishes a dry sense of humor, owned by several cats. Lives in a fantasy world. A fabricator of magic. Makes stuff up and spins tales about it. Believes in Faerie crossings and never staying in one place for very long. Speculative Fiction wordsmith. The secret to her stories? Spread lies, blend in truths, add a pinch of snark and a dash of tears. Escape into her world. She left the porch light on so you can find your way down the rabbit hole.

Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Amazon /

The Ghosts of Aquinnah Release Day, Soul Cutter and The Dream Destination Hop!

Thanks to Lexa Cain for this awesome banner!

I'm so excited that my release day is officially here!! The Ghosts of Aquinnah is now available from Ink Smith Publishing and can be purchased through Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and the Ink Smith Store.

I've also been so thrilled to receive some wonderful reviews of the book already. Huge thanks to Christine Rains, Cherie Reich and Lisa Regan! 

From Cherie: "Touching and tragic, The Ghosts of Aquinnah by Julie Flanders will stick with you." 
Christine: "Two stories from different times woven together with elegance and emotion."
and Lisa: "I know a book is great when I keep thinking about it long after I've put it down."

It's safe to say these reviews made my week. Thanks, ladies!

I'm also beyond thrilled to be able to share the intro that the amazing Michael Di Gesu wrote for my story. Michael is the artist behind my cover and also the wordsmith who wrote my blurb for me, and while I loved both of those beyond measure I think he outdid himself with this piece. Michael is such a superb talent! Please visit his blog here to read his intro.  

Before I get to the Lexa & Julie Dream Destination Blog Hop, I am thrilled to be able to share this info about Soul Cutter, the new novel by my hop partner-in-crime, Lexa Cain. Congrats, Lexa!

BLURB: 

The Soul Cutter is hunting again.

Seventeen-year-old Élan spends her free time videoing psychic scams and outing them online. Skepticism makes life safe—all the ghosts Élan encounters are fakes. When her estranged mother disappears from a film shoot in Egypt, Élan puts her medium-busting activities on hold and joins the search.

In Egypt, the superstitious film crew sucks at finding her mom. When a hotel guest is killed, whispers start—the locals think their legendary Soul Cutter has come back from the dead. Élan's only ally is Ramsey, a film-crew intern, but he’s arrogant, stubborn—and hiding dangerous secrets.

When Élan discovers the Soul Cutter is no scam, she finds herself locked in a deadly battle against a supernatural killer with more than her mother’s life at stake.

Élan is fighting for her very soul.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

MuseItUpPublishing

Kobo

One more thing before I get to the hop! I have to send a huge thank you to Lexa for asking me to co-host with her and for making me the wonderful banner at the top of this post. Lexa, you totally rock! :)

Okay, so what is my Dream Destination? I'd love to have unlimited time to take a driving trip all over the western United States. I've been to Arizona and California and loved both, and I'd love to see more. The Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, Zion National Park, Glacier National Park... I think the scenery and the atmosphere of the west is simply extraordinary. 

Angel's Landing at Zion (Source: Wikimedia)

So maybe one of these days Clancy and I will hop in the car and go on some extended travels. Here's hoping! :)

Thanks to everyone who has signed up for the Hop! If you'd still like to join, simply sign up on the Linky List below. And don't forget to enter to win tons of great prizes through the Rafflecopter! 

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ghost Movies with Christine Rains

 

I'm really excited to host the mega-talented Christine Rains here today as part of her blog tour for The 13th Floor Complete Collection. Christine is here to talk about one of my favorite topics - ghosts and ghost movies. 

Christine wrote her own ghost story as part of The 13th Floor series, and it's a great read like all the rest in the collection. So I was interested to hear about some of her own favorite ghost tales. Welcome and thanks for being here, Christine!

Top Ten Ghost Movies

A scratching in your wall, a whispering near your ear, or a screeching rotted corpse with hair that can kill you. Tis the season for a haunting. Or at least a good scary movie.

Ghosts feature in a lot of my favorite horror movies. Not all ghost films need to be frightening, but when I watch these flicks, I like the chills that come with them.

Warning: this list does NOT contain the film Ghost.

Here are my top ten ghost movies:

1. The Shining. Classic Stephen King.
2. Frighteners. This is the ghost movie I've seen the most. It rocks!
3. The Changeling. Absolutely chilling.
4. Poltergeist. Go to the light, Carol Anne!
5. Ghostbusters. It never gets old. I once wanted a career as a ghostbuster.
6. 1408. Another Stephen King story. Plus it stars John Cusack!
7. The Ring. The creepiest girl in the world.
8. The Amityville Horror. The first horror film I watched. It gave my brother nightmares for weeks.
9. The Sixth Sense. Creepy with a twist.
10. The Haunting. Nothing like the classics.

When I wrote THE GHOST, I didn't want Chiharo to be scary. She's the friendly ghost, but the story still contains the most terrifying creature in the series, and it does more than just go bump in the night. It not only wants your life, but it eats your soul too.

For another great ghost story, check out Julie Flanders' new book, THE GHOSTS OF AQUINNAH in December. It has those wonderful chills that I so adore.

What's your favorite ghost film?

Title: The 13^th Floor Complete Collection

Author: Christine Rains

Genre: paranormal romance

Release date: October 13^th, 2013

Blurb:

Six supernatural tenants

Living in a haunted apartment building

On a floor that doesn't exist.

Six novellas telling their tales.

A retired demon acquires a price on his head.

A werewolf is hunted by her pack.

A modern day dragonslayer misses his target.

A harpy challenges Zeus for the soul of the man she loves.

A vampire is obsessed with a young woman he can't find.

A banshee falls in love with someone who's death she has seen in a vision.

And a sweet ghost must battle a primal monster to save them all.

All the stories take place at the same time intertwining their lives together on the 13th Floor.

Includes “The Shadow,” a bonus short story.

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18460150-the-13th-floor-complete-collection

Purchase Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/13th-Floor-Complete-Collection-ebook/dp/B00FF9QF3W
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-13th-floor-complete-collection-christine-rains/1116984997?ean=2940148537786
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-13th-floor-complete-collection
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/360987

Author Bio:

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. The 13^th Floor series is her first self-published series. She has eight novellas and twenty-one short stories published.

Website: http://christinerains.net/

Blog: http://christinerains-writer.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorchristinerains

Twitter: https://twitter.com/@CRainsWriter

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4017568.Christine_Rains

13th Floor Cover Reveal and Friday Celebrations

I'm taking a break from my Friday Faves this week to shine the spotlight on the amazing cover for The 13th Floor Collection by the super-talented Christine Rains. The 13th Floor stories are must-reads for anyone who loves paranormal tales and it's great to see them all together in this complete set. So without further ado, here is Christine's cover and all the info on the collection.

Title: The 13^th Floor Complete Collection

Author: Christine Rains

Genre: paranormal romance

Release date: October 13^th, 2013

Blurb:

Six supernatural tenants

Living in a haunted apartment building

On a floor that doesn't exist.

Six novellas telling their tales.

A retired demon acquires a price on his head.

A werewolf is hunted by her pack.

A modern day dragonslayer misses his target.

A harpy challenges Zeus for the soul of the man she loves.

A vampire is obsessed with a young woman he can't find.

A banshee falls in love with someone who's death she has seen in a vision.

And a sweet ghost must battle a primal monster to save them all.

All the stories take place at the same time intertwining their lives together on the 13th Floor.

Author Bio:

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not writing or reading, she is having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She has eight novellas and twenty-one short stories published.

Website: http://christinerains.net/

Blog: http://christinerains-writer.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorchristinerains

Twitter: https://twitter.com/@CRainsWriter

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4017568.Christine_Rains

Congratulations to Christine!! If you're looking for a great read, you won't go wrong by checking in with the residents of the 13th Floor.

And now for this week's Celebrate the Small Things hop, hosted by Vikki at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author.

This week went by in a blur but I've had some great things to celebrate.

1. I got the proof of my cover for The Ghosts of Aquinnah and I LOVE it! It's perfect and captures the mood and atmosphere of the story better than I ever could have hoped. Seeing the cover has made me even more excited for the release and I can't wait to be able to share it soon.

2. I am still over the moon about my new blurb for Polar Night written by the wonderful Michael Di Gesu. Michael is such an amazing talent and an absolute joy to work with. I highly recommend his services!

3. I FINALLY got started on my sequel to Polar Night and actually got some writing done. This actually isn't the first time I've started, but every other time I've been totally uninspired by everything I've written and ended up deleting my pages in frustration and disgust. This time truly feels different and I think I'm on the right track this time, so I'm super excited about that.

So it's been a great week and it's also been fun to be able to share covers and posts from my friends Cathrina, Sheena-kay, and Christine this week.

Finally, just a reminder that my September Giveaway is in full swing and you can enter through the Rafflecopter form below. Also, Polar Night is on sale at Smashwords for 10% now through October 6. Use coupon code DK46V to get the discount.

Happy weekend, everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway