SUPERNATURAL SUNDAY

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

I've talked about my guest blogger's special "trick or treat" for you all week long and it's finally here! There are giveaways for comments and the prizes are:

Kelly Abell will be giving away an e-copy of Haunted Destiny
Marissa Farrar will be giving away an e-copy of Alone.
Rie McGaha will be giving away a Closure writing tablet.
A $10 Barnes and Noble Gift Card is up for grabs.
A pink/flower book cover (this is intended to protect paperback books).

(Unfortunately, due to the cost of postage, if you're outside the United States, please be aware that when you enter the contest you are only entering to win one of the e-books.)


Here's what the guest bloggers wrote for you:

The harvest moon shimmered bright behind thick billowing clouds. Shadows hung within shadows along the roadway. The hair on Beth's arms stood up, her feet snapping quickly against pavement, berating herself for not checking the gas gauge. A twig snapped.

Beth spun around fear grabbing her heart in a vise. She could sense him rather than see him. She reached out with her mind to find what might be out among the shadows. His thoughts were far from violent but they are intense. He was hunting, but not for food.

His desire was a potent scent and it pulled her in. What was wrong with her? She should be terrified in her situation, in the dead of night, but here she was enthralled by a stranger. When he stepped out of the shadows, highlighted by the glow of the moon, she knew her fate was sealed.

Blood coated the front of his jacket, smeared his sleeves. But this was not the first thing she noticed. Instead it was the strange yellow pupils that watched her so intently, and, as he opened his mouth to speak, she saw a set of teeth that should not belong in the head of any man – even one as striking as this.

"You shouldn't be here." Her teeth chattered together like mariachis as he took a step forward with muddy bare feet showing at the hem of his torn jeans. Her heart pounded wildly against her ribs threatening to explode from her chest. "I…my car…gas." His brow raised as humor pulled at the corner of his lips.

Beth stepped away, her back hitting the cold wall. No escape. He moved closer, his potent scent sending her sex drive into overload. She bit her bottom lip and lifted her chin to meet his gaze. His bloodstained tongue swept across his fangs. A low growl rumbled from his chest.

She shouldn't feel this way, she knew. She should scream. Or run. Fight back. But she didn't. Couldn't. His mouth was only a breath away and her tongue snaked out, moistening her lips. Then his lips met hers. Warm and wet. Her heart pounded in her ears as she felt her body melting, glad for the wall behind her and his body before her.

Beth didn’t think about the blood, ignored the metallic scent and concentrated on his hard, muscled chest. Any moment now she’d be his next victim. Pulse pounding, a tingling sensation began in her nose and she pulled away seconds before the sneeze overtook her. Desperate to recapture the embrace, she turned her head only to see the familiar faces of the guests at the Halloween party. Her heart prickled with disappointment that the intense longing had been fantasy, yet… Her gaze met that of a yellow-eyed wolfman across the room. As he approached her with determined steps, a wash of heat coursed through her, tingling in all the right places. Time to make a little Halloween magic of her own. Who said fantasies had to stay in daydreams?


I hope you enjoyed their combined story! Each paragraph was written by a different guest blogger. Now, just for fun, it's your job to tell me who you "think" wrote each paragraph. On November 1st, I'll draw winners and announce which authors wrote which paragraphs so you can see how close you were to getting it right! Winners will be drawn at random and NOT because of correctness of guessing which authors wrote which paragraphs.

The contributing bloggers are as follows:

Gracen Miller (me, of course)
Stacey Espino
Kelly Abell
Marissa Farrar
Sandra Sookoo
H.C. Brown
Rie McGaha
Cherie De Sues

Tantalizing Tuesday

Please welcome Kelly Abell into the moonlight. Join Kelly at her website where you can learn more about Kelly and some insightful writing tips as well! Now, to the good stuff…


GRACEN: Do you have a movie that you must watch every Halloween? What's your favorite scary movie? Do you have a favorite scary character or character type?

KELLY: If I had to pick my favorite scary movie I think it would have to be Pet Semetary. The book scared me to death and the movie lived up to its name. My family and I watch horror movies on Halloween and there are many that we choose from. The scariest movie I’ve ever seen is The Grudge. Ooooh, that one makes me shiver.


GRACEN: The book Pet Semetary is awesome! I've never seen the movie though. Do you dress up for Halloween? If so, what will you be dressed up as this year? What was your all-time most favorite costume that you ever wore? Why?

KELLY: Now that my children are grown I do not dress up for Halloween. I think it would be fun though. Maybe I will consider it. I think the best costume I ever wore was Cat Woman! I had the long black nails, the mask, the tail, the works! Gave the term Cougar a whole new meaning!


GRACEN: Are you superstitious? Do you find yourself knocking on wood or throwing salt over your shoulder? If not one of these two, what is your superstition?

KELLY: This is funny. I do both of those. My biggest one is the knock on wood. I find myself doing it without even thinking. I also throw salt over my shoulder. I feel silly doing it, but I just feel compelled. I’m sure there are more superstitions that I have I just can’t think of them all at the moment.


GRACEN: I knock on wood too. The irony of that...I don't consider myself superstitious! =D Do you believe in ghosts? If so, have you ever had a ghostly encounter and tell us about it?

KELLY: Oh absolutely I do. Our family has a history of visitations and the one I’m the closest to was the day my Grandmother died. She was in a nursing home in Virginia and I had moved to Florida. I took her Grandfather Clock with me and she really loved that clock. She named it Horace. We knew she was close to dying and one day my husband was at home and the Grandfather Clock just stopped. Shortly after that we got the word that she had passed away. That clock has not worked since. I still feel her presence very often. I will find things picked up and moved to different places. She was obsessive compulsive and couldn’t stand to have things messy, so every now and then she puts things away for me.


GRACEN: Oooo…that gave me chills! If you could be any paranormal creature, what would it be and why?

KELLY: Oh this is easy. I would be a shape shifter that turns into a cougar! I think cougars are so sleek and sexy and powerful all at the same time. They have quirky personalities and can project many expressions on their feline faces.


GRACEN: Swashbuckling pirates like Johnny Depp are sexy, but e-pirates are not. How do you handle e-pirates in your writing world? Do you have any advice or wish to share any experience with other writers? Anything you wish to say to e-pirates in general?

KELLY: I think pirating another person’s work is a crime and should be punishable by law. Writers and other artists work very hard to put together a novel, a movie or a song. We deserve to be paid for what we do. Help stop piracy.


GRACEN: Now, let’s get to your writing, Kelly…Why the paranormal genre? What was the draw for you?

KELLY: I have always enjoyed good ghost stories and all things paranormal. Paranormal characters allow me to be different and stretch my imagination to create very entertaining stories for my readers. With my newest novel Blood Harvest Moon I have a character who is a shape shifter but he’s not the typical wolf shape shifter. I think you will like what he becomes and his personality as he gets there.


GRACEN: If you could describe your paranormal writing with a word or phrase, what would it be? Please be creative and look beyond words like vampire, werewolf, etc., and delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they've finished reading your story.

KELLY: Tantalizing.


GRACEN: Do you prefer playing tricks on people or bestowing treats? Does that show through in your writing? If so, how?

KELLY: Oh I’m a bit of a trickster. I like to use cliff hangers at the end of all my chapters and sometimes at the end of a book in the series. I plant little quirks in my characters personalities and like to see if my readers can pick up on them.


GRACEN: Who decides what creatures you write about, you or your muse? What kind of influence do you have over your story, or is the muse always the one stirring the cauldron?

KELLY: I like to think of it as a partnership. Many times I am running the show and I think I know where I’m going but then my muse will remind me that I don’t know everything and take my characters in a totally different direction. I love it when that happens.


GRACEN: What was the creature/paranormal character that you had the most fun creating and why? Who—to you—was the sexiest character you wrote and why?

KELLY: Derek in Blood Harvest Moon was a blast to create. I took a mild mannered college student and turned him into a sexy shape shifting hero. I think you will fall in love with him too.


GRACEN: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why? Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?

KELLY: I’ll answer the last part of that first. I would never want to meet Ronlen, the evil warlock in my story. He’s powerful, shifty, and downright evil. I would like to meet Shaelyn in real life. She’s a beautiful Irish witch with control over a great deal of magic, yet she remains compassionate. How she outsmarts a curse is admirable.


GRACEN: Thanks so much for joining us, Kelly! Blood Harvest Moon sounds tantalizing and I can't wait to read it! All the best of success! ~huggles~

Here is the blurb:
A sacrifice must be made....

Only a few days from the Blood Harvest Moon a coven of witches must have a sacrifice in order to maintain their immortality.

A prophesy to fulfill...

Shaelyn, a beautiful Irish witch believes a prophesy that will bring her love and destiny. Little did she realize what it would cost her.

A destiny of greatness...

Derek Panthera, a sexy but mild mannered college student has no idea how an unexpected car accident will change is his life forever. It not only leads him straight to a coven of witches who need a blood sacrifice, but will enact a change in him he is totally unprepared for.

As the destiny of Shaelyn and Derek intertwine, a battle is on to save Derek's life from a treacherous and evil curse. As the attraction between the two becomes heated, it's Shaylen who brings out the animal in Derek he didn't know existed.


Links
www.knightromancepublishing.com

Come learn more about me and join my site to keep up with all the upcoming events
www.kellyabellbooks.com

Blood Harvest Moon Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Blood-Harvest-Moon/141910529186550?ref=ts

TWILIGHT THURSDAY WITH KELLY ABELL

“Writing is the gift of bringing Dreams to Life!” That’s a quote from Kelly Abell on her website and I just love it because I think those are the words that are felt in the heart of every author.

Kelly is the author of Sealed in Lies, Haunted Destiny, and Online Angel. There’s a ton of information on her website http://kellyabell.webs.com/ , but once you’ve finished surfing it, don’t forget to come back and read her exciting interview!

~~~~~

GRACEN: Do you have a movie that you must watch every Christmas? What's your favorite Christmas movie? Do you have a favorite Christmas character or character type?

KELLY: There are two movies I really like to watch at Christmas time. One is One Magic Christmas with Mary Steenburgen. And the other is some form of A Christmas Carol. My favorite is the one with Patrick Stewart.

GRACEN: Do you have any Christmas traditions like decorating your house, having house parties, making cookies etc.?

KELLY: We always decorate our tree as a family and play Christmas Carols and have hot chocolate which is a little strange in Florida because it is always hot! :0)

GRACEN: If you do make Christmas Cookies, what kinds will you be making this year? What was your all-time most favorite Christmas Cookie that you ever made? Why? Care to share the recipe?

KELLY: I’m not much of a baker, sorry. I don’t make Christmas cookies and if I do they are the Pillsbury cut and bake kind. LOL

GRACEN: Even if you don’t put one up, do prefer real or artificial trees? Why? Have you ever made your own Christmas presents or decorations? If so, what were they? Were they successes or failures? Did you have fun while making them?

KELLY: This is a fun question. I love live trees but I’ve now gone the artificial route because they dry out so fast in Florida. One year I made all the Christmas ornaments for my tree. They were beaded counted cross stitch and turned out beautifully. I still have those and use them on our family tree.

GRACEN: What foods will be at your Christmas celebration this year? What is the most unusual food that you saw at a Christmas feast? Would you eat the fruitcake or use it as a doorstop?

KELLY: I absolutely HATE fruitcake! LOL My grandparents would send us one every year and it was definitely the door stop! Love Ya Grannie! One year my husband and I went to The Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, NC for Christmas and they had a Christmas feast with Pheasant and Quail, a Roast pig on the spit, Venison, and other types of wild game. It was very strange but delicious! I so enjoyed that trip with him. They have Christmas trees in every room. I LOVE Christmas trees!

GRACEN: Do you celebrate Christmas on the Eve or Day? Who, if anyone, in your family plays Santa Claus? Does he hand out the presents or do they just “magically” appear under the tree? How do you handle presents that just don’t fit under the tree?

KELLY: We celebrate by going to church for a candlelight service on Christmas Eve and then we open gifts on Christmas Day. No one plays Santa and one year we got my son a bike and I hid it in the neighbors garage!

GRACEN: If you could be any Christmas Character, who would it be and why?

KELLY: I would be the angel in the movie One Magic Christmas. That is the coolest movie ever. I watch that one over and over.

GRACEN: Other than money (because who doesn’t want more of that), what would your ultimate gift be?

KELLY: To be on the New York Times Best Seller List! LOL

GRACEN: If you could give any of your characters a Christmas gift, who would it be and what would you get them?

KELLY: Oh this is a fun question too! I think I would pick Jack from Sealed In Lies and I would give him a Wii so he could stay in shape! LOL

GRACEN: Now, let’s get to your writing. What genre do you write? What was the draw for you?

KELLY: I actually write in multiple genres. I primarily write Romance and Romantic Suspense and Thrillers. I’ve also written a Young Adult Paranormal. I love the paranormal genre because there are so many story possibilities. You can build them however you want. I love romance because there are just so many ways to build your characters and design your stories. I love to write characters that readers can fall in love with and feel good and bad about. I want people to read my characters and love them so much that they want to read them over and over.

GRACEN: If you could describe your writing with a word or phrase, what would it be? Please delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they've finished reading your story.

KELLY: I think I would use the word Compelling. I want readers to be compelled to read my stories and then once they start I want them to be compelled to keep going until they are done. For a reader to say they couldn’t put my book down is the ultimate compliment to me.

GRACEN: With the current movement to encourage people to give books as gifts, what, in your opinion, makes your story unique? What makes it stand out among all the others?

KELLY: Sealed In Lies is a turning twisting tale of suspense. From the time you see Jack naked on the Terrace to the end where he is fighting for the life of his true love you just can’t beat the action and the spicy romance that sizzles between Jack and Caroline. Add in some guns, a terrorist, some really scary nightmares and you’ve got a tale that just won’t quit.

GRACEN: Do you prefer throwing snowballs or serving hot cocoa? Does that show through in your writing? If so, how?

KELLY: I prefer throwing snowballs and I think it does show in my writing. The action is what draws readers to my writing. Most of my books are plot driven with compelling characters. There are some real surprises too, like that snowball in the ear! LOL

GRACEN: Who decides what your characters do, you or your muse? What kind of influence do you have over your story, or is the muse always the one stuffing the stocking?

KELLY: I think I share the spotlight with my muse. I am in control to a point and then the muse takes over sitting on my shoulder making well crafted suggestions and advising me to let the characters go where they will. I think this is the most fun of writing.

GRACEN: What character did you have the most fun creating and why?

KELLY: I really enjoyed creating Destiny Dove in Haunted Destiny. Destiny was so vulnerable and alone when you first meet her and the strength she is forced to gain because of her “gift” makes her gain a personal strength she didn’t know she possessed. She’s a beautiful girl in love with a boy she can’t have and is mistreated by the town rich girl who only she can save from a very evil spirit. She has heart and class!

GRACEN: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why?

KELLY: Jack Weaver from Sealed In Lies! Cause he’s HOT!!!

GRACEN: Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?

KELLY: The Emperor from Sealed In Lies because he is one really scary DUDE!!! A ruthless killer with no soul.

BLURB:

Jack Weaver can’t seem to escape a life of lies. First as a Seal, then as an undercover CIA operative working in the largest drug cartel in Columbia Jack’s entire existence is based on being someone other than who he truly is. While serving as Chief Security Officer to one of the most dangerous men on earth Jack uncovers a plot to assassinate the President-Elect on Inauguration Day. Suddenly things become infinitely worse when his ex-SEAL commander who is now a Deputy Director with the CIA shows up and blows his cover. Forced to kill him, Jack is now on the run not only for his life but he’s the only one who knows about the assassination attempt, other than a mysterious man who calls himself the Emperor and seems to be calling all the shots.

Moreover, Jack is being haunted by terrifying dreams from his past that seem to be connected to this entire conspiracy involving his old SEAL team. Desperate for answers Jack breaks into the home of Vice-President elect Warren Walters, another SEAL teammate, where he is discovered by Warren’s abused wife Caroline. He forces Caroline to go with him with the intentions of letting her go once he gets the information he needs. Overcoming her fear of Jack, Caroline refuses to leave, seeing this as an opportunity to escape her own life of lies. This starts a chain reaction of feelings neither of them is prepared for. The Emperor has seriously underestimated Jack’s determination to find answers and is losing control over all the puppets he has in play. As Jack and Caroline come closer and closer to the answers and each other, will they be able to save the President-elect’s life as well as their own, or will a blast from Jack’s past destroy them all?

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