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Saturday, August 10, 2013

Cover Reveal: Sacrifice by Jessica Fortunato


Sacrifice is the second book in The Sin Collector Trilogy by author Jessica Fortunato.  Also from Fortunato is The Sin Collector, The Sin Collector: Thomas, Steam and the short story Banished which can be found in the Nocturnal Embers Anthology.  She lives in Pittsburgh PA with her family, a clumsy black cat, and year round Halloween decorations.

You can find Jessica:
Find The Sin Collector: Sacrifice, exclusively for Kindle August 30th, 2013!

Synopsis:
As an immortal Sin Collector, Liliana lead a transient life of solitude for over one-hundred years. 
Now with a growing family, she has found herself liking normalcy and the façade of being human.  However, when old friends begin to turn up dead, it is clear Collectors are not safe.  The battle that Liliana thought she’d won, has only just begun.
She must save herself, her family, and her friends from the Castus, a fanatical group sworn to eradicate her kind. 

As Liliana travels the globe making allies, and discovering secrets, she soon learns that the threat to her safety is closer than she ever thought possible.

Today only, you can pick up The Sin Collector FREE!  Click Here, begin the journey, and Get Collected.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Where do demons come from?

Cultures throughout the ages have had their versions of demons. In most, demons are the personification of evil, pain, and suffering. They exploit weakness already in man and are said to have many powers that can torment or can allure men.
Ancient Akkadian texts alluded that evil spirits were sent by evil gods. In Persia, the prophet Zoroaster preached about the doctrine of evil. The world was split between an ultimate Good, named Ormazd, and an ultimate evil, Ahriman. Ahriman had 6 archdemons, known as Daevas, to fight Ormazd’s 6 archangels. And, of course, they controlled countless numbers of lower demons.
The Hebrews attributed the “false gods” of other religions to being demons. One particular favorite was Moloch, the devourer of children. Tales said that his follower would place their children on his burning idol and sacrifice them for protection, health, and long life. (Note: I think he will be used in a future book. *Rubs hands together with an evil laugh.*)
The term demon actually came from the Greek term daimon, which means spirit or lesser deity. Many of the spirits resided in the Greek Underworld, a place so frightening to man that they would not even speak the name of Hades, the god of the Underworld. The Romans did what they always did and added the Greek pantheon to their own. So the daimons became daemons.
When Christianity rose, it was in Rome. They incorporated other religions into their own to gain converts. Except, like the Hebrews (since Christianity started as an offshoot of the Hebrew religion), a lot of the deities became demons, especially the darker or “evil” gods. Now, we have a whole hierarchy of demons in hell associated with the Christian religion.

This is just touching the surface. You can find variations of demons in India, Africa, the middle East, Japan, and China. All come with their own special mythos. I guess, all around the world, we have something to name our fears after. Be sure to check out A Prescription for Delirium for some of the demons found in lore.

*This is a repost from my blog tour. The original post is found on Happy Tails and Tales.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Monster Menagerie Winner!

And the winner is


















...

























Dracula!
On Flick by David_Brett
Congr- Oh, wait. What do you mean he's dead. Heh, not in my continuity....OK, JUST KIDDING! The REAL winner is...

Jessica Fortunato with Brocken Bow. Everybody give a hand or standing ovation for Jess!

So, this wraps up the Blogger Book Fair. Be sure to stop by their page and catch up on some of the great posts you missed. I had a lot of fun this year and got to connect with some great writers. My to read list has, once again, gotten longer. How about yours?

Blogger Book Fair: Character Interview Samuel Freeman

*Sam is standing on the sidewalk outside the Persephone Music Hall at night. The year is 1940, the city Seattle. I arrive with  and Shake his hand.*

So, good of you to talk with us Sam. We have a few questions that our readers are dying to know. 

First, what do you consider your greatest achievement?

My greatest achievement is my painting of Lily, or so she told me. I don’t get it; she’s tall, platinum blonde, and beautiful. The girl in the painting has a dark complexion and black hair and she’s searching across an ocean with faraway eyes. Lily asked that I paint her as she once was, and this is what I painted. Strange...

What is your most treasured possession?

Lily’s heart. Not a lot of material treasures in our apartment, ‘cept for the violin that she says is priceless. I wouldn’t change a thing as long as I can have her.

Your love sounds like one of the great ones. Tell me, what is your greatest fear?

I fear most that the one person whose influence changed my life—in some ways for the better and in other ways…for the worse—has forgotten me.  I wonder every day, and if I got the chance to find out…would knowing hurt more than the question?

Which living person do you most despise?

I despise no one and no thing.  Life is full of enough pain without keeping it wrapped up in hatred. I’d rather focus on the happy things in life, the things that make the bad fade into the background..

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?

I guess I’d like to be a music hall, so I could enjoy shows forever and share in the delight of audiences.

What is one strong memory that has stuck with you from childhood? Why is it so powerful and lasting?

I guess you could say I was still a child when I saw Lily onstage for the first time. Listening to her play…hearing the sweet, mournful tones that she coaxed from that old violin…that was the night I found religion.

Thanks you so  much for your time Sam. For those that wish to know more, be sure to pick up a copy of 

The Lightness of Dust

Blurb

Samuel Freeman, caretaker of the Persephone Music Hall in 1940 Seattle, dreams of the day his art will move him beyond the life that holds him. Lily Ostendorf, a beautiful foreign violinist, encounters Sam’s work in war-ravaged Europe and crosses the ocean to meet him. One night at the symphony unites Sam and Lily in a love story that resonates through the ages.

From ancient Anatolia—where a gifted young healer fights to marry her true love despite her father’s wishes—to modern-day Northern California—where Professor Jake Morgan struggles to save his marriage from the schemes of an alluring graduate student—the thread woven by Sam and Lily draws lives together and summons an unspeakable fate.

Follow the thread as mortal cares scatter with The Lightness of Dust.

Amazon Book Link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Lightness-Dust-Meronymy-ebook/dp/B0091A5SAC
Smashwords Book Link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/293655
Kobo Book Link: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Lightness-of-Dust/book-e86qkf9kU0mmJhaCkxZiTA/page1.html?s=inpQaCBn3Um195XuGRgvZw&r=1
Goodreads Book Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16092805-the-lightness-of-dust


About M.L. Weaver

M.L. Weaver’s best friends as a child were books, as asthma kept him indoors—and in bed—a great deal of the time. His favorite genres were, and are to this day, science fiction, fantasy, and history textbooks.

Matt’s asthma abated but his love for books did not. Writing novels was always one of his goals but he didn’t manage to put pen to paper until the third year of grad school, which, as he now admits, might have been the worst possible time to focus on anything but research!

After graduating from UC Davis with a Ph.D. in chemistry, Matt moved with his wife and son to the Pacific 
Northwest.

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

Blogger Book Fair: Guest Cole Knightly

I'd like to Welcome Cole Knightly to Trip the Eclipse.

Hi everyone! I’m thrilled to be here. Today I thought I’d talk about my four favourite creepy covers. I really love book covers because they can sometimes be so amazing that I just HAVE to buy the book. It’s great when that happens. Any way, let’s get on with the covers!


So, my first two covers are actually the same book: It by Stephen King. The first one is an older version that is an illustration of a scene from the book. It’s a scene that to this day scare my poor mother and the reason she totally lost it and grounded me forever when she caught me and a bunch of neighbor boys prying open a manhole cover and taking turns going into the sewer. (We were looking for the Ninja Turtles, okay?!) Just like in the book, its cover plays on that fear of a monster lurking in the sewer trying to lure innocent children into its claws.

Now, this newer cover invokes fear on many different levels. First, clowns are always frightening. PERIOD. And Pennywise in general is pretty disturbing. Since the 90s, Tim Curry’s portrayal of the most unlovable demon clown has become somewhat of an icon for It. And of course, the artist manipulated the face to make it look extra menacing… as if clowns need more of that.


The next book cover is from Scary F***ing Stories. This is a book written by D.F. Noble and contains some pretty weird and creepy stories. What’s great about this cover is the frightening monster peeking its head out from behind the door. It reminds me of the childhood fear so many of us had of monsters in the closet. Also, the creature itself is terrifying. That mouth full of pointy teeth solidifies that. To make it even more scary, the monster appears to be grinning as if the prospect of devouring my soul is not only delicious, but fun too. Yikes!



The last cover is for Ghoul by Brian Keene. It’s a bizarre book and the cover just oozes horror. I mean, there’s a graveyard and everything. Much of the story takes place in a graveyard, above and below it, and this cover captures that. Also, it really has some great atmosphere going on with the mist and the cool blue colour. I like that it implies zombie, but it is actually about a ghoul instead. Nice change.

So yeah, these are some of my favourite horror book covers. There are so many great ones out there, it was hard to decide. Thanks for stopping by and indulging me, everyone!


Creep (A Short Story)
Now Available
After ten months in a mental institution with no end in sight, Jenny Crete tells the story of why she was institutionalized. She had started a new job at Ridley Conner Community College and had begun to notice disturbing and creepy things happening in the school late at night. At first, she thought it was all in her mind. But it ended up being something much more sinister lurking in the shadows.


Portrait of a Ghost
Hopeless. Numb. Abandoned. These are all words Victoria has used to explain how it feels to lose her twin sister Lizzy. After receiving a series of disturbing paintings depicting her sister's suicide, Victoria starts investigating the possibility of murder. To make matters worse, she is being haunted by the ghost of her twin. When she enlists the help of Lizzy’s mysterious boyfriend Evan, Victoria takes her place as a life-model at the local art school to get close to the potential killer. If she doesn't uncover his identity soon, she will become his next victim.




The Temple's Gate Trilogy: Coming Soon...



Cole Knightly writes horror and supernatural thrillers. His debut short story, Portrait of a Ghost, was released in November 2012. Cole has a Masters in Fine Art with a Creative Writing emphasis and teaches adults online and on campus. His Temple's Gate trilogy is expected to be released in 2013.

Learn more at the Cole Knightly website.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Blogger Book Fair: Guest Post Wynne Channing

What Kills Me Cover Small I am so excited to be hosting Wynne Channing on the blog today. She's the newspaper journalist-turned novelist who penned the best-selling paranormal adventure, What Kills Me. She's stopped by to share a few words on why horror/paranormal will always be her genre of choice: When I was a little girl, I used to play Michael Jackson’s Thriller and as soon as I heard Vincent Price cackle, I dove under the covers. Then I would play it again. I would also make monsters. I’d twist the heads off of my dolls and jam brooms through the sleeves of my clothing. Then I would look upon my creation like a proud Dr. Frankenstein, realize how scary they were and then run away. Oh, I hated being scared. But I loved being scared. As I got older, I watched every horror movie I could find. I read Stephen King. I wrote stories about monsters, about aliens, about people with terrifying powers, with waking nightmares. In paranormal worlds, anything is possible; the horrors there, are examples, exaggerations of the horrors in real life. What is it that we enjoy about being afraid? We stare into mirrors and say “Bloody Mary.” We sink low in theatre seats and wait for Jason, for Freddy, for that creepy meowing boy from The Grudge to appear on screen. We like the excitement. The thrill of being afraid without the risk. Because as freaky as horror movies are, we know at the end of the day, we can press stop on the DVD or close the book. But we won’t because that wouldn’t be as fun. When I wrote What Kills Me, it’s those same thrills that I wanted to deliver. I wanted to take readers on an adventure. I wanted them to tense up at the suspense and wonder if my heroine would survive the horrors. Go on the ride — all from the safety of your own home.
Buy What Kills Me!
About the top-rated, best-selling book: An ancient prophecy warns of a girl destined to cause the extinction of the vampire race. So when 17-year-old Axelia falls into a sacred well filled with blood and emerges a vampire, the immortal empire believes she is this legendary destroyer. Hunted by soldiers and mercenaries, Axelia and her reluctant ally, the vampire bladesmith Lucas, must battle to survive. How will she convince the empire that she is just an innocent teenager-turned bloodsucker and not a creature of destruction? And if she cannot, can a vampire who is afraid of bugs summon the courage to fight a nation of immortals?
HeadshotAbout Wynne: Wynne Channing is an award-winning national newspaper reporter and best-selling young adult novelist. Wynne loves telling stories and as a journalist, she has interviewed everyone from Daniel Radcliffe and Hugh Jackman to the president of the Maldives and Duchess Sarah Ferguson. The closest she has come to interviewing a vampire is sitting down with True Blood‘s Alexander Skarsgard (he didn’t bite). She briefly considered calling her debut novel “Well” so then everyone would say: “Well written by Wynne Channing.”
Connect with Wynne

Monster Menagerie Vote: Who Will Win?

So, we've reached the time to cast your votes. In case you missed any, here are our talented contestants.

1. Seeker Demon by Allie Jean
2. Brocken Bow by Jessica Fortunato
4. The Ogre and His Boy by D.H. Aire
5. Thunderbird by Amanda Taylor
6. Vampire Conception by Shah Wharton
7. The Literary Vampire by Sandra C. Hessels

So, now it's voting time!


VOTING IS OVER


Voting will end at Noon CST on Friday and I'll announce the winner at 6:00 PM CST on Friday. Good luck, contestants!