Update: The winner of Shadow Highlander is…Marjana. Congratulations!!

I love Donna Grant. Not only is she a fabulous author, but she’s an all-around great person.  So when I had the chance to interview her for my blog party, I was excited. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the interview, too!

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C: Hi, Donna! Thanks so much for being here with us (and congrats on the release of Shadow Highlander!).

D: Thanks, Cynthia!  I’m always delighted to be on your blog. 🙂

C: SHADOW HIGHLANDER is the 5th book in your Dark Sword series.  How did you originally get the idea for this series?

D: It all began because I knew I wanted to write a series.  I wanted it set in medieval Scotland.  And I knew I wanted it to have some kind of paranormal aspect.  But the true idea came while our family was watching the movie King Arthur and my daughter asked if that’s really how Rome left Britain.

The idea literally just struck.  What if the real reason Rome left Britain has been hidden?  What if it involved magic.  The next thing I knew I had developed my own mythology involving Druids (both good and evil) as well as immortal Highlanders with primeval gods locked inside them which were drug up from Hell by the Druids.

C: How has the series changed since book 1?  And did you plan the series in advance or did the stories develop as you wrote each book?

D: Yes and no.  There is still one major villain, and she’s almost impossible to kill because of the strength of her magic.  I had planned for at least ten books in the series, so I knew the overall arc of the story had to be able to carry it through.  But so much happens in upcoming books that does change so much more than I anticipated.  🙂

C: Do you have a favorite hero from your Dark Sword books?

D: My favorites are usually whichever hero I’m writing at the moment, but there are others who I’m dying to write their story.  Hayden (UNTAMED HIGHLANDER) was one of those.  But there are two coming up that I’m just beside myself waiting to get to them – Phelan and Malcolm.

C: Galen, the hero from SHADOW HIGHLANDER, has mind-reading gifts (oh, very handy!). Do you wish you could read minds? Or is there another psychic power you’d prefer to have?

D: No, I think it would be better for everyone if I couldn’t read their minds.  lol.  Not something I’d want.  If I could have any of the other powers my Highlanders have it’d have to be Fallon’s ability to teleport from place to place.  No more planes, baby!  😀

C: What’s next for you, Donna? What can readers expect?

D: Next up is Broc’s book (DARKEST HIGHLANDER) which releases January 31, 2012.

Then the spin off series, Dark Warriors with two sets of back to back releases in 2012

MIDNIGHT’S MASTER (Logan) – June 2012

MIDNIGHT’S LOVER (Ian) July 2012

MIDNIGHT’S SEDUCTION (Camdyn) November 2012

MIDNIGHT’S WARRIOR (Ramsey) December 2012

With more hunky Highlanders to come. 🙂

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Oh, sweet, I am very glad there are more hunky Highlanders to come!! So…in honor of those highlanders, let’s do  a giveaway! Want to win a copy of SHADOW HIGHLANDER?  Then tell us which psychic power you’d like to have.

Blurb:

The Dark Sword series captures all the power, passion, and magic of Scotland’s legendary warriors—sworn to fight for victory, in battle and in love…

HE CAN FEEL HER MAGIC

Sent on a dangerous mission into the shadowy world of the Druids, Galen must find a powerful ancient relic to defeat the enemies of MacLeod Castle. But what he discovers is far more powerful—and far more dangerous. A Druid lass whose beauty is as spellbinding as any magic…

CAN HE FREE HER SOUL?

Reaghan is the most enchanting woman Galen has even met—and the most enigmatic. She alone is immune to his mind-reading gifts. He alone makes her feel safe and secure. But Reaghan holds a secret power deep inside her that could destroy them both. And if Galen hopes to hold this captivating woman in his arms every night, he must defeat the darkness that draws closer around her every day…

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You can read an excerpt from Shadow Highlander here.  Thanks!!

Update: The winner of KISS ME, KILL ME is…Rachel.  Congrats to Rachel! And thanks to all the great folks who commented!

New York Times best-selling author Allison Brennan contributed a great novella to the ENTANGLED anthology (see, another reason to pick up the book–Allison’s tale!), but, earlier this year, she also had a fabulous release.

KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM DIE
Lucy Kincaid has firsthand experience dealing with deadly criminal predators, and she’s fully prepared to share her many talents with the FBI. But when her career plans are derailed, her boyfriend, security expert Sean Rogan, asks for help on his latest private investigation. Using her well-honed cyber-hunting skills, Lucy is soon on the trail of a missing teenage girl with a penchant for disappearing—and a shocking secret life.

FBI Agent Suzanne Madeaux is also tracking someone: a serial killer on the loose in New York City. Dubbed by the press the Cinderella Strangler, he cruises seamy underground sex parties, where drug-fueled women make for easy pickings. As Lucy and Sean’s desperate search collides with the FBI’s hunt, Lucy isn’t about to step aside. Haunted by painful memories of her own harrowing encounters with evil, she’s determined to keep any more innocents from meeting the fate she so narrowly escaped. Delving deep into the twisted psyche of a remorseless killer, Lucy must confront her own fears—even if it means risking a future job with the FBI and future happiness with Sean.

Want to win a copy of KISS ME, KILL ME? Then tell me about a scary fiction killer (can be from a book or movie) that kept you awake at night. I’ll pick one winner to receive a copy of KISS ME, KILL ME. (I’ll ship the prize from Amazon.com, so it will be winner’s choice–either a mass market copy or a Kindle ebook version.) Thanks!

Update:  The winners of ENTANGLED (Kindle versions) are…Khelsey, Betty Lewis, and Ashley A.  Congrats!

I’m so glad that awesome author Nancy Haddock is able to join us now!  (Nancy is in the ENTANGLED charity anthology with me, and she contributed one fabulous tale.) Nancy, thank you for coming to the party!

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Me and My Big Fat Spanish Character

Helllloooo, Cynthia and Cynthia Eden fans!

It’s Monday morning, and Entangled is officially on sale in e-formats everywhere. Okay, maybe not everywhere, but at B&N for Nook, at Amazon for Kindle, and at Smashwords for those with Sonys, iPads, etc.

I’m thrilled to be in the stellar company of Cynthia, Allison Brennan, Jennifer Estep, and all the other amazing authors who contributed to Entangled. My own short story for the anthology is entitled “Medium Rare,” and it features the city of St. Augustine, Florida. It also showcases a slice of St. Augustine history, and a sampling of its ghost legends.

I fell in love with St. Augustine years before I was finally fortunate enough to move here. In fact, I credit the move to re-energizing my writing, so it’s no surprise that the city has become a strong secondary character in my work.

Ponce de Leon landed just north of the current Historic Old Town area in 1513 in the location that is now the Fountain of Youth complex. Why he didn’t stick around to drink a boat load of spring water, I don’t know, but then I don’t cheerfully chug sulfur water every day either. The actual founding of the Ancient City took place when Pedro Menendez de Aviles dropped anchor off the coast on August 28, 1565, the Feast Day of St. Augustine. In early September, Menendez and 600 soldiers and settlers came ashore with banners waving and trumpets sounding. I doubt the Timucuan Indians applauded the Spanish tromping through their village of Seloy, but thus is the pageantry that marked the birth of the city.

In 2015 St. Augustine will celebrate its 450^th birthday. That’s not a long life by European standards, but it’s good and long enough that a sense of history permeates the entire downtown and uptown areas. And long enough to generate a heck of a lot of ghosts, too!

I sincerely hope you’ll enjoy reading Entangled, and I hope you’ll remember these tidbits about St. Augustine when you read “Medium Rare.”

Best,

Nancy Haddock

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Thanks, Nancy!  Loved the post.

Now, to celebrate both the anthology release & Nancy’s visit, three commenters will be selected to receive Kindle versions of ENTANGLED.  (I’ll be buying the copies so the Breast Cancer Research Foundation will still get the donation–and you can have some reading fun!)

Update: The ANGEL OF DARKNESS prize pack will be going to…Tina B! Congrats!! (And, psst..I’ll be giving more of these away soon!)

Inspiration can come from any place. (And it usually does.)  For my novella, BOUND IN DARKNESS, inspiration came from a fairy tale.

I’ve always loved the Snow White tale but I’ll confess…I wanted a slightly different ending for Snow White. Sure, gallant princes are all well and good, but I’d rather have Snow White wind up with a bad boy.  And from that one idea–well, BOUND IN DARKNESS was born.

Remember how sweet little Snow White was supposed to be taken in the woods and murdered?  That’s the beginning of my novella. My heroine, Allison, follows the wrong man into the woods. His job is to kill her but…

He doesn’t. Just like in the Snow White tale, our heroine doesn’t die at that moment, and in that moment, well, things get interesting.  The assassin sent after my heroine is soon the one who is protecting her from every evil that comes her way.  No, he’s definitely not a gallant prince. In fact, he’s a werewolf.

But then, my heroine isn’t exactly lily pure, either…she’s a vampire.  And the lady is getting the urge to bite.

What favorite fairy tales do you have? Which tales would you like to see with a new twist?  Leave me a comment and let me know. One winner will be selected to win an ANGEL OF DARKNESS prize pack that will include: an early copy of ANGEL OF DARKNESS (as soon as I get my author copies, you get the very first one!), an ANGEL OF DARKNESS t-shirt (size large), an ANGEL OF DARKNESS mug, and an ANGEL OF DARKNESS tote bag.

And don’t forget…you can buy BOUND IN DARKNESS at Amazon, B&N, All Romance eBooks, or Smashwords for .99! Thanks!!!

My new ebooks, BOUND IN DARKNESS and ENTANGLED are available now! (Though the official release day is tomorrow, the books are available now at Amazon, B&N, All Romance EBooks, and Smashwords, so I thought I’d go ahead and spread the word.)

But…I am planning to have my release day party tomorrow (9/12/11), so I hope you will come back by for the fun!!  The party will kick off at 8:00 am tomorrow (Central Time) and last until 10:00 pm.  Each hour, a different author will be joining the party.  Many of my writing friends from the ENTANGLED anthology will be at the party(like Edie Ramer, Michelle Diener, Dale Mayer, and Nancy Haddock), plus great folks like Donna Grant, Jennifer Haymore, Lisa Renee Jones, and Caridad Pineiro.  There will be tons of contests (and all contests will stay open until noon–again, Central Time–on 9/13/11 so that people in different time zones will have a chance to participate.  It will be a great time, and I hope you can join us!

Now, back to those releases!  🙂

Here’s the blurb for BOUND IN DARKNESS:

Hunter…

When it comes to killing vampires, werewolf Cade Thain is the best slayer in the Northwest. So when a witch hires him to take out a pureblood vamp, the assassin thinks it will be just business as usual. One less vicious vamp on the streets…one more undead parasite gone from the earth. Then he meets her.

Protector…

Allison Gray isn’t the prey that Cade expects. Beautiful, innocent, she stirs a dark desire within him. Allison hasn’t transformed fully into a vampire, not yet, and it’s Cade’s job to make sure that she never does. Allison thinks that he’s at her side to keep her safe, but Cade is supposed to pick the right moment—and kill her.

Lover…

Killing Allison is soon the last thing that Cade plans. As she begins the transformation that will turn her into a vampire, her bloodlust and their desire merge in an explosion of need that neither can control. But Allison’s enemies are closing in, and the coming battle will take Cade and Allison beyond life, beyond love…and into a deadly darkness that waits to claim them both.

Bound in Darkness.

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You can find BOUND IN DARKNESS at Amazon, at B&N, at Smashwords, and at All Romance eBooks (I know–I said this before, but this time, I’m providing links!) Also, did I mention that BOUND IN DARKNESS is just .99?  Cause it is!  This is a novella story, with a word count clocking in at just over 21,000.  It’s a sexy story about one hot werewolf with a very dark side.  Tomorrow, I’ll be talking about how I got the inspiration for this tale (Snow White helped a lot!)

And for my second release:

ENTANGLED is a paranormal romance anthology (all of the stories are linked to Halloween).  The anthology is priced at $2.99, and ALL of the proceeds from this book will be going to the Breast Cancer Research Fund.  So you can get a great read, and help out a great cause at the same time.  It’s a double win.

My contribution to ENTANGLED is an 11,000 word short story called, “A Bit of Bite.” (Most of the stories are between 10-11k. but with 11 authors participating, that means you are getting a book with over 100k words for just $2.99.  Deal! This price will last for the months of September and October. )

ENTANGLED is available at Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, and All Romance eBooks.

Both of these books are ebooks, but if you don’t have an ereader, you can still read the tales.  You can download a free program like Kindle for PC or Nook for PC and read the books right on your computer (I use these programs all the time. Very handy).

Here’s the blurb for ENTANGLED:

Ghosts, vampires, demons, and more! Entangled includes ten suspense-filled paranormal short stories from authors Cynthia Eden, Jennifer Estep, Edie Ramer, Lori Brighton, Michelle Diener, Misty Evans, Nancy Haddock, Liz Kreger, Dale Mayer, and Michelle Miles, plus a Seven Deadly Sins novella by Allison Brennan.

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I hope you enjoy a terrific Sunday, and don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the release day fun!