Hi, everyone! Hope you’re gearing up for a great weekend.  😉 I just wanted to pop in and say that if you would like to receive some ANGEL OF DARKNESS trading cards, just shoot me an email at cynthia@cynthiaeden.com. Be sure to include your mailing address so I can get the cards right out to you.

Some people have asked how many books will be in the Fallen series. Right  now, I am working on the fourth book.  Here are the titles for the tales:

ANGEL OF DARKNESS

ANGEL BETRAYED

ANGEL IN CHAINS

AVENGING ANGEL  (Here’s a little note…AVENGING ANGEL is the only story in the series to feature a Fallen Angel heroine. She’s pretty fierce–I like her!)

In addition to the trading cards, I’m working on other promotional items for the Fallen series. I’ll be giving away some of these items on my blog, Twitter, & Facebook soon.  I’ll also be attending several conferences next year (RT in Chicago, Silken Sands in Pensacola, Florida, and Authors After Dark in New Orleans) where I’ll be giving away lots of Angel goodies.

Have a great weekend!

Update:  Thanks for all the great comments! 🙂 The winner (by random selection) is…Darcy. Congrats, Darcy!!

Hi, everyone!  Today,  urban fantasy & paranormal romance author Rosalie Lario is my guest. I was lucky enough to read an early copy of Rosalie’s book, BLOOD OF THE DEMON, and I loved the tale. 😉 I can’t wait to read more of her work.

Rosalie, thank you for joining us today!

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First I’d like to say thanks so much, Cynthia, for having me on your blog. Today I’m here to talk about my brand-spanking new release.

Blood of the Demon features Brynn Meyers, a (mostly) human woman who is thrust into the world of the supernatural when a demon with designs on Earth decides to use an ancient spellbook (the Book of the Dead) to raise an army of zombies. The problem? The resurrection spell can only be recited by the heir to the creator of the Book—and that’s Brynn.

Brynn’s whole world is turned upside down when she learns there are multiple dimensions from which different species of beings derive (demons, shifters, vampires, fae: you name it). Inter-dimensional travel is governed by a political council of elders called the Elden Council. Though most humans don’t know it, New York City contains one of the portals allowing for travel between dimensions, and a lot of the people walking the streets aren’t at all human. Once she learns all of this, her life will never again be the same.

I can’t help but wonder, what if there really were multiple dimensions from which all the creatures that we think of as mythical originated? What if they had the capacity to blend in with humans so most people would never know the difference? Would I really want to know?

I like to think that yes, I could handle that type of knowledge without completely freaking my s***t out. But I honestly don’t know if that’s true. Having to wonder if the next person I met might be a demon who delights in eating human flesh, or a vampire who can’t live without human blood… yeah, maybe those things are better left unknown. So what about you? Would you want to know?

Everyone who tells me their preference in the comments will be entered to win a PDF copy of Blood of the Demon!

BLURB FOR BLOOD OF THE DEMON: Keegan lives to exact revenge on the evil demon who sired and abused him. When his father devises a plan to bring on the apocalypse, he and his three half-brothers, interdimensional bounty hunters for the Elden Council, are charged with capturing and delivering their father for punishment.

Art gallery owner Brynn Meyers has no idea that her ability to read memories embedded in objects and drain people of their life force means she has demon ancestry. Unfortunately for Brynn, she’s also the key to raising an ancient zombie army, which puts her on every demon’s Most Wanted List.

And no one wants her more than Keegan’s father.

Keegan must protect Brynn from his father by any means necessary, but he’ll have to learn to harness the other half of his genetics—the far deadlier, uncontrollable half—when he starts to fall for the one woman standing between him and the vengeance he so desperately seeks. The one woman he’ll never be able to resist.

Find out more at http://www.entangledpublishing.com/blood-of-the-demon or at my website www.rosalielario.com.

I sent out an early ANGEL OF DARKNESS excerpt to my newsletter members (See? All the more reason to join my newsletter!), and now it’s time to share the excerpt here on the blog. 🙂  Hope you enjoy it!

Unedited excerpt from ANGEL OF DARKNESS (Kensington Brava, 11/29/11)

He’d been created for one purpose—death.  He was not there to comfort or to enlighten.

Keenan’s only job was to bring death to those unlucky enough to know his touch.

And on the cold, windy New Orleans night, his latest victim was in sight.  He watched her from his perch high atop the St. Louis Cathedral. Mortal eyes wouldn’t find him. Only those preparing to leave the earthly realm could ever glimpse his face so he didn’t worry about shocking those few humans who straggled through the nearby square.

No, he worried about nothing. No one. He never had. He simply touched and he killed and he waited for his next victim.

The woman he watched tonight was small, with long, black hair, and skin a pale cream.  The wind whipped her hair back, jerking it away from her face as she hurried down the stone cathedral steps.  The doors had been locked. She hadn’t made it inside.  No chance to pray.

Pity.

He slipped to the side of the cathedral, still watching her as she edged down the narrow alley way.  Pirate’s Alley.  He’d taken others from this place before.  The path seemed to scream with the memories of the past.

“No!”

That wasn’t the past screaming.  His body stiffened.  His wings beat at the air around him. It was her.

Nicole St. James.  School teacher.  Age twenty-nine.  A woman who tutored children on the weekends. A woman who’d tried to live her life just right…

A woman who was dying tonight.

His eyes narrowed as he leapt from his perch.  Time to go in closer.

Nicole’s attacker had her against the wall. One of the man’s hands was over her mouth, the better to make sure she didn’t scream again.  His other hand slammed against the front of her chest and held her pinned against the cold stone wall.

She was fighting harder than Keenan had really expected.  Struggling. Kicking.

Her attacker just laughed.

And Keenan watched—as he’d always watched. So many years…

Tears streamed down Nicole’s cheeks.

The man holding her leaned in and licked them away.

Keenan’s gut clenched.  Knowing that her time was at hand, he’d watched Nicole for a few weeks now.  He’d slipped into her classroom and listened to the soft drawl of her voice.  He’d watched as her lips curled into a smile and a dimple winked in her right cheek.

He’d seen laughter in her eyes.  Seen longing. Seen…life.

Now, her green eyes were filled with the stark, wild terror that only the helpless can truly know.

He didn’t like that look in her eyes. His hands clenched.

Don’t look if you don’t like it. His gaze jerked away from her face.  The job wasn’t about what he liked.  It never had been.

There’d never been a choice.

They have the choices. I only have orders to follow.

That was way it had always been.  So why did it bother him, now?  Because it was her? Because he’d watched too much? Slipped beside her too much?

Temptation.

“This is gonna hurt…”

The man’s grating whisper scratched through Keenan’s mind. Neither the attacker nor Nicole could see him.  Not yet.

One touch, that was all it would take.

But the time hadn’t come for her yet.

“The wind’s so loud…” The man lifted his hand off Nicole’s mouth. “No one’s gonna hear you scream anyway.”

But she still screamed—a loud, long, desperate scream—and she kept fighting.

Keenan truly hadn’t realized she’d struggle so much against death.  Some didn’t fight at all when the time came. Others fought until he had to drag them away.

Fabric ripped. Tore.  The guy had jerked her shirt, rending the material. Keenan glimpsed the soft ivory of her bra and the firm mounds of her breasts.

Help her. The urge came from deep within, but it was an urge he couldn’t heed.

“Don’t!” Nicole yelled. “Please—no! Just let me go!”

Her attacker lifted his head. Keenan stared at him, noting the gaunt features, the black hair, and the eyes that were too dark for a normal man.  “No, baby. I’m not lettin’ you go.”  The guy licked his lips. “I’m too damn hungry.” Then he smiled and  revealed sharpened teeth that no human could possess.

Vampire. Figured. Keenan had been cleaning up their messes for centuries. A mistake. That’s what all those parasites were. An experiment gone wrong.

Nicole opened her mouth to scream again and the vamp sank his teeth into her throat. Then he started drinking from her, gulping and growling and Nicole’s fingernails raked against his face as she struggled against him.

But it was too late to fight.  She’d never be strong enough to break away from the vampire. She was five feet six inches tall. Maybe one hundred thirty five pounds.

The vamp was over six feet. He was lean, but muscle mass and weight didn’t really matter—not when you were talking about a vamp’s strength.

Keenan stared at the narrow opening of the alley. Soon, he’d be able to touch her and her nightmare would end.  Soon.

“You’re just going to stand there?” Her voice cracked.

His head whipped back toward her.  Those green eyes—fury and fear—were locked on him.

Impossible.

She shouldn’t see me yet. It wasn’t time.  The vamp hadn’t taken enough blood from her.

Nicole shoved her hands into the vampire’s chest, but he kept his teeth in her throat and didn’t so much as stumble. Her neck was tilted back, her head angled, and her stare was on—

Me.

“Help me.” She mouthed the words as tears slipped down her cheeks. “Please.”

She could see him.  Every muscle in Keenan’s body went tight. “I will.”

Today, I’m helping JoJo celebrate her blogoversary–and one commenter at JoJo’s Book Corner will win an ARC of ANGEL OF DARKNESS (scheduled for release on 11/29).  So come on by and help us celebrate!

Okay, all of the info that is to follow is just my opinion, based only on my personal experience. Because some folks have been asking me about my take on self-publishing versus traditional publishing, I figured I’d share my thoughts.  So here they are. 🙂

***

When I think of self-publishing and “traditional” (NY) publishing, I don’t see this as an either/or situation. Some authors may–that’s fine. Again, these are my opinions and folks are certainly entitled to have their own take on this situation.  For me, publishing comes down to this:

I want to reach readers. I want to attract new readers. I want to deliver quality stories to my readers. I want to keep my readers coming back for more books. I want my readers to tell their friends about my stories. I want them to enjoy my books.

It’s all about the readers.

When I decided to self-publish BOUND BY BLOOD (paranormal romance novella) in early April, I published the story because I wanted to provide my readers with a bonus read that hadn’t been scheduled for the year and because I hoped to reach new readers with the low price point that I used for the book (.99).   I believe that self-publishing and traditional publishing both can work for the author.  As I said, I want to reach as many readers as possible.  My print books get into the stores, and they reach readers who want print copies of my books.  My .99 novella reached those readers who read primarily on their ebook devices–folks who didn’t mind spending a small amount of money to try out a new-to-them author.

Currently, BOUND BY BLOOD has sold just under 14,000 copies.  With my publisher’s permission, I included an excerpt from NEVER CRY WOLF at the back of BOUND BY BLOOD.  The thought process here?   I suspect you know where this is going…it would be free promotion for NEVER CRY WOLF.  BOUND BY BLOOD featured a werewolf hero, so did NEVER CRY WOLF.  If folks enjoyed BOUND BY BLOOD, it stood to reason that they might also be interested in checking out NEVER CRY WOLF.

Did that strategy work for me?  Well, ebook sales are exploding right now–that’s for sure.  I don’t have concrete numbers to share with you (sorry, it will take months before I get royalty statements for NEVER CRY WOLF), but I can tell you what I saw during the book’s release. For the first week that NEVER CRY WOLF was out, it stayed in the top 100 Nook Books list at B&N.  This was the first time that any of my books had made the top 100 for Nook Books.  And to stay there for the first week?  Yes, I was very happy with that information.  As for Amazon sales?  Well, a month after it’s release, the book is (numbers change so this will alter throughout the day) ranked #899 on the Kindle.

My ebook sales are showing an upward trend, definitely.  Is it because more folks are switching to ebooks?  Certainly part of the upswing. Is it because folks read BOUND BY BLOOD and decided to give NEVER CRY WOLF a try?  I think that helped the initial swing–I think it helped b/c Amazon and B&N both send out those lovely emails that say, “Since you read…” (and suggest folks try my latest release).

What does all this rambling talk mean?  Well, it means that I believe an author’s self-published works can lead to additional sales of her traditional stories. I believe that an author’s traditional sales can lead to more sales of her self-published works. I don’t think one method is better than the other. For me, they both work very well together.

Now, let me spend a few moments talking about price point.

BOUND BY BLOOD is available for .99. Why .99?  Well, because this story is 20,000 words, a novella. I wanted to price the novella affordably. I also believe that if you are a reader looking for a new author, you are more likely to spend .99 on an ebook.  After all, you only have .99 to lose if you don’t enjoy the book.  Low price points are good tools for attracting new readers.  They certainly attract me when I’m looking for something new to read on my Kindle.

As far as the actual method of publishing–it was easy.  Amazon has a series of videos that walk you through self-publishing on their site.  I’m a visual learner. If I see something being done, I understand and can learn faster. Those videos were super helpful for me.

I realize that this post is getting long, so I’ll end things here for now. (Though I may be back with a 2nd part tomorrow.)  If you have any questions for me about my self-publishing experience, please ask.

Thanks!!