Update:  Pam P was selected as Sayde’s winner! Congrats, Pam!

Hello everyone! Thanks so much for having me here today!  My erotic romance RIDING DOUBLE was just published and although it’s a hot cowboy story, I also love everything paranormal.  I’d like to talk today about my latest bad guy: an emotionally damaged alpha werewolf named Stephan Donaldson.  Stephan is the right hand guy of the villainous Luna Werewolf Leader. Stephan was taken as a child from his pack and convinced he was going “forest crazy” and the only person who could save him is my heroine Siddalee Walker. But Sidda is in love and mated to another werewolf, super Alpha Jasper Gandillion.

In my Luna series, Siddalee is just finding out that she is a werewolf, but not just any werewolf, she’s an experiment created by villainous Luna Leader Dane Velham in attempt to combine two of the most powerful Luna Packs. Stephan sees her, wants her, and goes after her but is stopped in his tracks by Jasper who won’t let his mate go without a fight.

But what happens when everything Sidda thought she knew about Jasper is turned upside down and the only wolf who knows the truth is Stephan?

Here’s a taste of Sidda, Stephan, and Jasper:

***

Sidda ambled to the bar and slid across the deep red vinyl of the stool. Sidda rested her head in her palms hating that her heart still ached, and that the link between her and Jasper singed her with his anger. Soon, very soon she’d be so numb he wouldn’t be able to send her that anger.

“Here you go hon.”

Sidda glanced up. A small blue haired old lady handed her a bottle of whiskey.

“Need a glass? Doesn’t seem like you do but I could be wrong.” She smiled warmly at Sidda.

“No glass. Thanks.” Sidda attempted a smile but by the sympathetic frown on the woman’s face she knew she’d missed the mark.

“Forget him hon. No man is worth that much pain.” The lady patted Sidda’s hand before turning and walking away.

There was no forgetting Jasper, ever. Shit, she wiped the tears from her eyes and with trembling hands unscrewed the cap on the new bottle of whiskey. Alone at the bar she pressed the glass bottle to her lips. The harsh bit of alcohol stole her breath. Her eyes watered and she fought to keep the burning cold liquid down. The fire of the whiskey burned away the cold which had seeped into her body when she’d left Jasper. Taking another sip she sighed. Shit, she hated him for hurting her.

“The key is to not think so much about it.” A scratchy familiar voice had her spine straightening.

She turned just in time to see Stephan slide onto the bar stool beside her. His odd violet eyes shined in the dim light. How oddly beautiful they were.

“Fuck off. I’m in no mood.” Her tone more of a growl than she cared for.

“And I’m supposed to give a shit what kind of mood you’re in?” He grabbed the bottle before she could stop him and turned it up taking a long drink. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down with the deep swig. His throat had been marred on one side from a bite. She idly wondered who had done that to him.

“Your father, sixteen years ago.” He sat the bottle down in front of her. “Drink.”

She fought the urge to gag at the thought of putting her lips somewhere his had been. But then Jasper called to her, his desperate plea for her to return home rang in her head and she snatched the bottle from the table.

“I hate you. Why are you here?”

“You don’t know me, save your hatred until after you’ve gotten to know me.” Stephan’s voice a mere whisper.

“I don’t want to know you at all.”

“Oh but you will. You are my mate. That piece of trash had no right to touch you much less mark you as his.”

Anger surged forward. He was right, Jasper had no right to her, he’d already chosen someone else. She turned the bottle up again.

“What do you want?” She cocked her head to watch Stephan. He took the bottle from her hands and sipped the amber liquid again.

“You.” He stared into her eyes.

A strange heat flushed her skin. Shame spread through her, shit this wasn’t right. She couldn’t feel any type of heat when it came to him. Not after everything she’d learned he’d done. Plus no matter what Jasper had done she loved him.

“Try again. You’ve murdered wolves and people, you’re Velham’s second and earlier you said you planned to whip me like you whipped my mother. You don’t get me.” Her mind fuzzed as thoughts of Jasper alone with that blonde settled into her head.

“A lie. I wondered how quick tempered you’d be but you didn’t take my bait earlier.” He grabbed the bottle from her again.

“Stop doing that. I figure I need this entire bottle. Get your own and leave. I have no desire to be drinking and sharing details of my life with you. Go away.” Her head swam.

“I don’t want to leave and you need someone to talk to.” He smiled showing a set of full perfect white teeth. If the man wasn’t a cold blooded murderer she’d have found him pretty damn hot, not Jasper but not bad. She groaned, shit she had to stop thinking about Jasper.

“You see I need someone to talk to also. I found out today that the she-wolf I’d been promised as a child had not died as my Alpha told me. Instead she’s very alive and everything I’ve ever dreamt of. She’s the one who can calm my wolf, make me a better man but she’s mated with another. Well at least she thought she was.”

Sidda’s heart raced. He was talking about her. “Dane told you your mate had died?”

“As a child. When I went to live with him the elders of my pack said I’d have to be killed because my wolf would turn forest crazy before I reached twenty. That I’d destroy my pack and everyone else around. Dane took me in. For my promise of servitude he promised me a female who would calm me, calm my wolf and give me life. But then that wolf was taken.”

“Taken?” Sidda blinked, her vision blurry.

“Yes, taken by the devil to keep me on my path to insanity. But now she’s back and she can save me. Sidda you are mine, you are my savoir.” The sincerity in Stephan’s words startled Sidda. Shit she wasn’t his, she’d given herself to Jasper too many years ago to be anyone but his.

“I’m not, I can’t be. I’ve already mated with Jasper.”

Stephan shook his head. “Not truly. He may have marked you but the bond couldn’t be complete. Not when he’d marked your sister as a child. The first Marking is the bonded one. They are bonded not you and him. You are mine Sidda.”

“I can’t be yours. Now please go away. I just want to be alone.” Tears poured from her eyes. Stephan’s fingers brushed them away before his hand traced her jaw.

“You’re so strong, you can stop me Sidda. I need you more than Gandillion ever will.” His broken whisper made her tears fall harder. Jasper didn’t need her he had her sister.

“Come to me of free will and I will give you everything.”

“I can’t. You’re a monster. I’ve seen and heard about the things you’ve done.” She stared into the abyss of his violet eyes. A storm of emotions raged in them.

“But you can stop me. Don’t you see that? Don’t you know you were made for me? Come to me and stop me Sidda before I destroy everything you love.” He grabbed the bottle turned it up then left.

Sidda sat motionless on the bar stool. Her head still swimming, her eyes blurry and her heart breaking. She slid from the seat, sat down some money on the bar before heading to the car.

Shit what was she going to do? She sat in the car and rested her head on the steering wheel. What the hell was Stephan talking about? She couldn’t be his, she hadn’t been made for him right? She slammed her fist down on the steering wheel beside her head.

“You really want me to add breaking my steering wheel to the list of things I’m going to whip your pretty little ass over?” Jasper growled outside the window.

***

Alpha’s.  Gotta love them. As a reader I love reading about a bad guy turning good with the help of the heroine. Stephan was originally supposed to be super bad and super dead by the end of the first Luna book, but as I wrote the scene above I knew I couldn’t kill him off. I began to really like him. He’s so damaged but he believes in Sidda, more than anyone else ever has or ever will. He’s a good, good bad guy that just wants Sidda to save him. Can she? Will she? I’ll keep you all updated on Sidda, Jasper, and Stephan but for now tell me how you feel about bad guys? Do you like them redeemed or do you like em’ bad and unredeemable?

And for one lucky commenter today I’ll be giving away my first ever published book, RIDING DOUBLE an ebook from The Wild Rose Press. It’s not paranormal but it does have two alpha cowboys heating things up. Thanks for having me today. And I look forward to more Deadly Days of Summer!!

Sayde Grace
www.saydegrace.com

Update:  Liz’s winners are…Cyberclipper and Pam. K! Congratulations, ladies!  Please contact Liz at liz@lizkreger.com and let her know which book you might be interested in.

Hi Everyone … and in particular you, Cyn. Thanx for having me as your guest blogger today and letting me play on your website. This is an awesome way to celebrate June and I’m all over it.

Being fairly new to the whole urban fantasy genre … i.e., been reading it for a bit over a year (almost exclusively) and now writing my own urban fantasy, I’m really interested in learning the “rules” … if there is such a thing.

I started out writing romantic science fiction. There were at least two (maybe three) books lurking about in my soul that had to come out. Well, two of those came out with Samhain Publishing in 2008 and 2009 with “Forget About Tomorrow” and “Promise for Tomorrow”. I do have a third book percolating in my mind. It just hasn’t manifested enough yet to warrant the time necessary to make it come alive.

In the meantime, I’ve written a couple of contemporary paranormals and am now taking a whack at urban fantasy … which I absolutely adore. However, I’m trying to discover if there are any real hard and fast rules to writing urban fantasy. From what I’ve read and heard, its pretty much anything goes. You want your vampire heroine able to move around during the day? Okay, go for it but make it real to your world. Or … what? Have your werecritter suffer from some sort of animal hair allergy? Sure, go ahead.  Your world, your rules.

When I first started reading urban fantasy, I was a little put out by the fact that several authors would throw in two lovers (or potential lovers). My thoughts on romance was one hero and one heroine. After extensive reading … not so much any more. With urban fantasy, you can have hot paranormal creatures where its virtually impossible for the heroine to settle on just one. Hell, in the UF I’m writing, I’m planning on throwing in three potential lovers. We’ll see how that works for me. I’m a pantser, so this whole storyline can go in several different directions. For that matter, why not toss in a female lover for the heroine? Talk about a potential conflict … particularly if the heroine is strictly heterosexual. Hmmm. Interesting thought. Gotta think on that one.

I’m just sayin’ that when it comes to urban fantasy, there really aren’t any rules or regulations. This is your world, your fantasy and your story. If you can make the reader believe it … your golden.

Thanx for having me, Cyn. It was loads of fun.

Anyone interested in checking out FORGET ABOUT TOMORROW and PROMISE FOR TOMORROW can visit me at http://www.lizkreger.com. I’ll be giving away a copy of the book of your choice for two people who comment today. This will be done by a drawing of names by a cute little ten year old who lives for this sorta thing. 😆

Here are the tag lines for each book:

FORGET ABOUT TOMORROW: The concept of aliens is beyond Victor (Mac) McNaught until circumstances forces him to come to the aid of the beautiful Larissalyia Ashanti (Lacey). Hiding out on Earth, and on the run from intergalactic mob boss souMalocho, Lacey must stay one step ahead of his minions until her father, Chief Magistrate Ashanti finds enough proof of souMalocho’s murderous crimes to put him away forever. When Mac, an unsanctioned barbarian, witnesses the evidence of aliens on Earth, Lacey does the only thing she can. She kidnaps him and takes him with her as they flee Earth. Initially an unwilling passenger, Mac learns far more than he ever dreamed of the galaxy and finds the love that had been missing from his life

PROMISE FOR TOMORROW: Only days from being disqualified from the royal throne of Dakar, Jhaan is diverted from his quest to locate his psi-mate by the attempted assassination of Rianna Chartier, a princess of the Zarian realm. To Jhane’s shock he realizes that this beautiful alien is the psi-mate he had been searching for and despite the fact that she is to wed another in a politically advantageous match, marries her without her knowledge or consent. It is while dodging assassins and internal court intrigue that they discover that Rianna is not the only one someone wants dead.

Update: The winner of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS and CLOSE CONTACT is…Ina! Congrats, Ina!

***

I wait patiently while Echo Adams pours a glass of my most expensive white wine, a Sirius ’45, and then strolls over to the most comfortable chair in the room. A purple-feathered dragon bird decked out in gaudy jewelry settles onto the chair arm beside her and peers at me in curiosity.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Echo says, and then sips from her glass.

“So,” I begin. “You’re a vampire.”

She snorts. “Of course I’m not a vampire. Vampires don’t exist. I’m a GEP.”

“I’ll bite. (no pun intended.) What’s a GEP?”

She smoothes a hand over her amethyst silk suit and leans back. “A GEP is a genetically engineered person. Naturals began creating us when there was a shortage of manpower to fill the jobs on Centaurius, the primary planet in the Alpha Centauri solar system. Normal GEPs are spliced and diced together from the best traits of regular humans, or Naturals as we GEPs call them. Basically, anything a Natural can do, GEPs can do better and faster.”

Gripping my vid corder tightly, I nod. “What job were you created to do?”

“I was created for the department of protocol.” A look of yearning fills her eyes. “Those were the days. Parties every night, a designer wardrobe, getting buffed and groomed at the most expensive spas on Centaurius, rubbing elbows with all the Federation bigwigs. I loved my life.” She leaned forward dramatically. “But then…”

“Then?” I edged closer, reluctant to miss a word.

“Then my bosses found out I was created by a rogue geneticist who illegally used GEP DNA to create me. Not only did he give me super powers, the Zorfa’s ass gave me psi abilities. Before I knew it, they’d shipped me off to the Bureau of Alien Affairs to become an agent. I mean, come on, me? An agent? What if I break a nail? And there’s no way I’m going to some backwater planet where I’ll have to deal with raw nature. The only bright spot was that they taught me fifty six ways to kill with one finger.”

“Uh, sure.” I nod vigorously. “What are your psi abilities?”

She gives me a rather feral smile. “I could tell you, but then I’d have to demonstrate one of those fifty six ways I mentioned before.”

Grabbing my gear, I bolt for the door, praying I make it out alive.

“Hey,” she yells. “Where are you going? Don’t you want to know about the stolen crystal containing a powerful alien life form, or how I met the man of my dreams?” She glances at the dragon bird as I sprint down the hall. “Guess she’ll just have to read the book. Come on, Peri, let’s go find Reynard.”

Humor is definitely on tap in the second book of Allred’s fun and fiesty Alien Affairs series. Allred’s genetically created heroine is a most reluctant operative, one who is more comfortable throwing a diplomatic party than kicking butt. This wonderful book is chock-full of excitement, danger and the heroine’s first person offbeat sense of humor. A real gem of a book!  A Romatic Times Top Pick for June.

To celebrate the release of Close Contact, Katherine will be giving away a copy of both Close Encounters and Close Contact, books one and two of the Alien Affairs series to one person. Just leave a comment to enter.

Update:  Jessa’s winners are…blodeuedd and Marlene Breakfield. Congratulations!!

Posted by: Jessa Slade
Currently working on: Revisions on Book 3
Mood: In praise of gritted teeth

Hello, Cynthia and friends!  Thanks so much for letting me come enjoy your Deadly Days of Summer.  And may I say that once again, your heroes for I’LL BE SLAYING YOU and DEADLY FEAR are looking hot, hot, hot!  Just right for the season 🙂

I’m glad to take this break from launching the second book of my Marked Souls series (FORGED OF SHADOWS June 2010) and revising the third book (VOWED IN SHADOWS April 2011) because I’ve been having a little trouble lately.  Well, not a little trouble.  Actually, about 6’4″ of muscular, brooding, smug trouble.

Yes, I’m having hero trouble.

And to make matters worse, he’s not even a hero I’m supposed to be writing!

The hero of the first Marked Souls book, SEDUCED BY SHADOWS, was Ferris Archer.  He was quite the Southern gentleman.  Well, okay, he was an angry, wounded, marginally suicidal alpha warrior.  But still.  He is intense and driven, but coldly clear, like a river of glacial run-off that lures you in with its crystal beauty… only to sweep you away with down-the-mountain speed

He wasn’t always easy to write, but I felt I knew him, and he knew himself.  Didn’t always like himself, but he was a man of principle and action.

The hero of the second Marked Souls book is Liam Niall.  He was more conflicted than Archer. Liam has more doubts, more responsibilities, and a softer heart despite his old life as a blacksmith and now as leader of the Chicago league of demon-possessed warriors.

But he is a man of deep yearnings, and once I found his desire to share his life, he also wanted to share his story with me.

I don’t have a cover for my third hero yet.  I imagine somewhere in New York City, a graphic designer is cursing me because my Book 3 hero suffered an, um, accidental maiming in Book 2 that might be hard to portray on the cover.  But he too has been a fine hero to write.  Finer than most, actually, because at his core he is a righteous man, with a steady, unwavering light in his soul that just needed a little judicious fanning.

So where’s my problem, you ask?  There’s another man, another warrior in the Chicago league that several readers have asked about already, even though I only have two books out.  They want to know, which one is Ecco’s book?

Oh geez.  Ecco isn’t a hero.  At least, I never meant him to be.  I have this series all plotted out, you know.  I plan to write nine books (God, publisher and readers willing! — not necessarily in that order) and none of those books, according to my handy-dandy Excel spreadsheet, shows Ecco as a hero.

Why not?  Well, here’s a little excerpt of why not, taken from SEDUCED BY SHADOWS, where the heroine, Sera, is assigned supply chain duties with the talyan warriors Zane and Ecco:

*          *          *

When it came to snacking, Sera discovered the terrible talyan junk food habit that filled up cart after cart.  When Ecco groused about the length of the checkout line and the lack of good magazines, she just about lost it.

“Then quit eating so many doughnuts.”

“I’m supposed to save the world on yogurt and baby carrots?”  He looked appalled.  “Must be a woman thing.”

She glowered.  “Go wait in the car.”

He crossed his arms.  “And shirk my duty, risking my soul?   Assuming Archer didn’t just shred me for compost.”

“Then I’ll wait for you.”  She marched for the door.

“Go with her,” Zane said softly to Ecco, as if she might explode if he jostled her with loud words.  “I’ll finish here.”

She plunked herself down in the driver’s seat and stared at the first flakes of snow whipped in the wind.

Ecco disappeared into the back.  After a few minutes, he cleared his throat.  “Do you think you and Archer are compatible outside the bedroom?”

She glared into the rearview mirror.  “Excuse me?”

“Does he listen to your dreams?  Do you like his friends?  You’re a cute couple and all, but that trick you did together with the malice in Bookie’s lab seemed a little kinky as the basis for a long and loving relationship.”

She twisted around.  “Are you smoking something back there?”

“You gotta have things in common besides the zing, you know?”

Before she could answer, Zane emerged with his conga line of shopping carts.   Zane shot Ecco a hard look.  “Why’d you let her drive?”

“I had my magazine.”  Ecco waved the glossy pages with the voluptuous brunette on the cover promising “Ten Ways HE Can Please YOU In Bed.”

Zane looked disgusted.  “Shoplifting?”

“Hey, I’m possessed by evil incarnate.”

*          *          *

See?  What do you do with a “hero” like that?  Didn’t he sound kind of serious about wanting a deeper relationship than sex?  But what kind of hero eats only doughnuts?

Ecco is opaque to me.  He originally stepped onto the stage to say things the other characters wouldn’t say aloud.  And he says them in an honest-to-the-point-of-rude way.  But I suspect he’s hiding something from me, some damage that he’d never, ever, in a thousand years share.  Those heroes are trouble.

Besides, what sort of heroine would put up with a man taking her magazines?

And yet…  He keeps teasing me.  I even have a hint what he looks like.  Kinda like this:

Oh man, really?  You’re kidding me.  The Rock?  What am I supposed to do with that?  I don’t know…  What do you think?  What does one do with a maybe hero?  Do we redeem him?  Kill him horrifically?  Give him his own Twitter account and hope he doesn’t get us arrested?  Who are your favorite heroes who you didn’t think could ever be heroic?

Leave an answer in comments and two random readers will win a copy of either Archer’s chest or Liam’s butt, your choice.  Heck, if we got man chest on Book 1 and man behind on Book 2, what’ll be on the cover of Book 3?!

One of the tricky issues in writing urban fantasy is finding the appropriate balance between fantasy and reality. Urban fantasy, by definition, includes fantastical elements (including paranormal ideas or magic) in a mundane setting. Fantastic elements make a story interesting, and realistic elements make a story believable. Too much fantasy makes the magic less special, drowns it in a sea of fantastic characters and places. Too much realism makes the world too gritty or dull. But how much of each is too much?

Often, this takes a good deal of trial and error, depending upon the rules of the world. There are two types of general settings in urban fantasy: an open world in which the fantastic elements are known to all its inhabitants, and a hidden world in which the fantastic elements are unknown except to a select few.

Open worlds include worlds in which fantastic creatures roam the streets, have the right to vote, and are well-integrated into the fabric of society. An open world would be the kind of world in which my brother would bring a vampire home for dinner that he met on a paranormal dating site. I’d be glowering at his hickeys while I was spooning out the mashed potatoes. Open worlds allow for more elements of the fantastic, because they have become ordinary in that setting. People are accustomed to hair removal products for Weres being marketed on daytime television. The world is flexible and resilient, operating under a different set of rules than our own. The reader’s beliefs are effectively suspended at the outset, and the reader knows that anything is possible in this world – it’s wide open.

Hidden worlds require a lighter touch with the fantastic. Hidden worlds operate almost exactly the same as our own on the surface. It’s what’s beneath that’s cause for alarm. Too much magic roiling underneath the surface can make the fantastic elements seem less special and dull their impact. Too much magic can also strains the credibility of a secret world needs to remain secret. Ordinary humans may miss a few supernatural creatures or organizations operating in their midst, but ordinary people less likely to be able to ignore a zoo of things that go bump in the night living across the street.

The urban fantasy I write is primarily of the hidden world variety. In EMBERS, Anna Kalinczyk is an arson investigator by day. By night, she pursues malicious spirits with an eccentric team of ghost hunters and her fire salamander familiar. Anya must stop an attractive arsonist intent on summoning an ancient entity that will leave Detroit in cinders. She exists in a very real world, with a real day job, and most of her conflict and magical activities are hidden from her boss and the rest of the city, where it’s business as usual.

In DARK ORACLE, which I wrote as Alayna Williams, Tara Sheridan swore off criminal profiling after narrowly escaping a serial killer. By combining Tarot card divination with her own intuition, she must help an intense federal agent find a missing scientist who has unlocked the destructive secrets of dark energy. In Tara’s world, her power as an oracle using Tarot cards is concealed from her partner. To keep Tara’s powers in the spotlight, I limited the amount of additional magic in the book to the magic used by the other women in her sisterhood of oracles.

Each story is different, with a different focus on magic and the mundane. But the writer should keep in mind where the emphasis lies and keep experimenting with the ratios to craft a believable story that is also interesting and compelling.

-Laura Bickle

Laura Bickle has worked in the unholy trinity of politics, criminology, and technology for several years. She and her chief muse live in the Midwest, owned by four mostly-reformed feral cats. Her short fiction has appeared here and there. Embers, her debut novel, is first in an exciting new urban fantasy series that continues with her forthcoming second novel, Sparks. More information is at www.salamanderstales.com

Laura also writes as Alayna Williams. Alayna’s “debut” is Dark Oracle, Pocket Juno’s June 2010 release. More info on her work can be found at www.alaynawilliams.com