I have the very great pleasure of knowing Kim Lenox, and I can say with all honesty that she is one of the nicest people. Ever! On top of that, she’s an incredible writer.
I have completely fallen in love with her Shadow Guards series. I’ve devoured each and every one of the books. I just finished reading Darker than Night and I was *blown away*.
I love historical and paranormal romance and Kim blends them both seamlessly. She takes us to the majesty of Victorian England and delivers pure evil in the form of some of history’s most atrocious villains.
The Shadow Guards are a mysterious order of immortals entrusted with the destiny of the living. Selene, the heroine and daughter of Cleopatra, is a Reclaimer. She finds the souls of the most wicked and depraved of earth’s mortals and ends them.
Lord Rourke Avenage, the Ravenmaster, is head of the Ravens, warriors who are entrusted to guard England’s monarchy.
Both have been immortal for centuries, and both have hardened their hearts over time. Yet, when cut off from the ranks of the other Shadow Guards, the two have only each other to trust when an ancient enemy comes to call.
I was rivited with every page. Kim does a superb job of building the sexual tension until I was begging for Selene and Rourke to give in to each other. I found Selene quite interesting when I first met her in book one Night Falls Darkly and then again when her twin brother, Marcus’ book, So Still the Night.
I knew Selene would get her own book, and being such a powerful woman, she needed a certain type of man to stand beside her. Kim gave us that with Avenage.
Kim, I have two things to say:
1. I want my own Ravenmaster, please.
2. There had better be more Shadow Guard books or I’m going to come hunt you down. 
hugs,
D
HI all!
It’s Tuesday about 2am so no judging any typing errors! 
That’s my excuse so please let me use it…
So onward to audio book Tuesday! I have a good series to discuss today! And a lot to say about that series, I’ll tell you!
I have to tell you — I have never loved an author who made me so furious so many times like Karen Moning. I love her writing, her stories, her voice — and I love her romances and her Urban Fantasies. Two very different genres but she does them both SO well. t her Urban Fantasy FEVER series has drawn complaints –FROM ME….They are:
Here are my complaints:
–This series is too darn good to have huge gaps between stories!! GRRRRRRRR! WRITE FASTER. MORE MORE MORE. I want now! I don’t wait well. I never have.
–This series has 5 books and they all of the first 4 end with Cliffhangers. I am talking — CLIFFHANNNNNNGER. HUGE flipping cliffhangers. Like I thought my audio book cut off when one of the books finished it ended at such an incomplete unfinished spot. CLIFFHANGERS suck…they suck suck suck…. SCREAM…..but yes they leave me guessing and wanting more and yes I am getting the next book on the day it releases. So they work. But they still SUCK! Good new for those of you who have never read the series. The last book is about to come out. WAIT and start reading or listening until a couple weeks before because I PROMISE you you will listen or read non-stop and those cliffhangers will make you want the next one. You can fIow from one book to the next without the pain I have experienced.
–I want to know if Baron is the hot bad guy or the hot good guy and I want to know now. Read book 1 — you will want to know too. FOR Five books you will want to know! It’s sweet painful torture.
I read book 1 and listened to the rest on audio book. I loved the audios. Book 4 changed to one male and one female reader. I was nervous about that since I’d been with the audio reader several books. It turned out well though. However, you enjoy a book — I highly recommend this series.
I will say it took me a few chapters to get into book 1 but once I was in I was 100% in and ready and eager for the entire ride.
IF you read the series and you think you know WHAT Baron is….speak up! I love guessing!
You can find out more here….
http://www.karenmoning.com/novels/
Happy Tuesday everyone!
Lisa
Today’s Dark Side Demon Monday resides not far from where I live! The New Jersey Pine Barrens (also known as the Pinelands) is an amazing ecological area which includes 1.1 million acres in the Pinelands National Reserve.
Because of its acidic and sandy soil, the area is also home to a variety of orchids, carnivorous plants and pines that will not grow in other areas of New Jersey.
It is also home to something else. Something more dark and demony – the infamous Jersey Devil!
There are many legends about the Jersey Devil which is also known as the Leeds Devil. The most common of the stories ties the origins of the Devil to the Leeds family who resided in the Pinelands, although the tale has many variations.
According to one version, Mother Leeds was a witch and as she was giving birth to her 13th child, she invoked the name of the devil. When the baby was born, it was either born as the Jersey Devil or shortly thereafter transformed into the Jersey Devil and took off to live in the surrounding pine barrens.
Another variation is that Mother Leeds, being beset by her husband’s demands, cursed him and his baby as she gave birth to his thirteenth child. The curse caused the baby to be born deformed. Unable to care for the inhuman child, it was tossed out into the woods where it survived by killing livestock and other creatures in the Pinelands.
So what does the Jersey Devil look like? According to accounts from various sources, including Commodore Stephen Decatur and Napolean Bonaparte’s eldest brother, who supposedly saw the demon while hunting, the devil has two hoofed feet, dragon wings, horse-like head and horns. This is a sketch of the Jersey Devil from the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin in January 1909.
Various expeditions have been launched to find the Devil, but with no luck. However, the Devil lives on in assorted books, television series (The X-Files) as well as the name of the state’s NHL franchise – The New Jersey Devils.
I hope you enjoyed this Dark Side Demon Monday!
For more information on the Jersey Devil, you can visit:
New Jersey Historial Society
Atlantic County Historical Society
The Shadowlands
Weird New Jersey
Hi everyone –
I love Friday because its CHEAT day. DH and I eat healthy and workout all week with Friday in mind. No gym and we eat whatever we want. This week I thought of Friday often and it got me through the workouts. Thursday was rough though. I have a special video presentation that explains why I woke up Thursday morning looking forward to more than Friday. I was eager for Thursday night in bed.
You have no idea how accurate this video presentation is and how long this went on and on and one…..
Hope you gives you the Friday smile my Whole Foods Bakery visit is going to me today!
Video presentation of Lisa\’s torture
Have a great Day!
Hi, everyone! Hope you are having a fabulous week!
For my Thursday blog, I’m going to talk research with you. Or, rather, I’m going to share some of the weird facts that I have learned while researching my books.
Today, I’ll share facts I learned while researching DEADLY FEAR, my first romantic suspense (due out 07/27!).
So here are some um, perhaps not-so-fun facts that I discovered:
1. The FBI estimates that there are between 35 and 100 active serial killers in the U.S. at any one time.
2. The U.S. has more serial killers than any other country.
3. Taphephobia is the fear of being buried alive. Anyone have this fear?
4. At the Evil Minds Research Museum, the FBI collects serial killer (and other violent offender) “artifacts” (like John Wayne Gacey’s paintings). The purpose is to better understand the psyche of the killers.
5. Angola prison (in Louisiana) is the largest maximum security prison in the U.S. (They also have a rodeo at the prison, something I found very interesting.)
Those are my 5 facts for today. Though I learned lots more. And, yes, as you can imagine, my Google searches are always fun.
Got any interesting facts to share?
Wednesday is my day here at the DWW blog. Each week I’m going to be talking books. Who doesn’t like to talk books, right?
Despite my deadlines and “mom” duties, I make time to read. It isn’t always as much as I’d like to, but I make sure its there. Of course, it makes it a little easier because hubby, my daughter (11), and son (7) all read as well. I spend a small fortune every month at Barnes and Noble when we all go to get our books.
This past week I was deliriously happy to be able to continue Alexandra Ivy’s Guardians of Eternity series with book three, DARKNESS EVERLASTING. (note, I’m behind on the series!)
I was really hoping she would write Styx’s book. I got to meet him in the second book, EMBRACE THE DARKNESS, and just knew he would make an awesome hero.
Well, I wasn’t disappointed!
I really like Alexandra’s take on vampires and their world, as well as all the other paranormal entities that inhabit it. Another neat aspect of the story was that we didn’t find out what kind of demon the heroine, Darcy, was until the last half of the book. I loved trying to figure it out myself. I was wrong every time. lol.
If you’re looking for another contemporary/paranormal series to sink your teeth into, then you will love New York Time’s Bestseller Alexandra Ivy’s Guardians of Eternity!
hugs,
D
Hi everyone — Dangerous Woman Lisa Renee Jones here. Some of you know that I am a big fan of audio books so each week I am going to chat about an audio book experience. I hope this translates into some fun book discovery as well because even if you don’t like audio books — you might like the books I decide to talk about. For this week, I thought I’d just explain why I love audio books and how to make them affordable.
Why I love audio books:
I love audio books because I can load them on my cell phone and take them anywhere I go — for me — that anywhere is usually the gym. A good audio book gets me through the torture of lots of cardi0 — which is something I’ve accepted as a part of my life –forever. Many a time, the book I was listening to, got me through the obsession with HOW MANY MINUTES ARE LEFT AND WHY WHY WHY is my heart rate not higher because I am in absolute H*LL. A long wait at a doctors office, in a store line, or even at a stoplight, can be endured with your favorite author. I also sometimes put my headset on and listened to my book before bed with the lights out. However, word of warning, I’ve had that KEEP me awake rather than put me to sleep a few too many times.
I also love a good narrator that becomes the characters in my mind. On the bad side– a bad narrator can really take away from a book. I have numerous books I bought that I haven’t finished because the reader turned me off. I’ll talk about the narrators often when I review here. DH has a favorite narrator. I have one as well. We both know if they are reading, we will love the books.
For example — one of my books is read by a narrator that apparently couldn’t do a Hispanic accent and kept changing it. Buyers got so mad and they associated that with my writing. So frustrating. I had some bad reviews on other sites by people who listened to the audio but posted on the print sites. Fortunately, I had another of my books read with a fabulous reader who made me look good:) The reader is as important as the writing with audio for sure. I’ll have another audio book out in August and I am nervously waiting to find out who the reader is. Authors don’t pick and we don’t know who our reader is until our readers do.
How to make audio books affordable:
1 new release can cost $29.00.
Audible. com has a program that is 7.95 a month for 3 months and then 14.95 after that. I do the two books a month for $22.95 and so does DH. There are lots of sale books — good books — for $9.95 — or around that point, so if I need a 3rd I get one of those. I always save the expensive ones for my credit! The new Patricia Briggs books was $29 and I got it as my credit.
DH never pays for a bad narrator. He calls audible and they credit him. He doesn’t hesitate and they don’t either. I haven’t done this because I keep telling myself I will get through the bad ones. I haven’t. I think I need to follow DH’s example!
So — next week I’ll talk about my favorite reader and review the series she read that I love so very much. I’ll also be include DH’s reviews here from time tot time. He reads all over the board and listens to audio and has some great book reviews I can share.
Looking forward to sharing.
Love to hear your thoughts on audio if you want to share!
Lisa:)
www.lisareneejones.com
Otherwise known as Caridad’s Dark Side Demon Monday!
We’re launching a whole new series of blogs here at the Danger Women Writing for our Dangerous Readers. Check back each day for a new theme and Dangerous Woman writer sharing insights on all kinds of topics.
For my turn at the plate, I’ll be offering up thoughts and insights on demon lore and some of the more interesting things happening with the creatures that go bump in the night.
Many readers wonder how paranormal writers manage to come up with their ideas. Sometimes you develop totally new creatures and later on during another Dark Side Demon Monday I’ll talk about how I went about creating the mystical beings that will stream to the Jersey Shore in Books 3 and 4 of the SINS series (which will be renamed the SIN HUNTERS series).
Sometimes you look at existing mythologies and tweak them to fit the needs of your story. That’s what I did in DEVOTION CALLS when I introduced a slightly different kind of vampire — a chupacabra.
Chupacabra (or chupacabras) means “goat sucker” in Spanish, but the creature has become quite well known throughout the United States and the rest of the Americas.
The first attacks attributed to chupacabras began in the early 1990s in Puerto Rico so the legend is actually not all that old. Additional sightings of the animal began to appear in other parts of South America as well as the American Southwest.
Farmers reported attacks on various livestock, but the animals were not eaten or taken to another location for dinner. The reports indicated that the animals were killed by being drained of blood through two small incisions, much like a vampire.
One theory as to the origin of the chupacabra is that it’s an alien pet that escaped. Another is that it’s either an alien genetics experiment that got loose or a human genetics experiment. Finally, others believe that the chupacabra is merely a coyote that has a skin disease, accounting for the lack of hair and strange coloration on those animals which have been found and called chupacabras.
Witnesses describe the chupacabra as being anywhere from 4 to 6 feet tall when upright, with green/gray scales. The beast has quills along its head and neck, possibly a long tail and clawed fingers. In addition, it has large glassy eyes that can be reddish in color. Way different than the supposed creatures being found in various areas of Texas!
Regardless of whether or not chupacabras really exist, the creatures have managed to embed themselves in our folklore and have even been written about in songs!
For more information on the chupacabra, you can click on one of the links below.
Encounters with Chupacabras
Texas Mystery: Defective Coyote or Chupacabra?
Watch the Monsterquest Television Program on the Chupabacra!
Are you ready for some dangerous fun? Then join the Dangerous Women Readers’ Group and get ready for a dangerous party on the loop! Spread the word–the fun starts on October 21st.
I still remember that day in November of 2005 when I opened an email with the offer to publish HIGHLAND MIST
A lot of firsts followed that email. My first contract, my first edits. My first cover. It was all so thrilling and overwhelming at times. All authors that I know worry about how their books will be received by readers. I had no idea how much loved my Druids Glen series was until the contract ended and I pulled the books.
I got so many wonderful emails from people who had begun to read the series and hadn’t finished, and others who had tried to buy them and couldn’t get them any longer. After several months of emails asking when/how they could get the books again, I decided to have the series reissued.
Its my delight to announce the first Druids Glen book, HIGHLAND MIST is now available again!
An honorable laird…
Conall MacInnes was born to a clan that for centuries has been charged with the guarding of the sacred Druids. It’s a duty he has always met with a willing heart, until the day his sister, a Druid priestess, goes missing and the very Druids he has protected refuse to help him find the last remaining member of his family. Then a three-hundred-year-old prophecy places a Druid in his hands for safekeeping. It’s the chance at revenge he’s been waiting for, but is he willing to pay the cost his revenge will demand—the loss of his mate and the future of Scotland?
A willing lass…
Glenna MacNeil wants only to be free, to find the purpose of her life. When she is told to look for the dark laird who would free her, she eagerly goes with the powerful Highlander who fights her clan, not realizing she has set in motion events that will change the course of history.
hugs,
D
www.DonnaGrant.com
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