A Brief History of the Female Vampire by LT Getty, author of Dreams of Mariposa

Do you think you know it all about vampires? Test your knowledge with this brief look at the history of the female vampire, given to us by author LT Getty. Then check out an excerpt from her book Dreams of Mariposa before you download a copy for yourself. Check out the rest of the tour to learn even more! And best of luck entering the giveaway!

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A Brief History of The Female Vampire

Dracula is perhaps the most well known or iconic vampire in media, but the idea of female vampires occurring not only in Stoker’s work as his trio of vampire brides is not unique. Though not the first novel to feature a vampire, (that belongs to Polidori’s The Vampyre, 1816) the female Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was published more than two decades prior, in 1872 as compared to Stoker’s Dracula’s publication being 1897. Historically speaking, these novels came much later than the history and legends of female vampires. If we go beyond the word ‘vampire’ and look for common traits, such as beings that drank blood and were uniquely female, we see an interesting collection of stories that usually centered around demonic shapeshifters. 

Vampires as well as other creatures that drink blood can be found in many cultures throughout the world, and this is by no means a comprehensive list. 

Perhaps the most prominent figure in history would be the succubus, a beautiful demon who would seduce and sometimes even rape men, with her male counterpart being the Incubus. Stories of night terrors and night hags exist to this day.
We can find more specific cultural references to monsters who drank human blood, and oftentimes were always female. The Jewish legend of the Estries, is about a female shapeshifter that only fed on the blood but could walk on holy ground. In ancient Greece there were no shortage of monsters classical heroes had to vanquish. One was said to be the Empusa, a female shape-shifter said to possess a single leg of copper. They were thought be controlled by the goddess Hectate and seduced and then fed upon young men. Ancient Babylonians had tales of the mythical Lilitu, creatures that were thought to pray on pregnant women, and were especially fond of their newborn babies.

We don’t have to go into ancient legends to find inspiration to what would eventually become the early gothic works, our own history is often enough. While it’s common knowledge that many attribute Vlad the Impaler as the primary source, many cite Elizabeth of Bathorymight as one of the inspirations of for Dracula. Bathory’s notoriety comes from reasonable evidence she might be history’s most prolific serial killer, with her and several accomplices luring 10-14 year old girls to her castle for desire of work, then torturing them. Though it remains possible that there was political motivation to make accusations towards Bathory, more than 300 witnesses were called and she was accused of killing and torturing over 600 girls, with some of the more horrific accounts citing she chose to bathe in their blood to retain a youthful complexion. The number was never confirmed. The reality was she was found guilty and was only not executed because of her social standing and familial power. While some historians say she was placed under strict house arrest, it was said she was bricked inside a room in her castle. There is often no way of telling fact from fiction, and no doubt some of Bathory’s actions have grown into more legend than historical fact, however history will likely always remember Bathoryas as a real monster.

I intentionally chose to focus on the past in this post, but please don’t feel obligated to do the same. What are some of your favorite legends of vampire like creatures? Do you have any favorite female vampires that come to mind?

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_literature
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_B%C3%A1thory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empusa

Every decade, Marie must leave her home and everything she loves to start anew. She can’t risk the locals learning the truth of her immortality, much less her vampiric need of feeding off fear. Fortunately for Marie, fear comes easily and she spends her endless days mourning the loss of her beloved.

When she is summoned to the leaders of the masquerade, she is persuaded to assist them in uncovering a mystery of powers possibly more ancient then their own order.

As a rare daywalker of exquisite beauty, there is no society Marie cannot infiltrate. Having spent the last few centuries growing into her abilities, she expects to learn of the old powers, and return to her lonely eternity of mourning.

She doesn’t expect to fall in love.

Read an excerpt:

I could smell the inside of the building as being more than simply old and in need of a maid. It smelled of old earth and iron. I sensed nothing out of the ordinary, which told me the devious one likely had means of cloaking. Curious, as most old houses at least had hints of hauntings.

He led me past a set of stairs and into what was probably once a receiving parlor, but he had many dusty tomes and tall bookshelves, and a ladder besides to get to the highest levels. One could not easily get to the furniture, which was draped in ugly fabric. Boxes and crates littered the floor. The cad hadn’t the sense to tidy up and make an effort when he knew he was having a lady visitor.

“How many of your kind are there in town?” Septimus asked. “More than a dozen?”

I laughed, looking up at the ghostly pale portraits. He had strange tastes in art, preferring a more stylized appropriation than realistic or idealized beauty. I saw a reference to ancient gods, destroying towns and descending upon mortal women to force upon them their demi-god offspring. Half-naked women in chains being molested was his true artistic preference, it seemed. I should have brought Rosa. Even if he only dabbled in finger-paints, she needed only half an excuse to show skin, and perhaps I could have rooted around and discovered what he was up to without his condescension.

“As…we like to keep to ourselves and go without detection, it is more like half that.” I didn’t bore him of the needs of the lesser of my kin. “Have you had many run-ins with my kind?”

“I was curious about how you go about feeding without being detected.” He turned his back on me and lit the fire almost too easily.

Buy Links:

Amazon * B&N * Champagne Books * Kobo

About LT Getty

L.T. Getty is a science fiction and fantasy writer who hails from the Canadian Prairies. When she’s not writing, you can likely find her driving an ambulance and dreaming about travel.

Blog: https://ltgetty.wordpress.com/

Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6479207.L_T_Getty
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48991028-dreams-of-mariposa

L.T. Getty will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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Meet MF Sullivan, author of The Hierophant's Daughter

Welcome to the book tour for The Hierophant's Daughter by M.F. Sullivan! Today she's letting us get to know her a little bit better, while also giving us some insight into her latest book. Please also enjoy an excerpt before you download your own copy. Follow the tour and leave plenty of questions and comments for the author as you continue to get to know her. And then be sure to enter the giveaway at the end!

Have you ever had an imaginary friend?

Of course! I give them whole worlds to ruin. Now that I’m into the occult (tarot was clearly an influence on, if nothing else, the structure of The Disgraced Martyr Trilogy—my cover artist, Nuno Moreira, did a wonderful job evoking tarot cards with the covers! The Hierophant’s Daughter is only the first beautiful example.

Do you have any phobias?

Heights, flying, needles—but I’m doing immunotherapy so I won’t be as allergic to my new black cat, Israel, so hopefully by the end I’ll be immune to phobia 3!

Do you listen to music when you're writing?

I must. I’ve talked in the past with another blogger about how important music is to me. The best thing a writer can do for themselves is to create a playlist and listen to it constantly, always envisioning the scenes of their story as inspiration calls. Listen to it so much that your knowledge of these images becomes routine, and when you sit down to write with this playlist, all your work will be second-nature to you.

Do you ever read your stories out loud?

Absolutely. Every third or fourth draft is like that—it helps me fix a lot of intolerable wording I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise.

Tell us about your main character and who inspired him/her.

General Dominia di Mephitoli, Former Governess of the United Front and the Bitch of Europa, is not just The Hierophant’s Daughter—she’s one of the most feared martyrs on the planet due to her prolific military career. That said, what I love about Dominia is her emotional complexity. While she thinks like a soldier, her political career—and her love of her dead wife, Cassandra di Mephitoli, whose death drives the plot of all three books even before the story has begun—has made her more emotional than that, and more attached to the human race than the rest of her cannibalistic martyr brethren. Part of her journey is about learning to honor those emotions, and learning to honor the horrors committed by the person that she was while acknowledging her ability to change into a new, better person.

I think one of the things I wanted to accomplish with this story was an LGBTQ protagonist, but I didn’t know any of that stuff about Dominia’s personal life going in. The most important thing for me was that the character’s problems not arise out of being gay—I respect YA coming-of-age tropes and the absolute bravery with which gay people must face the world to admit to being themselves, but I think the best way to create a world where LGBTQ people are normalized is to show them a world where they already are. So, when writing the plot, I basically wanted Dominia’s experience to be comparable in every way to that of a male sci-fi hero rescuing his wife. One of the ways I did that was by looking at one of the strongest people I’ve ever known, a young woman who’s a lesbian long after she’s a dynamic, reliable, intelligent and powerful human being. While she and Dominia are two very different people, I think I found that initial spark of the General’s motivations and self in the heart of my friend, Amber.

The Hierophant's Daughter

By 4042 CE, the Hierophant and his Church have risen to political dominance with his cannibalistic army of genetically modified humans: martyrs. In an era when mankind's intergenerational cold wars against their long-lived predators seem close to running hot, the Holy Family is poised on the verge of complete planetary control. It will take a miracle to save humanity from extinction.

It will also take a miracle to resurrect the wife of 331-year-old General Dominia di Mephitoli, who defects during martyr year 1997 AL in search of Lazarus, the one man rumored to bring life to the dead. With the Hierophant's Project Black Sun looming over her head, she has little choice but to believe this Lazarus is really all her new friends say he is--assuming he exists at all--and that these companions of hers are really able to help her. From the foulmouthed Japanese prostitute with a few secrets of her own to the outright sapient dog who seems to judge every move, they don't inspire a lot of confidence, but the General has to take the help she can get.

After all, Dominia is no ordinary martyr. She is THE HIEROPHANT'S DAUGHTER, and her Father won't let her switch sides without a fight. Not when she still has so much to learn.

The dystopic first entry of an epic cyberpunk trilogy, THE HIEROPHANT’S DAUGHTER is a horror/sci-fi adventure sure to delight and inspire adult readers of all stripes.

Read an excerpt:

VIII

Miki Soto

What couldn’t a person access from the Japanese Internet? The question inspired Dominia to get out of the bathtub for another look at the card. There was no address, whether web or physical, as there hadn’t been an address on the ad floating across that billboard; instead, when she studied the lotus embossed upon the card, the DIOX-I highlighted it as though it were a link. How fascinating, this augmented reality! After fixing the device’s settings back to manual control, she “clicked” on the link with an unsteady wink, and her right field of vision was covered by the floating window of a browser. Had she cochlear implants, she would have heard some sort of music, or even a voice accompanying the woman’s writhing in and out of the browser’s dark: less a whole person, and more a disembodied assortment of lips, fingers, lower backs, and thighs. At last, the vision disappeared to present her with the crimson words, “WELCOME TO THE RED MARKET.”

A button appeared: “Connect Your Halcyon for Age Verification.” The idea of giving the women of the international and highly loathed illegal organization any information might have stopped her in a simpler time, as it surely stopped 70 percent of potential Red Market customers—the ones able to access the site, anyway, inaccessible from Europa and the Front through traditional routes. That had been all the Hierophant could do to combat in any meaningful way the world’s oldest profession-cum-cult. Far trickier than hampering Internet access was controlling in-person transactions in gold or silver, or the off-brand cryptocurrency, Redcoin; and because there were almost no freelance prostitutes left in the world, catching a working girl was difficult.

Buy/Review Links:

Amazon * NetGalley * Goodreads * Barnes & Noble  

Hardback: 978-0-9965395-6-2

Paperback: 978-0-9965395-7-9

eBook: 978-0-9965395-8-6

About M.F. Sullivan

M.F. Sullivan is the author of Delilah, My Woman, The Lightning Stenography Device, and a slew of plays in addition to the Trilogy. She lives in Ashland, Oregon with her boyfriend and her cat, where she attends the local Shakespeare Festival and experiments with the occult. Find more information about her work (and plenty of free essays) at https://www.paintedblindpublishing.com!

Author Links:

Blog: https://www.paintedblindpublishing.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TheRealMFS

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/M.-F.-Sullivan/e/B013DDEQVE

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14199461.M_F_Sullivan

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card. Follow the tour for more chances to win!

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Journey to Writing and the Creative Process by Russell, author of Derrick

DERRICK by Russell

THANK YOU for Having Me!

I must share some exciting news with all of you!

My new book, DERRICK, just won in 2018 New Apple Literary Awards Contest as Official Selection in Psychological Suspense. I am completely surprised, flattered and humbled by the honor!

Also to add, GAVIN (Part 1 of The Gavin Nolan Trilogy) won 2017 New Apple Literary Summer E-book Awards as Official Selection in Horror.

Journey to Writing and the Creative Process

In my youth, I had a knack for spinning a tale. Because my family moved around quite a bit, my talent grew more while the new set of friends got to know me. Soon, they enjoyed my stories. I would describe malevolent stories about missing people captured in the basement of nearby houses, specters or ghouls haunting the school or even crawling malformed creatures in the shadows that grab children in order to bring them back into the depths of sewers. Seriously, I always had a dark imagination! Truly, it wasn’t until I read my first ‘grown-up’ book--Cujo by Stephen King--which I grasped the concept of being a writer, and desired to conjure an equally terrifying story. Plus, it’d be awesome to have my name on the cover! Even then, I realized I had to drop my last name: My god, it’d take up too much space…;)

As an adolescent, I attempted writing: Really premature renderings of dialogue, descriptions and scenes paved my wave into larger pieces. In college, I did take creative writing, but I found it to be too structured for me. Then again, I did just about majored in everything. In my twenties, I wrote my first manuscript—not exactly a great piece of literature—and then buried it. Will it ever come to the surface one day? Perhaps. Anyway, the sense of accomplishment catapulted me into writing The Tale of Old Man Fischer, which took me a long time to write and edit. Frankly, I never really told anyone in my family (and even my friends) that I wrote books. When Old Man Fischer hit the shelves, they were absolutely flabbergasted! Attending Graduate School and completing my thesis further ignited the writer in me. In essence, I wrote GAVIN as a study break. Soon after, DERRICK was conceived.

Where am I going with this? As I alluded to earlier, I had really taken only one creative writing class. The other students lapped up the professor’s lectures on structuring and organizing story boards before the actual writing: It seemed too contrived to me. Needless to say, it almost squashed my aspirations to be a writer. Purging that process, I reset my writing process and wrote by the seat of my pants. Truly, I begin a new writing project with the blank screen. I don’t have outlines, don’t draw up character descriptions and don’t even do research! Seriously nothing…I just begin writing. A visualization of a possible beginning appears in my head and a cool main character’s name pops up. From there, my fingers do the rest. As the story progresses, I allow the characters point me in the direction. In fact, I really don’t know the outcome until about mid-way through. Then it becomes really exciting how it all winds up. If I’m surprised how the books turns out, then my reader will be equally as astonished. In a nutshell, my writing is truly organic.

Essentially, I am one of those delusional, peculiar guy in back of bar with a laptop, guzzling martinis, coyly watching the crowd and typing away. One of those patrons might become my next inspiration. Or you, if you walk into that bar…

So many thanks! Please follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

Remember…Read to Escape!

Russell

Derrick

In Hyde Park, a movie theater erupts in flames on a bitterly cold November evening.

It seems like a job for the fire department, but under Captain Creighton’s direct orders, Detective Gavin Nolan and his partner, Derrick Williamson, must investigate. Arriving on the chaotic scene, they find multiple fatalities —but one of the victims is most peculiar…

Gavin soon discovers that this fire wasn’t the first of its kind. The arsonist has set ablaze other buildings around Chicago, and more female victims left in the same gruesome state have been discovered.

Gavin and Derrick determine that the arsonist is not an arsonist at all—but a sinister serial killer with an agenda.

Juggling the unexpected events in his personal life, Gavin digs into the locations of the explosions. At the same time, Derrick probes into the victims’ lives, searching for any possible connection.

However, when the next explosion occurs, the killer leaves behind a significant object, and Derrick becomes noticeably reserved. Gavin soon uncovers an enigmatic link, one that points to Derrick’s military past. A time that his partner had wished to forget. Yet, to catch the vicious maniac, Derrick must tell Gavin everything.

In a suspenseful, gripping ride to the end, it is up to Gavin to rescue his partner from the clutches of a killer. But will he make it in time?

WARNING: This book contains graphic scenes, explicit language, and violent sexual situations.

Available on Amazon

Read an excerpt:

The Opus Theater was a gouged-out smoldering shell of a building, resembling a nefarious beast defeated at the hands of a mob of local villagers. Its massive first-floor entrance breathed out the last of the smoke, the toothy marquee scarred with black soot. Above, its blackened window-eyes stared down upon the people menacingly. As Gavin ambled closer, avoiding the other officers, a gripping scent of chemicals, fabric, and noxious gas filtered into his nostrils, then wafted away with the wind. Next to the theater, a pair of smaller sibling buildings, a shoe business and a comic magazine shop, were scarred and smoldering as well. Even from here, Gavin could make out the shattered glass sparkling grimly against the siren lights.

As he had seen on the news, the fire trucks clustered near the front of the buildings. The crews were already wrapping up their gear, and one was lowering its long ladder. Firemen dashed from the trucks into the dark façade of the building, being swallowed up by the dying beast. Other men tugged on the thick gray hoses that were haphazardly tossed around on the street. Already, pockets of ice were forming on the standing water and small icicles began to grow from the edges of the building. Gavin carefully stepped over the hoses, which reminded him of ripped-out intestines from the gut of the savage beast, and tried to get out of the firemen’s way.

Hastily, a fireman rushed past him and knocked him slightly. Grunting an apology, the man kept talking into his radio and rounded one of the trucks. The smell of smoke invaded Gavin’s nostrils once again.

From behind him, Derrick shouted, “About time you fucking got here.”

About Russell

Russell has been writing for the majority of his life. Slipping into alternative universes allows him to enjoy the process of creativity from the novel’s conception to its final draft. Currently, he lives in South Texas with his wife, two kids and several cats.

DERRICK is a 2018 Winner in the New Apple Literary Awards, receiving Official Selection in Psychological Suspense.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Russell.The.Author

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Russell_Writer

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Russell_Writer/

Russell will be awarding $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Remember to leave comments and questions for Russell along the way!

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'Red Tide Rising (Immortal Touch #3)' by Allie Gail

RED TIDE RISING

by Allie Gail

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BLURB:

Ages 18+. Contains strong language, explicit sex and elements of horror. This book is the final installment in the Immortal Touch trilogy.

*****

What good is immortality when every moment is agony?

The vampire Ash has returned from his watery grave, proving that death is merely a minor inconvenience. Picking up where he left off? That might not be as easy. Because someone else is vying for Sami's attention - the last person he ever would have expected.

Fulfilling her desire for immortality seems the surest route to winning her favor. But for Sami, this gift will come at a terrible price. One simple lie of omission is all it takes to send her spiraling into a terminal state of madness. And as the last remnants of her sanity slip away, Ash can no longer deny that her maniacal behavior is putting them all at risk. His perfect angel has become a perfect liability.

But can he find it in his heart to destroy her?

Read an excerpt:

“Trust me?” he whispered.

“I trust you.” Her eyes fluttered shut as she waited for the sharp prick of the needle, the one that would send her into her last slumber as a human.

Instead she felt herself being lifted into the air, and even before the back of her head slammed against the hard packed sand, even before the warm water of the tidepool surrounded her, she knew she’d been deceived yet again.

Ash was straddling her body, both hands wrapped around her neck in a grip of steel as he held her head just beneath the water’s surface. The briny sting of saltwater in her nostrils sent panic rushing through her, and she began to struggle like a wild animal, kicking while beating at his arms and tearing at his flesh with her fingernails. It did no good other than to exhaust all her strength. The hands around her throat were immovable. He would not be budged.

A primitive scream escaped her in a short trail of bubbles, accomplishing nothing at all but to deprive her of what little breath she had left. The sapphire eyes that were coldly fixed on her seemed to blur and waver as the rippling water obstructed her vision. She felt dizzy. Her pulse banged out a violent tempo of terror.

Air! Oh God, I need air…I can’t breathe…please, for God’s sake, let go…let go…

In a final desperate bid for oxygen she inhaled reflexively, and her starving lungs ached and burned as they sucked in the stagnant seawater that mercilessly suffocated her.

The frenzied thrashing grew weaker. Her fingers slowly released their clench on his wrists as her body became limp and still. The pale light from the full moon above her dimmed and faded away, and a sleepy blanket of darkness began to cover her with its peaceful comfort.

So this was what it was like to die.

It wasn’t so bad, really.

Blinking once, she relaxed and succumbed to the darkness.

The last sight her mortal eyes took in before the twilight of death clouded them was his broad Cheshire grin, hovering just above the water’s surface.

Available on Amazon

US / UK

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Allie fell in love with books from the moment she was issued her very first Sally, Dick and Jane reader. Born and raised in Alabama, she now resides in the sunny panhandle of Florida with her own blue-eyed Prince Charming and two fat, obnoxious cats. When she’s not busy obsessing over the lexicon of her latest project, she can usually be found watching B-movie horror (the cheesier, the better!), reading or playing online computer games while indulging her unhealthy Pepsi addiction.


Stalker Links:

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/alliegailauthor

Twitter - http://twitter.com/alliegailauthor

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7007359.Allie_Gail

Allie will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Follow along for more chances to win!

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'Masque: Choices (Gaston Leroux Phantom of the Opera Romance Series)' by Caridad Martin

Book Blurb

Erik is dying. Not once in his life has anyone ever loved him, not even his mother. Every day his heart fails him more and he is desperate not to die alone. He hides his face and past sins behind a mask. Erik is dying and has fallen desperately, obsessively in love.

Christine Daaé, a rising start at the Paris Opera is kidnapped by Erik, her voice tutor. When her childhood sweetheart attempts to rescue her, he gets trapped in Erik’s torture chamber. Erik gives her a choice, marry him or watch her lover die an agonizing death. Defeated, she agrees to the marriage in name only.

The Persian has intimate knowledge of Erik’s bloody past. He followed him, across continents to keep a check on Erik’s sanity. Erik asks for his help to marry Christine.

Erik doesn’t ask for much:

“A living wife. A companion for a short while, before I die...A few months at most. We both know I am at the end...how long can my heart hold out? Pain grips my heart, threatening to shred it to bits. Even I,” he said after a slow, reflective pause, “even I, deserve a little joy before my wretched life comes to a close. The desolation alone is killing me.”

The Persian's soft heart drives him to agree to support Erik’s last chance for love. Alone with Christine for a few moments, he feels he must warn her: “If he ever comes to believe that you have betrayed him, he will hurt you, Christine…If you ever need my help, wear red, as much red as you can find.”

Erik finally has the companion he has always dreamed of, he cannot hope for more…but he does. His heart, though failing, dreams of romance and love. With her soft caresses and innocent brushes against his body—he thinks she desires the marriage bed as well as the marriage. Is he reading more than he should into her actions? Though he yearns for her love and lusts after her body, Erik knows they’re forbidden fruit for someone like him.

Christine is determined to honor her marriage vows, though she’ll love Raoul forever and has promised herself to remain faithful to him. But, the more time she spends with her husband, the more she’s drawn to him, falling under the spell of his music and the tender wounded soul he desperately tries to hide behind his mask. An orphan for years, she longs to have a home of her own. Could she come to consider the house by the lake her home? Although she gave Raoul her heart and soul, can she put aside her past with Raoul and give her tormented husband the compassion he needs?

Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, has loved Christine for years and refuses to let his title stand in the way of their happiness. He is even willing to defy his older brother to be with her. Despite his love, Raoul fails to save her from Erik. When Raoul meets Christine again, he tries to free her from the bonds of marriage. Raoul, dashing and impetuous, will not give up his quest to save his fiancé. He is determined to fight the Phantom himself, to be with Christine.

Erik finds his mask cannot protect his heart from the anguish of unrequited love and he explodes in a jealous rage, his obsession spiraling out of control. His passion for Christine has brought him to the brink of insanity and threatens to destroy them both.

Christine wants both men for different reasons, setting off a personal crisis, but she must choose: fight for her husband’s sanity, her marriage and the life they have made together in the dark or go with the handsome Raoul to live in the light

This love story, is a gothic thriller that explores the resiliency of true love, the dignity of the human spirit and challenges our perception of sanity and beauty.

Read the prologue:

Prologue

Paris Opéra, Box five, 1878

The voices wafted up slowly, only to crash as they reached him. He could feel the tedium piercing his mind, slacking every muscle in his body. He massaged the back of his neck, straightened his posture and leaned forward slightly, straining toward the stage, but remaining just out of sight in the opera box. He picked at the red stains under his nails. His pipe and favorite blend lay in his coat pocket. He wished he could smoke his pipe just now, but the rising smoke would give him away.

The chorus girls were attractive, but undisciplined, the men dull and cocky; mediocre singers, all seventy-eight of them. He sagged in his seat, popped another bonbon into his mouth and slowly sipped at his champagne. He stretched his long legs and kicked off his slippers, placing his feet on a small stool in front of him. With care, he untied the mask covering his face and placed it on the stool next to him. Fresh air hit his face and he inhaled deeply. Everything was as he liked it in his opera box. He would leave a tip as always for Mme. Giry, and even add a bit extra for a pair of new ballet slippers for his concierge’s young daughter. A tapping sound brought his attention back to the stage.

“No, no, no,” M. Legafe, the instructor, squeaked. He tapped the baton on the music stand. “You are not watching me. From the beginning, Mesdemoiselles, Messieurs. Maestro, if you please.”

The pianist blinked quickly and began to play once again.

M. Legafe smoothed his mustache with one hand and held up his baton with the other, gave the signal, and a cacophony of voices filled the opera house. Once again the managers ignore my advice about the lack of talent in the chorus, and with the usual catastrophic results. They waste their money, my time, and irritate my hearing!

A small figure approached from the left wing and the voices trailed off. All heads turned toward the young girl entering.

Ah, a distraction. Looks about eighteen. Pretty enough overall, wheat-colored hair, a mite too flat in the chest, not tall enough, and her dress—looks—shabby, even from up here. From which nest did they drag this little songbird in from?

“Ah, impressively late, Mademoiselle. Charming, if you were at a society ball—but you’re not!”

The latecomer’s cheeks bloomed with color as she barely squeezed in between two girls. She cleared her throat and said in a soft voice, “I apologize, Maestro, it is just now I was asked to report to you. I was in the office of Messieurs Debienne and Poligny.”

Typical. Every girl they hire for the chorus has the same mundane good looks…and this one will have the same mundane voice. I will send a short note to the managers expressing my boredom with their newest choice.

“I see.” Legafe scrunched up his face and eyed her as if he were inspecting a moldy piece of bread. “So it is the fault of our dear managers, Debienne and Poligny, that you are late. May we continue? Your gab is taking up our precious time.”

“I thought I should apologize,” said the girl, her cheeks again showing her embarrassment.

“Come now, your name, Mademoiselle?”

“C…Christine…Monsieur.”

“Do you happen to have a surname?” He cleared his throat and blew out his breath dramatically.

She raised her head slowly and looked directly into the man’s eyes. “It’s Daaé, Monsieur.”

Up in the opera box, he sat up, planting his feet firmly on the floor. Daaé! Did she say Daaé? Could her father be Alphonse Daaé? He had heard the violinist play many years ago when on a break from his work at the Palais Garnier. A tiny angel stood by Daaé’s side and accompanied his music—and what music that was—music from heaven. This young woman would be the child with the short golden hair that entranced the entire fair with her singing. He had stood so far back in the crowd, that he had not realized the child was a girl. Alphonse Daaé had impressed him that day by refusing to take any of the money the public offered, as if he had been playing for God alone.

“So, Mlle. Daaé, since you like being the center of attention…” He looked around at the chorus for approval, but just found bored, fed up faces. “Let us hear you sing on your own.”

“Oh no, Monsieur, I couldn’t,” Christine protested. She grasped her hands in front of her and rubbed them.

“You can and will, Mademoiselle. Maestro…from the beginning…the…ah…the Ave Maria. If you are any kind of singer, you will know that one!” He smoothed his mustache again.

“I really…”

“Step out and sing!” he shouted.

The girl swallowed hard and stepped out from the group. She grabbed a handful of cloth from the sides of her skirt, opened her mouth and began to sing.

From the moment the first sound escaped her lips and wafted up to his box, he could tell that her voice had been trained by a pedestrian teacher—ignorant of what he’d had in his possession. For the same reason, M. Legafe would not recognize her gift. Since that fair, he had not heard a purer sound in song. His eyes almost closed in pleasure, but the plain, heart-shaped face was the perfect background for that voice. He would not miss a moment of this double delight.

“I see we need a lot of training, Mlle. Daaé. Rusty, but there is…”

“Shut up and let her sing, you idiot.” The sound reverberated throughout the stage.

The chorus gave a collective gasp.

“What the…” M. Legafe looked around the opera house, but he saw no one, all the seats were empty. He looked up into the rafters—only Buquet, a stagehand, stood leering as he looked over the new girl—and that voice was certainly not his.

“It’s the ghost, Monsieur,” said a slim dark-haired girl dressed in a long white tutu peeking out from behind the right wing curtains on the stage.

“What? Nonsense,” the instructor replied.

“But it is,” the girl insisted.

“Let the girl sing!” Again the voice was everywhere at once.

“Please Monsieur, let the new girl finish her song, or…there will be trouble,” the ballerina insisted.

“This is all pooh! Bah!” M. Legafe hesitated, but signaled to Christine. “Oh, go on, finish.” He swallowed and nodded to the pianist, but the blanched musician was squinting and looking up into the boxes.

She did not wait for the music to start and continued to sing the Ave Maria a cappella.

He leaned his head on the back of the chair. Unwillingly, his eyes fluttered closed before tears escaped his eyelids.

This is the voice I have been waiting for all these years. I never imagined—Daaé’s child. Awkward, that it’s a girl. Regardless, I will train her voice correctly, make her a diva, the best opera singer the world has ever known. My own, my very own, beautiful angel to instruct and to perfect.

Buy links

Amazon / Smashwords / B&N / Google

About the Author

Caridad Martin grew up in New York City after leaving her native Cuba. She started writing at age seven and has continued creating people on paper that talk to each other--she refuses to admit that sometimes on a silent, moonless night, she can hear them.

Despite getting a B.A. in Creative Writing from CUNY, she went on to become an educator. She has taught bilingual and special needs students. Currently, she works as an educational coach, helping teachers improve their pedagogy. As part of her job, she has published several articles on the use of technology in education. Online, she has written novels and short stories since 2005 under the pseudonym of Phantasmarose. This is where the idea for was first born for Masque.

She is a voracious reader and at home can be found in one of two places, reading on her favorite chair or pottering around the garden. She has travelled extensively throughout Europe, Latin America, Taiwan, and the Philippines. She was married and lived in England for several years. She loves camping and in the US she has travelled coast to coast backpacking on her own and in an RV with her family. She is an avid collector of lanterns and put her collection to good use when Superstorm Sandy hit.

Caridad lives in New Jersey, where she can watch the ebb and flow of New York Bay. Her family puts up with her eccentricities and her need to hide away for hours writing. Her oversized black and white Coon Hound, lying nearby snoozing

www.caridadmartin.com

Twitter @CariMartinWrtr

Win the first eBook of each of these series by Melanie Karsak!

Something wicked this way comes . . .

Gruoch is born to rule, but long before she becomes Macbeth’s queen, ancient forces claim her soul.

Marked from birth by the old gods, Gruoch is initiated into the ancient religion of her ancestors and begins learning the mysteries of the Goddess Cerridwen. But not everything is as it seems. Soon the Battle Goddess Morrigu imposes her will, and Gruoch finds herself at the mercy of the Wyrd Sisters.

With King Malcolm plotting, the Wyrd Sisters schooling her in arcane craft, and haunted by dreams of a raven-haired man she’s never met, Gruoch feels her fate is not her own. That is, until she meets a druid named Banquo. Gruoch’s heart is swept away when Banquo awakens something in her more powerful than duty, magic, or destiny: love.
,
This retelling of Shakespeare’s classic work leads readers through an unforgettable saga of one woman struggling to escape her fate without blood on her hands.

Begin the Saga with Lady Macbeth: Daughter of Ravens.

Buy on Amazon

Melanie Karsak is the author of the award-winning and Amazon best-selling steampunk series The Airship Racing Chronicles (Chasing the Star Garden and Chasing the Green Fairy), the award-winning horror/dark fantasy Harvesting Series, and the Saga of Lady Macbeth trilogy. She grew up in rural northwestern Pennsylvania and earned a Master's degree in English from Gannon University. A steampunk connoisseur, white elephant collector, and zombie whisperer, the author currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children. She is an Instructor of English at Eastern Florida State College.

Find all of Melanie Karsak's books HERE

Win 3 - ebooks - one to start you off on each of her series! Fill out the form below to enter.

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'Curvaceous Condemnation (The Endurers #2) by Rose Wynters

Curvaceous Condemnation (The Endurers #2)

by Rose Wynters

Erotic Paranormal Romance

Categories: Horror, BBW/Rubenesque

Publisher: Self/Indie

Release Date: May 7, 2013

Heat Level: Sizzling

Word Count: 62,200

Description:

The Endurers - Immortal warriors chosen to fight the evil that stalks humanity. Major players in the upcoming Armageddon. Single and sexy as hell.

Death. Pain. Tragedy.

For Endurer Vincent Chavalerio, immortality has brought nothing but torment and misery. Cursed by a demon to forever watch the women he loves die painfully, he's determined to finally put an end to it all and his own existence as well.

Plus-sized Scarlett Hamilton is desperate to learn how to live again after the death of her fiance, Niles. She's sent to list a historic mansion in New Orleans but ends up buying it for herself. Little does she know, there is already someone living within the walls and a gateway to Hell in the backyard.

Scarlett believes him to be a ghost, but his reaction to her body comes from a red-blooded, 100% male. After being in stasis for two hundred years, he's desperate to seduce her. Scarlett soon discovers an erotic passion in the immortal's arms, but he's still determined to let her go. Will he move past his grief and indifference enough to recognize what's waiting right in front of him?

The demon that cursed him won't release Vincent, even if it means the destruction of New Orleans. One night a devastating tragedy occurs as Hell fulfills an accepted bargain, condemning the city in the process. Time has ran out. Vincent has to see the truth or he will lose Scarlett, and his own destiny, forever.

Warning: This title is intended for readers over the age of 18 as it contains explicit sex scenes and/or situations and adult language, and may be considered offensive to some readers.

Read an excerpt:

“That’s it, Scarlett. Just a little closer,” the voice said, seductively. “We can give you the peace you desire. Inside, you’ll find everything you ever needed, even Niles. The door is wide open. Why not come on in?”

Scarlett paused in confusion at her words, desperately trying to break free of the spell she was under. Her hand fisted on the tile, the other one nearly touching the water. Why was the voice talking about Niles? He was dead, wasn’t he?

Everything felt wrong. She was suddenly hot, and her brain felt incapable of rational thought. Reality disappeared. She fought the compulsion, knew somewhere deep inside that it was wrong, but was powerless to stop. “Heaven, help me,” she muttered, desperately grasping for anything that could save her.

The spell she was under broke. Immediately she fell backwards, landing roughly on the ground, pain exploding across the back of her head. The sun was extremely bright, as she squeezed her eyes shut.

She felt like the world had stopped for several minutes, then reanimated with a vengeance. The chirping of the birds in the trees flooded her hearing, as her senses were restored back to her. Teddy whined and yelped in the distance, frantically attempting to get her attention.

“It’s okay,” she reassured him, slowly opening her eyes. The pond and statue were in front of her, the water still and unmoving. It was once again a deserted pond, as if the last several minutes had never occurred.

Available at:

Amazon | ARe | B&N | Smashwords

About the Author:

I'm Rose Wynters, and author of ‘The Endurers’ series. When not writing, I enjoy camping, traveling, and just having a good time in life. I love to see new places and meet new people. I also have a strong interest in the paranormal, and things that go bump in the night! As a writer, I enjoy combining love that pushes the limits with the supernatural. With my books, be prepared for almost anything! Things can get pretty wild when you're taking a trip through the pages with these immortal Endurers.

Connect with Rose Wynters

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY INFO: GRAND PRIZE: Autographed print copy of "Rubenesque Rapture (Book #1)" and "Curvaceous Condemnation (Book #2)"; $10 Gift Certificate to Enchanted Notions Books; AND "Man & Machine" 16 Month Calendar (2013).
RUNNERS-UP: One (1) of two (2) eBook copies of "Curvaceous Condemnation (The Endurers #2)". Contest is tour-wide and ends July 17. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

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Get to know Dani R.R. Hermi & Nevi Star, authors of 'Monster'

To kick off their virtual book tour for Monster, authors Dani R.R. Hermi & Nevi Star have taken some time to let us get to know them and their book a little better. Welcome!

 

Monster Book One, a Parliament of Twilight novel from authors Nevi Star and Dani R.R. Hermit (aka Hermie).

What was the inspiration behind this book?

Hermie: Funny enough, most of the Parliament of Twilight books were inspired by reality TV. Monster in particular came from a discussion about RT's back story and the embarrassment of being a judge on a series of reality shows produced by Wolf Productions. (RT is the main character from our upcoming series Inertia where he is hosting yet another reality show.) The two main couples in Monster – Julian & Siris, Chip & J – were inspired by us joking about RT having been on a show where they made a boy band and what might have happened to those guys.

Which character(s) spoke the most to you during the writing process?

Hermie: Definitely Julian. His journey of dealing with his desires versus his morality was an interesting reflection of my own journey during this process. I was struggling with the authentic desire to write erotica, but in order to do it at the level I wanted, I had to make the choice to walk away from my professional Tarot Reader career. It wasn't easy, and I fought with some of the same issues Julian will have to during this series.

Nevi: Siris. His journey of discovering that his destiny was so far from the life he thought he wanted was oh so very personal for me.

Which scene is your favorite?

Hermie: The part at the end of chapter 5 and continuing in the next chapter where Siris is being thrown onto the plastic sheeting in Skye's kitchen. His thought process during this part is so perfectly Siris!

Nevi: My favorite part is the very first scene where they see each other again after all this time. It's so full of all of the potential of what they are going to be to each other, what they are going to go through together. Especially the moment where Julian throws out the cut line from the boy band song! Genius!

How did the two of you come to write this book together?

Hermie: Writing is such a part of our story, it's hard to say HOW we started. But we were writing fan-fiction for years before we tried our hands at originals.

Nevi: It was actually through writing this ridiculous, epic fanfic saga together with a couple of our friends that we realized we were falling in love just like our characters were!

Do you have any other projects in the works as a team?

Hermie: The Parliament of Twilight owns our life! We have two other series we're working on in this same world – Ghost House (book one is out now) and Inertia (coming up in June).

Nevi: We've also done a couple of other stories before we met the Parliament. There's an epic fantasy world with mages and iconic bad guys; a space opera that started out as a Star Wars fic but evolved into so much more; and a handful of wildly off-canon fan fictions that we're talking about converting to originals.

What are some of your individual projects?

Hermie: I'm working a few short stories to submit to some contests and anthologies. There's one I'm particularly excited about for the “Don't Read in the Closet” event on the M/M Romance group on Goodreads.com. I have a very ambitious story in the works, but I don't know what's going to come of it. But really, most of my writing time lately has been used for working on the Parliament of Twilight books.

Nevi: I'm the official artist for Wandering Stars Press, so that keeps me pretty busy. I'm also working on several different Tarot and Oracle deck projects. I have a blog where I post essays about the process of developing the tenets for my burgeoning life-coach path. I hope one day to turn that into a book. I'm working on a novel of my own, a post-apocalyptic story set in a world populated with carousel horses rather than people. I don't want to talk too much about it yet, as I am not sure just when I will be ready to share it with the world.

How do your different personalities affect your writing projects? How do you compliment each other?

Hermie: Nevi comes at all the stories all crazy and spur of the moment. She goes full tilt at the characters' emotions and perceptions. I'm more about setting the scene, describing the action and building the world. We sort of fill in where the other is weak.

Nevi: And the dialogue is organic. We pass the notebook back and forth, each taking on one character, often surprising the other with what they say!

What are the pros and cons to working with another author on a project?

Nevi: There's never a writer's block we can't get over. When one of us is stuck, the other is overflowing with ideas to keep the story moving.

Hermie: We're always surprising each other with what we write. We don't really do much planning, so there's a spontaneity to the writing process that is both a pro and a con!

Nevi: Yeah, you just never know when some one is going to come along and blow a whole in your carefully designed pyramid of doom.

Hermie: (glaring at Nevi) Yeah, you never know. . . Also, being as we're romantic partners as well as writing partners, sometimes our characters' issues become our issues and we have to have a five hour long heart to heart just to make sure we're okay, even if our poor characters aren't!

If you could be any anime character, which one would you choose?

Hermie: Uh, what? I have to choose just one?

Nevi: O___o uh. . .

Hermie: I think that I would pick Usagi-san from Junjo Romantica. His life rocks!

Nevi: If I have to pick just one, I'd say Luffy from One Piece.

Tell us more about Wandering Stars Press.

Hermie: As of now, it's just the two of us writing and our long time friend Seth doing the job of editor and part-time marketing. We found out the hard way that we write some rather dark, taboo subjects that most publishers won't touch. To be honest, I went through about thirty or so publishers' submission guidelines and found that we were unacceptable for what they published for one reason or another. It frustrated us so much that we finally decided to create our own publishing house where there were no “morality rules.” Though it's a long way in the future, we do have the idea of publishing other authors like us as well.

What is something readers may be surprised to learn about you?

Hermie: Um, well I think every knows we're together. That's not a big secret. We are a pair of lesbians that write m/m fiction. That usually surprises people.

Nevi: I'm addicted to QVC. I have a huge Monster High Doll collection and I name all my plush toys after characters in our books.

Hermie: I crochet ponies. Well, only one pony so far and a duck. I also read Tarot semi-professionally.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Nevi: Hermie's the cake baker. She makes all the best sweets.

Hermie: Nevi's addicted to the My Little Pony cartoons!

Nevi: But seriously, we LOVE music. It's such a huge part of our process.

Hermie: We have something like 100 mix CDs designed for listening to as writing inspiration for our stories!

Thank you so much for your time!

About the Authors

Dani R.R. Hermit (affectionately called Hermie) and Nevi Star, are the writers who founded Wandering Stars Press.

What do we write, you ask?

Our genre is gay erotica, with a spice of horror, mystery, comedy, drama and sometimes a western or space opera. We love boys loving boys (in all the wrongest ways). If you love that too, then maybe we can be friends. Both Hermie and Nevi have some solo projects in the works, but more on those as they develop. You can stay up to date on the news from Wandering Stars Press on our blog or Facebook.

Who are we when we’re not writing?

We’re life partners who’ve been together 13 years through all of life’s ups, downs and craziness. Ours has been a long and sometimes arduous road, but it’s only made the journey deeper and more interesting, adding fuel and fire to the stories we can tell.

Nevi is a spirit artist and a shaman. She is a World Walker. Nevi also does all the covers for WSP's books. She is currently working on a post-apocalyptic pony novel of her own, a My Little Pony themed tarot deck and a spirit squirrel oracle deck.

Hermie has been studying tarot for 20 years and reading professionally for a small, private clientele for about 13 years. She is also a genius at making sweet treats – homemade candies, cookies, cupcakes. (All gluten free!) She does all the cooking for our little pirate crew (or we would all starve or poison ourselves lol) and loves her neurotic kitten.

What inspires us?

Our first love and inspiration is Japanese Anime & Manga! We discovered Yaoi and it was all over. We already had a love affair with slash fan fiction, so taking that to some anime based fics really developed our style into what it is today. A close second is music. We create playlists that are character, story-arc or novel specific and play them at top volume while we are driving, writing and sleeping! We do karaoke in our living room as a means to cleanse our story demons and open up to the next day's work (and because it's a blast to get together with our pirate crew and sing our hearts out!). But we also love TV, movies and books. You can see which albums, shows, series, etc. are our favorites by following our board on Pinterest.

Follow us:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wanderingstarsX

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wandering-Stars-Press/141080445955991?ref=hl

Website & Blog: https://wanderingstarspress.wordpress.com/

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/happynakama/wandering-stars-press/

See our profile on GLBT BookShelf:

http://bookworld.editme.com/wanderingstarpress

Monster (Monster #1)

by Dani R.R. Hermit & Nevi Star

Gay Contemporary Dark Erotic Paranormal Romance

Categories: Action/Adventure, Horror

Publisher: Wandering Stars Press

Release Date: January 23, 2013

Heat Level: Sizzling

Word Count: 290 pages

Blurb

It’s been years since Siris and Julian’s boy band broke up and they all went their separate ways. Now they’ve run in to each other in a little redneck bar in the middle of nowhere, coming face to face with the ghosts of their past and the feelings they never quite grew out of.

Siris is here handing out golden tickets to some new reality TV show for the network that owns his record label. Julian is here to meet up with yet another new partner. On the surface it seems like a coincidence… or is it?

Neither man is happy when they realize that The Parliament of Twilight, who once ruled their lives, means for Siris to be Julian’s new partner. Julian worries about what he could do to Siris. Siris just wants to go back to being a mega pop star and has no interest in being a monster hunter. Thrown together against their will (and better judgment) how will these former friends do on their first case?

Warning: This title is intended for readers over the age of 18 as it contains explicit sex scenes and/or situations (including BDSM/Light Bondage) and adult language, and may be considered offensive to some readers.

Read an Excerpt:

Siris felt dizzy as he was led, still blindfolded, down what felt like a long hall. He was on his knees and Skye hadn't taken his hands out of their bonds. With them tied behind his neck like this, Siris found he didn't have the best balance as he moved to follow Skye to wherever they were going. Thankfully, the bartender was taking it slow, not seeming to be in a hurry.

His knees were no longer on rough carpet. Siris thought they had come into some kind of kitchen. A few hesitant steps in and he heard more than felt the crinkle of plastic sheeting under his knees. Siris stopped, a sudden wave of fear washing over him. He had seen this movie. A part of him was certain this was the killing room floor. His body would be taken apart and thrown into the sewers to be eaten by giant rats and no one would ever know what happened. He whim:pered, refusing to move any farther.

Skye pulled his hair firmly. When all that got was another little whimper, he yanked hard. The pull threw Siris off balance and sent him sprawling across the plastic. Siris hit the floor hard with his face. He slid a little across the slick plastic, ending up in a very awkward position. He wasn't able to move himself easily and there was certainly no getting away.

“Please don't kill me,” he said as loudly as he dared. He thought he tasted blood in his mouth. He licked his lips and felt where he had split the bottom one.

“I don't want to kill you,” Skye assured him, moving around the room, rummaging in drawers and cabinets. “You have something I want.”

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