Friday, August 23, 2013

Author, author....Guest blogger Annika James



Please give a super warm welcome to

Author Annika James

Today she shares with us her ...

Top 10 Vampires in the Movies

First of all, thank you so much for having me today!

I love Top 10 lists, I love vampires, and I love movies - so let’s combine all three into one post… I will probably miss some great vampires, but that’s where you, the reader, comes in. Feel free to comment after the post with your favorite movie vamps. I had to do a little bit of research to complete this one. But watching vampire movies as research  sounds good to me. It was hard to rank these, so they are not particularly in order.

9. Jerry from “Fright Night” - probably one of the first vampire movies I remember watching, “Fright Night” was creepy and cool all at the same time. Jerry was tall, dark, and handsome. He had charm until the fangs came out. I’m referring to the original “Fright Night” as I haven’t seen the remake yet. Let me know if it’s as good as the original.

9. Dracula from “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” - The ultimate vampire, Gary Oldman’s Dracula was spot-on and creepy as all get out. As gross as he was, there was still the hint of romance as he searched for love. He had all the stereotypical vampire powers combined in one.

8. Victoria from “Twilight” - yes, I picked Victoria. She is beautiful and deadly, and I like that combination. In “Eclipse,” she hunts Bella, and she was lethally intelligent in the way she went about it, it’s pretty admirable. She is smart, sexy, and scary. She might sparkle in the sunlight, but she’s no broody vamp.

7. Lothos from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” - He was kind of sexy in an older man way, deadly because even Buffy fell under his spell, and funny with the one liners. I can’t help it, maybe I just love Joss Whedon, and I definitely love Buffy, I still like this movie, and the vampires in it make me chuckle.

6. The vampires in “30 Days of Night” - talk about scary. This was probably the first vampire movie I watched that freaked me out. I can handle gore, but there was something just heart dropping about this movie. There was little hope for survival, and the vampires were ruthless. No romantic vampires here - these were stone-cold killers who got uglier as they vamped. These are the nightmare vampires.

5. Blade - Ok, technically, he’s only half-vampire - but I think he still counts. He is so bad-ass, it’s ridiculous. I just remember him being practically silent for the better part of the first movie, every now and then throwing out a sassy one-liner. He hunts and kills his own kind, and he’s cooler than they are because he can walk in the sunlight. Imagine - all the strength of a vampire, with none of the weakness. Can you blame all the vampires for wanting him dead?

4. David from “The Lost Boys” - another movie from my childhood. David was the ultimate bad boy. Bleach blonde hair, leather trenchcoat, motorcycle - those all added up to one hot guy. He only came out at night and dang, did he look good. When he vamped out, he was also deliciously scary. Kiefer Sutherland played this part to a T, and started my obsession with bad-boy vamps. I can’t mention this movie without mentioning Corey Haim and how much I loved him in this movie. If you haven’t seen this one, watch it - there are some classic lines here!!

3. Selene from “Underworld” - I like a sexy vamp who can kick butt, and Selene is definitely that. Her wardrobe is amazing and I wish I could get away with head to toe leather. She’s a vampire with deadly fangs, but uses guns and other weapons to fight the Lycans. Kate Beckinsale does an awesome job with this role and Selene is one of my favorite vamps of all time. Not to mention the cool blue her eyes turn when she’s vamping out.

2. Lestat from “Interview with a Vampire” - he had it all - Lestat was beautiful and charming, yet deadly. He had little conscience and killed without remorse, yet did it in such a way, you would almost willingly submit to him. Tom Cruise played him brilliantly. I picked Lestat over Louis because I like my vampires a little less broody and a little more “I’m immortal, let’s live it up.” and that is Lestat - he took advantage of all that being a vampire had to offer.

That’s all I could come up with. Sad, I know… I also love Parker Posey’s vampire in “Blade Trinity” and although he doesn't go full-on vamp - Jim Carrey is hilarious in “Once Bitten.” So, who are your favorite vamps? Who did I miss? What are some movies I need to check out to help fill my list? 


Annika, the pleasure was truly all ours !  I love Vampires and definitely have a few favorites in the list you gave.  Now let's hear a little about your latest release.



Wanted
Annika James
“When you’re a powerful witch, every guy in school wants to bite you.”
Blurb:
Attacked as a young witch and left for dead, Ashlinn is deathly afraid of being bitten again. Having survived until she’s almost eighteen without donating blood to any of her vamp friends, Ashlinn figures she’ll continue to live bite-free. After her crush reveals how powerful she is, however, the Vampire Council declares she be claimed as a familiar, which requires biting. Ashlinn doesn’t want to be owned, even by hot vamp, Conor. Luckily, her best friend, Matt, volunteers for the job. She is given one week to choose her protector, and the list of willing biters keeps growing. Will she go with best friend Matt, hot vamp Conor, or someone else to protect her? Will she be able to get her power under control by then? Will she overcome her phobia of being bitten? And who says she needs to be protected, anyhow?”



Excerpt:
I could tell he was still looking down at me. His hand rested on the shelf next
to my head and his other hand came up on the other side, trapping me between his arms. I looked up shyly. How many times had I pictured being alone with Conor? It was like a dream, and I was frozen, unsure of what to do, unsure of what he wanted from me. What was he playing at?

He leaned toward me, holding my gaze with his. I forgot how to breathe, how
to think. Then his lips touched mine, electricity exploding up and down my body.
Soft and gentle, they probed, tasting, testing. I didn’t move to touch him, just
remained frozen. There was only the kiss. His mouth moved to my jaw, kissing his
way down to my neck. His teeth grazed my skin.

I unfroze and found my voice. “No!” I felt a surge of power push through me.
Conor flew backward across the room. He crashed into a bookcase, sending an
avalanche of books over him as he fell to the floor. He slumped there, holding his head, dazed. He looked up in confusion, mouth opened ready to speak. At that moment, my muscles remembered how to move and I ran for the door. It opened in front of me, not of my power, and Matt appeared. He’d probably felt my surge of power. I hadn’t meant to throw Conor. Panic had overtaken me and I had lost control for an instant.

I flew into Matt’s arms and he embraced me. Matt was my rock. His presence
calmed me, it always did. He was like a protective big brother. I knew he
understood the whole scene in the seconds before I’d found his arms. I buried my
face in the T-shirt pulled tight across his strong chest, and breathed in his scent, a
mix of fabric softener and cologne. It was familiarity, it was home, and it helped to center me. I peeked out at Conor. He stepped out of the pile of books and
straightened his clothing.


Tourwide Giveaway
Win one of three copies of Wanted by Annika James





Author’s Bio:
Annika James lives in small-town Wisconsin with her husband and two beautiful kiddos. She spends her days working to pay the bills and her nights dreaming of more fun ways to do so. Her passions include writing, reading, music and traveling with her family. She dreams of a world where vampires and powerful witches really exist, because life would be so much more interesting.




Thursday, August 22, 2013

Author, author.... Spotlight on Heat Wave by Taryn Kincaid



Heat Wave
Taryn Kincaid




Blurb: 

Sent into the human realm to retrieve prodigal princess, Zena Night, Bhyrne Raines is shocked and unprepared for his carnal reaction to the sexy succubus. In service to the succubus queen, the rugged enforcer must stifle the instant passion exploding within him. Fulfilling his royal duty doesn’t allow for quickie dalliances. His biological clock is ticking, and he begins to enter breedspawn, an intense and unstoppable frenzy of mating all fire-demon males must endure. But the more he wants to avoid Zena, the more he’s drawn to her.
Reluctant to give up her carefree life of partying among the mortals when the hot-as-sin Bhyrne comes to fetch her for the queen, Zena uses her succubus wiles to entice him, or at least delay the inevitable trip to the royal court. Once in the demon stronghold, hidden deep within the Catskill mountains, she learns the reason for the summons: she must choose a consort within two days.
Zena needs a mate. Bhyrne needs to mate. With time running out for both of them, they each turn to 1Night Stand. Can Madame Eve come to the rescue?



Excerpt:

Holy freeze gun, Batman. The words died before she managed to expose them to air. Her mouth snapped shut.

One of the Queen’s guards stood before her, huge and tall, nearly twice the size of most of the other males in the joint, a hella hunka supernatural male. Clearly not human, although Hugo Boss’d to his Adam’s apple in an apparent bid to fit in among the humans trolling for hot sex, illicit drugs, watered-down booze and loud music. Beneath the fabric of the unstructured designer suit, the toned muscles of a demonic warrior rolled like tidal waves. Even without the small lapel pin the uninformed might mistake for the The Rolling Stones’ logo, she’d recognize him for a captain of the guard. Maybe the Queen’s own Captain.

Hellfire and cotton candy. Trouble. T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

But, by the goddess, whattahottie! Despite her certainty that his presence in the club corridor boded ill for her, the force of her sudden hunger shook her.

Like lightning.

Thunder.

A desperate bolt out of the blue.

Instant connection to him on the paranormal plane, as if he’d wrapped her aura in gold chains and tugged her to him. But did that fast lane to heaven run one way or two?

A grim expression straightened the lines of what otherwise might have been a generous, sensuous mouth. A military buzz cut had weed-whacked hair the color of iron. And it didn’t stop there. Without doubt, metal fortified every single cell in the massive male’s body, pure titanium flowing in his veins. The stern planes and angles of a hard-edged, swoon-worthy face set grimly as cement. Though he lounged in the hallway like any Archie or Jughead waiting in line to discharge his rented beer in a urinal, he exuded authority, his carriage and bearing such that he made the others look like a pack of Twizzlers. Oh. Yeah. More than a mere guardsman, she guessed. An enforcer.
Ruh-roh.





Buy Links:




 Author’s Bio:

Taryn is an Olympic caliber athlete egg roller and spends a great deal of her time petitioning the U.S.O.C. to introduce a fantail shrimp competition. When she's not bungee jumping off the Palisades or parasailing up and down the Hudson River, she devotes her time to caring for her aging pet walrus, arranging her voodoo doll-pin collection and practicing rhythmic chants. At this moment, she is busy sweeping up the loose masala chai tea leaves she spilled all over the kitchen floor. (Probably because she needs COFFEE.) Wait. Is that something…sparkly?

Taryn hangs around a lot on Facebook and Twitter with her trillions of fans and pops in at Goodreads from time to time. You can catch her on her website, http://tarynkincaid.com, and her blog, http://dreamvoyagers.blogspot.com where she lives for comments!






Giveaway:


Taryn is giving away a copy of an ebook from her list of titles to 

one tour wide winner.








Author, author....Release Day Blast !! Operation Wedding Crash by Sandra Sookoo

...read all about it !!




Operation Wedding Crash

By

Sandra Sookoo


Blurb
Until death—or a secret—make them part.

Nora “Can’t Say No” Lenhart’s life is way past complicated. To add stress to everything, she’s just been appointed maid of honor for the upcoming wedding of the World’s Worst Boss and her ex is the best man. Looks like she’ll need to buy stock in an antacid company and try her best to ditch the green-eyed monster of wedding envy.

Camden Webber is an FBI agent with a massive chip on his shoulder—namely not being able to forget the woman whose usual inability to say no didn’t keep her from shooting down his proposal five years before. Though he has jaded views on weddings and marriage, Cam agrees to stand at his best friend’s side.

When Nora and Camden are thrown together at an engagement dinner, despite their tumultuous romantic history, they devise a plan to break up the ill-suited bride and groom. As the big day nears, emotions hit a breaking point, proving that wedding planning is more suited to a reality show and while happy endings are optional, they exist amidst the rubble, if the couple looks hard enough.





 Feel free to visit the other stops on the tour as well:   http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/08/now-booking-release-day-tasty-book_8.html


Author Info
Sandra is a writer of romantic fiction. Her portfolio includes historical, contemporary, sci-fi, and paranormal romances in full-length books as well as shorts and novellas. No matter if the heat level is spicy or sweet, she loves to blend genres and oftentimes will add humor to the mix.
When not immersed in creating new worlds and engaging characters, Sandra likes to read, bake, taste new teas, watch The Big Bang Theory, and Psych as well as Finding Bigfoot and travel. Her favorite place to spend vacation hours is Walt Disney World: it’s where dreams come true and the soul can play. When she’s not writing, she’s keeping things interesting at her Believing is Seeing blog or spending time with her husband, who patiently answers questions she has about men, sci-fi-related subjects, and the odd “what if”.
Sandra loves to hear from her readers. You can write to her at sandrasookoo@yahoo.com, visit her website at www.sandrasookoo.com, or look her up on Facebook and Twitter. All links are provided on the front page of her website.

Author Links


Author, author... Sassy in Stilletos by Nana Malone

Sassy in Stilettos by Nana Malone

USA Today Bestselling Author

 Today we are blessed with a one on one interview with Nana Malone, USA TODAY Bestselling Author of the In Stilettos Series.


Welcome Nana, so great to have you here with us.  Can you tell us a little about yourself?
   Oh, I’m just your average Ghanaian/American girl who lives in sunny San Diego with an American husband who thinks my family is crazy.  My Big Fat Greek Wedding has nothing on us.  In my infinite spare time, I chase around my two year old trying to tame her wild mane of hair and corral my spunky Scottie and occasionally let my hubby pamper me.


Do real life events find their way into your stories?
 Sometimes, especially if they are world-wide life changing events. But for the most part I use my imagination.


Do you ever mimic family members or people you know when you choose characters?
LOL! Have you been talking to my mother?  It’s difficult not to.  As a writer, you spend a good amount of time observing people.



Do you find yourself going back to the same inspiration for each story or is it always something different?
  Sometimes. It’s a hard call.  You want every story to be fresh.


When do you write?  Early morning? During the day sometime or all day?  After the kids go to bed?
 I’m lucky enough to write all day, but I’m much more productive in the mornings.



How do you feel about marketing your book?
  It’s the worst.  I would rather just write.  But I’m business minded enough to know it’s a necessary evil.



What social sites do you feel work best for marketing?
 None.  Social sites work best for getting to know people.  That's their point and intent.  If you rely on them too heavily for marketing, you will irritate people.  That said, I do do FB events and let my FB fans and Twitter followers know about book inspirations upcoming releases etc.  For marketing, I rely on certain promo groups like Korner Kafe and What to read after 50 Shades of Gray.



Do you like to pitch stories to your publisher or do you wait until you have written the story and have a final manuscript to turn in?
 When I’m working with a publisher, I like to turn in a finished story.  I prefer to know it’s done than to have to then write to something I pitched.  I change my mind so often that the story I start with is often not the story I finish with.



Is there any other genre that you would love to try writing?  If so, what is it?
I’d love to give New Adult a try. When I first started writing, that was my intended market only to discover that it didn’t exist as a market.  Now times have changed.  Lol.



Do you always/ever see yourself as the heroine/hero when you write a story?
Every character I write contains some sliver of my personality, so yeah, sometimes J




Just for fun, I have a few personal questions, 
Favorite 5
1)        Favorite Male Actor  - For a long time it was Josh Hartnett, but these days it’s Gabriel Macht from Suits.
2)        Favorite vehicle – Mini Cooper
3)        Favorite way to relax - Read
4)        Favorite ice cream – Rainbow Sherbert
5)        Favorite outfit – Hmmm, good one, White skinny jeans with an opaque peach top and wedges.

And for a bonus:  If you could pick any place in the world to live, besides where you are now, where would it be?  (Of course, without the hindrance of jobs or money needed) 

I’d move home to Ghana.  And if not Ghana, then I’m be making my home in London town 





Where can our readers find you??  
Website/blogwww.nanamalone.com
Amazon author pagewww.amazon.com/author/nanamalone




Is there an upcoming or current release you would like to share with us today and where can we find it?
My current release is:
Sassy in Stilettos (A Sassy Contemporary Romance)

Blurb:  Smart mouthed and in charge, magazine editor, Micha Bennett, has learned the hard way to choose her career over love.  When she’s up for the job of a lifetime, the competition becomes deadly fierce. To protect their best asset, her company hires the one person who’s ever put Micha on edge and threatens her sense of control. 
Sexy, security consultant, Caleb Atkins, knows what he wants and it’s Micha Bennett. He just has to convince her she wants him too.  With ugly shadows in his own past, he’ll die before he lets anything harm the woman he loves. Too bad Micha doesn’t think she needs his protection or his love.  
Can Caleb convince Micha to let go of control long enough to fall in love? Or will fear and danger tear them apart?  
Warning: Sexy, sass talking women will make you laugh, cry and want a pair of killer footwear.



Excerpt:
Micha shifted uncomfortably in her seat, certain Jaya was trying to torture her. Why had Jaya insisted they all bring dates? All week Micha tried to rustle up a date but had come up empty. Eventually she’d stuffed her poor assistant into a monkey suit and told him he had to escort her. She’d rather have taken a bullet to the eyeball than show up alone tonight. Why the hell Jaya had opted to seat her next to Caleb during the rehearsal dinner was beyond her. And now she could feel him staring at her. Oh, he wasn’t blatant about it, a sly look here, a drifting glance there. Every time she moved, his knee nudged hers. She reached for her wine glass and grazed his arm. Every time accidental contact occurred, it sent electric jolts through her body, and her skin felt like she had a prickly heat rash.
Refocusing, she turned to her date. Smile pretty, Micha. Don’t be a bad host. She should at least make an effort. “So, Ryan, you were telling me you like rafting?” There, she’d made her effort. 
Next to her, Caleb shifted in his seat and turned to face Ryan’s direction as her assistant told everyone about the class five rapids and his less-than-experienced trip buddies. 
Without concentrating, she could actually feel Caleb’s breath, tickling her spine. Curse Jaya and Ricca for suggesting she wear her unruly curls up. Sure, they liked to wear their hair up because it gave their honeys easy access for nuzzling. Immediately, a memory flashed of her and Caleb on the dance floor the night they’d met. The way he’d leaned in to whisper to her that he wanted to take her out. 
Wait for it. Ah, there it was—her body softened for him immediately, responding to the memory. God, she had to get laid and pronto, before she gave in and actually slept with Mr. Handsome as Sin. 
Micha crossed and uncrossed her legs again.
When Caleb leaned in to whisper in her ear, a shiver stole down her back.
“Seriously, Micha, you need to stop moving around. Why are you so antsy?”
As if he didn’t know. She whispered back through a false smile, tight enough to crack her molars. “Why are you watching me so close, Atkins? See something you like?”
His answer was immediate. “Yes. But then, you already know that.” 
The timber of his voice was low, and his words rolled over her like whiskey on a cold night. Hell, that man was sexy. She turned her attention to her date more resolutely. You will not sleep with Caleb Atkins. You. Will. Not. Sleep. With. Caleb. Atkins.
She met Ricca’s gaze across the table, and when her friend beamed at her, Micha couldn’t help but relax a little. Ricca was also blissfully in love. She had that totally sated been-on-honeymoon look on her face that all newlyweds wore. They weren’t married yet, but if Micha had to bet money, it was only a matter of time. 
And as for Jaya, well, she’d found her Mr. Right. Alec was the perfect complement to her friend’s serious type-A personality. He actually forced her to have some fun. For years, that had been Micha’s job, but it was nice to see Jaya happy. Both her friends would tell her to date Caleb already. But it wasn’t that easy. 
Micha hadn’t had a real relationship since leaving New York. Finding out she’d been living with a married man and that his wife was crazy enough to try and carve little chunks out of her, had sort of soured her on the whole happily ever after thing. And she would never forget how Simon hadn’t even bothered to try and see her or apologize. Her judgment had been all wrong about him, and she’d vowed she would never let herself be blinded by feelings again. No matter how genuine they may seem.
She’d dated plenty. But she never let any guy get too close. Even when she tried to let people in, it was like an invisible barrier repelled her from whoever she was with. She’d made pushing people away an art form. After what Simon had done to her, she had no intention of getting hurt like that again. 
Add to that, Caleb wasn’t just any guy, but practically family. She wasn’t going anywhere near a relationship with him. If she messed with him, Alec and Beckett would be all up in her business. Everyone would. And that wasn’t in the playbook. Caleb was the kind of guy who wanted open and uncomplicated, and she was complicated as hell. When it didn’t work, it would be her fault. 
She liked her privacy. She liked her freedom. Eventually, no matter how hot and heavy they were, she’d feel hemmed in, and then it would be messy and ugly for everyone. Especially me. 
But maybe if she scratched that itch, she’d get Caleb out of her system. 
Who was she kidding? Once wouldn’t be enough. He seemed like the slow lover type. 
Micha shook her head, trying to get the image of him over her out of her head. Fantasies would get her nowhere. 
It’s available now at the following outlets:



ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA Today Best Seller and iTunes Breakout Books author, Nana Malone's love of all things romance and adventure started with a tattered romantic suspense she borrowed from her cousin.
It was a sultry summer afternoon in Ghana, and Nana was a precocious thirteen. She's been in love with kick butt heroines ever since. With her overactive imagination, and channeling her inner Buffy, it was only a matter a time before she started creating her own characters.
While she waits for her chance at a job as a ninja assassin, in the meantime Nana works out her drama, passion and sass with fictional characters every bit as sassy and kick butt as she thinks she is.
Nana also writes sizzling erotic novellas as Q. Malone