Please welcome author, Brynna Curry!

Hi, Everyone! I'm Beth to most everyone that knows me, but I write paranormal romance and suspense under the psuedonym Brynna Curry. I have two wip's right now, Wolf's Bane a shifter tale and Bite Me! vampires, magic and time travel. I'm unpublished, but I'm working steadily to change that. Blood Shield, a paranormal suspense, has received several requests for fulls. I judge several contests yearly, I'm one of the four bloggers found at FrighteningJourneys and my site The Fairy Ring hosts guest authors and interviews once weekly. Now back to your regulary scheduled post...

Do you think the world is ready for more vampire novels? Or have they been plied with so much Twilight, the fans shudder at a glint of fang? When it comes to writing paranormal, I've found that agents and publishers seem to have a set standard for the genre. At least the ones I've contacted do. It's either 'get the pitchforks!' meaning "We will not sell it. Go far, far away." or "Don't bother sending it in. Too much competition. Your work can't possibly compare." So, what's a writer to do? My writing world is full of vampires, werewolves, witches and the like. Surely someone must accept paranormal? After all, you CAN buy it off the shelf.

Maybe the world would like to see a vampire with just the right bit of kick. On one end of the spectrum you have YA, 'nuff said, on the other end you have erotic romance. There's nothing wrong with that. My crit partner makes a living writing erotic novels. Still, that leaves the in betweens, all the moms who'd like to read the genre without the explicit love scenes or explaining to their twelve year old's why they can not go poking around mommy's bookshelf and e-readers.

Vampires are sensual creatures by nature. I like to think of them as explicitly aware once-humans, with all our flaws magnified. Rage, lust, selfishness, greed and I enjoy saving them from themselves. I think my favorite vampire would have to be Nora Roberts' Cian (Valley of Silence- circle trilogy) I'd love to introduce you to my vampire Kail McKenna. You can read an excerpt of his story (unpublished) here. http://www.freewebs.com/brynnacurry

With Blessings,
Brynna

Book Review: The Chosen Sin by Anya Bast

Book of the Week: The Chosen Sin by Anya Bast
Anya Bast’s website: http://www.anyabast.com/

I believe this book is classified as erotica paranormal romance. So, be prepared, it was definitely a spicy read.

Alejandro, is sexy hot, a vampire working undercover for the Allied Bureau of Investigations to bring down a brutal vampire, Sante. Daria is a human determined to destroy Sante for making a fool of her and nearly destroying her career. But Sante is locked away tight in a community of his making, the Shining Way, and only the Chosen are allowed inside. In order to be accepted into his community, Daria must become a vampire. But in this book it’s not as simple as wanting to become one. Not genetically predisposed to become a vampire, Daria runs the risk of becoming a succubare and forever feeding off sex or worse, dying.

Deciding the risk is worth the price, Daria convinces Alejandro to turn her and he helps her break through the veil, becoming a full-fledged vampire. Along the way, they realize that not everything is as it seems to be and enemies and friends aren’t clearly as defined as they’d thought.

I truly enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. One word in particular was used too many times to describe a particular spot, but otherwise the spiciness of the book was definitely spicy. Alejandro was so hot I wouldn’t have kicked him out of my bed. The fact that she fought against letting him into hers left me slack-jawed and shaking my head in confusion. Seriously, Ms. Bast created a character with so much life, with just the right bad-boy/good-boy blend and oodles of pheromones that I thought he needed jumping from page one.

This was a hot, erotic read. The world Ms. Bast created didn’t test my belief system and wasn’t difficult to follow. So, I give The Chosen Sin by Anya Bast Four out of Five Deadly Kisses.

Please Welcome Author...Terry Spear!!

First off, let me apologize for getting this up so late today. I had planned to get it posted and scheduled for first thing this morning, but between one confusion, the next one and then running off to dentist appointments at 7:30 this morning...well, you get the picture. So, sorry to Terry for the delay and sorry to you all as well. Hope you enjoy!

Now, please welcome author, Terry Spear!

~~

I’m teaching this month about conflict in writing. Whereas in our real lives we don’t want a lot of conflict, in fiction, the more the better! :-)

There’s nothing worse than reading about characters who have no troubles, that everything is perfectly hunky-dory. Nope, got to have conflict. On every page.

My latest release is The Vampire…In My Dreams and here is the blurb that shows some of the conflict they’re in for.

The Witch –

Plain and average Marissa Lakeland doesn’t believe in fate—or vampires. When she and her girlfriend chase after a gorgeous hunk of a guy one dark, misty night to prove he’s truly a vampire, she’s forced to face her worst nightmares—in the flesh. Rather, in the not-quite mortal flesh. So why does the thought of tall, dark, and vampiric appeal to her, when there’s no way a vampire can compel a witch to do his bidding? At least that’s what she’s read in vampiric lore. But lore can be mistaken. Utterly mistaken.

The Prince of Darkness –

As soon as he sees Marissa, fledgling vampire, Dominic Vorchowski, knows that she’s the only one who can save him. Only why does she have to be a witch? Humans are easy to compel, but a witch? Fate has thrown him together with the clever, bewitching teen and if he can gain her trust, he’ll have his life back again. Except for that whole eternal thirst for blood thing. And the fangs. Not to mention the aversion to intense sunlight. In any event, he’ll have his life back as normal as it can be. This time, he’ll not mess with girls he knows nothing about. Especially when he’s set his sights on one tantalizing teen witch, who’s totally off the menu.

The Threat –

Lynetta wants Dominic to replace the lover she lost three hundred years ago, and no witch is going to take her guy away from her. Ancient vampires tend to get really cranky when they don’t get their way. Really cranky. Like three-hundred-years-in-the-making cranking. She’s not just after Dominic’s blood, she wants every bit of the hunk. Time is running out while Dominic and Marissa try to find a way to thwart the vampiress and her blood bonds from winning the battle of the night.

And here is a blurb from Deadly Liaisons, an adult vampire romantic suspense coming November 15.

Dark huntress and rare telepath, Tezra Campbell treads a thin line between being a skilled criminal investigator for the Hunter Council and a renegade. She has an obsessive compulsion to find the vampire who murdered her parents, resulting in severe trauma to her younger sister who’d witnessed the crime a decade earlier.

Prince of the American vampire clans, Daemon, sees Tezra as a danger to herself and to his people if the serial killer vampire terminates her next. He’s also concerned his own brother might be accused of the crime, takes her into custody, and intends to find the killer himself.

Only things don't work out the way either planned, yet both aim to win the deadly game.

I have a conflictive excerpt on The Vampire…In My Dreams shown at: www.terrywildeteenbooks.com

But Deadly Liaisons is just in final edits, so here’s an excerpt from the opening:

Streetlamps poked scant fingers of light into the gray fog coating the warehouse district, deserted at the ungodly hour. Perfect conditions for another murder.

Unable to slow her racing heart, she feared the renegade vampire would hear the blood whooshing through her veins, begging him to take her life also.

Not far from where she stood, the dried blood of the three policemen murdered last week—their jugulars ripped out—stained the pavement. Too close for comfort. She wanted to move away from the spot, to distance herself from the recent killings, to be anywhere but here.

She peered into the murkiness, straining to see any sign of movement, listening for any human sound. Where the hell was the police officer she was to meet?

Come alone, Officer Stevens had warned. And she’d obeyed. Had to, if she was to learn the bloodsucker’s name. Yet, she couldn’t shake free of the feeling she’d been set up.

~~
Lots of conflict. We want to show it in the beginning, and on every page either in internal or external ways through the story. We want to keep our readers entertained and riveted throughout. So the fun in writing is coming up with new obstacles to place in our characters’ paths. They definitely don’t have an easy time of it when we get hold of them. But hopefully, everything will turn out all right in the end. :-)

One of my students used a real life example in a fictionalized setting showing conflict—fire in the kitchen, 9-1-1 operator with a nonchalant attitude. And that’s a marvelous way to dream up new stories, use real-life conflictive situations you’ve been in and turn it into fiction. Have you had some crisis that could be made into a story? And wouldn’t some say, “Oh, no, that’s just too unreal.”

Thanks to Deadly Vixens for having me. Take a look at my movie video trailers here to see how even in a trailer, conflict is important: http://www.terryspear.com/id17.html
Share with me your thoughts on conflict and you’ll be entered in my giveaway for either Heart of the Wolf, The Vampire…In My Dreams, or Winning the Highlander’s Heart. Your choice. The sequel for Heart of the Wolf, Don’t Cry Wolf, is coming Mar 1st. And I’ve sold the sequel to Winning the Highlander’s Heart, The Accidental Highland Hero. Thanks everyone for taking the time to read my posting! :-) Terry Spear, www.terryspear.com

Teresa D'Amario: Things that make you wonder

The Deadly Vixens wants to welcome our guest blogger, Teresa D'Amario. Thank you Teresa for joining us this week to discuss our paranormal world.

Things that make you wonder.

First, I'd like to thank the ladies of Deadly Vixens for inviting me to visit their exciting new blog. I've been learning from them as they made this a paranormal romance blog to watch! I'm very happy to be here.

Authors create new and exciting worlds with the freedom only paranormal or fantasy can provide. We gather on websites and talk about our new worlds, the kinds of things that bring shivers to those who don't understand.

But the Vixens aren't the only ones creating new and wonderful worlds for you to visit! There's a new blog in town, and we are having a blast over there. It's the ShapeShifter Romance blog. A blog for those who love the animalistic pleasures brought by those who aren't quite human. Make sure you drop by this week, because we're having a prize question every day - one responder will be chosen to receive the prize of the day. You have one week from the original posting so if you guys wanna win my book, SheWolf, you better get there fast! It will be given away on Monday to someone who's answered the Monday's question.

Ok, so let's talk paranormal. As a child, ghosts and goblins were the paranormal of the day. They were dark and evil creatures that gave us chills and haunted our nightmares. We read books by Stephen King, or watched the bad horror movies with popcorn that usually ended up more on us than in us, as we screamed when the monster attacked. We craved the fear, watching the vampires and other creatures of the night as they ran rampant on the big screen, or through the pages of the most terrifying of novels. We cringed at the werewolves as they created more and more of their furry kind, luxuriating in the sensual natures of their forefathers, while feeding on the innocent.

Somehow romance twisted those fears into something more exciting. More romantic. The vampires of the past became the dark and tortured soul of today. The werewolves were no longer victims of a disease, but became the misunderstood hero who had to hide his entire life. Even demons now walk among the world of the paranormal, such misunderstood creatures with a sensual nature. What happened to that evil we all so feared?

What once terrified us, haunting our nightmares, is now our fantasy. We've changed them from dark and evil to dark and sexy. The danger hasn't gone away, but has instead changed it's course. I find this to be one of the most fascinating parts of paranormal romance. The demons of our nightmares become the fantasy of our days. What does that say about us as paranormal romance readers?

Makes you wanna go Hmmmm.

Please Welcome Cozy Griffith

Hello, I'm Cozy Griffith and this is my first blog although I am already a member of this wicked bunch. I have responded to several of the posted questions, so you guys know a little about me. First I'll tell you some things that you don't know about me and then I'll try my best to thrill you and chill you with a ghost story. I am an aspiring writer and mother of three children. I am fortunate to have a very flexible work schedule, but nonetheless, I usually stay extremely busy. I am a long time friend of Gracen's (since we were 11) and have spent many years writing both my own stories and shared stories with her. I think I was about 6 when I wrote my first book, which was mostly illustrations with crayons and very simple words. I still have it and believe it or not my 6-year-old daughter just started writing her own books. All through junior high and high school, Gracen and I used to write stories back and forth to each other first in letterform and then in story form. Our stories eventually turned into sagas that spanned several generations of our characters. I think it was good practice and helped us both develop our skills as writers. I am currently working on a novel that I have been trying to bring to life for so many years. It started out with a simple idea and for so many years it wouldn't go anywhere. I had a beginning and an ending and that was it. No matter how hard I tried to force the words to come, they wouldn't. I finally set it aside and didn't think about it again for several years. During those years my life was quite chaotic and I didn't have time to even think about my novel. There was no reason to anyway; it had no substance. I just picked it back up this February and have been blazing through it. You see, I met inspiration in human form and finally found a purpose for the novel I had begun. I can't give too many details about my novel, but I will tell you it is a vampire love story that is full of intrigue, deception, awareness and of course, sex. It will be a few more months before its completed, but hopefully soon.

Now that you know a little about me, let me tell you about the picture that I am sending in with this blog. My friend and I spent a wonderful weekend in New Orleans this February. Walking around the French Quarter this time was like seeing it with new eyes. I heard things and felt things that I had never experienced before. I have already alluded to the incident in the bar where a stranger who apparently knew my friend from a former life approached us. Creepy... We visited a tarot reader on Jackson Square who knew things about us that there is no way she could have known. The door of the restaurant in the lobby of our hotel opened and closed on its own. Freaky... On our last morning there we were walking around the Quarter, finishing up last minute shopping and taking pictures. As we walked down Ursilines, we passed a building with a sign that said 'Haunted Hotel on Ursilines'. Just for fun we took 2 pictures. That evening when we got home I uploaded the pictures to my computer so we could all look at them. When we got to those pictures, I zoomed in on the window and behold we could all see a ghost! Thought that was pretty cool. Take a look at the picture and see if you see what we did.

I also took a picture of Marie Leveau's Voodoo Shop and it turned out blurry except for the Bourbon Street sign in the middle of it. I thought this was strange, too.

I’d love for you to come friend me at my myspace page here.

Well, that's about all the time I have right now. Hope I did all right, G.

* * * * *

Disclaimer (because we don't have a choice): The views expressed by the guest blogger do not necessarily reflect those of The Deadly Vixens.

Also, don't forget to join Sarah and I at The Literary Nymphs TODAY for a chat from 12pm-6pm EST.

Story Tuesday

Feel free to comment to let me know what you think of today's Story Tuesday! =)

~Sarah
--------------------------

The Graveyard Wedding
by Sarah Mäkelä

Walking through the graveyard one night, I came across a wedding procession. All I wanted to do was just visit my deceased mother. What was going on?

It disturbed me, but I couldn't look away. The moon shone brightly illuminating the event. Only a dozen people were in attendance. It seemed small and quaint. I ducked behind a headstone making sure to keep quiet so I would remain unnoticed.

An immaculate oak table stood behind the wedding party. No dishes or cups lined it. It looked out of place. Why have a table, but nothing to eat?

The bride lifted her veil to kiss the groom. Her smile revealed those sharp, pointed teeth that gleamed in the moonlight.

I shifted my weight and a twig snapped. One of them looked in my direction. I turned to run, but they surrounded me. The groom invited me to dinner with a wicked smile to reveal more pointed teeth. I had no choice. They insisted I join in the celebration.

Next thing I knew they had placed me on the table; my limbs chained. The bride and groom stood to each side and had their toast of me.

Introductions

Hello and welcome to the new blog of the Deadly Vixens! We’re so excited to have you here. We are a group of three paranormal romance writers who’ve decided to team up and share our love of the paranormal. The group consists of Sarah Makela, Gracen Miller, and Sierra Wolfe (me). We hope to share our lives and our work with all those out there who are interested in reading what we have to say, or at least the paranormal worlds we create.

I thought I’d start by telling you a little bit about myself. My name is Sierra Wolfe and I’m an aspiring author. Unfortunately, I haven’t been published yet, but that will be changing soon. Not because I’ve got anything ready to be published, but because that is my goal and I’ve decided that it is going to be a reality. I live in the lovely state of Missouri, or Misery as we sometimes call it. Just kidding. Old Missouri joke. I have one beautiful daughter whom I love dearly and spoil rotten. She’s 16 now and just recently gotten her license, my own personal horror. I also have two rotten dogs, a 12 year old Cocker Spaniel and a 1 year old Shih Tzu. You can imagine the mess in my poor house, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. They definitely keep up the excitement.

As I stated before, I’ve never published anything, but that’s ok because I’ve never submitted anything either. I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember and I’m ready to get on with it and get my stories out there. I love the darkness and I’m a creature of the night. I’m sure there are many of you out there who will understand. I suffer from terrible migraines and the sun is murder on me. Anyone who suffers from them can certainly relate. Bright lights are one of the worst things out there for migraine sufferers. At any rate, I’ve become accustomed to avoiding the daylight. My daughter teases me that I’m a real life vampire. Anyway, perhaps this is why I’ve come to love vampires. I love to read about them and write about them. They are my favorite. No offense to the werewolves, witches, and shape-shifters, I love you too. But I’m afraid, I’m a vampire at heart. Always will be.

We Deadly Vixens have created a yahoo group that we’d love to have you join. It’s for everyone who loves the paranormal as much as we do. If you’re a reader or writer of paranormal, or if you just want to visit, be sure to pop in and join us. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/deadlyvixens/ Hope to see you there.

You can also visit me on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/read_sierra_wolfe or befriend me on facebook.

Sierra