The Vampire's Quest by Vivi Anna

Vivi Anna is an awesome storyteller with her Valorian Chronicles and they're still running on full steam ahead with her newest offering The Vampire's Quest.

This time Kellen Falcon, former lab technician and ballistics expert of the OCU (Otherworld Crime Unit) ventures to Europe for help in his degenerative blood disease called Sangcerritus. The last time we saw him he went a bit ballistic on newcomer and human Eve Grant (who became leader Cane's wife) and the reveal came a few books back. Now we're finally getting down to the nitty gritty of how the disease works on vampires, slowly causing the poor victims to go mad.

Kellen's doctor visit turns on a sour note when a blast in the hospital nearly takes him out. Kellen survives only to become the suspect number one in the Nouveau Monde Otherworld Unit and eventually catches the eye of criminologist Sophie St. Clair who is working the case.

I was really interested in seeing how Ms. Anna not only makes Kellen a hero but also how she deals with a man on death row so to speak. Not to mention the relationship between him and a lycan woman who's father has told her before that "no alpha daughter of mine should be prancing around with a bloodsucker." There was an ongoing story arc throughout the first three books that had concluded in the last book (Veiled Truth) and I also wondered what kinds of turns this story would take in the aftermath. Ms. Anna didn't disappoint on all accounts as she adds a mixture of thrilling suspense to go with the mystery and romance.

I loved how the two units mirrored a bit of real life in how looser Otherworld and human relations were in Europe.

If you love CSI type mysteries with a dash of romance you definitely want to pick up the Valorian Chronicles series by Vivi Anna. Each book stands alone but you'd do yourself a favor in catching up on each of the characters to see how they relate to one another throughout the books. Here's the series in order:

Blood Secrets (Caine Valorian and Eve Grant's story)
Dark Lies (Jace Jericho and Tala Channing's story)
Veiled Truth (Lyra Magice and Theron LeNoir's story)
Mahina's Storm (Mahina Garner's story; available as an ebook novella or in the Nocturne Bites anthology 'Midnight Cravings')

Scandal at Copper Lake by Marilyn Pappano

This is my first crack at Silhouette Romantic Suspense and it did not disappoint. Normally I stick to Intrigues and Nocturnes, but the gorgeous cover and characters caught my eye and I had to check this one out.

I like to pay attention to first chapters particularly in how the author sets up the conflict and characters for the rest of the story. This one was done beautifully as we got to know the backstory toward hints of the scandal of the title and how it ties in with the hero and heroine. HQN doesn't do many interracial books featuring this pairing and they definitely need to especially if there are more written like this one.

The story centers around Anamaria Duquesne who has returned to her home in small town Georgia to learn more about her mother who died when she was younger. Anamaria was brought up with her grandmother and along with a special gift of foresight about people that seems like a curse at times. While researching about her mother and the possible scandal, she meets up with Robbie Calloway, a hard edged attorney who is hired to keep an eye on her. He doesn't believe a lick of Anamaria's powers and is wary of her, but also very attracted to her. Sparks are immediate but Anamaria keeps on her guard knowing how the women in her family are prone to losing their hearts to men. Soon Robbie and Anamaria's attraction grows as they dig deeper into her mother's mystery and Robbie grows protective of her while battling over centuries of his family's teachings to marry a certain woman.

I loved the author's opening notes in her description of the characters. Two people who seem completely different yet deep down are very similar and good for each other. I loved that Anamaria could hold her own against Robbie's gruffness and often he reflected on this himself as he was admiring her as a person. She makes an assortment of lawyer jokes and Robbie's reaction (or lack thereof) made me giggle even more. Both characters are strong not only in mind but in temperament and their stubbornness toward each other. The way the differences in races were handled here was wonderful and at the same time identifiable. The experiences felt real in the tensions an interracial couple would face today and the reactions of the world around our hero and heroine were handled in a believable yet subtle way that still had an impact.

The character's backgrounds were given and although they did come from different cultures and upbringings the themes of wealth, family and professions are explored in how it frames the characters even down to the little descriptions of the houses. One particular scene I liked was prior to Anamaria visiting an old friend of her mothers. While one family was poor and worked in serving the other very wealthy family, the poorer family ended up very rich in the love and compassion shared between each other that was lacking in the more wealthier family.

Robbie, like Anamaria notes, is very much a product of his upbringing and class structure. He's a complex hero who battles with his mind constantly about Anamaria while his body and heart are battling the other way. Normally I would be bugged by his reluctance to be with a woman because of the color of her skin but the way the author handles is more than just a trope. He's been taught a certain way and has grown up being irresponsible, somewhat lazy, headstrong and used to just breezing by in life getting by on his looks, charm and wealth. Not very admirable qualities but the way Robbie is written, it's believable and how he cares for his family and especially Anamaria, it makes him sympathetic and complex. While he's constantly saying he needs a certain type of woman to fit in with his family and friends (one that he's envisioned most of his life), his heart and body desires Anamaria because of who she is and how she appeals to him, body, mind, heart and soul.

The same thing with Anamaria who comes from a family used to loving and leaving them. She knows what type of man Robbie is and she stands up to him, never asks him for more than she knows he can give although a part of her may want more. She knows his limits and her destiny and continues to stand strong for what she wants and believes in.

The characters felt like humans rather than figures and I like that the author wasn't afraid to dig down deep and explain the differences in cultural upbringing without being heavy handed with it. It really added some nice flavor to the characters and made their inevitable union all the more sweeter.

I was a little skeptical at first about the Duquesne women not marrying and each having a different (unknown) father. I winced at first because it felt a little stereotypical but after the explanation, I felt it was apart of who Anamaria was as she was brought up in this particular family within the world-building based on how they handle their gifts. It was an interesting way of exploring the Duquesne power structure and, interestingly enough, it somewhat mirrored Robbie's background in how he relates to his family.

The suspense is at a minimum and knowing how Silhouette Romantic Suspense usually weighs more toward romance than suspense, the focus is mostly on Anamaria and Robbie's relationship than the overall mystery at hand (and a dash of some small town family drama thrown in). But it worked. I would have loved to have seen more worldbuilding a deeper look into the Duequesne family's history involving their powers and to maybe explain more about their "business arrangements". How it started, how it was passed down, what each family member thought about it. I'm sure the info would be enough for a massive epic family saga which wouldn't be a bad idea. I'd certainly love to read it. But at it's length it's a nice category that fits within the line's guidelines.

Scandal at Copper Lake mixes interracial romance, a little bit of paranormal and mystery for a wonderfully written novel I'm more than happy to add to my keeper shelf. I'll probably be rereading this one again as its going on my keeper shelf. I hope HQN pays attention and bring us IR readers and lovers more well written books with various themes that explore what the lines have to offer.

Scandal at Copper Lake is available in ebook format from the Harlequin site as well as mass market paperback format.

Sci-FI: We Shall Miss thee

This whole post is probably going to show my age, but that's okay because I'm feeling kinda "when I was your age" about now.

Recently SciFiwire announced the change of the SF channel to SyFy. I remember last year they were throwing around The Imagination channel and other things and the change seems a bit redundant if not...skirty. It's Sci-Fi! But no! We're different cause were *cue dramatic music* SyFy. Dave Howe, President of the channel (it's just easier to call it SF Channel now) responded to the announcement which garnered more than 1,000 comments that pretty much reflected what I was thinking. Howe was the dude who said "We had to broaden the channel to change the misconceptions of the genre... that it was for geeky young men."

Erm, maybe in your world, brother, but there's a ton of fangirls who'll say otherwise. Present company included.

So to change these perceptions of "It’s not just aliens, spaceships and the future... It’s about asking that simple question, 'What if?'" SyFy was finally put in place.

I couldn't help remembering circa early 90s when the Sci-Fi Channel first came around. I thought I was dreaming. A whole network devoted to Sci-Fi?! Old shows that I grew up watching and loving? It was awesome.

When it came around there was indeed the old shows I loved to watch. Buck Rogers, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, old monster movies from the 50s. I was just jazzed with all the goodies including the original shows like Bob's Basement where collector Bob Burns showed all the movie memorablia he collected over the years, Sci-Fi Buzz which kept us in the loop of current SF conventions, happenings and products to run out and buy, Trailer Park with new movies and even an auction for original movie goodies. And, of course, Harlan Ellison doing a rant on the insanity of the entertainment industry be it books and publishing or movies. It was the best. And coupled with the FX Channel of the time which featured the old Batman series with Adam West, Wonder Woman, The Green Hornet, I was just in a haven of SF&F.

The channel soon evolved with more shows and specials like themed weeks that featured marathons of shows that fit into a particular theme and full October months of monster specials where one week was Dracula movies, another was werewolf and so on. I remember every time there was a Friday the 13th, the series was broadcasted and I caught up on a lot of my favorites.

The Sci-Fi Channel also brought on a bunch of new broadcasted faves like The Chronicle, The Invisible Man, Lexx (coming in from Showtime as Tales from a Parallel Universe which became one of my favorite SF shows), First Wave, and tons of other shows I probably should have taped while they were being shown. Now, slowly these shows and their type started to disappear as Ghost Hunters, ECW and tenth rate straight-to-TV Saturday night horror movies took classic SF's spot.

I'll miss that big ticking clock, that little half Saturn moon with Sci-Fi Channel in the middle of the planet. I'll even miss Pluto BEING a planet.

But hey, at least there's always the memories. :-)

World Storytelling Day & The Second Life Story Quest

Tomorrow is World Storytelling Day. I've been asked to do a live reading in Second Life on Storybook Island to celebrate with the aspiring writers engaging in story trails, live music, dancing and prizes. I'm always happy to support aspiring writers and when I heard my friend Joan describe their goal to support writers and highlight the importance of creative writing and storytelling, I signed up right away. If you're in-world, come on down and join us!

Here's the official info:

The Virtual Worlds Story Project Presents: The Second Life Story Quest

The Virtual World Story Project is pleased to announce its first annual Story Quest, to be held on World Storytelling Day, March 20, 2009.

With a goal of helping writers and storytellers imagine, craft, and share Second Life stories, the Quest will lead participants along one of four Story Trails. Along each trail will be a series of Enchanted Books. Touching the books will not only provide information to include in the story, but clues that lead to other points on the trail as well.

The Quest will allow participants to choose from one of four genres, and be held across multiple sims in Second Life. The Quest's final stop will be Karuna (the new HIV/AIDS sim) where participants can sit in scenic surroundings to write, submit their stories, and/or get help from writing coaches.

The day will conclude with story readings, the awarding of prizes, live music, and dancing.

This event is ideal for educators wishing to help students learn to write well and experience the immersive and creative possibilities inherent in virtual environments.

DETAILS

Date: Friday, March 20th

Location: Starts on Storybook Island (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Storybook%20Island/129/70/25) and ends at Karuna with multiple stops at other sims. A notecard with LMs will be provided.

Start Time: Story Sleuths can pick up their first clues on Storybook Island (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Storybook%20Island/129/70/25) at Midnight.

End Time: The Quest ends at 5:00 pm SLT. That is the time that stories must be submitted. The rest of the festivities, which include story reading, live music, and dancing commence immediately after. The awards ceremony will be held at 7:00 pm.

Quick update!

Just a quickie post here cause I noticed I haven't updated in a while. I'm still around here and there. Mostly getting over an illness and catching up on some old projects so I'm limiting my time online a bit. I'll try to catch up on any emails and things in the mean time.

A big thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate Read An E-Book week last week. It was a rousing success with many downloads and more knowledge shared about the rise of ebooks. I hope everyone who downloaded The Eye of Alloria enjoys the story. I'm working on a few more projects as well as Within the Shadows of Mortals, the second book in the Ashen Twilight series. I'll be posting a free in between story in the near future.

Stay tuned!

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

I finished the third book in the series and I'm now more than ever convinced that this stuff is literary crack. Some goooood literary crack mind you but addicting nonetheless. I'm really enjoying Jamie and Claire's adventures and this book has to have the best reunion scene I've ever read along with some fabulous followups and twists and turns! Whoa. One needs to take a break in between heavy scenes for fear of overload.

Voyager takes place literary right after where Dragonfly in Amber stopped. Claire is still trying to track down Jamie and finally, with Roger and her daughter Bree's help, finds him. The beginning is interesting in the fact that it's sort of parallel. We see Jamie's live as he lives it in the past while his love tracks him down in the future. Poor Jamie still goes through some trials in war torn Scotland after the battle of Culloden still suffers from England's affects after the Jacobite Rising of the '45.

I was zipping through the beginning like crazy in a sleep deprived mind continued to see when Claire made her way through the stones again and to the moment when she see an older Jamie. I couldn't wait to see what they talked about and how they would treat each other. It was very realistic in both were nervous to pick up where they left off. Wonderful stuff. The story then zips along with a bunch of things happening at once and we're (along with Claire) are introduced and re-introduced to side characters that have aged since we last saw them at the beginning of the book. A LOT of things happen that throw our fave couple for a loop including some re-appearances by some savory and unsavory characters alike. Especially our favorite little big mouth who ratted Claire out in Outlander. And tsk tsk tsk on Jamie. I love Jamie, perhaps more than any other literary hero in literature but why!? I spoke with my friend recently and like her I was alternating between wanting to strangle Jamie and kiss him. (Seriously though, that chapter was superb when it all came out). The emotion in these books are immensely wild.

I LOVED the previous two books in the series but I had a few pet peeves in Voyager. I've made this review spoilerific because these are specific instances. Claire kind of got on my nerves comparing herself to every 18th century woman she came across because she was freaking out about being older. (He loved YOU woman, it didn't matter what ya looked like! lol). Plus it's a given she would be in better health considering the modern technological advances where she came from in the 1960s.

Also (said character stereotyping aside) Claire's reference to "the Chinaman" or "Jamie's Pet Chinaman" kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Claire comes from the 60s and I'm pretty sure from her travels she's been acquainted with Chinese people before. So I wasn't sure why she reacted like an 18th century woman.

I wasn't too happy with the Jamie and Geneva situation. I guess I'm a bit selfish in that I only saw Jamie for Claire. But considering he figured the love of his life may never return, he shut down AND he was coerced into it by Geneva. Not to mention there's a convo between him and Claire about the depths a man will go to stave off the dark pit of his loneliness. His family and tenants lives were also on the line, understood but I guess it kind of nagged. I am interested in seeing how Gabaldon picks this up and from the looks of the upcoming book this act and the result of it will be like war itself. Knowing her writing style now, I know she doesn't leave threads hanging and tends to pick them up down the line in one way or another which is always interesting to read.

These few instances aside (and an early throw away line Claire that also bothered me) I liked Voyager as the greater whole of the series but it didn't quite come up to the awesomeness of the first two books although it was good. It took awhile to bring back the same rush, excitement and consuming feeling as Dragonfly in Amber and Outlander especially. At times the characters didn't really seem like themselves based on how we got to know them from the first few books. Claire and Jamie seemed like two other characters with too many secrets held from one another (or maybe just Jamie from Claire) and their actions sometimes seemed a bit odd/out of character. Soon things fell into step and it was just like a continuation of the previous books especially once we got back to Lallybroch.

Voyager was a fun read no doubt and my favorite parts were everything that led up to the reunion and their first love scene. Things started really getting interesting back at Lallybroch and the ride had only just begun then. Towards the end the book turned into adventure mode with pirates, plagues and some bizarre oddities in 18th century Caribbean. I'd probably give this a 3.5 stars if I could. The first two books had a nice balance of lowkey scenes with the high suspense and action sequences while this one felt a little unbalanced especially towards the end. Just as things were advancing between the two characters another plot twist would arise and toss a wrench into everything that it felt a bit uneven. Towards the end more and more bizarre things kept happening that didn't feel like I was in the same world as I started.

Nevertheless, I can't get enough Jamie Fraser cause I'm hooked like a cold water trout.

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

I'm only on book 2 and this series just continues to surpass my expectations and interest. What a ride! Dragonfly in Amber is the second in the Outlander series and still kickin' some literary tail. There's a lot of questions and things that I wished had happened in Outlander. Not necessarily because the story left that open per se but mainly because of what the characters went through, I wanted to see the continuation of the story (and maybe a lil payback for what our hero suffered). In that sense in delivering a certain type of justice (one I had wished on the villain) ended up happening so I was happy but as Gabaldon's events happen, it didn't end there.

Although not as adventurous and a go-a-minute ride as Outlander, Dragonfly does off some wonderful history and backstory. The story takes a risk right from the beginning zipping forward a few decades where Claire, our fabulous English heroine, is visiting Scotland again with her daughter Brianna (aka Bree). I will try to not give too much away in the spoilers as some folks haven't read this series so I'll just say there's a lot of moments where you think certain things are happening but they're not. Even though there's a jump, Claire takes us back to the moment her and Jamie ventured to France to start life anew in Jamie's Uncle's home.

There's a lot of political intrigue, French court drama and some very interesting characters that pop up throughout the story, especially in the first half. A mixture of royals, a frog-like apothacary, 18th century medicine, princes and pirates all make up just a few of the assortment of characters our hero and heroine meet up. It's a little slow moving at times but always interesting especially when you consider the history and geneology of the characters. I'm definitely going to be rereading this again because I have a feeling that it's one of those books where you catch something new every time you read it. We also get some continuation of a good amount of characters introduced in the first book and explore their fates by the book's end. Figures that have only been mentioned in history books are brought to life here and seem like real complex characters with a mind and movement of their own. The second half deals with the famous battle at Culloden which goes into detail about the clans and their alliances to the Stuarts and explained in grisly detail from the battles themselves to the near famine and dangerous operations the soldier's face.

Gabaldon doesn't pull any punches with the time. It's a rough era to live in with much violence, sexual violence, and danger around every corner. She makes you feel like you're really living there with a rich detail for the settings and the flavors of different characters that pass through. Me being greedy wanted more Jamie and Claire and at times I felt like they wanted more of each other! But life dictated much to do that made their stolen moments all the more sweeter when they could grab them. The best and saddest part is toward the end which (like Outlanders events toward the end) had me in tears.

There are some wonderful gems that are beautifully written in from the dialogue from comedic moments, to real drama and a background of history and characters. One particular comic moment that quickly became my favorite was where a character gets their comeuppance through a description harsh medical procedure Claire would have to undertake in order to rid him of his illness. The description of the procedure and the way the characters around the dinner table responded had me laughing at the entire scene as it unfolded.

Before I started reading this series, I told a friend of mine that I wanted a series that was romantic but more deeper and layered than the romance books I've read lately. One where we get to see a couple mature and continue on throughout a series with some sensual love scenes that progressed and changed between a married couple as their relationship matured. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a couple reboot type of light romance series at times, but it was rare to find one where you follow the couple continuously as their family tree grows.

Reading this series has brought my wish back three fold and I couldn't be happier.

Not only do I continue to recommend this book to my fellow readers (especially the ones who love Scottish Highlanders and historicals for which I am now officially hooked!) but also for aspiring writers. This is the book series you want to pick up or at the very least pick up the first book in the series. Beware, it's like chips, you can't have just one. Gabaldon has a gift for telling a story with such visual panache that grabs the reader by the guts. The story unfolds slowly yes, but soon you realize that so many hours have gone by when you're just getting into it. I finished Dragonfly in Amber right now and am thanking my friend who told me to have Voyager, the next book in the series, nearby because I want to continue to see what happens after this cliffhanger! Although I have an inkling from what I've read on various boards, it's nothing like experiencing the events for yourself rather than hearsay.

Gabaldon tells the story as if you are right there with the characters and only then do you get the true impact of the story. Often they act in ways that are very much in character as we know them, not always pretty, but it makes sense because of who they are and what power or situation they are in. For instance, when Jamie does something that doesn't seem like him, we still love him because we see what his background growing up was or what dangers outweigh others at the current time. It's that mixture of life experience and setting that makes the story verra memorable. And still we love Jamie just the same. Personally he's probably my favorite romantic hero of all time.

Dragonfly in Amber also has some cool references to the title sprinkled throughout and continues the series beautifully. On to Voyager!

F is for Free, R is for Reviewed, E is for Everyone grab an Ebook!

Read an ebook week has begun and I'm sure I'm one of many hunters seeking some great free reads. For the list of participating publishers and authors, visit the partner page at the event site.

My illustrated romantic science fantasy novella is available now at my website via the wonderful Scribd. You can also go direct to Scribd to read and or download it in PDF format here. I've also made it available at ManyBooks.net where it's available in multiple formats. The illustrations aren't available with this one so if you want both versions, feel free to go for the grab. :-)

I highly suggest checking out some of the other titles there at ManyBooks.net. I grabbed a few reads that were available from some new authors and they sounded wonderful. Stay tuned for any recommendations I may post here.

Also, some great news! A Kiss of Ashen Twilight got a fabulous 4 cup review from Coffee Time Romance. Check it out!

"Loaded with action this fabulous tale enthralls you from the beginning. Fascinating characters from Vampires to Shifter Elves are cleverly set up with a plot that is full of twists and turns...An exceptional read."

For the full review, check out the Coffee Time Romance website!

A Kiss of Ashen Twilight now on Kindle!

A Kiss of Ashen Twilight: Book 1 in the Ashen Twilight series is now available on the Kindle! Head on over to Amazon to purchase your copy.

Just an fyi, if you buy at the Lyrical Press site you get a bundle of all different formats in zipped so it should fit on any reader you like.

I've updated the links on the book page for this but here it is again just in case.

Doug aka SciFi Guy just posted a wonderful review of the book over at his blog! Check it out!

"...this first book in the series is a fun and imaginative voyage and a promising start to a new series."

Introducing the Suvudu Free Library from Random House

I just got word that Random House has a new program of free ebooks available on their site. It looks like some pretty nice goodies in the fantasy and SF arena so readers looking for more reads to add to their behemoth TBR piles should dash on over and have a download party.

Here's the release!

NEW YORK, NY - March 4, 2009 - Random House, Inc. today unveiled the first five titles in its new Suvudu Free First Book Library. Designed to introduce new readers to popular and acclaimed science fiction and fantasy series, the Suvudu Free First Book Library allows readers to access free digital copies of the first book in each series.

The program launches with access to the following novels:

• His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
• Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
• Settling Accounts: Return Engagement by Harry Turtledove
• Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
• Blood Engines by T.A. Pratt

The books will be made available through Random House’s science fiction/fantasy portal, Suvudu.com (http://www.suvudu.com), as well as on other content services, including Scribd.com and the Stanza ebook reader application for the iPhone.

Says Christine Cabello, Random House Publishing Group Deputy Director of Marketing: “The Suvudu Free First Book promotion provides us with a new digital vehicle to build an author’s fan base and is an ideal way to bring new readers to these series.”

New titles are scheduled to be added to the Suvudu Free First Book Library on a regular basis. Coming soon are Terry Brooks’s Magic Kingdom for Sale—Sold!, Elizabeth Moon’s Trading in Danger, and many more.

Read the full post here. The Free Library is now open!

Read an E-Book Week Welcomes Multi-genre Author Rae Lori to Celebrate Digital Reading

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Read an E-Book Week Welcomes Multi-genre Author Rae Lori to Celebrate Digital Reading

PHOENIX, AZ—MARCH 1^st 2009

Read an E-Book Week (March 8-14^th) welcomes writer Rae Lori, multi-genre and multi-published author, as a partner of the event for e-books. As an advocate of ebooks continuing the promotion of reading, Rae Lori will help promote the event and will offer up her out-of-print illustrated science fantasy novella The Eye of Alloria as a free digital read. With news of the Stanza reader for iPhone joining the event with a catalogue of free Epub format reads, the book will be available directly to Stanza users.

“I’m so thrilled to see the rise of e-books and reading with new technology,” author Rae Lori says. “The new technology with digital publishing going hand in hand with print on demand publishing will allow older works and out-of-print works to be made available to the public for years to come. I’m glad to see the publishing industry making use of this because it not only benefits readers but writers as well. Hopefully as the years go on we’ll see some more refining and offerings from the technology.”

In recent years, e-books have been on the rise reaching as far as 77% in a year’s time and 400% in the education division alone. Mainstream publishers such as Harlequin Enterprises have been quick to the change offering up free reads for yearly promotions as well as digital releases of their print books a month before the print release. Tor has followed this model during the summer of 2007 offering up backlists of their popular authors from Emma Bull, Cory Doctorow, John Scalzi and Elizabeth Bear to name a few.

Read an E-Book continues this tradition, partnering with authors, E-reader companies and publishers with an effort to embrace the digital technology. Current and classic reads will be available alongside bestsellers in the latest e-readers formats direct from the website.

For more information contact Rita Y. Toews, founder of Read an E-Book week.

Visit the main event site: http://www.ebookweek.com

March Spotlight on Author Debra Parmley!

This month we have a fabulous new author who is a jill of many trades as well as recently adding award winning scribe to her name. Hailing from Springfield, Ohio and currently in Memphis, Tennessee, Debra Parmley became the first student at Marywood University to win first place in two categories of the Delta Epsilon Sigma Beta Epsilon Chapter writing competition: in creative prose and in informal expository. Her poetry has also been published in literary journals.

Aside from writing Debra has also worked in banking, newspaper advertising, as city recycling co-coordinator, as an office manager, and she owned and ran her own travel agency.

Her latest release, her first novel out now from Samhain Publishing, is entitled Desperate Journey. This western historical romance, was a finalist in the Bobbi Smith Creative Writing Challenge. Shortly afte0r the honor, Debra also won the finalist slot in the American Title II contest sponsored Dorchester Publishing and Romantic Times Magazine.

Debra also runs the author spotlight blog Make Believe Mondays. If you're a reader looking to check out some new reads or you want to learn a little bit more about your favorite author, be sure to stop by the site!

A Writer's Dream is honored to have Debra stop by to chat with us about her new release and share some info about her writing with our readers.

Welcome Debra!


Q: When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

Well, I think it wasn’t so much I decided, but that at a certain point I simply realized this is who I am. I’ve been creating stories in my head ever since I was in elementary school and I can recall being at my grandmother’s house when I was very young making up silly singsong rhymes. I’ve written poetry, short stories and novels and I would be a writer whether I was pursuing this career or not. The decision I made was to become a romance novelist specifically and to pursue that as the primary goal.

Q: What motivated you to start writing in this genre?

I actually had written a short story, which was for a horror anthology, and after it was published my editor told me it was more of a blend of horror and romance. Then I started to write a western and found out as I was writing it, that it really wanted to be a romance. So I let the story be what it wanted to be. And because of those two stories and the fact that I love a happily ever after ending, I knew writing romance was the right path for me.

Q: How many books have you written so far?

A Desperate Journey is my first novel to be published by Samhain Publishing. The Ebook is available now and the print release is March 31, 2009.

Q: Which aspects of the work that you put into the book did you find most difficult?

It is incredibly difficult to write a book, which is set in a place you have never been. A Desperate Journey is set along the Old Chisholm Trail in 1867, the year it first opened up. I had to study maps for the geography as the trail ran from Kansas to Texas and crossed many rivers and I also had to figure out which towns were in existence then. It took time and effort that a book set in one town wouldn’t have required. But I learned so many things. For instance Red River station that was thriving in 1867 and I placed in the book is completely gone today. There is only a rock which shows where it once was.

Q: What sets the book apart from the other things you have written?

It is the first novel I ever wrote and I used to call it my training wheel novel. Everything I learned about writing a novel, I learned with that first book. It also begins with a married woman who was married to an abusive man who turns out to be a bigamist. And there are two children in the story. All these things I was told were no-no’s at one time or another as I was trying to find a publisher. But when I wrote it I knew nothing about no-nos so I just wrote what the characters and the story nudged me to write.

Thanks bunches for sharing your work, writing and new release with us, Debra!

Rae, thank you so much for inviting me. I’ve enjoyed this!

Author Website

http://www.debraparmley.com/

Make Believe Mondays

http://makebelievemondays.blogspot.com/

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