Archive for June, 2010

  • 28 Jun

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    Behold, Cookie

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    Um, I missed blogging on Friday, didn’t I? To be honest, I’m surprised I only missed one day this month. My excuse is, I thought it was Thursday.

    Anyway, on Saturday, we got a new addition to the family, so I suppose I’ve got to change all my Bio details. Yep, we got another brand-new miniature bull terrier. She’s a black brindle and her name is Cookie. But, just to remind you what our original bully looks like, here’s Sausage purloining the chair I sat on for J to take my author photo:

    Isn’t she adorable? Cookie? Er, not so much. Cookie is the splicing together of a head of a whippet with the body of a bull terrier. She reminds me of the Mondoshawan aliens from the movie, The Fifth Element. Voici:

    You hear about how bull terriers are fierce and vicious? Well any visitor to the house is more likely to meet the fate of being licked to death at this rate. Last night, Cookie fell asleep on J’s chest while we were watching “Rear Window“, part of a 3-for-SG$10 DVD deal J picked up in Singers last week. It was rather adorable. (Cookie falling asleep, not the video deal. That was attractive rather than adorable.)

    We feed our pets raw food and the first thing I noticed upon feeding Cookie is that she didn’t know how to grab food with her teeth. She tried to lick all the food into her mouth first. By the next day, she’d got the hang of it and was munching on chicken gizzards with the rest of them. J has also noticed that she doesn’t know what to do with even a rawhide bone. It’s not that she’s that young. She’s five months old. No matter, we’ll get her acting like a real dog soon. Oh, you want to see a picture. How’s this:

    The cats have gone on strike and refused to eat since we’ve introduced Cookie to the household. A typical attitude is that shown by Squeak:

    I think that says it all, don’t you?

  • 23 Jun

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    Food blog launches today!

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    I’ve been carrying on a bit of an experiment on Facebook. For a couple of weeks, I very briefly described what I was making for the kids’ lunches. And I’d get a lot of comments on how nice that sounded and could people have the recipe, please!

    So, while I was mulling this over, a friend by the name of Karen E suggested that I drop romance novels and start a food blog. Well, I’m not going to stop writing (sorry Karen!) but I wondered if I had the time to devote to a food blog. Something small. Updates once a week. With the kind of food I like cooking.

    I thought about it over the weekend and decided I could do it! And so Cooking with Kaz launches! You’ll find a link to it in the right sidebar of this blog or you can go here. The first recipe up is Tandoori Chicken. Please do go and have a read and see if it’s the kind of thing you enjoy reading. I’ll be updating it every Wednesday or Thursday. And thanks for all your support.

  • 21 Jun

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    What do you think of book trailers?

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    It’s inevitable that, as an author, you often get informed of book trailers for a release from one of your writing buddies or peers. I’ve watched quite a few of them and they’re well done. The problem I’m facing though is, do book trailers work for SFR?

    The elements of a book trailer involve (of course) the main protagonists. There is also a variety of mood shots to set the scene, not to mention the ever-important music. It takes time, skill and a good sense of pacing to put together a good book trailer, and the authors and people who do it have my complete respect. It’s just…. I dunno…. I mean….

    How do you portray the science and worlds that we’re building? Should we? If we do, are the stock images of beakers and bubbling retorts enough to give the picture, or are we being lazy in resorting to stereotype? What if the alien species we’ve created only exists in our heads and there is no photo of a Lxulzianian Swilltwik (much less one in the pose we want!) in any of the photo stock libraries we’ve perused.

    I can see how you can easily immerse your watcher in an historical world — the costumes, the music. But what about an interplanetary invasion? Just to take one example, the geeks among us know that we can’t hear explosions in space, so do we keep such a scene silent and remain true to the science or do we cave in to Hollywood hype and put in sound effects? And let’s not even mention costumes or ships. Is it enough to stick in an image from Hubble to differentiate your SFR from someone else’s rom suspense? Do SFR trailers even work?

    What do you think? Use them? Don’t?

    ADDITIONAL: My good friend, Maria Zannini, is having a competition at her blog. Know a good blog that needs a shout-out? If you do, go here for more details.

  • 18 Jun

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    You know you’re a writer if…. : Dee Tenorio

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    Believe it or not, it’s not exactly a glamorous job to be a writer. I mean, sure, it’s awesome to see your name in the bookstore. Actually, that part never stops being awesome. But there’s more to writing than that.

    You see, there’s also the “crazy”.

    If you write, then you know what I mean. The strange snippets of dialogue that hit you while shopping for groceries, leaving you to scribble madly on your old receipts that you dug out of the bottom of your purse “while it’s fresh”. Or practicing how to attack a person with a kitchen blade…on your mate. Or actually driving into a ditch because you got an idea like a lightening bolt and forgot you were driving. Or, you know, sitting in a breakfast restaurant with headphones, working out the dialogue for your love scene…while the stranger next to you chokes because you said “nipple” too loud….

    The people next to us are continually shocked, where ever we go. They start to worry about us. In the “Should I call the guys with the white jackets?” kind of way. But to us…well, everything makes a great story. From the inside, it all makes sense. Random story bits and ideas don’t equate schizophrenia if you can still separate reality from the fiction you’re weaving. But it can be hard to tell.

    So, I’ve come up with a way for the non-writer to know if the slightly scary person next to them is in need of a padded room…or just a writer. :)

    1) Is the person dressed haphazardly, hair completely out of control, and muttering to themselves?

    If yes, don’t worry yet, it could just be a housewife. If no, don’t rule out a writer yet…some of us are sneaky.

    2) Is the person also slightly glassy-eyed, staring out into the middle space, their expression growing more and more excited for no seeming reason at all?

    If yes, the odds are better that you’ve happened upon a writer, but it’s not rock solid yet. If no, yup, that’s probably a housewife. Back away. Slowly. Poor woman probably needs a break.

    3) Does this person suddenly make a loud whoop of joy or shock and then start riffling through their bag or attacking a typeable electronic device?

    If yes, relax, you’ve just spotted an author. Try to catch her name so you can pick up her next book–you might be in it! If no, shhhhh. It’s probably an author and you don’t want to be the next victim in her book as the person who interrupted her greatest scene ever. :)

    Hope this brings a smile to everyone reading! Thanks Kaz for letting me play with you here!!
    Dee

    About Dee:

    Dee Tenorio has a few reality issues. After much therapy for the problem—if one can call being awakened in the night by visions of hot able-bodied men a problem—she has proved incurable. It turns out she enjoys tormenting herself by writing sizzling, steamy romances of various genres spanning paranormal mystery dramas, contemporaries and romantic comedies. Preferably starring the sexy, somewhat grumpy heroes described above and smart-mouthed heroines who have much better hair than she does.

    The best part is, no more therapy bills!

    Well, not for Dee, anyway. Her husband and kids, on the other hand…

    If you would like to learn more about Dee and her work, please visit her website at www.deetenorio.com or her blog at http://www.deetenorio.com/Blog/
    .

  • 16 Jun

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    A sermon, perhaps, and a tease: Alice Gaines

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    Oh I’ve been waiting for this one. Alice Gaines is a fellow Carina Press author and a committed Episcopalian. I started the ball rolling at Alice’s blog with my little essay on morals, atheism and IN ENEMY HANDS, and here’s her reply. Enjoy!

    First, the sermon, then the tease…

    When Kaz Augustin posted as an atheist on my blog, where I discuss my faith (Episcopalian) in relation to what I write (super-steamy romance), she thought she could pick an argument. I’m going to fool her. I agree with her.

    Kaz said, “I think my biggest criticism of religious people as a whole is that they seem to regard atheists as people without morals. “ This is so true and so unfortunate. I spent decades as an agnostic, and I was no less moral then than I am now.

    My teeth would grind when people asked me “If you don’t believe in God, why do you have to behave ethically?” My answer was, “Duh. That’s what decent people do.” Think about it. If the only reason you behave yourself is that if you don’t, Someone on High will smite you, how good are you really?

    I’ll go even further than Kaz did. When did “morality” come to be equated sexual restrictions? Am I “moral” if I restrict myself to vanilla sex with my husband but cheat, steal, and tell lies about my neighbor? Hell, no. Am I immoral if my sexuality is freer and I spend my time trying to make the world a better place for everyone I meet? Hell, yes.

    To tell you the truth, God invented sex, and He didn’t mean for us to make it small or use it as a weapon against each other. I’ll be blogging about that at some point in the future.

    So, what do I get from my faith that I didn’t have as an agnostic? Eternal and omnipresent love. As an agnostic, I had all the beauty of the universe. As a Christian, I also have the love behind that beauty. And, no small part of that beauty is the physical intimacy people share with each other.

    Is there any overt Christianity in Miss Foster’s Folly? No, not at all, unless you count her wedding at the end, but even that doesn’t happen on-screen. There is plenty of love, though. Love is all around us, like air. The book is about love and sex and humor. Yes, there’s some of that, too.

    So, what is the book about? Miss Juliet Foster takes it into her head to make a sexual exploration of Europe. Her only problem…if she’s going to pretend to be a wealthy widow, she’ll need to lose her virginity first. She chooses a man who sets her on fire with no more than a kiss. Her new problem…for some reason the foolish man thinks he wants to marry her and won’t Perform the Act until after their wedding.

    David Winslow, the Marquis of Derrington, recognizes the outrageous Miss Foster as the perfect wife for him, but she won’t surrender her heart. Can he lure her into marriage by refusing to satisfy her body? Can he deny his own body that long?

    It was fun to write, and I hope it’s fun to read.

    And here’s wishing you all the best with the book, Alice! Thanks for dropping by. You’re welcome back any time.

  • 14 Jun

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    Interview with Leah Braemel

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    Hi Leah and welcome to my little corner of the world. Stalwart reader, Leah is a fellow Carina Press author so please make her feel welcome while I grill her about all kinds of stuff!

    KS Augustin: Leah Braemel, what part of the world do you call home?

    Leah Braemel: Though I was born in Montreal, Quebec, I was raised in central Ontario. Despite living where I do for the last 24 years, I’ve never reallyconsidered it “home.”  It’s been more of a place where I could afford to live.  I felt much more at home when I was on a trip out west in 2006–I’d love to call Alberta or British Colombia home. Or anywhere in England.  But for now, I live east of Toronto, Ontario. At least until my sons move out and my hubby retires. Then I suspect we’ll be on the move…

    KSA: Ah, a fellow wanderer. I like that! You’ve written a menage and a romantic suspense. Your latest (which we’ll get to in a minute) has cowboys. Do you have a favourite genre or sub-genre to write in?

    LB: My favorite genre is romance, LOL. (Big surprise, right?) Sub-genres — that’s a little more difficult to say as I’ve shifted preferences recently. I used to love writing fantasies and paranormals, butI’ve burned out on them (both in reading and writing them) so while I have a paranormal that I’m working on at the moment, I am leaning more and more toward staying strictly within contemporaries.  Of course, that can all change when the next shiny idea pops into my head.

    KSA: What do you read to relax? (As a mother, do you ever relax? ;) )

    LB: I’m at that point where my ‘mother’ status is changing–my youngest is in college and my eldest is an electrical apprentice, so I do get to relax more than I used to, thankfully.  When I’m not buried in the business of writing, that is. What do I read? I don’t stay just within the romance genre — I pick up any book that my hubby or my sons have brought home, so there is a mix of action (a la Stephen Coonts from my hubby) mixed with historical fiction and non-fiction (usually involving the Romans back in their hayday,
    thanks to my eldest son) and fantasy or speculative fiction (from my youngest son.)  But I think my favorite series to read at the moment is Patricia Brigg’s Mercedes Thompson series as well as her Alpha and Omega series. I love Patricia’s heroes, and I often say that even though I’m olderthan her “one day when I grow up I want to write just like her.”

    KSA: Have you “come out” about your writing to your local community or are you still in the closet?

    LB: I’m half-in/half-out of the writing closet. I didn’t tell my mother or my sister I was writing until after I’d received my first contract. And while I attended a local writers’ group and all their members knew, I haven’t told many other people around — mainly because I was very big in a church group who definitely wouldn’t approve of me writing erotica.

    KSA: Do you own an ebook reader? Why or why not?

    LB: I own a Sony 505 which I love, except for its inability to deal with PDFs. While they’ve somewhat improved how PDFs display, you can’t take advantage of the larger fonts without screwing up the formatting. Thankfully I never bought my ebooks in PDF format anyway, I always bought them in HTML so I use Calibre to convert them.  If my Sony ever dies, I’m not sure what I’d replace it with.   I’ve played around with the 300 and 600 in the stores, but I don’t like them as much as the 505. Since I live in Canada, the Kindle just became available up here a few months ago, but they charge $2 extra per download. (Amazon has no  agreement with the Canadian net providers, so the “Whispernet” isn’t a sales point for me.)  I’m not hearing good things about the iPad’s library at the moment (though that may change) so if I went Apple, it would probably be an iTouch and the Stanza app but frankly, while the quality of the screen is good, it’s too small for my liking. I’d probably go with a Netbook because they would give me the option to surf the
    net and/or write on them as well.

    KSA: Okay, let’s get down to brass tacks. You have a novel coming out with Carina Press later this month! I’ve already mentioned it involves cowboys, but would you like to tell us more?

    LB: Wow, where do I begin? I’ve always loved westerns — whether historical or contemporary.  A couple years ago I visited my critique partners who live in Texas. One of them breeds Arabian Blue horses and I got to stay on her farm and soak in some of the real western/Texas flavor.  She took me riding and taught me how to shoot a number of different types of guns; she even took me into Fort Worth where I bought a very expensive real cowboy hat from a proper cowboy-hat-making store.

    There’s something different about the way time moves down there, and there are old-fashioned manners that I find so intriguing — like calling ladies Miss in front of their first names.  So I’ve always wanted to write a story in that locale.

    As for Texas Tangle, Nikki Kimball, the heroine in Texas Tangle is a horse breeder (are you surprised?) who comes home from rescuing a horse to discover her brother has stolen everything she owns.  Instead of the hero riding up on a white horse, her neighbor Dillon Barnett rides up in his white truck, and his foster-brother Brett arrives in his squad car shortly after. The sparks fly between Dillon and Nikki while Brett smolders on the sidelines. Brett and Dillon fought over Nikki ten years before — it drove them apart for several years. So Brett doesn’t want to destroy their friendship — and lose the only family he’s ever known — ever again. Things really heat up when Brett is finally forced to confess he’s still in love with Nikki and wants to be with her too.  Caught between two men, Nikki must unwind Brett’s and Dillon’s tangled past before she can decide their futures.

    KSA: Hear that readers? Cowboys and manners and horses! How can you resist? Where can interested readers find you, Leah?

    LB: If you want to find out more about my stories, you can check out my website at http://LeahBraemel.com or at my blog http://LeahBraemel.blogspot.com. I’m also on Facebook, and on Twitter too.

    KSA: Thanks for letting me interview you, and all the best for Texas Tangle and your career as an author at Carina!

  • 11 Jun

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    Interview with Jenny Schwartz

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    Hey, Kaz, I’m here! Meeting other authors, such as your gorgeous self, has been one of the joys of publication with Carina Press. I get to hang out with the cool people :) So, bring on your questions.

    (You see how she didn’t even wait for me to introduce her? She’s like that you know.)

    KS Augustin: Ahem. Hi Jenny. What part of the world do you call home?

    Jenny Schwartz: Perth, Western Australia. For some strange reason, West Aussies are called sandgropers–don’t ask me why we’re named after an insect.

    KSA: You call yourself an “armchair socialist” and readily admit that you’re interested in politics. Are you mad?

    JS: Mad? Yup. Also passionately interested in my world. The problem is that my interest doesn’t translate into action, hence the “armchair” part of “armchair socialist”.

    KSA: So what do you read to relax? Heaven knows, reading about politics ain’t relaxing!

    JS: Anything and everything–well, not horror. I’m a coward with a vivid imagination. I’m a big fan of Patricia Briggs’ werewolves, in awe of Ilona Andrews’ kick-ass Kate Daniels and actively looking for urban fantasy newcomers. My bookshelves grown under the weight of Golden Age crime novels and contemporary mystery writers such as Margaret Maron.

    KSA: Have you “come out” about your writing to your local community or are you still in the closet?

    JS: I’m as “in the closet” as a website, blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts allow me to be ;)

    KSA: So do you own an ebook reader? Why or why not?

    JS: Not yet. Partly its money, but I’m also waiting for a consensus on the Net that a given product is “to die for”–and available in Australia.

    KSA: The Price of Freedom will come out with Carina Press on June 14. Tell us about it.

    JS: First, the cover is amazing.

    Second, there’s a danger I’ll burble on forever about how much I enjoyed writing this novella and weaving together the romantic traditions of Arabia and modern terrorist tensions. It’s romance with an edge. To stop my burbling, here’s the blurb.

    Duty will bring them together—and tear them apart!

    As a guardian angel, Mischa must protect the one man who may be able to bring about lasting peace to the Middle East. As a djinni, Rafe must fulfill the wishes of a terrorist leader. Their duties colliding, Mischa and Rafe become foes, but the heat between them is undeniable.

    When the terrorist learns that a guardian angel stands between him and his greatest wish, he orders his djinni to remove her. Taking creative license, Rafe spirits her away to his private oasis, where she will be unable to protect the peacemaker.

    Beyond their mutual desire, they find common ground in honor and loneliness. Passion quickly grows into love. But it’s soon clear to Rafe that love cannot be bound, and Mischa must be true to her life’s purpose. Even if Rafe must sacrifice his own taste of freedom to grant hers…

    KSA: And where can interested readers find you?


    JS:
    http://www.authorjennyschwartz.com/

    http://www.acquiring-magic.blogspot.com/

    http://www.facebook.com/authorjennyschwartz

    http://twitter.com/Jen2late

    Thanks, Kaz, for the nifty questions! I’ve had fun :)

    You know what, Jenny? You’re a lot funnier than this. You’ll have to come back, okay?

  • 10 Jun

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    Interview with Cindy Spencer Pape

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    As I type this up, Cindy’s book, Motor City Fae, is currently on the Bestseller list at the Carina Press shop! Well done, Cindy! Onto the interview….

    KS Augustin: Cindy, when I saw the bookshelf at your site, I was struck dumb! You’ve written so many books in so many romance genres? Any of them your favourite?

    Cindy Spencer Pape: I think each one has to be a favorite while you’re writing it, or it isn’t going to be any good. I DO have a real soft spot for my Geek Love series—anyone who knows me will understand why. Motor City Fae, though is another…I truly love the paranormal world I’m building in Detroit with this series.

    KSA: What has your degrees in zoology and animal behaviour taught you about writing?

    CSP: I think having the scientific background has given me a good foundation in research and so much of the animal behaviour knowledge applies to humans as well—and tends to help make my paranormal beings a little more plausible, I think.

    KSA: What’s it like in Michigan? What’s the view like when you look out your window?

    CSP: Michigan is very much a 4-season temperate zone—hot in the summer, colourful in autumn, cold and snow in winter, and unpredictable in spring. The view out my window, alas, is that of a very generic modern subdivision. Switch around the trees and shrubs and it could be anywhere in the world. Borrrrrring!

    KSA: LOL! I see that you try to get to the occasional convention? What do you like about them? Anything you’re not so keen on?

    CSP: I love catching up with fellow authors and getting to mingle with readers, reviewers, and even publishers. I could do without the sore feet and the waiting in line.

    KSA: If you couldn’t be a writer, what would you be?

    CSP: Well, I DID do environmental education for years, and even a stint in local politics. Been a restaurant hostess, a bank teller, a college instructor, and a carpenter’s assistant, and a receptionist. Not sure what I’d try next. If I had university to do over again, though, I think I’d have studied either anthropology or library science.

    KSA: You have a novel coming out with Carina Press called MOTOR CITY FAE. What’s it about?

    CSP: <grin>MCF came out Monday, June 7, and I’m unbelievably excited about it. Here’s the blurb!

    Detroit artist Meagan Kelly has had a strong sixth sense all her life, but that doesn’t mean the gorgeous stranger’s crazy story—that she’s a half-elf, half human heiress—is true. But Meagan can’t deny the evidence of her own eyes—he’s Fae. A tall, blond, handsome, pointy-eared elf—and a man she just can’t get enough of.

    Ric Thornhill’s assignment just got a lot more complicated. The more time he spends with Meagan, the harder it is to see her as a political tool to prevent an all-out war between humans and Fae.

    Now Meagan’s in a race to master her newly released powers in time to prevent the conflict, convince a jealous Queen not to strip Ric of his powers, and find out if she can build a life that straddles two worlds.

    KSA: And you’re following it up in October with MOTOR CITY WITCH. Can you tell us a bit about that one?

    CSP: MCW comes out October 4, from Carina Press. This isn’t the official Back cover copy, but a little teaser blurb:

    When Aidan Greene meets up with his former love, Elise Sutton, he’s in for a surprise. Even though the witch insists he isn’t the father of her little girl, the Fae lord is sure the child is his. When Elise’s daughter is kidnapped, Aidan and Elise are forced to work together to rescue her, rekindling old passions, and maybe even igniting new ones.

    KSA: You’ll have readers lining up in droves!  Where can interested readers find you in the meantime?

    CSP: Website: http://www.cindyspencerpape.com

    Blog: http://cindyspencerpape.blogspot.com/

    Twitter: http://twitter.com/CindySPape

    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000270304390

    And you can download and check out the complete first chapter of MCF at http://carinapress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/motorcityfae_excerpt.pdf

    Thanks so much for having me here today, Kaz!

    Also, readers, don’t forget to check out Kaz’s post on my blog today!

    Finally, as part of my blog tour promoting Motor City Fae, I’m running a contest. All you have to do is pop over to my website, go to the “contact Cindy” page, and tell me which blog you saw me on and answer the question of the day. At the end of June, I’ll be giving away a $20.00 gift card to your choice of Borders, B&N, or Amazon. You can enter once for each blog stop. Today’s question is: Name the state where Cindy lives.

  • 09 Jun

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    Interview with Toni Anderson

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    KS Augustin: Toni, welcome to Fusion Despatches. How did you settle on writing romantic suspense? Has this been a genre you’ve always loved or did you somehow fall into it?

    Toni Anderson: Reading-wise it is my favourite genre although I also love historical, contemporary, comedy, fantasy and futuristic…you can see a pattern here I think? :) I just love to read—mainly romances, some thrillers and lots of non-fiction. I like to write RS because I love the danger element, I love how the romance and the danger become interwoven into a complex emotional thread, both feeding the other. For me they just intensify the connection between the hero and the heroine.

    KSA: What has marine biology taught you about writing?

    TA: Funny question. :) It’s taught me a lot. Forget all the extraneous information stored in my brain, studying marine biology taught me how to construct essays and scientific papers (not to mention a thesis!) in the most basic way that I think is reflected in my writing. I think my writing style is fairly stark, not too much flowery fluff—although having a top editor like Deborah Nemeth sure helped with the fluff :) I also learned a lot about how the natural world works—how one thing links to another, how a change in one thing (say temperature or light or oil pollution!) has a knock-on effect because things don’t exist in a vacuum. Even small changes can have a huge impact on the overall system. I think the same goes for writing a book. All things are related and interconnected. You need the correct emphasis on each component of the story and when you have that, the book is in balance and the story works for the reader.

    Short answer—it taught me the importance of balance. ;)

    KSA: You’re in Brittany even as I ask this. How did you get from Canada to France? And can I tag along next time?

    TA: LOL—yes, I was! I’m waaaaayyyyyy past Brittany now. ; Past Normandy, England, Scotland and England again and hopefully now dipping my toes in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Vancouver island—not home but at least in the right country!

    My husband is a Biology Professor at the University of Manitoba and had a 6 month sabbatical. Not wanting to be parted while he’s busy in the lab, the children and I followed him around like 3 sneaky shadows. :) They went into a French school and I stayed home writing. It was a perfect situation and I’ll treasure the memories forever. I’ll let you know where we go next time, Kaz ;)

    KSA: I’ll hold you to that. Anything you’d like to relate in the “culture shock” department?

    TA: No massive culture shock except for the kids. The teachers in France yell big time–none of this PC business. My kids were therefore model students LOL! I’ve never travelled to anywhere that different to my native Britain or adopted Canada. Australia is very similar to the UK except the spiders and snakes and hot weather. :) The landscape in France was just like the UK (Brittany in France is the reason we have Great Britain as opposed to just plain old Britain). I’d love to explore Russia or Egypt—that would be a welcome culture shock!!

    KSA: I love your blog. You have such beautiful photos on it. You’re also a keen photographer, right?

    TA: Thanks!! I am a keen photographer but I only have a little point and shoot camera. I think what I am really is a frustrated painter. I love to paint but rarely have the time. But I’m very visual.

    KSA: So you have a novel coming out with Carina Press on 14th June… What’s it about?

    TA: It’s a story of murder and revenge set on the brooding Scottish coast. Here’s the blurb…

    SEA OF SUSPICION

    Marine biologist Susie Cooper traded her life in America for a dream job on the rugged Scottish coast. Now all she lacks is the right man to start a family with. After their first meeting, she knows sexy Detective Inspector Nick Archer isn’t what she’s looking for. He’s the type of guy whose idea of commitment is staying the whole night.

    Nick has returned to St. Andrews for one reason only—to fulfill his vow to find his wife’s killer. Relentless in his twelve-year quest for justice, he has no problem using Susie to get close to his primary suspect: her boss. But the passion between them smolders, and as it ignites, Nick finds himself torn between his past and his present—with Susie.

    When one of her boss’s students is murdered, Nick’s investigation draws Susie into a web of madness and betrayal. They will have to learn to trust each other if they’re going to catch a killer…and come out of this alive.

    KSA: Wow, great plot! Where can interested readers find you?

    TA: Short answer…everywhere! My website… http://tonianderson.shawwebspace.ca

    I’ve set up a fan page for SEA OF SUSPICION with location photographs and anecdotes. I’d love to hear what readers think. My first Romantic Suspense, HER SANCTUARY, was released in 2009 to some great reviews. I love to hear from people and I write about my travels on my blog and update on Twitter. Readers can sign up for my newsletter on my website, or friend me on Facebook.

  • 08 Jun

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    Guest author: Joely Sue Burkhart

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    And we start off the Carina Press authors’ blog tour with a bang … and Joely Sue Burkhart!

    I’ve always loved the idea of blood sacrifice. From vampires to communion, I’m fascinated by the inherent power in this essence of life. Add mythology to the mix, and I’m one happy camper, so of course, the Maya have always been one of my favorites mythologies. Bonus: pyramids!

    One of my inspirations for THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN is a demotivator poster depicting the famous El Castillo pyramid of Chich’en Itza that says “All we ask here is that you give us your heart.” While there’s no archeological evidence that the Maya sacrificed hundreds or thousands of victims until the pyramid steps ran red with blood as in Mel Gibson’s Apocalytpo, they did practice blood sacrifice. Most of the time, they cut their ears or (men, avert your eyes and cover yourself) penis, caught blood on special paper, and then burned it with incense to honor the gods.

    Yes, occasionally people were sacrificed, especially the losers of the famous ballgame or captured kings from other villages. Sometimes people were simply tossed into the cenotes—large sinkholes that form over thousands of years in the limestone, often with an extensive network of caves. If they were still alive hours later…or possibly the next day…then they might be rescued to see if they bore any messages from the gods. (Which is where the main Bloodgate idea came from!)

    Sadly, children were often the victims of this type of sacrifice, inspiring a short story that I’m offering for free on my website, Well of Sky.

    Most of the time, it was the willing sacrifice—of his own blood—that imbued so much power into the priest’s prayers and rituals. Ruin, the hero in THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN, has paid that price numerous times himself. In fact, he’s died many times in service to the Bloodgates. He willingly pays the ultimate price over and over to protect that sacred magic.

    When this man falls in love, he falls hard. How many times will he die to keep her alive?

    Mini Excerpt:

    He drew the knife. Immediately, her gaze focused on it. The startled flare of her eyes and quickening of her breath told him she still wasn’t comfortable with sacrifice, despite what she’d done for him last night. “Magic has a cost. I pay the cost myself as often as possible, but some magic can only be wrought with great sacrifice.”

    “Did you…” She swallowed hard and her face paled. She jerked her gaze away from the knife up to his face. “Did you ever sacrifice a human?”

    He kept his face smooth. “You know the answer to that question.”

    A shudder wracked her shoulders, but she didn’t pull away.

    “The tales of your time greatly exaggerate the role and act of human sacrifice by my people. Did we sacrifice people? Yes. But never mass slaughters where the steps of the pyramid ran red with blood. We have no mass graves. We never decimated an entire tribe by slaughtering every living being.”

    “How many?” Her voice was raw, ragged, her hands fisted at her sides. The pale tightness on her face made him want to snarl.

    “We fought wars. We captured our enemy. We gave them the honor of fighting in the ballgame. The losers were often sacrificed. Great kings, too, were often sacrificed, and they went willingly to save their people. What great sacrifice have you made? How would you save your people?”

    “You killed people,” she whispered, backing away as though she stared at an abomination. “Did you kill someone to resurrect your brother?”

    Grimly, he drew the knife across his palm, deeper than he intended in his fury. “Of course not. That price I paid with my own blood.”

    Read Chapter One.

    Joely Sue Burkhart

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