Those Who Fight Monsters - Paranormal Book Review

Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives
Edited by Justin Gustainis
EDGE Science Fiction & Fantasy; 1st edition (March 1, 2011)

We can all sleep better knowing that in this new century there is an intrepid band of detectives who hunt down the occult monsters - demons, werewolves, vampires,etc -  that are out to get us.

Justin Gustainis has assembled an entertaining group of fourteen stories where the bad guys/gals/things never stand a chance. Many of the authors - including Gustainis - will be familiar to readers and so will many of their characters. Besides visiting old friends in new situations this terrific volume is a great introduction to writers and series you may have missed.



LITTLE BETTER THAN A BEAST
— A Marla Mason Story — by T. A. Pratt

Marla, chief sorcerer of Felport outwits a nasty, chauvinist sorcerer and saves the town from a hairy beast in this amusing tale.


DUSTED
— A Cosa Nostradamus Story — by Laura Anne Gilman

Daniel Hendrickson is a former cop with the NYPD and now works as a PI. He's half human and half fuan. His magical half comes in handy when a teenage girl is lured away by gnomes. Danny's a fast talking PI with a smart mouth and a caring nature which he would adamantly deny. He has his own book series.



THE DEMON YOU KNOW...
— A Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom Story — by Julie Kenner

Did you know that you can track your iphone or it's missing child owner thru the internet. It's especially helpful when a demon may be preparing to sacrifice your child and her friends.

Chronologically, this story falls between Deja Demon and
Demon Ex Machina —Julie Kenner


The Spirit of the Thing: A Nightside Story
by Simon R. Green

In the Nightside, that secret hidden heart of London, where it’s always the darkest part of the night and the dawn never comes, you can find some of the best and worst bars in the world.

John Taylor is a private eye who operates in the Nightside. This time he helps a ghost into the light and finds a way to avenge her murder.


HOLDING THE LINE
— A Jill Kismet Story — by Lilith Saintcrow

Jill (kick-butt heroine doesn't begin to describe this storm-troooper) is one of the brave few who hunt hell spawn. When another hunter calls for help she drops everything to save him.


DEFINING SHADOWS
— A Detective Jessi Hardin Story — by Carrie Vaughn

The bottom half of a body is found standing. The innards had been scooped out. Turns out this is a vampire story.and an excellent case for Jessi Hardin.


DEAL BREAKER
— A Quincey Morris Story — by Justin Gustainis

Quincey Morris, who is descended from the man who gave his life in the fight to destroy Count Dracula, is an occult investigator living in Austin, Texas.  Quincy comes to the aid of a man who made a pact with the devil.


SEE ME
— A Smoke and Shadows Story — by Tanya Huff

Tony Foster is second director on the vampire/detective TV show Darkest Night, He is also a practicing wizard. His magical senses discover a creature who may be behind several missing men in Vancover.

[Offshoot of the Vicki Nelson Blood series.]


SOUL STAINS
— A Vampire Babylon Story — Chris Marie Green

Not all the vampires of the Underground have been destroyed. Some, to their horror live on.

"Former Hollywood stuntwoman Dawn Madison is currently in retirement from vampire hunting and resides near San Diego. Kiko Daniels, who lives nearby, runs a paranormal detective agency with his partner, Natalia Petri."


UNDER THE HILL AND FAR AWAY
— A Black London Story — by Caitlin Kittredge

Petunia uses her detective skills in the best Hercule Poirot manner to find the killer of a Fae Prince.

"Petunia Caldecott is a former Detective Inspector with the Metropolitan Police, London. She graduated from London City College and currently resides in Whitechapel. Jack Winter is a mage and a pain in her arse, but he sometimes makes himself useful. He hails from Manchester, England."


 AN ACE IN THE HOLE
— A Sazi Story — by C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp

Werewolf Tony Giodone is on the case for Wolven, the law enforcement branch of the shapeshifting community known as the Sazi. This time some nasty snake shifters are after a mobster's stash.


HELL BOUND
— A Hell on Earth Story — Jackie Kessler

The succubus Jezebel is given what she thinks will be an easy soul stealing assignment. Not so fast Jesse.

Note: this story takes place before Hell’s Belles


IMPOSSIBLE LOVE
— A Piers Knight Story — by C.J. Henderson

A parent's love for a child proves stronger than any demon.

"Museum curator Piers Knight is a quiet fellow who likes good food, quiet evenings with a pot of tea and a good book, and being left alone by all the world. While usually well fed and well read, he rarely gets more that a week or two to himself before Fate, Destiny, or some other joker comes knocking at his door, bringing him all manner of bothers."


RUNNING WILD
— An Outcast Season Story — by Rachel Caine

The lure of the avatar almost destroys Cassie and Luis. Although I had heard of Caine's Warden series I had not read any and was not prepared for the lovely cadence of the writing.

Adrian Phoenix Interview & Contest

What a thrill for PVN to welcome back Adrian Phoenix recently described by Barnes & Noble reviewer Paul Goat Allen as Urban Fantasy's Hottest and Most Underrated Writer. I can only say amen to that! Recently Etched in Bone was released. Today Adrian talks about her new book and many other exciting subjects. She is also offering one lucky reader a copy of the book. The contest is international
[see details at end of post]


Hey, it’s great to be back on PVN! I want to thank Patricia for inviting me again. I always enjoy hanging out with y’all.

PVN: Book 4 of the Maker's Song, Etched in Bone, was released on Feb. 22. Without giving anything away what can readers expect in this novel?

Adrian: Dante faces his destiny and searches for a way to accept it on his own terms. To make his life, his own, at long last, and with Heather at his side. The former FBI agent is more than his partner and lover, she is also his anchor, his beacon, guiding him back from the edge of madness when his shattered past rises up and swallows him. But in Heather’s human family awaits an unexpected enemy. One who could force Dante to choose his darkest destiny—as the Great Destroyer.

So, basically, readers can expect more of what they loved in the previous books: the deepening relationship between Dante and Heather, the enemy faction splintering into many and turning against each other, more of Von, and more of Lucien and the Fallen. We also see more of the vampire society in New Orleans.

PVN: Dante is a vampire (and much more). Please describe the characteristics of the vampires you have created.

Adrian: You bet. In The Maker’s Song world, vampires (nightkind) are a separate species, not undead. They have heartbeats, warmth—though this generally fades when they don’t feed—and beauty. Oh. And sexy. They have many powers and abilities (some of which only manifest with age) such as telepathy, heightened senses, enhanced speed and strength, grace and reflexes, the ability to fly, work illusion and suggestion, immortal—but capable of being killed (in the proper manner, of course). LOL.

There are two kinds of vampires—born vampires, known as True Bloods, and turned vampires. True Bloods have become few and far between during the last few centuries, giving rise to the fear (among nightkind elders) that the sacred Bloodline is dying out, diluted over the course of time by all the turned vampires (including themselves).

A True Blood is regarded as nightkind royalty and viewed as a force of nature, a night elemental, by the human nomad clans—a being they respect. Their abilities—telepathy, enhanced strength, speed, etc. are magnified a hundred-fold. A born vampire’s blood brims with power and magic—power and magic they can bestow (temporarily) upon anyone who takes a taste of their blood.

Never having been human, True Bloods tend to isolate themselves from mortals (except to feed and play) and view the world in a very different light.

Nightkind are sensitive to light and need to avoid the sun. True Bloods need to avoid the sun at all costs and usually that’s easy because nightkind—turned or born—are subject to Sleep during daylight hours. Wherever they are, whatever they are doing, Sleep steals over them in a dark and narcotic tide and down they go—helpless until dusk.

Dante was born nightkind—but since he’s Lucien’s son, he’s also part Fallen. And more.

PVN: What is the Shadow Branch and how does it impact Dante's life?

Adrian: The Shadow Branch is a branch of the government that doesn’t officially exist, whose members are composed of DOD (Department of Defense), FBI, CIA, and Homeland Security agents. They run a lot of black ops in their “defense” of the country, including twisted projects like Bad Seed—an experiment in sociopathology they and the FBI conducted as “research.”

From Beneath the Skin, a conversation between Caterina Cortini (a wetwork operative for the SB and now, unknown by her handlers, a defender of the True Blood prince, Dante Baptiste) and her immediate superior, Brian Epstein.

Caterina: With each life we end, we alter the future, end possibilities; we become agents of destiny.


Epstein: Severing some, fulfilling others. A hard and honorable duty. And that’s why the SB exists. To do the hard and honorable things that everyone else is either too lazy, too corrupt, or too afraid to do.

The truly frightening part is that Epstein (and the majority of those recruited into the SB) believes those words, believes he fights on the side of good, the side of the righteous.

As for how the SB impacts Dante’s life, he was one of the subjects of Project Bad Seed, stolen from his nightkind mother at birth and given to the worst in the foster home system to be raised—a nightkind child among human monsters, a study in a developing sociopath. The project heads never counted on his compassionate heart and strong will, that he would find friendship, would care for others.

He was brutalized, tortured, and stripped of everyone he ever cared about. His memory was torn apart and fragmented over and over as he was programmed, turned into a cold killer who could be triggered with a code word. When he escaped as a teenager (struggling with an adolescent True Blood’s need to hunt, to prowl), the SB and the FBI behavioral science minds were content to let him go and study his progress.

PVN: If a TV series or film were made about the Maker's Song who would you like to see in the roles of Dante and Heather?

Adrian: Honestly, I think unknowns would have to play the parts. I can’t think of anyone currently acting who would fit the bill, but I’m open to suggestions!

 


PVN: How many books do you envision for this series?

Adrian: Right now, I don’t see an end in sight. I hope to continue with this series for as long as there is a compelling story to tell. I love these characters and their world. Pocket has picked up books five and six. (Book Five is titled On Midnight Wings.) And I have my fingers crossed that sales will encourage them to keep picking up Maker’s Song books.



PVN: Tell us about Club Hell.

Adrian: Club Hell is Dante’s music club in the French Quarter (on St. Peter Street), and it’s a very hip club frequented by those into Goth/industrial/punk music. Or vampires. A lot of nightkind wannabes and admirers hang out.

Dante never lies and he never hides the fact that he’s vampire. I wouldn’t say he advertises it either, but since nightkind is what he’s always been, he’s himself. We don’t advertise being human, but we don’t hide it either.

He has a cheesetacular stone bat-winged throne on a dais where he can sprawl and watch the action on the dance floor and at the bar whenever he’s not in the Cage with his band, Inferno.


PVN: Book one of the Hoodoo series Black Dust Mambo was released last June. What's next for this series?

Adrian: The second book, Black Heart Loa, will be out the end of June. In this book, Kallie searches for her missing bayou pirate cousin and finds out the hard way that someone is undoing powerful gris-gris, which means that magic has become as unpredictable as rolling a handful of dice. She also learns that the wards woven to protect the Gulf coast are unraveling, leaving New Orleans and the surrounding bayous vulnerable just as the deadliest storm in a century is born.

As the hurricane powers toward the heart of all she loves, Kallie desperately searches for the cause of the randomness, only to learn that the culprit might be herself. To protect her family and friends, including the sexy nomad Layne Valin, Kallie steps into the jaws of danger and finds a loup garou designed to steal her heart—literally.




PVN: What other projects are you working on?

Adrian: I have several steampunk proposals in with my editor, a Supernatural/ghost based proposal, an urban fantasy noir that takes place in Portland, and I’m still working on my paranormal historical fantasy about the Romantic poet John Keats. I also hope to get short stories posted online along with a short, humorous urban fantasy novel.

PVN: You have some very exciting news concerning your writing career. Would you care to share it with PVN readers?

Adrian: I would love to! I am finally writing full-time. I decided to take the leap when my day job started having major difficulties when the economy tanked. Instead of looking for another job, I realized the universe was telling me it was time to move on to the next phase of my career—one I’ve longed dreamed of. I felt deep in my gut that it was the right decision, too. It’s scary, but exciting.

PVN: Will you be doing any city book tours or attending any conferences in 2011? Details please!

Adrian: No city book tours—not yet anyway. But I will be attending the RT Booklovers Convention in Los Angeles April 6-10. I’ll be participating in a signing there as well on Saturday the 9th (and a person can buy a day pass just for that, I believe). That’s all I have scheduled for this year. So far. I’m still adjusting to my new budget now that I don’t have a regular paycheck. I’m erring on the side of caution.

PVN: Anything else you would like to add?

Adrian: Yes, thanks. One thing: Etched in Bone is also a featured read for March on  BN.com’s Paranormal and Urban Fantasy Book Club – which I’m very excited about.

You can read a chapter from the book that started it all. Here’s a  link to a sample chapter of  A Rush of Wings.

Here’s a  link to the first two chapters of  Etched in Bone.

And a link to the first chapter of  Black Dust Mambo.

Thanks so much for having me! It’s always a pleasure to hang out here with you and your readers. I look forward to the next time!

You can also find me at:
 

Website

My blog

Facebook

Facebook Fan Page

Twitter

MySpace

Goodreads Dante's Club Hell Forum Dante's Club Hell Yahoo Group Pocket After Dark

CONTEST

*Adrian is offering prizes to THREE lucky readers.

First prize one signed set of all 4 Maker's Song books

Second and Third prize a signed book of your choice (including Black Dust Mambo)

*Leave a comment OR ask Adrian a question

*Be sure to include your contact information.

*Contest ends March 31 at 11:59 pm EST

*Contest is INTERNATIONAL!

Margie Church - Guest Post & Contest

Many thanks to author Margie Church who has dropped by to discuss the vampires of her Love Bites series. She is also offering an ebook copy of book 1 of Love Bites. See contest details at the end of the post.

It's all yours, Margie!

Patricia, thank you for inviting me to your cool blog. I appreciate the chance to talk about my Love Bites series with your friends.

In these books, vampires live peacefully among humans as ordinary people. They don't make a practice of turning humans into vampires. Falling in love with a human is forbidden and likely to end in extermination of the vampire.

These characters play pivotal roles in Love Bites and Love Bites II: Dangerous Love.

Jui Fabrice: An independent, confident business woman. She fell for Wade the moment she laid eyes on him and has no idea Wade is a vampire. She can't shake him from her memories or life. The fact he's telepathic and teleports himself around the world to get to her could be a reason she's having these troubles. Ya think? The more he pushes her away, the more she digs into his life, and tries to understand why he won't return her love the way she wants him to. The consequences for her love are unfathomable. Once she learns what Wade really is, the decision to love or leave him isn't as easy as you might think.

Wade Kairos: Has only been a vampire for 70 years and was turned by his friend and mentor, Christophe, after a car wreck. Friend and mentor sounds crazy, but Christophe cared enough about Wade to make his transition to vampirism as easy as possible. Having said that, understand that vampires don't forget what it was like to be human. Wade was in love and engaged to be married when he was turned. He was tormented by those emotions until his fiancée died years later. Wade meets Jui Fabrice and battles mightily to ignore the resurgence of his human emotions. Her allure is too much and once his heart is snared, he faces the wrath of Ladislav Husek.

Ladislav Husek: The Ancient One and leader of the vampire nation. The poster boy for vampire sociopaths. At first, Ladislav appears to have a benign job of keeping track of the vampires lives and deaths and help ensure their secret society stays that way. We learn he has an uncontrollable hatred for vampires who fall in love, and viscously exterminates any he sees headed that way. Wade is a blinking beacon on Ladislav's radar. He also has an all-consuming jealousy for Victoria, a human he loved. Her virgin blood was too compelling, and he lost his self-control, and turned her. Hundreds of years later, he still thinks she might get over his bad. Ladislav's "business partner" is Dirk.

Dirk: The Master Prophet and a shape shifter. Dirk leads a society of afterworld creatures created when vampire feedings go wrong and the human accidentally dies. They have no status in the afterworld and therefore exist in a social limbo. The Prophets are the equivalent to the mafia. They enjoy creating mayhem and pain for humans and rogue vampires. Dirk has a business and personal alliance with Ladislav. He's also a Dom and the only one who understands Ladislav's real needs.

Victoria: Turned by Ladislav, she keeps continents between them to control her rage. Her hatred for him is palpable and she's deeply vindictive. She befriended Wade after he was turned, and they spent years together in their hedonistic, vampire lifestyle. Tori hates the idea that Jui has stolen her playmate and that Wade has something she never has – love. She does her level best to manipulate Jui and punish Wade.

This cast of characters helps to create rich subplots that will entertain and intrigue you. Expect dark twists and many surprises about who people really are and what lengths they'll go to get what they want.

About the books:

Love Bites Blurb

An accidental encounter turns into high stakes love when Jui Fabrice meets Wade Kairos in Germany. She has no idea he’s a vampire and Wade has every intention of keeping his secret.

A vineyard cottage is the perfect place for Jui and Wade to make love until he discovers her unique link to his living years. He vows to stay away from her forever, but he can’t let her go completely. Wade’s repressed human feelings continue rising. He invades Jui’s dreams and communicates telepathically with her at will. Evil jealousy consumes him when Jui becomes involved with Rob Hawthorne and she rebukes Wade for his controlling behaviors. Then Wade’s lifelong companion dies in a vamp war and his desolation is too much to handle alone. He turns to the only person who cares about him—Jui— and during one hot night, he becomes the man she wants.

The Ancient One, Ladislav Husek, learns of Wade’s risky human behavior and gives Wade a taste of how viciously he’ll die if he doesn’t bury his tracks with Jui. Husek promises to turn Jui into his personal playmate and Wade has to choose. Can love prevail over evil in a relationship that never was supposed to happen?

Love Bites II: Dangerous Love

Wade Kairos faces deadly consequences for defying the leader of the vampire nation. Ladislav Husek partners with Master Prophet Dirk, to prove Wade can run but he can't hide. And neither can Jui Fabrice, the woman Wade loves. Every bit of his ingenuity is needed to protect her from being turned into a vampire or a prophet.

If that's not enough trouble for him, another vampire from Wade's past comes forward and makes it abundantly clear that what used to be hers is still up for grabs.

Someone will pay with their life in Dangerous Love.

I invite you to start with Love Bites and then read Dangerous Love. The third book, Redemptive Love, is planned for later this year.

About Margie Church

I write contemporary erotic romance, suspense, paranormal, and m/m genres. By day, I write advertising literature, communications plans, and direct social media. I also write children's books under my pen name, Margaret Rose. I'm a Facebook addict and I don't want treatment! What else? Married almost three decades to the only man on earth who could put up with me that long and still love me.  We met in high school biology, love at first sight, and married after I graduated from college.  We have two teen sons who delight and annoy me at the most surprising moments. Yeah, I know you're doing the math on those kids…we practiced a long time and we got it right. Trust me.

I recently finished a m/m romance. My works in progress (WIP) are a ghost story and an erotic romance. After that comes a Young Adult (YA) piece.

You can reach me at margie_church@yahoo.com

My website and blog: Romance with SASS www.RomanceWithSass.com

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

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MargieChurch

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedIn.com/MargieChurch

Noble Romance Buy Link: https://www.nobleromance.com/BrowseListing.aspx?author=102

CONTEST

To lure you into this fantastic series, I'm giving away a copy of Love Bites plus autographed cover flats of both books .

Describe what type of vampire novels you enjoy most.

*Be sure to include contact information with your comment

*Must be 18 to ender the contest.

*Contest is international

*Contest ends March 26, 2011

Paige Tyler - Guest Blog and Contest

It's so wonderful to have Paige Tyler as guest blogger once again! She always has the sexiest, paranormal stories to share with us. Paige is also offering a copy of her ebook Good Cop Bad Girl [See details at the end of the post.]

Welcome back, Paige!

Paige Tyler Presents

I'm so excited to announce I have a new book out with Ellora's Cave!  It's a paranormal romance called GHOST HUNTER, and it's got a hunky hero, a kick-ass heroine and a serial killing ghost that's scary as hell!  Not to mention a smokin' hot cover!

I love when I come up with an idea for a book out of the blue, which is what happened with GHOST HUNTER. When I heard my local RWA chapter set up a lecture with a team of paranormal investigators, it got me thinking right away about writing a book about a ghost hunter. Because the chapter is far from where we live, though, we didn't actually go to the lecture. I was a little bummed about that, especially since they were giving out EMF detectors. On second thought, maybe it was better we didn't go. Ghosts freak me out, so having something that can detect them probably wouldn't be a good idea.

Enough about me, back to the story behind the story. While I knew the hero was a ghost hunter named Trace, I wasn't quite sure how the heroine fit into the story, or even who she was. So, my hubby and I played around with a few ideas at our local PF Chang's (we come up with a lot of story ideas there!) We both decided that having the heroine Cassidy need the hero's help because her house was haunted or something like that didn't seem original enough, so we made her a budding romance writer who tags along with the hero and his team to do some research. Like any good story, though, it had to have some conflict, which is why Trace and Cassidy completely rub each other the wrong way right from the beginning. Actually, he thinks he's a jerk. But don't worry, Cassidy discovers underneath that rough ghost hunter exterior, Trace is just the man she's been looking for. It doesn't hurt that he's hot!

Okay, so we had our hero and heroine. Now we needed a bad guy. That's where the ghost comes in. He's not your standard, everyday ghost, though. He's a serial killer who attacked Cassidy that comes back from the grave to continue his string of grisly murders, and she's at the top of his list. To make things even more interesting, not only can he do all the regular ghostly stuff like walk through walls and materialize out of thin air, he can also take solid form.

I'm not going to tell you any more than that, though. Don't want to give too much away, you know.  I will add that my editor at Ellora's Cave told me she got so caught up in the story, she completely forgot she was reading a submission!

Now that you know the story behind the story, I think I'll tease you with an excerpt.  Enjoy!


BLURB:

Almost getting murdered by a serial killer gives Cassidy Kincaide a new lease on life and convinces her to go ahead and tackle that ghost-hunter novel she's always wanted to write. So, she hooks up with a gorgeous paranormal investigator named Trace McCord to do some research.

Cassidy and Trace rub each other the wrong way right from the beginning, but they have to put aside their differences when the serial killer who attacked her comes back from the grave to continue his string of grisly murders, with her at the top of his list.

Trace has to keep Cassidy close to keep her safe, and as they try to stay one step ahead of the ghost while figuring out how to stop it, he and Cassidy end up in each other’s arms. While Trace has a whole list of reasons why he shouldn’t get involved with her, he finds himself falling in love with the beautiful blonde anyway. And even though Cassidy started out thinking he was a jerk, she learns that underneath the rough ghost hunter exterior, he’s just the man she’s always been looking for. Now, all they have to do, is live long enough to be together.


EXCERPT:

Trace was only a few miles from the address Robert had given him for Cassidy when his cell phone rang. At first he wasn’t going to answer it, but some sixth sense made him change his mind. Now he was glad he had.

He was about to disconnect the call when he heard a muffled scream on the other end of the line. It was quickly followed by a loud clatter, then nothing.

“Cassidy!”

No answer.

Trace felt his chest tighten. Swearing under his breath, he shoved his cell phone in the pocket of his jeans and floored the pedal on the Hummer, running a red light to get through the intersection. The other drivers honked their horns as they squealed to a stop, but he ignored them. There was no way he was going to let Cassidy die.

Five minutes later, he slid into the parking lot outside her apartment, running over an ornamental fence and a flower bed to come to a screeching halt a few feet from the front door. Jumping out of the Hummer, he ran around to the back and grabbed his duffel bag full of gear. Throwing it over his shoulder, he raced up the steps and charged through the door into the building, scaring the hell out of two women carrying laundry baskets.

“Where the hell are the stairs?” he demanded, not wanting to waste time with the elevator.

The women timidly pointed around the corner.

Trace didn’t thank them as he ran in that direction. He hit the steps hard, taking them hree at a time. Once on the fourth floor, he ran down the hall, checking the room numbers on he doors. When he came to the right one, he didn’t even bother to slow down. Instead, he icked the door in as hard as he could, reaching into his bag for his shotgun as the frame plintered and the door flew open.

He looked left and right as he entered the apartment, but there was no sign of Cassidy or el Vecchio. Trace’s blood ran cold at the scene that met his eyes. The living room looked s if a cyclone hit it. The couch and throw pillows were sliced to shreds, stuffing still floating hrough the air. The coffee table was lying on its side, as were the two end tables, and the amps that had been on them were smashed to pieces along with practically everything ele in the place. Even the walls had been slashed.

“Cassidy?” Trace called.

“In here.”       

Trace followed the sound of her voice until he came to the kitchen. Cassidy was standing in the center of the room inside a wobbly drawn circle of salt, ready to throw a handful of something in his face. She sagged with relief at the sight of him, letting the stuff in her hand trickle out onto the floor. That was when he realized she was holding a big container of oregano.

“Is he gone?” she whispered.

Trace nodded. “Yeah, he’s gone. But I’m getting you the hell out of here anyway.”

He didn’t wait for an answer, but simply slung the shotgun over his shoulder by the strap, then walked into the kitchen and swung Cassidy up in his arms.

She put one of her own around his neck. “Is it safe for me to leave the circle?”

“Yes. I’ll keep you safe. Trust me.”

Apparently she must have believed him because she didn’t resist. She cuddled the container of oregano close to her body and leaned against his chest.

He frowned.  “Cassidy, you did great with the salt circle. It saved your life without a doubt. But what are you doing with the oregano?”

She looked up at him with big, blue eyes. “Isn’t it what you used to get rid of ghosts?”

His mouth twitched. “That’s sage and garlic. You can ditch the spaghetti spice.”

“Oh,” was all she said. Resting her head on his shoulder, she let the container of oregano tumble to the floor, then put that arm around his neck, too.

Giving the place one more look to make sure Del Vecchio hadn’t come back, Trace carried her out of the apartment and right passed the alarmed neighbors who had come out into the hallway to see what the ruckus was all about. Trace imagined they got their money’s worth seeing a big guy with a shotgun and a duffel bag slung over his shoulder carrying a beautiful half-naked woman in his arms. He abruptly realized he probably should have taken a few minutes to let Cassidy grab some clothes. But then the lights in the hallway flickered and he decided he could get her clothes later. They were getting the hell out of there.

“Is she being kidnapped?” one elderly woman asked another in a low voice as he and Cassidy passed them.

“If she is,” said the other old woman, “then I want to want to be kidnapped next.”

Any other time, Trace would have laughed, but right now all he wanted to do was get Cassidy someplace safe. Fortunately, he knew exactly where to take her.

Get your copy of GHOST HUNTER at Ellora's Cave!

Watch the trailer below



*hugs*
Paige

http://www.paigetylertheauthor.com
http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com
Coming Soon http://www.jasminejade.com/m-615-paige-tyler.aspx

"Stories so hot, they'll make your cheeks blush!"

CONTEST

*One lucky winner will receive a copy of Epic Award finalist ebook Good Cop Bad Girl

*Leave a comment and be sure to include contact information.

*You must be 18 years or older to enter this contest.

Contest is international and ends March 24.

Mary Abshire - Guest Blog and Contest

Please welcome Mary Abshire who is here to discuss the nature of the vampires who inhabit the fascinating,  erotic world she has created. Mary is also offering an ecopy of her new book Claiming the Evil Dead to one lucky reader.

Take it away Mary!

Hello Everyone! Thanks for checking out my blog post.

I must confess, I'm a bit of a newbie writer. When the first paranormal romance, Claiming the Evil Dead, got picked up last year I was elated. Then Noble Romance liked the second and was interested in a third. I was overwhelmed…speechless. I never thought my books would be released so fast. God bless e-publishing and the Internet!

Going back to a year ago, I wanted to write something that could turn into a series and possibly last. Too many vampire books are on the shelves so I needed my vampire book to stand out. How could I do it?

I thought and prayed. Yes, prayed. I decided not to write solely about a vampire, but one would be a main character. So what kind of heroine did I want? She couldn't be normal. But she could want to be normal. What did I want her to do? What hadn't been done before? I came up with a half-demon who catches souls and sends them to hell. It seemed original to me. And since I have a vamp as main character, one question became, do vampires have souls?

It's my perception vampires are portrayed as dead creatures with cold blood, no beating heart, no need to breath, no bodily fluids, and no need to eat (sucking blood doesn't count). No one talks about vampires having a soul. Perhaps it is assumed the soul left the body at death. Makes sense. They should go somewhere, right? Is it because the body becomes dead the assumption is made?

In my books, vampires have souls. Why? I ask, why not? In my opinion, every creature created has a soul. Now, creation can take place in different forms. Birth is one form. Creation into another entity is another form. Bare with me—this is fiction. I can make up whatever I want.  LOL.

In the world I created, a person dies, but souls don't necessarily leave the body. Souls can have unfinished business. Souls can go to heaven, if called upon. Souls who are strong/powerful can stay behind, walk the earth, and do whatever they want. They can torment humans, possess bodies, and wreak havoc on mankind. Most bad souls don't want to go to hell so they stick around and walk the earth. The devil can call souls to hell whenever he wants and send them back in different bodies. Isn't that peachy? (Hey- it makes for a series.)

In terms of vampires, the person's body dies, but is reborn with vampire blood. Creation once again takes place. Thus, the soul stays with the body. That's my story in my fictional world and I'm sticking to it.

So, I ask, why do souls have to leave the body? Who made the rule—oh, your dead so the soul says good-bye to the body? Am I the only one who thinks about these little details? It's okay to say yes and call me a freak. LOL. I take no offense.

 CONTEST

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Contest ends March 22, 2011