Dark Side DownUnder

Magic Thursday Winner

2012-02-27T20:06:00.002+11:00

The winner of Imogene's Starline is:

Serix

Congratulations!

Please email Imogene at imogenenixauthor @ gmail.com (no spaces) with your details.

Thank you to all who commented.

Weekly Overview

2012-02-26T06:30:00.000+11:00

COMING UP THIS WEEK...

Mon 27 Feb

Winner of Imogene's Starline announced

Tues 28
GOOD NEWS DAY

Thurs 1 Mar

MAGIC THURSDAY: Nicole Murphy

DARKSIDER TREKKING...

(where we've been)

Mel

Rowena

Meet John Richards: Script writer, comedian, & SF Fan

Christina

Archangel of Mercy - cover love!

Nicola

Eleni

Jess

Nicole

A writer's habits - Jason Nahrung
Creatives are organisers too - Supernatural Underground
A writer's processes - Jason Nahrung
What has romance ever done for us? - re-blogged at Avon Romance
The weekly writing post

Kylie

Kitty

Author crush: Debra Holland - Routines for Writers
Book Review: Accused by Janice Cantore

Jenny

Maree

Guest author Jill James: Someone to Trust

Annie

My first review

Imogene

Running behind updates

WHAT'S UP?

Welcome to our latest DarkSider member, Louise Cusack!

Look out for the release of the Romance Writers of Australia conference details on 1st March!

Have a great week everyone!

Magic Thursday: Editing - Why I both love it and hate it.

2012-02-23T06:30:00.000+11:00

It sounds painful doesn’t it? Many authors talk about heading into their “cave” for the editing process and knowing that next week I will once more retreat into mine for The Star of Ishtar, it rather made it an excellent topic for today’s Magic Thursday. I thought I would share some experiences in editing with the super Samantha. (I am sure she won’t mind – ‘cause she wonderful!)

I received my first contract with Secret Cravings and I remember I sat there thinking, “This is it. I’ve finally got a publisher.” On some level, I knew the manuscript needed editing before it was publishable, but I thought, “It’s pretty good”. Nothing could have prepared me for the process itself though. Thankfully, my lovely editor was great. She got me started with a list of words I needed to be aware of. In no particular order, here they are:

were, weren't, was, wasn't, be, been & being

Now they seem so innocuous, just little words we use every day. Right? As she pointed out to me, they are passive and not so good in a novel. Cool, that all made sense - I think. I remember telling myself, “I can do this with ease”, until she explained the rule. I needed to limit their use to no more than three altogether in one page (now I can only talk of my experiences here – other publishers may have other rules where this is concerned). She did say this is not including dialogue (phew!). Now that blew my socks off. I would never have expected that. So for several days I highlighted those words, rewriting sentences (hoping they still made sense) and pulled those words out.

It took days! All done and now I can sit back and feel somewhat smug. Unh unh! Nope – how wrong was I? That was just the beginning.

My next round of edits arrived via email. I remember opening that first message and thinking, how was I ever going to get finished in the set period and do the story justice. Page after page filled with comments. It was hard, thinking of the months of work interspersed with comments and suggestions my CP made, but Samantha encouraged me to work page by page.

Some things were easy to fix, she read the story and made suggestions about things that were unfinished – what happened to... and who is… comments flowed. The great thing about that editing process was even though we emailed back and forth using track changes, I was encouraged to explain why I had made certain decisions in the balloons. The editor knew what I was thinking and my motivations, and I understood her queries because we formed a positive relationship. I remember discussing one character: Jemma (who you will meet in Starfire), and what had occurred to her in the Starline. Her questions as to what happened to her were valid. She wanted to know the result of the actions but I needed to explain to her why I wasn’t going to tell the readers what happened to her just yet. That it was the catalyst for the second book.

I sent back the last edits around ten days after we started and thought to myself that was it. Done. Ha ha (Famous last thoughts there). I thought I was done and dusted until I received an email from the Senior Editor. More queries, questions and things that needed consideration - immediately. I sat down and went through it all again. At the end, I sent it all back, so sure that this time that was it. Nope.

The Publisher this time emailed through with queries and requests. This time, I printed it all out (again), sat at the table with a highlighter, pen in hand, and re-read for like the gazillionth time through the manuscript. Finally, I emailed the few changes, listing them in the email with the corrected proof.

Finally, that was the editing process done. I did learn some very valuable things though. I thought I would share them with you and for anyone who is reading this and about to embark on their first ever round of edits.

If like me, you are using new or made up words – double-check their spelling every time. For me Barsha and Arturian (not to be confused with Arthurian) were words that seemed to turn up in every spell check and step of the process.
Finish your edits on time - especially once you commit to that period. Editors do appreciate when you have sick kids, etc but they also appreciate your commitment to work with them and the time frame so that the book release in its set slot.
Don't be afraid to say no. Just have a really good and valid reason to say it. If she/he wants you to put the heroine in a purple dress… well, unless that same heroine is supposed to be still wearing the purple dress the next day, but you somehow managed to make it green at the beginning of the scene… you can say no. Okay, so maybe that was a lame explanation, but at the end of the day, it is still your story. They just want to help you make it the best you possibly can.
Expect to be sick of looking at your manuscript. You are going to be reading it and re-reading it and then some more before you are done.
Have highlighters on hand. You may even find a helpful when reading through your work.

Now as a thank you for reading my thoughts and experiences, I wanted to share an excerpt from Starline:

Eyes sore and weary from watching information on the changes and major events since her own time had passed, Mellissa reached out and turned off the screen. Amazing. So much had occurred, and to think, I have a chance to be part of it. She shook her head. But so much she needed to learn. Could she manage to do that? What a question to ponder, she thought.

Inside the cramped cubicle of a Security Officer protecting her from prying eyes, she recapped in her mind the wonders she had seen. Interstellar travel—a huge technological leap there alone, she thought, and the change in the governmental systems—so much to learn about. Meeting new species and forming alliances, not to mention colonizing other planets and even inter-species marriages. How amazing was that? In her time, they still carried on talk fests about the feasibility of “some day” considering travel to the stars.

She grinned. And here she was, Mellissa Davis, in space and travelling toward a future she couldn’t possibly have imagined. “George and Eliza would love this,” she muttered to herself.

“Who are George and Eliza?” McCord peered at her, making her jump at the sound of his voice. She had missed the thud of boots on the flooring during her musings.

Mellissa gulped, wishing the floor would open and engulf her. How could she explain without him thinking less of her, not to mention her characters? George, a rough tough space Captain, and his protégée and maybe sometime lover, Eliza? Was it really something you could just blurt out? “Umm, they are characters in a book,” she said.

“A book? Of course, they were still huge in your time. In ours, only the rich have them. The rest have bookpads.” He smiled. “Who was it by? I might be able to access a copy for you.”

Her discomfort deepened. “Umm, I was writing it.” Her cheeks grew rosy.

“Really? Wow. What kind of book is it?” He looked at her, and she was sure his interest seemed genuine. She cringed at the thought of telling him it was a romance. After all, wasn’t it maiden aunts that wrote this sort of stuff anyway? Let alone read them.

Uh oh, she knew what to expect, she thought to herself. “Umm, it was a Sci Fi Romance.”

He looked at her. “You know, some of the most enduring books from your time are romances. Fancy that.” He grinned, and she could feel the air clear a little. She still felt embarrassed, but not as much as she had.

“Yeah, in my time, romance writers are sort of, well, you know, the bottom of the pack…gaining ground though. We actually have whole associations dedicated to reading romance.” She grimaced up at his face in embarrassment. What must he think of me? I’m some kind of old spinster? But wasn’t that what I was on the road to becoming? an insidious little voice in the back of her head quietly asked. Thinking how she wished her character, George, could be half as sexy as Duvall McCord, she had to mentally remind herself that here stood a real rough-and-tumble Captain and not some figment of her imagination.

“Well, there is definitely a career waiting for you as a writer of romance.” He grinned. “Come on and I’ll grab you a coffee, and you can give me the lowdown on your characters…was it George and Eliza?”

She hopped up quickly and followed him to the mess. Really, it seemed funny how quickly she had settled into ship life, she mused. “So, do you believe in romance yourself?” he asked, and he seemed just as surprised as she did by the question.

“Romance? Yes, absolutely.” Her enthusiastic answer surprised him. It radiated clearly on his face, the way it screwed up slightly. “That’s why I own a bookstore and am writing a novel.”

“Hmm, yes, but did you live alone?” His query zeroed in on a spot she didn’t really like to explore. “I mean, is there a man in your life?”

His gaze zeroed in on her again. She hoped, in fact had prayed, that there was more to the question, and then reminded herself it couldn’t be real. Her imagination still looked for the possibility of a relationship that didn’t and couldn’t exist.

“Not really. I mean, my man is really George at the moment. It’s kinda hard to explain.” She floundered a little, looking for the right words. “The way I grew up, in an orphanage, I never really got to see how families worked together, and I guess it kind of made it harder for me to work out what it looked like, so I guess…” He looked at her strangely.

“Orphanage? I was a fosterling. The Gentry’s fostered me. They were great.” His face softened. “Really good people. It must have been hard with no one in your corner. And they gave me a fabulous sister.” Gently his hand extended toward her chin and raised it until her eyes looked into his. “Really hard for you though…” The words dropped to a trailing whisper as he leaned toward her.

Her eyes fluttered closed as the distance between them melted away. She knew he was going to kiss her. Knew it probably wasn’t a good or even wise decision, but she needed to find out if he tasted as good as he looked.

“Captain, Miss Davis,” Elara called, interrupting the moment. “I see you think it is time for coffee too. Wonderful!” Then she looked again, the realization clear on her face that she had walked in on something. Then Elara seemed to mutter to herself and headed for the mess hall door.

The moment broken, they looked at each other. A wry grin on his face softened the years and hardness from his features somehow. He turned, motioning her toward the door and the coffee that lay within. It didn’t make her feel any better though. She had nearly made a mistake. A big one. Hadn’t she?

To WIN a copy of Starline, please share one of your editing experiences.

A Bite Of...Illusion

2012-02-22T07:00:00.002+11:00

Today for our fortnightly "A Bite Of..." , I'm very happy to introduce, Dy Loveday with a chapter of her book ILLUSION.

[ Image: attribution: http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/alchemy_freemasonry.html]

Can you, in five words describe your novel Illusion?

Illusion is a fantasy romance about warlocks, witches and illegal magic.

What inspired you to write it?

The scene in the Aeneid when Dido, Queen of Carthage, falls on the sword stayed with me for years after reading it at school. It annoyed me because I always thought Aeneas was a louse for leaving Dido behind. She should have tossed him on a funeral pyre instead. The backstory for Illusion was based on historical records of child sacrifice in Carthage and the repudiated god, Molokh. I matched it with my interest in alchemy and Illusion was born.

And without further ado... here’s the excerpt!

ILLUSION

May a violent wind rise against the King who breaks this binding, tearing him asunder and dragging him into immortal darkness. His God will not accept his offerings; his flesh shall be fire, his children belong nowhere, his doctrine carry disease and murder. He shall eat off the table of the dead, marking 5,000 years behind the Gates of Mithra.

The Curse of the False God, 3,200 BC

Cuneiform on clay stelae, Holy District, Balkaith.

Chapter 1

All in a Day’s Work

All Maya had to do was get through her last shift without losing control. Her leg jiggled restlessly on the loading dock as she scanned the brick façade of the alchemagical factory.

Chains rattled and a rusted door lifted with a groan, releasing the smell of liquorice and death. Standing in the middle of the entrance was her boss, Jhara the mage. Behind him, pistons whooshed and cranked in the cavernous space, and men shouted at a crate swinging above their heads.

Jhara didn’t quite fit the image of an owner of a sweatshop, with his blond cropped hair, pointy teeth and pressed business suits.

"Evening," she said over her shoulder, as she fast-trotted past Jhara, toward her workstation on the other side of the factory. She skirted a bin filled with twigs and branches, and dodged a conveyer belt overflowing with myrtle branches.

A murky shadow darted across the floor and stretched over the conveyer belt. A cold chill raced over her skin. She shivered, but kept her stride. The belt cranked, undulating. It shuddered and morphed into a long snake that lifted its triangular head and watched her progress with flat black eyes. Grey interlocking plates covered its skin and steam billowed from its mouth.

Her heart hammered in her chest. Jeezus. Not again.

"Wait.” Jhara’s hand clamped on her shoulder and turned her around.

“Looks like a busy night. I’d best get on with it,” she said, through gritted teeth. She’d just swallowed a spell to stop the hallucinations, but the snake didn’t seem to care, and was chugging closer.

"Just a word." His voice lowered to a rasp. “I’ve located amanita mushrooms. Trent is drying them out.” Trent was Jhara’s human foreman, and a more fawning idiot she’d never met.

“I’m happy for you. And it has something to do with me because?”

“Don’t play games.” Sweat slicked his forehead and a bead rolled down his hairline. “I know you want them.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.” She forced her lips into a tight smile. The serpent flicked its tail and rattled.

"I’ve got more active ingredients in my office. With your name on them." Jhara gestured to a glass cage on the mezzanine level.

Her body itched as if spiders tried to burrow beneath her skin. She swallowed past a lump in her throat and glanced at a corridor leading to the ladies bathroom.

“I don’t think so.”

The snake blasted flame from its mouth and she ducked beneath a stream of sulphurous smoke. It hissed and she sucked in a sharp breath, realizing the snake’s rattle sounded like Latin.

Trent sidled up to Jhara with a crystal pendulum in his hand and stared at Maya with a raised brow. “Sir, would you look at this?”

Jhara turned and launched a cracking blow at the foreman’s head. The young man reeled and staggered, grabbing the bin for support.

“I said, don’t interrupt me,” Jhara roared.

Maya backed away. She hurried down the narrow corridor and pushed through a door marked ‘Bathroom’. Crouching, she checked beneath the stalls.

They were empty. Her back itched as if those damn spiders were holding a square dance on her spine. She pulled her spell box from her pocket and rifled through the contents with a trembling hand. She placed a blue paper-thin square on her tongue and dry swallowed. Her leg jittered like a hyperactive engine. Maybe she should skip out the back entrance? Getting paid in spells by a mage with a God complex wasn’t her smartest idea.

A wash of relaxation hit her muscle and she wobbled on unsteady feet. She flipped her wrists and held them beneath the nanofilter, exhaling as cold water splashed over skin that seemed too flimsy to contain the veins beneath.

The door swung wide, banging off the wall. Jhara stalked into the bathroom.

There was a burst of air and a white flash. One moment he was standing six feet away, and the next right beside her. He unbuttoned his jacket and she caught a whiff of ozone.

"Alone at last," he said, in a guttural tone.

“Get out,” Maya snarled into the mirror.

Jhara's skin rippled, distorting like a surrealist painting. His whole face bulged and stretched. Then his hard expression broke into a pasted on smile, while a cold grey flooded his iris. He smiled, showing blunt teeth.

"Not after I went to so much trouble finding you." His body broadened and his face distorted, morphing into a full face with eyes lined in black kohl.

She straightened her spine. "You’re not Jhara. Who are you?”

"So short-lived; your kind are easily extinguished. It's been a long time since I've spoken to a human. You can be entertaining. I'm Magister Oxyhiayal."

“What’s a high-ranking official from the House of Horus want with me?” Maya reached behind her, searching for a weapon, backing up until her hand brushed the cold towel rack bolted to the wall.

Oxyhiayal tilted his head, surveying her from head to toe. He topped her by ten inches, and must outweigh her by a hundred pounds. He waved his hand, and a new cloak covered him. A lead-colored headdress with an exposed metal hexahedron beaten into the crown appeared on his head, while an ink half-mask rose to the surface of his skin. He carried far more command than Jhara even fantasized about. Pentagrams and shooting stars burned like hot coals on the black cloak. The mage smelled strongly of some type of smoky leaf—hawthorn maybe. She had a talent for scents and this one she'd remember.

"I had to visit, myself, just to see what the fuss is all about. You're not what I expected. Without much effort you'd fit in my pocket. I could take you out whenever I wanted to play."

He clicked his fingers and his armband flashed as the overhead light struck the jewels. A roll of parchment floated between them. "Naughty girl. Sticking your nose in mage business.” He tsked and drifted closer, his silver-toed boots floating above the floor. An onyx ankh now hung from the platinum chain around his neck, and heavy earrings dangled from his stretched lobes.

She flicked a glance at the door and he huffed, nodding his head at her fist.

A flash of blue fire rushed around her hand and up her arm. She yelped and dropped the spellbox. It clattered to the floor. She brushed her palm over the back of her painting hand and gripped it tight, scanning the skin for burns.

"I see you are a spell-user. Are you a mage-whore, addicted to something you'll never create? If so, we can keep you well stocked. Horus has far greater formulae than anything Jhara could produce." The spell box collapsed with a loud crunch.

The change in air pressure caused her ears to pop.

Her head whirled as she looked up into his eyes, as if she plummeted through a cold wasteland. His pupils glittered and she took a step back. Shame washed her cheeks with a red glow. For a moment she was tempted, really tempted to give in and let him have what he wanted. A few decent charms would help keep the madness away for a while.

He raised a brow. "This is yours." He held up one of her handmade scrolls.

It unrolled to reveal a charcoal landscape she'd drawn from her visions: a city with tall spires, backlit by four moons. One of her crayons slid out of his cloak, along with the musty smell of mineral pigments.

She nodded although it was more a muscular jerk. "Where did you get it?" Surely she’d know if Horus had purchased her pictures? She clenched her fists and bit down on the inside of her cheek. A few spells weren’t worth losing her self-respect.

The scroll rolled together with a snap and tucked itself inside his cloak. "In Jhara's safe. If the House of Anu is interested in art, then so are we. And what a surprise to find a scene that no human should know about." He clucked his tongue. "Where did you see this image? Did Jhara have a hand in this?"

"Jhara’s never helped anyone."

He smiled. “Of course, the search for immortality brings few friends. Draw for me."

Her face must have shown her refusal because his lashes fluttered.

"Come now. I insist. Show me what you can do, sweet one." He inclined his head toward the mirror. “You can’t lie.”

A white ripple of magic cascaded over her body, jerking her forward involuntarily toward the glass. Her head whipped back so fast her neck cracked.

The bastard. Her boot heels squealed on the tiles as she was dragged to the mirror and she pin wheeled, overbalancing and almost falling over. She gripped the sink with her hand and the black crayon snapped in two. She stared at Oxyhiayal in the mirror. One look at his smiling face and she knew any reasoning was out of the question.

"No bargains," he said. "Quickly now. Before you collapse like your box of tricks." His voice was mild as he flicked his gaze over her body.

She shuddered, placing the jagged end of the crayon on the mirror, and sketched a rough picture of a castle. On the top of a rampant stood a heavily framed soldier. If someone had asked her, she wouldn't have been able to explain. There was no knight-errant waiting to save her—only her own defenses. Then why had she drawn the picture?

Grow up, Maya. The flush blotching her neck reflected back in the mirror and she licked her dry lips.

She turned to Oxyhiayal. "Happy now?" Her voice trembled.

The waves of compulsion ended so abruptly, it was like a mental slap. She leaned her stomach against the cold sink in a boneless slump.

The stark lines of the picture cast back at them. Oxyhiayal's face lit up as he floated over to the mirror and touched the drawing with two fingers.

"Of all the Gods. How could you know?" He sighed.

She couldn't see the attraction herself. The creation was brutal and raw, thick wedges and squiggles that were jagged and ill-formed.

The air-pressure shifted, prickling the hairs on her nape. Smoke coiled over the ramparts, the thin trails wafting and bleeding into the surface, like dark blood on litmus paper. A spreading darkness filled the sky above the warrior. The shape formed a triangular face with tiny yellow pupils. In horror she watched horns appear—flowing back from a high forehead. The creature's eyes narrowed, tracking over her face, crafty and malevolent, before the pattern descended into the glass leaving spectral black stains on the mirror. The mirror rippled as if water washed over the surface, and she held onto the sink with white knuckled fists. The room darkened as a light bulb popped, showering glass over the floor. Another light flickered, casting writhing shadows over the mirror.

Sweat slid down her neck into her t-shirt and she quarter-turned to bolt.

Oxyhiayal seemed oblivious—too busy touching the mirror. The warrior, no, it was a soldier, grew. He expanded in size, much larger than the original drawing now fully composed. Black vines wrapped around his arms. She leaned away and sucked in a breath.

Light flashed, and the picture bulged as if the warrior projected out of the flat landscape. His shadowy form sharpened and his coat rustled. He turned his head. Black eyes examined her, roving over her face as if memorizing the details.

Holy freaking hell. She opened her mouth to let loose a full throttled scream.

He threw something at her, just as a crash of thunder hit the atmosphere. She jumped back, falling over her own feet and landing with a thump on her backside. She stared up at the mirror, now leaning on an odd angle, too close to her face. She put out a hand to push it back and her hand sank into the glass, disappearing to the wrist. Silvery cold liquid tugged at her fingers and she hollered just as something lifted her off the floor.

Bang. She fell, as if in slow motion, landing with a thump.

The thunder faded and the warrior flattened, becoming one-dimensional lines. No horns or over sized warriors. Perspiration ran down her spine and she put her hand on her thumping heart. She scrabbled to her feet, backing away and stared down at herself. Had the soldier tossed something? There was no evidence on her body. But it had looked like black stars. A sense of unreality washed over her. She looked down at her blackened fingers and trembling hands.

"Gods." Oxyhiayal was staring at the glass, his head thrown back and eyes wide in disbelief.

Grabbing the chance, she lurched forward and round-housed him in the stomach.

He exhaled in a loud oomph of pain and agony speared across his face as it contorted into a misshapen mess. His eyes bulged and his face purpled with effort. He fell against the counter and it cracked, peeling away from the tiled wall. The basin dangled from an exposed pipe, gushing a fountain of water over the mirror. Jhara must have realized he had a moment to regain control because the mage's torso twisted and flailed against the counter like a bug caught on the head of a pin. He spun, cracking his spine against the mirror. It shattered, slivers raining onto the floor, one large hunk containing the warrior hanging from the frame.

Jhara's head lifted and his icy eyes glared back at her. She tugged the sleeves of her sweater up her arms and flicked a quick glimpse at the door.

If you loved Dy's exerpt - you can find here here:

http://dyloveday.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/DyLoveday

http://www.facebook.com/dy.loveday

http://buildinginadelaide.blogspot.com (not so much about writing)

Thanks for sharing, Dy!

Good News Day!

2012-02-21T06:30:00.000+11:00

Welcome to this week's good news....

COMPETITIONS

Maree Anderson
The YA story, Freaks of Greenfield High has finalled in the YA category of the Gulf Coast RWA Chapter of the Silken Sands Self-Published Star contest. That's freakily good news!

COVERS

Imogene Nix

The Star of Ishtar, a novella in the Warriors of Elector series, has a cover. Seriously sizzling!

Christina Ashcroft (aka Christina Phillips)
Check out the cover of Archangel of Mercy. It's due out in December. Oh, mercy, me!

REVIEWS

Kylie Griffin

It's raining great reviews for Kylie's Vengeance Born. Here are snippets:

4 stars from A New Kind of Ordinary

"Kylie Griffin has created compelling characters and put them in a world that is protected by ultra-powerful Light Blade warriors and is on the brink of war with blood-sucking demons. It's a truly unique blend of paranormal romance and pure fantasy with enough elements of each to delight fans of either genre. I'm definitely hooked and can't wait for the next installment, Alliance Forged, which is due out in July."

The Window Seat on a Rainy Day

"The writing is so powerful and strong that the book moves very quickly despite the fact that not a lot happens in it. The characters are realistic and when I look at the secondary characters, I see them as a part of Annika and Kalan's world, not as just "sequel fodder".
I really loved this book and can't wait til the next installment, Alliance Forged, is published. "

Reader to Reader Reviews

"Griffin's characters are multifaceted and the supportingcast holds the promise of more stories to come. It was truly heartwarming howKalan realized the depth of his feelings for Annika and saw her as more than ahalf-breed demon, but as a courageous woman he would gladly share his lifewith. The plot was exciting as the author enticingly reveals secrets and hetruth changes Kalan and Annika’s future forever. Absolutely wonderful!"

All About Romance

"Vengeance Born is the first in a new series and from a wonderful new author. I know that the two sequels have been added to the list of books that I am anxiously awaiting. This series has such strong potential!. What a wonderful debut novel!"

4 paws from Rabid Reads

"Vengeance Born has a nice balance of action and romance but it is at its core a love story. Depending on what your genre of choice is, this book may or may not be for you. I for one enjoyed it and the big reveal made at the ending helped to further stoke the flame. Alliance Forged is due out in July and I’ll be among one of the first in line to read it. "

Phew, way to go, Kylie!

RELEASES

Lilliana Rose
The poem, Ghosts, has appeared in In Daily in the Poet's Corner. You can read this gem here!

Magic Thursday Winner

2012-02-20T06:00:00.007+11:00

Thank you to everyone who commented.

After throwing all the names of those who commented onto the floor in front of Splat (my cat), she pawed the winner's slip across the lino floor and I was just in time to save it from going under the refrigerator.

So, the winner of the signed copy of VENGEANCE BORN is Serix!

Email me - kyliegriffin71 (at) optusnet (dot) com (dot) au - and I can arrange to send your prize to you. Happy reading!

Weekly Overview

2012-02-19T06:30:00.000+11:00

COMING UP THIS WEEK...

Tues 21
GOOD NEWS DAY

Wed 22
A BITE OF... with Dy Loveday

Thurs 23

MAGIC THURSDAY: Imogene Nix with a giveaway of Starline

DARKSIDER TREKKING...

(where we've been)

Rowena

Meet Gaie Sebold

Kylie

Interview and giveaway - Paranormal Haven
Lynne Marshall prize winner announced
Guest Author: Helen Lacey
Interview and giveaway - Romance Book Paradise
Unseen snippet of Vengeance Born
An Author's Life...with Valerie Parv
Review from New Kind of Ordinary
Review from The Window Seat on a Rainy Day
Review from Reader to Reader reviews
Review from All About Romance
Vengeance Born - Get Lost In A Story
Review from Rabid Reads
Cast of Characters: Secondary characters

Eleni

Super Sunday - including send up of George R.R. Martin reading a nursery rhyme.
Tuesday Tunes: Giorgos Dalaras
Musa Moments
Stunning Saturday

Christina

Sunday Swag
Friday Feast with Christina Phillips - Cathryn Hein
Friday Feast - Bottoms Up!

Nicole

Jess

Project update and new release

Kitty

Author Crush Month: Jacqueline Diamond - Routines for Writers
My silly Valentine

Paula

What is wrong with Valentine's Day?

Jenny

Toby photos
A Day in the Life of Jenny Schwartz - Romance Writers of Australia
The Blood Countess by Tara Moss

Imogene

Mel

Keri

Cover flat giveaway

Annie

Friday Friends - Faye Robertson and Rachel Lyndhurst

Maree

Emmeline

G is for Gleeful

WHAT'S UP?

Want to know who is a DarkSider? See the list on the sidebar, and for more information you can find many of the DarkSider bios on the bios page.

Have a great week everyone!

Magic Thursday: Flights of Fantasy (romance, that is!)

2012-02-16T01:00:00.087+11:00

One of the things I love best about writing is the daydreaming process. As writers we have a legitimate reason for sitting at our desks, staring out our windows and spending time lost in our thoughts as we go through the "I have an idea for a story" fermentation process.

When VENGEANCE BORN, my debut fantasy romance for Berkley, was a mere yeast granule in the syrupy depths of my mind, I played the "What if..." game to come up with the characters, their background, and a few half formed plot lines.

Not too many, as I'm a die-hard pantstering-scener (imagine you're standing on a hill on foggy, winter's morning, and all you can see is the tops of other hills in the distance - you have no idea what sort of terrain you're going to cover once you descend beneath the fog but you do know the general direction you're headed - that's a pantstering-scener).

But I digress, back to VENGEANCE BORN!

I saw the opening scene of Annika descending into the dungeon to rescue Kalan, the hero - but what had brought her there? Why was she rescuing him?

What if she were half demon, half human and despised by both races, how would that environment influence her? What personality traits or flaws would that develop? What strengths and weaknesses would she have? A flawed sense of worth? A need for acceptance?

Could any one person balance her upbringing? What role would they play? How could they affect her? Would she have the courage or determination to free herself? Would she be strong enough to rescue herself?

And what about Kalan, the warrior she intended rescuing from her father's dungeon? What was he doing there? Who was he?

If he considered demon's his enemy, what would his response be when he discovered Annika's identity? How would that affect his behaviour toward her? Would it hamper their escape from the dungeon? Their flight to human territory?

Working out the rough details gave me enough to begin writing the story. The opening chapter is up on my website, but this snippet is the first personal hurdle Annika and Kalan face as they escape from her father's dungeon.

Kalan frowned. “Your eyes...”

Annika hesitated in reaching for the pouch at her feet. “What about them?”

“Why do they keep changing color?”

She unlaced the pouch and thrust his clothes at him then turned her back on him to pull her dress on over her head. Was she ignoring his question?

“The color changes with what I’m feeling. This trait belongs only to the Na’Chi.”

“Your eyes are red now. What does that mean?” He laid aside the sodden cloak and slid into his breeches, lacing them up swiftly. They were torn and ragged but better than no protection against the cold night air. He paused, his shirt in his hands, as the silence between them lengthened again. “Annika?”

“You’ve made it quite clear you don’t trust me.” She fiddled with the flap of the pouch. “What’s to stop you killing me if you don’t like some of my answers?”

“There’s always that chance,” he conceded as he pulled on his shirt. He doubted he had the strength for a sustained fight, though she didn’t need to know that. Instilling fear into an opponent didn’t always require a blade.

Yet he owed her, owed her his life. He was out of the dungeon and now he’d have a fighting chance to escape the Na’Reish and live. “But Hesia advised me to listen to you with an open mind and that’s what I’ll do.”

She glanced at him then away, something he noticed she did a lot. “Perhaps we can talk as we keep moving.”

A delaying tactic. The reluctance in her voice was a dead giveaway. He motioned her to lead the way, willing to let her get away with it but determined to get some answers.

A half-moon provided enough light to see by. The grassy bank gave way to a rocky roadway that they crossed quickly. His patience ended as they reached the edge of a densely wooded forest but before he could prompt her, she spoke.

“I’ve used a lot of energy tonight. Red means I’m hungry.”

“Hungry?” He halted by a thick tree trunk, the shadowed darkness beyond it less daunting than the fear that skittered along his spine. “For what?”

“For blood.”

His scalp crawled, shock and anger twisting within him. Lady’s Breath! Hadn’t he been trained never to let his guard down? A half-demon, even a pretty one, was still a demon. With a curse he jerked away from her, reaching for a sword no longer belted around his waist. “You drink blood?”

Adrenaline raced through him when he realized he was unarmed. Unarmed against a woman powerful enough to kill with a touch. He fisted his hands.

“That’s why you helped me escape? Why you need me with you?” The image of her latched onto him, feeding, flashed through his mind. “I’m a convenient food source?”

How many Light Blade warriors had he seen fall in battle? How many had he heard scream in agony as demon teeth ripped into their throat or wrists so they could be drained of blood?

Nausea choked him. Too many.

Kalan dropped into a crouch, teeth bared. “Come one step closer and I will kill you."

Their relationship is very Shakespearean - they come from warring houses, and from the start both believe any romantic involvement is doomed to fail, a tragedy in the making.

They have so much to overcome – personal and external prejudices and misconceptions, opposition from those who know them, and it’s complicated by the rising tension between humans and demons. Throw in a couple of culture-shaking secrets and it makes you wonder if they’re ever going to have a happy ending!

Unfortunately, I can't tell you how the story ends, but if you want to find out then share with me one of your all time favorite, happy endings - personal event, book, movie, whatever you like - and I'll put you in the draw to win a copy of VENGEANCE BORN.

I look forward to reading your answers!

VENGEANCE BORN
(Book #1 of the Light Blade series)

There is no mercy in the demon realm. No escape. In this place of desperation and conflict, anyone who is not pure bred is virtually powerless. Until an unlikely champion is born…
Annika, half-blood daughter of the Na’Reish King, longs for more than her tormented life among her father’s people. Conceived in hatred and bred as a tool of retribution, she’s gifted with a special talent that can heal as well as destroy.
With the Na’Reish vastly outnumbering them, Kalan, a Light Blade warrior, knows the future of humankind depends on him alone. Incursions into human territory and raids for blood-slaves by the Na’Reish Horde have increased. As Chosen-leader, he faces the task of stopping the demons—and convincing the Council of aging Light Blade warriors that change is necessary for survival.
When Annika learns Kalan is a prisoner in her father’s dungeon, her dream of escape seems within reach. She agrees to free him in exchange for his protection once they reach human territory. Now, marked for death for helping him, Annika must learn to trust Kalan as they face not only the perilous journey to the border but enemies within the Council—and discover a shocking truth that could throw the human race into civil war…

VENGEANCE BORN was released with Berkley Sensation on February 7th (USA/Canada).
The second book in the series, ALLIANCE FORGED, is due out on July 3rd (USA/Canada).

Kylie Griffin’s obsession with all things paranormal/fantasy started at an early age, when she used to imagine the jacaranda tree in her front yard was a spaceship used to defend the world from invading enemies. Writing stories seemed a natural extension to her childhood adventures.

Today, she’s a primary school teacher sharing her love for the written word with young children. In her spare time, she writes and reads all things paranormal.

Kylie lives in a small rural village in outback New South Wales, Australia, where she volunteers in a number of emergency service organizations in her local community.

You can visit her website, blog, or find her on Goodreads, Shelfari, Facebook & Twitter.

Good News Day!

2012-02-14T06:30:00.000+11:00

Welcome to this week's good news...

SALES

Jenny Schwartz
Courting Trouble is a sequel to Wanted: One Scoundrel. It’s steampunk, again set in Western Australia during the goldrush years, and will be published with Carina Press.

Imogene Nix

Starfire the 2nd novel, and third story in the Warriros of Elector series has been sold to Secret Cravings. It's due out in June as an ebook and October in print.

First book in series

Janni Nell
The Allegra Fairweather novella, Dance of Flames, will be part of the anthology, Carina Press Presents: Editor's Choice Volume II. It's scheduled for release on the 4th June 2012.

First book in series

Jess Anastasi
Noble Romance has acqauired a new sci-fi/fantasy romance, Heart of the Warlord, due for release 16th April.

COVERS

Keri Arthur

This the brand new shiny cover for Beneath a Darkening Moon, which is a rerelease of the Imajinn book. It is the second book in the Ripple Creek Werewolf series. Stunning isn't it.

& RELEASE DATE

Erica Hayes
The cover for Revelation, the first book in The Seven Signs series, has been released. Yiowza. This book is scheduled for release on 2nd October.

REVIEWS

Kylie Griffin

Vengeance Born was given 4.5 stars over at Bookaholics Romance Book Club (5th review down). Here is a snippet:

"Vengeance Born is a spectacular fantasy series that I could not stop reading!!
...
This is fantastic story anyone for anyone who loves a good fantasy yarn with some solid romance. I can’t wait for the next book to come out. The world building in this world feels very authentic and genuine, and many readers will easily relate to the prejudices that Kalan and especially Annika must deal with. Both are very noble characters with great integrity and good intentions who form an unlikely and touching relationship. The journey together challenges Kalan and Annika, and I loved how they grew to slowly admire and care for each other. There are also some surprises and touches of deep humanity which readers will find themselves quickly caught up in the story.

This is a riveting read with genuine and worthy characters that find unlikely love, challenge prejudices and strive to save humanity."

It was also given a 5-star review over at That's What I'm Talking About. Here's a snippet:

"As we’ve said before, the sign of a well-written book is that it lingers in your thoughts days or even weeks later. Vengeance Born is one of them, the characters and world followed Gikany and Una for days, even into our dreams. We cannot wait until the next novel in this incredibly rich world."

RELEASES

Rowena Cory Daniells
The Chronicles of King Rolen's Kin trilogy is out now as available once more as an e-book package. You can get from here.

AWARDS

Denise Rossetti

The Lone Warrior was voted the Favourite Erotic Romance of 2011 by ARRA. Way to go, Denise!

OTHER

Denise Rossetti

Denise was interviewed as part of Queenlsand's Courier-Mail look at Valentine's Day. You can find the article here.

~~~

Fantastic work everyone! Another great week.

Please join us next week for some more good news....

Weekly Overview

2012-02-12T06:30:00.000+11:00

COMING UP THIS WEEK...

Tues 14
GOOD NEWS DAY

Thurs 16
MAGIC THURSDAY: Kylie Griffin with a giveaway of Vengeance Born

DARKSIDER TREKKING...

(where we've been)

Kylie

Guest Blogger: ARRA blog

Vengeance Born countdown - 1 day to go!

Guest author: Lynne Marshall

Guest blogging over at Mel Teshco's blog

Vengeance Born - It's release day!

Review from Bookaholics Romance Book Club

Review from TWITA

Cast of Characters: Rissa

Guest blogging over at Qwillery

Emmeline

Eleni

Nicole

Jess

I'd like to see...Supernatural to get a new regular character, possibly female

Mel

Rowena

Kitty

Author Crush: James Scott Bell - Routines for Writers
Unemployment blues and other rainbow colours

Nicola

Shona

Guest over at Nicole's blog - see above
Falling for character - Musings for Wink

Jenny

Christina

Keri

Imogene

Paula

School, exercise and other assorted challenges to my writing schedule

Annie

Pitch competition - cross post
Friday's Friend - Tracie Ingersoll Loy

Erica

Cover art revelation

WHAT'S UP?

Welcome to our Darksider member, Kathrine Maree Grover!

Have a great week everyone!

Enchanted Orb: Imogene Nix

2012-02-11T04:00:00.000+11:00

Welcome to the Enchanted Orb - a look at the inspiration behind the DarkSider's tales.

Our guest today is Imogene Nix. Take it away, Imogene!

Inspiration

Welcome to my run at the Enchanted Orb with the Dark Siders. It is a real thrill to be here (and among some seriously huge names), as I have just celebrated the release of my first novel, Starline, a SciFi Romance, I kind of on a bit of a high.

Where do you start? Well, that is the question, kind of, isn’t it? What brought me to this time and place in space? By that, I mean writing romance with a science fiction bend? I have been a romance reader since my teens. I was one of those kids with a secret addiction of Mills and Boon (yes, I too used to steal my mother’s – but don’t tell my youngest daughter because she tries to do that now!), New Idea with the serialized books (Janet Dailey was right up there for me), not to mention my local travelling library. Gosh, that just about says it all, doesn’t it? But how do you make the jump from a good Mills and Boon interspersed with frequent helpings of Barbara Cartland and Janet Dailey to writing Science Fiction? Blame Anne McCaffrey, Piers Anthony and others of the same ilk for that one, I’m afraid. Add to that a true love of romance (sorry, can’t hide that no matter how hard I might have tried in the past. Now it is no longer an issue!)

My inspiration didn’t stop there, though. Making the leap from sweet romance to science fiction needs a little more help, so along the way I picked up Alexander Kent’s Richard Bolitho series (and yes I am still collecting them as he continues to release the titles in this series), which gave me a grounding into naval life. You need that to understand lots of the talk about intelligence and command structures and I just soak those up. (Well that is what I tell my husband anyway!)

It certainly wouldn’t have been complete without the help of Star Trek (sorry, not the original or even Next Generation – though I did enjoy it on a purely visual basis). Voyager opened up the completely strong female leader thing for me, and Seven of Nine helped along that path as well (sorry Ba’Lana but I found you harder to take to – could have been the little Miss Turtle Head thing). Throw in the likes of Firefly, Farscape and even the works of Linnea Sinclair and you get a bit of a broader idea of how I got here. There is something though about standing under a dark moon, and watching the stars twinkle. You wonder what it would be like to travel to far distant planets and be the first to walk on the surface as a human. Exploration bubbles in my blood, keeping me alive and young.

That wasn’t the end of it. Not by a long shot. After I discovered Anne McCaffrey and Linnea Sinclair, I started looking around. But no matter how hard I scoured, I hate to say it, but good Science Fiction romance is still very thin on the ground (well for that matter, so is Bad Science Fiction Romance Lol!). I struggled to find books in that vein that were enjoyable and not a “boys own” with a smattering of romance thrown in, or a good romance, that just happens to have SciFi concepts.

Naturally then, I decided my first book would have to be a SciFi romance. Once again, it kind of harks back to my daytime job. I sell books. For a living J But I just don’t see a lot of SciFi romance coming along. Not that this is my main reason for writing it, but it just is such an empty category.

Anyway, I also don’t mind the odd bit of blood and gore…oh and intimate moments too. Not that I am a voyeur, but there is something in those moments where two people find the ultimate connection. I do not mind some of the encounters. Nothing wrong with a bit of spice in your life. Mind you, I was as surprised as all heck when I got classified as erotica. Me? Writing erotic fiction? Wow! That rather astounded me.

My addiction to romance though, took a major turn in 2011 when I decided the time had come to stop procrastinating and actually achieve something positive. Sure, I was one of those people who started – many times…wrote half a dozen paragraphs and never went back to writing them. Maybe it was a case of not ready, the wrong genre or one of a dozen other reasons. I really don’t know, myself. Maybe it wasn’t time and the stars needed to align properly, but many of those ideas faded like a week picked flower.

In 2011 though, I decided the time had really come to knuckle down. So I did. Between March and May I wrote. Did very little else, while the housework piled up, the kids griped and husband was extremely understanding. I wrote all hours of the day and night. I tapped away on my poor little laptop until I finished the story that was screaming in my head to escape. Oh boy…so now what I asked myself? Between May and October I kept asking myself that, but I found people I could ask, talk to when I joined the Romance Writers of Australia and haven’t looked back since. Now, what does that have to do with inspiration? For me, lots. These were people from all walks of life, finished and published, or new to the writing scene, or waiting for publishing…they were at all stages and they all had some piece of knowledge and experience to share. I soaked up the experience on those boards.

Having said all this about Science Fiction, don’t get me wrong because I also dabble in paranormal, and yes, fangs are the word du jour. Honestly, there is just something so sexy about a man with fangs, that you just want to…well, hang on, yes, this blog is PG rated after all. Lol!

Anyway, I hope that gives you an insight into my inspiration for writing, the burning desire that keeps me up until 2 am in the morning tapping on the keyboard, so that by the time I take the kids to school, I am definitely bleary eyed. Imogene Nix

Magic Thursday: Mythical Creatures ~ Japanese Shape-shifting Animals

2012-02-09T06:30:00.000+11:00

We continue are our look into Mythical Creatures. Today's feature is brought to us by Peta Crake. Thanks, Peta!

~~~

Ukiyo-e print of Yokai by Kawanabe Kyosai

Japan, the country of funky Shibuya teens, white-faced geishas, cute anime characters and innovative technology. Amongst all the colour and cuteness lurks a darker and seriously weird side. Where else could you find a creature that loves to lick the filth off dirty bathroom walls and fittings (Akaname) or a huge foot that demands to be washed (Ashiarai Yoshiki)? Not to mention the myriad of household items that spring to life on their hundredth birthday (tsukumogami)…hopping umbrella anyone?

Thanks to the mixture of imported monsters that came with Buddhism and Chinese culture and the locally grown variety, which originated in Shinto and animistic traditions, Japan has an unbelievable number of supernatural creatures. As a group they are categorized as Yokai or Obakemono.

Unlike many Western cultures where there is a long history of tales of people changing into beasts, Japan has a lot of creature who shape shift into human form. After living in Japan for almost a decade, some of these mythical creatures seemed as normal to me as a regular dog or cat. In particular, the racoon dogs (the real animals are as cute as their mythical versions) and foxes whose statues could be seen scattered through the cities and countryside. Japanese shape-shifting animals are some of my favourite mythical creatures.

Pottery statue of a tanuki

Tanuki (racoon dogs), whose statues can be found outside temples and restaurants all over Japan, are easily recognizable because of their large stomachs and testicles. They are generally mischievous, happy and a little gullible. Masters of disguise and shape shifting, they are constantly after food, sake and women. The animated movie Pom Poko by Studio Ghibli is a great example of Tanuki and their abilities.

Kitsune (foxes) are another animal that can gain magical abilities. Once they reach the age of one hundred they are able to assume human form and with each century which passes they gain an extra tail. The more tails a kitsune has the more powerful it becomes, with the oldest and wisest having nine tails. The most common stories involve kitsune transforming themselves into beautiful women for devious purposes or for love. In medieval Japan, lone young women encountered at dusk were usually feared to be kitsune. Only their shadows, which can reveal their tails or true form could betray what they really were. They are like the slender, serious older sibling of the Tanuki.

Prince Hanzoku terrorized by a nine-tailed fox.

Print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi,, 19^th century

North American box art for the
Okami video game

Okami (wolves) disappeared from Japan in the early 1900s but still have a strong presence in folklore. Unlike the racoon dog and fox, the wolf is usually honest and compassionate. Seen as a protector of humans, the Okami also have a strong connection with the gods as either a pet or messenger.

North American DVD cover of

Hyper Police

The main character Natsuki Sasahara
is half-human, half-nekomata.

Bakeneko (cats) start life as normal domestic moggies then, due to reaching the weight of approximately 3.6kg (8 lb), living for a certain number of years or keeping a long tail they transform. They gain supernatural abilities similar to the Tanuki or Kitsune and can be both good and bad. They can shapeshift into human form and will sometimes devour their owner in order to take their place. Additionally, Bakeneko have the ability to shoot ghostly fireballs and in some cases, reanimate dead bodies. They are not all bad however, and can be associated with good luck. The beckoning cat (manekineko) often seen in restaurants and shops is said to be a form of bakeneko. Those with more than one tail are called nekomata, the more tails they have the wiser, older and more powerful they are.

Jorogumo (spiders) also known as the Prositute Spider or Entwining Bride can change its appearance into a seductive woman. They have the nasty habit of luring men to them, wrapping them up in silk threads and devouring them. Stories about them often involve them invading people’s dreams.

Jorogumo by Toriyama Sekien

With shape-shifting creatures and large rogue feet hopping around the countryside, it is no wonder the Japanese people have a special ceremony each February to remove evil spirits from their houses. Called Setsubun, the festival involves people throwing roasted soybeans around their house and calling for good fortune to enter and evil spirits/demons to leave.

I am not sure I want to come across a shape-shifting spider but the idea of an Akaname taking up residence in my bathroom to keep it clean sounds good to me. What do you think?

References:

Experiencing Japanese Culture, KEK International Exchange and Communication Circle, 1989

The Mythical Creatures Bible, Brenda Rosen, 2008

http://obakemono.com
http://obakemono.com/obake/tanuki/
http://obakemono.com/obake/kitsune/
http://obakemono.com/obake/bakeneko/
http://obakemono.com/obake/okami/
http://obakemono.com/obake/jorogumo/
http://www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/page/Yokai+-+Animal+Transformations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youkai
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanuki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckami
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper_Police
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jor%C5%8Dgumo

A Bite Of...Forbidden

2012-02-08T07:00:00.001+11:00

For our second 'A Bite Of' segment allow me to introduce the lovely Christina Phillips and her book FORBIDDEN.

Can you, in less than five words describe your book, FORBIDDEN?
Sexy warrior, magical heroine, vindictive goddess

What inspired you to write it?

The idea for FORBIDDEN came to me literally out of the blue. This sexy Roman warrior stormed into my head one night, demanding to know where his Druid heroine was. Since Romans and Druids were deadly enemies I was instantly hooked! But there was also a High Priest lurking in the background, and he was deliciously twisted. Despite knowing Romans, Druids and ancient Wales were all hard sells in Romance I knew I had to write their book otherwise the hero would haunt me forever (not that I’m complaining. Maximus is gorgeous!)

And here's the snippet!

Her fingers stilled in his hair. He saw her struggle to keep the smile from her face. And then she trailed her finger over his brow, along the length of his nose and across the seam of his lips.

“Are you my man, Maximus?” Her finger paused at the corner of his mouth. So temptingly close, he could almost taste her sweet flesh.

“For tonight, my lady, I’m all yours.” His hand slid from her face to clasp her nape. “And you are mine.”

Carys wrapped his words around her heart, savoring them, secreting them hidden corners of her mind. She knew he spoke in lust, but it didn’t matter. She could imagine he wanted more than raw sex tonight, could pretend he was driven by emotions more sacred than pure, masculine need.

“For tonight,” she whispered, just so he knew they were equal on that point. Although the truth was she wouldn’t mind being his for eternity. If only that wasn’t such an impossible dream.

He gave a low laugh. “Always you must have the last word. Very well, we are each other’s for tonight, if that appeases you, my lady.”

Before she could assure him it did, he captured her lips, as if anticipating her thoughts, but thoughts no longer mattered, not when her Roman held her in such a close embrace, or teased her willing mouth with his tongue and nipped her tender flesh with his teeth.

Shivers skittered along her skin, hot shivers that mirrored the heat in her blood, the fire in her womb. She flattened her palm against his broad chest, delighting in the hard muscle beneath his linen tunic, the thunder of his heart against her fingers.

She slid her arms around his body. Granite strength and primal power radiated from every pore, thrilling her feminine senses, making her feel safe. Protected.

And yet she was the one who protected them both from untoward attack, here inside her own sacred circle.

Her Roman could never discover such magic.

~~~

Thanks Christina for taking part!

Good News Day!

2012-02-07T06:30:00.000+11:00

Welcome to this week's good news...

RELEASES

Maree Anderson
Lighting Rider is out now on Smashwords. It will be available on Amazon soon.

Mel Teshco
Something Wicked This Way Comes is now out in print. This is Mel's first printed work!

Kylie Griffin
Vengeance Born is Kylie's debut novel and the first book in the Light Blade series. It's out now!!!!! Woohoo, Kylie!

Astrid Cooper
Vampire for Hire was released by Extasy Books this week.

Paula Roe
While not a paranormal story, Paula has her latest Desire book, Bed of Lies, is out this month in the US and next month in Australia.

RELEASE DATE

Keri Arthur
Darkness Devours, book three in the Dark Angels series, is due out in July.

Kylie Griffin

Another book due out in July is the 2nd book of the Light Blade series, Alliance Forged.

SALES

Dy Loveday

The short story, Game Play, has been accepted into the Satyr anthology by Wicked East Press.

OTHER

Astrid Cooper
Vampire for Hire (paranormal m/m romance) made it to number 54 in the publisher's best-seller list on first day!

~~~

What a week! Congratulations!

Please join us again next week for some more Good News...

Magic Thursday Winner

2012-02-06T11:14:00.002+11:00

Thank you to everyone who commented.

Using the time honoured draw out of a hat method the winner of an ecopy of Brightwater Bloodis Sullivan McPig!

Email me at: shona(at)shonahusk.com

Weekly Overview

2012-02-05T06:30:00.000+11:00

COMING UP THIS WEEK...

Mon 6 Feb
Winner of Shona Husk's giveaway announced

Tues 7
GOOD NEWS DAY

Wed 8
A BITE OF... Forbidden by Christina Phillips

Thurs 9
MAGIC THURSDAY: Mythical Creatures ~ Japanese Shape Shifting Animals with Peta Crake

Sat 11

ENCHANTED ORB: Imogene Nix

DARKSIDER TREKKING...

(where we've been)

Nicola

Instinctive Body Reactions

Keri

So What's Been Happening?

Annie

Nicole

Lilliana

Author page on Amazon

Eleni

Super Sunday
Tuesday Tunes: Triple J's Hottest 100
January reads - challenges update - Eleni's Library
DarkSider Challenge - January Wrap Up - Eleni's Library
Stunning Saturday - Fantasy Art

Kitty

So much to learn in self publishing - Routines for Writers
For Love or Money?

Kylie

TOPIC: An author's life...with Amanda Ashby
Guest blog at Regency Seductions
Vengeance Born countdown - 6 days to go
Vengeance Born "Dear Reader" letter
Vengeance Born countdown - 5 days to go
Flooding in Australia - NSW's turn!
Vengeance Born countdown - 4 days to go
Vengeance Born countdown - 3 days to go
Vengeance Born countdown - 2 days to go

Amanda

Guest on Kylie's blog - see above.

Jenny

Sandra

Emmeline

C is for Cock-a-doodle-do

Maree

Mel

Jess

Shona Husk - First Guest Author for 2012

Shona

Guest at Jess' blog - see above
Guest at Mel's blog - see above
Guest at Maree's blog - see above

Imogene

Christina

Lightning Strikes

Paula

Exciting stuff for February

Rowena

Winner Rhonda Roberts book giveaway

WHAT'S UP?

Looking for a reading challenge? Why not join Eleni and other DarkSiders as they take on the DarkSider Challenge? Go to Eleni's Library for more details. If you've joined us, you can put your comments for January here.

Have a great week everyone!

Magic Thursday: Scorched Earth

2012-02-02T06:00:00.000+11:00

“There was nowhere to hide, the ashes fell like snow.” Linkin Park, New Divide.

Living in Australia bush fires are a part of life, and if you’ve ever had the misfortune to ever be caught near one you know that the ash lingers. When I was a teenager my parent’s house was minutes from going up. The decks were singed and we were putting out spot fires at night for weeks afterwards—and trying to get the smell and ash out of everything.

More recently the area of bushland near my house was set alight—this is a picture from my front lawn.

And while these experiences gave life to Brightwater Blood, they weren’t where the story came from. Unlike many of my stories I know exactly when this story appeared almost to the day, it was born out of a single event. The feeling of being trapped, of not knowing the right answer and the fear of being burned were all mine (figuratively). In that respect it is an intensely personal story.

But it is also one of my favourites. I love the hero. Who doesn’t like a wounded hero—literally in this case as the heroine shoots him on sight. I also love that they survive and come out stronger and better for the experience.

I came out better for the experience; selling Brightwater Blood was the icing on the cake.

Like the Australian bush sometimes it takes a fire to burn everything down before new growth can happen.

To survive, they’ll have to think outside the circle.

Were-lion Lachlan Garvey is closing in on the Brightwater women, the last of a Shamanic line that the Council wants eradicated for their murderous use of magic. One minute he’s in his animal form, examining a dead body in a patch of charred grass. The next, he wakes up human—naked, shot and lying in a circle of his own blood.

Dayna Brightwater is sure the man she’s bound with a blood spell is the one who just murdered her twin sister. Yet even if she did have the stomach for revenge killing, she doesn’t have the power. But what to do with him now? If she lets him go, he’ll kill her, too.

Trapped in the path of a deadly magical fire, Lachlan has to think fast—and talk faster—to convince the beautiful Shaman he’s innocent. As the roaring flames creep closer, Dayna must choose. Trust Lachlan and use magic to save them both…or flee. And live with the knowledge she caused his death, proving that no Brightwater is capable of love.

Warning: Contains a naked hero who’ll do anything to save his life...including saving hers.

I have one e-copy to giveaway simply leave a comment. The winner will be drawn on Monday 6 February.

Good News Day!

2012-01-31T06:30:00.000+11:00

Welcome to this week's good news post....

RELEASES

Shona Husk
Two releases this week for Shona. You go, girl!

Brightwater Blood is available from today from Samhain Publishing

Sharing Sirius is available from Ellora's Cave from tomorrow.

COVERS

Nicole Murphy
Damnation and Dames (which will feature one of Nicole's stories) has just released their cover. Pretty cool.

Maree Anderson
Here is the cover for Lighting Rider, Maree's upcoming release - designed by Maree's husband. Very striking!

REVIEWS

Mel Teshco
Something Wicked This Way Comes gets a 5 star review from Romance Writers Reviews. Here's a snippet.

"Dragon Heat. Love the characters, and storyline. The story had a perfect amount of suspense that kept the story very interesting. This story takes you on a very different journey, and you just don’t know what will happen until the very end."

~~~

Congratulations everyone!

Join us next week for some more good news.

Weekly Overview

2012-01-29T06:30:00.001+11:00

COMING UP THIS WEEK...

Tues 31

GOOD NEWS DAY

Thurs 2 Feb
MAGIC THURSDAY: Shona Husk with giveaway of Brightwater Blood

DARKSIDER TREKKING...

(where we've been)

Nicola

My other great passion

Mel

Eleni

Super Sunday - includes funnies
Where has the time gone? - Eleni's Library
Writing Update
Tuesday Tunes: Tina Turner
Writing Buddy Wednesday
Happy Australia Day!
Stunning Saturday - covers
Library reads of 2011 - Eleni's Library

Jess

Unstuck Update

Nicole

Imogene

Kitty

Anatomy of a deadline - Routines for Writers
Portrait of a learning addict

Kylie

Griffin's Vengeance - Helene Young
Topic: An Author's Life...Maree Anderson
Vengeance Born countdown
Kylie Griffin's wild fantasies - Romance Bandits
Cast of Characters: Kalan - the warrior hero of Vengeance Born

Sandra

To critique or not to critique (cont'd)

Jenny

Rowena

Winner Tom Taylor 'The Deep' Giveaway
Double book launch - Ripping Ozzie Reads
I disappeared down a rabbit hole
Meet Lucy Sussex
Angry Robot Open Their Doors Again - Ripping Ozzie Reads

S.E.

F2F Writing Groups & The Year of the Water Dragon

Jess

Emmeline

B is for Bonza! Happy Australia Day

The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter

Maree

Guest at Kylie's blog - see above.
Lightning Rider - a cover story
Whassup
Wattpad podcast interview - Wattpad

WHAT'S UP?

Reminder: Kylie has a ARC copy of Vengeance Born as a giveaway on Goodreads. Follow this link - it is open from 7 January to 7 February. Good luck!

The Regular Columns links have been updated to include our latest columns, Enchanted Orb and A Bite of...

Don't forget that you can follow the blog by Subscribing to the feed, by subscribing by email, and by becoming a DarkSider Buddy (Google connect). All those are on the sidebar.

Our apologies for advertising a blog post by Astrid Cooper for a Australia Day special. This didn't eventuate.

Have a great week everyone!

Darklight On...Jodie C!

2012-01-28T06:30:00.000+11:00

Today's Darklight On... is with Jodie C. Welcome, Jodie!

The Pen, The Paper and the Paranoia

I have to admit, doing my first post about writing is more than a little daunting. It’s like asking someone to write an article on sex when they’re stuck on second base. Yes, I do write, but I don’t consider myself a writer. You see, I’m a newbie. I can’t even complain about my pile of rejection letters because to be honest I’m yet to finish one of my stories.

So today I’m not going to be writing about the hunky, executive type with the Midas touch and the killer eyes – who I’m currently writing about – instead I will write about the rollercoaster ride I have already taken....before publication, before submissions, before the painful synopsis writing and before even finishing a story.

It all started about five years ago. I was pregnant, already on maternity leave and remember cringing when my sister in law handed me a copy of Twilight to read. What the hell was Twilight?? And why the hell would I want to read about teenagers and blood suckers with sparkly skin??

I haven’t stopped reading since – and it’s not the occasional read, a book or two every month – hell no, it quickly grew into obsession. After devouring the Twilight series, I read everything I could find and five years later I am averaging about fifteen books a month.

So, the reading turned into reviewing on www.goodreads.com, the reviewing turned into blogging and the next step after that was to start my own writing.

I have always had an overactive imagination. Like many writers and women in general I fall asleep in the arms of a different man each night. No my husband doesn’t mind – he has no clue. Each night there is a new scene, a new man, a new first kiss, a new climactic event that makes my heart ache. And all these scenes continued to overtake my mind. I started not only living them in my mind, but narrating them as if reading a book. How would I describe these scenes? What words would I use to explain the intimacy of that first touch? The first caress? The first brush of lips?

It seemed only natural to put my fingers to the keypad and start typing away. And it was easy. I wrote page upon page, scene upon scene, the words flowing like a torrent trying to escape my teeny, tiny mind. Then I came across RWA – should I join? Should I take the next step? I ended up finding a competition set to end in only two days time and decided to bite the bullet. Here goes nothing. I tried my hardest to read over my work, had a few friends read it to help me out then submitted it with a chest filled with hope.

Six or so months later and the email came back telling me in subtle terms that I sucked better than a Hoover. Ok, a little over dramatic, there were some great comments, some good comments and a whole heap of depressing comments. Not being the most confident person I took it to heart. I seriously suck total ass. So I pulled the piece back out of the depths of my computer and read over it. HOLY HELL, they were right. It sucked!! No, really. It sucked. In such a short space of time and with a lot of help from a recent RWA conference, I had learnt enough to realise my piece was truly horrible. And I had let my friends read it? It really woke me up to the realisation that you shouldn’t let friends read your work if you are looking for an honest opinion.

But I DIDN’T give up. I agreed with the majority of the comments. It made me grow even more as a writer and almost a year later I am still plodding along.

For me the biggest hurdle with writing isn’t the creativity. I can get words on the page relatively quick – they aren’t polished or perfect, but the story is always flowing – my problem is the paranoia, the confidence, the drive to continue even though the words may never be read. The hours spent perfecting a character all gone to waste if no one wants to read it.

I start a story then get half way and decide....”Hmmm, that isn’t good enough. I need to start something else.” I think it’s a coping mechanism. If I don’t finish anything, I can’t get rejected right? Or I will get into a good writing groove, putting down a heap of words each day then decide to pick up a book by one of my favourite authors – then BAM, I take a detour to Suckville. How could my writing ever compare to the likes of Cindy Gerard, J.R. Ward or Kresley Cole? It’s pointless! I’m never going to be that good.

Thankfully I have a few great friends who keep poking me with really large sticks. They remind me of my goals, they encourage me to continue and they always have my back.

So my goal for this year? Finish ONE piece. Get to the point where I can write ‘The End.’ Bite my tongue through the negativity and reach that coveted finish line. And I am determined to do it. I haven’t set my goals high. I have realised I’m not Super Woman, no matter how much I wear the costume. My goal revolves around a small story and I’m already averaging 500 words a day, so I will get there....I will.

And that’s when all the fun and games will begin...submissions....competitions....rejections....world domination.

~~~

Thank you, Jodie.

Celebrating Australia Day

2012-01-25T17:24:00.018+11:00

By Nicole Murphy, proud Aussie!

Happy Australia Day!

Today, January 26th, marks the anniversary of the arrival of English colonisation on the east coast of Australia. Gotta be that specific - white man arrived at the east coast 18 years earlier, and saw the west coast 164 years before that.

And then there's the Indigenous Australians - no one's exactly sure how long they've been here, around 60,000 years is the estimate...

But today has been adopted as the day we celebrate how absolutely awesome it is to be Australian, while at the same time acknowledging that we're not perfect and we've still got some work to do. We Aussies love a public holiday and Australia Day is a particular favourite, with most of the others being during the colder months of the year.

So how are the Darkside Downunder folks going to be celebrating Australia Day in 2012?

Imogene Nix said - We get the Australia Day Ambassador for the day usually, taking them places etc.,Last year we did Eidsvold RM Williams Bush Learning Centre, Art Gallery etc., Not sure what the plan is for this year though.

Tracey O'Hara said - I celebrate the birth of my first born. :)

Sandra Harris said - We've just finished attaching the flag pole with the Australian flag to the house. We like to fly the flag each Australia day 'week'.

Peta Crake said - More often than not we head to Kings Park in the evening for the skyshow fireworks. Other than that it would have to be a bbq with family and friends.

Denise Rossetti said - I was married on Australia Day, so we celebrate our anniversary and congratulate ourselves on lasting as long as we have. I'm thinking I should have medals struck!

Kelly Bowerman said - When hubby is actually home and not deployed we have lamb and a bbq at home…

Kathrine Grover said - We always have a BBQ and over the years without really realising it, we have created our own ‘know more about Australia Day’ event. Being patriots, we talk about issues such as Aboriginal culture and its importance to the global Australian culture, about the ANZACS and how much we owe them. We also talk about innately Australian cultural tenets such as ‘do the right thing’ or ‘you don’t dob in a mate’. It is a wonderful thing to be born in this great country. CELEBRATE!

Rebecca Skrabl said - I am sadly unpatrriotic, unfortunately. I get excited because I get the day off - which usually means more writing. This year however, a friend invited me for a barbie, so I am actually doing something this year.

As for me - I'm working (pooey!). But I'm planning on sausage sandwiches for dinner (very Australian) and maybe I'll get some beer as well. And at some point I'll crank up some music and belt out Cold Chisel's 'Keh Sanh' at the top of my voice cause THAT'S the true Australia. To me, at least :)

If you're looking for a way to celebrate Australia Day, why not do it with some fabulous Australian books? Here's a list of some of the latest publications by the members of Dark Side DownUnder (any that have been missed please put in the comments).

VENGEANCE BORN (Feb 7th, Berkley Sensation)
www.kyliegriffin.com
Blog tour happening as we speak so there are giveaways of the book happening now!

Starline – released January 23, 2012
www.imogenenix.com

CAPTIVE
http://www.christinaphillips.com

Death’s Sweet Embrace (audio version)
www.traceyohara.com

Rogue Gadda (Book Three, Dream of Asarlai)
http://nicolermurphy.com

Blood Cursed (Book Four, Shadowfae Chronicles)
http://www.ericahayes.net/

The Outcast Chronicles July, August, September 2012
http://rowena-cory-daniells.com/

The Price of Fame June 2012
http://rowena-cory-daniells.com /

Guilty as Sin
http://www.deniserossetti.com/guilty.html

A Bite of...The Ice Princess

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000+11:00

For our very first “A Bite of...” segment, I’d love to introduce Cathleen Ross, with her book,

The Ice Princess.

Can you describe your book in five words?
Paranormal romance, sexy, alpha hero, possessed heroine

What was your inspiration for the story?
I remember reading about a mountain climber on Mount Everest who passed a dying climber and didn't help him. People were outraged but the climber had spent a fortune to climb and reach the summit and chose to do this instead. When Idid my research I realised that there are bodies of dead climbers littering the mountain because the altitude is too high for helicopters and the bodies are too heavy to carry. I wrote a story about a climber who lost his father on Mount Everest, so he goes back each Spring to give the bodies a decent burial. On one trip he finds a woman and she is alive.

Here’s the snippet!

“We’ve got someone here,” Michael St. Claire, called to his Sherpa team.

He took his ice pick from his belt and began chipping at the sheer ice. If it weren’t for this forgiving May weather on Mount Everest, he’d never have found this body, which through the wall of clear ice appeared to be curled in a fetal position. It could have lain there for all time if it weren’t for this rescue and burial mission he organized each year.

Blue ice sparkled in the sunshine as he hacked through the glass-like pane, finally opening up a hole large enough to extend his gloved hand. Almost close enough to touch. Could it be his father lost when he was a boy? All these years of wondering where his body lay frozen on the mountain. Muscles straining, Michael chipped away until he’d made a hole large enough to climb through.

His head thumped with the activity and he knew he’d have to use less exertion if he didn’t want to come down with altitude sickness. Behind him, he could hear his Sherpas, their voices an excited hum. At this height, it was impossible to carry anyone down the mountain, but he and his team would cover the body with stones until they made a mound, giving the deceased privacy. Pulling off his oxygen mask, he climbed into the hole.

Edging closer, he could see strands of long, blond hair partially hidden under a black, leather hood. He pushed the stiff fabric away to reveal a delicate face with closed eyes. Her skin was porcelain, her nose petite and tilted upwards and her lush, pale lips slightly open. Her hair was braided in an intricate style he had never seen before and there was a curved symbol tattooed on her forehead. She looked asleep.

Perfect. Her body not ravaged from the excesses of the mountain like he’d expected. Did her eyelids just flicker? His head spun and he took a deep breath from his oxygen mask. In all these years he’d been leading expeditions, he’d never found anyone alive. An hallucination. It had to be.

Thump. Thump. Thump went his heart. He shouldn’t have scaled the last ice wall so fast. It was dangerous to push himself too far on the mountain, but every time he laid a body to rest, a piece of his soul eased, his pain from losing his father lessened. He fingered one of her blond braids. It was even harder when it was a woman. No wonder she had died, he thought, gazing at her unusual, tight black, animal-hide gear that would give her no protection from the sub-zero temperatures. Settling on his knees he brushed his gloved fingers over her cheek. She was strangely ethereal and striking with it.A soft sigh met his ears and the woman’s eyes flickered open. Crystal blue like a frozen lake.

“You’re alive,” his voice came out a hoarse whisper.

“Alive!” Shock bound his voice but adrenalin seized his body like the rush of a drug. Gloves off, fingers trembling, he touched the soft skin on her cheek. How could the leather, which bound her sylph-like figure, keep her warm enough in this ice cave?

Quickly, he slid his hand back into his gloves knowing what the extreme cold could do to exposed skin and stumbled to the entrance. “She’s alive. We have to get her out. Widen the hole,” he screamed before stumbling back to the woman. She blinked and her lips parted.

“Stay… with me.” He clutched her fragile-gloved fingers in his own.

“I will. I promise.” A rasping crunch at the entrance startled him. When he turned he saw his lead Sherpa staring into the hole. “Dig! Clear the entrance. Help me get her out.” Even with the assistance of the rescue Sherpas, it was near to impossible to carry a person in the high altitude of Everest’s death zone.

Turning back to the woman, Michael unfastened the water bottle at his side and put it to her lips. She drank greedily, covering his hand with hers, but choked on the water unable to consume much. “Careful,” he said, “try a little at a time.”

“Thirsty,” she said. Although the skin on her face was so pale, it was almost translucent, she seemed to have no white patches or purplish skin, signs of frost bite. He put his arm around her shoulder raising her so that he hugged her against his chest.

"What’s your name?”

“Preta,” a strange rasping voice left her lips. Darkness loomed in the blue of her eyes, until the irises changed color to an inky blackness. Michael shook his head, so that his head thumped with oxygen deprivation. He looked again into the woman’s eyes. They were crystal blue again, but cold gripped his spine and a wave of black fear enveloped him. He fought to clear the inexplicable terror.

Climbing in the death zone did strange things to a man’s mind. He knew he had to move and keep his blood circulating or his mind would continue to play tricks, but he couldn’t leave this young woman here to freeze to death alone like so many others had done before her. Michael raised the flask so that she could drink again but she pushed his hand away.

“No, no,” she groaned. “My name…my name is Maya,” she said, her voice now fluid and soft.

He was sure she had called herself something else.

Behind him, he heard the Sherpas hard at work breaking down the sheer ice wall so that he could see the rock and snow landscape and a glimpse of the dark blue sky above.

“Can you try and stand?”

“I’m so lonely, so afraid.”

“My name’s Michael. I won’t leave you, but you have to get moving or you’ll die.” Dead. Unseeing eyes. Frozen bodies. The images flashed before him, but not this woman. He had a chance to save her and he would do anything to achieve it. A sliver of pain pierced his heart. Perhaps if some stranger had felt the same way about his father, he wouldn’t have grown up without him. His muscles screamed with exertion as he gripped her around her torso and hauled her to her feet.

He felt Maya press her torso against him and she stared into his eyes, her lips parted. An inexplicable urge to kiss her overpowered him. Shame bit hard as a fierce sexual rush followed, so intense that he groaned. It took all his will power not to cover her lips with his.

Six months of dedicated mountain training for this rescue month left him no time for women. Instead it made him lean, hard and edgy, thinking of sex more than was healthy. Women were scarce on the mountain. He wanted to throw her to the ground and drive his cock in hers. Instead, supporting her weight on his body, he started to strap his oxygen mask to her face.

She tried to push it away. “No.”

“The air is thin here. Put it on,” he ordered, fitting it to her face and pulling her hood forward to protect her skin. He wrapped one arm around her slim waist and pulled her arm around the back of his neck so that he could take her weight. “You must walk. The tents are close by. I can get you warm there.” Elation surged through him when Maya took hesitant steps towards the mouth of the ice cave.

When they approached the entrance, Michael turned sideways ducked his head and supporting Maya around the waist pulled her through the entrance. The Sherpas crowded around her, chattering excitedly in their own language. “She can walk,” he cried thrilled to know that she had a good chance of survival if she were mobile.

Behind his group of Sherpas, he noticed that a mist had moved in and he could just make out the tents in the distance. Maya’s life depended on getting her warm and filled with fluids and altitude medication. A shrill cry echoed around him as his lead Sherpa leaned forward and pulled Maya’s hood from her face. Another ripped the oxygen mask from her face before stepping back and talking rapidly to his fellow Sherpas.

“What the hell? Back off,” Michael ordered.

“Preta,” his lead Sherpa cried pointing his finger at Maya.

All of them edged away. Maya clutched Michael and he could feel her trembling in his arms.

“Kill Preta,” the head Sherpa jabbed his finger at Maya, his finger poking at the tattoo between her brows. He heard her groan in fear as she buried her face in his chest.

“Touch her again and you’ll regret it,” Michael growled.

What the hell had gotten into his team?

“Put Preta back in cave,” one of the Sherpas cried.

“What the hell is a Preta?” Michael asked, pushing Maya behind him just in case the Sherpas decided to charge en mass.

“Ghost. She ghost,” his lead Sherpa said, his voice trembling. “Make men weak. Drink blood.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Michael said.

“She devil woman,” another Sherpa added, clutching a talisman on his parka.

“No!” Maya cried the terror in her voice reached his ears.

“Put sex magic on man.” The Sherpa put his hand on the front of his pants and gestured crudely. “Give man much sex. Weak man no can fight. Give man pain. Much pain.”

“Kill Preta. Put back in cave before Preta kill you,” the lead Sherpa demanded, waving his fist at her.

Maya walked in front of Michael and straightened her shoulders. “I am the daughter of Mountain Mother.” Her voice sounded clear like bells, her accent strange but intriguing.

“Chomolangma.” Some of the Sherpas muttered the Tibetan name for the mountain.“Trick to kill man. You Preta,” the lead Sherpa said jabbing his finger at her tattoo so that her head jerked backward.

Michael pulled her behind him. “Right. That’s enough. You’re not touching her. Get lost. Get out of here.”

Used to the attitude, the Sherpas strode away, turning occasionally, their faces fearful. Michael pulled Maya close and hugged her.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what has got into them. Don’t worry. I’ll look after you.” Within moments the swirling mist swallowed the Sherpas and the edges of it curled around their feet like tentacles.

“They fear the Preta,” Maya whispered.

“Superstitious bastards,” Michael said, strapping the only oxygen mask back onto her face. Looking into her eyes, the strange erotic pull he’d experienced in the cave, came over him. He wanted to throw off all of his clothes, strip her naked too and pin her under him, grip her long blond braids and slake his lust over and over again. In this light her large eyes changed color to an inky blackness like they had in the cave and he swore the tattoo on her forehead glowed.

Enticing. Alluring. Darkness.

His head span and he crunched his boots into the snow to ground himself.

Michael focused, trying to clear his mind, disgusted with his thoughts. He was a damn moron to think of having sex like an untamed animal in the snow. Worse, he must be oxygen deprived and susceptible to his Sherpas’ suggestions, given he was seeing things. Death would be his only companion if he stayed outside hallucinating and he couldn’t help Maya then.

“Come on, let’s get going.”He wrapped his arm around her waist, noting her fragility and strode forward half carrying the petite woman clinging to him toward the tents.

With the mist curling around them, he stopped and set his compass in the direction he wanted to go as he could barely see in front of him. Without his oxygen mask he fought for air, his lungs heaving in and out, his breath billowing in front of him like steam. Focus, he told himself.

“Stop,” Maya cried, pointing to something. The ghost-like mist cleared and he saw what she was pointing at. A thin fissure in the snow which widened to a crack. God help them. If they’d stepped on that it could have given way to a deep crevasse.

A sickening, twisting sensation spiraled in his gut.

“How did you know it was there?” he asked, removing the oxygen mask from her face with shaking hands. Putting it to his own he sucked in large gulps of oxygen, aware that his heart was thumping from his near-miss experience.

“I am the Ice Princess of Chomolangma, daughter of the Mother Goddess,” she said, tilting her chin. “My job is to guide climbers to safety.”

Damn it. She had bad altitude sickness, Michael thought.

“The Sherpas did not lie.”

“What are you talking about?”

“A Preta is in my body and I can’t get it out. It’ll make me do things I don’t want to do. Sex magic. You’re a good man, Michael, I don’t want to hurt you,” her words rushed into one another.

“Yeah, right, the Preta again.” Michael slapped the oxygen mask back on Maya’s face. Clearly she needed it more than he did.

Muscles screaming, he veered around the fissure until he reached his tent and pulled aside the flap. All he wanted was to lie in his thick down sleeping bag and feel warmth return to his body and numb feet with Maya beside him. Naked.

If you liked Cathleen’s snippet (and lets face it, who wouldn’t?!) you can find her here:

Amazon
Her website

Facebook

Twitter

Good News Day!

2012-01-24T06:30:00.000+11:00

Welcome to this week's good news...

REVIEWS

Kylie Griffin
Vengeance Born received a 5 star review from Night Owl Reviews AND was chosen as a Top Pick. Here's a snippet:

"I am completely captivated by this fantastical world Kylie Griffin has created. It is a mystical adventure with demons, Vorcs, and prejudiced humans to contend with. The journey is unpredictable, intense, and suspense filled with each scene easily realized. Add to that the strength, compassion, and underlying vulnerability and innocence of Griffin’s two leading characters and this story is an unstoppable read. Annika and Kalan's stories are revealed in parts throughout, so connections can be made with each of them although I'll warn that Annika's story is particularly grabbing. The pacing is perfectly set to deliver maximum impact on both character development and world-building. In short, I believe in the characters and I believe in their story.

I am so impressed by Kylie Griffin’s imagination and writing talents and I can’t wait to dive into the next Light Blade journey! There are plenty of plot twists and characters with stories yet to be told, so it seems that the ending of this story is actually just the beginning. Fantasy and romance fans will be pleased with this new series!"

SALES

Nicole Murphy
The Black Star Killer is a short story set in the Gadda world and will be published in Damnation and Dames (by Ticonderoga Publications). It is set in Chicago in the 1920s.

RELEASES

Imogene Nix
Starline is out now from Secret Cravings. This is Imogene's first release! Congrats, Imogene!

Eleni Konstantine
Changes is now available in podcast format on the Antipodean SF podast 163 Alpha
(9:55mins).

~~~

Great job, everyone. Congratulations.

Join us next week for some more Good news....

Magic Thursday: Winner of Something Wicked This Way Comes

2012-01-23T05:00:00.006+11:00

The winner of the anthology, Something Wicked This Way Comes by Mel Teshco, Jaid Black, Laurann Dohner, Desiree Holt, Kathy Kulig & Eliza Knight is:

Sandy!

Congratulations Sandy. Please email Mel at: mottrey @ yahoo . com (no spaces)

Thanks to everyone who commented =))

Weekly Overview

2012-01-22T13:57:00.002+11:00

COMING UP THIS WEEK...

Mon 23 Jan
Winner of Mel Teshco's giveaway announced

Tues 24
GOOD NEWS DAY

Wed 25
New Column: A BITE OF...The Ice Princess by Cathleen Ross

Thurs 26
MAGIC THURSDAY: Nicole Murphy talks about Australia Day.

Fri 27
Australia Day Special with Astrid Cooper

Sat 28

Darklight On...Jodie C

DARKSIDER TREKKING...

(where we've been)

Eleni

Super Sunday - ventriloquist time

Tuesday Tunes: Stairway to Heaven
Stunning Saturday - book covers

Rowena

Meet Keri Arthur
Calling Short Story Writers - Ripping Ozzie Reads
Raring to ROR - Ripping Ozzie Reads
Meet James Maxey

Keri

On Rowena's blog - see above.

Jenny

Imogene

Kylie

Kitty

Writing and Publishing Tips from Angela James and Patricia Wynn - Routines for Authors
Thanks, Friends, For a Great 2011!

Mel

Guest on Kylie's blog - see above.
Woot!

Sandra

To Critique or Not to Critique

Jess

Stuck

Shona

Friday Feast with Shona Husk - Cathryn Hein

Maree

One-Stop Shops for Readers and Authors

Nicole

Some inspiration for world building - Supernatural Underground

Emmeline

Hello, 2012! A is for amphibious...

WHAT'S UP?

Reminder: Kylie has a ARC copy of Vengeance Born as a giveaway on Goodreads. Follow this link - it is open from 7 January to 7 February. Good luck!

We no longer have the promo page available.

Have a great week everyone!

Enchanted Orb: Rowena Cory Daniells

2012-01-21T06:30:00.000+11:00

Welcome to the first blog post of our newest column, Enchanted Orb - a look at the inspiration behind the DarkSider's tales.

And welcome to our columinst, Colleen Simpson, for looking after this.

Our first guest is Rowena Cory Daniells. Take it away, Rowena.

Inspired

(Disclaimer: I tend to read and write books that are only on the very edge of the romance genre, in that they will have a love story in them and the characters may be motivated by love).

We’re all writers. We make time to write when other sensible people are putting their feet up and snacking in front of TV. What makes us do it, apart from a variety of creative insanity?

Inspiration!

Somewhere in our youthful childhoods, we must have read something good... Sorry, I was channelling Sound of Music there. It’s funny, when you get down to looking at the books that swept you off your feet you find they are a strange combination. At least, I did.

While I write short stories which are mostly science fiction with a dash of dark fantasy, and my published books are mainly fantasy with a paranormal-mystery coming out soon, when I look at the writers who inspired me I find they cover a range of genres.

Going way, way back, to before I even knew there was a word for genre, I used to search for books that filled me with a sense of wonder. These books were often magical in nature. So I would trawl the school library for books like The Secret Garden which combined the hint of exotic, in that the girl was from India, a hint of gothic, in that she was all alone in the strange, possibly haunted house and a hint of salvation, in that by finding the garden and unlocking the painful past she heals the father and the son.

I must admit it was lean pickings in the school library. I did find some obscure books like the retellings of Norse sagas, adventures set in the time of Louis the Fourteenth and Dickens, A Christmas Carol. Skip forward to my late teens when I opened a bookshop and I then I really let my inner-reader loose. I read voraciously, a book in the morning, a book after lunch and a book after dinner. This was back when a book was around 50,000 words. What this did for me, is that it taught me to exercise my ‘story muscle’. I’ll know instinctively when what I’m writing loses pace.

In my bookstore, I discovered Georgette Heyer. What we can call learn from Georgette Heyer is sparkling dialogue, brilliant characterisation and underneath this a humanity that makes her characters linger in the reader’s mind.

In the Science Fiction and Fantasy section of the bookstore I discovered Joanna Russ, who wrote brilliant feminist SF, and Fritz Lieber and Michael Moorcock both very different, but clever fantasy writers.

And because I have an enquiring mind, I also read lots of factual books on anthropology, sociology, linguistics and history. Basically, if it wasn’t nailed down, I read it.

Fast forward to what has inspired me since I came back to writing (I wrote 10 books before I was 26). When I came back to writing in my mid to late 30s, after having 6 children in ten years, I was looking for a book that would sweep me off my feet. I discovered Laurell K Hamilton’s very early Anita Blake books when the character was all about the mystery and surviving as a small female in a man’s world.

Lois McMaster Bujold’s Miles Vorksigan books contained brilliant characterisation and clever plotting. Well, it has to be clever plotting, when the hero is only four feet ten and born into a military SF world. The book where Miles falls in love had me in tears of laughter. It came closest to Georgette Heyer.

You can’t go past Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books for a good laugh.

If you are looking for an Australian variation, we have Marianne Delacourt’s Tara Sharp books. Marianne also writes a thrilling YA dark fantasy in the Burn Bright series.

And even more recently I’ve been enjoying the Simon R Green Nightside books. Very tightly written, great world building and a lovely sensibility. If you’re looking for an Australian take on dark fantasy then you can’t go past Trent Jamieson’s Death Works trilogy, with its very black sense of humour. He has a new dark fantasy that veers towards steam punk, called the Roil.

Tansy Rayner Roberts offers a different interpretation on dark fantasy with her Creature Court trilogy, were-creatures, Roman festivals and 1920s jazz.

While these books I’m mentioning aren’t romances they are of interest to Darkside DownUnder writers because we all need to stretch our writing muscles by reading books in the genre that borders our genre. By reading what I term ‘straight’ science fiction, fantasy and dark fantasy the writer of paranormal-romance broadens their outlook and finds inspiration in fresh fields. Think of it as yoga for the writing muscles!

BIO

Rowena is an over worked, underpaid mother of six, university lecturer, writer of rollicking fantasy reads and herder of recalcitrant cats.

What We Are Reading

2012-01-20T01:00:00.000+11:00

Welcome to January’s What We Are Reading column. Today, we have Jodie Smith and Jess Anastasi.
Jodie C
~Take No Prisoners~ Cindy Gerard

When it takes me less than 24 hour to read a full length novel with my kids at home for the duration - it shows how much I LOVE a book.

I made the mistake of starting this an hour before I wanted to go to bed. "Just a few chapters of the fabulous Cindy Gerard & I'll sleep peacefully" I told myself. EEEHHHhhhh WRONG.

One hour turned into three and I found it physically painful to put this book down before finishing it.

Sam was yet another sex on a stick, Black Ops, die to sleep with, hunka hunka burnin love, that I fell into lust with straight away. A man of relatively few words - but boy did those words count.

*sigh*

He was dreamy. If only men like that really existed. I would claw, scratch & bite my way through any woman that got in my way.

Abbie was also another one of Cindy Gerard's perfect heroines, that deserved the attention of such a great man. She was strong, loyal and a joy to fall in love with.

Their story was action packed, not only in the bullets and bad guys department, but also between the sheets.

TOTALLY. YUMMILIFIC.

Cindy also has the best ability of making you NEED to read the next book in the series straight away.

I am trying to savor these books gawd damn it - but I can't help devouring!!!

Jess Anastasi
~Succubus Nights~ Richelle Mead

I've just finished reading Succubus Nights (which oddly, I think is the Australian title. You can also find this book under Succubus On Top), the second book to Succubus Blues in the Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead. I really loved all of Ms. Mead's young adult Vampire Academy books, so wondered what to expect with this adult series. I can tell you I wasn't disappointed. Even though Georgina is an "agent of hell" she tries to live a good life and falls in love with a human, but quite often her past and the fact she's a succubus make things very complicated. The romance between Georgina and her man, Seth, is intriguing, plus the sexual tension is fantasic. They can't kiss, let alone make love, or she'll literally suck the life out of him... and we don't want that, now, do we? So I'll be off to the library shortly to track down Succubus Dreams, the third installment, to see where the next adventures of Georgina will lead. If you love urban fantasy or paranormal and want something a bit different, I highly recommend any of Ms. Mead's books. She's a very talented writer.

~~~

This year there are two interesting challenges happening. One is the Australian Women Writers Challenge. If you haven’t signed up you can do so here: australian-women-writers-book-challenge
Or you can check out the goodreads group where there are shelves of books by Australian Women: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/59176.Australian_Women_Writers_Challenge

Also this year Eleni is doing a Darksider challenge: http://elenis-library.blogspot.com/2011/12/darksider-reading-challenge.html

I have several Darksiders books on my TBR pile including Nicola E Sheridan, Jenny Schwartz, Mel Teshco and Denise Rossetti. What’s on your shelf?

Shona

Magic Thursday: Unexplainable Healing

2012-01-19T05:00:00.028+11:00

I’ve asked myself many times what attracts me as a reader and a writer to the paranormal genre? Indeed, what attracts many people to it? Is it the lure of the unknown? The air of mystery that can’t really be pinned down and defined?

Not only do I love reading paranormal stories, I’m happy listening to them too. As we all know, sit down and talk to just about anyone in the world and they’ll have a ‘weird’ story to tell.

Let me introduce you to Bill and Joyce, they’re wonderful neighbors of ours, originally from Devon, England before migrating to Perth, Australia in their early thirties. Soon after they then went for a holiday in New Zealand and stayed 17 years. After a stint in building, they bought a dairy farm on the west coast of the South island. They’re now living in QLD, Australia.

Bill and Joyce have shared some of their fascinating experiences with me—and no, I’m not talking about ghostly or alien encounters—I guess these are more of the unexplained ‘healing’ variety. Perfect for Magic Thursday =)

~ In Devon, England, Bill lived on a farm, which his dad managed. One of the cows came down badly with ringworm and was sick and listless, with much (all) of its fur missing. A man they paid to castrate the bulls, came to the farm and saw the cow. He told Bill’s dad he could get rid of its ringworm. Bill watched as the man entered the yard with a hazelnut branch, like a walking stick. The man’s lips moved really fast in a mumbling type speech, before he suddenly struck the cow with the stick.

Less than two weeks later the ringworm was gone and the cow was healthy and fat as mud.

Bill also ended up with a huge ringworm on his hand and two on his face. Taken out of school, he went to the doctor’s regularly for treatment, but nothing worked. The same man visited who cured the cow. He told (a frightened) Bill to stand against the concrete wall. He did the same mumbling speech, then whacked the stick across his (own) knee. He told a relieved young Bill to forget about the ringworms. Bill actually did forget about them. Three or four days later he realized they weren’t itching – they were completely gone.

~Bill and Joyce spoke of a time in New Zealand when Bill fell off the back of a tractor trailer when Joyce ‘took off’ too fast. Landing on the trailer’s tow ball, he suffered permanent damage to 5 vertebrae in his spine and literally spent 18 months in agony. None of the many chiropractors, physios etc were able to help him.

He happened upon a ‘color therapist’ who read body auras. Bill couldn’t drive and had Joyce take him to the therapist. He sat in the room, where the therapist then unhooked the receiver on the wall phone and told him to concentrate on the phone while his body strengthened his back. Bill went to see him twice in two days. The second day he was on his way home, a passenger once again in the car, when he felt pins and needles suddenly travel down his legs and out through his toes. That same afternoon he went and unloaded a trailer full of hay. (they built men tough back in the day)

Just out of interest, the govt finally sent them a cheque for the many expenses over the eighteen months. The cheque was labelled ‘loss of hearing.’

~Still in New Zealand, Bill hired a water diviner to find water on his farm. He mentioned to the diviner that he’d been having terrible trouble sleeping. The water diviner walked carefully around the house and told him there was a stream of water running under the bed. He said to Bill, “Turn your bed around.” Bill did as he said and slept soundly afterwards.

On a side note, the water diviner held colored ribbons in one hand, and using a secret technique, he could actually tell a farmer if the water beneath was pure or cancerous (brackish).

Thanks so much Bill and Joyce for sharing with the Darksider readers and authors, some of the ‘healing’ insights from your life.

I’ve got an e-copy to give away of Something Wicked This Way Comes to one commentator - and I'd love to hear of your ‘healing’ experience =)

Good News Day!

2012-01-17T06:30:00.000+11:00

Welcome to this week's good news....

REVIEWS

Shona Husk
How to Breath Fire was a feature book over on the ARRA site. Here's a snippet of the review:

"Shona Husk creates a simplistic journey in the traditions of fantasy genre mixed with a traditional love story. This short story is sweet and captures the heroine’s strength in her belief of love. I found this story engaging and easy to read whilst maintaining the status quo of romance. It is a nice story; one to read when not wanting to get overly involved with characters or plot development. Quick, happy and leaves the reader with a smile that love eventually triumphs—just as it should!"

Mel Teshco
Something Wicked This Way Comes was given a great review by USA Today. Here is a snippet about Mel's contribution, Dragon Heat.

"Tesho weaves an intriguing subplot of manipulation and betrayal into this short story, which I felt was extremely well-crafted. Grace and Benson must flee for their lives from a skilled, highly trained enemy who is bent on their capture for nefarious purposes. Readers can expect plenty of action sequences, a very seductive dragon shifter and hot love scenes."

NOMINATIONS

Our Darksiders have done fantastically well in the ARRA (Australian Romance Readers Association) Award nominations. I have a huge smile on my face for each and every one of you.

The winners will be announced at a dinner on 11th February. Good luck ladies!

Favourite paranormal romance for 2011 Goblin King / Shona Husk
Three Wishes / Jenny Schwartz

Favourite sci-fi, urban fantasy or futuristic romance for 2011
Blood Cursed / Erica Hayes

Favourite short category romance for 2011
Promoted to Wife? / Paula Roe

Favourite erotic romance for 2011
Guilty as Sin / Denise Rossetti
Love, Lust and Lies / Cathleen Ross
The Lone Warrior / Denise Rossetti

Favourite Australian romance author of 2011
Paula Roe

~~~

Congratulations!

Join us next week for some more good news.

Dark Side DownUnder

Magic Thursday Winner

Weekly Overview

Magic Thursday: Editing - Why I both love it and hate it.

A Bite Of...Illusion

All in a Day’s Work All Maya had to do was get through her last shift without losing control. Her leg jiggled restlessly on the loading dock as she scanned the brick façade of the alchemagical factory.

Good News Day!

Magic Thursday Winner

Weekly Overview

Magic Thursday: Flights of Fantasy (romance, that is!)

Good News Day!

Weekly Overview

Enchanted Orb: Imogene Nix

Magic Thursday: Mythical Creatures ~ Japanese Shape-shifting Animals

A Bite Of...Forbidden

Good News Day!

Magic Thursday Winner

Weekly Overview

Magic Thursday: Scorched Earth

Good News Day!

Weekly Overview

Darklight On...Jodie C!

Celebrating Australia Day

A Bite of...The Ice Princess

Good News Day!

Magic Thursday: Winner of Something Wicked This Way Comes

Weekly Overview

Enchanted Orb: Rowena Cory Daniells

What We Are Reading

Magic Thursday: Unexplainable Healing

Good News Day!

All in a Day’s Work

All Maya had to do was get through her last shift without losing control. Her leg jiggled restlessly on the loading dock as she scanned the brick façade of the alchemagical factory.