Check out the Fantasm Award Blog!! Despite some fierce competition, the first book in Aspen’s Del Fantasma series has won the award for Best Shapeshifter (Non-Wolf) Romance!

Title: Del Fantasma: Texas Tea Author: Maura Anderson Artist: Nikita Gordyn ISBN: 978-1-60168-052-5 Genre: Paranormal Publisher: Aspen Mountain Press Publication Date: 8/17/2007 Sexual Content: Erotic

Photographer Lara Saunders has a lifelong secret — she can see and hear ghosts. When she was rescued from a near drowning by the ghost of a lighthouse keeper, he set her on a mission to document historic lighthouses and the lives of their keepers so they were not forgotten. Now on her third book in the series, Lara has arrived in San Diego to document the Old Point Loma Lighthouse but hasn’t counted on becoming the target of Cody Warren, the matchmaking owner of the Del Fantasma bar. Or falling in love with a handsome Park Ranger whose secret is even more strange than her own.

Click here to read an excerpt.

Hey there guys!

Sorry I’ve been out of circulation for a while, but I’m up to my ears in writing projects and recovering from a small medical procedure.  Nothing to worry about: I’m fine.  Just busy and disinclined to get off the couch.

As proof of how out of it I am, I discovered something today completely by accident.  The Reckoning of Asphodel was named the Winter 2008 staff pick in Fantasy from Love Romances & More!  How silly am I?  I should have been shouting out about this a couple of weeks ago.  You can check it — and the other Staff Picks– out here.  

Secondly, I selected a winner on my blog contest on February 14th.  Although I mentioned it on my blog, I quite stupidly forgot to tell you guys about it here.  So….CAITLIN HOY congratulations!  You won a copy of The Reckoning of Asphodel as well as first dibs on a free copy of Gift of Redemption when it is released in June!  Email me at kaantira@hotmail.com so I can mail you your copy and I really hope you enjoy it.

 Have a great day, and I hope you are all experiencing better weather than the standard Ohio roller coaster of late winter.  Seventy degrees yesterday, three inches of snow last night, and ice today…no wonder everyone’s sick.  Take care!

Celina

The Fantasm Awards voting is now open!

Click on the button and go vote! Del Fantasma: Texas Tea, the first book in Aspen’s Del Fantasma series is up for Best Shape-Shifter (Non-Wolf) Romance. You’ll also see some of Aspen’s authors up for awards for books at (sob) other presses. A lot of great stories and authors on the list.

Go Vote!!

I just wanted to stop by and let you know a few wonderful things that have happened to me lately.  First, I was nominated by the lovely folks at Love Romances and More as Best New Author of 2007 and my book, The Reckoning of Asphodel was nominated for Best Sci Fi/Fantasy Novel of 2007.  Thanks, everyone, for the honor and to everyone who voted.  Then, Asphodel was nominated for Best Sci Fi/Fantasy Novel of 2007 by Preditors & Editors for their annual Readers Poll.  I’m very proud to announce that Asphodel placed tenth–and I now have a shiny new .gif image to add to my various sites.  Asphodel has been getting great reviews (again, thank you LR&M for the fabulous five hearts review!) which is fabulous because the second book in the series, The Gift of Redemption is due out this spring from Aspen Mountain Press.

So, because of all these wonderful things, I’m running a BLOG CONTEST!  Yep,  you too can win a copy of The Reckoning of Asphodel!  All you have to do is visit my blog and post a comment and you’re entered.  Contest ends on Valentine’s Day (cuz I luvs you guyz) and the winner gets not only a copy of my book, but a brand spanking new not shared with anybody LOLCat AND a reserved copy of Book Two.  You’ll get your copy the day that Redemption is released!

On top of that, if you bring a friend and have them mention your name in their post, I’ll enter you again.  Just think how many entries you could have if all of your friends stop by! Go to Elf-Killing and Other Hobbies (follow the linkie) and enter.

So this is my universal ‘thank you’ for everyone who has helped Asphodel become successful.  Have a great day!

Celina

I love writing.  I spend over ten hours a day at my desk.  And I am so happy that Aspen Mountain Press saw fit to publish my debut novel The Reckoning of Asphodel.  For now, just before the sequel The Gift of Redemption comes out in the spring, Asphodel is starting to get some great reviews and even an award.

Let’s start off with this: The Reckoning of Asphodel is epic high fantasy.  It has a strong female protagonist and enough romance and chivalry to satisfy the romance reader.  There’s also enough blood, guts, war, magic, and prophecy to make the fan of traditional fantasy happy.  Personally, I love epic fantasies.  Tolkien is my hero, just as Hope Mirrlees was.

More on that in a bit.

First review was from Love Romances & More.  Asphodel received five out of five stars and this is part of what the reviewer said: “…THE RECKONING OF ASPHODEL is a wonderfully complex story that lures the reader in and delivers a fast pace ride that leaves you breathless. All this reviewer could do was hanging on for the ride! New author Celina Summers delivers a stunning novel that captures the readers’ attention on the first page and never lets up until the last page is turned…”

Melissa at Dogwild *some of you know her ;)* said in her very lovely review “…The Reckoning of Asphodel is high elven fantasy at its best and I can’t wait for the rest of the story to unfold. This story needs to be in print so I can drag it around with me for reading without banging my laptop up…”

Then came this weekend.  I received a third review from Novelspot.com which read in part: “The Reckoning of Asphodel, by Celina Summers, is traditional high fantasy, with chivalric knights and wood-wise elves, beautiful princesses and wise female seers, good and evil sorcerers and magicians. It’s written in the language typical of the genre. It is, however, much better written, with more complex characters and situations, than many similar books. This is a serious fantasy novel, not the verbal equivalent of a computer game…”

That’s not what got me.  This was: “…The style reminds me a bit of Hope Mirrlees’ Lud-in-the-Mist…”

Oh my goodness.  Dang.  That blew me away.  Well, that and this:  

Don’t really know what to make of that one.  Those of you who voted for Asphodel, thank you.  If you enjoyed that first book, I sincerely hope you catch the second.  The Gift of Redemption, Book Two in the Asphodel series, should be out in 2008.  I’ll give you more details as soon as I can.  Thanks for suffering through my bragfest too.

In the end, you have to give it up for the authors and editorial staff at AMP.  There’s something for everyone here, and you can’t go wrong with the books that AMP offers.  If you want to learn more about me or the Asphodel series, check out my blog or my website.  Follow the linkies and you can find a wealth of information.

Once again, thanks!

Two books from AMP won Honorable Mentions in the Love Romances Cafe Best of 2007 Poll.

Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyan.

Babes in Toyland II by Maura Anderson, Jeanne Barrack, Raine Delight, Melissa Glisan, Wayne Greenough, Michelle Hasker, Dawn Montgomery and Skylar Sinclair.

Congratulations to our wonderful authors!

One of Aspen’s authors is a finalist for the 2008 Fantasm Awards! The list of finalists can be found here and the voting will open at the beginning of February.

Best Shapeshifting (Non-Wolf) Romance
Del Fantasma: Texas Tea by Maura Anderson

Please check out all the other great authors up for this award and don’t forget to come back and vote!

Aspen Mountain Press has received nominations for several of LR Cafe’s Best of 2007 awards!

Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Book
The Reckoning of Asphodel by Celina Summers

Best Erotica Book
Undertow by J.M. Snyder

Best Alternative Lifestyle Book
Working Man: Making Copies by J.M. Snyder

Best Historical Book
Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyon

Best Anthology
Babes in Toyland II by Maura Anderson, Jeanne Barrack, Raine Delight, Melissa Glisan, Wayne Greenough, Michelle Hasker, Dawn Montgomery and Skylar Sinclair

Best New Author
Celina Summers
Josh Lanyon

Best Cover Artist
- Jinger Heaston

In addition, Aspen Mountain Press itself has been nominated for Best Publisher!

Polls for these awards open on January 1st and close on January 20th. So stop by and vote for any of your favorites, not just our own offerings. Now is a chance to let others know what you enjoy!

You need to be a member of the LR Cafe Yahoo Group to vote but you can join easily join it.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LoveRomancesCafe.

Congratulations to everyone nominated!