Shifters, shifters everywhere

I love shifter books. The raw, primal feeling these guys and gals have amid the pages really has me glued to the book, flipping the pages so fast it looks like I am a NASCAR race. My favorite shifter book has to be by Deborah Cooke. Her Dragonfire novels are one spellbinding story from start to finish. When I sit down with one of her books, I am blown away by the way she created this world and populated with shape-shifting dragons. Now who doesn’t like a good dragon story? I love them. In my Devon Falls book, Fiery Magic, I got the idea to make one of the characters a dragon and the heroine called him “pretty”. Now tell me, are dragons “Pretty”? To me they are wild, primal and pure fun as in the case of Smokey from Yasmine Galenorn’s Otherworld series. Each author makes the shifter, be it dragon, wolves, tigers or, heck, even ferrets, their own and they each incorporate something that will have the reader clamoring for more.

          In Fiery Magic, we met the Dracon twins; one is a dragon shifter, the other a wolf shifter; one family-many generations- who are shifters of some kind. I made my shifters a bit different, where each person in this large family, is something different. They didn’t get bit by the animal; case in point a werewolf, but were born as a shifter of some kind. It is the magic in their blood that defines what they become. Eventually we will meet a cousin of Rod and Damien Dracon- a woman who, in this large family of shifters, has no shifter powers what so ever. What do you do if you have no powers but what god/goddess gave you? That is the question I will ask her and her hero………eventually. 

          My next Devon Falls book introduces a new character in Michael Barnes, who is a rare white tiger shifter who is all alone with no pride. He roams from place to place and is friends with Damien Dracon, who tries to get him to Devon Falls to no avail in years before. He was an interesting character to write about. Here you have a lonely, quiet man who has no place to call “Home”. He longs for mate, hearth and kits of his own but knows that with no pride; he is limited in his choices…….or so he thinks. We meet the woman who will knock him flat on his back and show him that home is where the heart is in Moonlight & Magic.

          Shifters are a world where readers and authors can explore with pure enjoyment. I love reading them and hope to eventually expand on shifters as an author to include Kitsunes and others that fire the imagination. In the meantime, I am going to sit with my dragons and explore their world because Ms. Cooke and Ms.Galenorn are calling me from the bookcases. So what are your favorite shifters to enjoy?

Raine Delight is the author of Devon Falls series at Aspen Mountain Press and the next two books, Moonlight & Magic and Yuletide Magic, are coming respectively October and December 2010. More information on Raine’s books, check out her website and blog for more information, book news and more.

Ready to get started?  Okay–here’s how it works.

From July 23-August 1, Aspen Mountain Press is conducting its big fourth anniversary bash and if you want the presents, here’s what you have to do.

1. Post a comment to this blog post.

2. Post a comment to the twin blog post at the Aurora Regency blog.

3. Sign up for the AMP newsletter at https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:Join/signupId:1400893/acctId:1400720

4. Participate in the AMP Anniversary bash partyon Sunday August 1 at the AMP Community Loop from 7 to 11 pm EST at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AMP_Community/?yguid=323193151.  We’ll have a thread specifically for entries there where you’ll have to shout out.

And that’s all you have to do to win a Nook e-reader from Aspen Mountain Press.  Other prizes like downloads and gift baskets will be given away at specific chat events.

Tomorrow, at LR&M E-cafe, the Aurora authors are chatting from 10 am to 5 pm.  Your first chance to win is at the Aurora launch party–we’ll be giving away a “Good Night With a Historical Romance” basket with downloads, a hot chocolate set and a FIRST EDITION Georgette Heyer!  Gift basket is worth $100! So show up at the Love Romances and More E-Cafe for your chance to win.

Next week, you can chat with AMP authors including Cynnarra Trenarth, Maura Anderson, Lena Austin, Lizzie T. Leaf, Celina Summers, Marguerite Butler, Kimberly Nee, Arabella Sheraton, Colleen Stormer, Dominique Eastwick, V. Mark Covington, Raine Delight, Kara Griffin, Viki Lyn, Cynthia Vespia, Jade Buchanan, Barbara Custer, Sloane Taylor and Chris Morrow.  We’re giving away downloads from most and many other prizes as well. You can find them at chats–TRS Blue on July 27  from 12 to 8, Romance Excerpts Only all day on July 28 and Love Romances and More on July 30 from 8 to 5.

So the first step is to post a comment to the blog posts. Then sign up for the newsletter. Then the Aurora Regency/ Aurora Regency Historicals authors tomorrow at the Love Romances and More E-cafe! And good luck!

Well, it’s time to start getting ready for our fantastic fourth anniversary–especially for all of you, our readers.  The great thing about our birthday is that you get all the presents. In order to be eligible for our big prizes, the gift baskets or the Nook e-reader, you’ll need to keep track of the contest here on our blog, on our Facebook fan page or group page and our newsletter.  You can join the newsletter at  https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:Join/signupId:1400893/acctId:1400720

 The celebration kicks off on July 23, with the sneak peek into AMP’s new imprint, Aurora Regency.  Aside from the three books we’re releasing that day, we’ll be hosting a chat event that evening at the AMP Community Yahoo loop–http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AMP_Community/  with our authors and editors.  You’ll have a chance to meet the authors, read some excerpts and win some prizes.

July 24th we’ll be focusing on our Del Fantasma line. On the 25th, we’ll be spending time with our horror, mystery and thriller writers.  On the 26th, we’ll spend the entire day with our m/m books.  The 27th will be devoted to the Cougar Club line and authors, while on the 28th we’ll take a look at our paranormal and sci fi stories.  The 29th will be centered around our erotica genres.  The 30th will be devoted to Vamps, shapeshifters and fantasy while the 31st will showcase our new authors, the up and coming writers of Aspen Mountain Press.

Stay tuned to the blog–we’ll be announcing different locations and sites for each day’s events.  Take the opportunity now to join the AMP Community loop or friend us on Facebook, so you’ll know where to be every day to meet your favorite AMP authors and have a chance to win some of our fabulous prize packages!

Finally, on the first of August, we’ll have our final big birthday bash.  That evening on the AMP Community loop, you can chat with AMP authors, win lots of wonderful prizes, find out what’s in the future for Aspen Mountain Press and just have a lot of fun.  We’ll be announcing our grand prize winners that evening as well.

We really hope you all enjoy the special events we’re planning as you help us celebrate four years of Aspen Mountain Press!

You know you love it, the extra crispy fried chicken not unlike what you might get at KFC (what do they do to that chicken that it makes your mouth water?) or if you are in Denver, The White Fence Farm…

Here is a recipe for a fried chicken  that will have you salivating.  Poke around the site.  There are tons of recipes for all sorts of tastes.

Dawn Montgomery

It’s day three on my Ten Days of Christmas and LENA AUSTIN is working magic in the kitchen with devilish desserts for your holiday table. We have a wonderful representation from Australia, England, and across the USA.  Please join us for a world of different recipes at http://www.sloanetaylor.com/blog.

December is a great month. TEDDI TURNS ON is an EPPIE finalist and Red Roses for Authors, a wonderful review site in England, chose another of my books to receive their annual Christmas Award. And it’s my birthday month.

To celebrate all this amazing success, each day I’m giving away a free download to one person in a simple contest. The winner gets to select the book of their choice from my releases. All you need to do is email me sloanetaylor @ comcast.net, no spaces, on the day you wish to enter the contest. Type BOOKS in the subject line and the title you’d like in the body of your email. Told you it was easy! You can enter daily. I’ll draw a winner each day and announce them on my blog.

The winner for December 16 is DIANA who chose FRENCH TART. Her book has been sent.

Below is the calendar for our Holiday Celebration.

Also, if you like bookmarks and postcards send your snail mail address to me, sloanetaylor @ comcast.net, no spaces, with FREEBIE in the subject line. I’ll be happy to send you a packet no matter where in the world you live.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Sloane Taylor
Sweet as Honey…Hotter than Hell
TEDDI TURNS ON 2009 EPPIE Finalist - Erotica www.aspenmountainpress.com
FRENCH KISS www.eternalpress.ca
www.sloanetaylor.com   www.myspace.com/sloanetaylor

(Posted on Melissa’s behalf - Maura)

This month the newest installment in my Dog Wild series, Forget Me Knot, was released. Naturally, I am thrilled. So picture how confused I was, when I received an email from a reader asking all sorts of questions, the first of which was “why dogs?”

Now, I do know that a lot of people are either dog or cat people, but I have both, and the inspiration for the series came from a combination of old stories my Italian grandmother told me and from my own goofy canines.

Not long after bringing home BooRegard, the world’s most cowardly bully of a Basset, I started jotting notes on things he did that made me laugh so hard it hurt. Trust me, the list is long and I have plenty of material to work with yet. He was the original “peek-a-boo” puppy, hiding under the sofa and howling in terror at each new visitor.

At that time I was really into exercising to get rid of the weight I put on after quitting smoking, so Boo, Maximus (the Chihuahua inspiration for Mars) and I would go for our daily walk. I guess it was just a sign as to how well acclimated I had become to their odd walking patterns that I never thought twice about the complex dance steps of jog-jog-stop-hula hoop-spin-change hands-walk-repeat. It took having a friend who also wanted to lose weight join me on my daily four mile walk.

He didn’t stand a chance against the Boo. With a gay trumpet, the hound was on his way jogging (as per our normal jaunt) then slid to a sudden stop as “Jim” slid on gravel and tripped pell-mell for the next ten feet. Jim changed hands, Boo saw it as the signal for spin around time and started racing in circles. In all, the walk took almost two hours and I know I got more exercise from laughing than walking because my stomach ached and my legs were fine, but Jim gave me the best line - “Walking that dog is like having a seizure on roller skates.”

Thus, Dog Wild was born.

Dogs share a lot with their wild cousins the wolf; loyalty, dominance, affection, love, and the willingness to die for one another, to protect the “family”. Not long after the auto accident which left me with permanent central brain damage, I was talking with someone about an unwanted puppy. He had to be the ugliest baby I’d ever seen. Fully half the size of his female sibs, this naked little pup had funny scar-like marks on his left side but his skinny, wrinkly body scooted about with great joy, almond-shaped eyes sparkling. He was a completely naked Chinese Crested that no one wanted. Before leaving on the second visit, I overheard a comment on how the pup might have to be drowned and that was that, he came home and was dubbed Fidget. (Named for the peg-legged bat with the broken wing from the Great Mouse Detective.)

My menagerie was complete. At the time I had three cats, three dogs and three horses – life couldn’t get better. But families grow and shrink, in this case we’re now up to countless cats (with two barns, I dare you to count and get the same number twice) six horses and sadly, back to two dogs. My little Fidget seemed to feel a little under the weather yesterday afternoon, by the time we returned from the barn he was cold to touch and suffering full-blown seizures. I tried everything I could think of from my own seizure management sheets – a warm shower to ease the muscles, something between the teeth to keep him from choking – but it didn’t matter, by 8:30 last night he passed away.

Despite all the tears I’ve shed (and am shedding now typing this) I have to agree with my husband: through me Fidget got a second chance at life and it was great. He was happy and loved.

How does this particular personal incident bear on the Dog Wild series? There is a running theme in every story – second chances. Lupercus has a second chance at discovering a mate in the original tale and in book two four people get second chances. Whether on accident or purpose, I’ve built them into nearly each story I’ve worked on since my “second birthday” AKA the auto accident.

This sequel is for all of the folks who wanted a story for Lupercus sad-eyed brother, Frank Horne. While the main love story is wolf in nature, featuring the growly, taciturn clan-alpha Madden “Red” Silvestri and his mysterious helpmate there is another love story, just as powerful, for Frank and the prickly Flora Daniels. (Side note, if you read Forget Me Knot: Dog Wild 2 and look up the definition of helpmate on Wikipedia, you’ll get a well earned chuckle. Some days the synapses work better than others.)

As for the next story…I am trying very hard to bring out book three and four at the same time (or close to it), just as was done with books 1&2. The third is called Trickster’s Folly and has a May-December romance and book four is Fang Tower which, if things go as hoped, will slide off into a side series with vampires and fearsome things that go bump in the night. After that is (tentatively titled) book five, Blind Justice, for Quint Campanella.

But it all depends on what you, the readers want, and of course, the dogs.

Check out the video for “Virgin Special”

Ever fallen for a Virgin?

Fall for one now at Aspen Mountain Press.

I remember laughing whenever I heard an author complain that they had been asked “Where do you get your ideas?” I was still laughing…until it happened to me. The truth is there is no simple answer to this. Writers get their ideas from anywhere and everywhere. Sometimes something so simple as a phrase or a title can do it. Perhaps that’s why the Del Fantasma series available at Aspen Mountain Press has proved so inspiring. Set around a bar run by a vampire called Cody Warren, the inspiration for each story comes from the title of a drink. The authors currently working with AMP have produced some fabulous stories using just a couple of words as a springboard for their muses. These stories are part of a series but can be equally read individually, although they should perhaps all come with a warning on the cover as they are highly addictive. Read one and I almost guarantee you will want to read another!

“Virgin Special” released last week and is my latest offering for the series. It’s also my first m/m/f novel for AMP as well as my first vampire paranormal. So where does one come up with the idea for a very special kind of virgin?

While holidaying in the Caribbean many years ago, I came across a little cocktail book that I still possess to this day. Wanting to write another book for the ‘Del’ line, I flicked through the pages seeking inspiration, and it definitely found me. Then, as many authors do, I started playing the old ‘what if’ game. What IF my main character was not only heartbroken but a virgin? What IF Cody set him up with two vampires equally heartbroken? In that moment Virgin Special came into being.

I’m afraid that aside from reading my novel, the only Virgin Special I can invite you to try is the cocktail. Here’s the recipe. I have to admit I’ve not tried it and I’m trying to imagine how it tastes, but the book describes it as: “A very pleasant and refreshing summer drink.” If it’s like most things I drank in the Caribbean it’ll taste deceptively fruity or watery, and then it will suddenly knock your socks off!

Virgin Special Cocktail
Take a glassful of fresh raspberries, bruise them a little and pour upon them:
2 glasses of Old Brigand Rum
2 glasses of Brandy
1 glass Redcurrant juice and half glass sweetened lime juice.
Let steep for half an hour, then add 1 glass sherry and some ice.
Shake and serve in 6 cocktail glasses.
Decorate with a cherry.

Ever Fallen for a Virgin?

Fall for one now at Aspen Mountain Press.

Sharon Maria Bidwell
aonia - where the muses live
http://www.sharonbidwell.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/aonia

I’m a well traveled author who couldn’t live without a tote on my shoulder. We have such a bag, sporting the beautiful “TEDDI TURNS ON” cover, for you to win in an easy contest. Second and Third Prize winners get a great Goodie Bag.

This contest runs September 7 until October 6. Winners will be announced October 7!

To play, go to www.phoenixrisingpromotions.com or www.sloanetaylor.com. Under the contest section find Questions to the Trivia, but to make it even easier here they are:

1. What does Sloane Taylor’s disclaimer read?

2. What is the heroine’s name in TEDDI TURNS ON?

3. Who are Sloane Taylor’s publishers?

4. What is the featured recipe for August 2008?

5. What is Sloane Taylor’s first Travel tip?

Go to www.sloanetaylor.com for all the answers.

Email your answers to phoenix@phoenixrisingpromotions.com, with TEDDI in the subject line, where you will be entered into a drawing for the fabulous tote.

Happy searching!

Sloane Taylor
Sweet as Honey…Hotter than Hell
TEDDI TURNS ON www.aspenmountainpress.com
FRENCH TWIST www.eternalpress.ca
www.sloanetaylor.com www.myspace.com/sloanetaylor