"GOOD TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS" CHRISTMAS INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR, REGAN WALSH

Thank you again for donating a book for our 1st annual "Good Tidings & Trimmings" e-book Giveaway! What book or books did you donate? Tell us more about them.

It is my pleasure and I am thrilled to be here. I am donating a copy of my novel, Whisper Cape.

After a weird and somewhat frightening encounter with a mysterious stranger, a young woman develops supernatural powers, apparently inherited from her father, but kept secret from her.

Fighting to shake off a devastating and recurring early morning nightmare, Addison finds it even harder to escape from the vision of a man lying on the side of the road—a man she may have just killed. When she frantically tries to locate him, he seemingly disappears, just the beginning of strange occurrences in her life. She also cannot ignore the weird sensations in her own body. Suddenly, the impossible seems possible, but is that a blessing or a curse?

Believing that her continual and worsening nightmares are both the key to her own new abilities and the clue to her father’s death, Addie knows she can’t rest until she has the answers she craves. As she strives to cope with her new remarkable talents, someone else learns of her abilities—a disgruntled maniacal psychopath with his own agenda that involves eliminating Addie. The only one who can protect her, instruct her in the use of her powers and teach her how to destroy the murderous monster is the same man who makes Addie’s heart race and her blood heat with passion. The same man she’d left for dead.

Cael Sheridan may be arrogant and mysterious but he's also undeniably gorgeous. A member of a secret society, he is sworn to protect the woman he believes to be the daughter of his recently murdered mentor. In the process, he finds it impossible to resist her magnetic sensuality, complicating his efforts to shield and guide her as she learns to manage her newly acquired skills. At the same time, Addison has much to teach him about trust and commitment. Fate has brought them together, but will it make them stronger or destroy them both in end?

What is your favorite thing about the holiday season and what does Christmas mean to you?

I would have to say getting together with my kids, this year particularly. My son, currently stationed in Guam with the US Air Force, will be home for the holidays and I can’t wait to see him, it’s been two years. I have another son, a firefighter in the Army, stationed in Germany. He is a new dad and won’t be able to make it home, but the fact that we have another grand angel, number seven, really makes the holidays special. I guess, secretly, I love buying toys. 

For me, Christmas is a special time for families to get together and of course, the whole reason for the season, celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

What is your favorite holiday memory?

The first thing that pops into my mind is the Christmas I got my twenty-four inch three-speed bike. I was eight-years old. I remember peeking down the stairs while waiting for the rest of the family to get up and I saw that bike, shiny and big, standing next to the tree with a big bow on the handlebars. I was so excited and waiting for my brother and dad to get ready to go down stairs was excruciatingly painful.

Do you still have any of the toys you got when you were a kid?

I do have one. My Barbie doll, an original. I believe I also got her when I was eight, maybe seven. Those years sort of blend together. I remember having her on vacation and taking her swimming with me. Well, she arrived wearing a bathing suit, you know, the original one with the black and white stripes?

How do you celebrate the holidays?

Usually with some gift exchanging and a special dinner. Sometimes we have several different celebrations depending on who is around and when. Between my husband and me, we have five kids and not all of them are available at once. There have been several with all five together, those are the most special ones.

Do you still believe in Santa Claus?

Of course. Don’t you?

A lot of people get that warm, fuzzy feeling around this time of year, are you one of those people?

Yes, particularly when I’m have a warm eggnog (with a little rum or brandy)or a hot buttered rum and decorating the Christmas tree.

Have you ever gone caroling or wanted to?

Haha. Funny you should ask. Yes. Believe it or not, I was my daughter’s Brownie (Girl Scout) leader when she was in second grade. We took the girls down Christmas Tree Lane where all the houses on the street went above and beyond the normal decorations. Of course, I can’t sing in tune, but I don’t think anybody cared.

If you had a choice of the perfect weather for Christmas would it be cold and snowy, or warm and sunny?

Cold and snowy. I’m originally from a small town in Pennsylvania and I loved the snow. I never had to shovel it, maybe that’s why.  But at least now I’m only an hour away (sometimes closer) from the snow when I get the itch to play around in it without the hassle of shoveling it or driving in it.

Give us your links! Tell us where to find your books and more information about you!

My novel, Whisper Cape, can be found at amazon.com in print and Kindle formats and at Barnes and Noble, Allromanceebooks.com, Omnilit.com, smashwords and of course, athttp://reganwalsh.com

I have a website and a blog.http://reganwalsh.comandhttp://regan-walsh.blogspot.com

You can also find me on twitter: @reganwalsh1 and Facebook
I am currently working on the sequel to Whisper Cape, A Whisper at Death, (working title) and a young adult novel, Allusive Aftershock, a journey of love, devotion, betrayal, tragedy, and disaster, which will be penned under my real name, Susan Griscom, so my adult novels won’t be mistakenly purchased by my young adult fans.

Thank you, Kitty and Emily, for this awesome contest and interview. This holiday season is going to be a blast!!


Read more:http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=interviews&thread=939#ixzz1h6NBgspK 

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR, TORREY MALDONADO ("SECRET SATURDAYS")

Hello Torrey, thank you so much for the opportunity to interview you. I see by your bio that you are an educator. Can you tell us what it's like educating today's youth and what inspires you most in your every day work?

Anderson Cooper’s recent CNN special about what is at the heart of bullying mirrors what reviewers of Secret Saturdays feel is at the heart of my book. One reviewer, Darcy Wishard (also known as the Library Lounge Lizard), gave my novel the following 5 out of 5 stars book-review that I share because the emboldened parts show what inspires my decade-plus teaching career. Darcy writes:

• “As a teacher-librarian in a middle school, I see students come in as sixth graders and watch them make critical and sometimes life altering choices as they progress through [the grades].

• The situation of boys insecure about communicating their feelings with other boys without seeming "gay" is practically epidemic.

• One of Justin's biggest struggles in this story is getting the nerve to just talk to his best friend Sean about what is going on...but the act of simply being sensitive and empathetic to his friends needs has him so overwhelmingly self-conscious about coming across as gay and "un-manly" that he feels helpless and angry.”

It’s inspiring when I see boys I help evolve into better men and the girls I teach becoming more empowered—it all means the eventual end of everyone drinking “Haterade” and bullying.

Tell us more about the book we are giving away called "Secret Saturdays".

Secret Saturdays is a tale of friendship, “friend-emies”, and being the real you. Sean is Justin's best friend or at least Justin thought he was. They used to share everything but lately Sean is hanging with a tougher crowd, bullying, and messing up in school. Justin doesn’t know what’s happening with him. When he finally discovers Sean’s secret, he wants to help before Justin spins completely out of control. But what if confronting Sean means losing his very best friend? The muddy waters that appear in the friendships that you, me, and everyone has shows up in the book.

What plans for the future do you have with your writing and what can we expect from you?

As an author-teacher, I had hoped my writing could do on a larger scale what I do in my classroom. I try to hook kids to book so I wrote Secret Saturdays to give Young Adults and pre-teens a great read. Is it a must-read? My book made the American Library Association Quick Pick List and Kansas and Pennsylvania have chosen Secret Saturdays for their Middle and High School Reading Circles. I lead school-wide assemblies about bullying where I teach and hoped my book could be a tool outside my school to increase peace. On August 2nd, law enforcement agencies made Secret Saturdays the official book for the National Night Out Against Violence. I'm finishing my second novel (something Secret Saturdays fans will love which also helps families, teens, and pre-teens) and, between chapters, very bright days are on my horizon. They include my:

• visits to schools and colleges and organizations where my novel has been built into curricula and programs;

• Secret Saturdays’ paperback hits shelves this April; and

• being on the amazing author line-up at the upcoming Hudson Children’s Book Festival.

Tell us a little about your own childhood and how it affects your novel.

My characters are inspired by my life and the lives of young people I worked with over a decade. I had to be careful not to write my life-story because my family likes to keep “family business” private. Who wants to get disowned? I was a pop culture fan growing up yet it encouraged me to wear masks or show the worst sides of me—just as I’ve seen the media derail my students from being their true selves. So, I aimed to show all sides of Sean, when we know males hide so much. Did I show what he absorbs from his world while showing his sides that many youth hide? The reviews from book experts, parents, youth, and schools say I hit those and more goals so it’s rewarding that that my life and the lives of my students inspired art that resonates with readers.

Do you have any ideas or advice that you'd like to share with other aspiring authors?

There are two questions I use to see if my content is fresh. I ask myself, “Did I write lines people didn't want to skip? Did I write what people feel?” As an author, I also borrow tactics from cooks. Cooks let people sample. As I wrote Secret Saturdays, I read chapters to high school and middle school students. Then I double-checked with Literacy (English/ Language Arts) teachers if I got everything right. When young people said, “This book is hot!” I knew the story was fresh. When a veteran teacher who is now a college professor assigned my book as required reading next to the classic The Outsiders in her class where seasoned and new teachers are her students, I did a football touchdown dance in my living-room. When Booklist said my book is “infectiously readable”, I went to the mirror and high-fived myself. So “sampling” works and I also encourage authors to ask themselves the two above questions I use.

When did you first realize you were destined to write?

My mom knew I was a writer before I did. Parents usually know things about their kids, right? I remember when she confronted one of my English teachers when I was accused as a seventh grader of plagiarism and Ma said, “My son will write books someday.” Did I believe her? Not yet; my eureka moment eventually happened the way that eureka moment happened to that detective in the movie The Usual Suspects who realizes the identity of Keyzer Sose. Somewhere in high school, I flipped through one of my mom’s photo albums and almost every other picture showed me holding a pen or pencil—toddler Torrey trying to write one really big T on someone’s crossword puzzle or athletic adolescent Torrey on the sidelines, sweating while writing something down. Writing has always pulled me into a “zone”, making me forget time, place, and hunger.

Who are some of your inspirations new and past?

It may sound corny, but Oprah Winfrey and President Obama inspire me. They both share my mission that my writing flows from: help people evolve. I sometimes imagine this scene:

Oprah introduces my book by saying, “My mission is to help people evolve. Today we have an author who shares my aim. He has spent the last thirteen years working with young people and he’s so passionate about it that he authored what reviewers call an ‘unforgettable story’ of friendship that shows life is about choices.” In the middle of Oprah interviewing me, she’d say, “As you know one of my friends is President Obama. Well, we discussed how we need more youth to pick up their pants and fully grab The American Dream. Your life shows that if we want better men, we must get more boys reading—period—and your book is a tool I feel the White House could use to help create better men.” As Oprah says that, the crowd claps, and Oprah stares over my shoulder, so I do too, and on strolls—oh my freaking goodness—President Obama! I lose it and that all happens on Oprah’s show about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Did I mention that Oprah and President Obama inspire me?

What was your favorite thing about writing this book?

I have few favorites about writing this book:

• First, keeping it curse-free and sex-free yet getting reader-feedback that it still feels real.

o Why? As a teacher, I didn’t want to have my potty mouth cleaned out with Orbit. Also, as a parent of a toddler, I want other parents to have a safe read for their pre-teens and teens.

• Another favorite?

o The annual New York Citywide Librarian Conference recognized my efforts to align Secret Saturdays with national Common Core State Standards and invited me for my second consecutive year to address librarians helping youth master the CCSS. (Visit and print from my site the free lesson plans, quizzes, discussion guide, and more that I wrote to help you squeeze the most juice out of the book.)

• A BIG favorite is what happened on a school trip:

o Two reluctant readers approached me. One boy said, “Mr. T, I know some of your book by heart.” Not believing him, I said, “Let me hear it.” He looked up and said the part perfectly. The other student got competitive and told that boy, “That’s nothing. Mr. T, listen to this.” Then he recited another part. It rocks my world when students that adults think don’t enjoy reading connect so much with Secret Saturdays that they memorize it.


Read more:http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=interviews&thread=938#ixzz1h6BrZWx1 

"GOOD TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS" CHRISTMAS INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR, RICHARD GOODWIN

Thank you again for donating a book for our 1st annual "Good Tidings & Trimmings" e-book Giveaway! What book or books did you donate, tell us more about them.

I’m donating my first novel, Scattershot, which was released by Seedpod Publishing this year. It’s a quirky love story involving a young drifter with hair issues and a retired middle school teacher who is somewhat demented.

What is your favorite thing about the holiday season and what does Christmas mean to you?

My favorite thing about the holiday season is the sinister mechanical Santas you see outside stores and in restaurants, nodding and waving and ho-ho-ho-ing incessantly.

Christmas doesn’t mean much to me anymore. It’s a day of long shadows, of laundry tumbling in the dryer, of dirty dishes in the sink, of dogs barking up the street.

What is your favorite holiday memory?

My father playing the Hollyridge Strings on his cassette deck when I was a kid.

Do you still have any of the toys you got when you were a kid?

No.

How do you celebrate the holidays?

I like to travel during the holidays. I particularly enjoy going to a place I’ve never been and where no one knows me.

Do you still believe in Santa Claus?

Sometimes.

A lot of people get that warm, fuzzy feeling around this time of year, are you one of those people?

No, I’m not. I get a bleak, jittery feeling this time of year.

Have you ever gone caroling or wanted to?

I almost went caroling once, but I passed out and everyone went without me.

If you had a choice of the perfect weather for Christmas would it be cold and snowy, or warm and sunny?

I like extreme weather for Christmas—freezing rain, whipping wind, snow that falls for thirty-six hours straight, burying everything.

Give us your links! Tell us where to find your books and more information about you!

http://seedpodpublishing.com/scattershot
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00551P....ASIN=B00551PFK4
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/scatters....rkid=1031459678
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/scattershot/id442950784?mt=11

Read more:http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=interviews&thread=937#ixzz1h1YFnzw5 

"GOOD TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS" CHRISTMAS INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR, RACHEL WADE

Thank you again for donating a book for our 1st annual "Good Tidings & Trimmings" e-book Giveaway! What book or books did you donate, tell us more about them.

I donated the book Amaranth, which is book one of The Resistance Trilogy. It’s the beginning of an epic adult paranormal fantasy romance series. It can be found atwww.RachaelWade.com,Amazon, Smashwords, Goodreads, and Barnes and Noble.

What is your favorite thing about the holiday season and what does Christmas mean to you?

It’s a time for me to reflect on my Christian faith and the need for peace in the world. I love just slowing down to relax and reflecting on the past year with family and friends.

What is your favorite holiday memory?

Sitting around the tree when I was a kid on Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my dad, playing board games.

Do you still have any of the toys you got when you were a kid?

I do! My favorites, the ones I’ll never get rid of—Beetlejuice and Ghostbuster toys. I was a tomboy and a Tim Burton fan even then.

How do you celebrate the holidays?

I usually cook roast beef, bake a lot of dessert, and lounge around the house with my hubby watching Christmas movies. We always have to watch Christmas Vacation and Home Alone.

Do you still believe in Santa Claus?

Anything’s possible...

A lot of people get that warm, fuzzy feeling around this time of year, are you one of those people?

Yeah, I’m definitely sentimental around Christmas. I do have a little Scrooge in me, though. I really don’t like the consumerism that dominates the season, but I just stay away from all of the craziness as best as I can and focus on what’s important.

Have you ever gone caroling or wanted to?

I love to sing but have never wanted to wander to a stranger’s door to sing to them. I love listening to carolers, though. I think it’s beautiful.

If you had a choice of the perfect weather for Christmas would it be cold and snowy, or warm and sunny?

Cold and snowy! I live in Florida so I never get that. The sunshine is nice, but it doesn’t feel like Christmas time.

Give us your links! Tell us where to find your books and more information about you!

I love talking to readers and writers and am very active on Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also find more information about my work on my official website,www.RachaelWade.com.All of my work can be found at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

Read more:http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=interviews&thread=936&page=1#ixzz1h1TtrT3G 

"GOOD TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS" CHRISTMAS INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR, NATE GUBIN

Thank you again for donating a book for our 1st annual "Good Tidings & Trimmings" e-book Giveaway! What book or books did you donate, tell us more about them.

I donated my debut novel Halloween is for Lovers. It’s about a lovelorn ghost who has one Halloween night to find the girl he abandoned at the altar and get her to love him again.

What is your favorite thing about the holiday season and what does Christmas mean to you?

I love how cozy and small our Boston neighborhood feels over the holidays. You can wander the old streets at night when the only light is coming from beautiful christmas trees in the windows of the brownstones.

What is your favorite holiday memory?

I was working as a snowmaker in Steamboat Colorado. Christmas is the busiest time at a ski resort and we had to pull a double shift on Christmas Eve making snow into the wee hours of the morning. I remember being high up in the mountains at night, looking down on the little ski village below and hearing people singing Christmas songs as a gentle snow fell.

Do you still have any of the toys you got when you were a kid?

My mom gave me a set of Craftsman socket wrenches for Christmas when I was sixteen. (I think 16 counts as still being a kid?) Tools are toys for men.

How do you celebrate the holidays?

My wife and I go to and throw a couple parties, then we head to the Florida keys. I fish and my wife does yoga, then we experiment with margarita formulas. Mix, taste, adjust ingredients, mix, taste, repeat...

Do you still believe in Santa Claus?

I used to reject the existence of Santa but now I think that some things are impossible for us to comprehend. It’s like trying to explain a computer operating system to my dog. He’s a smart dog but he doesn’t have the cognitive ability to grasp computer engineering. Santa, and his ability to circle the globe and deliver presents to everyone in one night, I can’t get my head around that. I am the smart dog, Santa is the super computer.

A lot of people get that warm, fuzzy feeling around this time of year, are you one of those people?

I do, but I never know when it will sneak up and hit me. I was watching tv and that commercial came on with a little girl and her dad singing Feliz Navidad in the back of a Hyundai. Tears just started welling out of my eyes. Here’s a link to it:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAe2xaOUuSU 

Have you ever gone caroling or wanted to?

My friends and I would go door to door with brass instruments and play christmas songs. There was schnapps involved, lots of schnapps.

If you had a choice of the perfect weather for Christmas would it be cold and snowy, or warm and sunny?

Snowy in the high twenties with those big fat snowflakes gently wafting down.

Give us your links! Tell us where to find your books and more information about you!

Get my book here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005XQJJHQ

Connect with me here: http://about.me/nategubin

Read more: http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=interviews&thread=935&page=1#ixzz1h1LLvlz9

"SCORPIO RISING" BY MONIQUE DOMOVITCH BLOG STOP POST!

Announcing the Scorpio Rising Social Media Whirlwind Tour! As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Scorpio Rising eBook edition has dropped to just 99 cents this week.

What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes, including 2 Kindle Fires, Amazon gift cards up to $100 in amount, 5 autographed copies of the book, and 5 autographed copies of its recently released sequel, The Sting of The Scorpio. Be sure to enter before the end of the day on Friday, December 23rd, so you don’t miss out.

To Win the Prizes:
1. Purchase your copy of Scorpio Rising for just 99 cents on Amazon or Barnes & Noble
2. Fill-out the form on Novel Publicity to enter for the prizes
3. Visit today’s featured event; you may win an autographed copy of the book or a $50 gift card!
4. BONUS: If you leave a comment on this blog post, you have another chance at $100!

…And I can win too!

Over 100 bloggers are participating in this gigantic event, and there are plenty of prizes for us too. The blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100 gift card as well. So when you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form, don’t forget to say that I referred you, so I can get a point in the poll.

The Featured Events include:

Monday, Blogaganza on Novel Publicity! We’re kicking-off on the Novel Publicity Free Advice blog. We’ll ask the writer 5 fun and random questions to get everyone talking. Leave a comment or question in response to the post, and you may win an autographed copy of Scorpio Rising or its sequel, The Sting of The Scorpio. Don’t forget to enter for the other contest prizes while you’re over there!

Tuesday, Twitter sharing contest! A tweet is tiny, only 140 characters. But on Tuesday, it could win you $50. Send the following tweet across the twittersphere, and you just may win a $50 Amazon gift card. Autographed copies of Scorpio Rising and its sequel, The Sting of The Scorpio, are also up for grabs. The winner will be announced Wednesday morning. Here’s the tweet: Looking for a read that’s full of love, drama, and betrayal? Scorpio Rising has been reduced to 99 cents!http://ow.ly/7zA2s#whirlwind

Wednesday, Google+ sharing contest! Yup, there’s yet another awesome opportunity to win a $50 Amazon gift card, and this time it just takes a single click! Visit Google+ and share Emlyn Chand’s most recent post (you’ll see the Scorpio Rising book cover included with it). On Thursday morning, one lucky sharer will be $50 richer. Autographed copies of Scorpio Rising and its sequel, The Sting of The Scorpio, are also up for grabs. Three chances to win! How about that?

Thursday, Facebook sharing contest! Stop by Novel Publicity’s Facebook page and share their latest post (you’ll see the Scorpio Rising book cover included with it). It’s ridiculously easy to win! On Friday morning, one lucky sharer will be $50 richer. Autographed copies of Scorpio Rising and its sequel, The Sting of The Scorpio, are also up for grabs.

Friday, special contest on the author’s site! Win a Kindle Fire! Two are up for grabs! Visit Monique’s website to leave a comment on any of her posts and sign-up for her author newsletter. One person will win for each method, so be sure to do both.

Remember, it’s all about the books!

About Scorpio Rising:Set in New York and Paris amid the glamorous and competitive worlds of art and real estate, Scorpio Rising takes the reader from the late 1940s to the 1960s through the tumultuous lives of its heroes. Alex Ivanov is the son of a Russian immigrant and part-time prostitute. He yearns to escape his sordid life and achieve fame and fortune. His dreams of becoming a world-class builder are met with countless obstacles, yet he perseveres in the hope of someday receiving the recognition he craves. Half a world away, Brigitte Dartois is an abused teenager who runs into the arms of a benefactor with an agenda all his own. When she finds out that her boss has an ulterior motive, she flees again, determined to earn her living through her art. This career brings her fame, but also the unwanted attention of her early abuser. Monique Domovitch’s debut novel, Scorpio Rising, is a compelling tale filled with finely etched characters and a superb understanding of the power of ambition. Scorpio Rising promises to resonate with all who once had a dream. Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About The Sting of The Scorpio:In Scorpio Rising, Monique Domovitch presented a compelling tale filled with colorful characters and the manipulation of power, ambition, and greed. Now she gives us its spellbinding sequel, The Sting of the Scorpio, where Alexander Ivanov returns to New York with his new bride, Brigitte. The real estate industry is ripe with opportunity. Blessed with irresistible charm, ambition, and the single-minded obsession to succeed, Alex plots and manipulates his way to almost mystical success. Everything he touches turns to gold, but it’s never enough. When a hostile takeover bid leaves him struggling to save his beloved company, he suspects those closest to him of plotting his downfall. Brigitte, the beautiful redhead who abandoned her country and her career to become his wife, feels alone. In return, Alex has betrayed her time and again, each indiscretion cutting deeper into her soul. Brigitte’s son, David yearns to be an artist, but Alex’s plans leave no room for such frivolous goals. He grooms a reluctant David to become the heir apparent until a devastating tragedy attracts the attention of another young man. The Sting of the Scorpio is a rich tale of a man at the mercy of his own greed and a woman bound by her need for love. Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.



About the Author:Monique Domovitch began writing at the age of fifty-five. Two years later, she has two self-published novels—her Scorpio Series—and a three-book deal with Penguin, for books she has written under the name of Carol Ann Martin. Never seen without her laptop, Monique and her husband travel the world and divide the rest of their time between their homes in British Columbia and California. Monique loves to hear from readers! Visit her on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

Now please enjoy this beautiful excerpt from Scorpio Rising…

Half way around the world, Brigitte Dartois also liked drawing. Rather than buildings, her pictures were of her family—Papa, Maman, and herself under a bright sun. Sometimes she drew trees and flowers. Her subjects were the same as any other child’s her age, but her pictures were different. They were strong and arresting.

“Viens voir, Colette,” her father called her mother. He held up a bright drawing of a garden. “Regarde, don’t tell me our daughter is not talented.”

Colette Dartois looked, but to her, those colorful scribbles were no better than those of any other nine-year-old.
She shrugged. “You shouldn’t compliment her too much. It will go to her head. Brigitte, put that away and go do your homework.”

Often, Colette would look at her husband and her daughter with vague discomfort. He paid so much attention to Brigitte and so little to her. Every day when Louis Dartois burst through the door after work, it was Brigitte to whom he opened his arms after a perfunctory kiss to Colette. Gradually, Colette’s love for her husband and daughter festered into resentment and jealousy.
Then, when Brigitte was thirteen, her father died suddenly. Three months later, her mother married Lucien. “Consider yourself lucky. Not many men are willing to be a papa to a grown girl like you. You better be nice to him.”
Brigitte was filled with anger, betrayed by her mother’s indifference. One night, when Brigitte was alone in the house with her stepfather, she awakened to a pair of rough hands moving over her body. “This will be our little secret,” Lucien told her when she opened her eyes. “If you even think of telling anyone, I’ll kill you,” he said. Then he raped her.

Her mother worked the evening shift as a barmaid at a club down the street, and for the next three years, it became a nightly ritual for Lucien to stop in for une petite caresse, as he called it. Every night he gave her the same warning. “You tell anyone and you’re dead.” Sometimes he went into gruesome details of what he would do to her if she ever told. Brigitte believed him. So, she kept her mouth shut.
Once, she was the top student in her class. Her grades began to slide until she was close to failing. She slept at her friends’ flats whenever she could. At home, she was silent and withdrawn. Her mother barely noticed.

“What’s the matter with you?” Colette asked. “Get your act together. You keep it up and you’ll be kicked out of school.”
One night while Lucien was in her bed and forcing himself on Brigitte, the bedroom door flew open. Her mother stood in the entrance, an expression of horror on her face. Lucien jumped up and fumbled with his trousers. “It’s the girl’s fault,” he said, his voice coming in halting breaths. “How’s a man supposed to resist? She’s always coming on to me. As soon as you leave in the evening, she takes off her camisole and lets me see her body. Colette, you’ve got to stop her, she’s trying to break us up!”
“Get out!” Colette shouted, and her voice was like ice. The girl sobbed in relief. At last, her ordeal was over. She would never have to see her stepfather again. “You’re no daughter of mine. Get out you putain.”

In shock, Brigitte realized her mother was speaking to her. She had lost! Lucien had won! She dressed as quickly as she could, threw a few of her things into a pillowcase, and slipped silently down the hall to the closet where her mother kept her purse. Sorry, but I’ll need this more than you will. She took all the cash she found. Then she left.

Two days later, a sales-help-wanted sign in a store window caught her eye.

Read more:http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=interviews&thread=934#ixzz1h0pEFxkS 

Book Title:"Circe"
Author:Jessica Penot
Published By:Lachesis Publishing
Age Recommended:18 +
Reviewed By:Kitty Bullard
Raven Rating:4

Review:Jessica Penot is an amazing writer with the ability to write a psychological thriller that will leave you wanting to crawl under the covers and hide! "Circe", is about a man that would do anything to make his wife happy, even though he's still unable to stop cheating on her. So, when the couple moves back to their old home in Alabama and he takes on an internship at a local mental asylum called 'Circe', he doesn't realize the true insanity that will consume him or what his ambition will cost him in the end.

A classic story of one human being realizing that the line between perfect sanity and insanity is paper thin and sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between the two. A fantastic tale and very commendable book. I would definitely recommend it!

Read more:http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=supernatural&thread=932#ixzz1gwVFX9Ar 

"GOOD TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS" CHRISTMAS INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR, PAUL GENESSE

Thank you again for donating a book for our 1st annual "Good Tidings & Trimmings" e-book Giveaway! What book or books did you donate, tell us more about them.

The Crimson Pact Volume 1 edited by Paul Genesse

What is your favorite thing about the holiday season and what does Christmas mean to you?

Christmas is a great holiday for children, and not so much for me any longer, though I do like it. Christmas means snow, egg nog, holiday cookies, buying lots of presents for myself, and a bunch for my wife, donating to my favorite charities, and it also means that I work at the hospital as a cardiac nurse, my main job, so that my friends with kids can be home with them. I’ve worked Christmas and Christmas eve fifteen years in a row.

What is your favorite holiday memory?

Getting to go and live with my mom for Christmas break as a kid, as my parents got divorced when I was five and I lived my dad all year, except for the holidays. Then opening presents when the first three Star Wars movies were coming out. I loved my action figures and would play with them for hours, and create all sorts of stories, which led me into writing for sure.

Do you still have any of the toys you got when you were a kid?

My mom has many of my toys from when I was a kid, but I do have a small box of sword and sorcery action figures and monsters.

How do you celebrate the holidays?

I eat lots of great food.

Do you still believe in Santa Claus?

Not since I was in second grade.

A lot of people get that warm, fuzzy feeling around this time of year, are you one of those people?

No. I find the holidays to be some of the most depressing times of the year, actually. Cold, snowy, stressful, and lots of really sick people at the hospital where I work as a nurse, and the big rush to get projects done before the new year.

Have you ever gone caroling or wanted to?

Yes, when I was a teenager in high school we went caroling every year in my home town.

If you had a choice of the perfect weather for Christmas would it be cold and snowy, or warm and sunny?

Warm and sunny!

Give us your links! Tell us where to find your books and more information about you!

The moment of the demons defeat became their greatest victory. In the carnage after the last great battle against the demons, a doomed general discovers their hidden victory. Instead of being annihilated, unspeakable evil escaped into many unsuspecting worlds. To fight them, the men and women of the Crimson Pact must sacrifice everything—including their own lives. Explore 26 stories based on the world created in “The Failed Crusade,” by Patrick M. Tracy and included in The Crimson Pact Volume 1, about the valiant men and women who refuse to let the demons win, and those unfortunate souls caught in the epic struggle raging across the multiverse. New York Times Bestselling author and Campbell award nominee, Larry Correia, and many urban fantasy, steampunk, sci-fi, horror, and fantasy writers tell the tales in this diverse collection of short stories, flash fiction, and novellas. With stories by Patrick M. Tracy, Richard Lee Byers, Jess Hartley, Donald J. Bingle, Chris Pierson, Barbara J. Webb, Kelly Swails, Sarah Hans, Patrick S. Tomlinson, Sarah Kanning, Isaac Bell, Elaine Blose, Kathy Watness, Daniel Myers, Justin Swapp, Rebecca L. Brown, Gloria Weber, Garrett Piglia, T.S. Rhodes, Lester Smith, Chanté McCoy, Suzzane Myers, EA Younker, Craig Nybo, and Larry Correia; edited by Paul Genesse. Join the pact. Fight the demons now.*

*Note:The proceeds from the sale of this book go to the continued eradication of every red-eyed, soul-stealing, shadow-lurking, flesh-eating, baby-stealing demon in the entire multiverse.

View it on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Crimson-Pact-1-Patrick-Tracy/dp/0983263159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321958239&sr=1-1) or on The Crimson Pact websitehttp://www.thecrimsonpact.comwhere you can watch story trailers, read the frame story for free, and learn more about the Pact.

Read more:http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=interviews&thread=931#ixzz1gviZdi9x 

"GOOD TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS" CHRISTMAS INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR PATRICIA LYNNE

Thank you again for donating a book for our 1st annual "Good Tidings & Trimmings" e-book Giveaway! What book or books did you donate, tell us more about them.

I donated by debut novel, Being Human.

For Tommy, there is only one thing he needs to do: survive.

Only surviving isn't that easy. The hunt for blood can be tricky when humans know to fear the night. Desire sits on the edge of his mind, urging him to become the monster humans think he is. Vampire Forces, a special branch of police, is determined to turn every vampire to ash. Tommy included.

The only human Tommy can trust is his twin brother. A bond connects them, and with Danny's help, Tommy starts to understand the human world he struggles to survive in. He'll learn what friendships means and feel the sting of betrayal, find that sometimes the worst monsters are very human, and come to understand that family means more than blood.

Tommy just wants to survive and he knows what he needs to do. But with the number of humans that mean more to him than a meal growing, he'll learn there's more to life than simple survival. He'll discover being human doesn't mean being a human.

What is your favorite thing about the holiday season and what does Christmas mean to you?

I love decorating and seeing all the other houses lit up with holiday lights. For me, Christmas is a time to be with those you love, and to wish good will on all.

What is your favorite holiday memory?

Don’t ask me why but when I figured out my grandpa was really Santa. He’d call every year and one year I refused to believe him. I kept telling him, “No, you’re not Santa, you’re Papa.” The memory always makes me smile and laugh.

Do you still have any of the toys you got when you were a kid?

The original NES I still have. It’s stored at my parents’ house and I will not let them sell it.

How do you celebrate the holidays?

I don’t really do anything too special. My family has Christmas parties before and after Christmas and I go to them with my husband. Christmas day, I open presents with family and chill the rest of the day.

Do you still believe in Santa Claus?

Nope. Can’t quite remember when I stopped. Probably around the time I figured out Papa was the one calling and not Santa.

A lot of people get that warm, fuzzy feeling around this time of year, are you one of those people?

Noooooo way. Christmas music tends to annoy me. The bustle and fuss of people gets on my nerves too, so I’ll hole up in my home until I feel like venturing out and braving the holidays.

Have you ever gone caroling or wanted to?

No, I get nervous at the idea of any kind of performance.

If you had a choice of the perfect weather for Christmas would it be cold and snowy, or warm and sunny?

That’s tough because I’m not a fan of snow, but one year, my hubby and I went to his parents for Christmas in Mississippi and the lack of snow was just weird. Can I get the warmth but have the snow too? LOL

Give us your links! Tell us where to find your books and more information about you!

You can find me lurking on my blog

http://plbjourney.blogspot.comor on twitter @patricialynne07
Being Human is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.


Read more:http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=interviews&thread=930#ixzz1gvcEzwmv 

"GOOD TIDINGS & TRIMMINGS" CHRISTMAS INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR NATASHA A. SALNIKOVA

Thank you again for donating a book for our 1st annual "Good Tidings & Trimmings" e-book Giveaway! What book or books did you donate, tell us more about them.

“Quiet River” is a psychological thriller and “The Voice of Waterfalls” is a supernatural thriller. Both of these books are set up in a small town of Quiet River in the Pacific Northwest, but five years apart. These are two different stories that are not connected in any way, but there’re some names in “Quiet River” that are also mentioned in “The Voice of Waterfalls.” The idea in these books is about attraction. Evil attracts evil and good attracts good. And everything happens for a reason.

What is your favorite thing about the holiday season and what does Christmas mean to you?

I like the festivity. People are getting excited; everything is beautifully decorated; families get together. Nothing’s bad about it.
Christmas in America for me is a connection to another culture. I’m Russian. We celebrate Christmas in January, but my husband is American and we live here, so we decorate our Christmas tree earlier. In Russia, New Year is the main holiday. Here—it’s Christmas. I enjoy it just as much.

What is your favorite holiday memory?

I have so many great holiday memories I can’t chose one. Maybe my first holidays in America, because everything was so different.

Do you still have any of the toys you got when you were a kid?

My mom keeps some of them. One of the toys is a doll from Germany. When I was little, German dolls in Russia were a bid deal. They were rare and expensive. The doll my mom gave me had beautiful long hair, a red long skirt, a red hat, and a white blouse. She had a change of clothes in the box. I still remember my fascination when I opened my present. I didn’t take my doll out of the box for a week. I just looked at it. I had lots of toys but that was my favorite.

How do you celebrate the holidays?

With family. I cook, kids serve the table, we eat. Simple. Russian holidays we celebrate with my friends. I doubled my holidays. It’s fun.

Do you still believe in Santa Claus?

Well … I write supernatural. I believe in many things, but I wrap presents for my kids for Christmas myself. My kids are still at the age when Santa is a real dude and they make a list of presents for him to give..

A lot of people get that warm, fuzzy feeling around this time of year, are you one of those people?

Yes, definitely. Something’s in the air.

Have you ever gone caroling or wanted to?

No and no. People would strangle me if I sang at their door.

If you had a choice of the perfect weather for Christmas would it be cold and snowy, or warm and sunny?

Warm and snowy. Can I get that in Florida? Please, Santa.

Give us your links! Tell us where to find your books and more information about you!

I’ve been writing the majority of my life. I’ve written for newspapers, TV talk shows, and TV series. I’ve also published two books prior to my move to America. Since I moved here, I’ve written a few books in Russian but it’s difficult to publish them there, being in a different country. So, I’ve decided to translate my books even though I still negotiate with a Russian publisher. My first two books are out and about.

Quiet River

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00586QMDK
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/quiet-ri....n=2940012853608

The Voice of Waterfalls

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005T8BL60
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-voic....sha+a.salnikova

Read more:http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=interviews&thread=929#ixzz1gvDRTbK3