MY FRIENDS CALL ME KATE...

Turning by Dawn Kirby

2012-03-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

Understanding

“Lana,you really need to walk away from this guy,” Chris said, noticing the dark bagsunder her blue eyes. “You look like you haven’t slept in a month.”

“Thanks,Chris,” Alana said, rubbing the back of her neck. “That’s just what every womanwants to hear.”

“Sorry,but I call it like I see it and you’re exhausted.” He shut the door behind himand followed her into the kitchen; taking note of the three energy drinks onthe table and shook his head. “How many are you up to a day?”

“Enough,”she shrugged. She opened another can and sat down, motioning Chris to the chairdirectly across from her. “You know you can’t be here when Nicholas wakes up.He doesn’t know I’ve been in contact with you and I’d like to keep it thatway.”

“Youreally believe that?”

“Whyshouldn’t I? I haven’t told him a thing.”

“Goodgrief. Are you really that dense? Do you really not see what’s going on here?”She stared back at him, but said nothing. “He’s breaking you down. He knowseverything. From me helping to Carly threatening to stop helping the Weresunless they help Matt.”

“Didthey?” she asked, her eyes suddenly coming to life. “Did they get him?”

“He’ssafe. Carly’s taking care of him now. As long as she does her job, they’ll staysafe.”

“ThankGod,” she whispered, clutching her hand to her chest. “I thought for sure-”

“Benwould kill him?” Chris asked, cutting her off. She nodded. “He damn near didfrom what I understand. He’s been beating Matt every night since they tookCarly off.”

Tearsstreamed down Alana’s face. She didn’t even want to think about what his nightshad been like since he’d been taken. Forgiving this would be next toimpossible. Matt has always been an easy-going man, but even he has his limits.She wasn’t even sure she could forgive herself.

Chrissaw the grief in her eyes and winched. He hadn’t meant to sound so calloused.“I’m sorry, Lana. This is the last thing you need.” He went to her and put herhand in his. Before he knew it, he was holding her. “Go ahead and cry. Get itall out.”

Tohis utter surprise, she did. She laid her head against his chest and cried sohard her body shook. He stroked her hair, rubbed her back, anything he couldthink of to help make her feel better. Then he felt something. Scabs.

Takingadvantage of the breakdown, he brushed her hair over her shoulder to get abetter look. In a way he didn’t want to see them. It would just confirm whathe’d already come to suspect. As he looked down, his suspicions were indeedconfirmed.

“Nowonder you’re so tired,” he whispered, squeezing her tighter.

“Doshare,” a deep irritated voice said. They turned around, shocked to seeNicholas standing in the doorway. Alana’s glance shot towards the window. “Yes,it is night.”

Shehurried away from Chris and back into her chair. Nicholas walked to her and puthis hand on her shoulder. Chris watched as her eyes went dim. He looked up atNicholas, not really expecting an explanation.

“Sothis is what it comes down to?” Nicholas asked. “You or me?”

“No,what it comes down to is you or her,” Chris shot back. “You’re killing her! Isaw the marks. Does she even know you’re feeding off her?”

Nicholaslooked down at his exhausted companion and smiled. Once she made her decisionshe’d be healthy again. “This is a temporary condition,” he answered. “And no,she doesn’t know.”

“Maybeit’s time she did.” Chris stood up and started towards her. Nicholas held uphis hand, mentally stopping any advance.

“Sothat’s it. You just keep draining her till she’s too weak to even hold her headup and turn her?”

“No,I’m simply living off the love we share. Her blood feeds me. I give her all thelove and protection she needs in return.”

“Lookat her! She’s not living! She’s just surviving.”

Nicholaslooked at her again. Of course he saw the same things Chris did. Herexhaustion, her failing health, her lack of enjoyment regarding anything. “Whatam I to do? I cannot lose her. I’ve waited too long to find her.”

“Thenlet her go,” Chris said. “Give her the choice. If she wants your lifestyle,fine. If she doesn’t, that’s just something you’re gonna have to accept. Wedon’t fall for somebody because of what they can be. We fall for them becauseof what they already are.”

Two For the Price of One...

2012-02-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

Sabrina's Month of Love

I'm wrapping up Sabrina's Month of Love with a final version of

Better Than Sex Cake... and a confession.

I'd been told by some friends that I needed to read some books written by Robert Crais. I'm not sure why I waited so long, but now that I've been introduced to the two men in this series it's going to take a lot of discipline on my part to keep my review schedule... on schedule. Plus, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to balance my feelings between two incredibly hot characters- one a wise-cracking Casanova, and the other practically invisible, yet... dangerously attractive with his silent presence. For the life of me I'm not quite sure what Mr. Crais had in mind when he thought he could write a series with two strong male leads without getting a girl like me in trouble.

I mean, I'm a lover of male fictional characters, people. I read a good book with a strong male lead and my heart beats a little faster and I fall... in love. Sure, maybe it only lasts the length of the novel, but I develop feelings along the way and before I know it I'm eating, drinking, and sometimes dreaming of these men that I know must have been written just for me. Okay, maybe they weren't written just for me... but it sure does seem like it. *sigh*

Yeah, I've got a two for the price of one special happening in this Elvis Cole / Joe Pike series... and I'm tossing out my Reacher Worthy Chart and jamming to the tunes of Corey Hart... I Wear My Sunglasses at Night. Ooooooh, no... I'm afraid I've lost my mind. I've fallen... and I've fallen hard. What on earth will my friends think of me now?

Well, while I try to figure out how I'm supposed to love two men at the same time... why don't y'all have some cake! And, thanks for joining me this month. It's been lots of fun.

Better Than Sex Cake –Version Three

· 1 (18.25 ounce) packageyellow cake mix

· 1 (20 ounce) can crushedpineapple with juice

· 3/4 cup white sugar

· 2 (3.5 ounce) packagesinstant vanilla pudding mix

· 3 cups milk

· 1 cup heavy whippingcream

· 1/4 cup confectioners'sugar

· 1 teaspoon vanillaextract

· 3/4 cup flaked coconut,toasted

· 1/2 cup chopped pecans

· Directions

1. Prepare and bake cake mixaccording to box directions for a 9 x 13 inch cake pan.

2. While the cake is baking,combine pineapple with juice and 3/4 cup sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook overmedium heat for 20 minutes until thick and syrupy, stirring occasionally.Pierce top of hot cake with fork at 1 inch intervals. Pour pineapple mixture overcake. Cool completely.

3. Beat pudding mix withmilk until smooth. Spread pudding over cooled cake.

The Dark Mission Novels by Karina Cooper

2012-02-28T22:32:00.001-07:00

Sabrina's Month of Love

So, I told my friends that I would drag out my Black Dagger Brotherhood novels by J.R. Ward, give some highlights of each book, and list the page numbers to my favorite love scenes. But, after thinking about it for a couple of days it dawned on me that the majority of my friends already know what my favorite love scenes from the BDB series are. I mean, it's not like we don't discuss this stuff during breaks at work. And if I shared with the world all of my favorite love scenes from the BDB series I'd literally have no secrets left. I'm pretty much an open book... but some things... well, some things just can't be shared.

Plus, I wanted to reintroduce you to Karina Cooper and her Dark Mission novels. I found Karina on Twitter (surprise) and had heard about her series when she was just about to release Before the Witches. Before the Witches is a novella giving us some back story to the Dark Mission series. You can read a little bit about it

----->>>> here. I think I made a plea for my coworkers to join me in reading the series, and, surprisingly, quite a few of them purchased copies of the first two books that were available at the time. So, with that in mind, I thought I'd give a couple of quick reviews, give you some page numbers to watch for, and let you know about the third book in the series that's now available for purchase.

First up... Blood of the Wicked. Set about 50 years after the earthquakes that took place in Before the Witches, Blood of the Wicked tells the story of an independent witch named Jessie Leigh. On her own since her mother's death and her brother took off, Jessie's been living below the "grid" by hanging in the dives found in the lower surfaces of Seattle to avoid being captured by the Holy Order. But, after becoming a little too complacent in her surroundings, Jessie is tracked down and captured by, Silas, a soldier from the Holy Order (witch hunter) in an attempt to locate Jessie's brother, Caleb, and execute him. So, as you can imagine, Silas... the hard-as-a-rock witch hunter out to destroy witches that are threatening what's left of the world, finds himself falling for the incredibly beautiful, Jessie. And, Jessie... finds herself falling for a witch hunter that's using her in attempt to locate her brother, kill him and any other witch that happens to get in the way. Eventually the attraction between both parties causes belief systems to crumble and passion to ignite... repeatedly, beginning with pages 122-127, and continuing throughout the book. Looks like this witch hunter is about to learn the hard way just how nice it is to have a witch on his side.

Next... Lure of the Wicked. Naomi West, witch hunter extraordinaire from the Holy Order of St. Dominic, has been sent on an undercover mission to Timeless, a luxurious spa in New Seattle, to capture a rogue agent. A woman that would rather be in the gym than wearing designer clothes, Naomi soon finds herself battling a killer witch, saving the life of a guest, and fighting off the advances of one Phinneas Clarke, the seriously handsome bachelor, and *cue music* underground witch rescuer. Doesn't take long for things to heat up between the two as showcased on page 79... and again on pages 152-157... and... and... and... just when Naomi thinks she can easily walk away from what's been started, tragedy strikes, and a gift is given that leaves Naomi just as vulnerable as the witches she's been hunting all these years. So, can the love that's developed between Phin and Naomi survive all of their hidden secrets? All of them? Really? I guess you'll have to read the book to find out.

Witch (see what I did there?) brings us to All Things Wicked. The Coven of the Unbinding never forgets what's theirs. Juliet Carpenter thought of the coven as family, but when she falls for a man who betrays them all, she's left alone and desperately searching for a reason why. Caleb Leigh has spent the past year in hiding, unable to escape his demons. When Juliet finds him again, her need for vengeance clashes with the hunger still burning between them.

It's a fight born from the embers of a half-forgotten attraction and the wounds of a past too raw to ignore. With enemies circling and secrets threatening to consume them all, Caleb has no choice but to fulfill a promise made long ago -- protect her, save her. Even if it costs him his blood, his body... and what's left of his mind.

All Things Wicked is book three in the Dark Mission novels, and like before, if any of my coworkers would like me to put this on my next purchase order for them... just holler at me. Karina's created a pretty incredible world in this post apocalyptic Seattle. The series is perfectly written and wonderfully descriptive, her characters have depth, and the love scenes... well, we've got run down cathedrals, limos, streams, and gyms. Not to mention the book covers. Seriously, ladies, what are you waiting for?

After weaving happily ever afters for all of her friends in school, Karina Cooper eventually grew up (kind of) and fell in love with writing. She broke into the scene with her gritty Dark Mission series, introducing a world that RT Book Reviews calls “an electrifying start”.

One part glamor, one part total dork, and all imagination, she writes dark and sexy paranormal romance and Steampunk-flavored historical urban fantasy. When she isn’t writing, Karina is an airship captain’s wife and Steampunk fashionista. She lives in the beautiful and rainy Pacific Northwest with a husband, four cats, two rabbits, the fantasy of a dog and a passel of adopted gamer geeks.

Turning by Dawn Kirby

2012-02-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

InDeeper

Matt droppedhis head, barely able to hold it up anymore. Thank God the sun had come up. Onemore beating and he was sure he wouldn’t be able to feel anything ever again. Bloodtrickled from a deep cut above his right eye, dripping down his eyelid. Betweenthat and the immense amount of sweat pouring off his body thanks to a fever, hedidn’t even bother opening his eyes anymore. The pain was already bad enough,why invite more?

Heshifted in the chair, readjusting his bound hands in an effort to keep thecirculation going. He’d been tied up like this, arms behind his back, securedto the back legs of the wooden chair. His feet had been tied to the front legs.The weres had made sure he wouldn’t be able to even attempt to help Carly thenight they’d decided to take her away. First by knocking him into nearunconsciousness. Then by finding the simplest chair in the house and attachinghim to it.

As soonas they’d left with her, Ben had begun beating him. What started out as nothingmore than a hot-headed tantrum had turned into a nightly routine. Matt knew itby heart now. Ben woke, ate, and came looking for him. Why he thought beatingthe woman’s brother he claimed to love more than life itself would help him winher heart any was anybody’s guess. Then again, Ben wasn’t one to thinklogically. He’d seen that for himself on more than one occasion.

Nobodywas safe here. Not the help. Not the people Ben claimed were his friends andcertainly not women. From what he could tell, Ben used them, abused them,drained them and then moved onto he next. He treated them like anall-you-can-eat buffet. Matt had counted no less than twenty since the nighthe’d been here. They all walked in, but none had ever walked out.

A noiseoutside the window made him force his eyes open. Nobody ever came around hereduring the day. As he focused on the welcome figure in the window, he tried hisbest to get his hands loose. It was a feeble attempt, but seeing Carly againhad given him a reason to try.

“Getstill,” a gruff voice mumbled from behind him. He stopped struggling and letthe man cut the ropes. “Can you walk?”

“Hell ifI know, “ Matt said, rubbing his bloody wrists. “I haven’t tried to move myfeet in days.”

“Humans,”the man sighed. He tossed Matt’s body over his shoulder and tromped backoutside to the van waiting in the driveway. Carly jumped in just as her escortdumped Matt in the back. He shook his head at her and slammed the back doorsshut. Climbing into the driver’s side, he looked into the back and motioned tothe blanket in the corner. “It’s not much, but it’ll keep him warm. Knowingthat Vamp’s temper, he’s more than likely got a lot of healing to do and unlesshe’s a were and doesn’t know it, he’s got a fever.” He shook his head again andput the van in drive. “Why you want average is beyond me.”

“Averageis safe,” Carly shot back at him. “Average doesn’t use me. Average doesn’texpect me to read minds and manipulate their rivals. Average loves me for me.Not what I can do for him.”

“Whateverfloats your boat, sugar,” he snorted. “Your loss.” As he turned onto the road,he turned up the radio, determined not to listen to the sappy reunion that wassure to come.

“How didyou-”

Carlyput her hand over his mouth and gestured toward the driver. “As much as I wantto fall in your arms right now and have you tell me everything will be okay, Ican’t. They respect strength. I need you to muster up as much as you can.” Shelooked at his battered body and smiled. “I’ll take care of you behind closeddoors, but in front of them, you have to stand on your own two feet. I knowit’s a lot to ask, but it’s critical.”

“Towho?” he asked. He wasn’t mad, he just needed to know who’s tail was on theline if he screwed up. “You or me?”

“Both ofus.” Carly laid the blanket over him and laid his head in her lap. “I told themI wouldn’t tell them another thing unless they agreed to go after you. Theyresisted at first, but when Alana sent her cop friend to check them out, theyfigured it was better to at least try to get on her good side.”

“Copfriend? Alana?”

“Chris,”she answered. “Apparently he knows where she is. He’s trying to get her awayfrom Nicholas, but I’m not sure he’ll have much luck. She’s torn, Matt. Sheloves him, but she can’t wrap her mind around what he is. What he has to do tolive.”

“Hehasn’t turned her then?” Relief washed over him when Carly shook her head.Nicholas was a nice guy, but he wasn’t so sure he wanted Alana with him if itmeant she had to change. “Where are they?”

“Chriswon’t say. He’s afraid Ben will find out somehow and go after her.”

“Sowhat’s the plan? How do we get out of this alive? All of us.”

“We dealwith the weres first.” She glanced at the driver to make sure he wasn’tlistening and leaned down to whisper in Matt’s ear. “Chris has agreed to turn ablind eye so they can have their little war with the understanding that thewinning side help eradicate Ben altogether. They want him gone anyway so thatwasn’t a hard sale.”

“Whatelse?” He could hear worry in her voice.

“Theywant Nicholas gone too.”

Matt satup, maybe too quickly. He shook off the dizziness and grabbed Carly’s wrist.“Dead gone or out of town gone?” Either way he stood to lose his little sister.

“Either.They want this territory to themselves.”

“DoesAlana know?”

“No.”Her eyes met his. There was far more to this plan than she wanted to tell himnow. “Chris is handling that. He’s planning to talk to Nicholas about ittonight. Alana doesn’t know that either.”

“Shewill when he shows up.”

“No, shewon’t.” Carly cleared her throat as the van came to a stop. She couldn’t riskthe driver overhearing any part of Chris’s plan.

“Justtell me she’s okay.”

“Ican’t.” The truth was, Nicholas had blocked her from entering his mind. Thelast memory she’d seen was of him feeding off Alana while she slept.

A Little Levi-Lovin' with Moses McGuire

2012-02-23T09:41:00.001-07:00

I was introduce to the incredibly talented author, Josh Stallings last year when his debut novel Beautiful, Naked & Dead was pretty much forced on me by my good friend, Fiona Johnson. It was love at first lap dance... or was that pole dancing? Hmmm... whatever it was, my heart fell even harder for the guy with his return in Out There Bad. Moses might be an ex-con, ex-marine, ex-husband in debt to the ex-wife and ex-bookie, but if there's one thing I've noticed about Moses McGuire it's that the guy has a strong desire to be loved. His love life might not have worked out for him over the last couple of books, but I'm sure one day a lovely lady will come along and sweep him off his feet... even without a lap dance or two. Well, here's hoping, anyway.

Josh was kind enough to send me an excerpt from Out There Bad showcasing a lovely little scene with Moses and one of his love interests. Its perfect for Sabrina's Month of Love, and it was the first scene that came to mind when I sent Josh an email requesting a little something for the blog. The fact that he chose this particular scene makes me think Josh knows me a little too well... After reading it this morning and seeing the reference to red velvet curtains, I couldn't help but add a recipe for Moses McGuire Red Velvet Cupcakes... I know, I know. I'm hopeless with the cupcake thing! Enjoy!

Warning: this scene does contain strong language, so... considered yourself warned.

From OUT THERE BAD...

“Buy me drink?” she said, absentmindedly tracing her fingerdown the line of her dress, pulling my attention to her breasts. They weremounded by a push-up bra into marvelously lush cleavage.

“Nice move,” I said, my eyes following her finger, “but unnecessary.I already noticed how good you look.”

“I don't know what you are talking about,” she went wide-eyedand innocent.

“You're hot, you know it. I know it. I'm way out of my leaguehere, so I'll buy you a drink, chit some chat while you scope your next victim,but you have to turn down the heat, ok?”

“Spasibo, it was much work, pretending to like a big handsomeman like you.” She smiled broadly, showing me that gap in her teeth. “Betty,please, a Rémy,” she called to the bartender.

She had expensive taste when someone else was paying. I wonderedwhat she drank when it went on her tab. I ordered myself another McCallans thatI probably didn't need, but sure wanted.

“Na zdororve!” she said, clinking my shot glass with her snifter.I knew she got a cut of any booze the chumps bought her, but I didn't care. Itwas worth every penny to sit listening to her accented broken English.

“Scorpio, yes?” she asked.

“I don't know.”

“What is your birthday?”

“October twentieth. What? Why are you grinning like I justdropped a hundred on the stage?”

“Scorpio. Casanova, Scorpio the lover. Ruled by Mars, a loverand warrior.”

“And you?” Astrology is pure mumbo jumbo, but I would havesaid anything to keep the conversation going.

“Me, Aries. We are fire and water.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Yes.” She slew me with a look of deep longing. “My beautifulman, I knew you were for me, first time I saw you,” she said, simply as if itwere an obvious fact.

“I thought we agreed you were going to dial it back,” I said,hoping she would turn up the heat.

“Scorpio,” she shook her head, mulling the thought over, “Ihave to be very careful with you, if I fall for you it would be very bad forbusiness.”

“Why me? Look around, plenty of younger, richer guys here.”

“They are boys dressed like men. You are man.”

“Dressed like a boy.” I smiled looking down at my Poguesconcert shirt, faded jeans and Doc Martens. I spent my nights looking aftergirls, but here was a woman. My back straightened and my chest puffed slightly.She made me want to be the man she seemed to think I was.

Katy Perry blasted happy pop over the sound system. I noticedEarl and his schoolgirl had disappeared into the VIP room, so I guessed hisdate was going fine. Over our drinks, Katerina told me she was from Yaroslavl,a small city two hundred miles from Moscow. “When I was fifteen, my mother passedaway and left me to take care of my baby sister and my pig of a father.”

“Sounds rough.”

I never knew my old man and by the time Iwas sixteen I was in the Marines being shot at by towel heads in the Root. Toget away from my drunk mother, I had stolen my big brother's birth certificateand they shipped me off to that jug fuck in Lebanon. I didn't tell Katerina anyof that, I just told her I had grown up poor, too. We had a bond that childrenforced to grow up too soon share. A bond of pain and longing. A bond of angerand the desire to be loved. Over our words, a separate conversation flowedbetween our eyes, a conversation of longing and need.

“Come, I'll dance for you. I want to.”

“Sorry, I don't do that anymore,” I said, with zero resolve.

“Yes, I know... come.”

She took my hand and led me willinglyacross the room and through the red velvet curtains into the VIP room. Earlmust have gone home while we were talking, because we had the room toourselves. It was a low ceilinged dimly lit cave of lust. Plush crushed velvettuck and roll surrounded the room like it was one big low-rider Chevy. Therewere several tables with chairs and candles. Generally the couch is $35-$40bucks and the chairs are $20-$25. That's before tip, but only about half thepricks tip the girl who dances on them. The law states that the man cannot atany time touch the girl, she can touch him, but not in a lewd manner. Trying tolegislate morality is like trying to hold back the sea with a chain link fence.

Katerina pushed me down in the soft padding, over the speakers,Cee Lo Green started singing about wishing he had enough cash to keep the girl.She put her knees between mine and pried them open, moving slowly ever closer.I was used to lap grind, make a guy come and get on with your day dances. Butshe was seducing me, one move at a time. As she swayed closer, I could feel theheat emanating from her before any skin touched. Her lips brushed across mycheek, I could feel her breath, smell the faint cigarette mixed with brandy.Just when I thought she would kiss me she pulled back. It took all I had not topull her down on top of me. The song ended and Katerina rose up taking a smallstep back. Her eyes flicked down to my lap.

“One more, yes?” she said.

“Why not.” I fought to sound like I could take it or leaveit. Chili Peppers' Breaking the Girl filled the air around us.

Katerina slowly unfastened her shirt, letting it drop to thefloor. She stepped out of her leather skirt and stood for a moment so I couldlook at her. She had a ragged appendix scar. A small jailblue tattoo started onher hip and ran down disappearing into her thong. It was maybe two inches long,a straight line with a cross bar near the top and below it a second line setmore diagonally. Marina had a similar tat, it must be a Russian thing.

Looking up at Katerina, I knew whatever she wanted was hers,she was that beautiful. Sounds shallow but there it is. Moving between my legs,this time she pushed her leg until it was against my erection. I let out ashudder as she began to stroke me with her thigh. Moving up she brushed herbreasts across my face, I kissed her ivory skin. She didn't pull away. She movedslowly down, I kissed her neck, and then she brought me her lips. Gift of allgifts, a real kiss. Hookers and strippers alike will tell you they will fuckand suck all day long, but to kiss is just too personal.

Katerina's lips pressed against mine. She bit at my lower lip,her eyes were closed and her breathing had the rhythm of arousal. Her handwrapped around the line in my jeans, she let out a small gasp. I ran my hand upher thigh. Continuing the kiss, I pulled her down on top of me. And like twoCatholic teenagers, we went at. She ground herself against my bulge, pushingher tongue into my mouth. How many songs came and went while we pounded againsteach other I haven't a clue, I was lost in the rush. Her breathing turned intoa deep rasp.

Suddenly her eyes popped open in crazy surprise. She sankher teeth into my shoulder to muffle her scream. Then like a rag doll, shecollapsed into the couch next to me with her head on my shoulder.

“Oh, oh... you didn't finish... I sorry... I,” she said withweak but genuine concern.

“Ain't nothin but a thing.”

“But...”

“Hush... you smell so human.” I nuzzled her neck.

“What?”

“You don't cover up with a bunch of perfume, you smell human.”

Her eyes drifted closed, maybe she wanted to block out theroom around us.

“What's your name? It's not ‘Katerina’.”

“You don't like it?”

“It's fine, just not yours, least not the one you were born with.”

She thought about this for a long moment, screwing up herfine features. “What is your name?”

“Moses McGuire.”

“That's funny.”

“The only book my mother ever read was the bible. Brother'sname is ‘Luke’. Guess we're both lucky we didn't get stuck with ‘Jesus One’ and‘Jesus Two’.”

She opened her eyes, making sure I knew what she was givingme. “Anya Kolpacolva.”

Somewhere out in the club, the DJ was calling for all the girlsto line up for a two for the price of one lap dance special.

Anya let out a laugh. “Oh my god, how long have we beenhere? You are bad for business, I know this the moment I see you.”

“Do you mind?”

“No,” she said laughing. Jumping up, she pulled on her shirtand skirt in faster time than an Indy pit crew. Reaching down, she tugged me upand out of the couch. Arm in arm and giggling like high schoolers, we walkedout of the VIP room.

When I slipped $200 into her purse she rolled her eyes butshe didn't refuse. She had rent to pay like everyone else.

From the bar, I watched the money mating dance gyrate aroundme. Anya slipped like a shark through the sea of men, hustling them, thenstopping by to give me a wink or a kiss in between trips to the VIP room. Irealized one of these fat fucks was gonna wind up dead if I didn't get out ofthere soon.

“Want a dance?” Anya had slipped up behind me while myconcentration was on buying a last shot of scotch.

“Love to, but I'm broke.” I don't know why I lied, fact wasI had a wad in my pocket and more cash stashed in my hideout hole in the car. Iguess I was hoping she would offer me a freebee, a way she could show that Iwas different than the other slobs.

“We have ready-teller.” She made it sound sexy, purring likeit was some exotic love toy.

“Do I look like the kind of guy they'd give a bank card to?”

“Everyone has bank card.”

“I don't.”

“Too bad,” she was leaning into me, making sure I got a grandglimpse down her dress at what I was missing. She kissed my neck. “You are sobad for business.”

“When do you get off? I'll take you to breakfast,” I whispered.

“A date?” She closed her eyes, smiling inwardly at the idea.“No, not tonight.” Past my shoulder, she surveyed the room for her next client.

“Whatever.” I turned back to the bar, trying to pull off indifference,though petulant may have been closer to the effect.

“Here.” She was on the move, she slipped a piece of paperinto my hand. “My cell number, call me.” She started to disappear into thecrowd, then turned back. “You do have a cell phone?”

“Nope, but I've got some change and a working finger.”

“My beautiful man. Are you sure you are American?”

“Only because my parents fucked here,” I said. Anya laughed,running her hand through my hair. I gave her a stolen kiss the manager didn'tsee and promised to come back the next night. Then stumbled out into theevening.

BEAUTIFUL, NAKED & DEAD is available from in PRINT and for KINDLE.
OUT THERE BAD is available in PRINT and for both the KINDLE and the NOOK.

Josh Stallings is your average ex-criminal, ex-taxi driver, ex-club bouncer, film making, script writing, award winning trailer editing, punk. Over his time in Hollywood he wrote and edited the feature film “The Ice Runner,” a Russian/American co-production. “Kinda Cute for a White-Boy” an independent feature he directed and co-wrote with novelist Tad Williams, won best picture at the Savanah International Film Festival. He also wrote “Ground Zero Texas,” a best selling Sony video game with Edward Neumeier (writer of RoboCop). His first novel BEAUTIFUL, NAKED & DEAD is garnering great notice from readers and reviewers alike. OUT THERE BAD (Moses #2) Will be published early summer. He is currently working on the third Moses McGuire novel. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Erika, his bullmastiff Nelson, Lucy the lab pit mix and Riddle the cat.

You can read more about Josh Stallings at his website HERE!

Moses McGuire Red Velvet Cupcakes

2012-02-23T09:40:00.002-07:00

MOSESMCGUIRE RED VELVET CUPCAKES

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons red food color
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/8 cup Sugar In The Raw®
4 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1 cup low fat buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Stevia Extract In The Raw® Cup For Cup
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
2 1/4 cups Cream Cheese Frosting

CreamCheese Frosting:

2 (8 ounce) packages reduced fat cream cheese,softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup Stevia Extract In The Raw® Cup ForCup, plus
1 tablespoon Stevia Extract In The Raw® Cup ForCup
1/4 cup 1% low fat milk

Directions

Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1.     In small bowl combine cocoa, red food color and vanilla, setaside.

2.     In large bowl beat together butter and Sugar in the Raw andStevia Extract in the Raw. Add yolks one at a time and beat well after eachaddition. Add cocoa mixture and blend well.

3.     In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, setaside. Combine buttermilk with salt. Combine cayenne pepper and baking powderwith cake flour. Add buttermilk mixture and flour mixture to cocoa mixture,alternating a third at a time beating after each addition. Combine baking sodaand vinegar then add to batter and blend well. Fold in egg whites.

4.     Fill each heart-shaped silicone baking cup 2/3 full with batter.Arrange cups on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake 13-15minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

5.     Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before removing frombaking cup. Cool cupcakes on rack before frosting.

6.     Cream Cheese Frosting: In a medium bowl combine all ingredientsand blend well. Makes enough frosting for 36 cupcakes.

Sabrina's Month of Love - Winners & Cupcakes

2012-02-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

We've got two winners to announce today.

A BIG THANKS to those that have participated in both contests! Enjoy the goods. Please send me your addresses to sabrinaogden@gmail.com.

Oscar Martello -

The incredibly kind Steve Weddle sent me a lovely email with some Oscar Martello links! Woot! Woot! You can find those below... And the winner of a box of candy and an Oscar Martello button is ... LINDA RODRIGUEZ! Congratulations, Linda. Just send me your address and I'll get this in the mail.

Oscar Martello goodness can be found at the links below:

http://steveweddle.blogspot.com/p/terminal.html
http://dosomedamage.blogspot.com/2010/03/dan-oshea-flash-challenge.html
http://steveweddle.blogspot.com/p/uncle-oscar.html
http://www.thecrimefactory.com/2011/10/issue-1/
http://web.archive.org/web/20100112112849/http://beattoapulp.com/stor/2010/0103_sw_MissedFlight.cfm

CITY OF THE LOST by Stephen Blackmoore

The winner of the signed copy of CITY OF THE LOST by Stephen Blackmoore is ... ASYLOS! Congratulations, Asylos! Send me your address and I'll get this in the mail ASAP!

Again, thanks to all of you for participating. Now, for some cupcakes!

Strawberry Cupcakes &

Fresh Whipped Cream

Ingredients

One box vanilla (or strawberry) cake mix - prepare as directed
Prepared whipped cream - See recipe below
One pint fresh strawberries sliced in half

Directions

Bake cupcakes following the box directions and allow cupcakes to completelycool.
Top cupcakes with clouds of whipped cream then place a strawberry half on top ofeach little cake.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Whipped Cream Recipe

1/2 cup heavy cream, well chilled
2 tbsp confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the heavy cream, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract in a mixingbowl.
With an electric mixer set on medium speed, begin beating the cream mixture,increasing the speed to high as cream thickens to avoid spatters Beat untilsoft peaks of whipped cream form.

City Of The Lost by Stephen Blackmoore

2012-02-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

I've never met a zombie that I didn’t like.

That is so not true. Zombies are gross, disgusting. Theystink like rotten meat baking in the desert sun, and they’re always oozingall kinds of bodily fluids while dripping flesh all over the freakin’ place.

I’ve never met a zombie that didn’t make me puke… would bemore accurate.

Well, not until I met Joe Sunday, that is!

One look at the cover for City Of The Lost and I knew, justknew, that I was going to fall in love with Joe Sunday. I mean, come on… lookat him. Look. At. Him. He’s a hottie… with a perfectly kissable jaw line,messed up hair that my fingers long to touch, eyebrowswith a sexy but distinctive arch, and a hole in his chest large enough to seethe street lamp just down the road from where he’s standing.

Yeah, about that -

Joe Sunday is your average “leg-breaker for hire,” the kindof guy that most of us wouldn't date, and definitely not the kind of guy thatif you did choose to date, you’d take home to meet your Mamma. We first meet upwith Joe at Henry’s Bar and Grill checking up on his friend, and coworker, Julio.Julio had been sent by their back-stabbing boss, Simon, to retrieve an ancientstone from some guy named Giavetti. But ever since meeting with Giavetti,Julio’s been acting a little strange. Mumbling about his hands not being hishands, breaking his bottle of beer, attacking the bartender, attacking Joe, and ending the very first scene in this novel byjamming the broken bottle into his throat and… dying, I’d say Julio isn't quitehimself anymore.

Now, Julio’s behavior and death doesn't just have Joe askingquestions, it has his boss, Simon, confessing to knowing and killing Giavettiback in his younger days. After telling some pretty unbelievable stories, Simon putsJoe in charge of getting rid of this Giavetti guy, finding the stone, andbreaking the news to Julio’s wife about Julio’s death. That last part wouldhave been easy to do had Julio not shown up at his home as a newly risen memberof the walking dead, and a puppet being pulled by the tight strings of Giavetti.

After walking into a world of chaos and total disbelief, Joefinds himself battling it out with Julio, losing his life, waking to findhimself the best zombie Giavetti has ever created, and on the hunt for anancient stone with the power to grant immortality.

In this story you’ll read about the one thing Joe needs toeat every day to keep from rotting; a social-working witch that wants to saveall the little, not-so-human misfits in Los Angeles; an incredibly crazy Naziwizard named Dr. Neumann, who happens to know the secrets behind theancient stone’s power; a midget with razor-sharp teeth; a demon tending barthat likes to talk in riddles; an officer seeking revenge; the truth behind Giavetti’s beauty secrets;and a beautiful woman named Samantha Morgan... holding one hell of a grudge.

And the stone - wanted by all the characters cast in thisdeliciously written book - not only has the power to grant immortality to thosethat seek it, but has the power to destroy the magical world Mr. Blackmoorehas so perfectly hidden in plain sight within the City of Angels. Some want the stone to save others. Some wantthe stone so they can live forever. And one person is willing to do anything touse the stone for the purpose of destroying another… even if it means killing Joe Sunday in the process.

While there might not be any love scenes in City Of TheLost, there’s definitely enough sexual tension between Joe Sunday and SamanthaMorgan for City Of The Lost to be added to Sabrina’s Month of Love. I mean,honestly, I’d gladly let Joe Sunday eat the heart out of my chest… as long ashe doesn’t shoot me in the head and have my body crushed into pulp at a gravelquarry. Well, actually, knowing me… I’d probably give my heart to him anyway.

Book Contest: If you leave a comment on the blog, one winner, chosen at random, will win a signed copy of City Of The Lost by Stephen Blackmoore. Comments must be posted by Tuesday, February 21, 2012. Winner will be announced Wednesday, February 22, 2012.

City Of The Lost by Stephen Blackmoore can be purchased from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Stephen Blackmoore is a writer of pulp, crime and urban fantasy. His short stories and poetry have appeared in Needle, Plots With Guns, Spinetingler, Thrilling Detective, Shots, Demolition, Clean Sheets, and Flashing In The Gutters. To learn more about Stephen, visit his blog, L.A. Noir.

I'm Still Madly in Love with Oscar Martello

2012-02-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Sabrina's Month of Love

Valentine's Day... the day of love.

The day of red roses and boxes of chocolate.

The day of romantic dates with beautiful flowers.

The day that belongs to Oscar Martello.

Yep, you heard me correctly. Oscar Martello... the older man that stole my heart. Oscar Martello... the man that can make my soul shiver with excitement while using a ceramic hunting knife. Oscar Martello... the man that has me wearing french maid outfits in my dreams. *sigh*

It probably won't come as surprise to many of you when I tell you that my heart still belongs to Oscar. I think out of all the characters I've read about and fallen in love with over the last couple of years, Oscar... Oscar stays at the top of my list 'cause he likes to play hard to get. I mean, really... this time last year, whenever I wanted my Oscar fix, I could head on over to Steve Weddle's blog and read close to a dozen short stories. Now? Well, now I have to search the Internet and hope that I stumble across a word or two... if I'm lucky, I'll stumble across an entire story available to the public.

Thankfully, Oscar landed on the Do Some Damage blog with a new short story just before Christmas. You can catch up with Oscar on a previous post ----->>>>> HERE.

And you can read the newest short story here ----- >>>>> THE RETURN OF OSCAR MARTELLO!

And since I'm a sucker for giving things away... one lucky commenter, chosen at random, will get a box of candy and a My Heart Belongs to Oscar Martello button! Now, really, who wouldn't want something like that?!

Steve Weddle is an editor, short story writer, and novelist. A former English professor, he holds an MFA in creative writing from Louisiana State University and currently works for a newspaper group. His fiction has appeared in numerous literary and crime/noir journals. In 2009, Weddle and six crime fiction writers created DoSomeDamage, where he blogs on Mondays. In 2010, Weddle and John Hornor Jacobs created Needle: A Magazine of Noir, one of the top journals for contemporary crime fiction. He lives with his family in Virginia.

I Think it's Time for More Cake

2012-02-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

Sabrina's Month of Love

Another Better Than Sex Cake recipe, and a link to all the stats for one of my favorite men... Jack Reacher!

Better Than Sex Cake – Version Two

· 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix

· 1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

· 6 ounces caramel ice cream topping

· 3 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered toffee, chopped

· 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

1. Bake cake according to package directions for a 9x13 inch pan;cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Make slits across the top of the cake, makingsure not to go through to the bottom.

2. In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened condensed milkand caramel topping, stirring until smooth and blended. Slowly pour the warmtopping mixture over the top of the warm cake, letting it sink into the slits;then sprinkle the crushed chocolate toffee bars liberally across the entirecake while still warm. (Hint: I crush my candy bars into small chunks asopposed to crumbs - I like to have pieces I can chew on!)

3. Let cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping.Decorate the top of the cake with some more chocolate toffee bar chunks and swirlsof caramel topping. Refrigerate and serve right from the pan!

Turning by Dawn Kirby

2012-02-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

Torn

“Just know I won’t do it, Alana,” Nicholas said firmly. “Ican’t fully invest my heart and soul in you if I know you will leave this lifeone day. Thirty years seems like a long time, but it’s not. It’s merely a dropin a sea of time.”

“Why does it have to be all ornothing?” Alana asked him. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. Why didthis have to be so difficult? “You know I love you. I’ve proven that time andtime again. Even after you kept Ben’s plan from me, I stayed. You still haven’tmade a move to get Matt back, yet here I sit.” She sat up and stormed to thewindow. “Should I go? Should I walk away now? Or wait for you to do it when Ican’t be what you need me to be?”

Despite the rising sun, Nicholastossed the covers aside and crossed the room to stand behind her. As his handsslipped down her arms, he felt her pulse quicken. “Your body betrays you,” hewhispered. His hand pressed gently against her chest. “You can’t leave me. Youcan’t fight the feelings stirring inside your own heart anymore than I canfight mine.”

“Maybe not,” she said leaning herhead back against his chest. “But I’m not asking you to change.”

“I’m only asking because I love youso much.” He kissed her cheek and turned back toward the bed. Any minute thepull of daytime sleep would overtake him. “I need you, Alana. I need you toconsider the gift I want to give you.”

******

“You know you can’t stay there withhim,” Chris said, stirring sugar into his coffee. He tossed the spoon aside and looked atAlana. It had taken him awhile to get her to agree to breakfast. Admittedly,his immediate prodding would likely not earn him another, but he had to try.“He’s got an agenda and you know it. You won’t have a chance if he decides tomake the decision for you.”

“I don’t think that’s apossibility, Chris,” Alana told him. Even as she said it, she wasn’t sure sheeven believed it. Just last night she’d opened her eyes to find him running hisfinger up and down her neck. Had he not been so concentrated on her pulse she’dhave thought nothing of it.

“He says he wants me to decide.”

“And when you actually believethat, I’ve a lake in the middle of the desert I wanna sale you.”

“Don’t be sarcastic,” she snapped.“At least he’s trying.”

“To seduce you into his lifestyle.”

Alana sighed and pushed herpancakes away. Food, drinks, nothing held any importance to her anymore. Allshe did want was to know Matt was somewhere safe, far away from Ben, andNicholas to accept her humanity. At the moment Ben leaving her alone was morelikely than Nicholas accepting her fully for what she was.

Nicholas loved her. Loved herdearly, but he’d made it clear to her over the last few days he didn’t plan onspending a few short years loving and losing a woman he’d grown to care so muchabout. Not that he could guaranteethey’d work out in the long run. In his words, no one could predict that.

“Have you found anything on Mattyet?” she asked, determined to change the subject.

“Maybe,” he shrugged. “Since we’renot officially on the case, Carter and I are having to look when we can. Thingshave been fairly busy lately. Odd really. We’ve never had gang activity likethis before.”

“I doubt it’s gangs, “she mumbled.Chris’s eyebrow cocked.

Alana sighed and shook her head.May as well tell. “I’m guessing it’s the werewolves. Ben paid them off withMatt’s girlfriend to grab him. They want her so she can tell them which pack’sgonna win whatever turf war they’ve got going on.”

“Turf war?”

“Turf war. Territorial dispute.Clan fight. Whatever you want to call it…it’s probably why things have been sobusy.”

As much as he wanted to push herfor more information, he decided he needed more time to wrap his head aroundthe idea of werewolves being as real as vampires. Shaking off his surprise, heput his hand on hers and looked her right in the eye. She wanted to pull away,but lack of energy made it impossible. Between Chris andNicholas, she was physically and emotionally drained.

“We think we know where he is. Noone besides women ever leave the house, so we really don’t know if Ben’s eventhere or not. Give us a few more days and we’ll know for sure.”

The Gravity of Mammon by Dan O'Shea

2012-02-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

Sabrina's Month of Love

So, I'm giving you the best of both worlds today. Not only am I telling you about a book with an incredibly HOT character, I'm also giving you a recording of the voice that turns me into mush... and makes my toes curl with delight. I'm choosing an audio for today's spotlight... an excerpt from The Gravity of Mammon written by Dan O'Shea.

The Gravity of Mammon tells the story about the deliciously sweet Nick Hardin, the ex-sniper now employed as an escort to safely provide transportation for journalists in and out of conflict zones. To get to the part I'm trying to highlight, I'll give you a quick look at the book...

In the story you'll read about Nick being hired to protect a celebrity; the celebrity getting a broken nose and wanting revenge; Nick stealing diamonds connected to Al-Queda, Nick fighting off an assassin hired to get the diamonds back; the celebrity with the broken nose using his conections with a Chicago drug lord to get back at Nick; the secret past that connects Nick and the Chicago drug lord... and Nick running into a girl he apparently saved in his earlier days.

Hmmmm.... about this girl he saved.

Well, she isn't exactly a girl anymore, and... they have a connection that leads to one of the most beautiful love scenes I've ever encountered. *sigh* I mean, really... it's not every day you can find hot, passionate love-making with a side of male vulnerability, and ... plans for murder. You can listen to this scene here ----->>>> An excerpt from The Gravity of Mammon.

For a full review I encourage you to check out the review of The Gravity of Mammon on Book Reviews by Elizabeth A. White. And when you're done with that you can read The Gravity of Mammon for free on Dan's website.

Dan is a Chicago-area crime writer represented by Stacia Decker at the Donald Maass Literary Agency. His novel Unto Caesar is currently being circulated to all the usual suspects. His short fiction has appeared in Crimefactory, the Discount Noir anthology and in an upcoming issue of Needle. You can find out more about Dan at his blog, Going Ballistic.

Dawn Kirby and her Turning Series

2012-02-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

Sabrina's Month of Love

Shouldn't be a surprise that the first feature in Sabrina's Month of Love is Nicholas from the Turning series. The series is written weekly by Dawn Kirby. The first story in the series was featured on April 29, 2011 and has been running each week since then. It's important to remember that Dawn is writing this series specifically for the blog. A new story is written each week, and upon its completion it will be sold as an novella with proceeds going to the Lupus Foundation of America. You can check out the list of awesomeness by Dawn in a previous post -------->>>>>> HERE!

So, for those that didn't jump on board when the series started, I'm posting the very first story in the series so we can all remember why we fell in love with Nicholas to begin with. He's a vampire with a heart, and... extremely sexy. The entire series can be read HERE!

First Touch

His hands slipped down her back sending chills down to her toes. Warmth spread throughout her body. Strong fingers bit into her sides. Her breath caught when she felt skin tear. Nicholas pulled her closer, nibbling on her ear. Alana closed her eyes and let her head roll back as his lips travelled to her neck. Despite the cool hand wrapped firmly around her throat, she let her body go limp in his arms. Safe and exhilarated was the only way she could describe how she felt.

He buried his fingers into her long brown hair, amused at how easy he’d won her over. Here he was, his finger resting on her lifeline, his fangs ready to drain it, his mind telling him not to, and her so willing; so trusting. She was his for the taking and he wanted her. The only question in his mind now was how to keep her.

Hours ago he’d gone out in search of easy prey. Instead of finding a mere meal he’d found her. A raving beauty with a brain. The fact that she also had a heart bigger than any country he’d ever visited didn’t hurt either. Nicholas needed love. What he needed more was a companion. In her, he saw both.

“Nick,” she whispered, covering his hand with hers.

“Nicholas,” he corrected, “My name is Nicholas.”

He covered her lips with hers before she could say another word. She wrapped her arms around his neck, absently twirling locks of long black hair around her fingers as they kissed. In one quick motion he broke away from her embrace and swept her into his arms. He kept his icy blue eyes locked on hers all the way up the stairs. In those few seconds his earlier question was answered.

Neither would get the thing they wanted tonight. If he wanted to keep her with him, he had to do it the right way. That meant keeping her at a distance, at least for now. He’d seen the scars a recent break up left on her soul when he first approached her. Now, after looking into her mind, he could see they were much deeper than he’d first thought. Vampire or not, he didn’t want to be the rebound guy.

That said he didn’t want anybody else to be either. As he laid her perfect body down on the white satin comforter Nicholas came up with a plan. One that would give him the ability to physically feel her no matter how far apart they may be.

“I’ll not take you tonight, love,” he said leaning over her. Alana started to protest, but found his finger on her lips instead. “Listen to me. You’ll not remember me come morning. Though I’ll feel you every night of my life, I will not to seek you out until you are ready.”

“Isn’t that for me to decide?” she asked him. “Don’t I know what’s right for me?”

In a flash he was on her. He pinned her hands over her head as his fangs sliced through her shoulder. Tears sprang from her eyes as a blinding flash of pain spread throughout her body. She struggled to get away, but he was so strong he merely had to wrap one leg around hers to keep her still. Worse, she could literally feel the blood leaving her body. Within seconds she began to feel lightheaded.

As quickly as it had begun the attack stopped. The room went dark. Her head was swimming. Alana thought she felt her body being carried, but she didn’t feel any hands holding her. She glanced around the room trying to focus on something, anything to help bring her around.

Frantically she searched her shoulders for the wound the monster in her dream had inflicted, but found nothing. Another quick glance around the room left her both confused and relieved. This was her room. She was lying in her bed. She was wearing her pj’s. Relief washed over her. That horrible experience had been nothing more than a nightmare.

Turning by Dawn Kirby

2012-02-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

Reaching Out

Carter, Chris’s partner had left for the afternoon,but he hadn’t given up. Chris was determined to find Alana, and now Matt. Asfar as Chris knew nobody had seen or heard from her since the night thatvampire took her away from her crazy ex-boyfriend. Matt hadn’t been seen for aweek now. His friends and co-workers were afraid he’d met up with Ben and comeout on the losing side. They were sure the police would find his body in aditch somewhere either beat to a bloody pulp or shot to death.

As for Alana, they were also sure he already hadher. The problem was nobody knew where he’d go if he did. It was up to Chrisand Carter to get them both back, hopefully alive and well.

“And human,” Chris mumbled. He scanned over Ben’sold case file looking for some clue as to where he would go, but came up empty.He spotted the picture of Alana after Ben’s beating and shook his head. Findingher had become so important to him; he’d spent the night on the sofa in thebreak room more times than he cared to count. “Where the hell are you?”

Tossing the photo aside, he picked up the file he’dmanaged to piece together for Nicholas. Only he and Carter knew about it. Theyboth knew better than to try and sell their superiors on one of their witnesses,as well as their main suspect, being vampires. They’d laugh them right out ofthe station and into a padded room at the mental hospital across town.

As he flipped through the pages he found a phonenumber. Even though the paper was dated some thirty years before he hoped itwould be the break he needed. Not likely, but he picked up the phone anyway.After a deep breath, he tapped in the number and waited.

*****

Alana’s resolve was breaking by the day. The longershe stayed hidden here with Nicholas, the less she cared about what happenedoutside their little world. She still didn’t know where she was. Anytime sheasked him, he’d simply say “safe, love”and whisk her off to bed. She tried to resist him, but in the end he always wonher over. Tonight would be no different.

Dread filled her as she looked out the window. Thesun was going to set soon. He’d be up and she’d lose another tiny part ofherself to him. She sighed, thinking maybe being human wouldn’t be such a badthing to let go of. She’d be taken care of. Nicholas seemed to have more moneythan Midas himself. He was a nice enough man; vampire. He loved her. Shethought she loved him. She was almost sure of it.

Suddenly her thoughts were shattered by the ringingphone. She hurried to the living room, hoping to hear Matt’s voice on the otherline. Hope was dashed the second she heard the man’s voice on the line.

“Alana?” Chris asked, shocked. He hadn’t expectedthe number to be a working number, much less one that led him straight to her.

“Who is this?” she asked timidly.

“Chris,” he answered. “Carter’s partner. We’ve beenlooking all over for you. Do you know where Matt is? Is he there with you?”

“No, but I do know he’s okay,” she said, loweringher voice. Maybe, just maybe she could get Matt to safety without Nicholas’shelp. “Ben’s got him.”

“Where? We’ve looked everywhere.”

“He’s at the house the vampire who turned himowned.” She peeked out the window. The sun was now bathing the yard with thelast bit of light before it disappeared for good. “I don’t know where it is,but I do know it’s there in town somewhere. Just look for the biggest, oldesthouse there and I’m sure you’ll find him.”

“You’re in the oldest house,” he said quicklychecking the papers included in the file. He hadn’t noticed he’d been holding areal estate file all this time.

“I’m still in town?”

“According to these papers you are. You’re quite afew miles out, but I could get there fairly quickly.”

“No!” she cursed herself for losing her cool andtried to remain calm. “He’ll be up soon and I still don’t know that I want toleave him. Look for Matt. Once he’s safe, maybe I can think right.”

“I don’t like that idea,” Chris said coolly. Theidea of leaving her there now that he’d found her didn’t sit well. “He couldtrick you. Kill you.”

“No, he won’t kill me,” she said quietly. Darknesssettled outside. “Find Matt. Call me when you have him. But Chris, do it duringthe day.”

I Love Falling in Love... Over and Over and Over Again

2012-02-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Sabrina's Month of Love

So, I've got this thing about falling in love. I'm not quite sure when it happened.

Wait! I should clarify...

So, I've got this thing about falling in love with fictional characters. I'm not quite sure when it happened...

Wait! That's a lie...

So, I've got this thing about falling in love with fictional characters. I'm not quite sure how it happened?

Wait! Let me try this one more time.

So, I've got this thing about falling love with fictional characters. Totally true. You write a book about a hot male character and I'm bound to fall in love with him. And I ain't gonna care if he's good or bad. In fact, I think I've shown over and over and over again that I have a soft spot for the bad boys. Mmmmmm... the badder the better, actually. *sigh*

It all started with the Black Dagger Brotherhood. The vampire warriors from Caldwell, NY... the ones that are incredibly HOT... the ones that know how to love a woman... the ones that are... HOT!

Then I fell in love with David Trevellyan, but quickly placed him on my big-brother list when the book that I found by accident totally changed my life. David is the kind of guy that any girl would love... he just happens to be a "brother" to me.

From there I fell for Jack Reacher... and his beautiful blue eyes. Wait... I think I'm confused. I'm in love with the beautiful blue eyes of his creator, Lee Child. Lee has the most incredible blue eyes I have ever seen in person.

Then there was Nick Heller.

Then there was Oscar and Moses and Coburn and Nick Valentine, this list could go on forever.

What I'm trying to say, people, is that this is the month of LOVE on my blog. Well, not the entire month, but periodically this month I plan to feature a book, or a short story... maybe even an audio... with a man that I love in it. I might even add a couple different Better Than Sex Cake recipes. *checks for fever*

I know some of you think I'm selfish. Others consider me a book slut. Whatever you think of me doesn't matter, though. Just know that this month I plan to share with you my favorite men... and even give you the page numbers to some of my favorite *ahem* love scenes.

Yeah, that totally made me sound like a book slut. *shrugs shoulders* Oh, well!

So get ready to take some notes, ladies... and gentlemen. Sabrina's Month of Love... is about to begin!

Better Than Sex Cake - Version One

1 (18.25 ounce) package German chocolate cake mix
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups hot fudge topping
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
4 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered English toffee

Directions

Bake German chocolate cake mix according to package directions.
While cake is still very warm poke holes in top of cake with the end of a wooden spoon, poor sweetened condensed milk over top. Let cake cool. Pour hot fudge topping over top of cake and let set. Spread on whipped topping and garnish with crushed Heath ™ Bars (toffee crumbles).

Already Gone by John Rector

2012-01-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

In college I was dating this really great guy named Justin... or was it Jake? Hmmm - could have been a Jason. Anyway, I thought he was the man of my dreams, the man I would marry. Then one day I borrowed his car to run some errands and noticed I was being followed by some guys in an unmarked patrol car. When I stopped at the little convenient store to pick up a snack... they approached me, showed me some identification, told me it would be in my best interest to return the car to my boyfriend as soon as possible, and return to my own apartment. I think I was home a little more than two hours when I learned that Justin, Jake, or Jason was busted for selling drugs on campus, and that I had been running errands in a car with a few pounds of marijuana in it, some drug money... and "other" things. Well, those were the rumors, anyway.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time I made the wrong decision with regards to the dating scene. Shortly after high school I dated this guy named... it doesn't matter what his name was. What does matter is he set up a plan to steal a cool fifty grand from another drug guy in town... and to cover it up he had an individual claim to find it in a paper bag in the middle of the road. His idea was to turn it into the police and wait- knowing that after it sat for a certain amount of time "unclaimed" he would get it back. According to the rumors, he did. And when we broke up shortly after this "incident" some people made it perfectly clear what would happen to me if I said anything.

A few slashed tires later... I found myself moving back home to Oregon where I prepared for that lovely eighteen month mission I served in Vegas. Good times... good times. But I've always wondered if Sh... that guy I dated after high school was ever ratted on. Did his group of drug dealing friends turn him over to the other guy 'cause they didn't get their "share" of the funds? I wonder how long the money lasted? Did he buy something cool, or did he use it to purchase more drugs in order to turn a profit? Better yet... I wonder if he ever worries about his past biting him in the butt now that he's older? Is he even still alive? Hmmm...

I guess what I'm trying to tell you is that we all have a past. And you just never know when your past, or the past of someone you know... will make an appearance in your life.

Such is the case with Jake Reese, a handsomeuniversity professor that left his gangster-living past behind and made a new life with hisbeautiful, art dealing wife, Diane, in Already Gone by JohnRector. Life seems pretty much perfect for Jake until two guys attack him outside abar, rough him up, and chop off his ring finger. Devastated by the loss of hiswedding ring, Jake spends some serious time contemplating his past and theperson, or persons that might be out seeking revenge. Then, just when Jake isabout to write this all off as a random act of violence, his finger, with thewedding ring still attached, shows up in the mail... with a message attached? Afew days later his wife goes missing, and Jake finds himself identifying her body in the morgue after she's been mysteriously killed in a "car accident." Still not sure what part of his pastis sneaking up on him, and wanting answers that he's unable to find on his own, Jake enlists the help of his father-figure, mobster-friend, Gabby.

In this story you'll read about Jake's past, his father's past, Gabby's past, and the jaw-dropping past of Jake's wife, Diane. I'm just happy to report that the Jake in this story isn't the Jake, Justin, or Jason I remember from my past. Yeah, the past doesn't just bite a few butts in this page turning novel- it riddles most of them with bullet holes, and leaves one lonely soul... drifting out to sea.

John Rector is a prize winning short story writer and author of the novels THE COLD KISS (optioned for a feature film now in development), and THE GROVE. He lives in Omaha, Nebraska. You can read more about him on his blog HERE.

You can purchase your copy of Already Gone by John Rector at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Turning by Dawn Kirby

2012-01-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

Alana’s Gamble

“You can’t stay mad at me forever. You love me andyou know it,” Ben said to Alana. She adjusted the phone, careful not to let himhear her exhausted sigh. Her only goal here was to get Matt and hopefully Carlyback safely. Now that she’d managed to talk Nicholas into leaving the house fora few groceries she had her chance. “The only reason you’re even with that sonof a bitch is because he’s got hold of your mind.”

“If he had that he’d have already made me forget allthis,” she said coolly.

“Or he’s just trying to make you think that.” Helooked down at his latest victim and smiled. She’d been particularly easy totalk into coming back to his place. Amazing what a wad of cash can do for aguy. “We can be pretty manipulative you know.”

“No, Ben, Nicholas truly cares. He doesn’t want toown me the way you do. He wants a companion, not a slave.”

“He wants a donor,” he snorted. He tossed the sheetover the dead girl’s naked body and rolled off the bed. “If you think he wantsmore you’re crazy.”

“Look, I’m not talking to you to debate thefoundation of my relationship with him.” She didn’t see a point in remindinghim what Nicholas’s ultimate intentions were. The decision on whether or notshe’d let him turn her had become a thorn in both their sides. “I want you tolet Matt go. And Carly.” Alana waited for an objection but it didn’t come.“They don’t have anything to do with this. You shouldn’t have involved eitherone.”

“I can’t do anything about the Reader,” he saidcalmly. In fact, Carly was already long gone. She had a war to predict. “ButMatt. He’s a free man if I get what I want."

“Which is me.”

“Very good,” he said sarcastically. “I want yourlover, too. He needs to pay for taking you from me.”

“He didn’t take me from you. I was never yours tobegin with.”

“Alana, you’ve been mine all your life, you justcan’t see it. I’m your man. Always have been. Always will be. Why fight it?”

“Because I don’t love you,” she answered. “I don’teven like you, Ben.” Even after finding the strength she needed to fight him,she was still terrified of him.

“You can learn to,” he said. “I have everything youcould ever want now, Alana. Money. A huge house. Nice cars. Anything you want,it’s yours. Just let me make up the bad.”

“There is nothing on this earth you could do to makeup for that,” she said flatly. “If Paul’s death hadn’t ended that, Jennifer’sdefinitely would have.”

Anger filled him. How dare she throw them in hisface! “That was your fault,” he growled. “If you hadn’t been playing hard toget I wouldn’t have had to kill them. Their blood is on your hands.”

“My hands?” She was stunned. She hadn’t done a thingbut try to move on with her life. “You’re the one who couldn’t let go, not me.”

“You had no right to move on.” Ben was so angry hishands were shaking. “None!”

Suddenly the phone was ripped from Alana’s hand.Nicholas looked at the number on the screen and shook his head. He calmly hungup the phone and tossed it on the couch. Still stunned, Alana looked from heropen hand to him.

Nicholas brushed past her and into the kitchen toput away the things she’d asked for. He knew before he left what she’d hadplanned. He knew when he got back she’d still be trying to bargain for Matt’ssafe return. He also knew she would fail. The fact is he didn’t care about anyof it. Matt would live. Alana was his and nothing Ben could do would changethat. Things may be strained between them, but he could still see inside hermind. Every day her resolve to stay human lessened a little more.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...

2012-01-20T12:05:00.000-07:00

If there was one thing I learned from my last minute trip to New York to stalk Lee Child at two different book signings in the same day... it was to plan an entire weekend stalking multiple people all at the same time! It's like killing two birds with one pebble... only with hugs, instead.

I'm headed off to Los Angeles this weekend to hang with friends, meet new people and attend this....

I'll be staying with my favorite taxi riding - finger guy, Josh Stallings, and his beautiful wife, Erika. I'll be taking photos, eating good food with good friends, getting a look at the locations from the Moses McGuire series (lap dances NOT included), and hanging out in a bar with some really cool people that'll have me blushing with their story telling. Oh, yeah... and I'll be getting multiple copies of CITY OF THE LOST signed by Stephen Blackmoore. Hmmm... I see a book give away in the near future.

Anywho... if you're in the area and want to have a good time then stop by Noir at the Bar! I'm sure the friendly folks there would LOVE to meet you.

Turning by Dawn Kirby

2012-01-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

Lock Up

Carly leaned against the heavy door, listening tothe voices on the other side. So far they’d kept her and Matt locked up, butshe knew sooner or later they’d be separated. That’s when the real danger comesinto play.

“Anything new?” Matt asked, whispering as softly as hepossibly could.

Carly shook her head and collapsed on the bed besidehim. She looked at him and smiled weakly. He’d taken the news of werewolvesbeing real so easily, she really hated to tell him why they’d both been broughthere. Ben’s involvement was a given. The weres motives however would make nosense to him at all. They barely made sense to her.

“I hope Nicholas has a solid plan,” he said lacinghis fingers through hers. “I don’t know about you, but bait is the last thing Iwanna be.”

“No, it’s not a good position to be in,” she said.“I just hope Nicholas handles this whole situation as tactfully as possible.These guys aren’t in the mood for dramatics.”

“Seems to me violence is the only thing they’re inthe mood for.” He rubbed the knot on the back of his head. One of them hadkicked him while he was out. Another had planted a fist in Carly’s gut.

“They’re desperate.” He raised an eyebrow andsnorted. She sighed and turned to face him. Better to get it out now than wait.“Listen to me, Matt. They never wanted you. The only reason they agreed to takeyou was so they could have me.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Obviously Ben wants you to get to Alana. But whytake me, too?”

“To sweeten the pot?”

“Hardly,” she mumbled. “Alana may like me, but notenough to fight for me. Not yet.”

“You’re wrong, but for argument’s sake we’ll sayyou’re not. Why’d they bring you here with me?”

“Payment.”

“Payment?” Matt glanced at the door and back at her.“Last I checked people aren’t currency.”

“They are when they can see the future,” sheclarified. “I may not be able to read the people they need to know about rightnow, but it doesn’t matter. The fact that I can is enough.”

“Why would you need to? Do they even have anynatural enemies?”

“Of course they do. They have all kinds just likeany other creature. In this case, it’s a rival pack. They don’t want to lose.I’m the only one who can tell them whether they will or not.”

“Tell them their great,” he said, standing upabruptly. He began to pace the floor furiously. “It’s not like they’ll know thedifference anyway.”

“It doesn’t work that way.” Carly rubbed hertemples, preparing to try to explain her gift. “I don’t read that way. I seewhat’s in the immediate future. Actions, circumstances, anything can changewhat I see at any time. What may be predicted one day may not be possible thenext. Whether they know this or not, I don’t know. But I’m not willing toknowingly tangle with edgy werewolves. It’s neither safe nor smart.”

“What about Nicholas? Can’t he just whisk us out ofhere the way he did Alana?”

“He could,” she said lowering her head. He wasn’tgoing to like the rest of her answer. “But why would he? He has who he wants.She’s right there with him; safe. All he has to do is make her believe we aretoo.”

“Wait. No way he’d do that.” Matt shook his head anddropped to his knees to look at Carly. The truth was always in her eyes.

She looked back at him. “He would, Matt. They don’tget this old by sticking their necks out for people.”

“Then we have to do something,” he growled. Carly’seyes said more than just that. There was more he couldn’t read yet. “What elsearen’t you telling me?”

“Nothing you don’t already know.”

“He’s gonna try to turn her now, isn’t he?” He stoodup and hit the wall; hard. his knuckles started to bleed. “Dammit!!”

“Alana won’t let him,” she assured him. “Nicholaswill try to persuade her, but she wants life. Real life.”

Short Stories and Stuff

2012-01-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

I'm probably the only girl in the world that can't figure out how to sign in to a website. I signed up to read 365 short stories this year, one every single day throughout 2012. I'm actually off to a good start, but I'm supposed to be logging my reads over at this website... http://shortstory365.wordpress.com/. It's a great place to find short stories published online and in short story collections and anthologies. I suggest you check it out.

Speaking of short story collections...

Last year I accumulated a ton of short story collections and anthologies for my Kindle, but with the way my reading schedule was set up I didn't have a chance to get to as many as I had hoped. So... I'll be reading them this year and logging my short story reads on my blog... and at the shortsory365 website once I figure out how to get inside. For now, you can find my list of short story reads at the Short Story 365 link above. If I've read the story online I'll make sure to link it so you can have access to it.

I started the year off by reading A Portrait by Jerry Bloomfield. You can read that >>>>>> HERE!

Now, I'm making my way through Pulp Modern - Autumn 2011. Excellent, excellent stuff.

Turning by Dawn Kirby

2012-01-06T07:29:00.001-07:00

Ben’s Move

Grabbing Matt hadn’tbeen a problem. Lance and his crew of four had simply waited for the poor,unsuspecting guy to fall asleep. After he’d been tied up and secured in thetrunk of the car they went inside to wait for Carly. As a reader she’d beharder to catch and knew it. She’d sense trouble the second she walked throughthe door.

He posted one of hismen by the front window and another behind the bushes outside. The other threehid in separate rooms just in case she managed to make it past Lance. Notlikely, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

As they waited Carlycautiously made her way up the street, doing her best to reach out to Nicholas.She’d picked up on the unwelcome presence from three blocks away and wanted tomake damn sure he knew Ben had decided to make his move. If she was going toallow herself to be taken she wanted assurance somebody would be coming to getthem both. After seeing what they had planned for her, she was determined tospend as little time in their presence as possible.

“Who?” Nicholasdemanded.

“I don’t know yet,”Carly thought back. “I haven’t got to the house yet. All I know is they areWeres and I’m payment.”

“Trouble betweenpacks?” he queried.

“Big trouble. I don’tsee many surviving this one.”

“Wonderful.” Nicholashad heard there were two packs fighting over territory. The last thing heexpected was to be thrown in the thick of it. Then again, this little twistcould work out to be a good thing. “Go with them. Do not fight. Let them thinkyou are meek.”

“Nicholas, I can’t justroll over like that. They’d suspect trouble in a heartbeat.”

After contemplating herstatement a moment he decided she may very well be right. “Very well. Beyourself, but don’t do it so well you end up getting hurt in the process. I donot want your blood on my hands.”

He sensed her agreementand let his mind disconnect from hers. She’d seek him out later to clue them in onwho was holding them. Until then, there was simply nothing he could do. Thatincluded making Alana worry about something she couldn’t change.

“Hey, everything okay?”Alana asked wrapping her arms around his waist. “You look like something’swrong.”

Nicholas kissed the topof her head and smiled. “Everything’s fine, love. I was just thinking.”

“About?”

“You. Me. Our future.”He turned her chin up and looked her dead in the eye. “Why do you resist so? Icould give you so much.”

“Give it to me now,”she told him. “I don’t have to change what I am to enjoy my life with you.”

“You didn’t answer myquestion.”

She dropped her arms toher side and sighed. “Nicholas, let’s not do this, Not now. Ben is still outthere. Matt’s still in danger-”

“Ben’s already made hismove,” he said cutting her off. Her eyes grew wide. Her shoulders dropped.

“When? How?” She was soshocked she didn’t really know which question she wanted answered first.

“It’s happening as wespeak. Ben has enlisted the help of the Weres. Getting them back won’t beeasy.”

“The weres? Them?Wait.” Tears stung her eyes. Anger started to bubble to the surface. How longhad he known? “When were you gonna tell me?”

He looked down at her,hurt by the trace of anger he saw in her eyes. “Werewolves, Alana. They havetaken Matt as bait and Carly as payment. There is a feud between packs brewing.Her unique ability would serve them well. I did not tell you because there isnothing I can do to stop it. I am one man. A vampire I may be; invincible I amnot. Not alone anyway.” His hand cupped her cheek gently. “I could be if I haveyou by my side.”

“Me you have,” she saidthrough clenched teeth. “My trust is another story.”

My Favorite Reads of 2011

2011-12-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

Novels, short stories, novellas... I’veread a lot of great stuff this year and I thought I'd share a few of my favorite reads with you.

#1Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs

Southern Gods was my most favorite read this year. It's listed under horror,but I found it to be one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. Every wordis written with a purpose, and every description is a perfect view inside themind of World War II veteran Bull Ingram and his search for Ramblin' JohnHastur. Southern Gods reads like a classic and should be treated as such.

#2Frank Sinatra in a Blender by Matthew J. McBride

Another one of my favorites... Frank Sinatra in a Blender is the book I pickup whenever I'm home sick thanks to the Lupus meds. I've read it close to adozen times since its release and I still can't find the perfect words toreview it. It's a fast and entertaining read that always puts a smile on myface. And regardless of what my friends might think... I've got a not-so-secretcrush on Nick Valentine, the St. Louis private detective with the pill-popping,liquor drinking, chainsaw playing bad side. Fuckin' brilliant!

#3 Beautiful, Naked & Deadand Out There Bad by Josh Stallings

Probably should have listed them as 3 and 4, but... my blog, my rules. Sowe've got Moses McGuire, the total badass bouncer boy from Los Angeles meetingwomen, getting lap dances, falling in love, fighting bad guys, and laying downhis own style of justice in both books. You can read my reviews below.

Beautiful,Naked & Dead
OutThere Bad

#4Shotgun Gravy (Atlanta Burns Novella #1) by Chuck Wendig

Atlanta Burns might be in high school, but her scarred past and her abilityto instill justice makes her the perfect person to hire when some kids decideit's time to take down the bullies. Shotgun Gravy might be a dark tale, but itshowcases the reality of bullying in today's world. And the punches beingthrown are laced with the perfect cast of characters, vulgarity, and humor.It'll leave you wanting more... a lot more.

#5Double Dead by Chuck Wendig

Coburn isn’t your normal vampire… he’s a vampire awaking after a deep sleepand finding himself living in a world that is now taken over by zombies. Notmany humans have survived this zombie apocalypse, and now Coburn finds himselfa protector of the only food source available to him, and saving the life of alittle dog he names Creampuff.

#6 Shogun Honey by ThomasPluck

I sat down to read submissions for Shotgun Honey one night and announced myactivity on Twitter with a typo... Shogun Honey. Thomas Pluck was quick torespond with a tweet that ended up as the first line to this perfectly crafted,samurai genre short story. With this, Mr. Pluck proves that there really are nolimits to finding inspiration. Absolutely breathtaking. You can read ShogunHoney... HERE.

#7 FIX by Stephen Blackmoore

According to Mr. Blackmoore this is the first vampire story he has everwritten, and it happens to be one of my favorites. There's something about themain character, Lillian that gets under your skin. You can't help but want toknow more about her, “The Deal” that she's made that has put her where she is,and the people that seem to be holding all the cards and keeping Lillian on thestreets. Oh, and when she takes a bite out of Brady's heart... well, you can'thelp but cheer her on and want more of the story. Always wanting more... that'sme. You can read FIX... HERE!

#8All the Young Warriors by Anthony Neil Smith

Nothing like the other novels I've read by Mr. Smith, All the Young Warriorsis a dark tale about two college kids turned Somali terrorists and theirjourney into Hell. Mr. Smith doesn’t hide the brutality that is waiting in thewar-torn landscape of Somalia, and he doesn’t hide the torture that isinflicted all in the name of Allah. Instead, he sets a steady and suspensefulpace and forces you to see all of it without leaving the comfort of your home.Heart wrenching and devastatingly real, this book will leave you breathless.

#9Crimes in Southern Indiana by Frank Bills

Incredibly dark and violent, you won’t find another collection of shortstories to match its brutality, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find anotherauthor that can deliver such astonishing descriptions of crime in the southernbackwoods. In Crimes of Southern Indiana every story bleeds of heartbreak; notone happy ending in sight.

#10Dig Two Graves by Eric Beetner

It's hard not to like the main character, Val. Especially after he tells youabout his time in prison. In Dig Two Graves by Eric Beetner, Val is an ex-con seeking justice when the bank robbery he's perfectly planned goes south. Unable to walk away, Vals quest for revenge, his hot temper, and his outright stubbornness has him living on borrowed time.Honestly, with all that Val learned in prison, I'm surprised he didn't start aBJ101 course for those of us wanting to perfect the art. Hey, it's never toolate to learn, right? Plenty of wrong choices abound in this novella... makingit perfectly entertaining.

Merry Christmas to my Favorite Men of 2011

2011-12-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

I’m

wishing all of

my favorite male

fictional characters a

very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

~The Black Dagger Brotherhood-The

Blind King~Vishous~Rhage~Butch~Rehvenge~Quinn~

Zhadist~John Matthew~Blaylock~Lassiter~Murhder~

Tohrment~Phury, the men that named me Kate~Jack Reacher,

seriously, your blue eyes will forever haunt me~Lestat~Marrius~Tarquinn

Blackwood, some of my favorite men from The VampireChronicles~

David Trevellyan, okay-so he’s more like a brother to me, but my life

wouldn't be the same w/out him~Moses McGuire, this kick-ass

Viking had me pole dancing in my dreams~Nick Valentine, my friends

said you wouldn't steal my heart... they were wrong~Dan O'Shea, nice

to have you grace my tree, buddy~Coburn, a blood loving vampire with

a soft heart~my favorite cowboys Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles~

Bull Ingram~Mick Thooft~Charlie Hardie~Jack Winter, the hottest

crow-mage around~Joe Sunday, so your book doesn't drop until 2012.

I've seen the cover and I'm predicting some sort of crush. And

Oscar Martello, my favorite man. You're still bad... and I'm still in love.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to

my favorite men of 2011~

Love-Kate!

Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem

2011-12-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

Sabrina's Scary Christmas Part V

This will be the final review of 21 short stories found in the Halloween anthology, Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem compiled and edited by Ann Frasier.

Today's short stories are brought to you by Paul D. Brazil, Michael Allan Mallory, Theresa Weir, and Daniel Hatadi. They contain a little bit of this, and a little bit of that... mingled with a killer house, a prankster-playing Grim Reaper, a baby in a basket, and a deadly public playpen. Enjoy.

"Ten Sycamore Hill was, in Peter Ord's mind, the font of all of his misfortunes."

When I was in 4th grade my step-mother, Freda, decided to buy a house on the other side of town... without telling my father. I still remember the night he found out we had moved, without him, while he was on the high seas moving cargo to Korea. It was a sore spot for, well, until they divorced. So when I read the opening line to This Old House by Paul D. Brazil, this memory is what I thought of, 'cause I'm pretty sure my father felt the same way about the house on 235 N 8th Street. The place was a money pit, always needing work. The detached garage was so rotted you couldn't even park a car in it, and the roof above the addition was ready to cave in. The only thing that gave my father peace was the acreage... and his garden; always working his green thumb, he was. Today, at 86, he's still eating fresh veggies from his garden, and when we bring up the house on N 8th Street... he cringes.

It's that same cringe I see on Peter Ord's face every time he heads to Raby Arms to get drunk and looks up at his house on Sycamore Hill. Seems that whenever misfortune, lost love, and disappointment would strike Peter the house would lose a shingle, a door handle, or a window frame. When his health started to fail... the heating went out. I'd like to think it was the heating that was the last straw for Peter- the straw that gave him the idea to hire someone to burn the place to the ground- but I can't. Truth be told, Peter is a drunken fool, and he's not about to lose any more of his drinking money on home repair costs. But it's now or never as Guy Fawkes Night is just a couple of weeks away; a night of bonfires being a perfect night to "accidentally" burn his house to the ground. But the guy he hires confuses the date with Halloween, and the house... well, do you really think a house that connected to it's owner is gonna be burned to the ground without him? Something tells me that with a little bit of home improvement love, Peter would have had a much better life. Hmmm... this story makes me wonder how many years I gained with this kitchen remodel? We're adding a fireplace next. Then a new master bath and walk-in closest. The exterior will be redone in five years. At this rate... I'm never gonna die!

*****

Shortly after we had moved into our home, Richard would get a kick out of sneaking through the back door, making his way to the front room, and popping his head around the corner to scare me. I hated it. The terror of the moment would make me freeze, and my screams, well, they were always delayed. I mean, they were loud... they were just delayed by a few seconds. So one day I arrived home from work before him and thought it would be a great time for pay back. So... I picked up our little puppy and I took us to hide out in the shower stall. Without fail Richard always takes a shower when he gets home from work. So, I took our little dog and we waited. Then I heard him come home. He looked around for us, and must have decided we were out on a walk 'cause he went straight to the bathroom for a shower, stripped out of his clothes, and pulled the shower curtain back to start the water. And that's when I made my move... I popped out my head and screamed, "BOOOOO!" Richard was startled, shocked. He froze in place and then, after a short pause, he screamed. And I laughed. Nothing quite like a naked man screaming in fear. *giggles*

In Boo! by Michael Allan Mallory, we meet Leonard Skupic, a widower still feeling lost without his wife by his side, and a lover of practical jokes. This year for Halloween he's set up an elaborate display that, with a pull of a string, releases Joe Scarecrow from his chair and sends him flying toward unsuspecting trick-or-treaters waiting for candy. It's a pretty cool setup, and the little kids seem to get a kick out of it. But the older kids... not so much. In fact, one group of older kids are starting to take the fun out of Halloween for Leonard. In fact, Leonard is so upset with the older free candy moocher's that when Death comes calling for him, he gives him a piece of his mind. Thankfully Death didn't seem to care. In fact, when the older kids come back to 'cause problems Leonard enlists the Grim Reaper to help teach the kids a lesson. Hey, Death has traveled far... and it's his last stop for the evening. Might as well have some fun while you can, right?

*****

A woman living in the north woods of Minnesota wakes to find a baby named, James, on her door step in Girls From The North Country by Theresa Weir. At first she seems surprised, but then remembers that little James comes from the cloning company that gives her the privilege of living so isolated from the world... just the way she likes it. And it also doesn't take long to realize that this little boy she's been feeding, potty training, and teaching the alphabet to is... James Dean. It seems cloning the rich and famous is their specialty. Just shy of his sixth year, the company comes back to claim him, and in exchange for her silence they're offering to clone someone for her at no charge. They offer some suggestions, of course. Johnny Depp. Sean Connery. Even Jesus Christ, although the "DNA is questionable." But this woman doesn't want a famous person. She doesn't even want a long lost love or relative. Nope, this woman wants to clone herself. And clone herself she does. Hmmmm. Personally, I don't think the world could handle two of me. And if I was living in the north woods all by myself I'd probably clone... Hugh Jackman. Oh yeah, baby! Those eyes. That hair. His abs. Totally mine.

******

Manny and little Tim are good friends spending a day together at the Kids Playhouse on Halloween in Plaything by Daniel Hatadi. All the kids are busy running around and diving into the sea of red, yellow, blue, and green balls and occasionally bouncing balls off each other, while Manny is following Tim deeper and deeper into the playpen. Suddenly Tim dives below the balls and Manny, of course, dives in after him, only to run into something fuzzy and odd just below the surface where his friend should be. Frightened, Manny backs into a corner, and then after looking around patiently for his friend he decides to find his father to tell him that little Tim is lost. Manny's heard about Tim's father, how's he's responsible for Tim's bruises, and see's this anger first hand during the search for Tim.

After an evacuation from the building takes place, Manny sneaks back inside for another chance to find his friend. Turns out there's a giant made of mold taking children one by one, and the only way to get them back is to sacrifice an adult. Manny makes up a story to get his father and Tim's dad back in the building... only to learn the hard way that this monster doesn't care about the character traits of his victims. A father's life is taken to save the children in this creepy little story, and the father that deserved to be taken... is left behind.

This concludes my review of Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem. Deadly Treats can be purchased HERE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Turning by Dawn Kirby

2011-12-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

Time for Change?

Alana stood, her back to the blacked out window, watching Nicholas sleep. As she ran a fingertip across her bottom lip she thought about his proposal. It wasn’t a simple will you marry me type of question. Being turned was so much more than that.

The more she thought about it, the more she wished she didn’t care about him as much as she did. Saying no would be easier if that were the case. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him and she knew refusing the life he wanted to give her would.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought long and hard about it. In fact she’d almost said yes on more than one occasion. But when she thought about living as long as Nicholas had her resolve to go through with it vanished. The fact that her diet would consist of blood didn’t help any either.

She lay down next to him and propped herself up on her elbow. As her fingers gently played through his long black hair she started to cry. Never before had she had to deal with such an emotional struggle. Getting past Paul’s death had been hard, but his death hadn’t been a decision she had had to make. Neither was Jennifer’s. Ben made those decisions. She simply had to learn to live with events she couldn’t control.

This was different. This one would be solely on her shoulders. The blood of the people she drank from should she allow him to turn her would be on her hands. Even with as little as she knew about vampires she knew the possibility of accidentally killing someone was always there. Who’s to say she wouldn’t come to enjoy feeling life slip away? Who’s to say she could do it at all?

Time would creep by so slowly a month would likely feel like a year. Could she live from one night to the next knowing she had untold amounts of time in front of her? Could she give up the sun? Would night visits to Matt be enough? Probably not. A couple of hours would be all she would get. He’d need rest for work.

Then family entered her mind. Since Ben’s attack she’d been adamant about not having kids. Bringing a child into the world with all the violence and hatred had been unfathomable to her. Now things were different. She finally saw the good. As long as she could surround her children with that they would have good lives. But, becoming a vampire would put an end to that idea instantly.

She put her head on his chest and wrapped her arm around his waist. As she listened to his heart slowly beat she wondered if when the time came she could tell him no. He was everything she’s ever wanted and more. With him she could have a happy future. All she had to do was embrace his lifestyle.

Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem

2011-12-22T11:08:00.001-07:00

Sabrina's Scary Christmas Part IV

This will be an ongoing review of 21 short stories found in the Halloween anthology, Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem compiled and edited by Ann Frasier.

Today's short stories are brought to you by Kelly Lynn Parra, Jason Evans, Paula L. Flemming, Shirley Damsgaard, and Anne Frasier. They contain a little bit of this, and a little bit of that... mingled with some graveyard fun, a black cat, a burka wearing monster, a man that loves red shoes, and a little reanimation. Enjoy.

I've never been one to hang out in cemeteries... at night... with friends... to bring back the dead, but... I have been known to roam the grounds during the day, alone, just to enjoy the silence and read the grave markers. I could spend hours in a cemetery. I love them so much I even started a Pinterest board devoted to all the cemeteries I'm wanting to visit. Gotta love Pinterest! If people didn't think I was odd before...

Where was I? Oh, yes.

In Graveyard Soul Sucker by Kelly Lynn Parra, a group of friends head off to the cemetery in search of some Halloween fun. They're planning to resurrect John Peter Montgomery, a former serial killer (former, 'cause you know, he's dead), that died with 25 souls trapped in his body after sucking them dry through black magic... or something like that. He was captured and hung, and rumor has it a witch was in love with him. When John Peter didn't return the interest, she cursed him... "for all eternity he can only come alive midnight to midnight on Halloween to eat as many souls as he wants..." Only if you perform a ritual, though.

Turns out the practical joker in the group, Jones, just happens to have the ritual words needed to wake John Peter from his sleep. Jones doesn't really think it will work (can you see where this is going?), but to everyone's surprise it does work, and they soon find themselves scattering through the cemetery, taking cover behind grave markers, and listening to the Soul Sucker steal the lives of some of their friends. Some quick thinking, and reading of the book, the remaining friends devise a plan to confuse the Soul Sucker until they can get back to his grave, find some dirt, and recite some words that will throw him back to his grave... forever! Only... you need a decedent of a witch to make that happen. Hmmmmmm.

*****

There's an awful lot of apple-spiced tea drinking in She Came on the October Wind by Jason Evans. While drinking apple-spiced tea, Natalie is befriended by a black cat and is reminded of a pact she made with her sister when they were children. Her sister, Amanda, ran away from home years ago, and the history behind this event still sparks anger in their mother. As the cat begins to move closer and closer to Natalie's heart, her desire to find her sister becomes stronger. A search proves useless, but a slip of paper with information lands on Natalie's bed while she's been sleeping; paw prints leading the way to a closed window. The information leads Natalie to her sister... just in time to say goodbye. This wasn't the happy ending I had hoped for, but She Came on the October Wind by Jason Evans, was truly heartwarming and had me reaching for the phone to call my sisters. They didn't answer, though. #sadness

*****

In Treats, Tricks, and Terror in Tin Lake by Paula L. Fleming, Adeela is a woman living in a small community and dealing with the daily struggles of rumors caused from her need to wear a burka. The townsfolk have a hard time believing there's a Muslim living in their community, and even though the adults have been somewhat kind, some accuse her of being a terrorist... worse, a witch! But really, she's just your average monster hiding a disfigurement behind a burka and trying desperately to fit in.

Seems that every year on Halloween her house gets hit with graffiti and eggs and all kinds of nonsense. So this year, Adeela, is planning to win over the townsfolk by having lots of candy, lots of pumpkins, and the best costume around. She's taking off the burka, people... and letting her true beauty shine. Okay, so she's not really sparkly and all like that last sentence suggested. I got a little carried away. She's a monster... with no breasts, and she has a hip frill that covers her genitals. AND, most importantly, she doesn't sparkle like a member of the Cullen family. She's truly monstrous!

Things are looking good for Adeela this year when the kids are loving her costume and one of the parents admits that she has the best look in the neighborhood. But things soon take a bad turn when evil men torch her house and send Adeela scrambling to save the only link she has with the other world / community that she really belongs with. It's a sad tale of survival for a monster living among us humans... but with hope that there just might be more of her kind living in the community of Tin Lake. Hey, was that a devil lobster that just walked by?

*****

What do you do when the man that you think is the ONE breaks your heart and never returns your calls? Well, if you're a witch you send him a curse that makes him fall in love with you so you can break his heart in little tiny pieces later. And if you're not a witch? You pretend to be one and catch your kitchen on fire.

This is where we meet Rachel in Bewitched by Shirley Damsgaard. Turns out the guy she might have given a little too much of herself to for a first date, didn't call her like he had promised. He hasn't returned her calls, either. Frustrated, angry, maybe even a little humiliated, she comes up with a bad idea to curse him. Her attempt fails and she can now add fire damage to the list of troubles brewing in her life.

But she picks up the pieces and moves on by attending a Halloween party dressed as Dorothy... with red stilettos to finish the look. Not intentionally, though. She was so obsessed with getting back at this guy, Joel, that she didn't even bother to check to see if her costume fit. Now's she stuck dressing a little more slutty than she had probably planned, and catching the eye of... yep, Joel, the guy that's been avoiding her.

Turns out Joel's got a little secret, though, and Rachel's about to meet the Red Shoe Killer. Dang, where's a real witch when you need one?

*****

One thing I really love about short stories is their ability to have an element of surprise in such a short amount of time. I mean, really... for some it takes an entire novel to spin a story with a surprise... which isn't a bad thing. But a short story that can give a surprise ending that leaves your mouth gaping open, well, that's just pure genius in my book. And Anne Frasier (pseudonym for Theresa Weir), does just that with her short story The Replacement.

In The Replacement by Anne Frasier we meet Grant Vang, an eighteen year old college student in need of a replacement. You see, Grant's been brought back from the dead thanks to his uncle and a reanimation kit. His Uncle is a doctor... I think he's a witch doctor, actually. Regardless, Grant's Uncle wants him to find a replacement and soon... the younger the better. But Grant doesn't want a young replacement, and finding the right one takes time when you have a certain standard to uphold.

And in a walks the perfect standard... a frat boy. The frat boy might seem pretty skeptical about the place, but he's curious enough to take a piece of paper containing a spell for his heart's desire. The instructions are to memorize the words and eat the piece of paper. Then "after the sun sets below the horizon and the moon is silver in the night sky," he's supposed to stand with his back to the foot of a fresh grave, close his eyes, and repeat the spell three times. Oh... and he's supposed to go alone.

Yeah, I don't know. There's something about my heart's desire being found in a cemetery that doesn't really add up. But the frat boy doesn't seem to be bothered by this and actually goes to cast the spell. As for the fresh grave? Well, the frat boy decides to stand with his back to the fresh grave belonging to a college student he killed three days ago. Any guesses on who's waiting in the dark for the frat boy? Yep! The reanimated body of Grant Vang.

Anne Frasier did a wonderful job of setting this story up. The death of a college student is mentioned briefly at the beginning of the story, but the way Grant and his uncle discuss finding a replacement, as a reader, I was under the impression Grant was looking for a new employee for his uncle. Even the mention of the reanimation kit is so casual that the reality of Grant's situation isn't made clear until he meets up with the frat boy at the cemetery. This was written so cleverly that I couldn't wait to go back and find all the obvious hints to the end of the story. This is one of my favorites in the anthology.

I'll be back later with the final stories from Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem. Until then, feel free to pick up a copy from the following links below...

Deadly Treats is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem

2011-12-19T20:52:00.001-07:00

Sabrina's Scary Christmas Part III

This will be an ongoing review of 21 short stories found in the Halloween anthology, Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem compiled and edited by Ann Frasier.

Today's short stories are brought to you by Leandra Logan, Marilyn Victor, Julia Buckley, Lance Zarimba, and L.K. Rigel. They contain a little bit of this, and a little bit of that... mingled with a serial killer, an ogre, a woman hearing voices, a romantic date, and a writer gone nuts. Enjoy.

When I was eighteen and a live-in babysitter for the Johnson family in Salt Lake City, I started receiving phone calls. They always came after the Johnson's had left for the day and I was home alone with the youngest girl, Katie. No one ever responded to my greetings, just breathing. It was annoying. But since the Johnson's didn't have caller ID, I had no choice but to answer the phone in case the school was calling about the oldest child, or the parents were calling to check in. Eventually the calls started coming at night when the Johnson family would go out on the weekends and I was left at the house alone.

One evening the phone rang and the person on the other end spoke. He told me he could see me through the windows and that he knew I was home alone. I really didn't know what to do. I just hung up the phone and closed all the blinds and double checked the locks on the doors. But the phone... it rang all night long. And finally fearing that the Johnson family was trying to contact me, I answered, and was greeted by the same male voice informing me that he could still see me and that he was holding a knife. I left the house as soon as the sun came up (I wasn't about to go outside in the dark... and calling the police didn't even enter my mind. I was young,,,) and I didn't return until the family was home. Turns out Mr. Johnson's employment with NASA, meant our phone line was always monitored. A simple check by the office told us that the neighbor boy was making the calls.

There might not have been prank calls in You Called by Leandra Logan, but there was a creepy guy on the other end of the line. Except he didn't sound so creepy when Paula first spoke to him. Paula, by my own definition, is a strange one. She likes to check out who called her during the day when she's been out, and then she likes to call people back... even if she doesn't know them. One night after calling a number that she's not familiar with, she strikes up a conversation with a man, ends up dating him over the phone, and after a drunken night of sharing sad stories about being stood up for senior prom, she agrees to have him over to her house for a night of Halloween fun and dancing... or not. Turns out the guy never lived at the number she dialed from home that night. He was there, alright... making a killing while talking on the phone with Paula. In You Called by Leandra Logan, curiosity comes very, very close to killing the cat.

*****

A young witch learns a horrible lesson when she's unwilling to wait until she's more mature to find her soulmate in The Ogre of Her Dreams by Marilyn Victor. Aurora Piddleworth is a young witch in training. She's also in a hurry to find a soulmate. Unfortunately she's doesn't have what it takes to create the man of her dreams on her own, so she threatens her professor and ultimately forces her to spin the spell for a soulmate for her. But Aurora should have done her homework, and should have done some more research when she found missing pages in a forbidden book. Turns out the text book is quite clear... a witch's soulmate is an OGRE. Yeah, you know the ones. The big ugly dudes that like to stick their finger in their noses. Worse... this Ogre now belongs to Aurora for five hundred years unless she takes her professors suggestions and lets her cast a spell to hide Aurora from her new love. Of course Aurora agrees, and... well, let's just say that I'll never look at frogs the same way again.

*****

In Motherly Intuition by Julia Buckley, Daphne is a thirty-four year old woman grieving the loss of her mother, and hearing voices in her head. A trip to a psychiatrist doesn't prove helpful, but it does make one voice in her mind more clear. Turns out her mother has found a way to communicate from beyond the grave, and to prove it's her, she sends Daphne to her old home to locate the secret stash of erotica books she kept in the fuse box (Heh... erotica books. I think Daphne's mom and I would have gotten along perfectly). Anyway, Daphne locates the hidden stash, their communication stays intact, and Daphne's mother helps her avoid danger and find true love. I love happy endings!

*****

Ima and Billy Joe Jim Bob are having a night on the town in Fangs for the Memories by Lance Zarimba. This is perhaps the oddest couple I have ever read about, and... I'm truly at a loss for words. All I know is that Billy Joe Jim Bob drove me nuts with his one liners... and I'm super happy Ima got her fangs in him.

*****

A writer working hard for her next big novel (we'll call her Anon), is interrupted by the horrible rumblings of her muse in Slurp!

Maybe.

Seems the court hearings are causing quite a stir, and this little writer might get the comeback she's been wishing for when superagent, Betsy Blitz, makes a phone call to her attorney. Now Anon has lots of things to think about, never mind that her muse hasn't been heard from since her arrest. She's meeting her fans while sitting in court, watching a live blogger outing her status online, and anxiously awaiting the results of her twitter status. And that's when she hears it... Slurp! Only this time the noise isn't meant for her... it's meant for little Ms. LiveBlogger sharing the secrets from court. Looks like Anon has lost her muse for good this time. I wonder if this interferes with the big comeback?

I'll be back with more stories from Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem. Until then, feel free to pick up a copy from the following links below...

Deadly Treats is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Turning Series by Dawn Kirby

2011-12-16T07:58:00.000-07:00

Digging

Carter glanced across his desk to see Chris pouring over yet another file. He’d been at it for hours and judging by the determination he saw in his young partner’s eyes there wasn’t an end in sight. He shook his head and picked up an old manila folder from the pile on Chris’s desk.

“What are you looking through all these old things for?” he asked, flipping through the folder. There was nothing there but deeds and title transfers. “They put you on a case I don’t know about?”

“Remember I told you there was something going on with those two?” Chris asked, never looking up from the file in his hand. He’d finally found the name he was looking for.

“Good God, Chris.” Carter tossed the folder aside and shook his head. “I thought I told you to let that go. That family has been through more than enough. Leave ‘em be.”

“You don’t understand,” he argued. “I figured it out. Well some of it anyway.” He turned a few pages and saw a picture of the man, the vampire he’d seen at Matt’s place. He pushed it in front of Carter. “See this guy?”

Carter looked, but didn’t see a connection. The picture was dated circa 1845.

“Yeah,” he said shrugging his shoulders. “What of him?”

“He’s part of it.”

Carter took another look at the photo and then his partner. Obviously he was suffering from a lack of something. “You realized this guy died over seventy years ago.”

“You’d think,” Chris said. “But I swear that’s the same guy I saw at Matt’s place.”

“Hold up,” Carter said calmly. Not a week before they’d both been told to stay away from the family altogether. An unidentified caller had called their superiors at home to complain about Chris’s accusations and asked that they be removed from Ben’s case altogether. “You keep digging and you’re gonna find yourself out on your ass.”

“I doubt that,” Chris snorted. “Now that I know what I know, they can’t keep me away.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Carter was beginning to think the kid had snapped.

“I’m saying if I can find this guy, I can find Ben. The sooner that happens the better.” Somehow finding Alana, getting her away from them both seemed more important than anything else. “I get the feeling if he gets a hold of her again she’s in for a fate worse than death.”

“A week ago you were sure he was covering for her. Now you want to save her? What gives?”

“I saw something the other night, Carter. Something I never in a million years thought I’d ever see. Everything makes sense now. I see why she was so calm about Jennifer’s death. She already knew.”

“Knew what? That Ben did it?” Carter closed the file and got up for a cup of coffee. “I told you that the night they called off the patrol.”

“I’m not sorry I asked questions.”

“Of course not. So what did you see? Why this sudden change of heart?”

“I saw Ben nearly kill a man.”

“And you didn’t call it in?!” Carter was exasperated. Even though they’d been called off the case they had a duty. “What were you thinking?”

“They didn’t need help,” Chris said, lowering his voice. He looked around the room for prying ears. What he was about to say didn’t need to be overheard. “They had that guy.” He gestured toward the closed file. “They had a vampire.”

Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem

2011-12-15T21:35:00.002-07:00

Sabrina's Scary Christmas Part II

This will be an ongoing review of 21 short stories found in the Halloween anthology, Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem compiled and edited by Ann Frasier.

Today's short stories are brought to you by David Housewright, Stephen Blackmoore, Heather Dearly, and Mark Hull. They contain a little bit of this, and a little bit of that... mingled with a haunted house, a zombie, the Grim Reaper, and a Boy Scout. Enjoy.

*****

When I was little there used to be a run-down, two story home at the very top of the street on Alendale Drive in St. Helens, Oregon. It was white with a hole in the roof above the porch, and the areas around the outside windows looked to be stained black from a long ago fire. I remember every year on Halloween night when we had finally reached the end of our street, we would look across the road to the house on the hill and someone in the group would always claim to see a ghost in the upstairs window. I never saw the ghost... or did I?

There’s a tale of an abandoned farmhouse in the story Time of Death by David Housewright, that reminded me of the home we used to watch from afar when I was little. The house is dark and mysterious and full of ghost stories about a young woman that has slashed the throat of her heartless boyfriend and... hung herself by a rope from the rafters of her home. Laurel Clark and Delores Utley, the young girl that took her own life, were pretty close. So much so that Delores took to haunting her boyfriend’s dreams and warned him to be good to Laurel. Looks like the boyfriend should have listened to Delores' ghost, and he never should have taken that bet to spend an entire night in the abandoned Utley farmhouse to prove how much of man he is, or... was. Now, a murder has taken place, Laurel's been arrested and claims Delores is responsible, and her boyfriends time of death... well, the time of death seems eerily familiar. Just down right creepy this one is.

*******

In Worlds Greatest Dad by Stephen Blackmoore, two young men use there trusty pick up book, Go Satan! How To Pick Up Girls With The Dark Arts! to bring their father back from the dead after a liquor store robbery goes bad on Halloween. Franklin, the lucky guy with the second chance at life, is now a zombie... hungry for McDonald's, but unable to eat thanks to the hole in his stomach. The poor guy isn't quite sure what to think of his new body, but decides this second chance at life is a time to make amends with his ex-wife and... maybe make life a little "better" for all of them.

Yeah, right!

A visit to his ex-wife's home proves to be a mistake when Franklin learns Pearl is planning to remarry, and this new guy, Lawrence, well... let's just say Lawrence doesn't have a problem saying what's on his mind, and because of that, Franklin isn't in the mood for McDonald's anymore. A brain here and a brain over there, two kids regretting their decision to help their daddy, a zombie running through a cemetery screaming at his kids with only half a tongue, a penis on fire, and "eyes rolling around like ping pong balls" makes Worlds Greatest Dad... some pretty spectacular reading!

*****

In Troubled Water by Heather Dearly, a group of locals make their yearly walk down Cemetery Road to mourn the loss of two townsfolk and scorn the one they believe to be responsible. A stranger, Byron Dodd, had come to town and stayed in the home of Anya Madjigijik, her husband, and daughter. Only he was more than a stranger- he was death in disguise. When Anya discovered his secret and asked him to leave, he took the lives of her husband and daughter with him and left the blame of their deaths with her. When the Grim Reaper returns, as he always does, she sends him away. But this time, upon his departure, she realizes the secret to her prolonged life and what she must do to keep this Byron Dodd from taking any more lives before their time.

Troubled Water by Heather Dearly is the most poetic short story I've ever read. A rythmic structure, intentional or not, has a strong presence and brings a calming beauty throughout the entire story. "Every year since the tragedy, when the leaves turned to shades of fire and blood, the town crossed the water to mourn. They carried grave flowers for the dead father and his dead daughter, and unrepentant torches of blame for the widow with the weird name."

I love this one so much I need to find someone to record it for me so I can listen to it play over and over again on my ipod. Absolutely beautiful.

*****

There's this lovely little Mexican restaurant (total dive) in town that has the best smothered burritos in the valley. When you order them smothered with Chile Verde sauce, at least. One time I didn't clarify and the plate was covered in a thick, red goo that looked like coagulated blood. It looked so disgusting I couldn't even make it passed the first bite without dry heaving. This experience is what I thought of when reading Friday Night Dining with Marianne by Mark Hull.

Marianne is a food critic in Greater Los Angeles and she hates the senior food critic, Mr. Earl. She hates a lot of things, actually. Halloween. Kids. Cab drivers. The restaurant where she's eating dinner on Halloween. Seriously, this lady is a drain on society. The only time she seems to be content is if she's relaxing in a hot bath at home or being catered to by others. Fortunately, the staff at L'Homme in Bel Air, finally start meeting Marianne's needs and her mood becomes more tolerable when she starts to hit it off with the maitre d'.

Nibbling on such delicacies as mountaineer's eyeball in aspic, Baked Alaskan and ladyfingers drizzled with raspberry sauce, and saltimbocca (veal?) Marianne seems to be so pleased by the food on display and the service that she's receiving that she doesn't even flinch when the maitre d' tells her that the veal she just enjoyed really isn't veal. Um, yeah, that would be a chubby Boy Scout. Yep... a chubby Boy Scout.

I don't know, maybe it's the third bottle of wine (blood) she's had that helps her keep her cool. Whatever it is, she's soon discovering the deep dark secrets of restaurant L'Homme and making plans for a visit with the man she hates the most, Mr. Earl. Thankfully they take reservations in advance, and they've been known for seating parties of two at a table for one... if you know what I mean. *wink wink* I totally want the number for this place. Sign. Me. Up. to drop someone off, of course. I could never really stomach eating anything there. I mean, well, could you? Hey, wait a second. Is that Dracula coming through the door? Yeah, this place (and the story) is pretty dang cool!

I'll be back with more stories from Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem. Until then, feel free to pick up a copy at the link below!

Deadly Treats is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

A Few Enjoyable Reads from Fiona Johnson

2011-12-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

Last week Fiona Johnson stopped by the blog to tell us about her love of reading, how our own imagination can bring things to life, and what inspired her to write the short stories that are contained in her latest short story collection, Peat Smoke and Primroses. Today I'll talk a little bit about her short story collections.

I remember when I first met @McDroll (Fiona Johnson) on Twitter a few months ago when she was just starting to share her short stories on her personal blog. And now, here she is with not just one published short story collection, but three.

The first collection is Kick It by McDroll, and contains five emotionally charged short stories, with the combination being a perfect bundle for a debut collection. Three of the five short stories are about one of my favorite female tough-girl characters, Gemma Dixon. Gemma is a female cop working her way up in a man's world and proving she's got more balls than some of the men she works with. She's sharp, witty, not afraid to get dirty, and has no problem holding her own when things get rough. In A Pot of Christmas Soup, Gemma learns what the real ingredients are in a tasty dish served up by a female inmate. Then in The Red Glove, Gemma and her team find the remains of a young girl, and Gemma gets a note with startling information. The third story featuring Gemma Dixon, and the one that always brings a smile to my face, showcases Gemma dressed undercover in six inch heels and working a street corner as a whore in It Takes Years of Training. The two other stories in the collection feature a sperm donor meeting his daughter in Number 74, and a school teacher bringing a dramatic end to a difficult day in Drowning.

We get another helping of emotionally charged stories in Kick It Again by McDroll. This time the stories showcase a fairly wide range of characters, from a couple of shady guys getting a beat down in A Straight Game, to a mother with no place to go but down in No More Choices. My two favorite stories are told in The Return Journey, a haunting tale of a daughter returning to her abusive past to finally take her mother's hand, and The Trip, the disastrous story of a family road trip. Perhaps the most emotional story for me was Unrest. In this story we read about the terror of war and the fear of being found by the enemy... "all hope of rescue was now gone." Absolutely chilling.

Next you'll find Fiona telling stories of love in Peat Smoke and Primroses, all welcome after reading the first two collections. It might be the smallest collection of the three, but the stories are just as powerful. Peat Smoke and Primroses contains a story of lost love in Together, a man's love for his VW Golf van and the marriage that becomes possible when it finally breaks down in Love of My Life, and the possibility of buried treasure in Whiskey Island. With the details of the landscape so beautifully written by Fiona, you'll easily see yourself on a beach one minute, and driving down a single track-road near Glasgow on a windy autumn day the next.

Fiona might be writing under two different names, but don't think for a second that the writing style changes when the name does. Her style... is solid.

Fiona Johnson lives in Argyll, Scotland, easily one of the most beautiful places in the world, steeped in history from prehistoric standing stones to Celtic crosses with castles and countless lochs and glens. She sits at night, laptop on knees, and writes about romance or murders depending on what mood she is in…well, what else would she do? Fiona has had stories published in Shotgun Honey and The Flash Fiction Offensive. KICK IT and KICK IT AGAIN her collections of crime/noir short stories have been published by Trestle Press. Fiona is one of the contributors in OFF THE RECORD and THE LOST CHILDREN, both charity anthologies. Her most recent collection of short stories PEAT SMOKE AND PRIMROSES is also published by Trestle Press.

Fiona also writes under the names McDroll and F.G. Johnson.

Her books are available here:

KICK IT by McDroll

KICK IT AGAIN by McDroll

PEAT SMOKE AND PRIMROSES by F.G. Johnson

THE LOST CHILDREN: A CHARITY ANTHOLOGY

OFF THE RECORD

Turning by Dawn Kirby

2011-12-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

New Blood

“Let me get this straight,” the older man said leaning back in his chair. He drank the remainder of his beer and sat the empty bottle on the table beside him. “You want us to kidnap a guy to get to his sister?”

“That’s it,” Ben said. He handed the man a piece of paper with Matthew’s address written on it. “Get him, bring him to me and park your asses outside the door.”

“We’ll bring him, but I’m not doing anymore than that. You’ve already said the gal you’re after is with a vamp. I’m guessing he’s a lot older and stronger than you are.” Ben didn’t answer. The Were cocked his eyebrow and chuckled. “Lord knows I don’t wanna be around to see if I’m right.”

“I’ll pay you more.”

“Benny boy, you could offer me a million bucks and I still wouldn’t hang around here. Screwing with a vamp the way you are is worse than dangling a fresh piece of meat in front of a wolf.”

Ben shook his head and sighed. He’d wanted the Weres here to control the human element. He knew he could handle them alone, but Nicholas, whether he wanted to admit it or not, scared him. Lance, the Were sitting in front of him was right. Nicholas was older. And he had a feeling he was ten times stronger. Not that it mattered. He’d deal with anything to get back what was rightfully his. Still…

“What if I could promise you something special?” Ben asked.

“Depends on what it is,” Lance said frankly. “Gettin’ killed doesn’t rank real high on my list of things I gotta try.”

“What would you say if I told you I could guarantee your pack a mind reader?”

A coy smile spread across his lips. The pack leader had been looking for one of those for a very long time. Why he didn’t know, but if he could be the one to bring one to him he really didn’t care.

“The girl?” he asked.

“No,” Ben said quickly. Lance’s smile disappeared. “The girlfriend. I’m sure she’ll be there with him. All you have to do is pick her up.”

“You’re sure she’s a telepath?”

“She’s got something going on,” Ben told him. The truth was he wasn’t sure. He knew she knew things, but how she knew was a mystery to him. To get some insurance he’d say anything.

Lance wasn’t convinced this kid knew what he was talking about at this point. Mind readers were rare and highly sought after. With a battle brewing between his pack and the one in the next county she could come in very useful. But being wrong about her would be a mistake that could cost him dearly. Being right…well, that could be

“I’ll play,” he told Ben. “We’ll go grab your guy. If the girl’s there we’ll take her, too.” He stood up and stretched his arms over his head. Ben heard his back crack and flinched. That sound had always made him uneasy. Lance noticed and laughed again. Some vamp. “If she’s what you say. We’ll take her as payment. If she’s not we take your girl.”

“Alana’s not part of the deal,” Ben said flatly.

“She is if you’re wrong.” Lance’s eyes grew hard and cold. For the first time since he’d been turned he felt like his life could be in danger. “Speculating in this little corner of the world is a bad thing. You’ll soon figure that out.”

Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem

2011-12-08T07:36:00.002-07:00

Sabrina's Scary Christmas Part I

This will be an ongoing review of 21 short stories found in the Halloween anthology, Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem compiled and edited by Ann Frasier.

Today's short stories are brought to you by Patricia Abbott, Bill Cameron, and Pat Dennis. They contain a little bit of this, and a little bit of that... mingled with an angel, a bat, and a pitchfork. Enjoy.

DEADLY TREATS starts with The Angel Deeb by Patricia Abbott. It's a magical little story about a petty criminal growing a pair of wings. Don't believe me? It's true. He's become angelic... in that he's developed a problem with his shoulder blades (winged scapula), and the condition has left him with a wing-like appearance. And, as you can probably guess, having problems with your shoulder blades can cause serious problems when your income as a thief depends on your ability to reach (think... grabbing purses on the go, picking pockets for wallets, snagging pieces of jewelry on a moving target).

After seeing a doctor and gaining a better appreciation for his medical condition, Mr. Deeb sets out to find another way to bring in a steady income and soon makes stealing items from mailboxes his newly preferred crime. Turns out stealing from mailboxes isn't that easy, though, as his first attempt leaves him with a box of medical supplies... insulin for a child. Look, the guy might be a criminal, but he's a criminal with standards, not to mention wings. So, doing the right thing, Mr. Deeb returns the box and meets a little girl named Isabella... who happens to mistake him for her guardian angel, Angel Deeb. Not only do those wings come in handy when he has to return the medicine to Isabella, but after this little encounter... it looks like this criminal might just have what it takes to become a real angel.

.......

The cutest bat EVER steals the show in Sunlight Nocturne by Bill Cameron. It might be a beautiful day in Portland, Oregon, but suspects in a home invasion robbery are about to bring some drama to a relatively quiet neighborhood where the neighbors are friendly... and the children are even friendlier. Spending his day building a bat house with his four year old neighbor, former Detective Kadash is sneaking updates on the radio about the home invasion suspects still on the lose in the area, and listening to the whap-whap-whap of a nearby helicopter. With lessons in all things bat related, this former detective and his four year old helper manage to put together, paint, and install the bat house just in time for an early night of trick-or-treating. Of course the trick-or-treating comes after one of the crazy suspects decides to take a short cut through the yard. In this story you'll read about a lying Mormon missionary with a really screwed up mother, a possible relationship in the making, and envision a cute little bat flying around the yard eating bugs.

........

I don't think I've ever been competitive when it comes to decorating my house for the holidays. I certainly don't know how many christmas lights the next door neighbor has up compared to the neighbor across the street. And I didn't really wander through the neighborhood to see what house had the biggest Halloween display this year. Although... I can say that the Eddy's would have won with their Grim Reaper Pumpkin Carriage that took up the entire front yard. That thing was AWESOME! So awesome, that it was stolen just after the sun went down and long before the world had retired for the night.

In Dead Line by Pat Dennis, we meet a woman with a nasty competitive streak named Kate. Kate's about about to run out of time to add more decorations to her Halloween yard display and is in fear of not winning the first place trophy in the town Halloween decorating competition. For most people this wouldn't be a concern, but for Kate it becomes a huge issue when the sister that has always stolen the show decides to take a break from her fear of Halloween and out shine Kate in the competition.

What's probably more annoying than Kate's over achieving sister is her not-so-adoring hubby. After sulking to her room to eat a bag of chocolate (they sleep in separate bedrooms because of his snoring... a much more common occurrence than people realize), Kate finds herself putting on her coat in the middle of the night and heading over to her sister's house with a pitch fork. Her "plan" is to cause damage to the decorations, but when she finds someone familiar lurking in a tree with a pair of binoculars peeping through the window of her sister's house... well, let's just say that pitch fork is put to very good use. But, unfortunately, the memories of that difficult night prove to be too much for poor Kate so... move over Halloween... Kate's taking over Christmas.

-I'll be back with more stories from the Deadly Treats Anthology in a few days.

Deadly Treats is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Imagine That! A Guest Post by Fiona Johnson

2011-12-07T10:53:00.001-07:00

I would like to welcome my very good friend, Fiona Johnson, to My Friends Call Me Kate. Fiona and I met on Twitter, and together we have been able to build a wonderful online friendship thanks to the amazing world of Skype. If we could, we'd spend hours sitting in front of our computers sharing our concerns with one another, and dispensing to each other solid advice about the important things in life, like, where to hang a picture... or what book to read next. No, seriously, although we've never met, we've become quite close. I love her like a sister. Lately, Fiona has been busy writing and publishing a series of short stories with Trestle Press. And today she is going to talk to us about the power of imagination... our imagination; the things we see when we read.

Thanks so much to Sabrina for allowing me to appear on her blog today because I’m not sure that she knows what she’s let herself in for! Anyway, don’t let that worry you, settle back and come on into my little world for a while and you never know, you might like it and decide to hang out with me but beware, you’ll not find any of the cool kids here – just the nerdy writer types who love words and the worlds that only exist in their crazed imaginations.

And that’s where I want to start – imagination…do you have one? I know Sabrina has because most of the time in her head she’s cycling up and down roads on a pink bicycle in her pajamas or other such crazy stuff. I’ve been thinking about imagination today because earlier on I was reading a story called ‘The Bird, the Mouse and the Sausage’ to a class of 5 and 6 year old children. I had only just started when the little ones at the front were demanding, actually nearly tugging the book from my hands, to see the pictures. I stopped and explained to them that I wasn’t going to show them the pictures this time because the pictures that their imaginations can create would be even better. Some of the kids weren’t particularly pleased with me so I explained how the books I read don’t have any pictures at all but I see everything that happens very clearly. This was news to them….

So where am I going with all this? Well have you ever considered how hard a writer works at creating those pictures in your imagination by only using words made up of 26 letters? Recently I finished reading ALL THE YOUNG WARRIORS by Anthony Neil Smith and his ability to take me to places in my imagination just blew me away. The book is set in two polar opposites, the freezing cold of Minnesota and the arid heat of Somalia. Smith used his awesome talent to make me feel the cold, the snow, and the ice and then taste the dust in Mogadishu. Remarkable.

This is why I love reading and writing so much; the ability to be moved out of my everyday setting and transported to another world, to a place that I’ll never visit or experience but through the talent of the writer I can at least imagine what these amazing places might be like. You can’t get this from a photograph or even by watching a programme on TV. The written word is special; it has a human connection that no other medium can bring.

So where can I take you? Well, if you care to come along, I’d love to show you the Scottish islands, to take you to the most perfect deserted beaches and to let you hear the silence of a summer’s evening. This is a world that I know well as I spent nine years living on a little island that could only be reached by a two hour ferry from the mainland. My latest collection of stories PEAT SMOKE AND PRIMROSES is set on the Scottish islands that pepper the west coast of the country and they are amongst the most beautiful and unspoiled places on earth.

The people who live there are also very special as they have a heritage and culture that is still alive and vibrant, now long gone and missing from most other places that I have lived in. Even today, islanders don’t need to lock their doors when they go out and when you drive along the single track roads you wave to every passing car because everybody knows everybody else.

So I invite you to come with me for a little while, leave the hustle and bustle of the 21^st century behind and discover a slower more peaceful way of life. You never know, you might quite like it!

Fiona Johnson lives in Argyll, Scotland, easily one of the most beautiful places in the world, steeped in history from prehistoric standing stones to Celtic crosses with castles and countless lochs and glens.

She sits at night, laptop on knees, and writes about romance or murders depending on what mood she is in…well, what else would she do?

Fiona has had stories published in Shotgun Honey and The Flash Fiction Offensive. KICK IT and KICK IT AGAIN her collections of crime/noir short stories have been published by Trestle Press. Fiona is one of the contributors in OFF THE RECORD and THE LOST CHILDREN, both charity anthologies. Her most recent collection of short stories PEAT SMOKE AND PRIMROSES is also published by Trestle Press.

Fiona also writes under the names McDroll and F.G. Johnson.

Her books are available on Amazon:

KICK IT by McDroll

KICK IT by McDroll

PEAT SMOKE AND PRIMROSES by F.G. Johnson

THE LOST CHILDREN: A CHARITY ANTHOLOGY

OFF THE RECORD

Sabrina's Scary Christmas

2011-12-04T21:43:00.002-07:00

I had a dream that I was running through a forest being chased by

two black cats with big green eyes.

They were also wearing scarfs and singing music from

The Nightmare Before Christmas.

I remember when my spouse took me to see this movie. I really didn't

want to go. I mean, it really didn't look like it would be something I

would enjoy. But my brother-in-law really seemed to like it, and he

promised us that we would love it. So, we went...

and totally fell in love with it. And what's not to love?

It's the perfect holiday movie filled with evil and goodness and

music and dancing and ROMANCE!

Well, anyway, when I woke up in the morning I was reminded of

the Halloween anthology,

Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem.

Then I thought... since I didn't get around to talking about this anthology in October like I had planned to do, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to have a few posts spotlighting this anthology in December.

And this is exactly what I plan to do!

You know, this isn't the first time a dream has led me to do something

crazy on this blog. And the fact that I'm typing this post doped up on hydrocodone has absolutely nothing to do with this idea. Okay, maybe it does a little. But if I were being honest... the real reason behind this crazy post is because I found that photo of the Pumpkin King dressed as

Santa Claus and I really, really, really wanted to use it. Plus, right now, as I'm

typing this post, this idea really sounds kind of fun.

So, over the next few weeks I'll be posting some short reviews about the stories contained in Deadly Treats: Halloween Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem, and together we can bask in the glory of all things creepy, magical, deadly, and ghostly... I can't think of a better way to ring in the Christmas Spirit. Can you?

Bwahahahahohohohoho!

Turning by Dawn Kirby

2011-12-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

Stand Still

“I’m safe,” Alana assured Matt. She propped the phone on her shoulder and started opening kitchen cabinets in search of coffee. “Don’t worry about me. You need to focus on you right now.”

“That’s a little hard considering you don’t even know where you are,” Matt snorted. Carly handed him a cool bottle of water and sat down beside him on the couch. He grimaced when her leg accidentally hit his thigh.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

He put his hand over the receiver and managed a slight smile. “It’s okay. I’m not in half as much pain as I was.” His hand fell away from the phone, his attention back on his sister. “Did you even ask?”

“Of course I did,” she said defensively. She wasn’t a complete idiot. “Once he told me we were at his house and Ben couldn’t find us here I didn’t really think I needed an address. Judging by that groan I just heard, I’d say you’re nowhere near strong enough to come find me.”

“Make him bring you back here.”

“And then what?” She leaned against the counter and frowned. Where in the heck does a vampire keep coffee? Or was the pot just an attempt at looking normal? “You die. Carly dies. If I stay away from y’all there’s a better chance we’ll all come out of this alive.”

“There’s always a chance we won’t.”

***

Ben dropped the man’s lifeless body on the ground and hit the wall. He’d planned on having Alana’s blood tonight not the diluted shit he’d just settled for. Frat boys were easy to pick off, but they tended to have more alcohol in their system than blood. This time was no different and he was still hungry. Thanks to Nicholas two people would die tonight.

As he walked around the corner he thought about his next move. He had no idea where to look for her. Nicholas was smart enough not to take her back to her brother’s apartment. There was no way he’d let her go back to her own place. Not now. Thomas’s house maybe?

Almost as soon as he thought it he dismissed it. Ben had made that house his over the past few weeks. If anybody had dared go in that house without his permission they would have been met by heavy opposition. He smiled when he thought of all the benefits his new life had given him; werewolves being one of them.

Then it hit him. Weres didn’t need permission to get in houses. They didn’t have to worry about sunlight. They also had an amazing sense of smell. Why hadn’t he seen it before? He didn’t need to find Alana. He just needed to give her a reason to come to him. Forcing Matt and whoever else he could think of to his house would do just that.

With a plan brewing in his head he set out to find his next victim. She would be tall, blond and more than willing to fulfill his every need. Who knows? He may even decide to keep her until Alana decided he was in fact the only man for her.

Merciless Pact by R. Thomas Brown

2011-12-01T08:46:00.001-07:00

I've been spending the last couple of weeks trying to wrap my mind around Merciless Pact, a horror novella, written by R. Thomas Brown. It's a creepy little story about an evil that lurks in a small town in Texas invading unsuspecting souls, usually at the discretion of someone that they are close to; someone that's supposed to care about them.

The story starts with Greg being awakened in the middle of the night after his friend has broken into his home. And, well, his friend pins him down and pukes on him. I know! Gross, right? He just pukes on him, apologizes and leaves. No explanation... I mean, they meet up again a little later in the story, but nothing is really discussed, and by then, Greg knows that he's been possessed by an evil power that can't be controlled; an evil that is always growing stronger. It's an evil that he doesn't really want, but contains just enough power that he's not willing to give it all away. And, worse, it's an evil that is wanted by something even more evil.

And that's when things get interesting.

Not willing to give up this power entirely, Greg strikes a bargain with the spirits without all the details to the bargain. Without all the details... I mean, really, who does that? The devil is always in the details, Greg. Always! Then, of course, after the deal for power and immortality are in place, Greg learns that in order to control his dark desires he must feed the hunger. And feeding the hunger means feasting on the blood of his victims. He tries this for a short time, but goes into hiding and tries desperately to rid the evil by taking his own life and giving the evil to another in the same manner that he received it. It's only after his failed attempts to end his life and give the evil away that he learns that the evil within him can only be removed by giving it to someone he actually cares about... his desire for power coming at a terrible price for a friend when he decides the power is no longer worth keeping.

So why am I having a hard time wrapping my head around this novella? Probably because I was under the impression that Greg didn't want to give the evil to the one seeking it because he knew, or sensed, like I did, that the entity that wanted his power so desperately was more evil than the evil that possessed him. But, no, that wasn't it. He just wanted the power. He liked the control. I struggled with the story because Greg wasn't making bargains to be the better person or a savior for others like I thought he was. And I struggled with the story because it made me see how easily we can be influenced by power; and how easy it is for us to ignore the details; and how even easier it is to hurt another to gain control.

I found Merciless Pact to be a powerful story of sacrifice. A sacrifice of our inherent goodness for a little bit of power, and a sacrifice of one man's soul once that power becomes too much to control. It is an endless cycle of doom, that, regardless of the sacrifices made, has no happy ending in sight.

Which makes me wonder... When will someone write me a hard-boiled crime or horror novel with a happy ending? There has to be someone out there willing to accommodate my happy ending needs, right? Right???

R. Thomas Brown has several short stories available in e-book format and I've taken the time to read all of them. I can honestly say that they are all worthy of your time.

R Thomas Brown writes and reviews crime and horror fiction. His stories have appeared at Shotgun Honey, A Twist of Noir and The Flash Fiction Offensive. His reviews appear at Spinetingler and Crime Fiction Lover. His debut novel, Hill Country will be published by Snubnose Press in 2012. You can find him at rthomasbrown.blogspot.com.

Merciless Pact is available on Kindle for $2.99

Old Man Coyote is available on Kindle for $0.99

Mayhem: A Collection of Short Stories is available on Kindle for $2.99

Writing Horror by R. Thomas Brown

2011-11-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

So, why a horror novella?

Ever since I jumped back into writing, it’s been mostly crime fiction. That’s where my head was, and still is most of the time. From reading, novels and short stories, to writing, I’m still writing shorts, and am in the middle of a novel, crime fiction feels like home.

Sometimes, my head jumps to the supernatural. When I was writing Hill Country, coming next year from Snubnose Press, I kept having these ideas about forces lurking just behind the action. There is a thread in the book about a cult and the use of it and rituals to mask more grounded criminal activity. But, I wondered what it would look like if, at the same time, real forces were at work.

And so, Merciless Pact was born. Set in the same town, at the same time, the story follows a man trying to understand what has happened to him, and then forced to decide between power and responsibility. The goal here was to explore the choice and the consequences. It’s not a gross-out story, nor is it designed to have you locking all your doors.

So, is it horror?

The tension is driven by fear. Fear of losing control. Fear in others by what they go through due to choices. Fear of the unknown. These are the sources of the drama, so, yeah, it’s horror. It’s also about many of the things crime fiction is about to me. The reaction to a personal invasion of some sort. The struggle to either survive or thrive. But this story is more about the personal terror.

So, (yes I like that word) will there be more horror?

Probably. At least in short form. I’m doing a series for Trestle and the next in that line will be out soon. There will also be other genres. I’m working on a novel that feels like a mix of Scanners, Minority Report and the office setting of Joe vs The Volcano. That’s likely to feel more like crime fiction with exploding heads, though as opposed to horror.

Click x 8

2011-11-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Things I've recently purchased for my Kindle.

Old Man Coyote by R. Thomas Brown

Merciless Pact by R. Thomas Brown

Harry Truman v. The Aliens by Emerson LaSalle

Gallows Pole by J.D. Rhoades

Like A Bone in the Throat by Lawrence Block

Three in the Side Pocket by Lawrence Block

Kick It Again by McDroll

R. Thomas Brown will be stopping by the blog on Tuesday to share with us his thoughts on Merciless Pact and why he wrote a horror novella. And later this week I'll be back to review that very book and talk about some of his short stories I've recently read.

Hope you've had a lovely weekend, friends.

Turning Series by Dawn Kirby

2011-11-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

Peaceful Moment

Nicholas tucked a stray strand of Alana’s hair behind her ear and smiled. She grabbed his hand and kissed the tips of his fingers one by one. Chills ran down his spine. It’d been so long since he felt anything real. She felt him shutter and smiled.

“Don’t even think about it,” Alana warned. “I’m fighting hard enough to stay awake as it is.”

“You misunderstand,” Nicholas said. “It’s your soul that’s done this to me. Not your body.” He ran his free hand down her side and smiled wider. “Not that it was at all unpleasant. In fact I found it very enjoyable.”

“Good to know,” she giggled. “I think I can safely say the same.” The truth was she’d never felt this exhilarated with anybody. “You made me forget.”

“When you’re happy and safe forgetting isn’t hard. It’s just been a long time since you’ve been either.”

He crawled under the sheet and let her curl up beside him. The scent of her washed over him like a warm blanket. “Now that you have it I don’t want you to lose it.”

“I don’t either,” she admitted. She turned her face to look up at him. “But until Ben’s gone I’ll never really be safe. He may not know where this place is, but he knows where Matt is.”

“Yes, and he won’t hesitate to use that to draw you out again.” He pulled her closer, soaking up the warmth of her body.

“I can’t stay here forever, Nicholas. He will kill my brother and anybody else he thinks is in his way.”

“There’s no doubt in mind that he will.” Nicholas swallowed hard. She was already close to sleep. He had a solution, but it was one that would lead to a drastic lifestyle change for her. “Alana?”

“What?” she whispered running her fingertips across his chest.

“What if I could save you from him?”

“I thought that was plan.” She opened her eyes, curious.

“It always has been,” he conceded. “But what if I could offer a solution that would keep him from you forever?”

“Death pretty much guarantees that, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, from him. But what if another wants you. Vampire or not.”

“Somehow I doubt there are any more men out there as dangerous as Ben is right now. Besides, once this is over. Once he’s dead, we’ll still have one another. I’m certainly not going anywhere. Not now.”

A warm feeling spread through him. Those were the words he’d longed to hear. “And later? When you age and don’t?”

Alana raised up on her elbow and looked at him. She finally realized. “You want to turn me?”

“I have since the night we met.” Now was the time for honesty. He wanted her, but he knew she’d likely put up a fight.

“Nicholas, I don’t want to be a vampire. I don’t want to live off blood.” She wasn’t mad at him.

Honestly she wasn’t even that shocked. It would be normal for a vampire to want to turn the object of his desire, wouldn’t it? Don’t women want to turn men into something else once they snag them? In a way, wasn’t this the same? “I want to be with you. I know that now. Can’t we just enjoy that for now?”

“We can,” he said solemnly. “But I want to protect you. Turning you would make you less vulnerable.”

“It might, but then again even you aren’t immortal,” she reminded him. “For now be my knight in shining armor. Slay my dragon and let’s get on with our lives.”

Nicholas gently tucked her head back onto his chest. As he stroked her long, beautiful hair he thought hard about what she’d said. She had good points; he had to give her that. But could a relationship between them work as it stood right then? As long as she was human he’d never not worry about her safety. That was a given. Then again he had a secret…

SMOKE by Nigel Bird

2011-11-11T09:01:00.002-07:00

Okay, if you've been reading my reviews you might have noticed by now that I've had a troubled childhood. Look, I could tell you hundreds of stories of how I was wronged in my youth... but even with all the wrongs that I've encountered, I like to think I turned out to be a pretty decent person. I mean, I do my best at living a good life just like the rest of you do.

Yet, for many people, the way they are raised influences their entire life. Due to their upbringing, some never see the good that is hidden among the rotten filth that lies before them. And for others, even when they do see the good, they don't know how to leave their existing lifestyles behind to obtain it.

Which brings us to Smoke by Nigel Bird.

At the beginning of Smoke by Nigel Bird, we read about a young man named Jimmy being humiliated at school by a boy named Sean Mulligan. Jimmy's been stripped down to his privates in front of a group of other kids, left to run home in the buff, and then forced to go back the next day only to find his trousers flying from the flag pole. Jimmy seeks revenge, but things don't go as planned... and I think Jimmy even develops a little sympathy for the bully and his living conditions in the process. Eventually, Jimmy drops out of school, is attacked by a dog, and spends the rest of his life with half of his face hidden behind a mask.

And then there's Carlo. He's obviously a guy with a troubled past... an odd past that left him tied to a railroad track and wheeling around the city in his wheelchair. Carlo happens to be in love with Jimmy's sister, Kylie. Apparently they were a thing before the railroad "incident," and now, Carlo has returned to his old stomping grounds with hopes of reclaiming his relationship with Kylie and making a happy family unit with their son. But, things don't go exactly as planned for Carlo when he finds out that Kylie is still in a relationship with another man, and... he's not the father of her son.

Smoke is an incredible journey through a small block of time being told through the eyes of two unfortunate victims. The lives of Jimmy and Carlo are, unfortunately, woven together through a series of separate events all connected to the same worthless group of people, the Ramsey's. The Ramsey's are two brothers making their wealth by swindling people and setting up big wins in a dog fighting ring. While Kris Ramsey is the meanest of the two, it would be wrong to not let his brother take any blame for past deeds just because he's capable of showing a little emotion at the right time. They're a ruthless twosome connected to an even more sinister group of thugs.

But there's a light at the end of this journey through time. A very small light. When Jimmy gets wind of some information on the Ramsey's money, he sets up a plan that seems rather foolproof in its simplicity. But, again, things don't go as planned for Jimmy and his decisions end up harming those closest to him. Oddly, those same decisions that cause harm, help restore broken spirits and relationships, and they also help Jimmy see what he needs to do to escape the life he's been living.

I think what I loved the most about Smoke, was the author's ability to make me care for all the characters in the story. From Sean Mulligan and his bullying ways to the Ramsey boys endangering the lives of animal for sport, I found myself caring about all of them.

Smoke is a story about drug abuse, alcoholism, gambling addictions, children being failed by the school system, careless love, revenge, and a desire for new beginnings. And it's also a story laced with sorrow, disgust, humor, love, and hope.

Yeah, Smoke by Nigel Bird, is everything a good story should be.

SMOKE is available on Kindle and Nook.

Nigel Bird is about to serve up a 9 course meal. As an appetiser, there’s a morsel (‘Sebille’) at Flashquake. The Starter, ‘No Pain No Gain’ will be in Crime Factory. There’s something fishy in the form of a surprise. A visit to France for mains at Voluted Tales. If you’ve room, it’ll be time for Best Of British Crime Stories. For dessert, Pulp Ink, served up jointly with Chris Rhatigan and / or Blackbird Pie at Grimm Tales. Digestif is a novel that has all the ingredients and requires a bit more time in the oven.

And cheese.

You can read more about Nigel HERE!

White Fangs - Guest Post by Nigel Bird

2011-11-08T06:20:00.000-07:00

Author Nigel Bird stops by the blog today to give us a look inside the creation of his novel, Smoke. I'll be back later this week with a review, but for now... let's give him a very warm welcome to My Friends Call Me Kate.

Humans are animals.

Nothing controversial in that statement, however splendid we consider ourselves to be.

We’re capable of great subtleties of thought and have the most intricate communication systems to share them.

In my opinion, one of the greatest creations of the human race is ‘White Fang’.

I don’t think there’s anything controversial there, either. It’s a tremendous book on so many levels, but fundamentally as an exemplary piece of story-telling.

I first heard the story when I was 11. Our ageing teacher, all leather face and tweed, read it as our class novel at some point in our final primary school year. It’s one of those periods of life which remains vividly alive in my memory.

No wonder then that it has always been something I wanted to use in my work at some point. I almost wrote ‘emulate’ there in place of 'use’; how crazy is that?

Anyway, to take you back a couple of years, I wrote a story called ‘An Arm And A Leg’. I’d been aiming to submit something to Crimespree for a while and knew that this was it, my first real crime work. I pressed the send button just before I went to bed.

Jennifer Jordan got back to me while I slept, bless her. Accepted it there and then. I’m indebted to the Crimespree team for effectively fanning the embers of my hope in a way that I’d all but given up on.

I was thrilled. Absolutely. Took my kids to the soft play that morning and sat drinking coffee in a daze.

It occurred to me that if the story was as good as it felt, I should use it as a springboard for a novel. Made a lot of sense. All I needed was a theme.

Back rolled in Jack London.

Dog-fighting in Tranent! Perfect.

All I needed was to follow the life of fighting dog from birth till death and I’d be on to a winner.

A good friend of mine also suggested having some kind of police story in there – let’s face it, pleasing agents and publishers may require compromise, or so I thought at the time.

The angle I decided to take was to look at a spectrum of the human race. I’d have the dog-fighters and their obvious cruelty contrasting with the middle-class breeders aiming to create the perfect show dogs. Perfect.

Research showed me some of the crazy things dog-breeders have done in the name of beauty, creating grotesques who live in pain or are susceptible to illness and all sorts of disabilities. Horrible. There are good dog-breeders out there, so don’t flood the comment section in their defence, it’s not necessary, but there are some crazy things also. Barbaric even.

Animal rights are something I believe in quite strongly in many ways. There’s a touch of irony then, that ‘An Arm And A Leg’ has a description of the deep frying of a cat. I could tell you that it was the character who took over or that it was essential to the plot (both partly true), but it was me at the helm. Doesn’t mean I hate cats.

Anyway, I got to work and wrote my novel.

From the beginning I was looking forward to describing the dog fights, not with relish for the violence, but as a major challenge to my writing skills.

I considered reading White Fang for the third time, maybe focusing on the fight scenes to see how they were done.

When it came to those sections, I changed my mind on that. It seemed better to give it my best shot and see how it went.

I’m delighted with the result.

Sadly, the same couldn’t be said of the novel as a whole.

I had to get rid of the cop and the cop angle (I just hadn’t pulled it off). I binned chapters and characters. The dog-breeding work was all chopped. The vet disappeared. My bigger picture was gone.

Thing is, by chopping away so much to create this novella I ended up with a more profound piece, in my opinion. Less can be more.

White-Fang was a product of his environment, like the characters in Smoke.

The folk who inhabit my stories have been brought up in a tough world. Outsiders might describe it as hellish. It’s no wonder they behave and express themselves in the way they do.

The sad thing for me is that it’s only the plot and my creations that are fiction. The town, culture, environment, abuse and poverty really do exist. Not just where I work, but around the world.

It can be overwhelming to be involved with.

Even so, Jack London managed to get his novel to sparkle with hope on occasion.

White Fang was the best, meanest fighting dog there was, yet he was saved from that (and a great big bulldog) to become the most amazingly loyal creature going.

The idea of ‘saving’ people from the cultures and themselves is fraught with difficulty (think religious evangelism or colonisation), but it’s something I want to work with to make the world a better place.

Yes, if you read Smoke you’ll have had one hell of a ride. It will be a tour of a brutalised folk who brutalise. At the same time, I’d like to suggest that you’ll find something about the whole thing strangely uplifting; if you do, I guess I’ve passed my challenge.

Nigel Bird is about to serve up a 9 course meal. As an appetiser, there’s a morsel (‘Sebille’) at Flashquake. The Starter, ‘No Pain No Gain’ will be in Crime Factory. There’s something fishy in the form of a surprise. A visit to France for mains at Voluted Tales. If you’ve room, it’ll be time for Best Of British Crime Stories. For dessert, Pulp Ink, served up jointly with Chris Rhatigan and / or Blackbird Pie at Grimm Tales. Digestif is a novel that has all the ingredients and requires a bit more time in the oven.

And cheese.

You can read more about Nigel HERE!

Click x 6

2011-11-06T19:39:00.001-07:00

Before I share my purchases from last week I want to announce the winner of the first four books in the Black London series by Caitlin Kittredge. The winner is Mary B. I want to thank all of you for taking the time to visit the blog and for leaving comments. I'll get the books to you ASAP, Mary. Congratulations!

Okay, my Kindle purchases last week contained some pretty great reads.

Already Gone by John Rector $4.99

It looks like past sinister deeds come back to haunt University teacher, Jake Reese, in this incredible thriller by John Rector. If you click on the above link you will find a Q & A with John Rector on the Amazon site. Great stuff.

I met John Rector at Bouchercon. Okay, I didn't really "meet" him. We were never formerly introduced. But I did mistake him for someone else thanks to the mood lighting in the hotel bar. I held his hand, made some conversation, and was in the process of sharing my deepest thoughts when I noticed his name tag. Ugh!

Kick It by McDroll $0.99

Hey, lookie, my good friend Fiona has a book. This collection of short stories will introduce you to one of Twitter's favorite female short story characters, Gemma Dixon, a young investigator starting out at the bottom in her career. You'll be begging for McDroll to write you a novel when her character pulls you in with her subtle humor, tough-as-nails exterior, and heartbreaking case load. Yep, this is just the beginning for McDroll's writing.

The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology edited by Thomas Pluck, Fiona Johnson, and Ron Earl Phillips $2.99

This anthology is what happens when people step outside themselves and give to the greater good. Prompted by a photo (see the cover) people were invited to write short stories... from there my good friends put together this anthology with all the proceeds benefiting children's charities. Hey, for $2.99 we can all afford to give.

Beat to a Pulp: Hardboiled edited by Scott D. Parker and David Cranmer $0.99
"BEAT to a PULP: Hardboiled is a compilation of uncompromising, gritty tales following in the footsteps of the tough and violent fiction popularized by the legendary Black Mask magazine in its early days."

What's really great about this collection of stories - besides the cover - is that I know pretty much all of the contributors. I'm really looking forward to reading this one.

No Rest for The Witches: A Dark Mission Novella by Karina Cooper $1.99

For my friends following Karina Cooper's Dark Mission series, you'll definitely want to snag her latest novella. Oh, yeah, now would be a good time for you to pre-order the next book in the series, All Things Wicked, scheduled for release on January 12, 2012.

The Caretaker (Two Short Stories) by J.D. Rhoades $0.99

"A couple of tales from the graveyard...

In "The Caretaker," William Cain doesn't know why only he can see the new arrivals in his cemetery, or why they tell him their stories--but he knows how to take care of their unfinished business.

I've added some links to the side of the blog that will highlight some books available for pre-order. I'd like to invite you to check them out and pre-order if you feel moved to do so. Also, for my coworkers, if you see a book that you are interested in and would like me to order it for you, just holler. Nothing makes me happier than placing a book or two in your hands.

Turning by Dawn Kirby

2011-11-04T07:23:00.000-06:00

Haven

Nicholas stepped closer to the house, careful not to let the leaves crunch beneath his feet. Alana had painted such a clear picture in her mind for him; he had been able to find Ben’s hideout before Matt had been able to recover from his wounds. A fact that suited him just fine. The less people he had to worry with at this point, the better.

Ben was under the delusion that being a vampire made him untouchable. No human was safe around a creature with that mindset. At times neither was another vampire. Thomas’s death had proven that.

He reached for the front door, calmly seeking out Alana’s now familiar heartbeat. It was quicker than normal. Her breathing was labored, frantic almost. Alarmed, his body faded from view as he hurried through the closed door and up the stairs. He could practically feel Ben’s cold breath on his own neck.

Quietly he crept through the open bedroom door. Alana’s hand was cuffed to the bed. Her legs pinned in between Ben’s as he lay beside her whispering his plans for their future in her ear. The urge to kill had never been quite that strong before. Common sense overcame emotion. Ben had fed. A lot. Nicholas hadn’t. If they fought now there’d be no way he could win let alone save her.

But her captor was distracted. So distracted he hadn’t even felt another presence in the room with them. Then an idea. He knew how to get her out, but it would have to be quick. Taking her cuffed hand in his, he closed his eyes and concentrated hard on his own home. It was the one place they could go where no one would find them. There she would be safe and he could regain his strength.

Alana felt something close around her hand and then there was a feeling of weightlessness. Suddenly Ben’s body disappeared. Wind and darkness swirled around her making it virtually impossible to see anything. Seconds later it died down and Nicholas was standing there, his hand in hers.

They were standing outside a Victorian style house. Trees surrounded the house in every direction. She looked around quickly; sure Ben had followed them there somehow. Getting away couldn’t have possibly been that easy.

“Here we’re safe,” Nicholas told her. “Here nobody can touch us.”

She closed what little gap there was between them, pressing her body against his, resting her head on his chest. In his arms she knew she was secure. He rested his chin on her head, content to let her stay right where she was. That’s when she heard it. She turned her head to look up at him. He lowered his eyes to hers.

“No, I’m not dead,” he said. “Not yet anyway.”

“I thought-” she started, but found herself unable to finish.

He brushed his fingers through her hair and smiled. “I’m sure an explanation would be nice, but I have none. I simply am what I am.”

“And that is?”

Her heart was racing. So was her mind. They’d been close before, but this was different. She saw him in a new light somehow. Hearing his heart beat, no matter how slow had brought forth emotions she’d been trying to ignore.

“A man.”

He wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing his lips gently against hers. She slid her arms around his neck, her fingers playing through his hair. Her lips parted. Passion took hold. Their kiss deepened. His hands moved up her sides, stopping just shy of the curve of her breasts. She broke away, her gaze shifting between him and house. The lustful look in her beautiful blue eyes was unmistakable.

“Show me.”