Saturday, March 31, 2012

Sumiko's Reads ~ The Hunger Games

There was some amount of arm twisting (just kidding, Sumiko!) to encourage my very good friend (and occasional bus rider) to send me a new post. Something told me Sumiko would have read these books. And I was right. Let's hear what she has to say about these dystopian trilogy by Suzanne Collins.


 I don't even know why I haven't written about these books before--possibly because it felt like they were so prominent in the zeitgeist that there was no need.

There is nothing obscure about Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games trilogy. The trilogy consists of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Monkingjay.

Set in a dystopian near future, it follows the life of a young woman who volunteers to take the place of her baby sister as a tribute from her district to the capital of the country. The tributes take part in a giant live-action reality TV show where the prize is their life and the cost is also their life.


I came to them [books] late -- via recommendations from friends around the time that the second book in the trilogy, Catching Fire, was published. So I was lucky enough to gobble up the first book and then move right on to the second. Now that all three are handy, I highly recommend having all three on hand if you are planning on reading them. Find yourself an open weekend and read, read, read! The plot is fast paced and very engaging: the characters are well-written and you care for them so the story moves along at a sprightly pace -- all of which encourages the reader to dive in and become engulfed in the story. The story itself brings up questions and situations that are both familiar and yet far enough removed to inspire thoughtful discussion. I imagine that these books would be good to read with your child should that be you situation.

I highly recommend them.

And there you have it from my very good friend Sumiko. She has not steered us wrong yet! Thanks Sumiko!


Friday, March 30, 2012

Bjorn Tremayne's Rant on How Vampire's are Depicted as Messy Eaters

Hello, Bjorn Tremayne here. Lorelei has allowed me to take over her blog today to address something that really has got me angry.

You see this? It's this picture of a lovely vampire woman who seems to have a drinking problem. Yes. See all the blood? What a waste!

Really I must confess that if you are trying to sell horror fiction, this is fine. You humans go to such lengths to get a sale, but enough is enough. I must protest! We vampires are not messy eaters! Some of these pictures that I see out there are really appalling depictions of how we actually do enjoy our meals. And it's nothing at all like this!

I know you humans don't go around with soup all over your chins after your repast. People would stare at you and wonder if you were raised in a barn, or a pig sty. You weren't, of course, and neither are we!

We aren't mindless zombies feasting until we're like bloated ticks either.

Oh, and another thing, while I'm on the subject of eating, or feeding, we don't kill humans for food. Not unless there is a purpose behind our killing, that is. Although some rogues have been known to go on feeding frenzies, once in a while... oh, and never mind what happened in the year 929... or the few years after that after my brother and I had been turned and rampaged villages to the south. That is all in the past. It's the new millennium! We wouldn't want to kill that which brings us our nourishment. After all you need to be alive to provide us with blood. Why would we want to kill you all? What would be left to eat? Chickens? Rats? Ick! The last thing I want is rat breath! Or a mouth full of feathers. Besides they don't taste all that good.

And as far as our feeding on humans, we'd like you to come back again and again... Some of you are our favorite vintages. We do have refined tastes when it comes to blood. And some vintages are rare. Killing those of you who have wonderful tasty blood would be the same if someone were to drink a glass of some very rare wine and then breaking the rest of the bottle! What sense does that make?

So, I just wanted to set the record straight. We don't dribble our blood! The idea is to get the blood into our mouths, not running down our chins.

Oh, and before I go I have to pay the bill for taking up space... please check out Lorelei Bell's latest Sabrina Strong Series book, Vampire's Trill.  Also, I'm to tell you that if you buy Vampire's Trill-the paperback-you can get the first book Vampire Ascending free! Contact the blog mistress for more details [loreleibell4(at)gmail(dot)com] I'm outa here!
 

Thank you for your time and I'd love to hear your comments.


Hey, if you'd like to visit Bjorn on facebook you now can!
http://www.facebook.com/BjornTremayneVampireMaster

He would love to hear from you and LIKE his page!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Help with how people are related in my WIP

You know how vampires live down through the centuries? Well, the ones in this up-coming book (who live on another world), can procreate with humans. So some of them have odd relationships. Like... well this one for example. I have Drachen who is Jett's cousin, but from there it gets confusing because Mihnea is Drachen's father, but was Drakulya's son who eventually married Contessa, who is Jett's mother's sister (aunt).
You might see my delema, it's rather difficult to figure out how the lineage might be explained here, but here is the dialogue as it is in my manuscript. I just wanted to put this out there if any of you read this and let me know if it makes sense, or if you think it won't add up, let me know.

I see that Mihnea was your father. Sixty-five years ago Mihnea was born to Drakulya, and he eventually married Ivory who died. He later married Contessa and they had children. You and Ali are his youngest children... ? Somehow that doesn't sound right.” I frowned down at the floor.
His lips drew up on one side. “Actually, it's a bit more complicated. We are half brother and sister to Jett and Joha, and we are also their aunt and uncle.”
You're right. That is complicated,” I said.
Mihnea, our father, became a vampire much like I am becoming one at about the same age. Contessa is Gretchen's sister, who our father married after his last wife, Ivory, died at age eighty-three. Gretchen, being Jett and Joha's mother, made us more than merely cousins.”

So is Drachen half-brother to Jett? And is he also- in this odd relationship - his uncle?

Veronica Backham’s Interview With Lorelei Bell, Author Of The Sabrina Strong Series

Veronica Backham’s Interview With Lorelei Bell, Author Of The Sabrina Strong Series

Monday, March 26, 2012

Lucky 7 Meme ~ Tagged



I've been tagged by Christine Rains with this meme. I've decided to give you my WIP, "Beyond the Black Veil" - which I am in the middle of edits on.
The Rules:
1. Go to page 77 of current WIP
2. Go to Line 7
3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs and post them as written.
4. Tag 7 authors/writers
5. Let them know.


Here is my offering from page 77, 7th line down and 7 paragraphs:

Rumbel returned with a place setting for me while other servants began to serve the meal.
Black hole network?” I asked.
Yes.” Back straight, he leaned to look past Drachen at me. “According to Einstein's special theory of relativity, time passes slowly, so your watch, for example would be wrong. If anything, it might have moved back an hour, maybe two. Or stopped working all together.”
My mouth fell open. I looked at my watch. He was right. When I had left my house it might have been around eight or nine o'clock. My watch now read two fifteen—and it had stopped. I looked up at him and sputtered. “Wait a moment, you said something about Einstein?”
He has loads of books,” Drachen explained drolly. “They had to build several book cases in both his room and his laboratory.”
But these books,” I said when an arm slid across my vision. A bowl of soup was positioned before me on the plate by the servant, and continued serving everyone else. A maid busily placed round loaves of bread between us, with slabs of butter along side them. “Where did they come from?” I finished my question.
They are brought to me,” Joha said with an indifferent shrug and lifted a spoon of soup to his mouth.

Since Im in the middle of edits, and finding anyone who has not done this is time consuming, I'm begging out of the last 2 rules. I do thank Christine Rains for thinking of me for this. (She just wants to see what I've been up to, I think (^; )

Coffee Klatch Monday ~ Tick Tock

Oh, it's Monday once again. I'm off to the races (work), and I know some of you are too.

Still on edits, and so I won't keep you.

I hope you all had a good weekend. The weather on Sunday turned out to be gorgeous again. Spring has come very early here. Did the ground hog see his shadow? Or didn't? I don't know.

Speaking of which, we do have our own resident--well, she prefers the name Woodchuck. Mrs. Woodchuck comes out every afternoon to graze on whatever she eats. We enjoy watching her out our kitchen window, as well as our squirrels, and all the birds that visit or stay.

I had to get out for a little while and enjoy the weather. No bugs, low humidity--what more can I ask for?

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?Stay home? Watch a movie????

Let me know, I'd love to hear from you!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Guest Post by Carole Gill: Romance & Horror

Hi, my pretties. I've got a treat for you! My good friend from across the pond, Carole Gill, author of House on Blackstone Moor has agreed to stop in and do a guest post for us.

After the post we will get to know Carole, and hear about her novels and short works as well, because I plan on having her back soon!

So, take it away, Carole!

Romance & Horror: The Ultimate Conflicts!

Do they go together? Didn't you almost die when Dracula told Mina (film version) "I would cross oceans of time for you"?

I did!

From the first moment he saw her he thought of Elizabetha. After she knows the terrible truth, she hates him for killing Lucy, but well--! The girl can't help it!

Is Dracula horror? No, you don't have to answer that.

The talented and marvelous lorelei Bell asked me to guest post on her blog and I'm delighted to do it!

This post reflects one of my own:
Can Real Horror Have Romance In it?
Sure! What are greater conflicts than danger and desire?

Paraphrasing from my favorite play Streetcar Named Desire, horror is riding on the ultimate streetcar. Sometimes it's too dangerous to get off! We can see the danger. We can feel the threat down to her fingertips. But we get off, usually before the end of the line too.

We have to! Something calls to us, something we are unable to ignore!

Desire!

So we leave the safety of our streetcar and find ourselves exposed, looking for that which called to us.

Desire!

But there could be danger?

Danger AND desire, what better mix for horror?!

Someone happened to say real horror could not have romance in it.

I didn't agree.

I did post and I inclcuded this quote from a horror fan, Rick Youmans:
"It is one of the two motivational forces behind the horror genre. Either the return of unrequited love (the other being vengeance for a wrong). Any construct of horror that denies this has no understanding of its real power in the present sense. The abstract nature of vengeance, against society et al, is the predominate foci depicted in the visual mediums, while the search for love in a cruel world is the foci of the written medium... for the most part..."
Thank you Rick!

I mentioned Dracula (Bram Stoker's film version earlier). Now, I'd like to say this: although the novel, Dracula, and the films differ on this issue, I still feel there is an undercurrent of sexuality in the novel. I think Bram Stoker is clearly writing about female sexuality in the character of Lucy and Mina.

I also feel that Dracula's action with regard to over powering Mina (novel) and forcing her to feed on him is sexual. It is sexual abuse, really, when he restrains her.

Naturally, he's not her knight in shining armor and she's not wanting to have his babies exactly. But it is sexual, albeit darkly so. Can't this be twisted 'love'?

Is sick love some sort of pathological 'love'?Yes?

Well, if that is so then it's sick love or dark romance: sick or not.

With regard to the film (my favorite by Coppola) I think it is quite clear that there is quite a bit of sexual longing and tension present. Mina and the Count want to go steady and right away! That's pretty obvious. It also makes for some great scenes!

We watch it and are fascinated but do we ever doubt for one second that we are watching a HORROR film? NO!

With regard to horror fiction in general, there is what I term 'dude horror' which is often horror written mainly by men for men. The women depicted in this sort of fiction tend to be victims. There is, in my opinion, little or no 'romance'. There may be sex but candlelight dinners and violins, no.

I wonder, though, if sexual longing and desire along with genuine love cannot be present in dark horror.

I wirte Gothic romance, but my fiction is very different from what is commonly termed Gothic romance. This is not paranormal romance. It is darkest horror with some romance in it (sometimes).

The question is can dark Gothic romantic horror be considered horror?

Life has horror in it. And supernatural horror with the worst evil imaginable might have a thread of longing that is a kind of love.

Why can't the worst demonic being have loved once, whether briefly or for a micro second?

Why narrow the field?

Why define horror with restrictions?

If paranormal romance isn't horror, can darkest Gothic romance be considered to be horror?

Many writers writing today think it can. What do you think?

About Carole


This has been an interesting journey for me. I went back to writing about ten years ago. Life had gotten in the way and I finally had the opportunity to write once again.

I joined a local workshop. Somehow I found myself selected by North West Playwrights of England for further development! It was an invaluable experience but I preferred writing fiction.

Currently, I am published in a number of horror and sci-fi anthologies. I also have many short story collections up on Amazon.

I hope you check them out, some are pretty dark.

I enjoy writing dark horror however my greatest love of all, genre-wise, is writing dark Gothic romantic fiction.

My novel, The House on Blackstone Moor is being re-released shortly. Please stay tuned for updates!

The novel is quite dark:as a matter of fact it is darkest gothic horro and romance combined. The themes are vampirism, madness, obession and devil worship. It is recommended for readers over 18.

The sequel, which is turning out even darker, is entitled Unholy Testament and will follow.

After that I will be releasing a very special novel, I have already begun to work on. If you like vampires and darkest romance, you will be delighted. And if you ador Dracula, well--!

Meanwhile, you can find me at:
website: http://carolegillofficialauthor.blogspot.com/
facebook author page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carole-Gill-Author/120405794703293?ref=ts

I also have a Dracula fan page. I mean doesn't the old man deserve it?"
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dracula/228746553886476

And Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/carolelynngill

Alright! Thank you Carole for stopping by. I do hope that everyone enjoied this as much as I did. And goes to check her links out. I've just stopped by her Dracula fan page, and found that a fun spot to root around in. I will have Carole back on a regular bases and when she's ready to release her book, we'll have a little book launch for her!

I'm visiting my good friend Jeremy Hawkins today!

Hello, my pretties! A beautiful spring morning here in rural Illinois.

I'm over visiting Jeremy Hawkins (a.k.a. Retro Zombie), on his site JMH Digital [Two Thumbs]
Where I answer 21 questions and give you a little peek into my life. Jeremy is a dear, sweet guy. He's got a lot of pans in the fire right now, and made time for me on his blog so, go and show your appreciation, please, and leave a comment.

Thanks


OTHER NEWS:

I'm having someone over to my post tomorrow. I want to introduce you all to Carole Gill, author of House on the Blackstone Moor. We are going to be host posting on each other's blogs periodically. I wanted to bring in someone who had the same interests as me, but slightly different. She is really into the dark Gothic romance, and her book will be re-released, and I'm going to bang my drum about it when she does, because it is quite a different tale and a great read, as well. And she and I have become great friends in the past year or so.

Meanwhile I'm still on my edits, and will do my best to bring you something once in a while on this blog as I have time.

Please come back tomorrow and welcome Carole Gill!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Teaser Tuesday ~ Something Different

Hey, I know this is late. Me bad blogger, but better late than never. Right?

This is from a different series. It is actually from Spell of the Black Unicorn, my light fantasy which I self-published in 2008. I'm working on it when time allows and I have a beta reader (Shelly Arkon), helping me with edits so that I can publish it as an eBook.

Here you go, from the first chapter of Spell of the Black Unicorn


Heavy pounding on the door made her jump out of her thoughts.
Just a moment,” she said, and looked through the small wedge of glass. The shadow of a tall, square-shouldered man stood there. But with his back toward her she couldn’t identify him. He wasn’t wearing a suit, so she knew he wasn’t a stupid salesman. She was sure it wasn’t Richard Keys, who was much taller, and more robust. The man had shoulder-length black hair. Whoever he was, from this angle, the guy looked... interesting.
Who’s there?” she asked.
The man turned to face the door. He shook the wild mane out of his dark, brooding sapphire eyes and Zofia stared into a handsome face. She pulled in a gasp as instant recognition hit her hard like a troll’s fist to the noggin. He looked almost as he had the day he’d left her to go on assignment, five First World years ago; his hair was longish, and even the sideburns needed trimming. Even in this light she could see the slight bump on the bridge of his nose where it had been broken in a fight in his youth.
Zofia? It’s me, Dorian,” he said in a distinctive Ogenthow accent with a mellow, almost crooning voice.“Let me in, darling.”
Her heart gave a sudden lurch. A multitude of emotions zipped through Zofia. She twisted the locks and yanked the heavy oak door open so frantically she broke a fingernail—oh hell... I'll mend it later. Their eyes met for the first time in five years. Zofia couldn’t believe he was standing there alive and looking fit as a Troll who'd eaten a whole village. Even so, she held off pulling him into a tight embrace. Mostly because all the warning bells were clanging in her head.
Zofia . . .” His gaze took in every inch of her like a man who’d not set eyes on a woman in a thousand Euphoria years. “How wonderful you look in that—” his hands gestured toward her. “You look like one of those women in a lingerie add on Ugwump TV.”
Zofia realized she’d been holding her breath since she’d opened the door, and now exhaled with her words, “I thought you were dead! I thought Blood had killed you!” She crossed her arms and glared at him, waiting for an explanation.
Well, yes he did—”
I saw it all in my dream the night you disappeared. That’s why I fled with the children.”
I know,” Dorian said. He glanced over his shoulder. Then he turned back to her and said, “I’ve not much time. Could you just invite me in? I’ll explain everything—”
I mourned for one hundred days, as required by the Code of Ethics. The children—” her voice broke with emotional chirp. She averted her gaze. Embarrassed to show her emotions in front of Dorian she went on. “We couldn’t find your-your body so as to sever the head, a-and then burn the body so that a demon couldn’t take it over,” she strove on matter-of-factly, trying to regain control over those wild emotions, but it was nearly impossible with the memories of what she'd gone through thinking he was dead.
That would’ve been a mistake,” he said low.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Lorelei Unplugged - "I've Got That Gutter Feeling"


My first day back to driving a bus and even though it was a relatively painless ordeal, and the rain came in to save us from being overly heated while driving (we had 75 as a high today), I'm drained right now. Well, I've also had one beer, and that's my limit.

Weird Stories In The News:
I saw the story on the co-founder of group who was behind that video about the brutal African warlord this morning. Jason Russell is in the hospital for exhaustion. The explanation was that he was suffering from exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition. Well, I saw the video of him running butt-naked in the street this morning. I can't say he looked like he was exhausted. But I'm thinking there's a lot more to this story and I'll just take a back seat and wait and see what the whole story really is. A lot of times when news breaks they are in such a rush to write it that they don't explore the whole story. But let me just say this when I'm exhausted, like I am now, I'm not about to go outside into the street my butt hanging out there slapping the sidewalk with my hands and yelling something. I think someone would want to examine my brain first.

On to the more placid side of my life.
When I get comments from readers, or those who have given my book to someone as a gift to read and tell me that they are enjoying it, I rejoice. Nothing could make me happier than someone who is reading something I wrote and some how relates this to me. Sales also make me a little giddy too. I had a woman cashier come up to me who'd purchased my latest book for her daughter, she told me she just began reading it and really likes it so far. Good. Love to hear it.

I'm currently working on my edits, but you all know this. I've posted about this in both Muse and Lorelei's Writing Journal, so I won't bore you with more of the same. But just a heads up, I may not be posting very much this week, next week, and the week after that. So, if I post anything at all, it might be ramblings of whatever I can come up with.

Do you feel lucky? Well...do ya?

I do have to do a Lucky 7 post, but not until I find 7 people who have not done this already. I will blame want to thank Christina Rains for choosing me. Thanks Christina...that was really nice of you to think of me, now that you've passed this off on 7 more people... me being one of them--ehem... I feel like I've come down with the seventh deadly virus or something. Yes! So this means I get to pass it on to seven more people, so watch out... don't get too close. I might pass it on to you!!!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Permission to Relax

Having a week off makes me want to retire NOW. I have been getting up at 5:30 or once 6 a.m.! And can stay up as long as I want, but I get sleepy around 8:30. I think it might be the time change thing.

Our weather has cooperated for once. Can you believe it? Yesterday it hit 80! We've seen 77, 78, and 79 all week long. These are records for Northern Illinois for March. We shouldn't see anything over 54 degrees.

So, since the weather was so wonderful, and we can wear shorts, I spent a couple of hours outside enjoying it. I took my bird book and binoculars and was able to get into a wooded area to find a golden crowned kinglett. Might not be of interest to most people, but I've been a bird watcher all my adult life and I do believe this was a first sighting. I was thinking I had a warbler, as these are very small, very quick birds that flit and jump from tree-limb to brush and back to tree limbs. You can't identify one of these little guys w/o something that brings them in close. I can't imagine trying to take a photograph of one! I caught the identifying markings--and lack of certain other markings--and was able to find him in my book.

Why was this important to me? This is a relaxing mode for me. I have not been able to do this in a long while, merely because I've been working so damned hard on writing and getting a WIP done, that taking a couple of hours off in the day to NOT write seemed like an impossible idea. I would love to have a lap top, it would free me from the dark room which is my office. Up until the bugs begin to bug me, that is, and it becomes too hot outside. But still, it would be nice to have that freedom.

It's important to give yourself permission to relax. You need to go and do something else, not thinking about writing. You can suffer from burn-out if you don't do something like this once in a while.

On Wednesday, my husband and I drove to a state park to have a picnic and do some hiking. That was a wonderful time of R&R. We enjoyed the warm weather and my potato salad and fried chicken. It will buoy us through the next few weeks of work. The memories will give me something to think about, and smile at.

Me relaxing in the backyard
So, give yourself permission to relax. You deserve it. More importantly, if you don't, you'll find yourself burned-out and won't know how to get back the momentum again.

Friday, March 16, 2012

FRIDAY ~ Editing...don't over do it!

thank you to Rich Evans for use of pic!
Okay, so you might realize I've been busy. Writing my fingers to the bone--they're bleeding (see picture if you don't believe me!)

Or maybe you haven't missed me all that much. That's fine. I'm okay with that. You're all busy too. We're writers and some of us are either working on our WIP, or taking a break. You do need to take breaks once in a while. Don't feel that this is a bad thing. It is not! I once took a 4-year break from writing completely. But I worked on my craft hobby during that time, which was fun.

I'm working on edits on third book. I like using the find button of my edits selection. I type in a word, or phrase and it will find that word or phrase throughout your mss. If I hit "find all", it will do that in a matter of seconds. I then hit the high light button and I'm done with high lighting that word or selected phrase. This is one thing I find that makes the job so much easier for working on the edits. And since we can't read through with our eyes the over-used words like was, or that, or even, etc., this high lighting idea helps you see them, so to make your job a little quicker (I had not done this with the first two book--stupid, I know!), and you won't spend quite so much time working through it over and over again.

When you are editing, it's a good idea to not over-edit. If you pick up any printed book (traditional paperback), you will see that these words will still be in use. We don't have to get crazy and yank every was, even, that, as, or but etc. out. Especially when these words are in dialogue, because people do speak that way. What you want to do is make sure you don't have a trail of WAS all the way through your pages. Try and get as many of them out as you can.

Now, I'm going to give you an excerpt from one of my favorite authors to give you an idea of how sometimes these "be" words are still left in. You'll notice that the read is fine. It sounds very much like your best friend is talking to you, while relating her story to you (first person).

From Embrace the Night by Karen Chance:

I heard him yell something in French and felt a bullet whiz by my head, but it was unimportant because I was falling, and there was nothing to hold on to, just sliding dirt and limestone rocks crumbling beneath my hands. My arms flailed wildly, grasping for the one thing I had to find, but for a long second I felt only air. Then my fingers collided with something warm and alive and I grabbed it and we were both falling. There was a dizzying rush of air and my power wouldn't come and all I could think was that I'd killed us both--then my brain whited out and my heart tried to stop and reality twisted and bent around us.

I might have tried to pull a few there was's, and I felt's, but this is Chances' style. Who can argue when you are a New York Times Bestseller?

My main point is to not go crazy trying to delete and somehow find a replacement for the "be" verbs. I can't even find my list of all of them, but I've listed a few.

My lazy writing tends to be the phrases it seems to, and I felt, and I saw, and I heard. These are the ones I'm most concerned with because when I read it through I'm wanting to vomit all over my PC, and that wouldn't be blood like in the picture above. Sorry...

Anyway, this is what I've been up to. Also I'll be visiting a couple of blogs here and will post a link for them.

So, back to the type pad. Promise no blood... or anything gross.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

You Ever Google Yourself?

I was Googling an author just this morning to find her on line and at facebook, this morning and thought "I wonder what I'd find on myself" So, I went ahead and put my name into Google. You know how many Lorelei Bell's there are out there. Thank God! I don't want people to know exactly where I live, they'd have to know where I live to find me.

Anyway, yes. I'm there. Lorelei's Muse is there, and I'm on Smashwords, FrogenYozurt, which is my publisher's site (and you will see that he has used the top portion of my second book for his banner--which is really cool) Amazon, facebook... I read my bio in Smashwords. Sounds a little lame to me. I found my interview on "Bloody Bookish" which was done back last October. And a certain someone had left some odd comment, which I hadn't seen before (I'm not saying who--*Jimmy*--he knows who he is).

I went to the second page, and even more places that I've been featured on appeared (Such as Carol Gill's interview as well as James Garcia Jr.'s Kink River's Life spotlight on Indi authors.

I found my first book over on a site "Top Mystery Novels" which I don't even remember seeing. I think it was placed there in 2011-probably by my publisher.

The third page gives you my facebook page, and my second novel's release of "Vampire's Trill".

And this one on Zimbio was a little surprising. this is some sort of Hollywood site. My first book's release is here
http://www.zimbio.com/search?q=Loreli+Bell+Vampire+Ascending&type=all  Plus my second book's release announcement is here

Sort of interesting to find myself out there, and how a publisher is helpful in placing my book's releases onto interesting sites like the last one. Hmmm, I need to tweet these and then I've got to get ready to leave for a day out at a local state park for a picnic and fun hikes in the white pine forest.

Have a good day!

Monday, March 12, 2012

COFFEE KLATCH MONDAY - To Do List

Hey it's dark! Ah! That's better...

Hello, my pretties. Time change has put us in the dark this morning, but I think the lighting above will help brighten things up a bit, don't you think?

We have the day off, and so naturally we have things to do. What better day to do them than on Monday when all of you are at work?
Here's our itinerary:

Walmart - for stuff (I need white-out, plus some mascara, and other stuff I can't live w/o)
Bank - to pay a portion of our truck off (and hear the litany as to why I must join this bank NOT!)
Dentist - to have someone gouge and clean our teeth and pay them for that pleasure
Grocery Store - to buy food (duh).

What's up with you?

Sunday, March 11, 2012

DANTE BADHEART

Well, since I've started this, I may as well get in the next character here. I've found pictures of actors for every one of my main characters, except for Nicolas. I'm still searching...

But Dante was found by one of my fans, and she deserves credit - Mariana Perez Suggested actor Micheal Grayeyes.

Micheal is from Saskatchewan, Canada, and has been in a number of movies including "Skin Walkers" (a title I recognize from one of my favorite authors, Tony Hillerman), the TNT production of "Crazy Horse" in the title role. (This picture may very well be from that movie.) And has been in the cast of may TV shows including Walker, Texas Ranger, Body & Soul, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and Charmed.

And when you think about it his last name sort of fits, since Dante's eyes are gray.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

VASYL played by...

When I had invisioned Vasyl, his eyes were Byzantine-large, and they would have to be both hypnotic, yet give him the slightest look of a saint who might not be quite so... saintly - if you know what I mean?

When it came to finding an actor who filled the bill I wanted someone with large eyes which can pull you in with out even trying. I knew where to find him, but didn't know what his name was. So, I asked my trusted, long-time friend John Roach, who supplied me with both the actor's name, and the character's name from Forever Knight, and some photos.

Ben Bass played Javier Vachon on the last season of Forever Knight. I think he is perfect for the part... don't you?









picture removed by author

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Buy Vampire's Trill Get Vampire Ascending FREE !!!

Hello my pretties and fans alike...I have news for those of you who have not yet purchased either book. Here's your chance to get a two-fer!

When you buy the book, Vampire's Trill


You can get Vampire Ascending (book) FREE!


Here's all you need to do:
If you buy Vampire's Trill (the book) through Amazon, send your electronic receipt to:

And they will send you a copy of Vampire Ascending absolutely free! Even if you have read Vampire Ascending, you can give it as a gift.

If you buy it through a bookstore, then you will save your printed receipt and send it to:

Copperhill Media
158 Log Plain Rd.
Greenfield, MA 01301

This won't last long, so if you've been wanting to buy the books, now is your chance to get a two-for one deal! How sweet is that?

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Teaser Tuesday ~ Drachen (from WIP)

I know you guys out there enjoy these little blips from the manuscripts I'm working on. This tease is about a character named Drachen. Even the name sounds yummy, doesn't it?


Behind me, Aljehambra made a sudden shriek and Joha comforted her. From the muffling of her voice, I knew she had probably ducked into the folds of his arms, hiding her face from the whole scene.
Drachen had moved to the other side of the doorway, next to me. He stood motionless as I checked over my shoulder. His long hair swayed slightly in some errant breeze. His aura was quite palpable; his scent was exotic, like some funky incense and it was all I could do not to put my nose into his hair and just indulge in it.
And then I would eat him whole.
His large, expressive hazel eyes gazed into the room. I felt sudden desire skitter through me and I had to wonder if it was him attempting to put a thrall on me. Or was it just me being horny? I voted for the latter, since Drachen wasn't as yet a fully developed vampire. And I was unable to change into my alter ego—Weregirl.
Silvery light beamed back to me, and caught me off guard. The essence was absorbed by Dante's Stone, just like before. This time I felt it hit me more forcefully, and jerked with a little surprised gasp. Drachen noticed, but said nothing. The stone felt heavier suddenly; more dense. It was like carrying a gold nugget around my neck. The dagger returned and I snatched it out of the air quickly, twirled it, secured it. This earned an even more impressed look from Drachen.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Coffee Klatch Monday - To each his own.

from etsy shop Berker Hare Co.
This will be a killer week. I am working 7 days straight! So, I thought the above cup would be exactly what I'll need when I'm done. We have spring break starting on Saturday, thus my husband and I chose to take the weekend runs so as to be together. (I hear you all going "awww" out there.)

Any way I wanted to give you this heads up if I seem to not be around. I'll be at work every day until next Monday. Then 7 GLORIOUS DAYS OFF! And with the gas prices as they are, it will be seen if we go anywhere, but you never know. We might get off to do something that week.

Hoping weather will turn nice that week, since we will be off to enjoy it. Especially with all the crap has been happening lately around the country weather-wise.

So, what's going on with you? What's in your cup o'joe this morning? Talk to me...

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Beyond the Black Veil ~WIP & The Historical Dracula

Pince Drakulya-a.k.a. Vlad The Impaler
In case you didn't know by now, I'm working on the third book. I had decided--at some point--to somehow incorporate the historical Dracula into it. I didn't want to do some cheep rip-off, or cheeky paranormal romance with him as the romantic hero. I wanted to make him as close to his historical self as I could. I also needed a world in which he resides and rules--and is a vampire. In other words, I didn't want him showing up at Sabrina's doorstep. In this story Dracula plays a major character, and has a role throughout, to the end.

In Beyond the Black Veil, Sabrina slips into a portal while trying to locate her missing cousin, and suddenly finds herself in a Parallel World. In this world they're stuck in the late Victorian age. In this world the vampires out number humans ten to one.

 The Historical Dracula:

I've had a long on-going interest in the historical Dracula, as well as the fictional one. The historical Dracula lived during dangerous times (15th century Transylvania), and is far more complicated, and murderous than the fictional one by Bram Stoker. In 1444, Dracula's father, Dracul, had the misfortune of being be lured by the sultan across the Danube River (located south of Transylvania, beyond which lies the Ottoman Empire). He took his two sons along, and was caught and brought before Sultan Murad. In order to save his throne and his own neck, he left his sons, Dracula and Radu, to be taken as hostages. The two boys were imprisoned in Egrigoz in Asia Minor--under "house arrest". During this time is when Dracula was introduced to Turkish torture, was taught the Turkish language, and also became acquainted with the pleasures of the harem. During this time he also developed "a reputation for trickery, cunning insubordination, and brutality, and inspired fright in his own guards, in contrast to his brother's sheepish subserviency." ~In Search of Dracula - 1972

Dracula lived into his mid-forties, was able to sit on the throne twice as a prince, married twice (and many lovers), and was cut down in his last battle against the Turks--his sworn enemies. His head was severed in that battle, separated from his body and taken to Constantinople where it was displayed on a spike. His body meanwhile was taken to one of his monasteries. No one is for certain that the headless body found at this site is really Dracula's.
Monastery at Snagov where
Dracula's body was put to rest
Well, maybe it is or maybe it isn't. My writer's mind had to turn this over in my head and came up with a solution as to how Dracula's head was married back to his body, and became a vampire. Sorry, but you'll have to just wait and read the book when it comes out in order to see how he did this.

SYNOPSIS
~ partial~

Beyond the Dark Veil ~ a world where vampires out number humans ten to one, and humans are merely blood donors and objects of their sexual desire.

While trying to solve the mystery of where Lindee could be in this world, Sabrina encounters Drakulya--the real-life Dractula--a.k.a. The Impaler--who has some how managed to become a vampire living in this strange world, and rules as King. He is mystified by Sabrina's various abilities (such as being able to disappear at will from her imprisonment)--as he's decided she will become his "blood dame". Meanwhile, his son, Jett, simply wants her, despite the fact he is to marry a vassal's daughter, Penelope.


Friday, March 2, 2012

The Twins ~ Leif and Heath

I want to thank a fan, Mariana Perez, for suggesting these Canadian actors to play the twins, Heath and Leif Sufferdin. This is Shawn and Aaron Ashmore. I felt that the bad-boy, Leif would be played by Shawn (I was told he is the top one).

It's sort of fun to find actors you think could play your characters, if your book were to be made into a movie.

I'd love your reaction, and suggestions if you have any.

Next week I'll post picture of actor I thought best to play Dante Badheart.

AUDIO BOOK NOW AVAILABLE!

Hi, everyone, I have some great news! My first Sabrina Strong book, Ascension, is now in an audio book format.  NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATTE...