This Week's Special Guest, Marie Treanor

Marie Treanor lives in Scotland with her eccentric husband and three much-too-smart children. Having grown bored with city life, she resides these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing sensual stories of paranormal romance and fantasy.

Marie is the award winning author of nearly forty sexy paranormal romances - Indie, New York and E-published. She is represented by Robert Gottlieb of Trident Media Group.

WEBSITE   ***   FACEBOOK   ***   TWITTER   ***   NEWSLETTER   ***   BLOG

The Founder Revealed! 

SERAFINA AND THE FOUNDER (Serafina’s, Book 5) 
By Marie Treanor 

Welcome back to Serafina’s, Scotland’s unique psychic investigation agency... where, in the fifth book, the Founder is finally stepping out from the shadows!

So, who is the Founder? If you’ve read the other books in the Serafina’s series, you’ll know that he’s the first vampire ever created, from whom the rest of the undead population is descended. He’s a dark, mysterious, reclusive and terrifyingly powerful figure. Even other vampires know nothing about him, except to keep out of his way. What little knowledge anyone has comes only from legend and rumour

According to this legend, the Founder was a great sorcerer who made himself a vampire thousands of years ago. Feared and hated for his knowledge, he was severely tortured, causing the mutilation of, among other things, his vocal chords. The vampires believe that this is the reason they don’t talk - although, of course, there is now a newer line of vampires, created from a mixture of old blood and new magic, who do talk, but they are generally considered inferior to their silent brethren J.

At Serafina’s Psychic Investigations, they first learned of the Founder through the vampire Blair who has become Serafina’s lover. They know the Founder is best avoided, since even the vampires fear him, but they also know he’s keeping a wary and disapproving eye on them, because of Blair’s relationship with Sera. From being a mere name in the first book, SERAFINA AND THE SILENT VAMPIRE, he became a silent, watchful shadow in Book 2, SERAFINA AND THE VIRTUAL MAN. In Book 3, SERAFINA AND THE LEPRECHAUN’S SHOE, the staff of Serafina’s believed that for his own reasons he helped rescue Jack and Roxy from the Tuatha de Danann. In Book 4, SERAFINA AND THE PSYCHO SOUS-CHEF, he finally spoke, briefly, to the vampire Phil, and to the human witch Melanie, Sera’s friend; both encounters were warnings.

So why should he finally come out of the shadow in Book 5, SERAFINA AND THE FOUNDER? And surely Sera and her friends have no defence against such a threat? Well, I don’t want to spoil the story but I will just say that the answer to both questions involves Melanie, the overcurious witch with a secret, tragic past, and some old enemies of the Founder who’ve finally tracked him down.

I have to say I had fun dragging the all-powerful Founder into Serafina’s wacky world of bizarre paranormal happenings and unlikely relationships. But even to me, he himself is the biggest surprise – a master of illusion, elusive, sexy, unexpectedly humorous and irresistible in more ways than one. I hope you enjoy him :)

SERAFINA AND THE FOUNDER by Marie Treanor


Serafina's Series Book Five

Will curiosity kill the witch?

Kind witch Melanie Merrow regards herself as an honourary aunt to the eccentric staff of Serafina’s Psychic Investigations. But Melanie has buried a terrible past that her friends bring unwittingly to the surface during a séance. Plus her insatiable quest for knowledge has fixated on the most elusive and dangerous being on the planet – the ancient, tragic Founder, from whom all vampires are descended. 

The Founder, who hides himself in shadows and illusions, even from the scattered vampires over whom he watches from a distance, plans to leave the world of humans forever. He should not be engaging in banter and seduction with the beautiful and intriguing Melanie, let alone buying her chips or involving himself in the chaos that is Serafina’s. But, fighting the human police, the possessive spirit of a dead serial killer, a pack of vengeful wolves, and the anger of the Tuatha de Danann is easy compared to dealing with his own reawakening desires.

BUY THE eBOOK   ***   READ THE EXCERPT

Check out all the Serafina Books on Marie Treanor's Website

This Week's Special Guest - Betty Gordon

This week at the AuthorIsland Tiki Hut, we welcome mystery author Betty Gordon as she talks about Egypt and her new novel VALLEY OF OBSESSIONS.

Betty Gordon, a native Texan, moved from Dallas to Houston in search of her destiny. After careers as a dance instructor, sculptor, and legal assistant, she followed her dream to write books that would entertain and challenge readers.

Betty graduated from the University of Houston-Downtown with a B.S. in Professional Writing and from U of H-Clear Lake with an M.A. in Literature (Creative Writing), and an M.A. in Visual Arts. She attended law school for a year before leaving for the world of art and writing. She continues her education with on-line writing workshops and conferences.

A supportive husband, three grown sons, and a Maltese who thinks he's another son complete her family.

Publishing credentials: Murder in the Third Person, Deceptive Clarity, The Magic of Christmas (a mini-ebook collection of short stories for all seasons), Valley of Obsessions (Coming Soon), and The Common Thread (co-authored with CC Smith) Release date 2011. Numerous short stories in L&L Dreamspell's anthologies, Dead and Breakfast, A Death in Texas, A Box of Texas Chocolates, and Twisted Tales of Texas Landmarks.

Betty is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Writers' League of Texas, The Final Twist, Houston Writers' Guild, and Bay Area Writers' League.

WEBSITE *** FACEBOOK *** TWITTER

VALLEY OF OBSESSIONS
by Betty Gordon
BEHIND THE SCENES

VALLEY OF OBSESSIONS and the delights of exploring ancient Egypt were just mustard seeds when I was trying to convince my husband to make San Antonio, Texas, our vacation spot some years ago. Beautiful scenery, festive restaurants, and shops await visitors as they follow the Riverwalk that borders the San Antonio River. We had been to San Antonio more times than you could count on one hand, but I enjoyed it every time.

My husband acted interested and said he would check on travel details. I was happy and began the imaginary journey during the days that followed. A few days passed. He hadn’t said anything about the trip and I couldn’t stand it one more minute. So, trying not to sound plaintive, I asked how plans for the trip were coming. He smiled but didn’t say anything. I’m not known for my patience, so this time – not caring if I sounded plaintive or not – I started in on him.

“If you don’t want to go, just say so.”

He hugged me and let me in on a secret he managed to keep from me. I’ll never forget his next words as they made a dream of a lifetime come true.

“How would you like to take a journey down the Nile?”

The rest is history. We went to Egypt and had the experience of our lives. I only wish I could go again and experience more, but with the unrest in that part of the world, I doubt it will happen. Truthfully, it doesn’t matter. I was there, I saw as much of Cairo and the monuments as possible., I made a voyage down the Nile via a boat that allowed passengers to disembark at historical sites, I saw King Tutankhamen’s Tomb, and I relived it all in VALLEY OF OBSESSIONS.

The concept for the story and characters began when I made this trip to Egypt some years ago. The pharaohs, the monuments – everything about the country intrigued me and had done so since childhood when I could only look at pyramids in picture books. I decided during this memorable trip to write about my adventures although the actual words wouldn’t come to life until much later. Many unbelievable things happened during my journey to this impressive country and these happenings are woven into the story. Of course, not ALL occurrences are real and even those that are have been fictionalized to a certain extent. Sketches of prominent story sites are included as well as one photo I took while in Egypt. I had numerous photographs, of course, but sadly they failed to transfer well. The history of this country, the majestic and memorable pyramids, and monuments wrapped themselves around me impatiently waiting to see print.

My characters usually evolve from my imagination when I first enter the twilight zone at night. Unfortunately, oftentimes these thoughts keep me from sleep and I end up at the computer describing a character or creating a budding plot. Desiree Roberts, the protagonist in Valley of Obsessions, is a natural for me as I wore a hat as a paralegal/legal assistant for many years. So, I understand this woman who searches for ways to unite with a fascinating country in a special way and find love at the same time.

Most of the time I am what one would call a “pantster.” I develop the story as I write, but this novel evolved in a way that required some outlining. Even though I write down the characters’ traits when I begin the story, their personality quirks develop much later and are capable of changing the direction of the story. My Muse usually takes over at this point and uses the personality quirks to create numerous tantalizing threads in the cast of characters. I think, and hope, that these tantalizing threads lead to a conclusion that is both challenging and surprising for readers.

VALLEY OF OBSESSIONS by Betty Gordon

Desiree's passion for ancient Egyptian culture leads her on a dangerous trip down the Nile.

Can Desiree Roberts leave her law career in Texas and become a 1980's Egyptian?

Will the country that has captivated her since childhood embrace her, or will it lead her down dangerous paths fraught with deception and betrayal?

As Desiree follows her dreams and treks through shifting sands, she enters portals of pharaohs long since entombed. Her obsessions lure her into alien territory filled with suspicious characters - where someone wants to end her fantasies.

How far will he go?

BUY THE BOOK *** BUY THE eBOOK *** BUY IN KINDLE *** READ THE EXCERPT



WIN - Leave Betty a question this week at the Tiki Hut because TWO lucky readers will receive their choice from Betty's book list check out her website for your choices! Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you are one of this week's TWO winners!! Good luck!

This Tuesday At The Tiki Hut - Cheryl Dragon

The winner of a free download of one of Cheryl Dragon's books is Marcy! Marcy, email me at AuthorIsland at yahoo.com with your contact information so Cheryl can get with you about which of her books you'd like to try out!

Thanks to everyone for stopping by to keep Cheryl company at the Tiki Hut!

A lover of unusual things, Cheryl Dragon enjoys writing unique stories with sinfully hot erotic romance or suspenseful mainstream paranormals. Never at a loss for ideas, there are plenty of stories in her brain waiting to be written. Her two favorites book settings are Las Vegas and New Orleans...where anything can happen!

Cheryl lives in the Chicagoland area with her deaf albino cat. By day she crunches & analyzes numbers as an Assistant Controller for a division of a large international conglomerate which leaves the creative juices free for her erotic romance and paranormal suspense novels.

Visit Website *** Visit Myspace *** Visit Blog

Welcome to the Tiki Hut, Cheryl!

***

Escape for Summer….One way or another!

Some days I wish I had become a teacher. Some profession where I get the summers off. But no such luck here. Day job, writing, and life continue year round.

We all need to escape reality for a little while. Some of us can go on vacation. I went on a mini-working vacation in early June to the Lori Foster Weekend. Not a big vacation but affordable and fun. I got to see my writer friends and my slave labor promoters (like DeNita!).

Another way I personally escape is TV. I love my shows…like The Closer, Leverage, The Office, Family Guy, and more. I blog about the new stuff or a great rerun weely at my new blog: http://cheryldragon.blogspot.com/ You’ll also find info on my releases as they come out so there is a little promo there as well.

My other way of escaping is writing and I’ve got a lot of stuff coming out this summer. Ménage, m/m, paranormal, and all of it really really HOT!

Cheryl Dragon Summer Releases for your Escape Pleasure!!

May: Her Boyfriend’s Boyfriend
Available Now in Ebook at Loose Id
Link: http://www.loose-id.com/prod-Her_Boyfriend_s_Boyfriend-938.aspx

Excerpt Link: http://www.loose-id.com/CDHBBex.aspx

Genre: Ménage
Blurb:

Cassie has found the man of her dreams. Neil’s rich and smart and hotter than hell! He's perfect. Except for one small thing. Their sex life is cooling off and he’s not talking. It's not her, she's almost sure, and she's not giving up. She's determined to get to the bottom of it. And fix it.

What Cassie doesn't know is that Neil used to have a boyfriend. Lou. They used to pick up women together, have sex with them, enjoy them, but they never found one they wanted to keep. Then Lou moved on. Neil tried. He tried to go straight for Cassie and for his career, but he never stopped loving Lou and without that man in his bed, he's never going to have everything he needs, no matter how much he loves Cassie.

Once Cassie starts digging around, the truth can't be denied. And neither can the chemistry between Cassie and Lou. Is she the one they needed all along? Cassie's never had two men before. Not even just in bed. The idea of a ménage life scares her a little, honestly. But now that she knows how to please her boyfriend, she's not letting him go. Even if it means learning to love her boyfriend's boyfriend.

June:
Out of Body Sexy
Paranormal Rubenesque Erotic Romance
Available: Now at Ellora’s Cave
Length: Quickie
Link: http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-7331-50-out-of-body-sex.aspx
Excerpt Link: http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-7331-50-out-of-body-sex.aspx

Blurb:

Plus-size psychic Kim Vennon doesn’t know how to get sexy Matt Rayne but she can’t resist using her skills to get close. Going out of her body is freeing and she can play with his hard, sexy form anonymously. But it goes farther than planned. When he calls her name, she flees to her body but Matt follows, determined to get the full experience and no more games. Matt has wanted the voluptuous woman but fate kept them apart. Now he’s going to have his way with her, in and out of their bodies.



Psychic Rebels
Available TODAY at Loose Id
Link: http://www.loose-id.com/prod-Psychic_Rebels-965.aspx
Excerpt Link: http://cheryldragon.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-release-psychic-rebels.html

Blurb:

On again off again lovers Colin and Dennis, a psychic and a healer, know they are meant to be together, but the world is against them. They have the power to destroy evil before it happens, if only they can survive their lust for each other.

I also have two more releases coming out in August…keep an eye on my blog or my website for that info. Of course it’ll be on Author Island as well.

Let the Tiki gods sweep you away for summer fun! Enjoy and mix some margaritas to keep cool and check out my current contest up at Author Island to win some goodies!

Cheryl Dragon

***

A chance to win - one winner will be drawn tomorrow morning from all those leaving comments for Cheryl today to win a free download of one of Cheryl's books - good luck!

This Tuesday At The Tiki Hut - Marie Treanor

Author Marie Treanor is joining us today in the AuthorIsland Tiki Hut all the way from across the pond in Scotland!!

Marie Treanor was born and bred in Scotland, but for some years moved around the UK working and studying. Now she's back home and happily married with three young children.

Having grown bored with city life, her family lives in a picturesque village by the sea where, instead of working for a living, Marie is lucky enough to be able to enjoy herself writing stories of romance and fantasy.

She draws the inspiration for her books mainly from the people around her and from Scotland's rich history and culture - with, of course, large helpings of fun and imagination!

Visit Marie's Website *** Visit Marie's Myspace *** Visit Marie's Blog *** Get Marie's Newsletter

Thanks for joining us today, Marie!

Hello!

I’m thrilled to be here at the Tiki Hut today. Actually, I have to confess I’m also a tad nervous, because it’s my first visit as guest blogger, and because, like many authors, I live so much in my imagination that it’s difficult to readjust to write about “real life”.

But then, even the most fantastical worlds in fiction have to be based on some degree of reality. My most fantastic world (in the sense of its distance from our world today) is undoubtedly the setting of my City of the Damned trilogy with Changeling Press. It’s a bleak, post-apocalyptic future world, devastated by nuclear war. The survivors live in isolated, very different communities - and the City of the Damned is more different than most!

Here, the particular cocktail of radiation poisoning suffered by the inhabitants appears to have created mutant species - the most powerful of which would be instantly recognizable to many generations of gothic, horror and romance readers as werewolves and vampires.

So, definite fiction. But inspired by some of the more dangerous aspects of our own world. Fascinatng, if scary, to speculate on what might happen if it all goes horribly wrong, and how surviving humanity might cope with what’s left.

This was a big departure for me. When I began writing romances, I set them deliberately in my home country of Scotland, because it’s the place I know best. With the City of the Damned I had to bring my own vision of this ruined, struggling world to life, almost in a vacuum. Somewhere on Earth. And it was curiously liberating. I thoroughly enjoyed creating my unique City.

I’m not sure when I first realized where my City was. I think it was when I first began to consider the relationship between it and the safer Dome City from which Lara, my heroine in Loving the Wolf, came in search of her missing brother. Subconsciously, I’d placed Lara’s Dome City in the south, and the City of the Damned in the north. There’s no such thing as country, so it’s never named, but I began to realize that, without really meaning to, I was still writing about Scotland. And by extension, Britain.

My City of the Damned is, in fact, a devastated Glasgow. The ruined graveyard through which David tracks the beautiful vampire Katia in Loving the Man, is Glasgow’s historic Necropolis. The southern Dome City, better protected than anywhere else from the consequences of nuclear war is, of course, London.

The vast, empty Highlands to the north of the City of the Damned, where my heroes and heroines hope to discover the tether that could save the world, now needs no introduction. The same Scottish Highlands turn out to be the home of the mysterious and powerful Dragul in the two spin-off series Dragul Rising, and Rogue Warriors.

Having admitted it to myself, as more contact formed between these communities, I called their shared environment “the Island”. And when in Rogue Warriors, the Island drifts in to a new war with the next power they encounter spreading from the west, the West is a similarly devastated and recovering America. And the outer islands over which their military forces fight are Ireland and the Hebrides.

So there you have it – the geography of the City of the Damned revealed for the first time! Although the observant may already have guessed! If you haven’t yet read the City of the Damned trilogy (Loving the Wolf, Loving the Vampire and Loving the Man), all three novellas are now available from Changeling Press in one bargain e-book collection: http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1072.

Even better, it’s today’s spotlight book at Author Island - you could win it here: http://www.authoriland.com/.

Well, thanks for letting me ramble about one my favourite subjects! If you’d like to read some excerpts from City of the Damned, or find out more about my other books, please visit my website, http://www.marietreanor.com/.

You can also keep up with my latest news by joining my Newsletter only group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marietreanornewsletter. Or the chat group I share with fellow authors Kyla Logan and Kara Griffin: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sexydelights.

Best wishes!

Marie

This Tuesday At The Tiki Hut - Buffi BeCraft-Woodall

Buffi BeCraft-Woodall, thirty-something mother of two, says that growing up watching marathon sessions of Star Trek and Dr. Who with her dad at night and daytime soaps with her mom pretty much clinched her style of writing. She started writing her first novel during sixth grade math until plummeting grades forced her to set it aside or be grounded from her favorite place, the library. But, hey the novel was going along good until then.

In 2000-2001, Buffi made a conscious decision to seriously pursue writing during a brief period in which she tried home schooling her children. "Kudos to teachers everywhere. They deserve more than a pat on the back. Try a standing ovation at the Super Bowl and it might come close." The kids, John and Angelique, who eventually returned to the capable hands of the Public School System, are her first and most loyal fans.

Visit Website *** Visit Myspace

Thanks for being our guest today, Buffi, and sharing this great post about monsters and why we love them!

What kind of monster do you like?

By Buffi BeCraft-Woodall

Are you a fan of the original ‘pure evil’ Vampires, wolfmen, and swamp thing monsters? Soulless creatures that jump out from behind the tree, chomping on hapless victims. The true hero being the human who kills the evil and returns light and happiness to the beleaguered townsfolk?

Or is there another story? The poor misunderstood monster who was just defending himself from the torch and pitchfork bearing mob. Haters of anything not like themselves. The hero is the guy who’s different on the outside, but just as human on the inside as you and me. He could be furry, scaly, need some serious orthodontia for that fangy problem he’s got going on there, but when it comes down to it, Mr. Monster is just a sensitive guy who wants to be loved and appreciated for himself.

I’ve heard it from both sides. Moans from my friends on how the new ‘more sensitive’ monsters as heroes outlook has ruined the story. I’ve heard cheers that the monsters have been liberated from the evil stereotypes of the past. You know…they both work.

Me, I like an even stranger version. Think outside the box, or coffin as it were. Why make the story about simple good and evil when you have so many shades of gray to play with? When you have, love, lust, greed, jealousy, and every other demented emotion to explore? Daytime television does it all the time. Why not combine it all? Yes, my family thinks I’m weird too. I don’t disagree. I just smile and nod, folks. It pays to keep them guessing. Besides, I love The Soap Monster stories.

What? You don’t think that monsters and soap operas could work together. Bwhahahha! Trust me, it can and does. I’m hooked on several by some big name authors. After years of growing up, watching black and white Dracula, Werewolf, Godzilla, don’t forget Mothra. I loved Star Trek, Dr. Who, Days of Our Lives, Guiding Light. (True soap fans have these things timed so that they can watch the first half of one, then don’t miss out when they channel flip over to the second half of the show on another story.)

Growing up, I always wondered why we couldn’t we have the best of both. Okay, Star Trek doesn’t count since Kirk slept with anything female, whatever the species, then wound up with the secret kid who died. And Mr. Spock came back from the dead at least once. Remember V? The human/alien lizard love triangle did get a little icky. But, yay! A breakthrough! Not all the aliens were bad guys.

See, the monsters don’t have to be evil all the time. I wanted to know what would happen if were known that the vampire was really a good guy, working to take down the evil vamps. What if the evil vamp were the only evil vamp and the disgrace of the vampire world? What if Darth Vader was really Luke’s secret father? Oops. That one was a point for our side. I have to admit, I only saw the last movie (or was that the third?) a couple of weeks ago. I already knew the ending. Duh! Plus, George Lucas did such a good job making us love Anakin that I really didn’t want to see him fall.

So yes, is it any wonder that when I started to seriously write, I kind of went a little overboard on the werewolf thing? Weremones, PMSing, and Making Tracks, became sort of Werewolf Soap. Officially, that’s paranormal or fantasy romance. Depends on who you ask. But in the end a Soap is a Soap.

It’s the big, What If…

What if a werewolf suddenly inherited a Pack he didn’t want? What if his whole Pack consisted of a bunch of teenagers? What do you do about male horemones and a teen werewolf dating your girlfriend’s human teenage daughter? That was fun for my first book, Weremones like the rest of my werewolf books are from New Concepts Publishing. (http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/)

Then I got to thinking, what if you had identical twins, one with Alpha potential and one the former Omega. What if the Omega guy after years of being gone, decided he was tired of it all and wanted the girl after all? What if the girl is his adopted stepmom’s daughter he secretly loves? What if the daughter got herself into some real trouble and decided come home to hide out? The best part was bringing all the people back, years later. The book PMSing ended up as Monster Soapfest II.
Then my son and I started talking about what to do for book three. Hmmm. Yeah. Of my two kids, my son is the reader and the Para/SciFi fan. My daughter is the social outgoing one. So my son starts telling me what he’d like to see out of his favorite character, Mark the ADHD werewolf. O-kay. Before it’s all over with, Making Tracks had an insecure, colorblind hero who’s head over paws with a girl terrified of anything supernatural. We had a Fairy uprising, the evil dude from the past, and a seriously P.O.’d dragon.

And after a short break messing with Arthurian Legend, in a very Christmas themed Conjuring Cal, I’m back to writing about the werewolves. I heard you sword and swashbuckler fans perk up on that. Conjuring Cal is another fun what if…. What if Excalibur became human? Sound like fun? I had a blast writing it. And the Christmas theme allowed me to play with more than just Arthur and his gang.

With Mordred on the loose, Cal (Excalibur) is placed in Gennie Pendragon’s safekeeping. Unfortunately, his humanness comes with an expiration date.

What could Gennie possibly want for Christmas? Why Cal, of course. Good thing she’s friends with the guy in the red suit. Don’t forget a slightly forgetful Merlin, a houseful of sweet if overgrown wards, and her overprotective many great-somethings ‘Uncle Art’. (Head by Total-e-Bound to download a copy of this one. http://www.total-e-bound.com/)

What up next? Well… Lets’ see what we’ve got to work with this time,
Tank and Chase, the dynamic duo of the werewolf world, have a mysterious past. Bradley is working for the Fairies since the last book. Can we say ‘Conflict of Interest’ boys and girls? And then there’s the Van Helsing style Psychic Hunter who knows he’s saving the world from the supernatural scourge of the evil. Is the Hunter the hero or the villain? I mean, all monsters are evil, right? All his conditioning and all the traditional books and movies portray it that way.I’m a traditionalist only in that I like a happy ending. I’m a sucker for a Cinderella story. Bad monsters, good monsters, who’s sleeping with who, or even who’s staking who. I only fall on the ‘new and sensitive’ side when I write. For sheer reading escapism, it’s all good, so long as the story is worth hanging around for.