Vamps and Scamps

Author Interview…Author Joss Ware

shilohwalker — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:00:06 +0000

Beyond the Night

(Hey guys…we’re doing deviation from the norm here and doing a guest interview. It’s cross-posted from my group blog, Vamps and Scamps.)

Author Joss Ware and I met (online) this year and I’ve gotta say, I think I’m going to adore this new series she’s got going. I already read and loved the first book~you can read more about it here.

We got to chatting back and forth and decided to do an interview here so people can get to know her. (also makes for very easy blog posting for me…)

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Vamps and Scamps Blog Interview with Joss Ware:

V&S: What kind of stories can we expect from Joss Ware?

Joss Ware: Sexy, fast-paced, gritty ones. With zombies. J

V&S: I understand it’s a new series. Care to tell us about it?

Joss Ware: My new series is a paranormal romance set in a post-apocalyptic world, about fifty years after the major catastrophic events that destroyed most of the human race and the bulk of its infrastructure.

Unlike the world of Mad Max and his Thunderdome, the world of Envy (which is the largest city in this post-cataclysmic environ) is one of lush overgrowth and Mother Nature flexing her muscles, showing Man that she is, after all, The Boss. Now that man is not there to maintain his buildings, she’s taken over with a vengeance.

There are zombies, some villainous immortal beings who wear crystals and keep the humans repressed, and lots of wild animals on the loose. And, of course, some sexy heroes that appear on the scene to save what’s left of mankind from the immortal Strangers.

Fifty years after the Change, these five men emerge from a mysterious cave to find their world has been destroyed. Nothing is left.

While in the cave, these heroes have each acquired their own paranormal ability, and must learn to live with the blessing—and curse—that it is. In the mean time, they join the fight of the Resistance against those who would repress the human race and find the women meant to be by their sides.

Action and adventure, romance and mystery abound in what I think of as a gritty, edgy world.

V&S: Where did the idea for this new series come from?

Joss Ware: I’ve read so many thriller novels (Clive Cussler anyone?) and seen tons of movies where the safety of the world is at stake, where the villains are power-hungry people bent on destroying the human race as we know it. In the end, the good guys and gals always get there in time to foil their plans…but what if, one time, they didn’t?

That’s where I got the idea to write a series set in a world in which the bad guys succeeded with their plan…and now the good guys have to not only find a way to survive in this new world, but also to destroy the villains.

V&S: Do you listen to music while you write? What kind?

Joss Ware: I do! I listen to a lot of different things, but one of my favorite artists to listen to is Michael W. Smith. I also love Jeff Buckley and the Harry Potter soundtracks. The idea for me is to listen to something I know so well that it can fade into the background.

I also have a little bit of a playlist that I put together for the Envy books because the songs seemed to fit. Some day (heh) I’ll be posting it on my website!

V&S: I know some authors don’t like to read as much while working on a project. What about you?

Joss Ware: I do read, but not as much as I would like to. And I rarely read in the same genre that I’m writing in. While I was working on the Envy books, I did a lot of mystery reading and also historical romance. As well as some other comfort reads (ie, re-reads of favorites).

V&S: What sort of projects you have the future?

Joss Ware: I’m messing around with a bunch of ideas for books to continue the series after this initial triple back-to-back. I also have an idea for a young adult novel without paranormal elements. (Wow!)

V&S: How about some fun questions… name two in your TBR stack.

Joss Ware: Um…*shuffling over to towering TBR*…Kathryn Smith’s latest Nightmare book, and the new J D Robb.

V&S: What is your favorite color? If you had to pick a color to suit Joss’s books, what would it be?

Joss Ware: My favorite color is green. All shades of it, because there’s one for any mood or object. My kitchen is lime green. I love avocados and their color. I think a rich velvet green is gorgeous!

A color to suit my books would be a deep forest green because, as I mentioned above, the books are dark and they’re also in an environment that’s overgrown and sprouting everywhere. J

V&S: If you had to pick a song to describe your books, what would it be?

Joss Ware: There’s one line in the Jeff Buckley song “Lover, You Should Have Come Over” that completely describes the series, at least from the heroes’ points of view: “Sometimes a man must awake to find…he has no one.”

This is just exactly what happened to the men in my books. They went into a cave and came out fifty years later, unchanged and unaged, but to find that everything they knew was gone. Completely destroyed.

V&S: What was the last movie you saw?

Joss Ware: Julie & Julia. Loved it!

V&S: What is the next book you plan to read?

Joss Ware: **closes eyes, points to TBR**opens eyes** The Mistress of the Art of Death. I love a good historical mystery, and the Middle Ages is my favorite time period.

kruetzkamp — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:55:21 +0000

Holiday Traditions I Stole From Romance Books

Christmas is tradition on steroids. The colors, the decorations we haul out from the attic year after year, the songs…maybe a little jazzier but the ones we’ve heard all our lives. The food.

And we’ve made our own traditions unique to our family and friends. Opening presents on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas morning? Christmas turkey? Ham? Roast beef? Pizza? Go to grandma’s house? Does she fly to yours?

What traditions did you think up to suit your family? We leave cookies and a martini for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Santa needs something to keep him warm.

Did you ever take a tradition from a romance book and make it your own?

In one book I read where the family always had Sunday dinner at the parents’ house. Yeah, you’re right, that’s not just Christmas but it is one of the best things I ever did. Now that I’m an empty nester this makes sure we all get together at least once a week, arguments and all.

But I have stolen Christmas ideas too. Like Christmas PJs. We all get them to sleep in on Christmas Eve. By then we need them really bad and new ones make for nice Christmas pictures the next morning. I thought that one as genius!

And food. No turkey and ham for us we all dive in and make homemade ravioli. You should see my kitchen! I think I got this idea from a romance set in Italy at Christmas. Great book. Great food! Wish I had a maid.

And I read in one organized book…probably an inspirational…where they all took turns to open the presents and not all diving in at once. That makes Christmas last all morning and not just ten minutes.

Of course there are the other fun, ideas that aren’t exactly family oriented… I got a Santa-baby hat that’s worn to bed on Christmas night…forget the pj’s. And there is that very best, very personal, prezzie under the tree wrapped in just a big read bow. Icing is great for other things than Christmas cookies and that fur on Santa’s hat is really ticklish. You get the picture.

These are my favorite Christmas traditions I got from reading romances. Do you have some to share and did they make your Christmas a little more special?

I’ll give away a copy of Tails of Love from the answers.

Have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy all those traditions and make a some great new ones.

Hugs,

Dianne Castell

DianneCastell.com

Hunter’s Need…now available…

shilohwalker — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:23:35 +0000

Hunter's Need

I’ve posted the first chapter in its entirety at Scribd. You can read it here.

On Wednesday, 12/2, there’s a launch party @ bitten by books and you can enter to win book $$$.

Here’s one last, little excerpt from Hunter’s Need, and I’ve gotta admit…it’s one of my favorite scenes.

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“I gave you your answer, Ana. Can’t you answer mine?”

I love you. She wanted to tell him, wanted to throw her arms around his neck and tell him, over and over. But she held back. This wasn’t right. Wasn’t good, not for him. Even back when she let herself daydream about having Duke in her life, she’d known it wasn’t right. Duke deserved better than her. He deserved so much more.

“This isn’t good for you.” She blurted the words out before she lost her nerve. Pulling away from him, she jerked her shirt back up but her hands shook too much to button it. Instead, she just held it closed between her breasts. “This is bad for you. I’m bad for you. You’ve got to know that. Even if you…even if you think you feel how you’re saying, you have to know I’m bad for you. I’m not the kind of woman you need in your life, Duke. I’m not strong enough. You need somebody strong. Somebody more like you—”

Duke reached out and hooked his hand in the front of her jeans, gently. She resisted. He jerked harder and she crashed into his chest with a startled, “Ooommph.”

“I know what I need,” he growled. When she would have argued, he covered her lips with his finger. “I know what I want, what I need. And it’s you, Ana. If I wanted somebody like me, I would have gone chasing after Kendall or half a dozen other women that I’ve met. I didn’t go after them, because I was too hung up on you and I have been, from the first damn time I laid eyes on you. I love you. I want you. I need you.”

“But—”

He cut her words off with a hard, short kiss. “Don’t want to hear it,” he snarled. “I love you. You don’t get the right to tell me what I need, or what I deserve. That’s my call, princess. Now give me an answer—do you love me?”

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If you’ve enjoyed the snippets, I hope you’ll pick it up…either at your local indie store, local bookstore… wherever. )

Want to order?

I’m doing a few signings to for the release… if you live in or near the area, would love to meet you!

Waldenbooks

12/1/09

7-9pm

Oxmoor Center

7900 Shelbyville Rd

Louisville, KY

* * * * *

Destinations

12/4/09

6:30-8:30pm

604 East Spring Street

New Albany, IN

* * * * *

Barnes & Noble

12/5/09

1-3pm

9455 Civic Centre Blvd

West Chester, OH

Happy Thanksgiving

karenskelley — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:55:20 +0000

If you celebrate it If not, then have a great day. Maybe think about what you are thankful for. I’m most thankful for my family. My husband, my children and their spouses, my grandchildren and the one that’s on the way—I’m truly blessed.

I’m thankful for the friends who are there for me during the hard times. I know they have my back. They celebrate the good times as well.

I’m thankful for the fans who buy my books, the booksellers and librarians who stock it. For anyone who has ever said—you’ve got to read Karen’s books

And I’m thankful I did a lot of the cooking and cleaning yesterday and don’t have as much to do today Have a happy day tomorrow

Hugs,

Karen

The Best thing about Thanksgiving is…

kruetzkamp — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:48:58 +0000

It’s here! My favorite holiday. I love Thanksgiving and hate that it gets trampled over by the Christmas rush. Thanksgiving is so much more than the heralding in of Santa. If you’re like me this weekend is nuts with getting things done. Thank heavens the leaves are all finally raked! What a job! Today I get out the holiday dishes. I’m a dish nut. I love china and linens and crystal. I especially love holiday dishes because they make every meal more festive. I dug out the Thanksgiving decorations of pumpkins, apples, dried arrangements and spiced scented candles a month ago. But of course the best thing about Thanksgiving is getting the family home. I have one daughter in NYC and another in Baltimore. They’ll be flying in on Wed. My son got married so we get to add another chair to the table. Always wonderful to add a chair and not take one away. We did that last year. Thanksgiving will be a day of everyone cooking and talking and laughing. Celebrating being together, giving thanks. What are your Thanksgiving plans? Going away? Having family over? Crashing by yourself and giving thanks you don’t have to be anywhere for the day? What makes Thanksgiving special for you? I’ll give away a Hot and Irresistible T-shirt from the answers. Have a great Thanksgiving. Hugs, Dianne Castell DianneCastell@hotmail.com

Out of the closet

karenskelley — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:49:05 +0000

I’m coming out of the closet long enough to write my blog. Yes, I’m getting organized—again. I really doubt I’ll ever be truly organized but I’m getting rid of a lot of stuff and trying to contain everything else rather than having it scattered all over the house. This is what I love about finishing a contract. I always feel as though I’m starting new again.

I’m putting fresh shelf paper in the kitchen. I got the sticky kind. Karl was cutting up peppers from the garden that is still producing and I decided to tackle the cabinats. Karl is the type that if I start something, he’ll try to finish it. I’m not sure why. Anyway, I had this long piece of sticky shelf paper and was trying to get it on the far back corner and work from there. He decides to help. About three minutes later we looked like flies on flypaper. Although it’s a little wrinkled in places we did manage to get a few cabinets done. Onward and upward.

The bad news is being out of work. I’ve sent my 3 new proposals to my agent and he loved them—whew! Now to see if the editor feels the same way. This is always the scary part. Prayers are welcome

Okay, I’m off to tackle another cabinet.

Karen Kelley

A little guy in need of an early Christmas

shilohwalker — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:05:41 +0000

Saw this on FB and wanted to share.

FYI, I checked it on out Snopes.com and it looks very legit… if you can spare a Christmas card for this little guy, I’m sure he’d love it.

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ATTENTION FACEBOOK FAMILY & FRIENDS! Diana Harrison Biorkman has a 5-yr old son in his last stages of a 2 1/2 year battle with Neuroblastoma cancer.

They are celebrating Christmas next weekend and Noah loves Christmas cards. Please take a minute to send a card to: Noah Biorkman, 1141 Fountain View Circle, South Lyon MI 48178. THANKS. PLEASE REPOST THIS MSG & EMAIL YOUR BUDDIES! this was sent to me pass it on

Countdown to Hunter’s Need…

shilohwalker — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:15:17 +0000

Hunter’s Need releases in just over a month. I’m doing a big contest over @ my personal blog. If you’d like to read up on it, just visit http://shilohwalker.wordpress.com

A mini excerpt from the countdown…

He still had scars from those days, days that ran together in a pain-filled, delirious blur. Just a few days, but even a few minutes under those circumstances would be too much. She’d used him, figured out what and who he was and toyed with him, making him believe she wanted him and convincing him to leave the club with her.

He’d done just that, but instead of taking her to a motel or some dark, quiet apartment where she lived, she’d taken him to hell. To Cat, a feral vampire with a few mental issues. Something about Ana’s gift fucked with his instincts and he’d been blinded to the fact that the house he was following her into the territory of a feral vamp’s. Ferals—the kind of creature that Duke hunted down and killed.

Blind to everything but Ana, he’d been so caught up in her, in the taste of her mouth, the feel of her body against his, he hadn’t realized the danger until it was too late. He’d been shot with silver and in the brief period he’d been unconscious, somebody had chained him up, bound him head to toe with chains of silver and titanium—the silver drained him, burned him and ate into his flesh, while the titanium was too fucking strong for him to break away.

And that was how he’d spent the next couple of days, up until help arrived, in the form of Mary Kendall and Duke’s old friend Kane. Somebody from his life before. Life before the Hunters. Life before he’d ever met up with a sad-eyed psychic—a life that had been a helluva a lot easier.

He didn’t remember much of the days he spent in captivity, beyond Ana. Almost every damn time he swam up out of the black well of pain and weakness brought on by starvation, she’d been there, urging water past his parched throat, giving him just enough to keep him going. A natural shifter, he ate more, drank more than a mortal. A mortal could go a decent amount of time before starvation left them weak. But for a shifter, a couple of days without food was enough to put him in a bad state.

For the thousandth—no, probably the millionth time, he found himself wondering why she’d made the pretense of helping him, of caring if he lived or died under Cat’s hand. Found himself wondering why she was here—why she’d come, and why they’d allowed her to stay.

Shi

http://shilohwalker.com

Beyond the Night

shilohwalker — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:00:15 +0000

There are times when I just flat-out love this job.

Why?

Well, there are a number of reasons but one of them comes with meeting all the cool authors I’ve gotten to meet. Another perk? *G* Getting to know them well enough to beg for early reads.

Like…oh, say… this one…the first in a new series by author Joss Ware. (hmmmm…although now I wonder if I’m supposed to say anything about the goofy new regulations for bloggers and books and whatever put out by the FTC…should I mention this was an e-arc given to me with no strings attached, etc, etc, etc…sigh)

Coming in early 2010: the first three books in the Awakening Heroes series.

Thrust into a post-apocalyptic world, these remarkable men meet up, spar and partner with the just-as-remarkable women who will win their hearts as they fight an immortal enemy determined to crush all humanity.

Joss was kind enough to let me read it early, and it is excellent. I can’t wait for the next ones.

: Beyond the Night

Blurb (for series):

EVERYTHING THEY KNEW IS GONE .

From the remnants of devastation, five men emerge with extraordinary new powers.

They are humankind’s last hope…but they cannot survive this dark, ravaged world alone.

Blurb for first book:
BEYOND THE NIGHT

A man with no future…
When Dr. Elliott Drake wakes from a mysterious fifty-year sleep, the world as he knew it is gone. Cities are now desolate, and civilization is controlled by deadly immortals. Stranger still is Elliott’s extraordinary new “gift” – he has the power to heal, but it comes with fatal consequences.

A woman with a past
Jade barely escaped the immortals and is now hell-bent on revenge. She trusts no one… until Elliott. His piercing gaze and tempting touch shatter her defenses, but the handsome doctor seems to have dangerous secrets of his own. Is it safe to trust him with her heart?

If they are to survive in this dark new world, Jade and Elliott must work together to fight the forces that takes them beyond danger.

Beyond desire.
Beyond the night.

Finished!

karenskelley — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:25:20 +0000

I’ve finished my current book, and a few days before my deadline. I worked until 9 last night because I was on a roll The elation is still with me this morning. I’ve been going from room to room smiling and occasionally saying—Yea! I finished another book. I can relax, take a deep breath….

Then it hit me. I don’t need to write today. I can do other things–like norrmal people. I can take my time and really give the house a good scrubbing rather than the usual hit and miss. I can take a nice long bubble bath. I can….

What? Did someone just say something? I know I heard someone talking to me. There it is again—just a whisper. I can barely make out the words. Oh, no! Goose bumps pop up on my arm. I can hear the voice clearly now….

“Karen, aren’t you going to write my story? You promised you would write my story. You remember me don’t you? I’m Karinthia.”

“No, you promised to write my story!” Dagar’s voice rings loud (and sexy). “It’s not fair that I only get to come out at night!”

There’s a swirl of light followed by the sweet smell of jasmine. “But what about me?” a tiny voice asks. “I’ll take you to lands you’ve only imagined.”

My hands begin to shake and now I’m wondering why I drank that third cup of coffee. I want to go with these characters and be swept away. I really do. LOL I’m afraid writing has become an addiction. Maybe I can just play around with proposals this afternoon. That might satisfy the voices in my head

Oh, oh, oh—-I got author copies of Dating Outside Your DNA and if you make a comment I’ll put your name in a drawing to win a copy. Must be 18 or older and the contest ends tonight (Wednesday the 28th) at 9pm central time.

Have a great day!

Karen