Monday, July 30, 2012

Monday Snippets - DEAD Faint

DEAD Faint, the 2nd in the DEAD series re-releases at Musa Publishing August 3rd.  This book too received edits galore with sugguested changes or additions that make it a better book.  I thought I'd share a sippet with out today, as well as the cool cover!

Billy Joyce Nolan's dream of the big city has turned into a nightmare. The face she thought was that of an angel who came to save her, has changed her forever into one of the living dead.  Problem is, when a gal faints at the sight of her new food source...blood, how long can she survive in her new existence?

SNIPPET

“Please, I don’t want to die.”

The words were now barely audible, even to vampire ears. The woman seemed to either be saying them to herself or praying to God, Dovey wasn’t sure which. The only sure thing she knew was the thready pulse and fading aura indicated this pour soul had only a few minutes, if that long, left on this plane.

Oh, what the hell?
DEAD Faint relesaes August 3rd at Musa Publishing.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Wednesday Recipe - Baked French Toast

I haven't had breakfast yet, can you tell from the recipe selection?  May make this one again this weekend.  I love the aroma wafting through the house while it's in the over.  And I have no problem eating my share once it comes out.  If I make it when the granddarlings are here, there are no leftovers.  When it's just the Honey & me, then I can freeze the leftovers and have for another weekend breakfast!  Yummm. 

Hope you enjoy!
Baked Apple French Toast
Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter (1/4 pound)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 to 5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup dried cranberries
12 slices of firm bread, cut into cubes
8 eggs
4 cups milk
2 Tablespoons vanilla
Cinnamon sugar
In a skillet, melt butter with sugar. Add apples and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer apples to a baking dish (13 x 9 inches or larger, I use a slightly larger pan so that it doesn't bubble over). Cut the cream cheese into cubes and arrange over the apples, then sprinkle with dried cranberries. Top evenly with the bread cubes. Beat eggs, milk, and vanilla together and pour over the bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar; put in refrigerator overnight.
Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 50 to 60 minutes (may vary slightly with the oven). Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with maple syrup.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Monday Heats Up with R.M. Sotera


We’re fortunate today to have the delightful R.M. Sotera as our guest.  Yes, she heats things up with not one, but two of her books and the chance for 2 lucky individuals to win.  If you like dark and lusty, you're going to love her books!

I met R.M. at a conference recently and we hit it off instantly.  Though her writing isn't an indicator, she’s funny in addtion to talented and has a zest for life that I love!  So learn about her work if you don’t already know it and make sure to leave a comment to get your name in the drawing for a PDF of one of the books she talks about here.   


R.M. Sotera and the journey into Cassadaga Moon and Vegas Moon 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful Lizzie for spotlighting me on her blog today.    I would also like to share why I’m discussing two books.  Vegas Moon would not be possible without Cassadaga Moon, and in order to understand Vegas Moon understanding the premise of Cassadaga Moon is needed.

Cassadaga Moon -

How did this book come about:  I go through many different processes when I sit down to write, however, with Cassadaga Moon, I literally stepped into the world of ‘real vampires’, aka, sang and psy.  I began to research the lifestyle or as some say subculture seven years ago.  I was preparing to write my first romance novel, and wanted something different.  I needed a great hook.  I’d always heard about people, who’d believed they were vampiric, however, I thought it was a hoax that is until I started doing my research. I read every book I could get my hands on, specifically those written by Arlene Russo and Katherine Ramsland.  Then I started sniffing around online. The vampire community, specifically the Atlanta Vampire Alliance, helped me in understanding the subculture through several different interviews.  And then I was lucky enough to meet-up with a few sang vampires in the Las Vegas area who helped my understanding even further.  They are a very private group, which is totally understandable, so I let them choose the times and places of our meetings.

So, I took what I knew about the subculture and decided that I wanted to push the envelope further by bringing the fetish of bloodplay into my story.  I learned through my research that there is a fine line between the two, and that many people confuse vampirism with bloodplay.  They are not the same.  However, many people who are vampires delve into that fetish on occasion.

However, for my story, I wanted my hero to like blood play too.  I wanted to up the ante as much as possible.  So with a storyline that encompassed a good Catholic girl and a real vampire with a much darker side, I wrote the book.  After several re-writes I felt it was finished and I was ready to find an agent.  Not so easy.

Stop the press.  I mean I knew that the subject matter of this book was dark, however, I didn’t realize how dark until the rejection letters began to pile up in my office.  And most of them said the same thing, that the material was to dark, to the point I would most likely scare readers.  But, I kept pushing because the story wasn’t about the vampirism (that just happened to be a really kick-ass conflict) it was about the love between a jaded and broken man with a different belief system and a Catholic girl.

So, 351 rejection letters later, Siren Publishing picked up Cassadaga Moon.  They felt the story was intriguing and very unique, and thus they took a chance on the book and my story came to fruition.  Seven months later and the second book in the series, Vegas Moon, released.  Vegas Moon is the story of Mia’s best friend in Cassadaga Moon – Cindi Vera Cruz and another coven member Tristan Dane.  These two are one hot item in Cassadaga Moon and hit up the pages even more in Vegas Moon.

In closing I would like to say:  If you have a story that you truly believe in, don’t stop until it finds a home.  How many well-known authors have been rejected on stories that have turned out to be best-selling books?  Do the research, you will find out that there are a ton of authors out there who just kept believing in their stories and pushing forward.

Peace and Love your way. Keep on reading and writing. 

RM Sotera J

Cassadaga Moon Blurb:

In the quaint town of Cassadaga, Florida, life isn’t quite what it seems. For the strictly raised Catholic Mia Christini, life is nothing like it seems. There are only three things Mia is sure of—her best friend Cindi might just be crazy, her boss is losing control, and morals are overrated.

Weary of existing by a moral compass, she is ready and waiting for a one-night stand. She’s twentysomething, and it’s about time. When Jordan De L’croix sets his sights on her, she finds out that her integrity isn’t the only thing she needs to worry about, especially from a man who gets, or takes, what he wants with ease.

And what he craves isn’t just her virginity. He craves her blood, redemption, and true love.

Note: Hero and heroine involved in acts of vampirism.

Purchase Link : http://www.bookstrand.com/cassadaga-moon

Author Website: www.rmsotera.com


Vegas Moon Blurb:

Psychic vampire Cindi Vera Cruz has no intention of falling in love with sanguine vampire Tristan Dane. She makes that fact perfectly clear to Tristan every chance she gets. He’s twenty-one years old, ten years her junior, and as she sees it, definitely not in her cards as a forever type of man, only a lover. But when Tristan decides he’s tired of her games and demands she admit her feelings for him, all hell breaks loose.

Situations heat up when Tristan walks into the yearly Stiletto Sanction coven party only to find Cindi feeding on his energy without his consent. His shock turns into anger. And then anger turns into a game of battle of the wills. Tristan calls her bluff by raising the stakes in the blood play room. She has always been a willing participant in bleeding for him in the name of pleasure, but will she bleed to feed his need for pranic energy?

Note: Hero involved in acts of vampirism.

A Siren Erotic Romance

Purchase Link: http://www.bookstrand.com/vegas-moon

 My Giveaway:

A PDF of Cassadaga Moon and a PDF of Vegas Moon

How do they enter to win?  Leave me a comment on the blog – Lizzie will determine the winners.

When will you be announcing the winner? At the End of the Week


Saturday, July 21, 2012

Raising From the Dead Party

Like a Phoenix the DEAD series has risen again.  DEAD Awake, (formerly titled Waking Up Dead) has been re-edited and revised.  Dovey is back in all her snark with her friends to follow with their releases coming in August starting August 3rd.

This is a celebration for a fun series and I want to share the fun with readers.  Answer the question below to enter into a drawing for the chance to win one of 3 Musa gift certificates...$15, $10. 
Winners will be announced Monday morning.
If you could be an immortal, which one would it be and why?



BLURB:
Waking up to discover you're dead isn't a gal's idea of fun.

Deb Stein loved to party until she took the hunk dressed as a vampire to her bed. Now she’s one of
the living dead and pissed about it. Plus, she has to find a new identity and WORK!

EXCERPT

He studied her for a long moment with his intense black eyes and she had to resist the urge to squirm.  Maybe she didn’t want to know what he was going to tell her. 

“Your condition is the result of…an accident.  My friend didn’t mean to get carried away and turn you into one of the living dead.” 

“The what?”  How did she manage to get hooked up with these weirdoes?  “Are you frigging nuts?”   

His dark glare stopped her from saying more. 

“For your information, I’m saner than you’re going to feel shortly.”  He held up a hand to stop her question.  “Let me finish before you start with your questions.”  His voice teetered on boredom as he went on to explain what happened to her Halloween night.   

The story may have bored him, but by the time he completed his tale, she was boiling mad.  “You’re telling me I’m a vampire.”   

This man was certifiable.  Vampires only existed in horror movies and at costume parties.  “Then what does that make you, if you’re friends with this individual who took a bite out of me?”

“A much older and wiser vampire than you or my young friend who created you.”  He adjusted the collar of his coat.  “Now, do you want to benefit from some of my knowledge or do you wish to continue with your delusion that I’m insane?” 

A little flicker of fear ran down Deb’s spine.  What if he was telling her the truth?  What if she had been turned into a vampire?  That would explain why the doctor pronounced her dead.  She was, what did Daniel call it…one of the living dead.   

“So, did your friend or whatever you call him, need virgin’s blood to survive or what?”  

The Experienced One grimaced.  “I call him Aaron, or sometimes refer to him as my protégé, and yes, he is my friend.  As for the virgin’s blood, if that was the case he’d be in real trouble on the survival issue with his selection of you, wouldn’t he?” 

The smug jerk cocked an eyebrow as he looked at her.  Deb saw red and it wasn’t blood.  Talk about a put-down.  “Well forgive me if I can’t win this year’s Miss Chaste award and for not knowing what is involved in the vampire way of life.  Is waking up one of the living dead like being a little bit pregnant?”


Also:
Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Awake-Dead-Series-ebook/dp/B008N78ABI/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1342924179&sr=1-6&keywords=lizzie+t.+leaf

All Romance eBooks:  http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-deadawake-884456-139.html

B&N Nook:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dead-awake-lizzie-t-leaf/1112170088?ean=2940014973007
Connect with Lizzie at:

Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lizzietleaf

And keep up with her happenings on her blog: http://lizzietleaf.blogspot.com/


Friday, July 20, 2012

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Thursday's Blog Stop!

Today, I'm hanging at Sam Cheever's.  Stop by and answer the question to get entered for a chance to win!

http://bit.ly/LL2NJK

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Where I am Today!

The DEAD blog tour is underway.  Prizes at most stops and the big blast here on July 21st.

Today the tour stops at: 

http://jennleblanc.com/2012/07/10/lizzie/#comment-487

Be sure to leave a comment to enter the drawing for a Musa gift certificate.