New Releases to Look For

As summer is heating up so are our FF&P authors. Take a look at what's coming out this week. Remember some of these may not be available until later in the week.

To Hunt a Wolf
by Elizabeth L'Inconnu
ISBN: 1894817591

Available
eBook $4.95
Absoulte X Press
http://www.absolute-x-press.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=83

or at
All Romance
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-tohuntawolf-17503-149.html

Print
Amazon - not listed yet - shouold be available June 30th

Adrian Gentry and his two sisters are long thought dead by their family. Taken captive by a vampire when they were young, Adrian assumed that Adam was killed that day until he felt Adam dying. Badly hurt and malnourished, Adrian finally escapes, knowing it is only a matter of time before his master finds him missing and hunts him down.

When Natalie Cash finds a wounded wolf on her property, she tries to help him. Calling in the local vet to help proves unwise, but Natalie will do all she can to see the wolf nursed back to health.

As he heals, Adrian finds himself falling for his new owner and despite his dislike of the vet, he knows he needs the man’s help - he has a silver bullet embedded in his rump.
Stuck in his wolf form, how will he convince Natalie to have the bullet removed and how will she take it when she discovers the truth that he is not only a wolf but a werewolf — part wolf and part man? Will she be as free with her affections for him then or will she throw him out to fend for himself in a world he no longer understands?

Title: Midnight's Master
Author: Cynthia Eden
Release date: 6/30/09
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Kensington Brava
Blurb:

In a world of shadows, desire conquers all...
Tall, dark, and formidable, Niol Lapen is the last demon on earth most people would ask for a favor, yet the sexy little reporter who wanders into his club dares to do exactly that. Holly Storm already knows too much about his kind, and Niol has no wish to help her get in deeper over her head. But working alongside her may be the only way to stop a killer, even as it ignites a primal desire unlike anything he's known.

Holly has seen firsthand what Niol is capable of, but that doesn't frighten her nearly as much as her body's instinctive reaction to him, or the wild, fierce passion that would tempt her to follow him through hell itself. Something evil and relentless is prowling the streets of Atlanta. And as Holly's search leads her into danger that even Niol could never have predicted, she'll uncover a secret that could rip her world apart.

Author's website: http://www.cynthiaeden.com/
Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Midnights-Master-Cynthia-Eden/dp/0758234260/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245853330&sr=1-1

Phantom Affair

Katherine Kingston
Release date: July 3, 2009
ISBN: 9781419923067

Robert is the best lover Kelly has ever had—handsome, thoughtful, engaging and a thrilling sexual dominant. Too bad he’s a ghost who can’t actually touch her. When Robert suggests that a risky sexual adventure that could offer him a second chance at corporeal life, Kelly agrees to it. He’s open about the dangers of the process, but success carries its own peril. Reality cannot possibly live up to fantasy, can it?

Note: Part of the proceeds from this book is being donated to the family of Lara Anne Punches, whose life ended tragically and too early.

Echoes of Passion
Eilis Flynn
9781419920097
$5.95
http://www.cerridwenpress.com/

http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-7007-47-echoes-of-passion.aspx

On sale on July 2, 2009

He had to discover the truth behind the lies.

When Secret Sciences Police officer Daegon Bosaru hears rumors about the role that his dying father, the former Neotian ambassador to the Amalgamation, played in the Neotian civil war, he has to find out what really happened. To do so, Daegon must travel to the new home world of his clan — where he encounters a mysterious, passionate woman he has been seeing in his dreams for most of his life. She has information he needs — but she disappears whenever he gets close to her.

What does the mysterious woman know? And how do the accusations against his father fit in? Bosaru discovers that the crazed ex-dictator who led the home world into a civil war is still alive and plans to rise to glory again, no matter how many more people have to die for it to happen.

For the researchers in all of us, a non-fiction book by a FF&P author

Haunted Virginia: Legends, Myths and True Tales

by Pamela K. Kinney
ISBN: 978-0-7643-3281-4
$14.99
256 Pages

Back of Haunted Virginia's Blurb:

Virginia is unique with haunting myths, legends, and yes, even true stories that may sound like legends.

Take a ghostly tour of this historic state to learn about the Bunnyman urban legend and what happens to mortals at his Bunnyman Bridge in Clifton at midnight on Halloween. Discover the myths that surround Edgar Allan Poe and other famous Virginians.

See why Natural Bridge is actually a haunted tourist attraction; and what makes the Great Dismal Swamp so creepy: Is it the ghosts or Bigfoot? Meet the Witch of Pungo in Virginia Beach.

Find out that Mothman and the Jersey Devil weren't just seen in their own states, but actually visited Virginia at one time.

Read about witches, demons, monsters, ghosts, pirates, strange animals, and Civil War legends. Visit an amazing, frightening, and even intriguing Virginia that you never knew existe

Happy Friday

Just a head's up post. Next Friday we'll be posting an interview with editor Heather Osborn from Tor. On Tuesday July 7th, we'll have a special treat for our members. The new internal blog will be open and Heather Osborn will be available for questions and answers throughout Tuesday July 7th.

Edited to change days of the week :-) TGIF

Science Fiction is Everywhere

Join us as we welcome guest blogger PAN author Eilis Flynn to the FF&P blog.

Have you ever watched a TV show called Good Eats? It's on the Food Network,
and it's a quirky show about cooking. It's got humor and science and
learning how cooking works and even a recipe or two along the way. It's an
acquired taste, though, since it's filled with puns and silly jokes.

In a recent episode -- one devoted to the history of punch -- when Alton
Brown, the host, is explaining what goes into the drink, he mentions that
spices are necessary to make punch. At that point, one of Alton's sidekicks
intones, "Control the spice, and you control the universe." To which Alton
responds, "You gotta lay off the sci-fi!"

Now, you and I know the reference: Dune, by Frank Herbert. And I have to
confess I was falling asleep at that point, but The Hub's cackling at that
woke me up, and he had to rewind (or whatever the TiVo version is) so I could
hear the joke too. I laughed -- but I wondered the next morning how many of
the show's viewers did get it. And what it means when a cooking show slips in
a science fiction reference. There had to be an assumption when that
episode was being written that enough of the viewers would know the reference; the source had to be famous enough that enough people would get it.

Until that point, I would have assumed that the only science fiction works
with enough notoreity would have been Star Trek, Star Wars, even Battlestar
Galactica, and those specifically because they were visual media oriented
(ie, TV or movies). And I guess Dune now, because there have been enough movie and TV adaptations of the series that it's worked its way into the memories of the average viewership. (Or Good Eats has a viewership that skews that way, which is possible, considering how many people I know who have talked about the show.) (But have you SEEN those adaptations of Dune? The best you can really say is that the David Lynch motion picture introduced a very young Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and the Sci-Fi version ... uh, I can't remember what we can say about that one. And the third version ... I could have sworn there was a third one. Anyway.)

The point I want to make (and yes, I do mean to make one, no matter how convoluted) is that science fiction is everywhere. Like romance, it may be a genre that doesn't necessarily get a lot of respect, but no matter what, it is part of our society. Everyone knows Mr. Spock (especially, these days, as played by Zachary Quinto); everyone knows James Tiberius Kirk (the original and/or the update); and the Force is always with us, no matter how horribly George Lucas tries to mangle his own work. (Who here liked Star Wars parts 1, 2, and 3? Anybody? Anybody?) And who would have thought that Frank Herbert's work would be referenced in a cooking show, of all places?!

Science fiction is everywhere. It's part of our lives. Like romance, as
long as we can look up at the sky and wonder what's up there, it will be with
us.

Eilis Flynn
ECHOES OF PASSION, on sale on July 2, 2009
INTRODUCING SONIKA, on sale now at CerridwenPress.com
http://www.eilisflynn.com/, eilisflynn.blogspot.com, www.myspace.com/eilisflynn

2009 On the Far Side Contest

Got fantasy, futuristic, or paranormal? Then the On the Far Side contest is for you!!
Welcome dragons, witches, ghosties, vampires, shape shifters, unicorns, and any creature your imagination can conjure up in a galaxy far, far away, in a time long past, or in your very own backyard.

OTFS IS ALL ELECTRONIC!! NO MAILING FEES!
NEW: OPTIONAL synopsis, website banners for finalists/winners
First Round Judges: trained and/or published

Requirements:

*Must not be published in full length fiction (40,000+) for the genre entering/or not published in genre entering for past 5 years
*Entry fee: $20 members/$30 non-members
*First 20 pages of manuscript
*OPTIONAL synopsis (NEW)
*Entry received by DEADLINE: August 20, 2009

Final round judges are acquiring editors and agents of all genres of paranormal romance. Take this opportunity to get your best work in front of:

Erotic: Kelli Kwiatkowski, Ellora’s Cave
Romantic Elements: Lucy Carson, Friedrich Agency
Futuristic: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency
General Paranormal: Leah Hultenschmidt, Dorchester
Time Travel: TO BE DETERMINED
Fantasy: Deb Werksman, Sourcebooks
Young Adult: Michelle Grajkowski, 3 Seas Literary

***Prizes***
All finalists receive a certificate and an OTFS finalist website banner (NEW).
Winners of each category receive a check for $20, a pin, an OTFS winner website banner (NEW), and a certificate.2nd Place receives a check for $15 and a certificate3rd place receives a check for $10 and a certificate
For details and entry forms, go to http://www.romance-ffp.com.

Arwen Lynch & Michelle Miles
2009 On the Far Side Coordinators

How to Show by Using Voice

In the course of a discussion on Show Don't Tell on our loop, we've asked FF&P member, Jeanie Ryan to share her take on the subject.

For some, showing comes naturally. The rest of us have to work at it. I take a different approach. By concentrating on crafting the characters’ voices, I end up showing not only the scene, but the character.

Every word is an opportunity to reveal something about the character. This applies to more than dialogue and action. The character is the narrator and every word is a reflection on her. It’s a word she chooses and those choices make up her voice.

Here’s an example from my current work in progress.

The original first sentence:

“With trembling hands, Janie carefully slid the fireproof box out from under her bed.”

This doesn’t reveal much about the character.

The rewrite:

“With hands trembling, Janie eased the fireproof box out from beneath her bed. The red surface seemed to glow, giving it life in a room shrouded in early morning’s darkness. She stared at the closed box, her distorted reflection making accusations she couldn’t bring herself to voice. She closed her eyes, trying to blot out the memories, but that’s what today was about, remembering. Janie’s cheeks grew damp. Great. She hadn’t even started and already she was crying. Nine years had passed and it never got any easier.”

This paragraph sets up the heroine’s voice. She’s interested in light and how things look. Emotions are the core of her character, so much of her narration is spent on them. By doing this, she ends up showing them. Her word choice has a certain flow and gives her worldview. I didn’t think about showing, just how do I reveal her voice. I did all those things showing does without even worrying about it.

The hero is focused on thought and doesn’t just sense things, he interprets them. He does a lot of musing. This musing ends up showing the scene, because he has to say what he’s musing about.

Many of us fill out questionnaires and interview our characters. That gives us a sense of them as people, but what about as storytellers? What does your character notice first? What does she notice about it? In answering those two simple questions, you have shown something about the scene and the character. What does he think about what he sees? What does she feel? Simple questions that lead to more showing. Is he straight forward or does he think in metaphors? Is she an optimist? The word choices you make to reveal these will show the scene, as well as the character. They are also how you craft the character’s voice.

Usually I have to get the story down with lots of telling and go back. As my husband says “this is a good outline. Now you have to write the story.” Often four pages becomes thirteen.

When you’ve revealed the character through their voice, your crit partners won’t tell you “show don’t tell.” They’ll remark how emotional and vivid your writing is.

Weird Stuff

Please help us welcome PAN member Candace Sams (C.S. Chatterly) to the FF&P blog.



Hi all,

Okay...I just want to know who loves to talk about weird stuff? I love anything having to do with all paranormal subjects. I could sit up all night an kibitz about odd phenomenon.

I've got rows and rows of books on the strangest subject matter...everything from fairies to Stonehenge, pole shift controversy to Celtic myth, knights to witchcraft, crop circles to remote viewing, etc. I like to think that I have one of the most comprehensive book collections on strange phenomenon to ever exist (I'm old enough to have collected a lot). I wish I had time to read all the books I've got in my library (over 1000 now); most serve as reference material. I'd write romances about a lot these unusual subjects if I could get an editor interested in publishing them. Sadly, most editors seem pretty stuck on what's tried-and-true...especially in this economy.

Anyhow...an unusual non-fiction title that I just collected is the Bewitched Cookbook: Magic in the Kitchen by Kasey Rogers (who played 'Louise Tate' on the Bewitched TV program) and Mark Wood. There are all kinds of recipes in the book (obviously - it IS a cookbook) but these are intermingled with some little known facts about Bewitched episodes. It's a pretty entertaining read if you loved that series. There are copies of this title around though they can be pricey. As far as New Age phenomenon goes, I think I love the 'witchcraft' books the most (even the cookbooks...and there are plenty out there if you go check Ebay or Amazon.com).

Who else loves to talk strange, weird stuff? Or do you collect books on all kind of paranormal subject matter? I've got some stories to tell if you email me....

Candace Sams (aka C.S. Chatterly) ~ Where Fantasies Embrace Legend ~http://www.candacesams.com/ (paranormal romances)

http://www.cschatterly.com/ (eroticas)



Check out C.S. Chatterly's new release



Author: Candace Sams (writing erotica as C.S. Chatterly)
ISBN: 978-1-906590-23-9
New World is available now! (This futuristic super novel is sexually explicit!)
Direct Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=259

New Releases to Look For

Call it forgetful Monday. There are no new releases this week, but we do have one that has been available since June 1st to share with you.

In Over Her Head
Sourcebooks, Inc.
June 1, 2009
ISBN#: 9781402220012

To spend her life with him, she'll have to face her greatest fear...

Erica Peck thought she'd never have to go into the water again. After all, there's plenty to do running her family's marina from shore without having to dive in herself. But then her unstable ex-fiance shows up with a gun and demands her help in finding a bag of rare jewels she accidentally tossed into the ocean.

Unable to find them, bleeding from a grazing gunshot wound and running out of oxygen fast, she has no choice but to give herself up to the mercy of the sea. Rescued from the water and the sharks by a gorgeous merman named Reel, Erica quickly finds herself falling head over fins in love with him. And when Reel risks his life to save hers, she discovers that she doesn't want to live without him, no matter the consequences. But can they ever find a way to be together when she still can't stand the water and he can't survive on land?

Also, I'm running a contest to raffle off 3 romantic beach getaways on my website. Two at the Atlantis Inn (http://www.atlantisinn.com/) in Ocean City, NJ and one at the Hibiscus House (http://www.hibiscushouse.com/) in West Palm Beach, FL to celebrate the release of each of my Mer novels. All information is on my website http://www.judifennell.com/

Let Your Freak Flag Fly

We'd like to welcome today's PAN member, Michele Hauf, as she discusses ruts and freak flags.



As many writers in the paranormal genre know, we have a tendency to get pigeonholed into a very specific niche of the genre. Some of us only write dark, some light and humorous, others thrive on action/adventure demons and whatnot. If the readers love it, they ask for more. This makes our editors ask for more of the same, as well. We get stuck in a rut.

Now, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to be in a rut. Actually, it’s quite good. As long as you enjoy what you write, and the readers do too, then I say ‘Go rut!’. But I’m sure I speak for a majority of us when I say we are more than that single-focused rut. Our imaginations are vast. Some days we like to write dark, other days we gaze longingly at the comedy project we started a few years ago that begs to be picked up again. But maybe we feel it’s not what is expected from us. We’ve been told to let that idea go, it would freak out our readers to change niches like that. Now, some of you are lucky; you’ve been able to publish your work in various genres with different publishers. How cool is that? Go you! And shouldn’t we all be able to write exactly as the mood takes us? I don’t think it’s a question of being allowed to do so—no one can prevent you from putting the words to page—but it’s more you allowing yourself to exercise that writing muscle that feels a little freaky to you.

This month I’m coming up for air from my usual dark paranormals. I’ve written a novella, “Dust Me, Baby, One More Time” that is pure goofy nuttiness. I locked the mental closet on all my vampires, werewolves and demons for a while. I indulged my funny bone. A sandman hero who has a problem with premature dusting? It would never work for a dark paranormal, but it was perfect for the light stuff.

I think we all need to try our hand at an ‘opposite’ genre every so often. Even if you’re not looking to sell the project, set aside some writing time to explore other parts of your brain. Seriously. We can’t always be slaves to the brooding, blood-hungry heroes or the snarky demon heroine tripping about in Jimmy Choos. Every once in a while, we just need to let our freak flag fly, no matter if that means a healthy sprinkle of faery dust, or a delve into the darkest depths we’ve always wondered about, but have never dared touch.

So what about you? Do you write in one specific ‘niche’ of the paranormal genre? Maybe you write in other genres as well as paranormal? Do you find you need the freedom of working in different genres? Or do you prefer to stick with the one that speaks to you most?



Michele

Releases to Look For

Already Available

RAPHAEL

by D. B. Reynolds

Released April 15, 2009
Now available from Amazon.com, Barnes-Noble.com, Fictionwise.com and ImaJinnBooks.com

Malibu, California-home to rock-and-roll gods and movie stars, the beautiful, the rich . . . and vampires. Powerful and charismatic, Raphael is a Vampire Lord, one of the few who hold the power of life and death over every vampire in existence. Thousands call him Master and have pledged absolute loyalty on their very lives. But when, in a brazen and deadly daylight attack, a gang of human killers kidnaps the one female vampire he'd give his life for, Raphael turns to a human investigator to find his enemies before it's too late. Cynthia Leighton is smart, tough and sexy, a private investigator and former cop who's tired of spying on cheating spouses and digging out old bank accounts. When Raphael asks for her help in tracking down the kidnappers, Cyn's happy to accept. But she soon realizes her greatest danger comes not from the humans, but from Raphael himself. Battling Russian mobsters and treacherous vampires, and betrayed by those they trusted, Cyn and Raphael find themselves fighting for their lives while caught up in a passion of blood and violence that is destined to destroy them both.

Wolf-Bitten
by Ella Drake

Publisher: Cobblestone Press
Release date: May 29, 2009
http://www.cobblestone-press.com/

Never run from a werewolf, unless you want to get caught.

Alaya left home rather than marry her fiancé, a werewolf. Brock survived three years in the clutches of Wolfbane. Now he’s free, he wants his mate, but she’s hiding in the suburbs where the stench of petroleum covers her tracks. That won’t stop him. Nor will the hunters of Wolfsbane.

Wolf-Bitten is an erotic paranormal romance short story by Ella Drake.

Release Date of June 2, 2009

FAERIES GONE WILD

St. Martin’s Press
Release date - June 2, 2009

Michele Hauf's novella “Dust Me, Baby, One More Time”, features a tooth faery head-over-heels for a sexy sandman.Blurb: A librarian by day and a tooth faery by night, Sidney has absolutely no time to find Mr. Right. Until she flies smack dab into sexy sun-bronzed Dart Sand, a man who makes her wings a-flutter. And whose allure could get her banished from the Mortal Realm.

Atlantis Unleashed

by Alyssa Day

Berkely Sensation

Release date - June 2, 2009

Lord Justice of Atlantis made the ultimate sacrifice for his brother and paid for it with an unimaginable torture. Now he’s back, rescued from death, his sanity shaken, and his mission inescapable—the search for the lost Star of Artemis. But the beautiful human female whom he has sworn to protect has dangerous secrets of her own. When two hearts collide, power and passion must be unleashed!