Title: The Ghost (The 13th Floor series, #6)

Author: Christine Rains

Genre: paranormal romance

Release date: July 13th, 2013

Blurb:

Chiharo Black lives with six supernatural tenants in a haunted building’s mysterious thirteenth floor. Of course, no one knows she’s there except the cats. Being a ghost can be a bit frustrating and lonely, but it isn’t as bad as her mother made it out to be.

Until another ghost intrudes on her territory. Jeremy Emerson wants revenge on the vampire that killed him and won’t stop until he has it. To top it off, a nightmarish shade sneaks in and leeches the energy from the building’s residents before setting its sights on Chiharo and the thirteenth floor. She can’t decide which one is more frightening: the one wanting to eat her soul or the one who might win her heart.

Chiharo must convince Jeremy to stand with her against the hellish parasite. If they cannot work together, the greedy fiend will not only drain their energy but everything that supports the thirteenth floor’s existence.

Author Bio:

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she’s not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She’s a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She has seven novellas and twenty-one short stories published.

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1305 & 1306 – The Oracle and the Vampire, the fifth story in The 13th Floor Series from Christine Rains is out. Being lucky enough to read Christine’s stories before they are launched, I highly recommend this instalment. In fact, I love the entire series… such a cool premise, and each character is unique, with their out set of problems.

Now, here’s Christine with what you’ll expect in this instalment:

BANSHEES & VAMPIRES

The fifth book of the 13th Floor series brings two classic legends to life. Vampires are seductive creatures that we see a lot in paranormal romances, but banshees are rare. Paired together, we have something never seen before.

There are countless legends of the vampire. I took the traditional path with my vampire Kiral. He can’t go out in daylight, he heals swiftly, and has preternatural strength and senses. But I gave him a flaw we see often in our modern world. He’s an addict with a craving for blood laced with drugs. He must drink human blood to survive, and having it spiked with something extra helps him forget he’s living a life he never asked for.

Myths of banshees declare them fairies or ghosts of mothers who have had their children taken from them. In my story, Harriet is a lovely young witch cursed by a jealous fairy. Harriet lives her normal life during the day, but becomes a hideous hag at night plagued by visions of death that compel her to scream in mourning.

This unlikely pair face monsters in a city in chaos. Yet more frightening are the demons lurk within themselves.

What are your favorite supernatural beings that have more to fear from themselves than anything else?

 

Author Bio:

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she’s not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She’s a member of S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She also has four novellas and eighteen short stories published.

Where you can stalk her:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Click image for source.

-       During his time, France was at war with England over the rightful heir to the French throne.

-       Gilles de Rais was an intelligent child, speaking fluent Latin, and divided his time between French military discipline and intellectual development. His parents died in 1415, and him and his brother were taken under the care of their grandfather.

-       It was his grandfather who attempted to marry a 12 year old Gilles de Rais with a 4 year old girl—Jeanne Paynel. One of the richest heiresses in Normady. The plan failed, as did another, until the grandfather finally married him to a heiress of Brittany.

-       From 1427 Gilles de Rais served as a commander in the Royal Army.

-       He was a Breton knight, a leader in the French army, and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He fought alongside Joan of Arc.

-       It is believed Gilles de Rais was the inspiration for the fairy tale – Bluebeard, by Charles Perrault.

-       When he retired in 1434/35, he wasted all his money dabbling in the occult, and holding extravagant theatrical spectacles on his own composition.

-       His focus turned to finding people who knew alchemy and demon summoning. But after trying to summon a demon named Barron, and nothing manifested itself, he grew despondent.

-       He was dedicated to finding the secret of the Philosophers’’ Stone, which would give him eternal life – through blood. It is from this stage that his reputation turned bad.

-       He experimented on children, the numbers he tortured and killed were possibly in the hundreds. He used their blood in his experiments.

-       Only in 1440 was his serial killing spree stopped. After investigation, he confessed his atrocities. It is said one of the judges pulled a curtain over a nearby painting of Jesus as Gilles de Rais described his debauchery.

-       He was sentenced to death by hanging.

Source

Until next time…

How does May Monster Madness work? Well, it’s a blog hop featuring posts about monsters from May 11-17. Anything you can think of as long as it has something to do with monsters… crafts, lists, movies, funnies (a personal favorite)… anything!

To participate, simply go here and join the linky list. Simple.

I’ve decided to take a closer look at some real life monsters that have inspired movies and books. Nothing too heavy, just things I found quite fascinating. First up, is:

ELIZABETH BATHORY, Born 1560-61; died 1614

-       She comes from the noble Bathory family who held power in several areas in Europe – Hungary, Romania, Poland and Slovakia.

-       At the age of 11, she was engaged to Ferenc Nadasdy, a very wealthy Hungarian nobleman, in a supposed political arrangement.  At 14 and a half years old, she married Ferenc, who was only 16.

-       At the age of 13, Elizabeth fell pregnant to a servant at the Castle. The servant was cast to a pack of dogs after his privates were cut off, ouch, and once the baby was born, it was quickly ‘unassociated’ from the family.

-       Elizabeth’s wedding present from her new husband was a castle. She was an educated lady who read and spoke in four languages.

-       Because Ferenc traveled a lot, Elizabeth found herself alone a lot and grew bored. As an incredibly rich woman, it is said she started getting interested in seers, alchemists and witches, learning as much as of their craft as she could.

-       Her husband died sometime between 1602-1604, and this is when she apparently starting paying attention to her appearance – after all she needed a new suitor. Add to that she was next in line to become King of Poland. So maintaining her youth and vitality became a priority.

-       After getting blood on herself after hitting a servant and discovering her skin looked fresher, she called her alchemists. They informed her that there had been a case in history where the blood of a virgin had left somehow caused the skin of someone of nobility to look younger.

-       Reports state that she started to take local peasant girls, horribly tortured them, and that she may have bathed in their blood. In need of more girls, she killed daughters of lesser gentry, who were sent to her to learn about courtly etiquette. Abductions were very common too.

-       The exact number of people she killed is unknown, but some believe it to be as high as 650, though other reports state it could be as low as 36-37.

-       Finally, the Hungarian authorities started investigating the many claims they’d received about Elizabeth’s atrocities.

-       In 1610 she was under house arrest with four of her servants accused of being her accomplices

-       While her case did go to court, Elizabeth was never brought to trial, however her family had her imprisoned in her castle for life. She was kept in a room bricked up, with only small slits for ventilation and passing of meals. Four years later she died.

Source

Until next time…

How does May Monster Madness work? Well, it’s a blog hop featuring posts about monsters from May 11-17. Anything you can think of as long as it has something to do with monsters… crafts, lists, movies, funnies (a personal favorite)… anything!

To participate, simply go here and join the linky list. Simple.

Source: Stockvault Free Photos

For the past few weeks, I’ve tried to pry myself free from the internet and spend more time writing, reading, relaxing, and doing other things ‘normal’ people do, though I’ll admit I failed miserably. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad since I did manage to ignore my blog. And even something as little as that gave me more free time.

Especially when BIG THINGS were happening in the background… I know I’m teasing, and I’ll reveal all as soon as I can. I promise:)

One thing I can share is my blog revamp, which is long overdue, and I’m so excited to have started. A new design, layout, and URL coming soon… Watch this space!

Plus, I’ve started writing the first draft of a new novel, which is a bit of a different genre for me, but it’s been swirling in my thoughts for so long, I just need to get it down on paper.  Don’t want to give away too much, but it does involve a jackaroo, camels, and a giant, mechanical snake.

Anyhoo, it’s great to be back, and from Monday, I’ll be participating in a very cool May Monster Madness blogfest. More details here if you’re interested.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be.

Anyone can play along!

- Grab a book you are reading.

- Open to a random page and pull two sentences.

- Post the book title, author, and page number.

- No spoilers, please.

My quote for this week comes from The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda, pg 119.

…Who needs training, anyway, just chase down the damn things and eat them.” He peels back his sleeve like a snake shedding skin and delicately scratches his bony wrist.

I’ve had this book on my shelf for a while, and I really don’t know why it took me so long to read it. It’s fantastic. Dark and horror-filled with blood-thirsty vampires, none of this cute, handsome stuff. These vamps are terrifying. The story is told from a guy’s POV – Gene – as one of the few hepers (humans) left alive. He tries to blend into society and school by pretending to be one of them, until he’s selected to attend the annual Heper Hunt. So you can imagine the situation this places him into. This is an action-packed story bleeding with tension and I really, really loved Fukuda’s writing style. He doesn’t go too deep into world building, but gives us enough to know what’s going on. I’ll be jumping into book two soon.

Title: 1305 & 1306 – The Oracle and the Vampire (The 13th Floor series, #5)

Author: Christine Rains

Genre: paranormal romance

Release date: May 13th, 2013

Blurb:

Having fallen for her gorgeous neighbor might not be so bad if Harriet McKay wasn’t in her hideous banshee form every time Kiral saw her. Such is her curse. True, he’s a vampire struggling with a drug addiction, but he’s a good soul. Yet no one could love a cursed witch, especially one not even her cats respect.

After having a vision of Kiral’s death, Harriet makes it her mission to save him. Never before has she attempted to change fate, but so strong is her love.

How can Harriet convince Kiral to see past her vile appearance and return her love? If only she can force him to listen to reason coming from a raving crone, perhaps she can save him from the demons hunting him and from himself.

Author Bio:

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she’s not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She’s a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She has six novellas and twenty short stories published.

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Alex J. Cavanaugh is holding a very cool blogfest, which I just couldn’t resist joining. It’s pretty simple and self explanatory, so here are my top ten favorite movies, in no particular order.

The Sleepy Hollow legend done so well by Tim Burton

A cult classic.

The first movie is pretty much the best, but I like them all.

Basically all the Lord of the Rings movies.

Who doesn’t love this movie?

I’m a huge underworld fan – only watched the first the movies a trillion times.

I love slapstick humor, and when I want a non-thinking, funny movie, this is the one. Plus I really like Will Ferrell.

Another cult classic… love the mood of this movie.

How could I not include this…:)

A new movie, but it was amazing. I really have to read the book.

1304 – The Harbinger, the fourth story in The 13th Floor Series from Christine Rains is out. This story is very different to the first three – and I loved every part of it. I was very luck to get to read it before it was launched. Read to the bottom of this post because Christine is having a HUGE giveaway to a few lucky readers.

Now Christine is going to give us a run down of her top Greek Mythical Creatures:

13 GREEK MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES

1) Harpies. Most people think of ferocious bird-women who terrorize people at Zeus’ bidding. Harpies were originally beautiful women with eagle’s wings and feet. They had their own civilization and chose an alliance with Zeus. Modern day harpies are much like any other woman. Sure, they can tear out your throat with their talons, but they do love designer shoes.

2) The gods. The immortal dysfunctional family. Stay in their favor lest you end up in the belly of a leviathan or get turned into a poodle.

3) Minotaurs. A proud warrior race descended from the first minotaur in the King Midas’ labyrinth. They’d be more fearsome if they had any thoughts much farther beyond a bull’s.

4) Basilisks. Deadly lizards with the power to turn their victims to stone with their gaze and bite. I wonder if they have any relation to gorgons. Distant cousins? Imagine those family reunions.

5) Hydra. A many-headed water serpent, and each time someone cuts one off, two more grow in its place. Heracles killed the Lernaean Hydra, but who’s to say that one or more of those heads didn’t wiggle off somewhere and grow again.

6) Cyclopes. These evil giants killed and ate unfortunate seafarers who landed on Sicily. Plastic surgery and organ transplants have done wonders for the cyclopes. You might think you’re meeting with a tall and gorgeous man, but really one of those eyes isn’t his.

7) Satyrs. Wild and hairy half-goat, half-man. They often reveled with Dionysus. Many became famous hair metal bands in the 80s.

8) Chimera. A fire-spitting monster with three heads: goat’s, lion’s, and snake’s. There are still sightings today of the Chimera near the permanent gas vents in Turkey. Or, perhaps, those vents are putting out some freaky chemicals!

9) Sphinx. Creatures with the head and shoulders of a woman on the body of a winged lion. A few myths include male sphinxes and others have them loving riddles. Possibly a descendant of the chimera. Gods will sleep with anything!

10) Cerberus. Hades’ three-headed dog who guarded the entrance to the Underworld. As much as I want to believe Harry Potter, I don’t think music could lull this beast to sleep because the myths say it never fell asleep!

11) Nymphs. There are several types, but you’ll see them often at the Playboy mansion.

12) Gryphons. With the bodies of lions and the heads and wings of eagles, they’re beautiful creatures. They were highly prized for their gold talons and precious eggs which is why you’ll not see any today. Sorry, not even at Hogwarts.

13) Centaurs. Half-man, half-horse beings. There have been too many graphic romances written about them. Seriously! Just type it into Google and you’ll be horrified.

 

Author Bio:

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she’s not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She’s a member of S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She also has four novellas and eighteen short stories published.

Where you can stalk her:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be.

Anyone can play along!

- Grab a book you are reading.

- Open to a random page and pull two sentences.

- Post the book title, author, and page number.

- No spoilers, please.

My quote for this week comes from Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich, chp 3.

Carl wandered into the kitchen. He’d been sleeping on the couch in the living room, and he had bed-head monkey fur all over. He scratched his stomach and eyeballed Diesel’s cookie. “Eee?”

Wicked Business isn’t nearly as good as the first book–Wicked Appetite, but it was still enjoyable. Filled with humor and silliness, I just love how the characters just go with the flow when things look really bad and don’t over-freak out. The humor is what make this book for me, plus I love Carl the monkey:) Oh, and Diesel too.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be.

Anyone can play along!

- Grab a book you are reading.

- Open to a random page and pull two sentences.

- Post the book title, author, and page number.

- No spoilers, please.

My quote for this week comes from Protecting What’s His by Tessa Bailey, chp 3.

Ginger spun around on the heel of her boot with the intention of storming into her apartment, leaving him staring after her, hopefully slack-jawed and regretful. Instead, she ran smack into the dining room table still blocking the hallway, effectively knocking the wind out of her stomach and her sails. 

Almost finished this, and I’m loving it. It’s a quick, steaming, and at times, humours read. Ginger and Derek both have their own problems. Ginger comes from a broken family and is protecting her younger sister, but hiding a huge secret, which doesn’t help when she moves in next door to the gorgeous Lieutenant of Homicide. I don’t want to spoil it, so head over to Entangled Publishing to read more about Protecting What’s His.

A couple break up on a rainy night; a runaway longs to go home; a woman finds comfort from eating lunch as her best friend lies in hospital; a teenager feels
oppressed by her father. All of the characters in these stories are trying to
find their place in the world, attempting to find connections that matter with
the people around them.

Annalisa Crawford lives and writes in Cornwall with a good supply of beaches and moorland to keep her inspired. She finds endless possibilities in the relationships between people. As this collection testifies, she has been writing for twenty years – but doesn’t feel a day over twenty-one.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be.

Anyone can play along!

- Grab a book you are reading.

- Open to a random page and pull two sentences.

- Post the book title, author, and page number.

- No spoilers, please.

My quote for this week comes from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, pg 38.

No, he had to remember she was an assassin with the blessing of a pretty face and sharp wits. She washed her hands with blood, and was just as likely to slit his throat as offer him a kind word. 

I’ve finally plucked this book off my bookshelf and started reading it. So far, we’ve got an interesting fantasy / medieval world, a main character who might have chewed off more than she could handle, though she really had no other choice if she wanted freedom, and a set of challenges she now must pass if she wants to stay out of prison. The start is intriguing, and I suspect there are many hidden secrets to be revealed.

Title: 1304 – The Harbinger (The 13th Floor series, #3)

Author: Christine Rains

Genre: Paranormal romance

Release date: March 13th, 2013

Blurb:

Meira Harper loves both her jobs: talking about beautiful shoes and fetching souls for Zeus. But the Thunder God threatens the harpy’s loyalty to her job when she receives the call to bring the soul of gorgeous Sam Wright. Meira pleads with her boss to let him live. Zeus agrees, but Sam must fight for his life. If Sam can win three challenges, he can keep his soul.

The gods never play fairly, though, so Meira needs to find ways to help Sam with the challenges. She cannot outwardly cross her master, but she refuses to let the man she loves lose his soul. They haven’t even had a chance to start a life together.

Sam’s soul is on the line. Meira’s will be too if she’s caught, but that’s a risk she’s willing to take.

Author Bio:

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she’s not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She’s a member of S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She also has five novellas and eighteen short stories published.

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1303 – The Dragonslayer, the third story in The 13th Floor Series from Christine Rains is out. I’ve always been fascinated by Dragons, and Christine’s third story is all about these wonderful creatures – very exciting, but rather than me tell you about them, here’s Christine’s take:

Over to you Christine:

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DRAGONS

These creatures of legend have captured the imaginations of people all around the globe for thousands of years. There are records as far back as the 16th century B.C. Every culture in every age has their dragon myths. They’re usually the first fearsome beasts children learn about through stories, and you can find them in tales for children and adults alike.

Originally dragons were portrayed as gigantic serpents, but in the Middle Ages, they evolved into lizards. European dragons are typically described as winged and breathing fire. Not all Chinese dragons have wings or breathe fire, but they are lizards with mystical powers. They’re seen as majestic and are revered while the dragons of European mythology are feared creatures. Typically the dragons of the world fall into the European or Chinese types.

There are many theories of what may have inspired dragons. Nile crocodiles, monitor lizards, or large birds may have terrified humans into making them something more. Dinosaur fossils could’ve also caused the myths. Or maybe, if you truly believe, there were dragons and still might be a few left today.

The dragons in my book have been modernized, but they were inspired by European dragons. I wanted villains, not peaceful and kind creatures. My dragons breathe fire and utilize natural magics. They have the compulsive need to collect items they consider valuable. Hiding themselves beneath human guises, they’ve become powerful and influential people in our society. A massive lizard eager to bite off your head is scary, but not as much as one that’s also a politician.

What do you think it is about dragons that have fascinated humans?

 

Author Bio:

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she’s not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She’s a member of S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She also has four novellas and eighteen short stories published.

Where you can stalk her:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

When you think of dragons, do you imagine monstrous, serpent-like creatures that hiss and spit fire, or perhaps it’s a golden dragon who lives in a cave, guarding its treasure, or could it be wise dragon who holds the answers to the universe? Which ever one your picture, know this – dragon folklore differs greatly from one country to the next, and if you find yourself about to meet one, make sure you know exactly what you’re dealing with.

ZMEY

What is it?

In Slavic mythology, Zmey, along with Zmiy and Zmaj are used to describe a dragon, and are closely linked to the masculine word for snake. Which says a lot about how dragons were perceived, along with the bad reputation snakes have. Most European countries have one version of this dragon. Romania calls them Zmeu and has clear anthropomorphic traits – human-like arms and legs, along with the ability to create and use weapons. But slavic dragons have particular features, depending where they’re from.

East Slavic Dragons have three heads, is green, walks on hind paws and spits fire.

South Slavic Dragons have a division on what they call them, but basically they are the same creature. They are considered intelligent and wise, possess superhuman strength and are proficient in magic. Aside from breathing fire, they are also known to lust over woman with whom it can produce offspring. In Bulgarian and Serbian folklore, these dragons were seen as defenders of crops and fighting against a specific demon – Ala, whom they shoot with lightening.

Ability / Power

Their abilities vary depending on location. Some believe the east slavic dragons can re-grow their heads if chopped off. They exhale fire, which is dangerous to anyone in the way. Their enormous size makes them just as deadly.

Physical Appearance

Multi-headed dragon covered in scales, winged, and gigantic in size.

Sources:

Bo’s Dragon Lore

Wikipedia

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For Previous Mythical Creature Posts, Click Here.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be.

Anyone can play along!

- Grab a book you are reading.

- Open to a random page and pull two sentences.

- Post the book title, author, and page number.

- No spoilers, please.

My quote for this week comes from The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken, pg 47.

I didn’t know how to use my abilities. I wasn’t like the other Oranges, who could spout of commands or slip nasty little thoughts into other people’s minds. 

I’ve just started reading this book, and I’m really enjoying the premise of the story, the world and abilities kids hold. The disturbing way they are treated makes you feel sorry for them, but it’s also very clear these kids have abilities that are dangerous. Characters are a bit slow to grow fond of, but it’s still early on in the book and I have more to go – 488 pages in total be specific:)

Now, where were we? Oh, yes, books. I thought I’d share some upcoming books on my reading list…mostly YA. If you’ve read any, I’d love to know what you thought of them. Also, let me know if you’ve read anything that you absolutely loved so I can add it to my list.

I’m reading this one now… a dark, dystopia YA. Pretty good so far.

Yes, I’m obsessed with Maggie Stiefvater at the moment.

Hubby bought me this for Christmas as I’ve had my eye on it for a while.

This one’s been on a bookshelf for a while, and I promised myself to read it very soon.

Read many good things on this, so I’ve plucked it off my bookshelf and added it to my read-next pile.

I’m a sucker for dystopia… can you tell.

Well, that’s all I’ve pulled of the shelves for now as I don’t want to plan too far ahead:) Who knows what other books I’ll probably squeeze in between.