From the Backlist: Making Wishes

 

Image by VitorCruz2019 on Pixabay

 

Welcome to our October posts from the Backlist! 

Today's spotlight was written October 7, 2010 by the fabulous author Jocelynn Drake. This gives us a chance to say Happy Birthday to all the Libra's and wonderful dreamers out there who still blow out the candles . . . and make a wish!

Hope you enjoy!

You can read more about Jocelynn Drake on her website. 

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Making Wishes

by Jocelynn Drake 

Oct 7, 2010 

Today is my birthday. Yep, I unwittingly chose the seventh of every month to write my blog post for Supernatural Underground simply because it seemed rare for me to be traveling at that time. For some reason, all conferences and out-of-town appointments tended to fall in the middle or the end of the month. It honestly didn't occur to me that I had chosen the date of my birth to be one of my blog entries.

So, today I'm going to talk about birthday wishes. These are something that I take very seriously. Every year for as long as I can remember, my mother has baked me a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. My family gathers around and sings "Happy Birthday" as badly as possible. And trust me, they are getting really good at being really bad. And then I make a wish before blowing out the growing numbers of candles.

I look back and I remember that there were some years that I simply wished to be happy, but then those were some dark years. However, most the time, it was the same wish over and over again -- I wished to be published. Writing has been my heart and soul for so much of my life that I wished on candles, shooting stars, and pennies in a fountain that my words would one day be read by others. That's not to say that I didn't also work my butt off to also make it happen, but I like to think that all that hard wishing also helped to add a special magical aspect to it all.

Now that I've accomplished that mean feat, I have to come up with a new wish. I think I've got one, but

I obviously can't share it or it may never happen. However, I will share with you an impossible wish that I have. I wish I could sit down and have a long dinner with my main characters Mira and Danaus. (Perferrably when they are both in a good mood and not fighting with each other.) Both creatures are not only something other than human, but also centuries old. 

I would love to hear from their mouths their thoughts on the world, humanity, and the struggles they've been through, including the people they have loved and lost. I want to hear about their dreams and fears. And for reason, something in me yearns to actually hear their laughter and see them in person as they gaze across the table at each other as they share a private joke. In them are deep layers of love and loss and desperation and hope. I only wish I could see it in person, because I think it would truly be a beautiful thing. 

Read the full post here . . . 

 

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Speculative Fiction (Fantasy/Thriller/Sci-Fi/Urban Fantasy) for adults and teens.

 

 

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From The Backlist: "Unhealthy Obsession?" by Jocelynn Drake

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We love our awesome Supernatural Underground backlist -- and this post, where Jocelynn Drake poses the Unhealthy Obsession? question is an excellent example!

Jocelynn Drake

Unhealthy Obsession? 

by Jocelynn Drake

It’s just after midnight and I should be heading to bed, or at the very least settling in with a book to relax.

Instead, I’m surfing the net and obsessing about all the little things that I love. And I’m wondering if it’s unhealthy. I mean, everyone needs a little distraction in life. A little escape. Most of the time, I escape into the worlds of my own creation, but sometimes I need someone else’s world.

Obsession #1: Batman

My long-time love affair with Bruce Wayne started when I was young, watching the Adam West/Burt Ward Batman and Robin show. At that time, I loved Robin, but then I was very young and foolish; not realizing the wonderfulness that is the complexity of Bruce Wayne. My love cooled over the years until the early ‘90s when the Adventures of Batman and Robin cartoon was released. The art was beautiful and the stories were surprisingly rich for a 30-minute afternoon cartoon show. I fell in love all over again. Batman had taken on a gritty, darker feel. He had finally become the tortured soul that most of us have come to equate with Batman.

I love Bruce Wayne/Batman because he doesn’t have any super powers. He’s just a man. Every night he pushes himself to the absolute limit while walking a fine line between good and evil. Handsome, strong, confident, determined, dedicated, brilliant, loyal, and secretly, very compassionate, Bruce Wayne makes my little heart stammer in my chest. The new DC Universe reboot, which will launch in September, has me concerned about what they will do to the Batman canon, but I know they will not change the soul of Batman.

I own a large collection of comics, graphic novels, movies, figures, and cartoons. One dream would be to publish my own Batman story.

..."

To read all about Obsession #2 and the full post, including comments, click here. 

To find out more about Jocelynn and her writing you can visit her blog.

The Most Interesting Stories...

Voices have whispered to me for most of my life. The voices tell the most fantastic tales. They talk about magic, love, death, car chases, whizzing bullets, fires, laughter, good jokes, and some really bad jokes. These voices have whispered about distant places like Egypt, Peru, and Budapest. They tell me about places that I've never been, and a few places that I've gotten the chance to visit.

In all the decades that I've listened to the voices, I've held to one rule. Trust them and they won't steer me wrong. And so far, they haven't.

I started writing stories when I was twelve. In the long years since those first tales, I've written fantasy, high school romance, historical romance, horror, and fairy tales. When my first book, Nightwalker, was published, I was writing urban fantasy. Even then, I knew I'd never just write about vampires, even though I love them a great deal.

So after I finished with my vampires and warlocks, I wandered into a new genre with Rinda Elliott. Near the end of last year, we launched a brand new series called the Unbreakable Bonds Series. The first book, Shiver, was released in October 2015. It's a male/male contemporary romantic suspense following the adventures of four close friends in Cincinnati.

Here is a description of Shiver:

Lucas Vallois is always in control. He’s building an empire in the glittering city of Cincinnati and created his own family from his three close friends. The self-made millionaire has everything he wants within his tight grasp. But his world starts to crumble after he’s jumped by a trio of thugs late one night after leaving a club. The warning is clear—give up his new property venture or end up dead.

Caving to the demands of his friends, Lucas accepts the help of bodyguard, Andrei Hadeon, as he hunts for the source of this new threat. But as Lucas gets closer to uncovering the danger, he realizes the sexy Romanian bodyguard poses an even bigger risk to his carefully constructed world. Trapped by a need he never expected, Lucas must find a way to deny the shiver of longing he cannot control.

His brother. His warrior. His heart. Four friends. Unbreakable bonds.

At the end of April, the second book in the series, Shatter, was released. This book follows the exploits of Lucas's close friend, Snow:

Maverick trauma surgeon Ashton “Snow” Frost keeps the world at a distance, relying only on his three closest friends to keep him connected. But when a ghost from their past returns to Cincinnati, Snow stands to lose everyone he loves. Framed for murder and reeling from attacks on his friends, Snow is pushed to his breaking point.

Jude Torres won’t let the doc shatter. The paramedic has been attracted to the doctor since he first laid eyes on him at the hospital, even if the arrogant, solitary man doesn’t fit into any of his plans. One hot, reckless kiss shows that Snow isn’t who he appears to be. And one night together will never be enough. Jude will fight for the doc.

Fight to keep him whole. Fight to keep him safe. Fight to simply keep him.

Rinda and I are hard at work on the third book, Torch, which will be out later in 2016. Working on the Unbreakable Bonds series has been a fabulous adventure, but the vampires have started whispering to me again. The good news is that I will be releasing a spin-off from the Dark Days series a little later this summer called Stefan.

Trust the voices. They'll lead you to the most interesting places and introduce you to the most interesting people.

Saying Goodbye to Old Friends

The second hardest thing to do when it comes to working on a book series ... is saying goodbye. (The first hardest thing is creating the series in the first place.)

Counting both published and unpublished books that I've completed, I think I've now topped 20.  Most of those books have been part of a series.  It's gotten me in the habit of becoming close to the characters.  We don't spend a few months together, but years.  In the case of Mira and Danaus from my Dark Days series, I had those two running through my head for nearly a decade.  I saw parts of the U.S. because of the Dark Days books.  There were years where I was so intent on the stories that I'd have Mira giving a running commentary through my head as I shopped for Christmas gifts (and let me tell you, that vampire does not like to shop).

But the truth is that in all those months and years, you learn that series world as well as your own home.  You know the parts of town you don't wander down after sunset and the parts of town you don't go to regardless of the hour. You know your character's favorite food even if it never comes up in a story. In fact, you know tons of things that never make it to the books but they are there, running through your head, shaping little decisions all the time.

And after three novels, two novellas, and a short story, it's time to say goodbye to another set of characters.  This Tuesday, Demon's Vengeance hits the shelves, signaling the end of the Asylum Tales series.  And it's hard to let them go.  Warlock-turned-tattoo-artist Gage Powell is special to me.  He's like a best friend that's moving away, and deep down, you know you're not going to keep in contact. Gage was on the run from a dark force and he managed to carve out a life that made him happy.  He found family, friendship, love, and a greater purpose.

Gage's books became about sacrifice and learning that there are things out there worth fighting for that are so much bigger than ourselves.  And in those moments, you have to be willing to risk everything.  I'm proud of him and his choices... even the bad ones.

But I'm still going to miss him and his world.  I'm going to miss hanging out at  the Asylum Tattoo Parlor and never knowing what was going to step through the front door next.  Maybe it was going to be an incubus, an elf, or a werewolf.  Maybe a set of vampires from TAPSS stopping by to harass him.  Or maybe it was just Bronx or Trixie showing up for their shift.  The Asylum Tales inhabit a world of endless possibilities and that's what made it so much fun.

If you would like to take a step into a crazy world of witches, vampires, shifters, elves, trolls, goblins, incubus, sirens, and soooo much more, I invite you into the Asylum Tales.  Below is the reading order for the entire series.

The Asylum Interviews: Bronx
The Asylum Interviews: Trixie
Angel's Ink
Dead Man's Deal
"Of Monsters and Men" -- short story found in Blood By Moonlight anthology
Demon's Vengeance

And if you happen to run into Gage and the gang, tell them that Jocelynn misses them.

The Great "Never Have I Ever" Reveal -- Plus We Have A Giveaway Winner!

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So it's time--24 April has ticked past the midnight hour and the veil shall be lifted on our "Never Have I Ever"entries!

The giveaway has also been drawn from those who commented on either the original April 1 post or our April 22nd 'Counting Down' post--a big thank you to all the participants, but our thanks, as well, to everyone who dropped by to check out the fun. :-)
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Now for the Big "Never Have I Ever" Reveal: (Drum Roll!)

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Amanda Arista: "Never have I ever gone skinny dipping to research what it felt like to be a mermaid."

Amanda says: True!

"I grew up on a lake, so I do swim like a fish, and have dreamed of having fins. But nothing in the nude so far. "

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Merrie Destefano: "Never have I ever been held at gunpoint or surrounded by a SWAT team."

Merrie says: False! 

"I’ve been held at gunpoint twice, once as a runaway teen and once while grocery shopping in an upscale San Marino neighborhood. Neither one of those scared me, but I was terrified when I accidentally got caught in the middle of a SWAT sting takedown. I was sitting in my car at a gas station when suddenly everyone around my car pulled out guns. One team member was a woman and she stood right next to my window, her gun inches from my face. A man had been walking in front of my car and he fell to the ground, everyone’s weapon pointed at him. It wasn’t until one of the plain-clothes detectives leaned forward to cuff the perp that I saw a badge on the arresting officer's belt. So twice, I was held at gunpoint by bad guys, but I only got scared the time I was surrounded by the good guys"

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Jocelynn Drake: "Never have attended a cocktail party with Guillermo del Toro and Jerry O'Connell."
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Jocelynn says: False!.

"As I have honestly done this thing!" (A cocktail party with Guillermo del Toro--awesome!)

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Kim Falconer: "Never have I ever been stuck at 80 ft, bottom of the anchor line, waiting for a school of 12 ft long tiger sharks to pass overhead . . . with only 3 minutes of air left in the tanks . . ."
 
Kim says: False!

"1979, first dive of the day, just off Santa Rosa in the Norther Channel Islands. The current picked up but the water was crystal clear. I’d been taking photos of a beautiful pinnacle, but as I focused on the  drop off below me, shadows crossed overhead. A lot of them. Very quickly I worked out three things. My tank was low on air, my dive buddy nowhere in sight and dozens of limousine size tiger sharks were cruising third feet over my head. The Truth, our  dive boat, was about a hundred yards south east, the same direction the sharks were headed. I waited them out until there was only a few minutes of air left, then slowly swam for the boat, trying to make myself look powerful and unappetising. There were still a few tigers in view as I swam up the anchor line, but many helping hands reached down to grab me when my head broke the surface. I was the last one back onboard!"

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Terri Garey: "Never have I ever stayed in a "haunted house" while doing research for a book."

Terri says: False!

"I DID stay in a supposedly haunted house as part of my research on a book. While writing A MATCH MADE IN HELL, I took a trip to Savannah, GA and stayed in an old brownstone house in the Historic District that had been converted to a vacation rental. Several odd things did, in fact, occur - items were moved, the doorbell kept ringing even though no one was there, all the pictures we took inside the house came out fuzzy no matter how many times we tried to take them, and one of the bedrooms had such a creepy feeling to it that no one would sleep in it!"
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Helen Lowe: "Never have I ever ridden across Mongolia and hunted from horseback using a golden eagle."

Helen says: True!

"I personally have never ridden across Mongolia or hunted from horseback using a golden eagle--but it sounds a wonderfully epic and adventurous thing to do and my fellow New Zealander, Chloe Phillips Harris, has done both: ridden in the Mongolian Derby and hunted with golden eagles alongside Kazak nomads! You can find out more about Chloe and her true life adventures by clicking on chloephillipsharris.com"


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The Final Reveal: True-False-False-False-False-True! 

We hope you all had fun guessing! :-)
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And Now For The E-Book Giveaway (Of All the Titles Featured Above)

(All comments  were valid entries and the draw was made via RANDOM.org)
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(Long Drum Roll!!) 

And the winner is: Raven

Congratulations, Raven! 

Please contact Helen on contact[at]helenlowe[dot]info to claim the giveaway.*

And our thanks again to everyone who commented.

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* If Helen has not been contacted with 7 days (midnight May 2, US Eastern Standard Time), the giveaway will be redrawn.

Counting Down To Our "Never Have I Ever" Giveaway

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This month we've been having a little "Never Have I Ever Fun" here on the Supernatural Underground – & we've seen you've been looking, so hope you're having fun guessing what's true and what's false!

But there's the giveaway as well and we're now in the final countdown for the midnight draw on Friday 24th!

By way of a reminder, here's what's in our Supernatural Underground grab-bag:
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* Diaries of an Urban Panther from the awesome Amanda Arista (ebook)

Amanda's "Never Have I Ever" entry: "Never have I ever gone skinny dipping to research what it felt like to be a mermaid."

* Fathom from the marvelous Merrie Destefano (ebook)

Merrie's "Never Have I Ever" entry: "Never have I ever been held at gunpoint or surrounded by a SWAT team."

* Angel's Ink from the dazzling Jocelynn Drake (ebook)

Jocelynn's "Never Have I Ever" entry: "Never have attended a cocktail party with Guillermo del Torro and Jerry O'Connell."

* Path Of The Stray from the kickass Kim Falconer (ebook)

Kim's "Never Have I Ever" entry: "Never have I ever been stuck at 80 ft, bottom of the anchor line, waiting for a school of 12 ft long tiger sharks to pass overhead . . . with only 3 minutes of air left in the tanks . . ."

* Whistling Past The Graveyard from the terrific  Terri Garey (ebook)

Terri's "Never Have I Ever" entry: "Never have I ever stayed in a "haunted house" while doing research for a book."

* The Heir Of Night from the heroic Helen Lowe (ebook or hard copy, winner's choice)

Helen's "Never Have I Ever" entry: "Never have I ever ridden across Mongolia and hunted from horseback using a golden eagle."
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All you have to do to enter is:

i) Leave a comment with your take on whether our "Never Have I Ever" contributions are true or false 

ii) Every comment will go in the draw (via Random) to decide who gets the books.

You have up until midnight on Friday 24 April to enter – just two days left to go! 

The result will post shortly after the midnight hour, on Saturday 25.

April Foolery: "Never Have I Ever" – Plus Giveaway!

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April 1 means fun time on the Supernatural Underground so we're playing a little game of "Never Have I Ever" – with a good old Supernatural Undergound giveaway for good measure. 

"Never Have I Ever" first, then the giveaway details at the end!

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Never Have I Ever – Supernatural Underground Style

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"Never have I ever gone skinny dipping to research what it felt like to be a mermaid." ~ Amanda Arista
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– Amanda is giving away an ebook of her first novel, Diaries of an Urban Panther

"Never have I ever been held at gunpoint or surrounded by a SWAT team." ~ Merrie Destefano
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– Merrie is giving away an ebook of her YA novel, Fathom. 

"Never have attended a cocktail party with Guillermo del Torro and Jerry O'Connell." ~ Jocelynn Drake
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– Jocelynn is giving away an ebook copy of Angel's Ink, from her Asylum Tales 'verse.

"Never have I ever been stuck at 80 ft, bottom of the anchor line, waiting for a school of 12 ft long tiger sharks to pass overhead . . . with only 3 minutes of air left in the tanks . . ." ~ Kim Falconer
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– Kim is giving away an ebook of Path Of The Stray, Book # 1 of her Quantum Encryption series
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"Never have I ever stayed in a "haunted house" while doing research for a book." ~ Terri Garey
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– Terri is giving away an ebook of her latest publication, Whistling Past The Graveyard
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"Never have I ever ridden across Mongolia and hunted from horseback using a golden eagle." ~ Helen Lowe
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– Helen is giving away either a paperback or ebook (winner's choice) of The Heir Of Night, Book One of The Wall Of Night series
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How The Giveaway Will Work!

You've seen the swag listed with the "Never have You Ever" contribution from each author.

To be in to win, all you have to do is enter your take on whether the "Never Have You Ever" contributions are True or False.

Just leave a comment to tell us what you think – but every comment will go in the draw (via RANDOM) to win the books!
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The result will be drawn and posted here on Friday 24 April, so you can enter any time up until then – and be sure to check back to find out the correct answers and whether or not YOU won the giveaway!

Writing in 2015: Some Old and Some New

2014 was not the productive year that I had hoped it would be.  My husband and I completed a big move from Wisconsin to South Florida, we learned a new place to call home, made new friends, and I navigated my way through a new day job.  Of course, through all of that I was writing.  And writing. And writing.

However, I truly finished only one project in 2014 under the name of Jocelynn Drake -- that was the final Gage book of the Asylum Tales book. It was originally released in three parts: Demon's Fury, Demon's Vow, and Inner Demon.  However, my publisher is releasing it as a single e-book, Demon's Vengeance, on April 14, and then it will come out as a print book a little bit later.

(As a side note, if you've haven’t had a chance to give the final story a try yet, you can download the first part, Demon’s Fury for FREE as an e-book.  Go to Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo, and iBookstore)

But Demon’s Vengeance wasn't the only thing that I worked on in 2014. I sometimes need a break from all the vampires, warlocks, demons, and other magical things that are running a muck.  So, I dabbled in historical romance under the name of Joy Douglass for the fun of it.  As such, I released a novella titled Stolen Kisses at Midnight and a novel titled What a Lady Treasures.

I also started about a half a dozen different projects as my attention wandered from one thing to another all year long. I've found that when I’m not under contract, I have an extremely tiny attention span.  I want to work on everything at the same time, which means that I’m not really finishing many things.

But 2015 is all about finishing projects.  It’s dabbling in some of the old and playing in some new.

First, we begin with the old…

A series is hard to let go of when you finish it.  That’s not to say you’re not happy to let go and try something totally new.  There’s an excitement that can’t be matched when it comes to creating a new world full of new and crazy possibilities.  You’re meeting new characters and taking on new challenges.  But in an old world, those other characters are close friends, maybe even family.  In some cases, you’ve spent years with them. Letting go is hard.

So when Stefan from the Dark Days series came to last year with a story to be told, it was really hard to say no.  I’d never really considered Stefan one of my favorite nightwalkers – he was always a pain in the butt, greedy for more power.  But things changed when he met Erin.  So, I am happy to report that in January, I finished a draft of Stefan’s story and I am currently trying to find a home for the book so I can share it with readers. (And yes, Danaus and Mira make an appearance in the Stefan’s book.)

Sticking with the Dark Days series, I am now working on a new book for Nicolai. The werewolf from the series needs his own happy ending.  I never felt like he got what he deserved in the series and I want to fix that.  My goal is to finish his book by the start of summer.  If I do one more Dark Days spin-off book, my hope is to complete Valerio’s story.

Shifting gears to the Asylum Tales, I've gotten a lot of questions from readers about whether there will be more books, because Gage’s ending kind of left you hanging just a little big. While I’ll admit that I haven’t put pen to paper yet on it, I am thinking about one last book that will take place about 20 years after the ending of Demon’s Vengeance.  It will also come from a completely different point of view, but it will answer the major questions that is tearing at readers.  I’ll keep you posted as to what is happening on that front.

Now, onto the new…

I love to flex my writing muscle and the easiest way to learn and grow as a writer is to tackle new genres.  Each genre has its own set of rules and expectations.  Sure it’s great to break those rules and push the boundaries of those expectations, but you can’t do that without understanding what the rules are and why they are there in the first place.

For myself, I am heading in two different directions.

One is contemporary romance.  The super sexy kind.  I’ve got this friend who is a very bad influence.  And by bad influence, I mean a fun, cool influence, who has convinced me to read a wide variety of books that I’ve never tried before.  Luckily, she has some good taste.  These awesome books have spurred me to try some new storylines and plots and relationship dynamics that I’ve never attempted before and I’m having so much fun.  The end result is that I finished a new book in February that I am currently trying to find a home for.  Fingers crossed.  If this book is sold and well received, I might try my hand at some more.

The other genre I have decided to try my hand at is fantasy.  In truth, the first long, heavily plotted original book I ever wrote was a fantasy novel. But then I started writing other things like vampires and such and I got away from fantasy.  Well, pure fantasy.  But then I made these new friends who are also bad influences.  And by bad influences I mean the kind of friends who have convinced me to play Dungeons and Dragons on Sundays.

And playing D&D has introduced me to my sweet Nanni. Nanni is a gnome bard with a playful, adventurous personality that I fell in love with instantly.  Nanni has led me down a rabbit hole of adventure and chaos and heavy writing that just soaks into my soul.  So… I have decided to co-write a fantasy novel with my husband.  And we are nowhere near done.  But maybe we’ll have a rough draft close to completion about this time next year.

2015 hold a little bit of old and a little bit of new for myself and, with any luck, readers. The important lesson I've learned is that you should always listen to your friends, even if they happen to be a “bad influence.”  Sometimes they have really good ideas.

Time for a Birthday Book Giveaway

[UPDATE: Winners are Melissa and Infinitieh. Please email me at JocelynnDOTdrakeATgmailDOTcom your address so I can ship your books to you!]

October is my favorite month of the year.  It's a time of cooler weather, colored leaves, Halloween costumes, and my birthday! Yes, today is my birthday, but I'm the one who's going to be giving away the presents.

I would like you to help me celebrate my birthday.  And the timing is particularly perfect since I've got a new book that is coming out next week!  The Final Asylum Tales book is being released in three parts starting on October 14 for e-book.  Demon's Fury will be released on October 14. Demon's Vow will be released on October 21. And Inner Demon will be out on October 28.  (If you're not a fan of e-books, the final story will be released as a single book later this year.)

But maybe you're not acquainted with warlock-turned-tattoo artist Gage Powell, his elf girlfriend Trixie, or his best friend, a troll named Bronx.  That's okay because I'm giving away two sets of the first two books -- Angel's Ink and Dead Man's Deal -- to celebrate my birthday!

The Asylum Tales follows the adventures of tattoo artist Gage as he tries to balance having a girlfriend who's hiding from the Summer Court while he's trying to escape the warlocks of the Ivory Towers.  Not an easy task when the poor man finds trouble as easily as he does.  His escapades has seen him dealing with vampires, shifters, ogres, elves, sirens, pixies, hobgoblins, minotaurs, incubi, and even the Grim Reaper.

For more information and the reading order of the series, click here.

If you would like to win one of the two prize packs (a signed Angel's Ink and a signed Dead Man's Deal), leave me a comment telling me what you would like to be for Halloween if you could dress up as anything in the whole wide word.  The contest is open to both domestic and international readers.  Please come back on Saturday, October 11 when I will announce my two winners.

Also, I've got another giveaway running on my website through this week. Don't forget to stop by and enter my different contest there. To see my other birthday giveaway, please click here.

Save the Beast

Fairy tales were created, I think, to teach us.  They teach us lessons.  We learn that we shouldn't wander in the woods alone. We shouldn't eat someone else's house.  We learn not to lie.  We learn not to judge a person by their exterior.

Fairy tales were also created to show us how to dream.  In fairy tales, we learn to dream about love and success and family.

I've been a lover of fairy tales since I was very young.  I love magic, wishes coming true, hidden treasure, secrets, long walks through dark forests, evil queens, and so much more.  Choosing a favorite fairy tale is nearly impossible, but there is one that seems to resonate no matter how much time passes or what happens in my life.

Beauty and the Beast

It's one of my favorites tales of deep love and sacrifice.  What would you do for your family to protect them and see that they have a long, healthy life?  Would you give your own life, your freedom, your hopes and dreams?

It's also a tale of looking beneath the surface to find the true beauty within.  It's a matter of falling in love with a person's soul and the true wealth of their heart.  A vain man is turned into a monster and is dependent upon winning the love of another if he is to ever return to his true form.

I've read the old stories, but I think I truly fell in love with the tale when I ran across a copy of Robin McKinley's retelling of the fairy tale entitled Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast.  Of course, when Disney's tale of Beauty and the Beast, I fell in love.  A couple more retellings with a unique spin include Lair of the Lion by Christine Feehan and As the Last Petal Falls by Jessica Woodard.

Speaking of unique spins on an old tale, my favorite of late has been the romance of Belle and Rumple in the TV show Once Upon a Time.  Those gifted writers have jumped out on a limb and decided to make the Beast a monster more on the inside, while still keeping his mostly human exterior.  There's something wonderfully mischievous and manic in Rumple, but the man wins your heart as he steadily falls in love with his Belle.  Rumple continues to make mistakes and hurts Belle time and again, but he's trying to be a better man for her.  He wants to protect her, but you're left wondering if Belle needs to be protected from him.

The Bad Boys of Paranormal

My reading tends to be all over the place, usually due to whatever I'm working on at any given time.  But, one way or another, I find myself craving a good paranormal romance or urban fantasy for the amazing creatures, the flash of magic, and those oooh-sooo-wonderful bad boys that frequently fill the pages.  I thought I'd pop by and share a quick list of some of my favorite bad boys I've encountered over the years.  I'll admit that I'm massively behind on most of the series that are listed below, but I'm steadily collecting the books in the wild hope that I will one day catch up on my reading.

Kisten from the Hollow series by Kim Harrison
If you've taken a chance on the Hollow series, then there's a good chance that you've fallen in love with Kisten as well.  A living vampire who's working for the bad guy that helps to bring Rachel Morgan out of her shell while tempting her in so many wonderful ways.  With Kisten, you're sure to laugh, cry, and swoon.

Jean-Claude from the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton
The Anita Blake series was the third book/series I tried after Stoker's Dracula and Anne Rice's Lestat.  Yeah, there's a lot to love about Jean-Claude.  He's a complicated creature who doesn't pretend to live my humanity's rules and yet even with all his cruelty and selfish nature showing, he still manages to worm his way into your heart.  And maybe that's what makes him so tempting.  You know he's so very bad for you and yet you come back for more.


Jag from Pamela Palmer's Feral Warriors series
Stepping away from vampires for a bit, I have to say that I've never been a sucker  for a shifter but, Jag (sigh) has me constantly torn between smacking him and kissing him.  It takes a special woman to love a man who doesn't know when to shut his mouth.  Internally damaged in the worst way, Jag works very hard to keep everyone at arm's length from him.  It makes you want to hug him (when you're not longing to hit him).

Carlos from Kerrelyn Sparks' Love at Stake series
While we're talking about shifters, I have to know if you've met Carlos.  It was a tough choice when I thought about the Love at Stake series, because there are just too many wonderful heroes, but they seem too sweet to call them bad boys.  Except for Carlos.  Don't get me wrong.  He's a sweetheart too, but there's just something about him that makes me think that he's got a naughty side too and it makes him so much fun to read.

John Taylor from Simon R. Green's Nightside Series
John Taylor took me by surprise.  He's a private detective. working in the ultra secret part of London called the Nightside.  He's got a gift for being able to find anything... and I mean anything.  Naturally, it gets him into trouble every once in a while.  I love the Nightside and I loved John.  He's not sexy as the other men, but I loved watching him jump in and out of trouble like a dolphins darting through the water.

Gage Powell from Asylum Tales
What? You thought I'd make a list of my favorite bad boys without including my own two precious boys.  Gage has a special place in my heart.  He's like a brother who I worry over constantly.  He finds troubles like no one else I know and he's got no problem pissing people off when it suits him.  He's a tattoo artist, a warlock in hiding, and a man in love with a woman on the run.  He's torn between wanting the save the world, and wanting the world to stay out of his affairs.  I worry about Gage.  I worry about him a lot.



Danaus from the Dark Days series
This man is my first love.  Danaus is a bad boy in the darkest sense of the words. He is a vampire hunter to had the misfortune of fall in love with a vampire who had a thing for fire.  Danaus was trying to save the world from the bloodsuckers, and maybe even his own soul, but he didn't have much of a chance when it came to Mira. He's a fierce warrior with a deep sense of honor. A man of few words, Danaus never fears charging into a dangerous situation and if you catch him in the right mood, he's got a dark sense of humor.  I can't count the number of hours I spent with this man running through my thoughts, but I will say that it was time well spent. While I worry about Gage, I dream about Danaus.

Who are your favorite bad boys from the paranormal world?  Who would you be willing to run into on a dark lonely street when the moon is full?