From The Backlist: "Modern Day Faery Tales Drawn From Fantasy and Folklore" by Terri Garey

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It's backlist time again, and this month we're sharing Terri Garey's wonderful take on Urban Fantasy and its origins in myth, fairytale, and folklore.

Enjoy!

Urban Fantasy: Modern Day Faery Tales Drawn From Fantasy and Folklore

~  by Terri Garey 

... I write Urban Fantasy, which is basically fiction that’s set in the real world, yet contains aspects of the supernatural or fantastic. Urban Fantasy was first defined as an acknowledged sub-genre in the late 1980’s and early ‘90s, but in my opinion, “Urban Fantasy” has always been around, from the earliest days when spooky stories were first told around warm fires on cold nights. Ancient gods and goddesses, elves, witches, faeries and werewolves. Dragons, trolls, giants. 

By the standards of the era (whether it be Classical, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Victorian, etc.) any of these stories could be considered Urban Fantasy, for they all involved a mixture of the real and the fantastic. Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Robert Lewis Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde – these are all fictional tales that were based in the real world, yet include elements of the supernatural.

In Urban Fantasy, the supernatural elements are limited only by the author’s imagination, but certain themes, however, remain constant. These “literary tropes” are at the heart of every good fantasy novel, whether it’s Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi Fantasy (Star Wars, Star Trek), Historical Fantasy (Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones), or Young Adult Fantasy (Harry Potter). 

1) First comes the over-arching theme of Good vs. Evil. The stakes can be as high as the fate of the world, or as simple as saving the life of one individual, but there is always a goal that serves the greater good. Whether the protagonist is a supernatural bounty-hunter who keeps demons from taking over the world, or a single mom who finds out her neighbor is a vampire, moral dilemmas—and the consequences of them—are a mainstay of Urban Fantasy.

2) Second is the journey of the self – protagonists often start out ill-equipped, or even unwilling, to deal with the situations they find themselves in, but through character development (which the author shows by their ongoing actions and insights), find within themselves the strength to meet ever-increasing challenges.

3) Third is A Major Secret – one that puts the protagonist outside the realm of “normal”, but forces them to behave as though they were just like you and me. By placing the protagonist in an urban, “everyday” setting, the author creates a sense of kinship with the reader, fostering the much-needed suspension of disbelief.

... 

To read the full post, click here. 

To visit with Terri, go to her site, here.

From the Backlist: What I Need to Write

 

Image from DiviantArt - Lazy Reading by snatti89

It is time again to delve into our Supernatural Underground backlist-of-awesome and find a post you'll enjoy rereading (or re-reading if you've been in our community for a while!)

This time, we're featuring Terri Garey reflecting on what she needs to write. We hope it resonates with you. Enjoy!

***

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

What I Need to Write

 by Terri Garey

 

We're talking about "writing touchstones" this month in the Underground, and you've already seen that different writers need different things in order to stir their creativity:  Helen Lowe needs to write freely and loosely in longhand, Amanda Arista uses visual images, while Jocelyn Drake and Pamela Palmer use music to put them into a writing frame of mind.

What I need to write is pretty simple; I need to READ.  There is nothing I love more than a great story, well-told.  Reading has taught me so much about writing.  It's taught me what works in a story and what doesn't, from simple things like the fact that if I, as a reader, don't care about the characters, then I'm not going to care for the story, and more complex things like pacing, plot development, conflict and resolution.

I've been an avid reader since grade school, and I have never, ever stopped.  I read while I'm on the treadmill.  I read while I eat my lunch.  I read while I'm on a plane.  I read while I'm at the beach, or in a waiting room, or at the hair salon.  I read, read, read, and then I take the lessons I've learned from that reading and I try to craft a few great stories, well-told, of my very own, for others to enjoy.  Basically, if I'm not writing, gardening, exercising or sleeping, I'm reading!

In the last three weeks, I've read nine books...

Read the full post here! 

 

* * *

We would love to hear what you are reading right now, in the comments.

 

From the Back List - Why Weird Is the New Normal

 

Image from How to Write Slipstream Fiction - The Write Life

Welcome fans of the Sup back list.

Today we are sharing a post by Terri Garey, Supernatural Underground author who writes award-winning and critically-acclaimed urban fantasy. Here are her thoughts from February 2015 on the weird and wonderful genre of Slipstream Fiction.

Read on to discover what makes this form of writing tick!

* * *

Slipstream Goes Mainstream, or Why Weird Is the New Normal

by Terri Garey

 

I read an article* in the Wall Street Journal the other day about "Slipstream Fiction". It was a term I'd never heard before, which surprised me, but what surprised me even more is that I've been writing slipstream fiction for years, and didn't even know it!

Wikipedia defines the Slipstream genre as: "fantastic or non-realistic fiction that crosses conventional genre boundaries between science fiction, fantasy and mainstream literary fiction". Um, hello... we authors here in the Supernatural Underground write about ghosts and shapeshifters and time travel and shadowy creatures from other worlds. We weave tales of mystery and magic, blending fantasy with science fiction, modernity with the medieval, and while the settings and characters may differ, the focus remains on the universal aspects of the human condition: the quest for self, the need for love and acceptance, the choices we make on the moral issues between right and wrong, good and evil.

Slipstream fiction is being referred to as "the New Weird", and I, for one, am very glad to hear it.  I've never wanted to be a carbon copy of everyone else - I have my quirks (I adore Halloween, avoid red meat, and talk to my orchids while tending them). According to the WSJ article*, I'm not alone, as Slipstream Fiction is a fast-growing genre, indicating that readers seem to embrace the blending of the mundane with the bizarre.... continue reading here.

* * *

We would love to hear about your favorite examples of Slipstream in the comments.

 

Zombie Lovin': What's Up With The Undead? -- More 'From The Backlist' Goodness!

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With Halloween clearly on the horizon, what better time to feature a lil Zombie Lovin'? Namely, Terri Garey's microfiction that checks out what's up with the undead?

We loved it the first time around and bet you'll enjoy the fun just as much today. Sure hope so! :D

Terri Garey

Zombie Lovin': What's Up With The Undead? by Terri Garey

When did zombies become the new black? Zombies are everywhere these days, including zombie romance. When I first heard the concept, I was baffled; how could love, sex and romance work if you (or your partner) were one of the undead? What if you kissed and your lips fell off? (Just kidding! Kinda.)

Anyway, one day last year, just for fun, I took a moment to imagine how in the world one could mix love with lividity, and came up with this short little pre-Halloween, tongue-in-cheek tale I'd like to share with you.  I must warn you, if you haven't read my books yet, you're about to find out that I have a slightly weird sense of humor. :-) But if, like me, you don't mind a giggle or two at the expense of the undead, read away, and enjoy:

Zombie Love

LOVE STINKS, AND SO DOES YOUR BREATH by Terri Garey

“Is that a femur in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

Donna snuggled in closer to Derek, brushing the dark hair from his eyes with one hand. Unfortunately, a clump of it remained in her fingers, and she knew this particular boy toy’s time was limited. That was the problem with zombies—their shelf life was much too short, the pesky problem of decomposition being one she hadn’t solved yet.

Even embalming didn’t help, and she didn’t care for waxy buildup on her fingers any more than she did her floors.

“Brought you a present,” Derek murmured, with a lopsided grin, “for our two-week anniversary.” His breath reeked of blood and sausages, which made sense considering his job at the local meat packing plant. With a flourish, he whipped a hand from behind his back, and offered her his prize.

“How sweet,” Donna squealed. “It’s a heart!”

“Yeah, baby,” he answered smugly, blood dripping between his fingers. “A fresh one. Nothing but the best for my girl.”

“Awww,” Donna said, “I got you a present, too.” She let go of him long enough snatch her purse up from the bed. Digging inside, she brought up an object about three inches long. Picking off a piece of lint before handing it to him, she announced, “I usually wait at least a month before giving my boyfriend the finger!”

Derek and Donna both died laughing, which was long overdue, considering Donna had been dead for two centuries, and Derek for two weeks.

She eyed him with regret as she giggled, knowing his laughter would soon be a thing of the past, much like Horatio’s, the guy who’d gotten her into this fix. It had been Horatio’s idea to visit the cemetery in Edinburgh that night two hundred years ago. Bodysnatching had been a good way to earn some quick cash back then, unless your body happened to be the one that got snatched, of course.

Poor Horatio, she’d known him well, until that shovel had come out of nowhere, and smashed his head in. The doctor who’d done it hadn’t hit her hard enough, though, and she’d woken up in his laboratory to find him on top of her. After that, what was a ghoul to do except defend herself? It was only after she’d killed the doc with his own dirt-encrusted shovel that she’d found the secret book lying on his desk, in plain sight, and learned the ancient grimoire’s secrets about how to reanimate the dead.

“Hey, baby,” Derek said, interrupting her musings. “I got a perfectly good boner going to waste here.” He grabbed her hips and pulled her close again. “What say we get naked and put it to good use, hm?”

Donna smiled. She’d learned a few secrets about herself that night, too, including how her brush with death and her newfound ability to reanimate dead flesh left her with a taste for more of it. Immortality had cost her soul, but she was pretty sure she didn’t need it where she was going.

“Absolutely,” she answered, with a smile that revealed her own teeth, pearly white and perfect. Her eyes glowed red as she began to tug his shirt from his pants. “No use letting a good piece of meat go to waste."

...

To read the rest of Terri's post, including a link to the "Thrill the World" event (where people all over the globe join together at the same time to dress in zombie costume and dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller", in an annual attempt to break the Guinness World Record for "largest simultaneous Thriller dance"), click here.

To find out more about Terri Garey, including her fun & fabulous Nicki Styx series, go here.

From The Backlist: "Modern Day Faery Tales Drawn From Fantasy and Folklore"

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We love this post from one of Supernatural Underground's founder authors, the great Terri Garey.

It's a wonderful exploration of the origins and unique characteristics of the awesome that is paranormal urban fantasy.

We love what Terri has to say even more! So here goes:

Urban Fantasy: Modern Day Faery Tales Drawn From Fantasy and Folklore 

by Terri Garey

As an author with an all-too-vivid imagination, I've never had a whole lot of trouble with “suspension of disbelief”. Ghosts, near-death experiences, haunted houses - anything that frightens or intrigues me is very likely to end up in one of my books. 

I write Urban Fantasy, which is basically fiction that’s set in the real world, yet contains aspects of the supernatural or fantastic. Urban Fantasy was first defined as an acknowledged sub-genre in the late 1980’s and early ‘90s, but in my opinion, “Urban Fantasy” has always been around, from the earliest days when spooky stories were first told around warm fires on cold nights. Ancient gods and goddesses, elves, witches, faeries and werewolves. Dragons, trolls, giants. By the standards of the era (whether it be Classical, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Victorian, etc.) any of these stories could be considered Urban Fantasy, for they all involved a mixture of the real and the fantastic. Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Robert Lewis Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde – these are all fictional tales that were based in the real world, yet include elements of the supernatural.

In Urban Fantasy, the supernatural elements are limited only by the author’s imagination, but certain themes, however, remain constant. These “literary tropes” are at the heart of every good fantasy novel, whether it’s Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi Fantasy (Star Wars, Star Trek), Historical Fantasy (Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones), or Young Adult Fantasy (Harry Potter). 

1) First comes the over-arching theme of Good vs. Evil. The stakes can be as high as the fate of the world, or as simple as saving the life of one individual, but there is always a goal that serves the greater good. Whether the protagonist is a supernatural bounty-hunter who keeps demons from taking over the world, or a single mom who finds out her neighbor is a vampire, moral dilemmas—and the consequences of them—are a mainstay of Urban Fantasy.

2) Second is the journey of the self – protagonists often start out ill-equipped, or even unwilling, to deal with the situations they find themselves in, but through character development (which the author shows by their ongoing actions and insights), find within themselves the strength to meet ever-increasing challenges.
.

3) Third is A Major Secret – one that puts the protagonist outside the realm of “normal”, but forces them to behave as though they were just like you and me. By placing the protagonist in an urban, “everyday” setting, the author creates a sense of kinship with the reader, fostering the much-needed suspension of disbelief.

..."

To read the full post and the comments, click here.

And to discover more about Merrie and her writing, visit her on: Terri Garey

Music as Character

Crazy Fingers by Sue Duda

Writing a novel in any genre means connecting readers to a 'real' world with tastes, textures, smells, sights and sounds. Most authors give us the thunder and crack of the adventure, the whistle of bird calls and the pounding of hooves on a dry dirt road, the deep moans of a lover... you get the idea. But there are particular books that appear over time where the music is so vital it becomes a character unto itself.

One of my favourite of these is Ann McCaffrey's Dragonsong in the Harper Hall Trilogy. What magnificent writing. We root for the hero, Menolly, a girl who longs to play music, but what starts out as a craft turns into a relationship as important as any main character.

Ann McCaffrey's Dragonsong in the Harper Hall Trilogy

Another Fantasy book you may know is The Name of the Wind by Patrik Rothfuss. His main character also has a deep and sometimes tumultuous relationship to his music which is so well developed it has a soul of its own. Then there is Terry Brook with characters in the third book of the Shannara series, Brin and Jair, find, through their voices, that music IS the magic.

Others that come to mind are Alison Croggon's The Naming, about the slave girl Maerad who plays the lyre, and Peter V Brett's The Warded Man.

 Alison Croggon's The Naming,

My interest in these musical novels rises now as I edit my newest series, The Bone Throwers, where the original whistle bones, carved from the skeleton of King Er, become major characters alongside Marcus, Ash and Kaylin. 

"The black-robes carry a sack of bones—whale tooth, horse rib, bird wing, lizard hip, bat tail, water dragon, fossil – carved into whistles of varying pitch and etched with one of the steps to enlightenment. At birth, a Bone Throwers pulls twelve to cast, and how they fall makes up the child’s song, determining if they will live, become savant and raise a phantom, or be sacrificed to the sea…" 

If you want to throw the bones and gimps your own future, tap a black-robe savant on the shoulder. But remember, once set, you can't un-hear it.

Meanwhile, I'd love to know your thoughts on music in your favourite books. Urban fantasy characters, for example, often play contemporary songs on their iPods or laptops. And sometimes, an

Supernatural Underground author Terri Garey
with Jyrki Linnankav of The
69 Eyes

Urban Fantasy series will be so influential, songs will be written about it.

This happened to our own Terri Garey when the Finnish "goth-n-roll" band, The 69 Eyes, read her first UF release - Dead Girls Are Easy - which resulted in their debut single and video by the same name, all inspired by Terri's character, Nicki Styx.

Terri, is there anything you haven't done yet?

Watch the clip here.

* * *

Kim Falconer's latest novel is out now - The Blood in the Beginning - and Ava Sykes Novel.

Kim also runs GoodVibeAstrology.com where she teaches the law of attraction and astrology. 

Kim posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month, hosts Save the Day Writer's Community on FB and posts a daily astrology weather report on Facebook. 

S'up with the Sup Authors

Woman Warrior With Tiger by James Britto

Hi Everyone,

For my post this month, I wanted to do a bit of an update on all of us Sup authors to give you an idea of what's next for some of us, as well as a taste of the writer's life. There's a bit of diversity, but I confess, the first three words that came out of all our author's mouths when asked what they were up to was, "Writing. Writing. Writing."

Let's start with Amanda Arista

Amanda is currently working on a new Paranormal Mystery series and teaching creative writing through SMU. She is currently experimenting with new writing and life practices through her series on the blog called #2018YearOfTheNew.

You can chat with her on Twitter @Panterista and the Supernatural Blog on the 3rd of the month.

On to Helen Lowe

One thing I can tell you about Helen is, she's insanely busy, so much so, we should whisper when we speak her name, so as not to disturb. 

For example, she's working tirelessly on the fourth and final novel in The Wall Of Night series, and as any series writer will tell you, by the time you are on to number four, there are so many loose ends to tie up, so much history and worldbuilding to keep in place, and so many characters that all want to be the star of the final scene that it takes incredible focus and concentrations. 

Helen is also a conservationist, recently saving more than 1500 trees in New Zealand from destruction, including a 160-year-old weeping elm. She's also a poet and academic, writing posts regularly for her “…on Anything, Really” blog, and here at the Sup on the first of every month. You can chat her up on Twitter -  @helenl0we

Terri Garey's News

We're going to hear a lot more from Terri soon, but in her own words, she's ecstatic. Here's why: 

"I finally got the rights back to most of my books, and have some gorgeous new covers to share! Here's an example.

I’m actually REALLY excited by these covers, as they’re what I envisioned all along, and what gives the “Nicki Styx” series a consistency that the old covers never had."

"Healthwise, Terri's faced some challenges out of the blue and handled them with grace and wisdom:

I know it seems like I dropped off the face of the earth the last couple of years, but I’ve had multiple eye surgeries (including a detached retina), moved, and done a bit of traveling. Almost losing sight in one eye made me much more eager to get out from behind the computer and see more of the world!"

Here's her Amazon page where you can check them all out as they become available.  You can also follow her updates on Twitter  -  @TerriGarey

T. Frohock's Happenings

T.'s been busy as well!

In her recent update she said, "Last year, Harper Voyager purchased three novels in my Los Nefilim series. The first novel, WHERE OBLIVION LIVES, will be published in February 2019. 

The cover art just blew me away. It captures the surreal effect of Diago's nightmares, which are an on-going theme in the story. The striking imagery encompasses angels and broken nefilim and the dark sounds that follow them all.

I've been so MIA from the Supernatural Underground and not by choice. Between my full-time job and working on the novels, I've simply been pushed to the max in terms of time. I'm hoping to be back around soon with more posts. 

If you want to keep up with me, the best place is on Twitter,

@T_Frohock  or at my Blog."  Look's like T's also the 2018 Pitch Wars as a mentor! One busy Sup writer. 

News from Merrie Destefano

When I caught up with Merrie, she said:

"On July 21st, I'll be speaking on a panel at Comic-Con International about my self-published novel, Shade: The Complete Trilogy. Afterwards, I'll be signing books. Info about the panel is below and I hope to see y'all there! 

This upcoming Halloween, there will be an international celebration of the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. And with that comes a plethora of books and movies rejoicing this occasion. At this panel, listen to authors talk about the influence that Mary Shelley's writing had on their works and why people still obsess over Frankenstein. And watch as they talk about the monsters that never die in their own novels. 

Good luck sleeping that night! Panellists include me (Merrie Destefano - Shade series), Leslie S. Klinger (The New Annotated Frankenstein), Jonathan Maberry (Glimpse, V-Wars), Kiersten White (Bright We Burn and The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein), and Carrie Sessarego of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books."

Follow Merrie's adventures on @MerrieDestefano. Very Exciting!

And Finally, Moi?

Sin - named for the Sumerian Moon God

I'll be brief because, oh yea, #amwriting to a #deadline! 

You already know about the crazy-ass editing I'm doing right now, and the shift in Entangled's release date for The Bone Throwers. 

Yes, still changing the series over form 3rd person to 1st. I'm on page 410 of book two of three, so that's progress. ETD to my editor - October 2018. 

It's yoga, winter gardening and cat-walks in between hours of intensive work. I like to mix it up, to stay sane. Also, loving the keto diet (basically no sugar, grains or processed foods) so that's a great support too.

And, it's probably old news that the Amassia

Ra - named for the Egyptian Sun god

 series is under a pen name, AK Wilder. This story world is a collaboration after all so, A for Aaron, K for Kim and Wilder for our California family, one of the first settlers in Santa Cruz, my original home and heart.

You can keep tabs on the AK Wilder pages, or mail me, follow AK Wilder on Twitter and if you like cats, digital art, astrology and organic gardens, follow my @a.k.wilder on Instagram.  My two cat boys, Sin and Ra, feature heavily. :)

Now it's your turn. Let us know what you're up to, reading, eating, thinking, doing. We're all ears!

* * *

Kim Falconer's latest novel is out now - The Blood in the Beginning - and Ava Sykes Novel.

Kim also runs GoodVibeAstrology.com where she teaches the law of attraction and astrology. 

Kim posts here at the Supernatural Underground on the 16th of every month, hosts Save the Day Writer's Community on FB and posts a daily astrology weather report on Facebook. 

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. :-)
.

Now for the Big "Never Have I Ever" Reveal: (Drum Roll!)

.

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. "

--

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"

--

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

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

--
.
.

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!"

--

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!"
-- 

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"


--

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

We hope you all had fun guessing! :-)
.
--

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)
.

(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.

--

* 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:
.

* 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."
.

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.