An early Christmas present

WINNERS: The winners of Power Unbound have been drawn, thanks to Random.org. Congrats to Stacy from Urban Fantasy Investigations and Heatwave16 - you've both won a copy of Power Unbound! Email nicole@nicolermurphy.com and send me your address so I can it to you.

Everyone - have a fabulous Christmas!

No, I'm not referring to the time difference between snow-plagued North America and sunny Australia, although think about it - isn't it just a little bit weird that some of you will still be doing your last-minute-shopping on Christmas Eve or trying to finish that last project so your boss will let you go when Aussie kids will be standing at the foot of their parents' bed trying to psych them into waking up?

Well, I think it's weird :)

No, what I'm referring to is the present I received five days ago - the early release of Power Unbound, book two of the Dream of Asarlai trilogy.

I knew it was a possibility - publishing like most businesses tends to shut down over Christmas and so books with a January 1 release date (like mine) need to be delivered early. And if you're a bookseller and it's Christmas rush and you've got boxes of books in the back, would you leave them there until New Years?

Luckily for me, a lot don't and so they're out and about. Already I've had reports of people reading them. My mum said she loved it so much, she stayed up all night and didn't go to bed until 1.30!

Here's the blurb:

For centuries, the gadda have worked to keep their identity secret from the rapidly expanding human race. All this is now at risk - the most terrible of gadda teachings, the Forbidden Texts, have been stolen and the race is on to find them.

Ione Gorton may have got her best friend back from Australia, but Maggie's elevation to the ranks of the guardians means that she's not around as much. So when Stephen O'Malley, almost the youngest - and definitely the hottest - ever candidate for the sixth-order test needs a place to stay after strange and violent happenings hit Sclossin, Ione is all too happy to lend a hand...

But Ione, like Maggie before her, is soon a target for those using the Forbidden Texts. The missing artefact is changing life for gadda and human alike...

Now I know - unless you people folks overseas are prepared to fork out the big money for Australian books (Power Unbound retails for $23 here - convert to your currency, add postage and I don't blame you for not forking out) you can't get your hands on it yet so as a Christmas/New Years present for you, I'm giving away two copies!

Just let me know in the comment thread what your wish is for this holiday season. Open internationally. I'll choose a winner Christmas Eve.

My wish? Right now, all my family and friends are happy and healthy and I hope they stay that way for a long time to come.

From Down-Under - hope the next couple of weeks are fun, friendly and happy :) May 2011 be a rip snorter for us all!

Death's Sweet Embrace - Trailer

The release of my second Dark Brethren novel - DEATH'S SWEET EMBRACE is looming large as it comes out in a little over a month. Here is a little if what the reviews have been saying so far.

“Death’s Sweet Embrace, book 2 in the Dark Brethren series, is an action packed thrill ride filled with non-stop action, mystery and a touch of romance. Truly a unique view in the paranormal genre that shouldn't be missed.”

-Black Lagoon Reviews

“Death's Sweet Embrace is another intriguing and sexy novel from the Dark Brethern series. The first, Night's Cold Kiss left readers in a trance with the creative storyline and beautiful romance that Tracey O'Hara has created. Fans will be far from disappointed with this installment as the paranormal world only deepens and the romance is just as sexy.”

-Nocturne Romance Reads 

"What great read if you are a Urban Fantasy/PNR fan! I read Tracey's first book (Night's Cold Kiss) and thought it was good for a debut. Tracey O'Hara has out done herself with this one. DSE has a complex story line with lots of characters that all come together for a "OMG I didn't see that coming" twist at the end ." 

From our very own regular Supernatural Underground reader Sharon Stogner on Goodreads.

And here is the Trailer.

My Top Ten Christmas Movies

CONTEST WINNER:
CONTEST IS CLOSED!

I ran all of the comments through Random.org to decide the winner. However, the world must have accidentally tilted sideways at the same moment because my first winner (Danielle Gorman) actually won two online contests, with the same prize, at the same time. So much for all this randomness! Apparently, the universe is fixed. Danielle graciously consented to let me choose another person for this contest. So now, with much fanfare, the true and final winner is:

Catrina Bradley. CONGRATULATIONS! Yay to all winners, near and far!

ORIGINAL POST:
By Merrie Destefano
I go on a mad mission during this time of year. I feel I must watch each and every one of my favorite holiday movies or I won’t be able to get in the spirit. So, since we're in the midst of the December, I thought I would share a list of my favorites:


1. It’s a Wonderful Life
I first saw this in a film class in college. First, we all heard the story behind the movie—how Jimmy Stewart wanted to quit acting, but the director convinced him to star in one more movie—then we saw the film. We all sat, crowded into it an auditorium, and I couldn’t help but think that this was how movie-goers saw this for the film for the first time. I fell in love with the movie and have loved it ever since.

2. The Bishop’s Wife
Who wouldn’t enjoy watching Cary Grant bumble around as a dangerously handsome angel, falling in love with a woman he’s supposed to be helping. Loretta Young glistens as the object of his affection, albeit always faithful to her husband, the bishop.

3. While You Were Sleeping
Sandra Bullock rescues the man she thinks she loves, although he falls immediately into a coma. In the process, she finds herself enchanted with his family—and his brother, played by Bill Pullman—and for the first time in years, she doesn’t feel lonely on Christmas. This one melts my heart every single time I watch it.

4. Christmas in Connecticut
Did I love this movie because the main character was a writer? In retrospect, it’s hard to say, but over the years this story of a columnist, Barbara Stanwyck, who must pretend she is a great cook and homemaker (I can relate to that dilemma) has become one of my favorites.

5. Home Alone
He’s a brat and he needs a spanking and, yet, you find yourself rooting for Macaulay Culkin before his family even lands in Paris. Completely alone, unless you count that dastardly tarantula (shivers), Culkin sets a trap for holiday thieves that makes me laugh until my sides hurt. Every. Single. Time. I. Watch.

6. Meet Me in St. Louis
Judy Garland at her most charming. She sings, she dances, she falls in love—literally. Her director in this film was her future husband, Vincente Minelli, and this was the first time the two of them met. This tale of a family who lives in turn-of-the-century St. Louis captures al the romance of the era.

7. Scrooged
For some reason, this is my favorite version of A Christmas Carol. Starring Bill Murray and Karen Allen (remember her from Raider’s of the Lost Ark?) star as lovers who went their separate ways years ago. Murray went on to become a lonely, wealthy TV executive, while Allen became a tender-hearted social worker who runs the local homeless shelter. Murray is given a second chance when their paths cross again.


8. Little Women
My favorite version of this movie stars Claire Danes, Winona Ryder, Christian Bale and Kirsten Dunst. Set during the Civil War, this tale of a young woman who wants to be a writer is heart-warming, to say the least. Of course, I never could figure out why Jo (Ryder) didn’t fall in love with Laurie (Bale), but then I can’t figure out why Bella doesn’t love Jacob either.

9. Elf
Adorable. Simply adorable. Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel (one of my favorite actresses) are just so cute in this film about a real, live elf who leaves the North Pole to find his true father. By the end of the movie you just want to give Ferrell a big hug.

10. The Family Man
A little bit like A Christmas Carol, this film stars Nicholas Cage as a rich man who gets a chance to see what his life might have been like, if he had made different choices along the way. Also starring Tea Leoni, one reason I love this show is the fact that it adds that element of an alternate universe—and I do love alternate universes.

So, I encourage you to share your favorite holiday movie with us in the comment section below. I will give away a signed copy of AFTERLIFE: THE RESURRECTION CHRONICLES to one commenter, chosen at random.

Game Rules:
To enter to win, please post a comment below and include your e-mail address. Entries without e-mail addresses won’t be included in the giveaway. You can earn points by:

+1 Posting in the comments section
+3 Linking to this post on Twitter
+3 Linking to this post on Facebook
+1 Linking to the Supernatural Underground blog on your own blog/website
+5 Following me on Twitter
+5 Following me on Facebook
10 Following my blog

Just post the total number of points that you’ve earned in your comment. Contest ends Thursday, December 30, at midnight. Winners to be announced in this post Friday, December 31.

Supernatural Stocking Stuffers From The Underground

CONGRATULATIONS to Shirley Eisworth, Stacy Maynard, Jessica Stewart, Shiloh Tolbert, Stephanie Christine, Beverly Gordon, Mindy Janicke, Ashly Ferguson, Joni Guldenpfennig, Rosalie Drawbaugh, Lynn Rush, Deborah Devaney, Shelly Tallent, Samantha Duncan, Teri Crosby, Colleen Kosinski, Van Pham, Raelena Pavey, Danielle Gorman, Sandy Giden, Cindy McCune, Crystal Broyles, Sheree Tieh, Vivien Propst, and Casey Harris-Parks!  Buttons and bookmarks will be in the mail this week!!  MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Supernatural Underground!

Ho, ho, ho!  Merry Christmas, all you Supernatural Undergrounders, and have I got a package for you!

What? No, wait... not that package... get your mind out of the snow gutter, you deranged little lovers of things that go bump in the night!  Somebody might think you've been reading too many stories of hunks like this dropping down your chimney, unaffected by the cold despite his bare chest, slipping under the covers to warm you from head to toe, bearing diamond rings, hot chocolate with marshmellows, and an enormous... um... candy cane.

Ah... fantasy makes the world go round, doesn't it?  :)

No, today I really do come bearing gifts (and you can include that little visual as one of them), of the Supernatural Underground persuasion:

We'll choose 25 people from those who send their mailing address to booksthatgobump@gmail.com, and we'll mail them one of these awesome 2" square buttons that say "I Read Books That Go Bump In The Night". Pin to your winter coat, your backpack, your bookbag, your stocking (or wherever you'd like to pin it to proclaim your love of awesome reading material), or use it as a stocking stuffer for someone else you know. We'll even throw in an assortment of cool bookmarks from Underground authors like Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, Kerrelyn Sparks, Sophie Jordan, Leah Cypess and me (Terri Garey) with every pin we give away!

Remember, you must send your mailing address FIRST to booksthatgobump@gmail.com (which will save us from having to track down 25 winners and get their addresses later; rest assured your address will NOT be used or shared in any other way), but you can up your chances of winning by leaving a comment, retweeting, Facebooking the link, or just shouting it from the rooftops (maybe you'll find a half-naked elf up there, just waiting to slip down that chimney... but I digress.)

At any rate, 'tis better to give than to receive, and today I'm in a giving mood!  Get your goodies while they're sizzling hot! (Just like today's eye candy.)  :)

Discovering Characters or Cutting Out Pictures 101

Every writer has his or her own method of finding the characters who will inhabit their books. For the most part, these characters are creations of our imaginations, but imaginations often need sparks and these sparks can come from anything--someone we know, a dream, a character in a movie or television program, a stranger we stand behind in the Starbucks line, even ourselves.


One of the best ways I've found to discover my characters is to flip through magazines and employ a skill I mastered in kindergarten--the art of cutting out pictures. Sometimes I have a character in mind and I look for a picture that's a good representation. I find having the pictures by my laptop when I write can be incredibly helpful. Sometimes I'm not sure who the character is and I flip through pictures until I find him or her.

Now, I want to clarify--I'm not looking for an exact representation. Sometimes the character in my head will look exactly like the one in the picture, but far more often, it's a look in the eye or an expression that is similar. Something beyond the surface description.

I can't entirely explain how this works, but when I see the right picture, I know it. Often, I've thought I understood who a character was until I found her picture and through it discovered an entirely new depth to her personality. The right picture speaks to me, the person in it leaping off the page, ready to tell me his or her story. Yes, I know it's crazy , but no one ever said there was anything normal about a writer's brain (especially a fiction writer's brain).

Scattered throughout this article are pictures that have inspired some of my characters. Some are pictures that simply call to me. Yes, most of these are of movie stars we all know too well, but again, it's not about the person. It's about the look. There's a vulnerability in Jennifer Garner's picture, a toughness in Natalie Portman's, an easy confidence in Reese Witherspoon's that each inspire a different character. The guys...well, they tend to inspire me in an entirely different way. But when I look at them, I don't see Clive or Hugh or Josh. I see emotions, personalities. Stories.

In magazine cut-outs I often find the windows to my characters' souls.

Holiday Treats for Readers (and a Contest)

*** CONTEST WINNER is ONGE. Congrats! I will email you for details. ***

Christmas is always (supposed to be) a magical time of giving and sharing, and every year I try to carry over that spirit into my writing world by creating special treats for my readers. Two years ago I wrote a short story called "The Twelve Days of Stella" starring one of the secondary characters in Oh. My. Gods. (I now have that story available as a PDF download on my website, if anyone's interested.)

Not only was writing and sharing the story fun, but I got to reveal a little bit of Stella's hidden character by visiting her point of view. I love writing bad characters and finding ways to make people love them anyway.

Last year and then again this year I created virtual advent calendars. Last year readers got a new Forgive My Fins teaser sentence each day. This year, every day reveals a new piece of the unreleased excerpt from my upcoming sequel, Fins Are Forever, and on the last day you can request an extended excerpt as a PDF via email.

I love giving readers a little extra for playing along. The excerpt as revealed in the advent calendar will be posted on my site soon, but the extended excerpt is exclusive for those who get to the end of the calendar.

But, although the advent calendar is fun, I think I need to give a little more this holiday season (building up good karma points for a great 2011). I think I need to write another short story. To that end, I have poll going on my personal blog, and I'm letting you, the reader, pick which story I write. Get over there and vote and then stay tuned for short story fun!

Before you go, though, a little contest. Comment with the best holiday treat you've ever gotten from an author (or one you'd like to get) for a chance to win Forgive My Fins.

Hugs,
TLC

teralynnchilds.com
@teralynnchilds

Ascension... The Cover

Edit: We have a winner of the signed Ascension cover flat! Patricia Lynne Please contact us at sablegrace@ymail.com with mailing instructions and who you'd like it signed for. Thanks everyone for sharing the cover's debut with us!

Yesssssss Undergrounders! We have a cover to go along with that whole Sable who??? issue. Isn't she grand??

FROM THE BACK COVER:

The gates of hell have opened, and one woman will stand in the crossfire as the Dark Breed -- vampyre, demons, shape shifters -- and mankind fight their last battle for survival.

Kyana is half Vampyre, half Lychen... and the last of her kind. Determined, dangerous, and damned, she has no love for the mortals who have imprisoned and misused her. But when the Order of Ancients entrusts her with a mission -- to find the key that will send the Dark Breed back into Hell for eternity -- Kyana has no choice but to accept.

She is furious to learn her assignment comes with an escort... Ryker, a demigod and fierce warrior who long ago found a way under her skin and stayed there. In a shaky alliance, they discover an ancient cult with dangerous motive and a god who seeks to destroy all others. And as Kyana begins to feel the heat that threatens to bind her to Ryker, she knows she has to resist. For it could only mean the undoing of them both...

Comment to win a signed cover flat! We have a bunch to give away!