“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” (The Shadow, Radio program from 1930’s)

Whether we write or read fiction, the underlying story almost always offers some kind of insight into the human heart. I think this is why we write and why we read.

Most people reading this blog are, I hunch, avid readers choosing romance first and other genres next. The promise of love transforming our lives allows hope into the deepest corners of our hearts. That promise is seductive (pun intended).

More good news. Romance can flourish in any world: dystopian, historical, contemporary, futuristic. Love can spring up between paranormal creatures and humans, between male and female, male and male, female and female.

As a former romance author, I have to admit that since I’ve gone to the dark side—writing psychological thrillers—I read far less romance these days. I still love the genre. When I need a little lightness, I often read my own romantic suspense novels for a laugh. Several scenes make me laugh out loud. Laughs in my dark, psychological thrillers come few and far between.

So why would anyone switch from writing books based on hope and write novels dealing with topics based on despair?

The best answer I can give is I don’t know. I can give several reasons:

• reading dark comic books as a very young kind,
• being traumatized by scary fairy tales,
• listening to The Shadow and other equally terrifying radio programs,
• crawling under school desks when missile-alert sirens went off,
• visiting an aunt and uncle who swore the earth would split open and the devil would lay claim to my soul if I was bad.

Honestly, though, none of these reasons separately or together touches the essence of my obsession about the darkness in the human heart.

I think, like most writers, I write the stories that won’t let me sleep. The stories that niggle at the back of my brain for months—maybe years—before I sit at my keyboard and tap in the first word. The stories that challenge me from the perspective of craft:

• Can I write characters who often have no redeemable qualities?
• Can I tell the story without resorting to melodrama and hyperbole?
• Can I hook readers by revealing some universal idea they can relate to?
• Can I find a worthy hero/ine to confront the antagonist?
• Can I avoid clichés?
• Can I tell a story that doesn’t end with HEA, but ends satisfactorily?
• Many more points lurk in my subconscious.

A couple of weeks ago, I took out the draft of my contemporary romance about a burned-out CEO who quits her job, moves to a boat to write the great American novel, and meets a knight in shining armor living on Camelot, the next slip over.

No kidding. He’s The Real Deal. He also happens to be something of a misfit—the title of my thriller series—and he’s a fun antidote to the darkness.

The Lost Days: The Misfit

Excerpt from The Lost Days, Book 2 in The MisFit Series

The sun’s eerie summer glow disoriented me as much as the headache hammering my skull. Or maybe my confusion came from the man seated next to me, his foot placed at the top of Dimitri’s spine. I gritted my teeth. Dimitri lay crumpled face down in the space behind the driver’s seat. His legs were folded under him like a penitent waiting for absolution.

The man in the front seat turned and flashed a mouthful of piano-white teeth. His piercing blue eyes glittered. I stared. Without the baseball cap, his copper-colored hair glowed in the golden evening light.

He laughed as if I’d said something funny. “For a boy who killed his mother three months ago, you have a face that borders on transparent.”

“You-you’re not American.”

“And you’re not Finnish—despite your mother.”

Involuntarily, I snorted.

Nostrils flaring, he cuffed my right temple with his knuckles. “I already know what you think of your mother.”

My ears rang. Involuntarily, my fingers flexed and twitched as if I’d been electrocuted. I wanted to hit him. Smash his face. Kick his Finnish teeth down his throat.

“We are going to see,” he said, “just how tough you are.”

A B Plum simply loves to write. Being a public librarian and a teacher of adolescent boys, she gleaned enough ideas for novels until she’s a hundred. Developing high-tech marketing materials provided an opportunity to hone her fiction skills and fuel that dark side. She now lives off the fast lane in Silicon Valley.

The Lost Days, Book 2 of The MisFit Series is about an eleven-year-old boy on the path to becoming a psychopath. Grab your FREE copy on my website.

A B Plum . . . writes chilling psychological thrillers.
The MisFit Series -The Early Years, Book 1 – The Lost Years, Book 2
Website: www.abplum.com

https://www.facebook.com/ABPlumwriter/
Email: ab@abplum.com
amazon.com/author/abplum

Bet you didn’t know that Valentine’s Day got its start in the Roman Empire with some public BDSM. That’s right. The feast of Lupercalia involved women lining up along the streets so men could run along and whip them with strips of animal hide (preferably goat or dog).

The ritual was supposed to increase female fertility and there’s actually no telling how far back in history this tradition might have started. A lottery followed the whipping with women’s names drawn from a jar by young men. Thus matched, the couple had sex for the rest of the three-day festival (Feb 13-15). (More on Lupercalia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupercalia

The name Valentine got connected with this sex orgy during the third century when Emperor Claudius II executed a priest named Valentine for secretly continuing to marry couples despite the emperor’s command that marriages must cease. Married men didn’t want to join the army and leave their families behind and Claudius needed more soldiers. The bludgeoning and beheading of Valentine occurred on February 14.

A little over the top on the BDSM there, Claudius.

Fast forward through a few more machinations of church and state to the Middle Ages when Chaucer and Shakespeare took up this old legend and made it more romantic. Lovers in those times crafted handmade paper cards to exchange as tokens of love. By 1913, the tradition had become so popular that Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Missouri started mass producing Valentine cards and commercial marketing took over.

In case you haven’t noticed, Valentine’s Day has become a major event on social calendars around the world. Sales reached nearly $18 BILLION last year and will likely continue to rise as everything from cards to chocolates to flowers to jewels makes the day a business success. And woe to the lover who fails to participate!

A little basic BDSM Roman style is my gift to you this Valentine’s Day. Use this 50% off coupon code DZ42S for the first of my two-book story of Caerwin, a young Celtic lass captured by a Roman tribune and taught to appreciate his, um, discipline. Don’t wait—coupon expires on the 14^th.

Here’s the link:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/611102

Want to wow all your friends with more about Valentine’s Day history? Check out:
https://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133693152/the-dark-origins-of-valentines-day
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/st-valentine-beheaded

Want some fun ideas about homemade gifts, probably nicer than what lovers were doing in the Middle Ages? Check out heart-shaped foods at:
https://tiphero.com/30-valentines-day-treats/.

Or how about cute homemade gifts?
https://www.buzzfeed.com/pippa/40-diy-valentines-day-gifts-theyll-actually-want-5ocb?utm_term=.qqakWOK4Aj#.mnJ3nerMab

Or here:
https://www.woohome.com/diy-2/25-easy-diy-valentines-day-gift-and-card-ideas

Most of all, love YOU this Valentine’s Day with a special treat,
maybe a nice sexy book?

Thank you for hosting me again, Delilah.  I always enjoy stopping by your blog. Today, I have a confession for your readers.

I cannot stand silence.

Silence has weight. A crushing pressure that I cannot think through. I need something with a cadence or beat that I can tune out, otherwise, I focus on every creak, drip, or thump my house makes. Whether I’m working or reading, I need something in the background my brain can ignore.

Despite being of the MTV generation, I didn’t see a lot of music videos growing up.  My family didn’t have cable and until I was in high school we only had 1 TV in the house controlled by my dad. I listened to the radio with advertising spots every ten minutes or played cassette tapes.

Fortunately, I had an awesome friend who made me artist playlists and themed compilations.

In college, I discovered New Age music.  I preferred to work to synthesized ambient and space music over nature sounds. But sometimes I’d go to sleep to a thunderstorm.  Other times I’d listen to instrumental soundtracks. The first year of college, all I listened to was the Terminator 2: Judgement Day soundtrack.

When I read, I usually have the TV on.  I’m a bit of a TV junkie about drama shows like NCIS and Once Upon a Time. On the weekend, I’ll watch baseball or NASCAR. (Don’t judge, I have two car crazy boys in the house) Just something to have on while I do other things.

Before I start writing a story, one of my first tasks is to complete a playlist. I try to select 20 to 25 songs but it varies depending on the story.  I mix classical, new age, soundtrack and pop music based on what I think will fit the story. Sometimes I have specific songs for characters and sometimes the music reminds me of the emotion I want to convey.

This is the playlist for my latest novella, Tethered, which releases Tuesday, February 14, 2017.

You can listen to the playlist here:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvG3phTNj4isHUMtgOSs6AFUaIpq8ooVn

I only played The Vengeful One when I channeled my villain. According to my software, I played Radioactive the most. My story takes place in the fall between September and October which explains why a few of the songs have September in the title.

I think of my heroine, Evelyn whenever Something Wild plays. She is a Peregrine falcon shifter who is also an Aquarius. Being in the air, flying, is what she longs for. Riding the currents, living life is her calling.

Are you a Silence person or a background noise person?

Zodiac Shifters: Tethered

Releases Feb. 14, 2017

For over one hundred years, Evelyn Brooks experienced the world through her photography. Now her creativity has deserted her and a stalker drove her from her home. Looking for a new sanctuary, she moved to North Carolina. Exploring the skies of her new home, a bolt of magic knocks her falcon form from the air.

Park ranger Lawke Morgan’s already bad day got worse when his ex-wife dropped off their 13 year old daughter and left for a vacation in London. Dealing with his daughter is nothing compared to discovering magic and shapeshifters exist when a Peregrine falcon he rescued transforms before his eyes. Then his daughter is kidnapped by an Aztec priest after Evelyn.

In exchange for one of Evelyn’s early pictures, located in the small town of Willows Haven, the priest will free Lawke’s daughter. He will do anything to get his daughter back, even break the law. But magic has a way of entangling people together whether they want to be or not. To rescue his daughter, they must confront blood sacrifices, ancient gods and their own inability to trust.

Can a woman used to the freedom of the skies embrace love with a man firmly rooted on the ground?

Excerpt

Evelyn Brooks raced across a purple-tinged sky. Behind her, lightning and thunder clashed within baleful clouds. Her wings dipped in a strong crosswind and plunged her toward the earth. Muscling through the gale, she climbed into a less turbulent current. She’d never make Raleigh before getting soaked, despite the speed her Peregrine form achieved.

A ferocious roar drowned out the whistle of the wind. The upward flap of her wings faltered, and her blood chilled. Turning into a different current, she glimpsed the silhouette of an enormous beast against the storm’s clouds.

Below her, the treetops of a deciduous forest with red-kissed leaves due to an early frost stood sentry. She took shelter within the branches of an oak tree.

The whoosh of wings induced Evelyn to shrink against the tree trunk and dig her talons into the bark as the limbs swayed. A strong crosswind contorted the tree further. Another roar challenged the incoming storm’s might and silenced the nighttime creatures.

Twisting her head, she glanced through the foliage into the cloud-filled sky. A dark shadow moved against the dark gray backdrop. Gigantic wings lifted a massive creature high into the sky.

Hunted until extinct, dragons had been stripped of their scales and blood, their magic forever lost to the supernatural communities. For eons they’d guarded and sheltered those seeking wisdom or healing until humans, who couldn’t control their desires, rampaged across the earth and destroyed all the sanctuaries.

Apparently, the purge hadn’t destroyed them all, and the approaching storm had disturbed this one’s slumber.

Moving to the East Coast was supposed to keep Evelyn safe. Free her of the disturbing sense that someone watched her. Maybe stimulate her creativity and spark a burst of artistry. Instead, she was denied the escape of flight and forced to hide.

Buy Links
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Tethered-Shifters-Paranormal-Romance-Aquarius-ebook/dp/B01NH9KZT9/
Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/tethered-17

Author Links
Website: https://BethCaudill.net/
Newsletter: https://eepurl.com/fs6SU
Pinterest:  https://pinterest.com/bethcaudill13/
Twitter:  https://www.twitter.com/beth_caudill/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBethCaudill
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/bethcaudill

Hi, I’m Melanie Jayne, romance writer, punctuation rules hater, and human servant to two mastiffs. When I’m not filling food bowls or throwing the Kong, I’m usually thinking about writing: story ideas, things to do, and awesome phrases seem to pop into my head all of the time.

When I was washing the dog bowls earlier today, I started to think about secondary characters in some of my favorite books. You know the best friend, the smart butler, and the ever put upon secretary. Then I took that a step farther and thought about which of my friends would make good secondary characters and how they would influence my heroine?

There is Anna who sounds like she smokes six packs of cigarettes a day and raised six kids. She has seen it all and nothing surprises her. Definitely a possibility because she would be unflappable and a mature voice of reason.

Melanie is the all-around most intelligent person that I have ever met. She knows a little bit about everything. The perfect go to partner when my heroine wants to do something sneaky or for business advice.

Jeff is one of the best dressed men in my city and can tell a fantastic story. He is the perfect person to invite out when you need to have fun or when you need an opinion about what to wear. What woman doesn’t need this kind of friend?

Lastly, but definitely not least, there is David. Complicated, intelligent, and loyal. He would be the heroine’s choice for when she needed a shoulder to cry on or someone to bail her out of a jam. He is a definite possibility to get his own book.

So as I finished drying the food bowl, I realized how lucky I am to be surrounded by such great people. I can depend on them and they add to the richness of my life, plus as a writer they give me great ideas.

Please check out my writing, which features older characters “Because Love Doesn’t Stop at 35.”

www.ReadMelanieJayne.com
https://www.facebook.com/ReadMelanieJayne
https://www.facebook.com/MelanieJayneauthor/?fref=ts
Twitter– @MJSmut

To Purchase You Only- https://amzn.to/2j0LghI

My name is Stefan Wyemore and I’m the High Alpha of the Northwest Territories. If I could snort here, I would. That sounds so high-and-mighty. What it really means is that I get to listen to every complaint and gripe everyone in the northwestern area has and figure out how to make shifters of all sorts, covens and hybrids live together in peace. It’s a nasty job, but my folks thought I was up to the job. They’re technically the leaders, but they live in Florida with the packs and prides there and ceded this place to me. Gee, thanks, folks.

Don’t get me wrong. I love it here. The mountains are incredible. We don’t have anything like that in Florida, that’s for sure. And if I hadn’t had this job, I wouldn’t have met Mali, my mate and the woman I can’t imagine life without. Though it wasn’t easy convincing her.

Mali is an amazing woman. She’s a hybrid, like me, someone who can both shift and do magic. Fortunately, we’re both feline shifters, which makes our bond even stronger. I knew as soon as I met her that we were mates, but it took a little longer for her to accept it. She’s been through a lot in her life. I can’t imagine never belonging somewhere. My folks and where I grew up were so accepting of everyone. But here, it’s not quite as open. In fact, I had to take out four betas who were lording it over their packs like they were gods or something. They quickly learned I don’t go for that. Yes, I’m an alpha and my word is law, but laws have to be tempered with compassion and acceptance. And theirs weren’t. I will not allow bigotry to spread in my packs and prides. We are all shifters. It doesn’t matter if we’re feline, canine, bovine, or something else. Shifters are shifters. And mage-shifters are even better.

That’s what Mali and I are—mage-shifters. Not only do we shift, but we can do magic. My affinity is with the elements while hers is with healing. Because of what we are, maybe others will learn what acceptance is.

Anyway, Lion’s Choice is our story. Or rather, a part of our story. It’s about how Malena and I met and how we became mates. It’s got shifters and witches, yes, but don’t be surprised if a ghost or two shows up too. My grandmother likes to interfere in my life, even if she’s not still around. Sigh. Like I said, the life of the High Alpha is not an easy one, but with Mali at my side, I can tackle anything.

Lion’s Choice

Stefan the Black, alpha of the northwestern territories, needs a strong mate. It’s the only way the prides and packs will continue to follow him, but he hasn’t found the right one yet. Then Dr. Malena Troutman literally runs into him and he and his beast know that she is the one.

The problem is convincing her.

Malena wants nothing to do with prides or packs. As a half-breed—part witch, part shifter—she’s been shunned by both shifters and witches alike. But her beast wants Stefan, and so does the human part of her. Still, can she trust him not to turn her away, especially once he learns her secret?

But Stefan has more than a few secrets of his own, not the least of which is… he’s also got magic running through his blood. It’s up to him to convince the packs and prides that their prejudices are hurting the prides. Ruling a large area of multiple packs and prides takes a lot of balancing—funds, people, emergencies, and more. But with Malena by his side, Stefan turns things around and both beasts find contentment.

EXCERPT:
“Is there a problem?”

Malena looked up—something that didn’t happen too often—to find a man with raven hair and eyes the color of deep sapphires looking down at her. She immediately recognized him. She could never forget that face or his scent. Her lion grew restless, and Mali fought to stay in control. He wore cut-off jean shorts and a deep blue tee, exposing impressive muscles, but not body-builder bulk. These were the lean, long ones of a lethal animal.

“Oh! Alpha Stefan, it’s nothing. Just a computer mix-up with Miss Troutman’s reservation. I’m sure we can find someone who will take her in.”

Alpha Stefan? Damn. Of course he would be the alpha. “That’s Doctor Troutman, and I’d rather not be crammed into someone’s family room with screaming kids running all around.” Mali let a little of her irritation show in her voice.

“What about a separate bedroom with a private bath and no screaming kids?”

She hesitated the briefest of seconds before nodding. She wondered if he had orchestrated this glitch, along with the invitation. “That’s what I was hoping for.”

Not only did her lioness approve, but so did the witch side of her. That in itself was odd enough for her to pay attention.

“Where are your bags, Doctor Troutman?” He smiled at her, a grin of both invitation and consideration.

“Just this.” She indicated a regulation-sized pull-along. “The rest are still in my truck, though I have no idea where that is at the moment.”

“In the parking area. I can have one of the valets retrieve your things for you if you wish.”

“Thank you. They’re rather important, and some need to be handled with care. I’m teaching a class here tomorrow. If you could show me my room, and where my truck might be, I’ll get them myself.” She hesitated. Damn. She’d given orders to the alpha. Could she stuff her foot any further into her mouth? Her face grew warm. “My apologies, Alpha Stefan. If I’d known—”

“If you’d known, I think you would still need to handle your bags with care. Shall we?” He offered his arm and took her bag in one hand.

“I can carry that myself,” she said, not wanting to put the alpha out any more than she already had.

“I’m sure you can. I was merely being polite.”

She blew out a sigh and took his arm. “Thank you, Alpha Stefan. I appreciate the help. So where is this room I can have?”

He stepped into the elevator and punched the button for the fifth floor. “My apartment.”

***

Stefan enjoyed the look of pure shock on the woman’s face. As soon as he’d told her where they were going, she’d dropped her hand and stepped away from him. This was not a woman who used feminine wiles to capture a man. She wanted nothing to do with him. It showed in her stiff shoulders, crossed arms, tight mouth, and narrowed eyes. He kept a neutral look on his face but smiled inwardly. She intrigued him on many levels. He discovered he was actually looking forward to the challenge she offered.

Malena Troutman. The lion within him was practically purring, and so was the man.

Available from Liquid Silver Publishing, Amazon, B&N, and other fine sellers
Where to find me: https://burkholv.wordpress.com
https://thewholeshebangsite.wordpress.com

Enjoy an excerpt from Lindsay McKenna’s latest release, Snowflake’s Gift!

A Delos Series novella

SOMETIMES A CHRISTMAS GIFT DOESN’T COME IN A PACKAGE….IT COMES ON FOUR LEGS….

Snow was coming down hard in town as Nick drove the van toward the shut-in area at four p.m. The smell of spaghetti and buttered, garlic toast filled the vehicle. Myra had made sweet potato cupcakes for dessert, and he stole one before they left the charity facility. It was nearly Thanksgiving and he was looking forward to taking Holly to his folks place for the afternoon and evening. The wipers were rhythmically swinging back and forth, throwing off the heavy, wet flakes. The roads were salted, but still Nick was wary of invisible black ice. In the late afternoon the heat of the day was gone and things got slick real fast.

“Oh dear,” Holly called, sitting up, pointing out her passenger-side window. “Look, Nick!”

Snowflake, who stood between them, heard the pitch of her voice change, and whined.

Nick slowed and pulled over to the curb, then looked to where she was pointing. There was a yellow Labrador moving awkwardly through the belly deep snow between two brick buildings. Her ribs were prominent even though she had a short, thick winter coat on. “She’s starving,” he muttered, scowling. “It looks like a female Lab. She’s too dainty looking to be a male.”

“She’s terribly thin,” Holly said, worried. “I wonder if someone dumped her—they do that all the time around here. I hate it.”

“No collar on her, either,” Nick agreed. The Lab was about a hundred-feet down the alley between the two buildings, slugging it out with the snow. Nick heard Holly make a little sound of urgency. She had such a big heart, and she hated to see animals or humans suffer.

Nick knew she wanted to get out and try to call the dog over to her. From the looks of the animal, her light-brown eyes wild looking, tongue lolling out of her mouth, her fur matted, he intuitively knew this was a dog that had been left behind a long time ago to fend for herself.

“She’s feral,” he warned Holly. She turned, her huge, blue eyes filled with tears. “She won’t let us near her. I’m sorry.” And he was. It wouldn’t be the first dog dumped here that Nick had found, or that Holly had come upon around the building of one of her shut-ins. They had a no-kill shelter here, and this Lab would have had a warm place to stay, food, and care if they could befriend her.

“Can’t we do something for her, Nick?”

LINKS
BN.com
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/snowflakes-gift-lindsay-mckenna/1125267515?ean=2940156794072
Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N994DJF?ref_=pe_2427780_160035660
Kobo.com
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/snowflake-s-gift

iBooks/Apple
https://linkmaker.itunes.apple.com/en-us/details/1179641291?country=us&mediaType=books&term=Snowflake%27s+Gift+by+Lindsay+McKenna

Tantor Media Audio:
https://tantor.com/author/lindsay-mckenna.html

Coming to the end of a series is both exciting and sad.  It’s a lot like graduating from school.  I’m excited to move on to new adventures but sad to be leaving old friends behind

The Rose series started when I heard the song KISSED BY A ROSE, sung by Seal.  The words from the chores inspired me.  “I might compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grave.”  I heard those words and had a flash of a grave in winter with its headstone half buried and a blood red rose resting on the snow.  This vision and my background in politics combined to form the foundation for the series.

I have been a staffer for two different congressmen, a campaign consultant for numerous campaigns, and I have substituted for my Representative in the Idaho legislature.  I pulled a lot from my experience to write the political parts of the three books.  The three political issues my characters have to deal with are real and have either been reviewed by interim committees or actually debated in the legislature. The supernatural parts of the story were the most fun to write.  How would a legislator explain that he was being haunted?  It’s not something you want to advertise to your constituents or let your opponents catch wind of.

The hardest part of finishing this series is saying goodbye to characters who have been in my head for years.  I had the idea for these stories for quite some time before I ever sat down to type the first line.  Like many writers I know a lot more about my characters than the parts that made it onto the page.  Not all of a character’s back story fits into the series but it is still information that I as an author need to know in order to create a well-rounded and believable character.  They are like real people to me.  Many Sundays when I sang hymns in church I would check the date of the song, and if it was before 1882, I often wondered if Rose would have sung this one.  At least I have the satisfaction of tying up the loose ends and giving my characters the happy ever after that they all deserved.

Do you every miss characters when you finish reading a book and know there will be no new adventures?

Augustina Van Hoven
Proving Love is Strange

THE KISS OF A ROSE
THE THORN OF A ROSE
THE BLOOM OF A ROSE – Available March 14th

www.augustinavanhoven.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Augustina-Van-Hoven-Author/336028986575129
Twitter:  @augustinavhoven
Pinterest: Augustina Van Hoven, Author

The Bloom of a Rose

Rachel Bartlett doesn’t expect to meet the man of her dreams at a funeral.  But a chance conversation with Paul Miller inserts her in a political game between good and evil.  Unfortunately, her political strategist mother has other plans for her, and they don’t include romance.  Paul is the exact wrong guy for her, but sometimes it takes someone from the opposition to show you the way out of the maze.

Paul Miller is fighting battles on multiple fronts, and he doesn’t have time for an infatuation with a liberal graphic artist, no matter how blue her eyes or how sharp her wit.  If his trust is misplaced, then a wrong move loses the game.

What the couple doesn’t know is that they are not alone.  Supernatural beings battle behind the scenes—and humans are all pawns on a chessboard.  The outcome of the game will determine not only what the future might be…but whether or not there even is one.

Available March 14th