Contest Winners and Guest Blogger, Joss Ware

And now, for the big Killer Fiction Contest Winner announcement.

The winner of the Kindle is JODY FALTYS!!!!!!

Jody did a fabulous job of spreading the word about the Killer Fiction Contest and we're delighted that someone who worked so hard was drawn from the huge stack of entries!

The daily winners are as follows:
Mon, Jan 10th Pat Cochran
Tues, Jan 11th Gwynlyn MacKenzie
Wed, Jan 12th Cassy Campbell
Thu, Jan 13th Oregon Sunshine
Fri, Jan 14th Cathie Caffey
Sat, Jan 15th Estella
Mon, Jan 17th Judy who posted at 4:25 PM
Tues, Jan 18th Susan Mo
Wed, Jan 19th Terri Osburn
Thu, Jan 20th Terri Osburn
Fri, Jan 21st Cricket

Additional giveaways for Tues. Jan 18th for the following posters: Margay, Cherie J., Brandy
Choose any one book from Christie Craig's backlist. See her website for information on all her books.

All daily winners and Christie Craig additional winners, please contact Jana DeLeon through her author website and provide the email address at which you wish to receive your e-gift card and select amazon or barnes and noble for your e-gift card type.

Additional information is needed for the following:

Gwynlyn MacKenzie - please choose a copy of ROMEO, ROMEO, TOO HOT TO HANDLE or BREAKFAST IN BED and provide a mailing address with your contact information.

Estella - please provide a mailing address to receive your copy of BLOOD OF THE ROSE.

All Christie Craig additional winners - please provide your choice of backlist book and a mailing address.

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks so much to everyone who made our New Year's contest such a fun and exciting event!

And now - introducing the author of an exciting new series, Joss Ware!


Joss says:

About a year ago, I found a book written by a hospice doctor that was a collection of his experiences with death and the dying. The stories and incidents were fascinating, and only added to stories I’d heard from other people—another hospice doctor whom I know personally, along with others who’ve worked or volunteered, or otherwise been present in situations when someone is dying.

There are countless examples of people who’ve seen or experienced unusual things while with a person who’s dying. Angelic guides, waiting to help someone leave their corporal body and move onto the next phase. Dying people who see visions and gain sudden knowledge and understanding. Situations where a person who is seemingly unconscious and unresponsive “waits” to die until they’re given permission, or until a loved one arrives to say farewell. Over and over, people have told me that they learned so much from someone who is near death or dying.

And it takes a special kind of person to work with families and patients in hospice, who face death day after day after day.

So when I began to work on the fourth book in my paranormal romance series, the Envy Chronicles, I was thinking about these things. I also had left a character fatally shot at the end of the previous book (Abandon the Night), and I thought…what an interesting thing to include in my new project.

The world of the Envy Chronicles is one of a post-apocalyptic environment, fifty years after the earth has been decimated and most of the human population has been destroyed. Don’t think of Mad Max or Bladerunner…think of Life Without People or even LOST or Walking Dead. The cities are overgrown jungles, and there are pockets of civilization, not unlike that of the Old West.

And there are lots of hot men. Trust me. It wouldn’t be a romance series without them!

Envy is actually the largest bastion of humanity—and its name comes from its previous life: Vegas, or in this case, they call it New Vegas. N.V., or…Envy.

Selena is known as The Death Lady, because she’s the closest thing to a hospice doctor or nurse in this new world that has lost the technology, infrastructure, and communication that we used to have. But Selena has a gift with the dying, along with a special calling to help another part of humankind as well…the zombies who roam the earth now that it’s been destroyed.

When Theo Waxnicki is brought to Selena, he’s dying. She can always tell when someone’s about to expire…and there’s no turning back. Once she sees their death cloud, she’s never had anyone survive. She’s never had a patient live.

But…Theo is different. And in the end, Selena manages to help him…and once he recovers, sparks fly. She’s got secrets, and so does he. She’s been burned in the past, and he’s suffering from a broken heart.

He’s a computer geek in this world where computers and technology must be kept underground and secret, and she has a dangerous mission where she must go out and mingle with the zombies in the midst of their flesh-starved frenzy.

And…there’s part of an old, abandoned, overgrown amusement park that’s the setting for more than a few scenes. (Notice the Ferris wheel on the cover!)

Night Betrayed, the fourth book in the series, is out this week. I hope you have a chance to check out Theo and Selena’s story, and get to meet the other characters in the dystopian world of Envy.

Because I was inspired not only by those stories of hospice, but also by the people who work in that health field, helping us and our loved ones to die with as much dignity and comfort as possible, I’ve dedicated the book to hospice workers all over the world.

If you know someone who works or volunteers in that field, I hope that you’ll think of them and express your appreciation for what they do. Death is the great equalizer, and in the end, those tireless people are the ones who so often are there to ease our way and that of those we love.

I’d love to answer questions if you have any…or if you have a story about death or dying that you’d like to share. I’ll be giving away one of the first three books in the Envy Chronicles to a relevant commenter.

In addition, beginning January 26, the first two ebooks in the Envy Chronicles will be offered at a special promotional price (through February 7). Look for the ebooks of Beyond the Night or Embrace the Night Eternal to be offered at special low prices!

You can find more information about the books at my website: josswarebooks.com.

Thanks to Joss for guest posting on Killer Fiction. You should check out her books as they are fabulous! Please post for your chance to win, and have a great week, everyone!

Deadly DeLeon