Contest, Contest, Contest!

Contest! Contest! Contest!

WINNER! Threw the names in a hat. Kristi email me your address at: christie(at)christie-craig.com so I can send you ARC and t-shirt.

Are you big music fans? Do you remember the theme songs to movies?

I love music, but I’ll be the first to admit it’s not as big a part of my life as I would like it to be. You see, most of my problem is that I can’t listen to music with lyrics and write at the same time. I get pulled into the story of the song and yanked out of the story I’m trying to write. And since I spend about eight to twelve hours a day writing, it doesn’t leave a lot of time to indulge in music.

However, a question I often get asked is if I have a theme song for a book, or if my character has a theme song. Until recently, every time a person asked me that question, I’d panic a little. Had I skipped some important step in creating my character and her world by not finding her a theme song?

And then it happened. A friend pointed out a song that she felt was Kylie’s theme song. For those of you who don’t know, in addition to my humorous romantic suspense novels, I also write a YA paranormal series for St. Martin’s Press/Griffin called Shadow Falls under my pseudonym, C.C. Hunter. Anyway, when I listened to the words to the song, I was shocked. It was so darn perfect. But when I saw the video, I was really blown away. This was Kylie’s story. So many of the elements in the video had meaning to her story. It was and is so inspiring that almost every day before I start writing, I go watch, and listen, to the video.

And because it’s less than a month away when Taken at Dusk, my third book in the Shadow Falls series, will release, I’m also going to post the amazing video that R.M Brand did for my book. (Isn’t she talented?) Because this is a wide-screen video, please double-click on the video to maximize in your browser.

Or, you can just go view the video at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNcfLU8nkG4

And today, to celebrate the upcoming release, I’m going to give away an ARC of Taken at Dusk and a Shadow Falls T-shirt. So make sure you leave a post and tell me how you feel about music and how it ties into the books and movies you also enjoy.

C.C.

Unsung Heroes - by Diane Kelly

I’d been working in the tax industry for over 15 years when I first learned of IRS special agents. These criminal investigators are essentially “tax cops,” making sure tax cheats pay their fair share so that you and I don’t have to shoulder an unfair financial burden.

When I first began writing my Death and Taxes series, which stars a criminal investigator for the IRS, I performed research to learn what IRS special agents do and how they do it. I read over facts and statistics about tax fraud. I subscribed to email alerts from the Treasury’s office of financial enforcement. I also interviewed a group of special agents. I was very impressed! They were incredibly smart, driven, attractive, and physically fit. They work hard and take personal risks. I’m so grateful for what they do! The special agents offered me lots of interesting and important information. I took copious notes, even attended the trial of a tax preparer accused of fraud so that I could see justice in action. I learned a lot about what it’s like to be a special agent.

Then I sat down to write my book. I took the truth and played with it, rolling it around like it was Play-Doh, mixing the colors and forming it into different shapes. It’s a fiction writer’s job to create an interesting story and that often means bending the truth for the sake of the story. Just as well-behaved women rarely make history, well-behaved heroines are not as entertaining as ones who break the rules.

Tara Holloway, the special agent who stars in my Death and Taxes series, is hardly a model agent. She pursues justice at all costs, even if it means doing things that, in reality, would get her fired or land her butt in jail. In writing my series, one of my hopes was that I could introduce people to the fascinating world of special agents and create some appreciation for the people who do this tough job. To that end, I’d like to sort out fact from fiction.

FICTION: Tara and her fellow agents operate by the seat of their pants, making snap decisions on the fly without approval from their superiors.

FACT: IRS special agents carefully plan their investigations and actions in advance, with input and approval from those up their chain of command.

FICTION: Tara accesses taxpayer data without authorization.

FACT: IRS special agents are not permitted to look up taxpayer data willy nilly and can be terminated for improperly accessing information.

FICTION: Tara and the other agents combine their personal and work lives, sometimes driving personal vehicles on the job and running personal errands on work time.

FACT: IRS special agents drive only government vehicles while on the job and do not drive them on personal errands.

FICTION: Tara is a sharpshooter who hits everything she aims for and can shoot things out of a person’s hand at long range.

FACT: Fact may not be so far from fiction here. Special agents are required to re-certify on their weapons on a regular basis. So, yep, they not only know numbers, they know their guns, too.

Many of my readers have told me that they first learned of IRS special agents via my novels. Do you know of any other unsung heroes with unusual jobs? Tell us about them!

One person who posts a comment today will win a copy of DEATH, TAXES, AND A FRENCH MANICURE, book #1 in my Death and Taxes series. The winner will be posted around 9:00 pm Central Time. Look for book #2, DEATH, TAXES, AND A SKINNY NO-WHIP LATTE, in bookstores now. Read an excerpt at www.dianekelly.com.

Free! Free! Free!

You know when people tell you nothing is free, they’re right. It’s sort of like that free Junkyard dog my husband brought home. Right now, the vet bills are up $1,300. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. She’s turning out to be an exceptional office dog.

But my point is that, well, nothing is really completely free.

Okay…my e-book, Divorced, Desperate and Delicious is free. Completely free, at Barnes and Noble and Amazon. But it will still cost you. (You knew there was a catch, right?) It will cost your time to read it. Now, it’s your time, so you might be wondering if it’s worth the price. So here’s what you’ll get for giving me your time. You’ll be swept away in a story that will make you laugh out loud, sigh, and maybe even bite your nails in a moment of fear. While reading, you’ll forget that you need to scrub the toilet, or that there are bowls growing fuzzy stuff in the back of your refrigerator. You’ll hopefully forget about the bills that are sitting in the to-be-paid stack. Yep. For a few hours, I’ll take you away from your daily stresses and mundane chores.

So go ahead, download Divorced, Desperate and Delicious. I’ll even give you the download links:

Barnes and Noble – http://bit.ly/wjvnJJ

Amazon Kindle – http://amzn.to/zDeIX5

And there’s even a video to get you all revved up to read the book:

Plus, a review to whet your appetite:

5 Hearts—Reviewers Top Pick

Readers will quickly become so absorbed in the story that they will fly through the pages. I rarely rave about a book unless I absolutely love it, but this one is definitely worth it! I would compare this book to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, but DIVORCED, DESPERATE and DELICIOUS is even funnier and a thousand times sexier. - RachaelfromNJ, Night Owl Romance

So, what are you waiting for? Go download your copy today!

CC

Guest Author Deanna Chase

I'm tucked away writing today, so I'm having a fabulous friend of mine, Deanna Chase, guest blog.  Take it away, Deanna...

 Hello Killer Fiction readers. I want to take just a moment to thank Gemma for having me fill in for her today. I’d heard of the Killer Fiction blog before, and I’m pretty sure I’ve happened upon it a time or two, but it’s been a while. So, when Gemma asked me to blog, I said of course…then I spent a couple of hours reacquainting myself with the authors over here.

Warning! Fan girl moment.

Oh my God! I cannot tell y’all how thrilled I am to be here. You see, I have quite a few books by most of the authors who regularly blog here sitting on my bookshelves. One of Jana Deleon’s is actually sitting on my desk right now. Squeal!

Okay moment over. As a purely self-published author, it’s sometimes surreal to be included with authors you’ve looked up to for a long time.

My name is Deanna Chase, and I write suspenseful paranormal romances. I started writing seriously in 2007. I studied, typed a lot of words, took classes. And by the time I had a manuscript I was proud of and ready to submit in 2010, it seemed it was harder than ever to find an agent or publishing house to take a chance on an unknown author. Of the few editors I did get face-time with, I was told my story was interesting, but ghost stories just don’t sell. Insert sad face here.

I did what every other writer does. I pouted and then put it away intending to work on something else. I tell you, the stress of tying to sell a manuscript put a damper on my creativity, making me second-guess all my story ideas. I actually put writing away for about six months and instead focused on my glass art business (my day job—I make glass beads for jewelry designers). After a while, I really started to miss writing and eventually started a new story.

That manuscript was half-written when I started hearing about the barriers being broken with self-publishing. I read the blog’s of a few brave authors who’d ventured into the self-pub world and most of what they were saying really hit home with me. Finally, writers had a way to connect with readers while having control over their careers. Yes!

I’ve been a small business owner, working for myself for over ten years. Taking over the publishing end did not scare me at all. In fact, I was excited. Terrified no one would like my book? Yes. Totally. But worried about the business end? Not at all.

Immediately, I pulled up Haunted on Bourbon Street, booked time with an editor, and went to work on getting that ghost story published. I’m pretty sure my critique partner had a bit of a nervous breakdown when I told her I was going for it. After all, we writers have been told for years that self-publishing is the kiss of death in the publishing world. But she supported me one hundred percent.

And in July of 2011, Haunted on Bourbon Street went live on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the rest of the usual outlets. I now have a bunch of readers who’ve proved those editors wrong. It seems people do buy ghost stories. And plenty of them liked it enough to go on and buy the sequel, Witches of Bourbon Street, just released this February.

Self-publishing has been amazing. It has made writing fun for me again. I’m no longer worried about if my manuscript is right for a particular house or line. Or if I write about angels, will an editor tell me those don’t sell either? Now the stories I want to write get written, knowing I have an outlet.

Currently I’m working on the third book in the series, Demons of Bourbon Street and that other manuscript that got put on the back burner when I decided to release Haunted into the world. It’s the first book in a new Urban Fantasy series, tentatively titled Influenced. You can find more information about me at www.Deannachase.com

~Deanna

Haunted on Bourbon Street

Jade loves her new apartment--until a ghost joins her in the shower.

When empath Jade Calhoun moves into an apartment above a strip bar on Bourbon Street, she expects life to get interesting. What she doesn't count on is making friends with an exotic dancer, attracting a powerful spirit, and developing feelings for Kane, her sexy landlord.

Being an empath has never been easy on Jade's relationships. It's no wonder she keeps her gift a secret. But when the ghost moves from spooking Jade to terrorizing Pyper, the dancer, it's up to Jade to use her unique ability to save her. Except she'll need Kane's help--and he's betrayed her with a secret of his own--to do it. Can she find a way to trust him and herself before Pyper is lost?

Buy now at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords

Witches of Bourbon Street

Jade Calhoun was never fond of her empath abilities. Now she’s discovered she has another gift she’d rather not unwrap—magic. But when her mentor, Bea, becomes gravely ill and insists Jade’s the only one who can help, she’s forced to embrace her witchy side.

It’s too bad she spent a decade shunning the magical community and never learned to harness her powers. Because time’s run out. A trapped spirit has revealed a clue to Jade’s long-lost mother. The resident angel has gone rogue and disappeared with Jade’s boyfriend, Kane. And if that wasn’t enough, her ex appears to be possessed.

To save any of them, Jade will need to find a way to control her inner white witch—without succumbing to black magic. Otherwise, she’ll lose everything…including her soul.

Buy now at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords

Did you hear the one about the blonde who...?

I'm currently hard at work on my seventh Calamity Jayne Mystery. As some of you know, each one of my books opens with a 'dumb blonde' joke. Not just any dumb blonde joke, but a joke that is carefully selected to be consistent with a major element of that particular story. I'm always on the lookout for a good blonde joke. I recruit family, friends, and fellow authors to send me blonde jokes.

When I wrote for my former publisher, I always provided several blonde jokes just in case my editor didn't like (or get) the one I had chosen. That happened just once out of six books and I ended up having to go with a back-up blonde joke.

No sweat. I've got a million of 'em.

But my current book? It's presenting a bit of a challenge for me. You see, I need a blonde tandem bike (as in bicycle) joke. Or a tandem joke that can be made over into a blonde biker joke. So far, I've only found a couple and I'm not real gung-ho about either of them.

So, here's what I need from you. Below you'll find the blonde tandem biker jokes I'm considering so far. Once you've read them, tell me which you like best.

Or, better yet, post a really good tandem blonde biker joke so I'll have a better selection to choose from. If I end up using your suggestion, I'll acknowledge you in my book! (All jokes must be clean!) :)

Okay. Here are the ones I'm considering so far:

BLONDE BIKE JOKE NUMBER ONE

Two blondes are riding along on a tandem, when suddenly, the blonde on the front slams on the brakes, gets off and starts letting air out of the tires.

The blonde on the back yells: "HEY! What are you doing that for!?"

The first blonde replies,"My seat was too high and was hurting my butt. I wanted to lower it a bit."

The blonde on the back has had enough. She jumps off, loosens her own seat, and spins it round to face the other direction.

Now it's the first blonde's turn to wonder what's going on. "What are you doing?" she asks her friend.

"Look," says the blonde rider in the back, "if you're going to do stupid stuff like that, I'm going home!!"

BLONDE BIKE JOKE NUMBER TWO

A blonde and her boyfriend were riding a tandem up a hill and having a difficult time.

"Phew, that was a brutal climb!" the boyfriend said, leaning over and breathing hard. "That climb was so tough and we were going so slow, I thought we were never going to make it!"

"Yeah," agreed the blonde. "Good thing I kept the brakes on or we'd have slid all the way back down!"

All righty. Weigh in. Which is less...sucky? Do you have a better one to contribute? I'd love to hear it!

Thanks! You're the best...!

~Bullet Hole~

The Fox family crest? You're looking at it.

We went to a wedding on my husband's side of the family recently, and as we waited for the ceremony to begin, something felt off.

Everything was lovely. The church was beautiful. The waiting groomsmen were happy. I couldn't figure out what was wrong until the bride's sister lit a series of delicate aisle sconces with a long, gold taper. And then it hit me.

No one in my family would do that - because someone else in my family would have crushed the dainty aisle sconces before the bride's sister could get to them. You see, I come from a family of klutzes. Pick an event, any family event, and somebody will fall, topple the Christmas tree, hit another family member's car (Wrecks have happened on several occasions actually. We should phrase invitations: Come to the Fox Family Reunion. Bring your insurance card).

So yes, weddings can be a cause of jitters. We want things to go off without a hitch. We need it to happen. Yet, it never quite turns out that way.

Take my brother. He was married in a beautiful historic church in St. Louis. It had just undergone a restoration and had new everything. The caretakers obviously didn't know my family's history or they never would have let us set foot inside the place.

During rehearsal, they showed us a lovely table - original to the church -where the communion wine would be placed. To complicate matters, they wanted the table in the middle of a long aisle, surrounded by my family members. My soon to be sister-in-law protested. She'd been to enough Fox events to know what she was dealing with. Besides, the table was old, it had survived generations and it had very thin legs. The wedding planner - who we likened to the blonde cheerleader in every horror movie who has to go outside to see what that noise is - disregarded sister-in-law's concerns about her new family.

We took bets on who would accidentally knock over the crystal decanter first. I was especially worried, given I had to walk past the delicate table, in a powder pink bell-skirted dress. You just don't know what the clearance will be on an outfit like that. Thank goodness my cousin, Matt, got to it first. He was an usher, leading people to their seats. Before the ceremony even began, he backed into the table, breaking the crystal pitcher and soaking the church's new carpeting in wine.

Matt was embarrassed to say the least. I'm ashamed to admit that the rest of us were a bit relieved. We knew someone would "Fox-up" that day, and at least it wasn't one of us. Besides, the table survived. That's success in our book.

And it was a comforting thought as I waited for my husband's family wedding to begin. (Well, once I was safely in my seat and away from anything breakable.) I'd avoid the Fox curse … at least for the time being.

Oh, The People You Will Meet…

I write at Starbucks. When I’m close to deadline—like right now, I’m there more than the busiest barista, and that’s no lie. This week I’ve spent and inordinate amount of time at my local Starbucks which, thank God, is less than a mile from my home.

I’ve been there most days from nine or so in the morning until they give me the old “We’re closing in ten minutes.” warning at twenty after nine at night. During the summer months, I’ve been known to move my computer out onto the patio and write until my battery dies or I need the restroom, whichever comes first. If I had an extension cord and a Porta Potty, I’m sure I would have been there 24-7 during the last week of writing Fisher Kincaid’s story, Call Me Wild. One of my favorite baristas even brought a box of coffee out to me to hold me over before he left for the night. Thank God Starbucks never turns off their wifi!

This week I’m on a tight writing deadline but I’m trying not to stress too much about it since it happens with every book. I’ve found when one spends 90 hours a week in one place staring at a computer screen; people tend to ask you what the heck you’re doing. So in the last few weeks, I’ve met the most fascinating people. I live in a relatively small, rural town in Maryland. I’ve been here eleven years and to tell you the truth, not much happens that’s at all exciting. Imagine my surprise when in the last couple of weeks I’ve met more wicked cool people than I’ve met in the past eleven years.

Take for instance Friday afternoon… I got up to stretch my legs when I noticed a woman curled up in front of the fire reading a book. Now, I don’t know about you, but whenever I see someone reading, I want to know what they’re reading. This is the only thing I don’t like about e-readers. You can’t simply spy, you have to actually stop and ask the person what they’re reading, and sometimes you’re given dirty looks—not that I let a little thing like that stop me. But I digress… I see this woman with her head buried in a book (the same book she’d been reading for hours). I wanted to know what she was reading, but she had the book on her lap. Of course I had to ask, I just had to. She held up Gena Showalter’s new book THE DARKEST SEDUCTION, which she said was really good.

Needless to say we started chatting and I find out EJ Lawrence a Forensic scientist and specializes in DNA. I was immediately impressed, after all, I’m a huge fan of NCIS. It turns out her lab actually does all the DNA tests for NCIS (the real one). So EJ, my new best friend, whips out her phone and shows me pictures of her and the cast of the show! The cast went to the lab to do research and to meet their real-life counterparts. Here’s one of EJ Lawrence and Pauley Perrette


I’m sure you’ve all heard me mention Twinkle Toes, my sixteen-year-old injured ballerina. Yes, she’s stopped dancing, moved home, and has decided to concentrate 100% on school instead of dancing forty hours a week. Her new goal in life is to be Abby on NCIS—a real life Abby that is. And there I was talking to her—well, EJ AKA Real Life Abby.

I asked EJ if I could email the picture to Twinkle Toes. I mean, how cool is that? I also asked if she would mind meeting Twinkle Toes to talk to her about what she does, the education involved, and whatever else Twinkle Toes wanted to know. EJ, being the nicest woman in the world, said she had all night. She sat with Anna talking about everything and anything for at least two hours. When we closed Starbucks, I sent Anna home with her dad, and EJ and I ended up talking for another hour. She’s definitely one of the most fascinating people I’ve ever met, and she’s also a writer—I can’t wait to read her work. Now all I have to do is stop talking to people at Starbucks and write faster!

So, am I the only one who meets wicked cool people at Starbucks?