Goodreads giveaway!
March 29, 2015 • No Comments
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Possessed by an Immortal
by Sharon Ashwood
Giveaway ends April 30, 2015.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Spring bounty
March 21, 2015 • No Comments
Spring is here! To celebrate the official start of a new season, I took some pictures as I walked to work yesterday! Enjoy!
About those paperbacks!
February 19, 2015 • No Comments
I’ve had some questions about ebooks versus paperbacks, so I’m writing a post in hopes that it helps readers to get the format they want. It’s a little ironic because for the longest time my Dark Forgotten series was available only in paper and now I seem to be mostly on people’s ereaders! That’s all been fixed. I’m happy to say both series are available both ways.
Nocturne and some of the other Harlequin series have a different way of ordering paperback copies of the books.
Individual novels are available direct from Harlequin. Click here to order an individual copy of Possessed by a Wolf.
If you prefer to shop in a store or at an online retailer like Amazon, Harlequin releases paperback two-for-one books every few months. For instance, Possessed by a Warrior and Possessed by an Immortal were bundled together. You can buy the first two books in the Horsemen series here. These bundles are different from the ebook bundles, which can include different titles. Be sure to read the book description carefully!
Two other points to remember: First, the release date for the two-for-one paperbacks is mid-month and NOT the same as the ebooks. It’s a few weeks later. Second, not all stores carry the paperbacks but they will usually get them for you if you ask. Indie bookstores are usually really good about this. To be honest, it’s helpful for authors if you ask for a particular book or series, because sooner or later the stores who don’t carry us will realize there is a demand for our books. It’s one way you can help support the books you love and help your local store be more responsive to their customers.
Happy reading!
Awakening the Dragon
January 3, 2015 • No Comments
Lord Dragon’s Conquest has some distinguished company! Mills & Boon has done a Nocturne anthology of dragons, and I’m delighted to be included. See more about it on the Mills & Boon site HERE.
Demon Kitty vs the Christmas toys
December 31, 2014 • No Comments
Things I love about holidays – time to think, to dream, to watch the cat stare down inanimate objects . . . like suspicious-looking nutcrackers.
Christmas at Butchart Gardens
December 29, 2014 • No Comments
Every year I try to make it out to Butchart Gardens to see the Christmas lights. Sometimes the weather is too rainy or cold but this year it was perfect–cool but clear.
Here is their poinsettia window: 
Of course, that’s only part of the fun. They also have a very cool diorama with train sets that is extremely popular with little kids and grown-up kids but resulted in blurry pictures. But the best part of the display is the outdoors stuff, because it’s like walking through an after-dark fairyland. It’s possible to imagine all sorts of unearthly adventures in the glittering, secret darkness. After all, isn’t it the delightful trickery of dazzling illusion what the otherlands is all about? Here’s a taste for you (or as good a taste as an iPhone can manage!):
Bound by Blood
December 8, 2014 • No Comments
It’s lovely to share the stage with a guest now and again, so please allow me to introduce fellow author and urban fantasy writer Margo Bond Collins! Her latest Night Shift novella, Bound by Blood, promises that sometimes the monsters in the dark are real…
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As a child, Lili Banta ignored her grandmother’s cryptic warnings to avoid children outside their Filipino community in Houston. When many of those other children fell ill, Lili ignored the whispers in her community that a vampiric aswang walked among them.
Years later, Lili returns to Houston to work for the Quarantine Station of the Center for Disease Control—but she is plagued by dark, bloody dreams that consume her nights and haunt her days. When a strange illness attacks the city’s children, Lili is called in to find its source, and maybe even a cure.
But in order to save the city, she must first acknowledge the sinister truth: A monster stalks the night—closer than she ever expected….
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Character Interview: Dr. Lili Banta
1. Lili, quick. Describe yourself in seven words or less!
Filipino-American, Texan, doctor, epidemiologist, scientist.
2. Tell us something about your current hometown.
I recently moved back to Houston. I went to medical school in Maine because I wanted to get as far away from home as I could—but eventually, I was ready to return. I’m staying with my mother—my Inay—until I find a new place. That might take longer than I initially planned, because my ex-boyfriend just called me in to consult on a strange case at his hospital.
3. What’s the strangest thing that has ever happened to you?
When I was a child, my grandmother warned me about the aswang hunting the children at my school. An aswang is a woman who turns into a monster at night and attacks women and young children. I didn’t believe in them . . . but I might be changing my mind.
4. What’s your favourite food?
I love the traditional dish adobo from the Philippines. My grandmother—my Inang—made it with chicken and peppercorns, cooked in soy sauce and olive oil, and lots and lots of garlic. At the last minute, she took it out and pan-fried it to get the edges just crispy enough. Mmmm.
5. Can you tell us a little about what to expect in Bound by Blood?
When I get called in to consult on Will’s case, we’re all surprised by what we discover. I don’t want to give away too much, but my past and Will’s present case are all tied together in ways we never expected.
6. Can you tell us something about yourself we don’t learn from the book?
My father died when I was very young—I don’t even remember him at all.
7. What is your author Margo Bond Collins like?
She’s kind of quiet until you get to know her—she likes to sit back and watch for a while before jumping into any kind of social situation. But then it’s hard to shut her up! She grew up in Texas, and after living all over the country, has come back to North Central Texas, where she lives with her husband, daughter, and a bunch of pets.
8. Name five items in your purse or pockets right now.
Two IDs: one for the CDC in Houston, the other for Houston General Hospital. My car keys and cell phone. A scrunchie to tie my hair back. A pen. And that’s pretty much all my lab coat pockets have room for!
9. If you had one chance to change anything about your life, what would it be?
I wish I had believed my grandmother—that I had figured this out before someone got hurt . . .
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Excerpt
Sitting straight up in bed, I gasped and threw myself back against the headboard, the thud dying away along with the remaining shreds of my dream.
But the word still ricocheted through my mind.
Aswang.
Until yesterday, I hadn’t thought of the term in years—not since I’d left Houston for med school in Maine, determined to get as far away from home as I could.
But this resurgence of the same, odd illness that had swept my city years before was apparently also dredging up the old stories from deep in my subconscious: the aswang, a vampiric woman who lived a quiet life by day and fed on children in the night, flying back home on bat-wings just before dawn.
My unconscious mind had clearly also expanded on the idea, casting me in the role of aswang and adding schizoid conversations with a chorus of internal voices.
Great. I’m insane in my dreams.
And I’m a monster.
Shuddering, I wiped my hand across my gritty, raw eyelids.
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Buy Links
Only $.99 via Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Bound-Blood-Night-Shift-Novella-ebook/dp/B00PB3AIGC/
Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Bound-Blood-Night-Shift-Novel/dp/0990743365/
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About the Author
Margo Bond Collins is the author of urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal mysteries. She has published a number of novels, including Sanguinary, Taming the Country Star, Legally Undead, Waking Up Dead, and Fairy, Texas. She lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, and several spoiled pets. Although writing fiction is her first love, she also teaches college-level English courses online. She enjoys reading romance and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them—and sometimes fight them.
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Connect with Margo
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/margobondcollins
Email: MargoBondCollins@gmail.com
Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.net
Blog: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin @MargoBondCollin
Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/
More Horsemen
October 19, 2014 • 4 Comments
I’ve been prodded to give some more info on what’s happening with my series. So sorry I’ve been slow off the mark! Here is the latest: the next two Horsemen books are POSSESSED BY A WOLF and POSSESSED BY THE FALLEN. They are written and turned in. Release dates are May and July of 2015, but of course these are subject to change.
WOLF features (of course) Faran Kenyon and Lexie Haven, and I really adore this book! They’re such great characters and an impossible couple. But talky. They wouldn’t shut up. Nevertheless, it has my favourite ending of any romance I’ve written and, no, I won’t say why.
I turned in FALLEN at the very end of August and I have to say I’ve been in recovery mode. I wrote 7 books in short order and was a little burned out by the end of it. Since then, I’ve been catching up on life things–appointments, visiting, cleaning, and whatnot–while I’m thinking about what comes next and writing down ideas for new characters.
Whizz! Bang! Whoosh!
July 19, 2014 • 1 Comment
Also known as May, June, and July flying by at breakneck pace. Summer is supposed to be a time to slow down, but this year it just keeps on galloping.
So, after being absent from the new releases pile for some time, this season this season I’ve brought to you: Lord Dragon’s Conquest (novella, March), Possessed by a Warrior (novel, May), Possessed by an Immortal (novel, June) and Valkyrie’s Conquest (novella, July). You can’t say I’ve been lazy!. All of these are from Harlequin Nocturne and are available in digital format. For those who like paper, the novels are available in paper direct from Harlequin and in a 2 for 1 paperback in some select stores.
In the meantime, I’ve written and submitted Possessed by a Wolf and Possessed by the Fallen, which completes the four volumes of the Horsemen series. Currently, I’m in rewrites of Fallen, which I hope to wrap up in fairly short order now that I’ve got myself back on task after a brief holiday. I’m excited to be working on this grand finale of the series, which gives me a bit of room to stretch my imagination. Those of you who know my books are aware there is nothing I like better than an alternate dimension to play with and the Realm of the Dark Fey is packed with creatures and castles, towers and princesses and adventure. I can’t wait to share it with you!
Ten ways to know if you’ve read too much PNR
February 8, 2014 • No Comments
1. You’re vaguely disappointed when your date has a tan
2. Staking your roses takes on a whole new meaning
3. You know the moon phases the way others know what’s on TV
4. You scream when you catch your kid with foamy toothpaste mouth
5. You wonder which of your classmates discovered the New World
6. You can’t bring yourself to buy silver jewelry
7. You only drink merlot
8. You worry about the guy who lives in the basement apartment and works nights
9. You fantasize about the guy who lives in the basement apartment and works nights
10. A story with strictly human characters seems . . . just wrong.