Three Ways a Kraken Can Be Your Best Defense

by Maureen O. Betita

Number One – It eats your critics. Okay, not your literally living and breathing ones. At least not yet. (Maybe if I can get enough people to unite in belief we can actually manifest a physical kraken… Hmmmm!) Until then, the kraken can eat your inner critics. All those self-doubts and nagging thoughts…just toss them to the kraken. He loves them. They might come back, but keep throwing them to him…after a few dozen passages down his gullet, they do tend to quiet down a lot. And it’s fun to hear them scream and plead as they slide down into the darkness…bwah ha ha!

Number Two – The kraken can take it. You do something a bit on the dim side? Blame the kraken. “I was following the kraken’s advice.” He’ll back you up, totally. Stand behind you, a tentacle on your shoulder, staring at those who are pissed at you. They’ll back off, trust me.

Number Three – Slime, well it can actually dissolve evidence.

Now, understand that the kraken….he cradles the world. Or he strangles the world… So much depends on your perspective!  

This ornament, well, it illustrates that point… You can win this ornament, lots of ways, including commenting here. Also on my blog, at other blogs I’m at…and assorted ways all listed in my contest blog… Check it out!

http://maureenobetita.com/blogslinks

He’s not a vampire, werewolf, or a shifter. He’s an alien

by Jessica E. Subject

With the popularity of paranormal romance, we often find heroes to be vampires, werewolves, shifters, demons and more. While I have enjoyed reading many paranormal romances, I write science fiction romance. Therefore my heroes tend to be aliens, or hot human men on a foreign planet.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to Frey Berger, the hero from my debut novella, Celestial Seduction. Here is a selection of excerpts from the heroine’s point of view to show you what he looks like:

“Six foot one, her date owned a successful construction company, and the picture….he resembled every man she’d ever fantasized about. His dark brown, wavy hair looked perfect to run her fingers through and his eyes…bedroom didn’t even begin to describe how enticing they were. She got wet just looking at them in a picture. Oh, she needed to see them up close.”

“Blushing, she stopped herself from telling him he was drop-dead gorgeous, that she suddenly didn’t care if the date only lasted one night. But she couldn’t say anything else, her ability to speak vanishing. His eyes captivated her, their greenish-blue color blending into his pupils and she couldn’t stop staring.”

“He looked over, his eyes empty, hollow. She’d never seen anyone look as sad without shedding a tear, quite the transformation from the confident human she’d seen enter the room hours earlier.”

“His eyes blinked—sideways. She tried to hide her gasp, but failed and he looked away.”

“He smiled, some of his confidence back while his human image flickered for a few seconds before completely disappearing. Unsure what to expect, she tried not to judge until she’d set eyes on his entire figure. Long, spindly fingers intertwined with hers. He tried to let go, but she held them tight. His body appeared taller and leaner than before. She saw the same black eyes, a less prominent nose and barely visible ears. His hair became jet black and appeared longer and curlier than before. Underneath luminescent scales, his skin shone a light blue.”

And there’s more, including what he looks like without his clothes on, so be sure to check out Celestial Seduction available from Decadent Publishing and many other ebook retailers.

Bio:

Jessica Subject started writing to encourage her daughter to read. Now she writes to keep herself grounded. Although she reads many genres, she enjoys writing Science Fiction Romance the most and believes everyone in the universe deserves a happily ever after. She lives Southwestern Ontario, Canada with her husband and two kids and loves to hear from anyone who has enjoyed her stories.

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VEGAS TODAY newspaper interviews Jackson Castillo!

VEGAS TODAY

Las Vegas' interesting newspaper...

read by interesting people

Interviewer:  Vegas Today is pleased to interview the intensely private hotelier, Jackson Castillo, CEO of the Castillo Hotel and Resorts. Thank you for taking time out of your crazy schedule to speak with us. So…your flagship hotel is located right here in Sin City. And what a wonderful hotel it is. (Her gaze sweeps past Jackson, seated at his desk, to the amazing panoramic view of the Vegas Strip and desert beyond.)

Jackson:  Castillo Hotels and Resorts…known worldwide for their luxury and first-class service. (He clears his throat) Sorry. I love a good sound bite, I'm hardwired to promote. My wife, Leah, continually tells me to stop looking for every opportunity to plug the business. She feels I need balance in my life. He snorts.

Interviewer: Ah, yes! The hotels have taken a backseat to your recent nuptials! Congratulations.

Jackson frowns:  Absolutely nothing takes a backseat to this company. My family lives and breathes this—(Door opens behind him. He turns to look over his shoulder and blushes and stammers) Hello, mi amor.

    A lovely, petite blonde woman steps behind him. She gives him a smile, full of the promises only a newlywed can offer, and kisses his cheek.  "Hello, Jackson."

     She sets a small tray down on the desk between he and the interviewer and smiles again. Gina sent some tea and treats for you.

     Jackson nods at the tray and says, My sister, Gina, is the head chef of our award-winning Cuban fusion restaurant. He gestures toward the lovely array of delicacies. Please, help yourself.

Interviewer: Treats is right. I believe Gina studied with the esteemed Cuban chef, Emilio Diaz for…five years was it? He even turned down Oprah's plea for him to be her personal chef. The interviewer frowns in disbelief with a nobody-turns-down-Oprah look on her face. The interviewer leans forward and takes a lovely bit from the tasty offerings on the tray. Taking a bite, she sighs at the buttery bliss of Latin pastry.

Leah:  Yes, Gina learned from the very best. Jackson says we only got her back because he promised to open a hotel in Cuba. Once that happens, she'll go and we'll be without her again. Not that we blame her. Eyes wide, she slaps a hand over her mouth. Oh, I’m sorry, Jackson.

Jackson reaches for his bride and tugs her onto the arm of his chair, his arm curling around her waist with more than a touch of possessiveness: It’s fine, mi amor. I am certain our guest knows that if this early information is not edited, it will be a very long time before another interview is given. He pats her hip while staring right into the camera.

Interviewer: I’m certain we can reach an understanding. Is it possible that Vegas Today  might be given an exclusive when the news is…more timely?

Jackson smiles and the interviewer tries, maybe somewhat unsuccessfully, not to swoon. He's a handsome devil—who only has eyes for his wife, this interviewer rushes to add.  When we are ready to announce the groundbreaking, perhaps you would like to assist us with that?

Interviewer (clearing her throat): That would be most gratifying. Now, on another topic, since we have Mrs. Castillo here…could you share with us a bit about your honeymoon?

Leah flushes deep pink and turns toward Jackson: Our honeymoon, oh, I don’t think…

Jackson gives her a warm squeeze, his lips turning up in the trademark Castillo smile: My dear, I believe our guest refers to our travel details, yes? He addresses the camera, We combined business with pleasure, and I took the opportunity to show my bride several of our properties in Europe as well as New York City. We also visited a potential site on another continent…but that’s all I can say about that for now.

Interviewer: What a delightful honeymoon! Mrs. Castillo, was there anywhere you enjoyed more than any other?

Leah: Honestly, we didn’t see much outside of our rooms. She covers her mouth again and glances at her husband with a horrified Oh-Darling-I'm-Sorry stare. He nods and pats her leg with a look of acceptance and nods for her to continue. She blushes and says, But it was all very lovely. She stands abruptly and turns toward the door. I really must go, but it’s been a pleasure. She waves toward the camera. It does not escape the interviewer's notice that she shares a long, lingering stare with her husband. The interviewer hides an envious sigh.

Jackson smiles, his gaze sending a clear message this necessary interview would be over post haste: I will be with you shortly, mi amor. We are almost done here.

Interviewer (clearing her throat and pretending she isn't a voyeur): Absolutely, I only have a few more questions for Mr. Castillo. I’m so glad I got the opportunity to visit with you, Mrs. Castillo.

Leah: Thanks. Turning back to her husband she blows a kiss. Don’t forget we have dinner with Jag, darling. He has to leave in the morning.

Jackson: I won’t forget. He watches her with love and want in his gaze as she smiles and leaves, closing the door softly after her.

Interviewer: Before I go, I would love to hear about your brother, Jagger, isn’t it? He’s in charge of another of your resorts I believe.

Jackson nods:  Jagger is in charge of our resort on Grand Turk. It’s the jewel of our tropical holdings and I hope you have a chance to visit there sometime.

Interviewer: I hope I do as well. The Castillo family is certainly a talented group, you must be so proud of your relatives.

Jackson: More than I can say. Now, I must be going. I don’t want to keep my wife, or my brother, waiting. He stands and moves toward the door, ending the interview. May I walk you out? His hand rests on the doorknob and he tilts his head, his sensual gaze meeting the interviewer's. The interview is most definitely over.

Interviewer, taking the hint, rises: Thank you, this has been a very enjoyable afternoon. She exits with her notepad and crew and wishes like hell she'd met Jackson Castillo before the lovely Leah had. Once in the elevator, she turns toward her camerawoman, Helen, and mutters, Damn, that is one sexy man! 

Jackson Castillo, wife Leah and the rest of his family can be found throughout the popular Decadent Publishing 1Night Stand series. Find out what the buzz is all about! Visit our 1NS blog!

Three Way Thursday with Gracen Miller

What are you thankful for?

You might be sorry you asked this question! With my coming soon release, Pandora's Box, I feel like I just won the Grammy's. *grins* Do you really want me to thank all those people that got me here? LOL  I'll keep it somewhat short.  I'm thankful for my supportive and amazing boys, which includes my husband of 19 years and my two sons.  Without them, I wouldn't be half the woman I am or half the writer.  They keep me smiling and grounded in reality…mostly anyway.  I'm thankful for my muse, who I've named DM.  DM is a slave driver and there are days when I wish he had an actual throat I could choke, but most of the time, I love and worship him. He prefers my love and worship. ;-)  I'm thankful I was given sons rather than daughters because boys are so much fun and aren't the least bit prissy…unless you ask them to do their rendition of a "girl".  *shakes head*  It is worth a laugh or two, but I hope they really don't think girls act like that!

I'm thankful Decadent gave my book, Pandora's Box, a home.  I'm extremely thankful Madison and Phoenix (from Pandora's Box) bombarded my imagination.  They're so alive and real in my head, it makes writing their adventures so much easier!  They keep me excited about writing! 

What've you been thinking about lately?

Correcting storyline for book two to match changes to the storyline in Pandora's Box, while contemplating how all the changes will fit into book 3, along with back story for secondary characters in Pandora's Box…confusing, I know!  Imagine being in my head!  LOL  Building paranormal worlds and keeping it cohesive from one book to the next isn't always the easiest thing.  But it sure is fun letting your imagination run wild! *evil grin*

What do you thirst/hunger for?

I'm a coffee addict, so coffee!! Otherwise, I thirst and hunger for the adventures of my characters. Living through them is so much fun and I would never want to experience half of what they do in real life.

Thanks for joining me today!  Come find me around the web!

~huggles~

Gracen Miller

Website: www.gracenmiller.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gracen.miller

My Blog:  http://www.moonlightlacemayhem.blogspot.com/

Madison's blog:  http://madisonroadtohell.blogspot.com/

Down By the Lake (or How To Speak Sheboyganese)

by Wendy Burke

      I must admit, at one time I had a terrible accent – no not that gorgeous Southern Belle ‘Nawlin’s drawl. I mean a SHEBOYGAN accent. That’s Sheboygan as in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. (There’s another blog lurking about how allegedly native of Wisconsinites pronounce the state WisGONsin, but that’s for another day!)

    Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Since, I left college hoping to make my living in radio; the quaint, yet obvious, Sheboygan accent had to go.

     Before you go running to your medical symptoms dictionary, a Sheboyganese accent is not a physical malady (well, not ANYMORE for me) but at one time, it was fairly prominent.

     To set the stage, Sheboygan, Wisconsin is a lovely – and I do mean BEAUTIFUL city of 50-some-thousand right on Lake Michigan half way between Milwaukee (or M’waukee in Sheboyganese) and Green Bay. It was an outstanding place to grow up.  The accent of the true Sheboyganite, however, is so pronounced and so specific that even those in other parts of Wisconsin can tell if someone is from Sheboygan.

    Lovely, lovely town, but, it has its linguistic idiosyncrasies both verbally and in verbiage.

    To set the stage, think of Frances McDormand in the movie FARGO. I have to say, one of the reasons I will watch that dark flick every time it’s on, is BECAUSE of the true-to-life accents – Sheriff Marge Gunderson (married to Norm – that son of a Gunderson) is what I at one time sounded like and what many of my friends and relatives STILL sound like back in that fine berg. (GRUMPY OLD MEN also falls into that ‘homey accent’ category.)

    My dear friend from the time I was two years old, Laurie (last name withheld to protect the innocent) has the most beautiful Sheboygan accent. During a visit one Christmas, she conjured up the spirit of Marge Gunderson and said to my husband as he sipped a beer, ‘Youah knoah that lady in Fargoah? I was soah embarrassed, I thought I sounded just like her.’ It’s a good thing we all knew the Heimlich, we had to dislodge the beer can from my betrothed’s throahat, (throat in English) he sucked it in while laughing so hard….with Laurie of course! (Love ya, Laurie Jean Punkin… last name withheld to protect the innocent!)

    Going along with that style of accent, I grew up counting like my very old uncle, ‘one, tooah, tree.’ We would ‘go der’ and ‘take dat,’ and ‘bring deez ones, enso.’ (To translate: ‘go there,’ ‘take that,’ and ‘bring these, okay.’)

     Any word with or ending in a long ‘o’ or ‘a’ automatically had it drawn out – ‘Where are youah goahing?’ ‘Take your coaht if you’re going to buy soahp.’ ‘Noahp, doahn’t knoah where to goah. But maybe by the Laaaake, ensoah?’

   Oh, Yah.

     Growing up, my (and others’) speech was dotted with ‘Yahs,’ and ‘enzoahs.’ (Which I will explain momentarily, enso?)

    Going back to the title of this blog, ‘down by’ is in regular-standard-American English ‘to’ or ‘at.’ ‘Bei’ (pronounced BY) in German is ‘at’…so with all the Deutsche in the area it made sense. ‘I’m going by my friend’s house,’ or ‘You want? I’m going by the store, enso.”

   So now that you know where you are (or ‘are at,’ if you’re from Toledo, Ohio – but that’s another topic for yet another blog) it’s time to learn some of the more ‘colorful’ phrases in Sheboyganese! Yay!

    ‘Let’s ‘goah down by the Laaake, once yet, ensoah?’ This statement includes proper (well Sheboyganese pronunciation.) As for translation – ‘Let’s go to the Lake.’  Say that to anyone in Sheboygan, they’ll point you east…Lake Michigan is always east if you’re in Wisconsin.

     But, hey, der! (Or ‘hey there’ in English) look at all those extra words!

    For some reason, everything in my hometown was done once. ‘C’mere once,’ ‘let’s goah by the mall once.’ And for some reason, - once- a vast majority of the time was followed with ‘enso.’ Or ‘and so.’  Who knows why!’

    And ‘yah’ is a given – direct translation form the German ‘ja’ or ‘yes.’

    Zoah, now that you got dat down, once, you can talk like a Cheezer! J (That would be a Cheesehead – Wisconsin natives - for those of you who haven’t heard.) (cheesehead pic)

    I’m back next week with more Sheboyganese – next Wednesday, learn how to tell the difference between a fryer and a Weber- why you should never put your mouth on a bubbler- tasty coolers are great on a hot summer day – and how to have fun at the Coahhoah (Coho) Derby! (coho fishy here)

              

Wendy Burke blogs regularly for A Daily Dose of Decadence and is currently in the editing process on RESPITE, a post-WWII romance to be published soon by Decadent Publishing. She can be found on Facebook – Wendy Burke Author, at her blog site, Whatever Wendy! and lurking around the Internet – usually giving Deanna Wadsworth (http://deannawadsworth.blogspot.com) a load of crap because she truly deserves it. When not playing with the people in her head, Wendy has a fine life with a chef husband (YES – no cooking!) and two furry feline kids and a full-time job that keeps her from writing fulltime in ‘beautiful’ Toledo, Ohio.

www.whateverwendy.blogspot.com

www.decadentpublishing.com

           

Decadent Publishing ROCKS a new anthology!

Decadent Publishing announces the release of a Paranormal-romance fiction anthology rooted in rock ‘n roll and ripped straight off the Sunset Strip.

Run Devil Run, an L.A.-based rock band well known locally for their dynamic live performances, diverse musical talent, and humorous video antics has lent their faces, titles and lyrics as inspiration for a five-book series with the publisher. The stories are penned by popular and award-nominated authors Rachel Carrington, Mari Freeman, Susan DiPlacido, Valerie Mann and Becca Dale, and will be released first in ebook format, then later in print.

“I’ve seen RDR play live several times and they are impressive. When this idea came to me, they were a natural fit. Paranormal romance lends itself easily to the Rock vibe,” says Heather Bennett, Co-owner of Decadent Publishing. “Customers who buy the series off our site will be treated to a free download of the coordinating song so they get the whole multi-media experience.”

Mari Freeman writes,” Music has always influenced my writing, but creating a story, characters and an entire world based on the lyrics of a song has been one of the most unique experiences. The collaboration between Decadent Publishing and Run Devil Run has found a creative way to take that musical influence and share it with readers. Read the book, get the song that inspired it. That rocks!”

Remarks Jackie Joyride of Run Devil Run, ”The fact that our music could inspire authors of this caliber to bring characters to life, I mean, it’s a thrill for us. It’s been great working with Decadent Publishing and to see these stories come together around our music…it’s an ego boost for sure!”

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