Spring
is here! For those of you still coping with snow, rest assured that
Spring arrived on March 20 at 12:57 P.M. EDT, even if it hasn't shown
its fair face in your location yet.
Time for a spring fling!
To a dedicated reader, that means books. What, you were expecting
shopping for frilly, pastel Spring clothing and new shoes or packs of
garden seeds? Hah! We readers have our priorities straight!
I participate in a group blog called
Supernatural Underground. We are a terrific group of authors who focus primarily on the paranormal genre. I'm pleased to be in such outstanding company! There are often giveaways on SU. I'm going to introduce all of us quickly,
in alphabetical order. Click on our names to visit our web sites and
follow us on Twitter with the links after our names. Get to know us better!
Amanda Arista (
@pantherista) was born in Illinois, raised in Corpus Christi,
lives in Dallas but her heart lies in London. Good thing she loves to
travel. The summer of second grade, she read every book in the young
adult section of the library. So she started making up her own stories
and hasn’t stopped since. She writes the DIARIES OF AN URBAN PANTHER series.
Dakota Banks (
@dakotabanks)
writes the Mortal Path dark urban fantasies, paranormal thrillers with a
splash of romance. With Ancient Sumerian mythology brought forward to
the present, a three-hundred-year-old woman tries to redeem her soul by
saving as many lives as she's taken. The third book in the series,
DELIVERANCE, won the
2012 USA Best Book Award for Fantasy. As Shirley Kennett, she writes
suspense thrillers in the PJ Gray series. As D.B. Ayers, she's published HONOR'S JOURNEY, a middle grade historical novel.
A.A. Bell
(
@ThePoetTrees) is the
winner of the prestigious 2011 Norma K. Hemming
Award for Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Themes (Race, class,
gender, sexuality, disability, etc.) for her debut novel, DIAMOND EYES,
and for her second, HINDSIGHT. She's the first to ever win the award
twice. As Anita Bell, she writes children's books, and was the first
author to win an International “CrimeStoppers Award" for a children's
crime series.
Merrie Destefano (@MerrieDestefano) writes edgy urban fantasy: Vampires and fairy tales,
Bladerunner
meets Jim Butcher. AFTERLIFE (where everyone gets nine lives) and FEAST
(edgy urban romance) leave you wanting more. Her first book of short
stories, WAITING FOR MIDNIGHT, is highly satisfying, and the title tells
all. She writes for Young Adults too, and can teach you how to draw
fantasy characters.
Jocelynn Drake (
@JocelynnDrake)
is the New York Times bestselling author of The Dark Days series and
The Asylum Tales. When she’s not hammering away at her keyboard,
frowning at her monitor,
or curled up with a book, she can usually be found cuddling with her
cats, Harley and Demona, walking her dog Max, or flinging curses at the
TV while playing a video game.
Kim Falconer (
@kimfalconer), a bestselling SF/Fantasy author, writes the Quantum Enchantment and Quantum Encryption series,
epic stories that seamlessly mingle science
and technology with sociology, environmentalism, philosophy, and magic.
Astrology has been a
part of her life for over 30 years and she teaches and consults in this
field. Born in Santa Cruz, California, she lives and writes in the
far eastern coast of Australia, sharing her dwelling with two black
cats and a pair of Torresian crows. (!)
Leigh Fallon (@Leigh_Fallon) was born in South Africa, raised in Dublin, Ireland
and moved to Cork in her 20s. Her debut paranormal romance in the Carrier series was discovered on Inkpop, a
website for writers of teen fiction. Within weeks, book one of the in
the series, CARRIER OF THE MARK, hit the coveted top five spot and was
reviewed by an editor at HarperCollins. A few emails and some
hysterical screaming later, she signed her first deal with HarperTeen. The second book in the trilogy is SHADOW OF THE MARK.
Jeaniene Frost (
@Jeaniene_Frost) is the
New York Times,
USA Today,
and
international bestselling author of vampire stories in the Night
Huntress series, Night Prince series, and the upcoming Broken Destiny
series. To date, foreign rights for her novels have
sold to eighteen different countries. Jeaniene lives in North Carolina
with her husband Matthew, who long ago accepted that she swears like a
sailor, rarely cooks, and always sleeps in on the weekends. Aside from
writing, Jeaniene enjoys reading, poetry, watching movies with her
husband, exploring old cemeteries, spelunking and traveling – by car.
Terri Garey (
@TerriGarey) is the RITA
© award winning author of six
novels, two series, and various novellas. Her devilishly delicious tales
from the dark side have been described as "sweet yet smouldering" by
Publishers Weekly, and "sultry and upbeat" by Library Journal. Despite
her choice of spooky subject matter, Terri prefers to avoid graveyards,
especially on Halloween.
Colleen Gleason (
@colleengleason), a
New York Times and
USA Today bestselling author, has written more than two dozen novels in a variety of genres – most of
them with some sort of supernatural element. From vampire hunters in
Regency England to dystopian romance (as Joss Ware), Colleen has run the
gamut. Her most recent release is ROARING MIDNIGHT, a spin-off of the internationally bestselling Gardella Vampire
Chronicles, in which she brings the vampire-hunting family to Roaring
Twenties Chicago.
Helen Lowe (
@helenl0we)
is a Fantasy/Science Fiction author, poet, interviewer and blogger. She
won the prestigious Gemmell Morningstar Award for THE HEIR OF NIGHT, the
first novel in her The Wall of Night epic fantasy series. THE GATHERING
OF THE LOST, the second in the series, was described as a "a
classic right up there with the likes of George RR Martin's A SONG OF
ICE AND FIRE" by SF Site. Helen has twice won the Sir Julius Vogel Award
for Excellence in SciFi-Fantasy: for her YA novel THORNSPELL and for
THE HEIR OF NIGHT.
Kristin Miller (
@KM_Miller) is the
New York Times and
USA Today
bestselling author who writes the dark and sexy Vampires of Crimson Bay
series featuring a blood war between vampires and shape-shifters and the
Seattle Wolf Pack series, with her latest release GONE WITH THE WOLF.
In addition to paranormal romance, she also writes contemporary and
historical romance and romantic suspense.
Nicole Murphy (
@nicole_r_murphy)
has been a primary school teacher, bookstore owner, journalist and
checkout chick. Her urban
fantasy trilogy Dream of Asarlai's last book is ROGUE GADDA. As
Elizabeth Dunk she writes contemporary romance. As a journalist, Nicole
has won awards for her writing; she has also had more than two dozen
short stories published, the most recent in BLOODSTONES, an anthology of
urban fantasy. Nicole lives her love of science fiction and fantasy
through her involvement with the Conflux science fiction conventions. As
Elizabeth Dunk, she writes contemporary romance. She lives with her
husband in Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia.
Pamela Palmer (
@Pamela_Palmer) is a
New York Times,
USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of more than a dozen novels including the Vamp City, Feral Warriors, and The Esri
series. When Pamela's initial career goal of captaining star ships
failed to pan out, she turned to engineering, satisfying her desire for
adventure with books and daydreams until finally succumbing to the need
to create worlds of her own. Pamela lives and writes in the suburbs of
Washington, D.C.
Jaime Rush (
@Jamierush) is the
New York Times
bestselling author of The Hidden series about humans with the essence
of gods who walk the knife’s
edge between the glamour of Miami and a place filled with dark magick
and dangerous beauty. She also writes the Offspring series: Dangerous
outcasts with extraordinary psychic powers who must band together to
fight an enemy out to destroy them. As Tina Wainscott, she has published
eighteen romance novels, mostly suspense and many with a touch of
paranormal.
Kerrelyn
Sparks (
@KerrelynSparks) is the bestselling author of the paranormal romance Love at Stake series, which has hit
as high as number 5 on the
New York Times list and 22 on the
USA
Today list. Her most recent release is THE VAMPIRE WITH THE DRAGON
TATTOO. She also writes historical romances. She lives in the Greater
Houston area with her husband, children,
and a
house full of garlic. So far, there are
no
vampires in her family. Werewolves are
another
matter entirely.
Wasn't that a blast?! You followed all of us on Twitter, right? Right? You might find a New-to-You author among us who could turn into one of your favorites. Check us out!
Hugs,
Dakota
The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and in any weather by Tomb Guard sentinels. Sentinels, all volunteers, are considered to be the best of the elite 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), headquartered at Fort Myer, Virginia.
Yet Trump didn't want to get wet in a light rain Saturday and stayed warm and dry inside the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Paris rather than honor American soldiers who died in WWI at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery. Learn about the cemetery in the video below. Then he skipped town on Sunday as the Paris Peace Forum was about to start. The Peace Forum is a global gathering of leaders dedicated to international cooperation and multilateralism.