Christine is a fellow mom and blogger, and someone I find to be inspiring to those of us in the writing world. The fantasies she creates suck you in, seamlessly blending with the "real world" you and I know. I can't wait to meet the characters of the 13th floor!
And now, without further ado, Christine Rains:
13
NEIGHBORS WORSE THAN THOSE ON THE 13th FLOOR
In my
world, the neighbors are a little unusual. A retired demon will come fix your
toilet if it breaks. A werewolf paces her apartment, howling with want to run
free. A vampire stalks the halls waiting to find the young woman who haunts his
every waking thought. And a banshee screams with the visions of death that
plague her.
A little
noisy. A bit frightening. But all in all, nowhere near as bad as some
neighbors. Here are 13 neighbors worse than those on the 13th floor.
10
The
nosy neighbor. She's always peering out the window and knows everything that's
happening on the block. You open your mailbox and she's suddenly there, peering
over your shoulder to see what's in your hand. You've caught her going through
someone else's garbage and catch the glint of binoculars from her bedroom. This
is a neighbor that takes away your privacy and you never know exactly how many
of your secrets she knows.
20
The
lazy slobs. These neighbors never clean their yard. It's overgrown and there's
an old tire left baking in the sun. Maybe even a dented car with one wheel becomes
a lawn ornament. Then there's the smell. Garbage? Dog droppings? More than
that. You're never sure exactly what that stench is.
30
The
zookeeper. A dozen dogs barking at all hours of the night and getting loose in
the neighborhood. A houseful of cats and a chicken coop with a rooster that
crows at dawn for every single time zone.
40
The
negligent parents. Their children run wild and undisciplined. The brats are
outside at all hours, stealing stuff from your yard, and tormenting the
neighborhood pets.
50
The
partying frat boys. Arrogant jerks playing loud music all night and pulling
pranks. Call the cops on them once and they'll toilet paper your house.
60
The
creepy quiet guy. Seemingly the perfect neighbor. He's clean, quiet, and
polite, but there's just something about him that isn't right. No friends, but
too much garbage for one man.
70
The
nudists. Again, quiet and clean, but they walk around in broad daylight without
a stitch of clothing. You want to look away, but it's like a train wreck. You
can't help but stare.
80
The
gaudy over-decorators. At Christmas, their house and yard looks like a reindeer
threw up every Christmas past. Every holiday, they have inflatable giants and
more lights than the Eiffel Tower.
90
The
neighborhood association self-appointed representative. The one out there
measuring the length of your grass to make sure it's regulation or following
you around as you walk your dog to make sure you pick up any leavings.
100 The mad scientist. Strange explosions in the middle of
the night and a rabid robot dog. It might seem like he'd be a cool neighbor,
but unless you're Marty McFly, you're not getting a time machine.
110 The old lady the kids in the neighborhood call a witch
that turns out to really be a witch. Not all witches are good. She isn't going
to take kindly to all those brats tormenting her.
120 The hillbilly feuders. Somehow you're always caught in the middle as they take each other on, spray painting property, video taping each other, stealing each other's goats, screaming, fighting, and putting up nasty signs. And those dueling banjos!
130 The Homer Simpson. We'd all be Ned Flanderses in that
situation.
Title: 1301 –
The Marquis
Author: Christine Rains
Genre: paranormal romance
Release Date: December 13th, 2012
Blurb:
Life after Hell isn't
more exciting than watching football and fixing a busted pipe. Once a powerful
demon, Marc enjoys his quiet existence and a good cup of coffee. With big
ambitions to gain his master's favor, a trickster demon named Vetis shatters
Marc's peace and vows to deliver Marc's head to the fires of Hell. Not before
he destroys everything Marc cares about, of course.
Marc's power has
diminished over the years. Heaven will never grant him absolution, and he
refuses to return to Hell. Running isn't an option. The city of Carmine is his
territory. It's also home to his favorite cafe owner, Mae Hopkins. The dame has
a lovely smile, but it's her heart and soul that shine bright.
While his city burns
and his love is captured, Marc must decide to surrender or let hate and anger
fuel him to become the fearsome beast he so loathes: The Marquis. If the
Marquis rises, Vetis can be defeated and Mae saved, but Marc would be lost to
his demon forever.
1301 – The Marquis on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16148143-1301---the-marquis
You can get your copies of The Marquis at the following places (click on the store names and the link will open in a new window):
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Smashwords
You can get your copies of The Marquis at the following places (click on the store names and the link will open in a new window):
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Smashwords
Author Bio:
Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has
four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy
player. When she's not writing or reading, she's having adventures with her son
or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published
series. She also has two novellas and sixteen short stories published.
Website: http://christinerains.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorchristinerains
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@CRainsWriter
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4017568.Christine_Rains
Thank you for stopping by on your tour, Christine! Sorry about all the giant candy canes and lights. I should have warned you that we're the over-decorators. Whoops!
Giveaway Prizes:
1st Prize - Digital copy of The Marquis, ARC of The Alpha, signed copy of Fearless
2nd Prize - Digital copy of The Marquis, ARC of The Alpha
3rd Prize - Digital copy of The Marquis
Thank you for stopping by on your tour, Christine! Sorry about all the giant candy canes and lights. I should have warned you that we're the over-decorators. Whoops!
Giveaway Prizes:
1st Prize - Digital copy of The Marquis, ARC of The Alpha, signed copy of Fearless
2nd Prize - Digital copy of The Marquis, ARC of The Alpha
3rd Prize - Digital copy of The Marquis
10 comments:
What's worse is when some of those combine, like the slobs who are negligent parents and they over-decorate. (Where I live, the latter involves lights hanging unevenly on every tree and shrub and an inflatable Santa on a John Deere tractor.)
Thank you for hosting me today, Shannon! This was such a fun post. I can't wait to read what everyone else says.
Alex, Santa on a John Deere? Yikes!
I wouldn't want any of those neighbors for sure. Well, may be the mad scientist. :) Merry Christmas!
What a funny post! A few of my neighbors resemble those on your list. LOL!
Great list. A lot of them live on my street...Good luck with your book, Christine! Congrats. What a great time of year for a release - all those Christmas shoppers!
Tina @ Life is Good
http://kmdlifeisgood.blogspot.com/
Well, that does sound interesting. I'll be checking it out.
How does this nudist neighbor work? They actually walk around outside?
My neighbors are just about all of those wrapped into one. Oh, and don't forget the gossip. You know, the one that loves to spread rumors, even if they aren't true. Also, they're incredibly racist.
"What, you didn't hear that Joe was sleeping with Sarah? He totally is. Also, I hear he's one of those dirty Mexican immigrants. No, really, the pale skin and green eyes is just a clever disguise."
LOL! Love the list!
I was the child in #4. Sorry!
And I've had the neighbors in #5 when I lived in Missouri, except they weren't frat boys but hillbillies. So annoying!
Christine, thanks for including me in the tour!
Alex, too true, and they often do combine.
Al, the mad scientist would be fun as long as he didn't keep me up at night, wake me up early or blow up my house.
Sherry, I'm betting we all have one or two of them.
Tina, good point on release time!
Andrew, if you have to ask, you must not have one!
ABftS, oh yeah, the gossip, that's a big one. We've definitely got one of those in this neighborhood, but she's not racist, so I guess that would be a plus. I do have a separate neighbor who is a bit racist, though. Blech.
Cherie, I've definitely had the partyers in old places. Unfortunately, my hubby was that kid in #4, too.
Al, you'd think the mad scientist might be cool, but imagine the strange explosions and weird smells!
Sherry, you poor dear! I hope it's at least the quiet ones.
Tina, thank you! I hope you don't have too many noisy ones.
Andrew, thanks! I like Shannon's comment to you. Hehehe!
ABftS, gossipy neighbors are so annoying. Never mind the next level of being racist or prejudiced in any way!
Cherie, thanks! I'm lucky to have quiet neighbors. Mostly. Heh.
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