Monday, March 23, 2015

Nick Wilford A Change of Mind Cover Reveal & Christine Rains Of Blood and Sorrow Character Meet & Greet

Today I'm delighted to welcome both Nick Wilford and Christine Rains! First, we'll take a look at Christine's Of Blood and Sorrow, and have a quick meet and greet with one of her characters, Hessa, the villain.

I do love a good villain!

Then...voila...we'll see Nick's cover for A Change of Mind and Other Stories.



OF BLOOD AND SORROW
By Christine Rains

Blurb:
Erin Driscol works the perfect job consoling fellow demons by feeding off their grief at Putzkammer & Sons Funeral Home.

When fledgling vampire Nicolas Reese comes to Erin for help, she learns the truth behind the legends and hides him from his sire and the vampire hunters who seek him. But when the Putzkammers begin to die one by one, Erin is caught between her act of kindness and the need to save her adopted family. Only by facing her own personal demons can she stop the slaughter and still rescue Nicolas from his dark fate.

Add it to read on Goodreads.

About the author:
Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She's married to her best friend and fellow geek living in south-central Indiana. They have one son who is too smart for his parents' own good and loves to pretend he's Batman. Christine has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not reading or writing, she's going on adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. (South Central Indiana Fiction Interface). She has several short stories and novellas published. Of Blood and Sorrow series is her first urban fantasy novel.


Available for purchase in the following places:

Please visit her website and blog.

You can also find Christine on
Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

HESSA

“When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before.” Mae West



Beautiful, clever, and alluring. Hessa Hadad is sophisticated evil.

Several centuries old, she's a vampire of great strength. Many might pass her off as being just a pretty face. But she is not to be underestimated. All that power she has comes with a lack of morals.

Hessa has sired many fledglings over the years, but never has one slipped through her fingers. Why has her new boy toy Nicolas not come back to her welcoming embrace? It couldn't be because of that pathetic demon girl. Demons are lowly creatures. Certainly not the perfection that is the vampire.

Nicolas will come back to Hessa. It's inevitable. She's his sire after all. And that demon girl, she'll suffer for her interference.

Favorite line from Hessa: Move and I’ll string up your intestines for the world to see.”

Tidbit from the author: I do love a villain who has brains and class. The cherry on the sundae is that Hessa knows she's bad and revels in it. It makes my job as the writer that much more fun!


***
Now for Nick Wilford's A Change of Mind and Other Stories. This is his cover reveal!


Title: A Change of Mind and Other Stories
Author: Nick Wilford
Genre: Contemporary speculative fiction
Cover Design: Rebekah Romani
Release Date: May 25th 2015

Preorder Links: Amazon US, Amazon UK

A Change of Mind and Other Stories consists of a novella, four short stories and one flash fiction piece. This collection puts the extremes of human behaviour under the microscope with the help of lashings of dark humour, and includes four pieces previously published in Writer’s Muse magazine.

In A Change of Mind, Reuben is an office worker so meek and mild he puts up with daily bullying from his boorish male colleagues as if it’s just a normal part of his day. But when a stranger points him in the direction of a surgeon offering a revolutionary new procedure, he can’t pass up the chance to turn his life around.

But this isn’t your average surgeon. For a start, he operates alone in a small room above a mechanic’s. And he promises to alter his patients’ personality so they can be anything they want to be…

In Marissa, a man who is determined to find evidence of his girlfriend’s infidelity ends up wondering if he should have left well alone.

The Dog God finds a chink in the armour of a man with a megalomaniacal desire to take over the world.

In The Insomniac, a man who leads an obsessively regimented lifestyle on one hour’s sleep a night finds a disruption to his routine doesn’t work for him.

Hole In One sees a dedicated golfer achieving a lifelong ambition.

The Loner ends the collection on a note of hope as two family members try to rebuild their lives after they are torn apart by jealousy.



Nick Wilford is a writer and stay-at-home dad. Once a journalist, he now makes use of those rare times when the house is quiet to explore the realms of fiction, with a little freelance editing and formatting thrown in. When not working, he can usually be found spending time with his family or cleaning something. Nick is also the editor of Overcoming Adversity: An Anthology for Andrew. You can find him hanging out on his blog or on Goodreads or Twitter.

Thank you to Nick and Christine for stopping by today! I hope you'll check out Of Blood and Sorrow, by Christine Rains, and A Change of Mind and Other Stories, by Nick Wilford. And don't forget to leave a review once you've read them! Though you'll have to wait until May 25 to grab Nick's book.

May you find your Muse.

27 comments:

Christine Rains said...

Thank you so much for hosting me today, Shannon! :) And congrats to Nick! It's a great cover for his collection.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

She does sound ruthless.
Congratulations, Nick!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

You're hosting two of my favorite people. Congrats to Nick and Christine.

Christine Rains said...

Thanks, Alex. She's one of the most wicked villains I had the pleasure of writing!

Susan, thank you!

Nick Wilford said...

Sounds like an excellent villain, Christine. Thanks, Shannon!

shelly said...

Congrats to Christine and Nick. Hi, Shannon!

Christine Rains said...

Thank you, Nick!

Julie Flanders said...

Very happy for Nick and Hessa sounds like a fantastic villain. How fun!

Heather R. Holden said...

Ooh, I love the sound of Hessa already. I bet she'll be as fun to read about as she was to write! :)

Also, congrats to Nick! His book looks great!

Christine Rains said...

Thanks, Julie! I do wonder what would happen if Hessa and Aleksei were to meet. I don't think they'd like each other very much! *LOL*

Christine Rains said...

She most definitely is! Thanks, Heather. :)

Shannon Lawrence said...

I was happy to!

Shannon Lawrence said...

Ruthless is fabulous!

Shannon Lawrence said...

Great pair to host!

Shannon Lawrence said...

Great to have you by today!

Shannon Lawrence said...

Hi, Shelly!

Shannon Lawrence said...

Hessa and Aleksei would be great fun to see together. ~shivers~

Shannon Lawrence said...

She definitely sounds like a fun character.

Pat Hatt said...

She sounds not to be messed with.

Congrats Nick.

Anonymous said...

What a fun villain to write! Both books sound like great reads. Congrats to Christine and Nick!

cleemckenzie said...

Love the name Hessa Hadad. That sets up some very interesting possibilities for the character.

Congrats to all the writers here today. You have the corner on new books, Shannon! :-)

Michelle Wallace said...

Congrats to Christine and Nick!
Two great covers!
Hessa Hadad... interesting and very original name...

Christine Rains said...

Most definitely, Pat.

Christine Rains said...

Thanks, Lori!

Christine Rains said...

Thank you, Lee! I do like the way Hessa's name sounds. It's almost serpentine and so wonderfully exotic.

Christine Rains said...

Thank you, Michelle! :)

Shannon Lawrence said...

Thank you, Pat, Lori, Lee, and Michelle for stopping by to offer your support to Nick and Christine!