Showing posts with label the marquis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the marquis. Show all posts

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Giveaway Winners - The Marquis

Hi there!

I wanted to congratulate the winners of Christine Rains' giveaway in celebration of the release of The Marquis:



As the first place winner, Lynda has won a digital copy of The Marquis, an ARC of The Alpha, and a signed copy of Fearless.

As the second place winner, Rosemary has won a digital copy of The Marquis and an ARC of The Alpha.

Finally, as the third place winner, Trisha as won a digital copy of The Marquis.

Congratulations to all of you!  What cool prizes!  If you didn't win, you can always purchase Christine's ebooks.  Look at the sidebar of her blog: Christine Rains - Writer.  You won't regret it - she's a wonderful storyteller.

Thank you for the opportunity to help out with this, Christine!

May you find your Muse.


Sunday, December 23, 2012

Successful Apocalypse and Giveaway Ongoing

Hi there!  I'm keeping it brief today, as it's the holidays and a lot of people are taking a break.  This will serve as my Monday post since I'm going to be doing a WHOLE lotta' cooking on Monday.

First, if you survived the apocalypse and participated in the Choose Your Own Apocalypse Blogfest on Friday, the 21st, here's your survivor badge:


Congratulations!  You're still alive!

A great big thank you out to Chuck, my charming and positively apocalyptic co-host, and to each of you who participated.  I had such a good time reading everyone's posts on Friday.  Had the world ended, I would have been too distracted to notice.

Second, Christine Rains' giveaway is ongoing.  There are great prizes, and you can enter below.  Easy peasy!

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


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Finally, have a Merry Christmas!  I'll see you back here for at least a brief post on Wednesday, as I do have some links to share and at least one of them is only good for a couple days.

May you find your Muse.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

13th Floor Blog Tour - Wicked Neighbors

I'd like to welcome Christine Rains for the final day of her 13th Floor Blog Tour! Today, she's going to discuss 13 neighbors worse than those on the 13th floor. After you read her post and check out The Marquis, be sure to enter the big Final Day Giveaway at the end of this post!  The giveaway is open internationally, and you can win some great prizes.  It closes on the 27th.



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

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.

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Santa's Cog & Links

This weekend I took my kids and my nephew up the side of Pikes Peak on the Manitou Cog so they could visit Santa up on a really cold frozen mountain.  It's something we've pondered doing for years, so I finally sucked it up and forked out the big bucks.  Totally worth it!  They have a great crew working to insure the kids have a good time while they're up there, and a fabulous Santa and Mrs. Claus.

We got a nice snowfall the night before, which made it perfection.  Everything was frosted in white, and the elves had a snowball fight, which the boys loved watching.  It distracted my nephew from his frozen toes.

The cog station

The side of our train 

The front of the cog, wreath and all

Some festive decorations

Santa's place!

Some scrawny winter-bald aspens, surrounded by lush pines

More festive decorations.  Really, what's more fun that decorations in nature?

Before I go onto the links, I'd like to mention that I will be starting Friday posts, likely after the 1st of January.  After the last A-to-Z, in which I had tons of fun researching Wild West figures and outlaws, I had considered doing Friday historical posts, but I was so burned out that I ended up not doing it.  However, people seemed to enjoy them, and I know I enjoyed doing the research, so even if no one reads them, it will get me back doing something I love to do.  I may have to start it earlier just to make up for all the blog hops/fests I've been doing.


Also, Christine Rains will be visiting The Warrior Muse Thursday, December 20 for her 13th Floor Blog Tour, promoting her new book, The Marquis, the first in her 13th Floor series.  We've got a great giveaway and a little fun planned, so come visit next Thursday (and Monday and Wednesday, of course!).

Without further ado, the links!

Taking Submissions:

Electric Spec is taking submissions of speculative fiction.  They prefer science fiction, fantasy and the macabre.  Paying market.

Carina Press is accepting submissions in multiple arenas.  They pay 40-50% royalties, digital first, print maybe.

Sylvan Dell is open to submissions of creative and educational books for kids, primarily in earth and physical science.  Paying market.

Blog Hops/Fests/Contests/Events:

Brandon and Bryan of A Beer for the Shower are throwing the Party Like Slim Dyson Contest, wherein you describe a party their character Slim Dyson might like.  You can view Slim Dyson's story on their blog (Check the sidebar).  You can win a signed manuscript.  Make the party anything you want!  December 17.

The Gifts Aren't Only From Santa Event will occur on December 14 and 15.  You will find games, giveaways, free YA novels and discounted novels, which will benefit Children's Hospital.

Of Interest/Other:

Steve Rosenbaum posted about "How to De-Risk Book Publishing."  He talked about the changing publishing world and how to build a modern platform.

Random House is launching three new digital imprints.

Anything to share?  Ever heard of the cog?  Or similar?  Have you visited Santa this holiday season?  What would you ask for?

May you find your Muse.