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

10 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

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.)

Christine Rains said...

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!

Al Diaz said...

I wouldn't want any of those neighbors for sure. Well, may be the mad scientist. :) Merry Christmas!

Sherry Ellis said...

What a funny post! A few of my neighbors resemble those on your list. LOL!

Tina said...

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/

Andrew Leon said...

Well, that does sound interesting. I'll be checking it out.

How does this nudist neighbor work? They actually walk around outside?

A Beer for the Shower said...

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."

Cherie Reich said...

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!

Shannon Lawrence said...

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.

Christine Rains said...

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.