This past year the local papers have been full of news stories about child abuse. Not as much has been written about spousal abuse and elder abuse. It seems these stories only make the headlines when violence erupts.

Is there nothing we can do to prevent the murder-suicide of innocent children? Not only the terrible toll in the Connecticut school shooting, but now there's an incident closer to my home, another murder-suicide that has taken four more lives.

Are you praying like I am that we'll get through the holidays without anymore tragedies?

The mental health of others is so often overlooked as we hurry about our daily lives, as is our own mental health.

Thankfully, mental illness no longer carries the scourge it once did. Once diagnosed, it can be successfully treated with therapy, drugs, and educated understanding. Anyone may suffer 'the stings and arrows of outrageous fortune,' and may become depressed and stop eating or taking their medication.

Awareness is the first step to lending a helping hand. Reach out, thenup.

This is the American Hotel at Cerro Gordo, once a bustling silver mining town on a mountain above Owens Valley. The town has since been restored.

This month to celebrate the release of Rising Above, my historical time travel about life in 1874 is this town, I'm making a number of guest appearances. 
Here are the links:
 November 1 Clare Dargen's  Blog http://theembraced.blogspot.com/
November 1 Gemma K. Murray's Interview   
 http://authors.coffeetimeromance.com/gemmakmurray/2012/10/31/spend-the-day-with-toni-noel/
 November 2 Interview  Heartfelt Promotions  http://www.heartfeltpromos.com November 3 Blog - How Far Out Is Farout?  on Sapphire Phelan's Passion Corner
http://sapphirephelanspassioncorner.blogspot.com/2012/11/romancing-on-friday-how-far-out-is.html
November 4 Blog: How Young Is Too Young  to Marry http://www.happilyeverafterthoughts.com
November 5 Interview Leave a comment for a chance to win a download giveaway.
http://romancelivesforever.blogspot.com/2012/11/time-travel-rising-above-toninoelwriter.html
November 5th through 9th I'm in the spotlight at the Desert Breeze Blog with a Q&A interview, blogs about the setting and and inspiration of Rising Above, and much more.
November 8th on the Romance Books 4 Us Blog I'm blogging about Dingbat and Oddball Heroines      http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/?zx=13c36e166b94e682
And on November 9th I'm being interviewed on Long and Short Reviews
http://lasrguest.blogspot.com/

Good morning! I am Gemma K. Murray and I reside in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan. I write urban fantasy/paranormal romance.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself:

I was born and raised in lower Michigan to a family of dairy farmers. So, you can see where my love of animals comes from.

I met my husband when I started kindergarten and felt a connection even then. It took us several more years to fall in love, but we’ve spent the last 20 years of our lives together. In fact, we celebrated our 19th anniversary this year. We have 5 canine kids who we adore and spoil rotten as often as we can.

My books come from dreams I have. I dream the same dream every night until I begin writing the story. That’s when the characters begin to talk to me. They tell the story. I simply write it down.

Here’s a little bit about my Cedar River series:

Yes, Cedar River is an actual city in Michigan’s U.P. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that when I began writing the series. I had never been to the U.P., but my character, Bowie, told me where to set it. Lucky for me, there is a thing called creative license.J That allowed me to move the city to Lake Superior instead of keeping it on Lake Michigan.

Anyway, Cedar River is an entire community of shifters. From the dragons to the puma and wolves all way through to otters, a fischer, owls, lynxes, and few surprises, all shifters are welcome in Cedar River. There is safety to be found here.

Keeper of the Golden Dragon’s Heart was supposed to be a one-time thing. Well, the characters had other ideas. Natural Born Enemies is the second book in the series (Fall 2012) and I’m working on the third book along with a spin-off series. I can’t tell you how many will be in the series since the number changes weekly. I’ll just say, I hope it continues for a very long time!

Blurb- The Upper Peninsula of Michigan seems like it is another country. The rawness and beauty of the land draws people from every walk of life. What most people don't realize is there is a little town nestled on the banks of Lake Superior that an entire group of supernatural beings call home. Shifters of every shape and size live there. They raise their families there. Tourists come from near and far to visit the quaint town of Cedar River, Michigan. The tourists never realize they are walking among some of the most unusual beings on earth. 

Bowie Golden is a dragon shifter who is in charge of Cedar River's safety. Until now, the biggest threat to anyone's safety was Anastasia Plum, a witch/puma-shifter. She has been the town hellraiser since she was a teenager. Now someone has discovered the secret the residents of Cedar River keep for one another. These radicals are determined to eradicate the entire town. It's up to Bowie to keep them all safe.

Ana has always idolized Bowie. She may have stirred up trouble from time to time, but Bowie or one of his brothers would always get her out of the trouble she was in. One day, it happened. The unthinkable, the unimaginable occurred. Anastasia Plum fell for the "golden" boy. What an unlikely duo- the sheriff and the hellraiser!

Just as these two discover their passion for one another, a group of people is determined to keep them apart. It's up to Ana to prove that she is the only Keeper of the Golden Dragon's Heart.

You can view the video trailer here.

Available at:
Amazon
Leap of Faith Publishing
Barnes and Noble
Coffee Time Romance’s e-bookstore

Where you can “stalk” Gemma:
Website
Pinterest
Goodreads
Facebook
Cedar River’s FB page
Google+

Thank you, Toni, for allowing me to spend the day with your readers! I appreciate this opportunity.

Guest author Sapphire Phelan writes the perfect reads for your Halloween pleasure, erotic urban fantasies about dark heroes and heroines with bite...sink your teeth into a romance by Sapphire Phelan today. 

  Welcome, Sapphire.  


There’s something about hot, humid Southern heat and romance. Maybe it’s the essence of Tennessee Williams, with his themes of repression and yet, sexual desire, like in A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Southern belles as they fan themselves, the beading of sweat—especially on a man’s hard, naked body, and the heat intensifying the passion. Maybe it’s a need to relieve the heat in the lovers more than anything else. A fleshy form of thunder and lightening.

 

More than anything, a romance author who lives in the South, can finds inspiration writing passionate love stories, whether summer, or winter, even in fall and spring, especially when the humidity lingers in the air. Though said author admits to writing it indoors, in cool air conditioning or during winter, with the dry heat keeping her toasty warm. But with hot humidity sometimes going up to 100 degree weather lately and when storms rush in, hitting the area with violence and passion, an author can see how this would work with passions erupting between lovers in a romance.

Sapphire

 
Website Blog Newsletter Facebook

Blurb:

Mortal woman Tina discovers she is part of a prophesy that says she and Charun, her demon Familiar, must make love so she can become the witch she is fated to be. If she doesn't do it and stop the demon army bringing Armageddon to the Mortal Realm on Halloween, she won't stand a chance in Hell.

A year later, just when Tina and Charun thought it was all over and that their life would be normal—another prophesy pops up. If Lucifer snatches Tina and mates with her before the last chime before midnight of the new year and gets her pregnant with his son, that the real Armageddon would begin, spelling the end of life as they knew it. This time they get help from an archangel, Jacokb, but with demons, Lucifer, and a cute demon bunny with fangs out of a Monty Python nightmare, out to stop them and Heaven not lending a hand, will Tina this time lose the battle and become the mother of the Antichrist and the start of a new Hell on Earth?

The Witch and the Familiar  is adult in nature as is the book, so only 18 and older can read.

Excerpt from The Witch and the Familiar, an erotic urban fantasy for readers 18 and above.

Nasty wraiths that haunted Tartarus stalked them. Not near enough to feel their rancid breath on the backs of their necks, but every time Tina glanced back over her shoulder, she caught sight of several shadows remerging with the darkness.

“Keep walking, keep walking. It doesn’t do to let the monsters know you know they’re there,” Fluffy told her.

She couldn’t understand why she listened to the cute little bastard. No doubt he was leading her around in circles and playing with her. She wouldn’t be surprised if they landed back at Lucifer’s place, where the depraved creature would hand her over to the Devil, being in paw and cloven hoof with the Master of Hell.

It almost made her want to kick him in his perky little tail.

Sure, and with no powers, the rascally demon rabbit would skewer her with his. What’s up, Doc? She bet Bugs Bunny was based on a demon like Fluffy.

She halted when she almost ran into the phantoms of a skinny little man being pursued by a big-boned woman brandishing a kitchen knife. The woman was screaming at him, but no words came out of her mouth. They swished off the path and back into the darkened fields of Tartarus.

Now why had she halted? They were spirits and nothing more. She could have passed right through their ectoplasmic bodies.

Tina snatched Fluffy off the ground and walked faster. “Come on, my longer legs will make better time.”

“You can trust me.”

Tina stopped. “What?”

“I know what you’re thinking.”

She lifted Fluffy up by his long floppy ears to stare into his eyes. “You sneaky little monster. Get out of my head.”

“I did not read your thoughts,” retorted Fluffy, twitching his nose. “I have powers, but that does not include being able to hear what you are thinking. Besides, what self respecting demon wants to know what a human thinks, even if the human is an immortal Witch? Give me a break.”

She put him back in her arms and started walking again. “Then how did you know?”

“A smart person would be suspicious of any demon willing to help them. I mean, look at our track records. We lie, cheat, steal, murder, commit lustful acts, and most of the time try to get humans to do all that for us. And for what—the small promise of a human soul?” He shook his head. “Human souls are like pennies to the bigger treasure. Witches’ and Angels’ are worth gold if one of us can get them to fall for our honeyed lies and be led astray. I meant it, Witch. I want out of this cesspool and I am tired of doing the Devil’s bidding.”

He sounded sincere. Tina decided to take the chance that he meant it, though like she had any other option otherwise.

She almost ran into another lost soul that floated onto the lit path. It glared at her and she kicked a large stone by accident. It skittered off into the murkiness off path, its sound loud like a warning that some fool that did not belong there walked through Tartarus.

A bellow filled the air and she came face-to-face with some terrifying demon armed with a sword. Fluffy screeched and leaped from her arms.

Cowardly demon, she thought.

Frightened and powerless, she positioned herself with her arms up like a karate expert. She didn’t have one chance at survival, but she’d be damned she wouldn’t go without a fight.

“Charun, wait!” yelled a familiar sounding voice. “That’s Tina!”

The demon froze. She dropped her arms and stared up into its face.

Was that truly…”Charun?” Yes, it was!

The sword vanished in a poof of smoke. Then Charun took her by her shoulders and lifted her up to stare at her closer. She kissed him. The look of confusion in his eyes changed to a growing gleam of joy.

“Tina? Tina!”

She found herself enveloped in the demon’s arms and kissed deeply. She returned the kiss back just as fully.

Only Charun kissed like that. Like hot chocolate and whipped cream, with a touch of wicked whiskey.

  
About Sapphire Phelan:

Sapphire Phelan has published erotic and sweet paranormal/fantasy/science fiction romance along with a couple of erotic horror stories. Her erotic urban fantasy, Being Familiar With a Witch is a Prism 2010 Awards winner and a Epic Awards 2010 finalist. The sequel to it is A Familiar Tangle With Hell, released June 2011 from Phaze Books, Both eBooks were combined into one print book, The Witch and the Familiar, released April 24, 2012.

She admits she can always be found at her desk and on her computer, writing. And yes, the house, husband, and even the cats sometimes suffer for it!

Find out more about Sapphire Phelan at http://www.SapphirePhelan.com.

Buy The Witch & The Familiar at Phaze Books , BarnesandNoble.com and at Amazon . For those in Uk, it’s available at  AmazonUK .

Do You?
You should. Isn't it time you took a stand for what you believe to be wrong in this country?
You have a right to read what you want to, not be dictated to by someone else.
If we don't stand up for our rights, who will?
Harry Potter and Huckleberry Finn belong on the best seller list, not on a list of Banned Books.
I'll step off my soapbox with this reminder: Don't forget to vote on November 6. 
Make your opinion count.
 

My hand is still in a cast following surgery to remove an arthritic bone at the base of my thumb. The cast comes off on Tuesday, thank goodness. I'll be wearing a brace on the thumb for a while, and will need therapy for the expected stiffness, but hope this is the nearest thing to being paroled I'll ever experience.

I haven't been allowed to drive for seven weeks, and have compiled a long shopping list for Wednesday of necessities I've run out of, things I need to restock and replace things, and visit the places I like to shop to prevent really going into withdrawal. It has been over two months, so taking the dog in for grooming, then getting my hair trimmed will be my first stops.

Some things are still hard for me to do: opening the pickle jar, washing my hair, changing the sprinkler on the hose, flipping light switches and pushing buttons with my left hand. The fingers not in the cast still swell. I'm so tired of showering with my left arm in a plastic bag, and it's nearly impossible to soap a wash cloth without using both hands.

In some ways the seven weeks passed quickly. I read a lot on my new Kindle, a Mother's Day gift from a daughter. I especially enjoyed Phoenix Rising Book One: Janus by Gail Delaney. The emotional scene where John Smith sends his adopted son to another galaxy for the boy's safety had me in tears. Here's my favorite line: "The being polite and behaved crap sucked," the troubled heroine's thought.

Then I read A Dream to be Loved by Kandi James. Haven't we all dreamed of this? James tells an emotion-packed story. First novel I've read of hers, but there will be more. Everglades, by Petie McCarty kept me up reading late into the night. I had to find out if the hero and heroine escape the Everglades alive. They do, only to dive right into another jam. There's a boatload of suspense in this book.

A good time, I decided, to find out what all the Internet chatter was about, so I read three of E. L James' novels next, and I'm delighted I did. Then I read Out of Time by Michelle Sutton and Chameleon's Shadow by Tami Dee, a historical romantic suspense. My favorite line from Tami's book: "There had been a time when she had wondered if she would survive her survival training." Only a host of friends watching over her keep the Chameleon safe, and I loved the ending, a complete wrap-up of the loose ends.

I didn't get to read as much as I'd planned during my recovery, since edits came back for Fairy Dusted, my September release from Desert Breeze, and for two November releases. Then still one handed, I wrote some blogs for future promos, and submitted and sold two manuscripts to Desert Breeze Publishing for 2013 release.

My recovery was also a good time to book promos and request reviews, so I filled several spots on my calendar, but have neglected my Web presence for far too long. I could only do so much with an ice pack on one hand.

My first release from Desert Breeze, Law Breakers and Love Makers, will be released in print in November, and editing it is next on my to-do list. Perhaps I'll tackle that today.

About 15 years ago my critique group heard Ray Bradbury speak at a writer's conference sponsored by Point Loma  Nazarene University.  Attendants helped this elderly, remarkable man onto the stage and into an easy chair and for the next two hours he held the packed audience spellbound as he told stories of his youth, his successes and his disappointments.

The fact he never attended college impressed me the most. With no money for college, he attended a library in Los Angeles 3 days a week for 10 years, reading, a habit started in his youth when he read his favorite authors in the Carnegie Library in Waukegan, Illinois. We shared a love of Edgar Allen Poe's writings.

His firm belief in the importance of libraries struck a similar chord in me.  When he began writing his own science fiction he had his years of reading it to fall back on. He wrote Fahrenheit 451 in UCLA's Powell Library on a typewriter rented for 10 cents a half-hour.

His remarks made me realize how easy my writer's life was, and drove home how many opportunities I was allowing to pass me buy.

The youngest member of our critique group insisted on fighting the mob to get her copy of Zen and the Art of Writing signed. I was content just to sit and wait for her while mulling over everything he'd said and how it applied to me as a writer. She returned, all starry-eyed because Ray Bradbury "asked me what I wrote."

Looking back,  I'm sorry I passed up the opportunity to breathe the same air perhaps the best writer of my generation breathed that night.

***

On a lighter note but a related topic,  I'm happy to report the City found an unexpected windfall and our local libraries are opening again on Mondays. I'd be a happy camper if they'd reopen on Saturdays, now, too.

       

Gail Delaney is the well respected editor and co-owner of Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. but visits us today in her role as author of another just released  novel Janus, Book One of  Phoenix Rising.  Please tell us a little about your new series, Gail, and how you came to write it.

The Phoenix Rebellion -- the first series in this Phoenix Universe -- began as several separate, completely unconnected stories I couldn't get to work alone. But then I asked a question... and each of these stand alone stories slid together like puzzle pieces.

What if...

These are two very magical words for a science fiction writer. They open up an entire world of possibilities, and it is our job as the writer to answer the question.

What if... an advanced race came to our world and told us they wanted to be our benefactors? What if... they told us they were our ancestors, and we were their descendents. What if... their promises of a better world and an easier life was so wonderful the entire planet eventually welcomed them with open arms?

And what if... fifty years later... it all is discovered to be a lie?

The first series tell the stories of several members of an underground, rebel organization called Phoenix. A network so diverse and interlaced into society, they touch every aspect from government to science. They don't believe the words of the alien benefactors, and they spend decades trying to find the truth. With each book another lie is revealed, and the danger grows until the whole world is enveloped in war.

A war we intend to win.

Phoenix Rising, another four-book series, picks up almost a year after The Phoenix Rebellion. The world is in ruins, in a near-post-apocalyptic state. Our population is a fraction of what we had once been. Our government and military are being rebuilt from the ground up. Our people are beaten... but not yet broken. We have new allies in the universe, and now we know the truth behind the lies.

We face new enemies from within. Xenos. They are they new 'rebels', and they want to rid the Earth of anything they don't see as pure human. But the distinction is almost undetectable. So, like terrorists of today they kill and bomb and cry out against the outrage when they are the source of the problem. The question here is...

What if... not all our enemies are gone?

Phoenix Rising Book One: Janus begins to reveal the deceit that still lingers and the dangers we still face. How do you tell friend from foe when everyone wears the same mask?

Bio:

Gail R. Delaney has been actively writing 'for publication' since 1996. The first novel she ever wrote is still sitting on her computer, waiting for the major rewrite that will make it acceptable. She says she has learned a great deal since writing that book, and it shows when she looks back at that rough draft.

Gail has had several novels published in the genres of contemporary romance, romantic suspense and futuristic romance. Her novels have received several nominations and awards since she was first published in 2005.

Gail and her family recently moved from the cold and blustery east coast to Southern California, and is loving every moment of sunshine she can soak in -- without risking a sun burn.


Read on to enjoy a blurb and excerpt from Phoenix Rising Book One: Janus

Phoenix Rising Book One: Janus begins to reveal the deceit that still lingers and the dangers we still face. How do you tell friend from foe when everyone wears the same mask?

Blurb:

It's been a year since Humanity rose up against their alien oppressors and took back Earth from the Sorracchi. The war left Earth devastated, crippled, but not beaten. Under the leadership of President Nick Tanner and in collaboration with their new Areth and Umani allies, the Earth seeks stable ground again.

John Smith of the Areth was a soldier before his queen asked him to serve as ambassador to Earth, and he is out of his element. Restricted in his position from carrying a weapon, he has no way of defending himself or his adopted son when the Xenos -- a group of Humans wishing to purge the Earth of all alien influence -- decide they want him dead.

Jenifer is a soldier for hire, and answers to no one but her own common sense. She first refused the "job" of serving as John's bodyguard, but a glimpse at the heart of the man convinces her to accept the responsibility.

John has two faces: a soldier and an ambassador of peace. Jenifer has two faces: the steel-skinned warrior and the forgotten person she once was. Too many people hide behind masks, and it's those hiding who want John dead.

Excerpt:

John tried to sleep, but his body had gone too far past tired to allow him to rest. His body ached with exhaustion, his limbs heavy. Each blink was a chore, but when he closed his eyes to sleep, his mind refused to rest. Thoughts piled on top of each other, vying for priority. Meetings he needed to prepare for over the next week, data he needed to review and compile for the agricultural reconstruction committee, the one-on-one meeting he had scheduled with Drucillus Clodianus Hiacyntus in just a few hours -- all things he knew should be dealt with, it was his duty.

But they all paled beneath the heavy knot in his chest left behind by the absence of his son and the tragedy of the Boston tunnel collapse. And every painful bit of his own personal tragedies re-awakened. He had let the visceral reaction snap out of him in Nick's office, and knew he had overwhelmed Beverly with the intensity of it, and it had been a chore to rein it all in to deal with the situation. Now, with nothing more than his own thoughts to distract him, planning meetings was inadequate to push the memories aside.

Sleep was impossible.

The clock beside his bed said 3:42 when he finally tossed off the twisted and rumpled bedding and walked barefoot through the dark apartment to the kitchen, not bothering with a tee shirt despite the cold bite in the air. The second and third levels of the embassy had been designed to be living spaces for himself and the Umani ambassador. Since Ambassador Drucillus Clodianus Hiacyntus usually preferred to sleep aboard his private carrier holding orbit in the airspace over Virginia, John and Silas were usually the only inhabitants of the embassy. Silas was gone, replaced by the brash and assertive Jenifer with no last name.

He hadn't figured her out yet, but also accepted he probably never would. She was beautiful, but in a Southern Bagdaghir Desert Black Scorpion kind of way; sleek and mesmerizing, even graceful and seductive, but everything about her said, "Back off or risk being stung."

The kitchen was simple, providing only the basics, just like the rest of the apartment. A sharp contrast to the embassy accommodations provided to the seven Umani ambassadors to Aretu, which were equivalent to palaces in comparison. Even if Earth had been able to provide John with that type of living quarters, he doubted he would have wanted it. Too many years of living on a farm or sleeping under the stars. John opened the small refrigeration unit provided and removed a bottle of purified water.

He contemplated making some of the coffee in the tin on the counter, but decided against it. If he drank the strong brew, sleep would be even more impossible. Besides that, he hadn't developed the taste for coffee like so many Humans had. It reminded him too much of the thick, bitter drink called Kouffa on Zibal. He'd drank it only once because Tahlia had smiled, her violet eyes practically twinkling with mischief, and told him it was delicious.

He paused, the bottle of water half way to his lips. Memories of Tahlia had been numerous, and sometimes vicious, since they'd heard the news of the Boston tunnel collapse that afternoon. It was like a new wound, everything reminded him of it.

John took a last swallow from the bottle and left the kitchen, leaving the bottle on the counter. He moved through the apartment in darkness until he reached the large windows facing out the front of the embassy onto the street below. The majority of the city was in complete darkness, barely a silhouette against the starlit night, with only the moon to cast any form of light. Even in the darkness, he saw the remaining destruction from the attack on him just a week before. The building across the street was missing an entire section of brick from the impact of the hovercar, and portions of the street were darker from the burn of the explosions and pulse charges.

He crossed his arms over his chest and bowed his head, closing his eyes. It seemed nothing was exempt from the thoughts and memories of twenty years past that were determined to keep him awake.

How to find me:

http:www.GailDelaney.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PhoenixGailRDelaney

Or http://www.facebook.com/AuthorGailRDelaney

Email me at Gail@GailDelaney.com and I'll send you a free short story that stands as a prequel to The Phoenix Rebellion.