When Allison is asked to play Cinderella-turned-Fianceé at a Halloween ball, the last thing she expected was to be accused of murder on the same night. She has to find the killer or she'll be put to death for the crimes she didn't commit. To make matters worse, the victims are all werewolves.
Virtual Book Tour Dates: 5/16/14 - 5/23/14
Genres: Urban Fantasy / Thriller & Suspense / Paranormal
Blurb:
On the short list of potential victims, Allison has to act fast, or the killer will have one more body to add to his little black book of corpses.
There's only one problem: One of the deaths has struck too close to home, and Allison's desire for self-preservation may transform into a quest for vengeance...
Excerpt:
Caroline was either the best actress I’d ever seen, or she was really dead. I crouched next to her, torn between touching her neck to feel for a pulse and running away before the sweet scent of a fresh kill overwhelmed my restraint.
A clock chimed ten. The power of the full moon slammed into me, tugging at my heart, and tightening my chest. The need to embrace my inner beast and become one with the night quickened my breath.
Scents flooded my nose. Strong perfumes mingled with cologne, and the sweat of hot, living bodies stirred my hunger. I licked my lips, and for one brief moment, imagined the salty sweetness of fresh blood on my tongue.
There was another hunter in the room with me, and they taunted me with their kill. Their prey was either dead or left to die. It was a challenge to the scavengers, to the hunters, and a warning to the prey.
“What do you think?” Mark’s mother asked.
“I think she’s an amazing actress,” I replied, careful to keep my tone light. I rose to my feet. If I grew a tail, I could only hope my gown would hide it long enough for me to slip from the party and find a place to gain control over myself.
Or complete the change and go on a rampage.
Another minute passed in silence. I shook my head. “This would be why I’m not a police officer.”
The Wicked Witch of the West giggled. I shivered at the sound. “I see. Very well, Cinderella. Shall we mingle with the other guests and learn about this terrible, terrible deed?”
“I thought this was when Mark was supposed to come rescue me from a fate worse than death,” I muttered.
Oops. So much for keeping civil. I guess it was inevitable. Bodies brought out the worst in me. Especially when the body wasn’t one of my making. To make matters worse, I couldn’t exactly raise the alarm.
If I did, I’d reveal to those who knew the truth about werewolves and witches that I wasn’t just some human girl after a wealthy boy. Then the Inquisition would find silver old enough to kill me or reduce me to ashes to make certain they purged the world of one more rogue werewolf.
“Why can’t you be wealthy?” Mrs. Livingston lamented.
The old woman’s question caught me by surprise. Had she heard me? Did she think it an amusing quip?
Was it possible the woman actually liked me? Confused at the question, I answered honestly. “Ma’am, who says I’m not? I’m your son’s accountant. Do you really think he’d trust someone who didn’t have access to at least some money with his money?” I glared at the old woman. At least the brewing fight between us distracted me from Caroline’s body a little. “Don’t forget I know exactly how much he makes a year, where he transfers his funds, who owes him how much, and whom he owes. I know how much he’s paid in taxes, and I know how much I saved him last tax season.”
The witch’s mouth dropped open. “Just what—”
“I paid more in taxes than he did last year. I’ll let you do the math. Unless, of course, he learned how to count from you.” I pivoted on a heel and stalked my way towards the refreshment stand.
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About the Author:
RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.
When she isn’t playing pretend, she likes to think she’s a cartographer and a sumi-e painter. In reality, she herds cats and a husband. She also has a tendency to play MMOs and other computer games.
In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Should that fail, her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until she is satisfied.
For the Love of Reading
Writers and readers have one thing in common: Writers are readers. So, instead of boring you with the specifics on writing, I want to talk about one of the first loves of my life: Reading.
Reading wasn’t always something I did. I didn’t even know how to read—not really—until the fourth grade. I was a late bloomer. I was also far more interested in things like sports than I was in finding a nice comfy corner with a book or three.
That changed. And am I ever thankful that changed. I love to read. I don’t get to read for pleasure nearly as much as I used to, but when I finish edits on a project, or I’m waiting on an editor to get back to me, my nose is buried in books. I’ll read most anything, though I tend to skip books with too much sex in them. I’ll also avoid some other subjects, but generally, I have read my way around the block.
So in honor of all things books, I’m going to take a tour around the various genres, showcasing some of my favorite books. Warning: Some of these titles are old. Currently, I stick my nose in the fantasy, thriller, and science fiction genres most, so my exposure to other genres is, frankly, abysmally old.
Fantasy
The ‘other man’ in my life is Harry Dresden, from Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files. I just love Dresden so much. He’s quirky, he’s tough as nails, and he does the wrong things for the right reasons, and sometimes the right things, too. He’s idealistic, and he’ll fight to his last breath for his friends and family. There are other characters I really like in the Dresden Files (Mouse, Bob, and Butters come to mind), but Harry Dresden is the one for me.
Political / Spy / Military Thrillers
Tom Clancy and Vince Flynn (RIP!! Weep!) hold special places in my heart. Their novels are always so exciting, and their lead characters always held my attention. I’ll miss the adventures of Jack Ryan and Mitch Rapp, dearly. If you want to try out thriller novels of this subset, I totally recommend both of these gentlemen. I love the earliest Jack Ryan novels the most, including The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, and Red Rabbit. As for the Mitch Rapp Novels… gotta catch them all, but I particularly liked American Assassin and Kill Shot.
Mystery
The two series I’m going to recommend are old. Older than I am, by approximately twice as much if not more. Please note I’m talking the original series for these books. Enter Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. I read these while growing up and I loved them dearly. I still love them, especially the original Nancy Drew novels. (The new ones don’t appeal to me nearly as much.)
Horror
Jurassic Park, The Lost World… Michael Crighton kept me dreaming of horror and the unknown. But really? ROAR, baby! I loved the Jurassic Park books more than I loved the movies, and that is saying a lot, because I really love the movies. Roar!!
Special mention to The Stand by Stephen King. It was the first horror novel I ever read, and I still love it to this day.
Science Fiction / Science Fantasy
The Star Wars novels. Some people might be looking at me weird, but I really, really loved so many of the star wars novels. The Luke-centric ones, because until Harry Dresden came along, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo were my ‘other guys.’
But there are a few other science fiction / science fantasy authors I need to mention: Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Scarborough’s Powers that Be series was excellent, I loved Pern quite a lot, and I really have an appreciation for that sort of science fiction.
I also love Tara K Harper, who has written quite a few most excellent Science fiction / science fantasy novels.
Romance
I’m going to hop into the Paranormal romance category, since I’ve never been a huge fan of romance. I read a couple of Danielle Steele novels once, because they were readily accessible, and I think I threw up in my mouth a little.
This is a nod to Patricia Briggs, who writes urban fantasy werewolves with just enough romance to make the novels romantic without being grossly so. I’ll also shout out to Anna Kashina’s Majat Code, which is a fantasy with very strong romantic elements in it.
And finally, a special mention of those 3 for $0.25 harlequin novels I devoured when I was much younger because it was three books for a quarter I couldn’t possibly go wrong.
I have no idea how I managed to become a functional adult after reading some of those novels. They’re entertaining, though, I have to give them that… in that questioning sort of way.
Humor
Humor novels never get enough credit. There are two authors I want to mention. If you enjoy puns, Piers Anthony’s Xanth series is full of them. I always come away snickering after reading one of the Xanth novels. A Spell for Chameleon and Dragon on a Pedestal are my favorites.
I also really like Robert Aspirin’s Phule’s Company novels. The first and second novels of that set (Phule’s Company and a Phule and his Money) are my favorites of these series.
There are so many more books I could mention… but I’ll leave you with this list, which barely scratches the surface.
Giveaway:
The author is giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card!
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