Guest Blogger: Adrian Phoenix

The winner of Adrian's A Rush of Wings is: Carmen R! Congrats Carmen. Send me your snail mail info and I'll pass it along to Adrian. Thanks to everyone for participating. Stay tuned . . .

Thanks so much for having me blog on your cool site on the paranormal, Lynda. I truly appreciate the opportunity!

My love for the paranormal, the glimmering moonlit world of the supernatural, is that of a child.

A child believes in possibility.

A child believes that the shadows beneath her bed conceal openings into other worlds, some monstrous (and thrilling), some magical. And both require only that she close her eyes and dangle a hand from her bed to await either the rough clasp of taloned fingers or the soft brush of feathers against her palm or . . . Ah, the possibilities are endless.

And whatever she feels when she allows her hand to slide from beneath the protective shield of her blankets, she’ll be tugged into a world different from the one she dwells in. Worlds of possibility, dark and radiant, a world in which she might be needed.

As a savior. As a changeling returned home. Or just as food.

As adults, our beliefs narrow. Possibilities vanish beneath the weight of reason and science -- the language of our minds and our intellects. But the language of the heart, the yearning soul, is that of possibility.

Whenever I hear “Doesn’t exist” or “There’s no such thing,” the words whispering through my mind and stoking the fire in my heart are: Says who? A child’s mantra. Stubborn and willful and brimming with magic.

Two of my favorite shows are Most Haunted and Supernatural. Both show us what lies nestled in thick shadows beneath the bed: whatever we fear or desire (and sometimes we fear most what we desire and vice versa), beings crafted from nightmare and vivid waking dreams.

Walking to your car on a late moonless night, all alone on the street, is that a beautiful pale face peeking from the shadows within the alley? A glint of lambent eyes? A hungry face?

As you climb up from the basement laundry room is the creak on the steps behind you simply an echo or something following you, something black and glowing with embers, thick horns curving up from either side of the skull?

As you stand at the sink washing dishes, will you see someone/something looking back at you when you glance out the night-filled window?

And is that the wind rustling through the leaves in your trees or is the rush of massive wings?

My debut novel, A Rush of Wings, (Pocket, January 2008) is a world of vampires, fallen angels, and mortals; a complex and ancient world FBI Special Agent Heather Wallace doesn’t know exists. Like most mortals, she believes in the world she sees, unaware that humans are not alone and never have been.

But that changes for Heather when tracks a serial killer, one she’s hunted for three years, a sadistic murderer known as the Cross Country Killer, to New Orleans, Club Hell, and a young man named Dante. The dangerously attractive musician not only resists her investigation, he claims to be “nightkind,” which Heather quickly learns means vampire.

Digging into Dante’s past for answers reveals little. A juvenile record. No social security number. No known birth date. In and out of foster homes for most of his life before being taken in by a man named Lucien De Noir, who appears to guard secrets of his own.

What Heather does know about Dante is that something links him to the killer -- and she’s pretty sure that link makes him the CCK’s next target. Heather must unravel the truth about this sensual, complicated, vulnerable young man -- who, she begins to believe, may indeed be a vampire -- in order to finally bring a killer to justice. But Dante’s past holds a shocking, dangerous secret, and once it is revealed not even Heather will be able to protect Dante from his destiny.

The second book in the series, In the Blood (Pocket) will be released January 2009. Drop by my website www.adrianphoenix.com for updates and buy links and enter my monthly contest.

Tumble into that world of dark possibilities with Heather . . .

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To win a copy of Rush of Wings, just leave a comment answering this question: What paranormal/supernatural entity would you like to be if you had to choose?

Winner will be selected Friday evening.

I'm interviewed at Literary Escapism

Jackie at Literary Escapism interviewed me and she's holding a contest to give away a copy of THE VAMPIRE SHRINK and DARK HARVEST. Head over there and leave a comment:
http://www.literaryescapism.com

Guest Blogger: Devyn Quinn

And the winner is: Lori T!! Please send me your contact info, and I'll pass it along to Devyn! Thanks so much to everyone who participated. Next guest blogger: Adrian Phoenix, author of "Rush of Wings."

To get started, I’d like to thank Lynda Hilburn for welcoming me to her amazing blog today. In keeping with the theme of the blog, I’m going to ask the question readers ask me: What is it about the supernatural that so fascinates you?

Well, the answer to that is I happen to like the idea of things that go bump in the night. I like the idea of inhuman beasts lurking in the shadows of the night, of an alternate reality entwined around our own world where the witches and sorceress run amok and create havoc. In my mind, being something like that would be totally cool, and certainly much less boring that my own day-to-day reality. Also, I don’t function well in daylight -- that and the exposure to the sun makes me red as a beet without benefit of tanning.

When I think of the paranormal, I automatically think of its kissing cousin, the occult. In some people’s minds this definitely conjures images of dark and dangerous things, like demons. That is a part of my writing, too, and many of my books touch on the troubles and trials that dabbling in such a realm can bring to the unwitting and unwary. Many of my ideas are inspired by Judeo-Christian beliefs, which I take and bend to give my own special fictional twist.

I can’t exactly pin down why the paranormal (and the occult) fascinates me, except that I have always been of a dark mind to begin with. Even on the brightest day I’m thinking of the thing that’s possibly lurking around the corner, ready to snatch a person right off their feet and pull them through some dimensional rift into another world. And while there are a lot of creatures out there, the one that’s always got my creative juices to flowing is the vampire. What can I say? I love ‘em, undead or or alive, fanged or not.

Ok, I’m going to come right out and admit I am a fan girl geek when it comes to big hunky male vampires who love putting their sexy bite on women. I dunno what it is, except that the idea of being swept off my feet and bitten by Dracula doesn’t sound half bad. There’s something terribly erotic in the idea of sacrificing blood to satisfy the hunger of an otherworld lover even as he, uh, does you in all the right ways (that’s part of the reason I write erotic romance with so many types of vampires. I’ve done everything from the classic undead to the succubus to alien shifter vamps). To me it’s sexy, it’s sensual and I wish these characters would show up at my house sooner than later.

To that end, I enjoy writing in the genre I’ve personally tagged goth-erotica. This self-created genre is my own mix of Goth and erotic elements I find particularly appealing as a subject and something I want to write about. In the fictional universes I’ve created, paranormal cultic universes do exist, evil is alive, it’s well and its legions are about to kick our little human tails all over the place . . . unless someone steps up to the bat and plays hero. In my books the hero or heroine is usually an average person tossed right into the center of the fight without the slightest idea of how to go about fighting. They just know they gotta pick up some weapons and start doing some serious slaying or the baddies are going to win.

To that end, I’m inviting readers into my world. Today, Paranormality is hosting a drawing for an autographed copy of my book, Sins of the Night. Here’s a little blurb:

Once, Adrien Roth was a Shadow Stalker -- a hunter of vampires called the Kynn. Captured, he was forced to pay a devastating price, to become the very thing he despised. Over a century has passed since that time and Adrien's revenge against the creatures who tainted him is almost complete.

Little does he know that his thirst for justice will turn on him.

Foiling an attempted rape, Adrien is stunned by his attraction to the would-be victim. Cassie Wilson is a vibrant woman, obsessed with living for every moment. Though he knows better, Adrien begins to fall in love with her. But Cassie hides a terrible secret: her cancer is incurable.

When he and Cassie are captured by his enemies, Adrien is given a choice. Should he choose death for himself, or life for Cassie by making her one of the clan he's shunned for too long?

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For more information about Devyn: www.devynquinn.com

To enter the drawing for a signed copy of Devyn's book, Sins of the Night, leave a comment answering this question: what is your favorite kind of paranormal hero? A winner will be selected Tuesday evening, July 28. Good luck!

Guest Blogger: Mario Acevedo

She drops all the names into the porta-coffin, selects one -- and it's Silke! Congratulations. I'll pass your name along to Mario and if you'd send me your snail mail address, that would be excellent. Thanks so much to everyone who commented! I appreciate you. Stay tuned.

Do I Write Paranormal?

My books feature vampires and other weird things and because of that I’m often corralled into the world of the paranormal. So what is paranormal? How is that different from supernatural?

I’ve given that last question a lot of thought. Here’s my answer:

I don’t know.

But I did dig into the genres clustered around paranormal and supernatural and now offer this handy-dandy guide to most things beyond the pale of normal.

Once upon a time, anything involving the weird and fantastic was labeled horror, pure and simple. I suppose back then, monsters, flying machines, and things that go bump in the night were horrific. Alas, we’ve been jaded by modern living. Monsters? Hey, call special effects. Flying machines mean taking our shoes off to go through airport security. Things that go bump in the night is probably the government snooping on us.

To me horror has one sure definition: Creep Me Out. Make the hairs rise on my arms and have me check the door locks. Too bad the only horror writing I read these days is my gas bill.

The term paranormal got pulled into literature when romance writers felt regular guys no longer made the cut. Their lusty protagonists began sending personal ads to vampires, werewolves, and wizards. Think of Paranormal Romance as the fantasy twist of the traditional tale: Girl meets boy. Girl loses boy. Girl wins boy. Girl discovers boy is lord of the zombie underworld. Girl decapitates boy. Girl does brunch with her gal pals and gay boyfriends.

What about Urban Fantasy? Urban, meaning gritty and contemporary. Not at all like the village cottages painted by Thomas Kincaid. (Unless Dexter paid a visit. Imagine the pretty blood spatter on the inside of the candle lit windows.) Fantasy, implying elements of the fantastic: magic, psychic abilities, demons. (But not honest politicians. No one would believe that.) In Urban Fantasy we have a supernatural world with hot elf barristas, werewolf computer hackers, and vampire tango dancers.

Science Fiction, not exactly Paranormal but close enough. Among the inside crowd, known also as Sci-Fi (pronounced sci-fi). We have the oxymoron, Science -- which is to know geeky technological stuff, and Fiction, which is make-believe -- the opposite of science. So from the start, the Sci-Fi community is bipolar and divided into two bickering camps, the Hard Science people and the Fantasy leather underwear people.

Hard Science looks at the what-if and extrapolates trends. These braniacs eschew fantasy -- magic, psychics, vampires, anything fun that brings in busty babes in slinky outfits -- so Hard Science is mainly the literature of people with cheap haircuts and sensible shoes. Boring. Until we introduce interesting stuff like crime and war. All the ills hard science is supposed to have cured.

Fantasy people like to blend science with fantasy (what else?) -- which is literary code for any excuse to introduce the babes in slinky outfits. (A running theme in paranormal/supernatural. Quick, think of one fantasy character known for appearing in baggy sweats.) Many fantasy readers are women who like men with swords. Big swords. What about a guy who’s really good with a switchblade?

Sorry, it has to be a sword. Size does matter.

You’d think then that women would admire a guy with a big gun, because a gun beats a sword almost every time. But no. Carry a big sword and you’re hot. Carry a big gun and you’re compensating.

Which brings us to Mystery Fantasy. The KING of all paranormal/supernatural genres, where the men don’t need to compensate, they’re so damn macho. Which is the genre I happen to write. (A coincidence? I think not.) These stories combine hard-boiled noir elements with truly awesome supernatural characters. What’s not to love?

I close this essay with an altar call. Find salvation in the world of the paranormal. Put aside your category romance, your straight mystery, your political thriller and come amongst your sisters and brothers in the land of fantasy. Lay your burdens on my shoulders while I cast aside your fears and anxieties with my tales of the supernatural. If you ask, I’ll even bring a big sword.

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Mario Acevedo channels the voices of the undead for his mystery fantasy novels featuring vampire-detective Felix Gomez. Mario lives in a state of denial but he writes and pays the rent in Denver, CO. His latest novel, The Undead Kama Sutra, is out now. Coming March 2009, Jailbait Zombie.
http://www.marioacevedo.com/

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Mario is giving away a copy of The Undead Kama Sutra, plus other schwag for prizes to include, the coveted Devil Duck! Just leave a comment here, answering this question: On the subject of swords and guns, what's your favorite exotic weapon used in paranormal/supernatural stories? (Winner will be posted on Friday night.)

Guest Blogger: Jeri Smith Ready

And the winner is . . . drum roll, please! (As I reach into my porta coffin . . .) micaela6955. Please email me with your snail mail info and I'll pass it along to Jeri! Thanks so much everyone, for your great participation!!

“Well, I ain’t superstitious,
But a black cat crossed my trail.”
--“I Ain’t Superstitious,” as recorded by The Rolling Stones

I am a bizarre combination of two seemingly incompatible creatures: the skeptic and the scaredy-cat. Officially, I don’t believe in demons, vampires, and ghosts -- not with my rational forebrain, at least. But my lizard brain, the part that tells me to eat, fight, procreate and FOR GOD’S SAKE DON’T GET KILLED, believes that demons and ghosts and vampires are not only out there, but they’re after me. Especially when I’m walking the dog down a lonely country lane late at night. In the fog.

I can’t argue rationally with my lizard brain. It was raised on a steady diet of horror movies and ghost stories and Stephen King novels. I saw THE BLOB at an age when reality and fantasy still blurred -- I figured it was just a matter of time before I was part of this monster’s complete breakfast.

My first published novel was REQUIEM FOR THE DEVIL (Grand Central, 2001). It’s a love story told from the first-person point-of-view of Lucifer. Yeah, that Lucifer. When I first started writing it, I was afraid to tell anyone the subject matter, afraid even to speak my character’s name. (Old superstition: if you call the Devil’s name, you summon him.)

But by living with the character Lucifer as I created him, I gained some of his power, his supreme confidence, his comfort with evil (don’t worry, it didn’t make me evil -- he learns to be good). Moreover, by seeing the world through his eyes and experiencing his agony at eternal separation from Heaven, maybe I understood the nature of good and evil a little better -- that there’s a bit of each in all of us.

So that took care of demons. On to vampires. Two words: ‘SALEM’S LOT. That was my vision of vampires until Anne Rice and eventually Buffy. In both series, the vampires are humanized, but most are still ruthless killers. Monsters.

And then one day I had an idea for a group of characters who were psychologically and culturally ‘stuck in time’ in different twentieth-century eras. I realized, with a certain amount of dread, that vampires were the logical choice, as the only paranormal creatures who die but go on living.

But for me to accept vampires as objects of affection and passion, I had to make them my own, add such a unique twist to them that my lizard brain could be fooled into thinking they weren’t really monsters. Looking back, I realize that the key was sharing with them my passion for music.

WICKED GAME (May 2008) is the first in a romantic urban fantasy series about 94.3-FM: WVMP, The Lifeblood of Rock ‘n’ Roll. At this radio station, all the DJs are vampires, each wearing the clothes, speaking the slang, and of course, playing the music of his or her original “Life Time.” While a few vampires in my universe hunt and kill people for sustenance, most live more carefully, to avoid detection and being hunted themselves. They form symbiotic relationships with “donor” humans and are monitored by an ancient paramilitary organization called The Control, which helps the good vampires and, uh, neutralizes the bad ones.

WICKED GAME heroine Ciara Griffin is a human, but a different kind of predator: a con artist. Through her I could relate to that shifty sort of morality that evaluates others based on nontraditional criteria. In other words, she doesn’t judge them for taking what they need. (More important, through Ciara I could totally crush on the hero, grunge DJ vampire Shane McAllister.)

So my vision of vampires has expanded to include sympathetic, humanized versions as well as the more monstrous types. That’s two nightmares down -- yay!

Leaving me with ghosts, probably my biggest irrational fear. I once stayed in the Cooper Queen Hotel in Bisbee, Arizona, a place thought to be haunted (my friend neglected to tell me this fun fact before we arrived). I made the mistake of reading the “Ghost Book” at the front desk as we were checking in. In the Ghost Book, guests could describe the spooky things they’d seen and heard during their stay.

After reading that, for three nights I insisted on sleeping with the lights on (not that I slept much, or even closed my eyes). I only let my friend leave me alone when I had to go to the bathroom, and then I wouldn’t look in the mirror because I just knew that something would be staring back at me.

*shudders, lies down for awhile*

You know where this is leading, right? My current work-in-progress is, naturally, a ghost story. The main character has seen and heard spirits since -- well, since she could see and hear, period. They’re part of her daily life -- a rather annoying part, if you ask her. In her sixteen years she’s absorbed and catalogued the pain of countless nameless dead, to the point where she can barely feel her own pain anymore. (And that’s all I’m telling, since it’s still in proposal stage.)

Of course, part of the fear of ghosts stems from the fear of death. In my romantic fantasy trilogy from Luna Books -- EYES OF CROW, VOICE OF CROW, and coming in November, THE REAWAKENED -- every person has magic bestowed by their Guardian Spirit Animal (what most of us would call a ‘totem’). The heroine, Rhia, has the Aspect of Crow, the Spirit that governs death. This doesn’t exactly make her the most popular girl in the village, but in a time of impending war, it just might save her people.

In this series I depict death as just another stage of life, one that leads to an eternal peaceful existence on the Other Side. I’ve been told by readers who have lost a loved one that these books comforted them. Writing doesn’t get any more rewarding than that.

We dark fantasy authors must embrace our fears, dance with our shadows. In so doing, we bring depth and reality to the worlds we create, and we bring readers along on our journey from terror to triumph.

So while I can’t argue away my fear of the dark, by tackling these bogeymen in books, I can tame it, master it, make it my own. And have a heckuva lot of fun in the process.
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I love to hear from readers, so I encourage anyone to contact me through my website, www.jerismithready.com. I also give away free bookmarks and signed bookplates for any of my books and frequently hold contests on my blog and in my newsletter.

For more about my latest release, WICKED GAME, check out www.jerismithready.com/wicked-game. To visit the DJs and listen to a sample of their shows, go to www.wvmpradio.com. Ciara, Shane, and I can also be found on MySpace, though mysteriously never at the same time (www.myspace.com/jerismithready, www.myspace.com/ciarawvmp, and www.myspace.com/shanewvmp). Ciara and Shane love to make new three-dimensional friends. J

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Jeri will be giving away a signed copy of WICKED GAME. Just leave a comment here, answering this question: Which musical time period would your vampire DJ represent? Winner will be posted here on Tuesday, July 22.

I'm interviewed!

Amber Katze interviewed me on her blog today.

Stop by and leave a comment. You can enter the contest for an e-ARC of DARK HARVEST.

http://amberkatze-amberkatze.blogspot.com/

Big Contest at AuthorIsland.com

I'm participating in a huge contest at AuthorIsland.com. Stop by and read the rules for participation. We're giving away 2 Kindles!
www.authorisland.com

Guest Blogger: Esri Rose

The three winners are: Tessa Brixton, Terra 57 and Pam P. Please contact me with your snail mail addresses and I'll pass the info along to Esri. Thanks so much to everyone for stopping by (whether you left a comment or not!!).

Paranormality and Place

In the world of paranormal romance, the setting must fit the creature. Consider Boulder, Colorado. If New York is gray and silver with concrete and fashion, and Chicago is black and red with grit and jazz, then Boulder is all colors of the freakin’ rainbow, with an emphasis on green. I set Bound to Love Her in this quirky university-and-tech town because I live here, and I chose elves as my paranormal characters because vampires would throw up their hands at our lack of human predators and seedy alleys in which to bite them.

Boulder is an example of the conflict and love that exists between elves and humans, humans and nature. To the west, the town founders against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, where nature is red in tooth and claw. Storms kill the unwary, and mountain lions maul the occasional hiker. We push at the wilderness, and it pushes back. Lawn ornaments are likely to be live deer, bears must be rousted from under people’s porches, and hummingbirds fly right up in your face, jeweled feathers flashing as they scold you for intruding. We love living so close to nature, until the coyotes eat our dogs and the fleas start spreading plague.

In the Bound to Love Her universe, elves live in the wilderness and draw energy from their piece of land. But I need them to come into town, too. Boulder Creek runs through the city, so my elves can subsist on energy from flowing water if they have to. And how do they get around? The creek runs through a city-long park, so I decided my elves would not only merge with the earth, but travel through it. Where’s the conflict? By taming wild areas, humans are unknowingly driving elves to extinction, but elves can use people for their energy needs. And Boulderites are probably more susceptible than most to elven glamour. We live in a Peter Pan world, where young women wear fairy wings for an evening on the town, and there’s a guy with a pirate hat and a Jolly Roger flag flying from his scooter. Our minds are primed for magic.

Bound to Love Her is my first paranormal romance, and part of the Zebra debut-author program ($3.99 cover price). In the book, Erin Chandler is hiking in Boulder’s woods when she comes across an injured man, who turns out to be an injured elf. Galan’s bond to his land has been severed by Fellseth, a dark elf who preys on his own kind. Erin and Galan mysteriously bond, so Galan needs Erin to keep helping him if he wants to stay alive. But when Fellseth learns of Erin’s ability to provide energy for an elf, he decides to finish Galan off and take Erin for his own.

It’s been fun to bring magic into my hometown. In this city at the edge of two worlds, the question is not, “Why would elves live in Boulder?” The question is, “Where else would they live?"

Esri Rose lives in Boulder with her husband, Angel Joe, and her cat, Musette La Plume, only one of whom has pointy ears. Bound to Love Her is on bookshelves now (Zebra debut-author price, $3.99), and you can read the beginning here. The second book in her elven universe, Bound to Want Him, will be a May 2009 release. You can visit Esri Rose and find out more at ElvesAmongUs.com.

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Esri is giving away three copies of her book, Bound to Love Her, to 3 commenters who answer the question: What would you do if you were walking in the mountains -- at night, under a full moon -- and you met up with a gorgeous elf? (**Note: after I made up this question for Esri's giveaway, it occurred to me that I'm so used to living in Boulder, I forgot most communities don't have "full moon hikes," etc. I love walking in the foothills in the moonlight. Plus, this is fiction, right?)

It's great to have another Boulder author here on Paranormality! I love Boulder's quirky nature. In fact, no matter how weird I get, Boulder still accepts me. What could be better than that? Esri will be joining Carrie Vaughn and I at a booksigning at The Boulder Bookstore, Oct. 22, to celebrate the release of my second book, Dark Harvest. Wish everyone could come!

Guest Blogger: Yasmine Galenorn

The winner of Yasmine's giveaway is: anitasfriend. Congratulations!

Hi, I'm Yasmine Galenorn, USA Today bestselling author of the Otherworld Series. By my bio, you'll be able to see what else I've written over the years. And as a heads up -- I'm giving away a signed copy of Ghost of a Chance and Witchling to one reader who answers my question I ask in this blog and leaves their answer in a comment.

I like to sit at Starbucks, at the downtown Barnes & Noble and think, iced triple soy latte in hand. Sometimes I journal, other times I just sit there and breathe -- let myself rest while I watch the world around me. These moments bring to mind the autumn, for some reason. Even when it's sunny out, sitting with a journal or book in a coffee shop reminds me of the days in mid-August, each year, when I feel the first tinge of coolness in the air that heralds the beginnings of autumn.

Starting with a faint tang, autumn presages itself early here with the slightest of hints -- the scent of bonfires on the wind, the scent of graveyard dust swirling from the past, and the promise of chill, damp nights clouded in mist. It might be something as simple as a smell -- or a touch of sharpness to the air. Maybe it's catching a glimpse of a leaf just starting to turn. Or sometimes, it's when I wake up and realize that the summer covers aren't enough to keep me warm at night.

Autumn in western Washington is rife with rain and wind storms, mist rising from the ground, and fat, striped argiopes in their webs -- their strands glistening with dew. They stretch their webs across the sidewalks, so much so that I always carry a stick with me when I go out the door, or use my husband's cane, to bring down the webs before I catch myself in their snares. I am frightened of spiders -- even though I find them fascinating. I don't begrudge their catching flies outside, as long as they leave the walkways to me.

During the autumn the leaves begin to fall early and they're seldom the brilliant reds of drier climes, but instead dull bronze and spotted yellow. If you're out in a park or the woods, the light dapples on the grass when the occasional sunbeam breaks through the latticework of leaves still hanging heavy on the trees. The scents of cedar and fir are thick in wooded areas, and moss and ivy cover the tree trunks.

I wake up during the autumn. Summer is long a long, lazy dream even if I'm busier than I want to be (and I'm always busy). But when autumn hits, it brings with it new beginnings, busy-ness, passion and tales and adventures. I write better when the mist and rain are swirling. Even though I love the warmth of summer, the shrouded nights call to me, the gloomy days set me at a melancholy ease, the rain reassures me. I watch it pound down outside my office window, and it sweeps me away to magical lands, to dark and fantastical forests, to the first steps of long journeys.

In the mists, I see Smaug, and the distant fires of Sauron. I catch a glimpse of dragons flying in the sky, fighting Thread. And there -- there walks a man with living tattoos that cover his body. And delving further, I'm inundated with visions of the Fae from my own worlds, as they fight their unearthly battle and rip apart the worlds during the Great Divide. Demons hide in the mists, and trolls, and Fae Queens who are so beautiful they terrify. And through the fog, I hear the murmur of drums from the African veldt, the song of the siren, the wail of the Bean Sidhe. Pan pipes call to me from the shadow the trees, and the very real elementals I sense in my life on a daily basis present themselves as models so I might create their fictional versions -- the Autumn Lord and Grandmother Coyote and the Moon Mother and Old Shag.

Yes, my life is steeped in autumn mists, and has been for many years. With my mother's death, with seeing friends pass through the veil, with almost thirty years of working magic under the Moon, how can I avoid my fate -- which is to walk in the shadows, occasionally crossing into a warm and sunny meadow for a stay? And why would I want to? Read The October Country by Ray Bradbury and tell me it doesn't set your heart pounding. I know it does mine.

As of the first of July, I saw Dragon Wytch, my 20th published book hit the shelves. I’m a ‘bestselling author’ now, and while I write as a professional and from a business stance, I still write from love. From passion for the genre. From the heart of the magic that exists both within my actual life, and within the depths of my imagination. Autumn haunts me, yes, and I long for it even though I'm crying out for some sun by February, but the days preceding it -- the two or three weeks in late August -- early September that lead up to it, are days of excitement and the sense that the Wheel is about to be put in motion again.

So Dragon Wytch is available now. Night Huntress will be on the shelves as of January 6th, 2009. Demon Mistress hits the shelves in a year -- July 2009. And Etched in Silver, a Camille and Trillian novella will be coming out in Inked, an anthology I'm writing along with Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance, and Marjorie Liu on January 10th, 2010.

Meanwhile, I'm about to start Bone Magic, Camille's third book. It's set around the autumn equinox, so for the rest of this year, I'll be walking in the mists, walking in the shadows, and seeking out the magic of Otherworld.

Tell me, what would you like to find waiting in the mists? What visions do you see? Would you rather go rambling through the woods for a picnic, or prowling through them at night?

Bright Blessings,
Yasmine Galenorn

You can find Yasmine on:

Website and Blog MySpace Live Journal The Witchy Chicks Blog

USA Today bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn writes the Otherworld/Sisters of the Moon Series for Berkley (Witchling, Changeling, Darkling, etc.). In the past, she wrote the paranormal Chintz ‘n China Mystery Series, the Bath & Beauty Mystery Series (the latter written as India Ink) and eight nonfiction metaphysical books. WITCHLING, CHANGELING, DARKLING, and DRAGON WYTCH all hit the USA Today bestseller lists, and DARKLING and DRAGON WYTCH both the expanded NYT bestseller’s list. Yasmine has been in the Craft for over 28 years, is a shamanic witch, and describes her life as a blend of teacups and tattoos. She lives in Bellevue WA with her husband Samwise and their four cats. Her newest release, DRAGON WYTCH, just hit the shelves on July 1st.

Unveiling my new bookmark and tons of great guest bloggers!

Wonderful Kelley at Iconix.biz has done it again. Check out the fab bookmark (2-sided) she designed for me.

And, starting this coming Monday, July 14, through the end of the year (and probably picking up again after the holidays) you can enjoy wonderful guest bloggers, starting with Yasmine Galenorn! In addition to Yasmine, Paranormality will host: Esri Rose, Jeri Smith-Ready, Mario Acevedo, Devyn Quinn, Adrian Phoenix, Jeanne Barrack, Justin Gustainis, Cathy Clamp, Mary Dressel, Lilith Saintcrow, Jan Scarbrough, Marilu Mann, Sara Reinke, Jennifer Ashley, Kassie Burns, Jeanne Stein, Mark Henry, Kathryn Smith, Lynsay Sands, Phaedra Weldon, Jackie Kessler, Angela Knight, Carrie Vaughn, Elizabeth Flynn, Mindy Klasky, Michele Bardsley, Cynthia Leitich Smith, JF Lewis, Jeaniene Frost, Linda Wisdom, Sharon Ashwood, Marta Acosta, Susan Hubbard and many, many more (I know that other paper with the rest of the names is around here somewhere . . .).

Anyway, be sure to add Paranormality to your favorites and check back often.

I missed participating, but I highly recommend it!

When Trisha Telep contacted me last year about writing a story for her upcoming, MAMMOTH BOOK OF VAMPIRE ROMANCE, I was bummed. The story would have been due right around the time the second book in my Kismet Knight, Ph.D., Vampire Psychologist series had to be turned in (and I was still madly writing), so I had to, regretfully, decline. It wasn't in the cards for me to participate then, but I can't wait to read it when it comes out this summer.

And Trisha invited me to participate in the MAMMOTH BOOK OF PARANORMAL ROMANCE, which will be released February, 2009. I'm excited!

Psyching Up For Success

Many thanks to the wonderful folks at http://wetnoodleposse.blogspot.com/ for hosting me as a guest blogger on June 30. I had a blast. I decided to repost my Psyching Up For Success article here (with a little editing) , because I think it has some helpful hints.

I hope you'll add your own suggestions for success!

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“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”
Goethe

It’s that time again: conferences abound! Everybody take a deep breath (and then let it out!).

Does the thought of talking to editors, agents, famous authors and talented peers make you want to run screaming into the night? Are you a “typical” writer: shy, introspective, comfortable sitting at your computer, but terrified at the idea of stringing coherent sentences together in a pitch session? Do you fear your vocal cords will suddenly become paralyzed, or your sweat glands will shift into overdrive, if that special agent says, “tell me about yourself”?

Well, whether the description above is accurate, or you’re one of those lucky, extroverted writers who thrive under pressure – or, if you’re somewhere in the middle – you can use the power of your mind/imagination to create successful outcomes in your writing career and in your life.

“Imagination is everything.

It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
Albert Einstein

One of the most amazing things I learned a long ago when I began studying the mind in general, and hypnosis in particular, was that the mind/brain/psyche doesn’t know the difference between something observed and something imagined. Wow. That’s huge. That means that your mind (through your thoughts and emotions) will happily go about attracting and creating whatever you give mental attention to. (For good or not!)

Of course, we’d all rather stay focused on what we desire, so here are some tools to help you transform negative patterns into positive possibilities:

Positive Suggestions

Also called affirmations, these are statements you select in order to “reprogram” your mind or write a new inner script. Positive suggestions work best if you actually believe what you’re telling yourself. If you don’t believe the affirmation, your mind will generate resistance and nothing will change – you’ll simply have a war of competing ideas waging in your psyche. One sure way to discover if the affirmation you’ve created is believable to you is to listen to your Inner Critic. If your IC comes back with “yeah, that’ll happen,” or “when pigs fly,” then you can be certain you’ve triggered a competing belief. So, what’s the answer? Transform the language into something that’s true for you. Here are some helpful positive suggestions for writers to give ourselves:
“I love writing – my skills are increasing every day.”
“Success comes to me in expected and unexpected ways.”
“I am fine-tuning my craft more every day.”
“I now allow myself to succeed.”
“It feels wonderful to succeed.”
“I now attract the perfect (agent) (editor) (publisher) for me.”
“I am magnetic to positive outcomes.”
“Joyful results come to me from everywhere.”
“I am willing to allow myself to shine.”
“This conference is a joyful, successful experience for me. Something wonderful is unfolding.”
“Somehow, everything is working out great.”
“Yes I can!”

If you have a spiritual/religious belief, your affirmations can reflect it:
“The Universe/God/Goddess/All That Is is now guiding me to success as an author.”

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many

things which escape those

who dream only by night.”
Edgar Allan Poe

Since I tend to keep several favorite affirmations/positive suggestions running in my mind during most of my waking hours, I find that they help with another strategy for change:

Positive Distraction

When you notice your negative self-talk (what most of us do most of the time), switch your focus/attention to a positive memory. Let’s say you’re walking around the conference facility, telling yourself unhappy things like, “I’ll never sell my book. Nobody would want what I write. I don’t have what it takes,” etc. Shift your focus to one of the pleasant memories you’ve stored away in the corner of your psyche: the award you won for your essay in sixth grade, the short story that was published in the high school newspaper, or the time your friend said (after reading your first chapter), “Hey! You’re really good.” I’m not suggesting that we need outer validation in order to feel good – in fact, the opposite is true, we need inner validation – but having a stash of uplifting mental movies to review can immediately alter the prevailing mental state and literally change your mood, facial expression, etc.. The brain/mind/psyche can only concentrate on one thing at a time: the negative self-talk or the positive memory. Which feels better?

“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer,

it sings because it has a song.”
Maya Angelou

Self-Hypnosis

All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The definition of hypnosis is: heightened awareness. Hypnosis is a process of artful distraction. It’s a fascinating – and very natural – paradox. Your body is lying (or sitting) here, but your mind is . . . over there. Other words for hypnosis (achieving the same brain wave patterns) would be: daydreaming, guided visualization, guided imagery, and meditation. (I have some hypnosis articles on my non-writing website if you’d like more information: http://www.lyndahilburn.com/)

As I mentioned earlier, the imagination is the key to transformation. Its symbols, metaphors, stories and sensations are also the language of the soul. The more you practice exploring your inner world, the deeper you can go, faster. (Don’t do this while driving or doing anything else that requires full consciousness!)

Take a few quiet moments daily to stretch out comfortably and close your eyes. Allow yourself to breathe naturally and easily. Feel all the tension and anxiety flowing out of your body as you imagine inhaling a very warm, healing, relaxing energy. Perhaps that energy has a color. Or maybe you can feel it. Or you might just know it’s there. But something pleasant is moving through your body – aligning every cell, bone, organ, muscle and system – guiding you deeper inside your unconscious mind.

Use the power of your imagination to experience yourself in a beautiful place. A lovely landscape or special scene. Make it very real. See every color, every detail. Hear the soft sounds in the distance. Feel the perfect air temperature flowing over your skin. Smell a pleasant aroma. Allow yourself to find a perfect spot in this magical place to stretch out. Feel yourself relax even more. Dropping down deeper and deeper.

As you’re relaxed, begin to daydream about your desired future as a writer and author. Project yourself into the days and years ahead and see, feel, sense and imagine yourself living all the success you want. Step into that scene, that picture, that possibility. How does it feel? Communicate silently with that part of yourself – the part who is living your dream future. Let her tell you how she got there. What steps she took. What commitments she made. What attitudes she chose. What choices she made.

Spend as long as you like just reveling in the good feeling of your future life.

As you relax there, give yourself positive suggestions about your desires. Then, when you’re ready, count yourself up from one to five, telling yourself that when you reach the number five, you will be fully back in your physical body, fully in the present, remembering everything you experienced and feeling even better than before you began.

Now just rest a moment and smile. Do this every day and watch what happens.

Keep writing!!
Hugs, Lynda