Monday, August 25, 2008

Guest Blogger: Marilu Mann

The winner of Marilu's download is LadyVampire2u. Send me your email address and I'll pass it along to Marilu. Thanks for participating! Stay tuned . . . Coming next, Jennifer Ashley, author of the "Immortals" series.

Chairs that rock by themselves. . .

Lights that turn on and off without anyone being near the light switches. Doors opening and closing without a gust of wind or a person being near them . . . all of these things are signs of ghostly activity, right? Could be. Then again, there might be "rational" explanations for all of these things. The chair rocking by itself could be caused by an uneven floor or a messed up rocker. The lights going on and off could be just a short in the electrical system. The doors, well, have you checked the planing on those door jambs recently?

Writers take those common occurrences and turn them into stories. The chair rocking is caused by the ghost of the heroine's grandmother. She's come back to make sure her granddaughter listens to her advice and finds her true love. The lights doing their things are further manipulations of the spirit world trying to get the hero and heroine together. Those doors are being moved by unseen, unfriendly hands coming up the basement stairs.

Writers take things that might scare the pants off a normal person and make it something the hero/heroine recognizes as a characteristic of their deceased loved one . . . why? Because we LIKE paranormal things. We LIKE being scared, being intrigued and entranced by paranormal entities. That goosebumpy feeling when you watch some show about haunted houses? We LOVE it.

In a way, we’re all armchair adrenaline junkies. That’s what that is, cheré. It’s a natural flight/fight response. Now I don’t do zombies or axe murders because it’s not about the gore. It’s about the thrill. That heroine standing on the balcony in the early morning? She’s about to meet her hero -- only he’s slightly furry and four-legged. Hope she doesn’t mind wicked sharp teeth and a little growling when he’s feeling amorous.

What gives you that lovely, shuddery feeling of fear mixed with relief that it isn’t you? What makes you get up to turn on just one more light? Ever have a real life encounter? Tell me about it, honey. I live for this stuff. As long as I’m in my favorite chair with a few lights on. And I hope that’s where you are, cheré, ‘cause I’d like to share a story with you.

Now some folks say this is real, and some folks scoff at it. Me, I’m keeping my options open. See, there’s an old cemetery near my hometown -- some of the graves are from the 1800s -- and lots of folks won’t go near it at night. Heck, some folks won’t even go near it in the daytime. There’s one particular tombstone there that causes lots of anxiety in people. There’s nothing sinister about it, just to look at it. Tragic, yes, but not sinister. The grave is that of a child -- a girl -- who died when she was about six. Her grief-stricken parents called her “mon ange,” (my angel) for she was truly a “gift from god” for them – the only one of their children to survive infancy.

The little girl died of a fierce fever that swept through the town -- it killed many people, but seemed to attack mainly the old or the very young. Some were stricken and merely sickened, others died immediately while still others lingered between life and death for days, weeks. . .

The little girl was one of those. She would rally, giving her parents hope for her recovery, and then sicken again. When she died, it seemed the entire town went into mourning, for she had lasted much longer than anyone else with this fever. Her parents buried her in the family plot and over her grave, they put a statue of a praying angel with the face of their daughter.

Now, here’s where people differ about whether this is a cause for anxiety or not. You see, many claim that this particular angel will turn her head and look at you when you enter the cemetery. Anyone who comes in there with mischief on their mind will cause the angel to cease her prayer vigil and turn her head to stare at those who would think to desecrate the graves. Have I ever seen it? No, can’t say so. Do I believe it? Well, as I said before, I’m keeping an open mind on this one.

Now my next release isn’t spooky at all. It’s not even paranormal. It is an erotic game of cat and mouse between a thief and her target. That’s Sapphire Tease, a Jewel of the Nile release from Ellora’s Cave. After that. though, I return to the world of my sexy, slightly scary shifters in November with Lusting Wild 2: Changing Hearts. Hope you will come to the swamps of Louisiana with me then.

I'd love to give away a copy of Changing Times. It's available in e-format only at this point.

Question: Who is the hero of Changing Hearts? (Answer can befound on http://www.greatmta.com/)

And, anyone who joins our announcement-only newsletter by 8/30 is in the running for a gift basket including our September release, Sapphire Tease.

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To enter Marilu's giveaway, just answer her question here. Winner of the download will be posted here on Tuesday evening.

7 Comments:

Blogger Cathy M said...

This book sounds great, thanks for the excerpt.

The hero you are looking for is Malcolm Slade.

10:44 AM  
Blogger Eva S said...

I love shapeshifters and I'd love to read this book book!
The hero is Malcolm Slade

11:37 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm with Eva S, I just love shapeshifters *sigh*

The hero is Malcolm Slade ;)

5:05 PM  
Blogger Eli said...

Hi, I am Eli-
Ali refered me to your blog. :)

The answer is Malcolm Slade.

9:05 PM  
Blogger Pamk said...

wow both books in this series sounds awesome. The hero's name is Malcolm Slade

9:10 PM  
Blogger LadyVampire2u said...

I loved your post and the story about the little girl and her tombstone. As you can tell I enjoy a good ghost story too. And I live in Chicago where although its a big city, its full of ghostly happenings. We have a famous cemetary here too known for the lady in white who walks there, flags down cars, jumps in for a ride and then disappears before you get to the destination. I've seen her once but didn't offer a ride. Just saw her walking down the sidewalk in the rain next to the cemetary in her white prom dress. I kept the car moving but did do a double take.
And please enter me for your contest. I definitely would like to read this book. The contest answer: Malcolm Slade.

1:15 AM  
Blogger Caffey said...

Cjongrats LadyVampire on your win!

Oh its Malcolm Slade!

When it comes to reads of paranormals, be it ghosts or shape shifters, I just get the thrill of the unexpected when I read them! I'm always in for a surprise. These characters just so get inside me and I love that feel along with them! Both the new book and upcoming book sounds great!!

9:38 PM  

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