Let there be goddesses!

Release day is here for Goddess, Awakened! I'm crazy excited about this book - and this series. I love the idea that every woman is descended from the goddesses, and has strengths and talents she never guessed at until life throws one of its famous curve balls to knock her world askew and puts her to the test.

Considering the multi-layered mythology of various world cultures, the series will certainly never run out of goddesses. I am loving all the research! Not only about the main mythological figures, but the lesser ones are very cool as well. I can't wait to finish up revisions on the second novel and get it subbed! Hopefully by summer's end.

For now, the goddess Iris needs some love - and so does my heroine, Joss Gibson. I hope your pre-ordered copy of Goddess, Awakened has hit your e-reader, but if not, you can buy an ebook and get immediate delivery! I'm waiting to hear when a print version might be available too.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | All Romance eBooks | Kensington

And so begins the summer madness!

Today, I'm at Renea Mason's blog with a guest post. Come on over and say hi! http://wp.me/p4F877-1wU


Thanks to Aubrie Dionne and Susan Gourley for spotlighting Goddess Awakened today, and to Alex J. Cavanaugh for the shoutout. You guys are wonderful. They always have something interesting on their blogs too - I highly recommend you check them out if you haven't already.

And if you visit me at Fatin's blog, you can enter to win your choice of any of my backlist books in ebook format. http://rrahnovelthoughts.com

And Goddess, Awakened has another review! I'm so grateful to Jasmyn of Bitten by Romance for taking the time to read it.

Stay tuned, too, for news of a date change for the release bash at Bitten by Books. Originally scheduled for the 9th, it will now be later in July. But you won't want to miss it - there's a $50 gift card up for grabs. 

Halloween fun with Kelly Whitley

Cate: Please welcome Kelly to my special Halloween party! Kelly, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Kelly: Hello. Kelly here. I live in the Rocky Mountain West, along with more animals than people. I’m a vampire fan from way back—old Bela Lugosi movies, Anne Rice, and  Dark Shadows when it was a soap opera!

Cate: What do you love most about Halloween?

Kelly: For years we had a big Halloween party. The best part was turning the barn into a haunted house.

Cate: Do you have a favorite memory of a Halloween past?

Kelly: The looks on the kids’ faces the first time they saw “witch’s brew,” dry ice in the punch bowl.

Cate: Have you ever had an unusual experience you couldn’t explain?

Kelly: My old house had a rumor that someone had committed suicide in the attic. At night, sometimes it sounds like someone is walking around up there—creepy.

Cate: I am loving that so many people had weird experiences! What frightens you the most?

Kelly: From a Halloween standpoint, zombies bother me. I value my brain!

Cate: Ever gone on a ghost tour? Or ghost hunting on your own?

Kelly: No ghost tour—would love to go on one of the New Orleans tours some day. Never been ghost hunting—just seeing those reality TV shows is close enough for me.

Cate: Any favorite Halloween recipes you’d care to share?

Kelly: Not a true recipe—a craft.  Mini pumpkins (the little orange gourds). Paint in metallic colors, decorate with colored metallic wire tentacles. Glue jiggly eyes on as desired. They make great centerpieces. Great to do at a party with kids and send home.

Cate: Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online.

Kelly: My latest release is Into the Red. It’s the story of a doctor who is a vampire, and his unexpected love interest. Lots of bad guys and intrigue, and my own take on how vampires came to be. You can find it at:

Muse It Up Publishing

Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt?

Kelly: Here's the blurb:

Human blood is an illicit and highly addictive drug--if you're a vampire. Known as Red, its side effects are insanity, and eventual death. A group of Red-addicted vampires known as Poisoners are killing women as part of an extortion plot involving a lost ancient vampiric tome, and they’re leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. The discovery of each new victim risks exposure of the entire vampire race to humans. Then one victim survives…

Dr. Evan Nichols, oncologist and vampire, lives a monk-like existence, by his own choice, focusing on patient care and research to benefit his vampire brethren. It’s been twenty-five years since his world turned upside down—the night he lost his fiancee and discovered his hidden vampire heritage. Now his government has ordered him to take a mate—or they’ll choose one for him. It’s a horrible prospect, and one that might push him over the edge—until Fate throws him together with a human female.

Wary of relationships, Tara West has poured her energies into work and inventing cutting edge climbing equipment. She doesn’t like the gorgeous Dr. Nichols, yet finds herself unaccountably drawn to him.

When a crazed vampire attacks and poisons Tara, Evan rescues her. With time running out, he has to create an antidote to the poison before he loses his chance at love.

In order to make the vaccine which might cure her, he has to find the bastards who poisoned her and take their venom—before they die of their addiction. If he doesn’t reach them in time, saving her will be impossible.

Thus the journey begins—into the Red!

Cate: What inspired you to write about the theme?

Kelly: Working in the medical field, it occurred to me vampires could exist as an evolutionary offshoot of the human race—perfectly reasonable. The beginnings of a story came to me about a physician specializing in blood diseases who also happened to be a vampire, and had ambivalence about his situation. The vampires would live among humans. I wanted a way to survive that didn’t involve biting humans; in fact, I wanted humans to be off limits. The world built itself off these concepts.

Cate: Anything else you’d like to share?

Kelly: I’d love to do a sequel—lots of notes for the individual stories of other characters in the book.

Cate: Kelly has a giveaway! Woo hoo!

Kelly: Leave a comment with your email on this blog post. I’ll be choosing a random commenter to win an e-copy of Into the Red.

Halloween fun with Lorrie Struiff

Cate: Yay, Lorrie Unites-Struiff agreed to be part of my special Halloween celebration. Lorrie, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Lorrie:  Thanks for the invite, Cate. This is one of my all time favorite blogs.
Well, I live near Pittsburgh, Pa. I love to entertain readers with my stories. I write across the genre board and just have fun with whatever pops into my head. There is a lot of space up there for popping.

Cate: What do you love most about Halloween?
Lorrie: Taking my grandchildren out trick or treating. I get to share the treats.

Cate: Do you have a favorite memory of a Halloween past?

Lorrie: Yes, but it’s a baaaaad one. Nope, not telling.

Okay, you win. I lived in a very rural area when I was a kid. One main road. Ahem, we filled a purse with (use your imagination) and put it under a streetlight. We hid and watched the sparse traffic, or the cars that stopped to pick up the purse, the person put their hand inside –because it was dark- and made the funniest/naughtiest, comments I had ever heard. Phew. When they threw the purse away, we’d retrieve it and do it all over again. Bad, bad, bad. I’m sorry car stoppers. *sob* I was such a brat.

Cate: Oo, you were bad! Wish I'd have been there, lol Have you ever had an unusual experience you couldn’t explain?

Lorrie: Yes. I get, I guess you’d call them vibes at times. Strong feelings. How do I explain? One time these vibes saved me from a horrible wreck just by me pulling over to the side of the road. A few times I knew, just knew when someone died. Honestly, they creep me out. Some are good, some not so good.

Cate: Glad your vibe saved you from a wreck! What frightens you the most?

Lorrie: Elevators, backseat of a two-door car, a small ladies room without windows. Can you tell I’m a horrible claustrophobic?  And going to a morgue scares me.

Cate: *shudders* Definitely can relate. Ever gone on a ghost tour? Or ghost hunting on your own?

Lorrie: Nope. I’m chicken.

Cate: Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online.

Lorrie: The Call on the Dead Club series. Or COD Club on Bookstogonow, and Amazon.

Talk about a spook-speaker, Winnie’s your gal.

Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt?
Lorrie:  Two stories in one buy, this is from # 2 Going in Style

 I read the notes. Jack Daniels, AKA, Double Shot, and his two unidentified buddies, had pulled four bank robberies in the last couple of months in two states. They’d stolen over a million bucks. Double Shot tripped off a curb during the last heist and fell onto the street. Then the getaway driver made a pancake out of him in his hurry to flee the scene.

 “Well,” I glanced up, “it’s not like I can beat a confession out of his dead body, so what do you need?”

Maxwell rolled his eyes heavenward. “Do your so-called… thing. If it’s true.” He leaned his elbows on the desk. “We need to recover the cash and get Daniels to give up his buddies.

Cate: What inspired you to write about the theme?

Lorrie: I thought it would be neat to write a comedy series about an older, spunky, smart- mouthed woman who always gets into trouble. But, I think all ages will take to it. Think of  comic “Murder She Wrote.” Winnie is quite the character.

Cate: Can't wait to read her. :) Anything else you’d like to share?

Lorrie: Also have a book just released by Museitup. A Heap of Trouble. Romance/western/comedy/adventure.

Pop over to see my other stories at http://struiff.wordpress.com/

I’d love to hear from you.

Cate: Guys, you're in luck. Lorrie's agreed to give away her two short stories, both published with Bookstogonow:

- Wild Blackberries, a paranormal

- The Last Dance, about young love gone awry.

Don't forget your email address in your comment!

Thanks for sharing in the Halloween fun, Lorrie!

Because Lorrie's so sweet, it reminded me of a yummy recipe perfect for the occasion.

Pumpkin Dip

A super easy, super tasty recipe that’s super cute when served up in a small hollowed-out pumpkin.

Ingredients

1 8- ounce package cream cheese, softened

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 15-ounce can pumpkin

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon frozen orange juice concentrate

Directions

Blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and orange juice until smooth and well blended. Chill until serving.

Makes 4 cups.