Author Spotlight & Contest with Linda Robertson

We are absolutely thrilled to have friend and author Linda Robertson on our site today. Linda Robertson not only writes, she is an artist, plays the piano and electric guitar, composes and was in a super-cool rock band four children ago. Now that her four sons are older, she’s looking for a new band. Originally from Mansfield, Ohio, she’s a graduate of Ohio State University and currently lives in Medina, Ohio. She loves sci-fi action movies, her boyfriend says she’s a geek, and she firmly believes there’s never a bad time to eat ice cream.

Us to Linda! Keep reading for your chance to win a signed copy of either Hallowed Circle or soon to be released Fatal Circle (in stores June 29th, 2010).

Name:  Linda Robertson

Porn Star Name: Brandy Stewart…or Fluffy Stewart.

(This would be the name of your childhood pet along with the name of the street where you grew up.)

Website Address: www.wolfsbaneandabsinthe.com (it’s getting re-vamped for the release of FATAL CIRCLE so go check it out!!!)

Writing Age:

I’m not certain how to answer this so, guessing, if we start with “infant writing” being what I wrote in elementary school, then “toddler writing” was in middle school, and “child writing” was in high school. “Tween writing” would be everything up until I got published, and “teen writing” would be what I’ve done since. I’m equating being published with getting a driver’s license here—instead of the state permitting me to drive on the roads, the publishing industry has allowed me to put my books on the shelves. That’s where I am now. I’ve learned SOOO much from my editor in this process. Paula Guran ROCKS! I don’t think I could claim that “appropriately mature” stage until I’ve done this professionally for ten years or so, like being tenured in.

First Published Work: VICIOUS CIRCLE

Current Release: FATAL CIRCLE

INSPIRATION AND MUSE

If you could live in any fictional universe/world what would it be?

The Star Trek world!!!! I’d have to be in Starfleet…I LOVE Klingons.

If you could have lunch with any author dead or alive whom would it be and why?

I had to think about this, but the Bronte sisters would surely lead an interesting conversation.

If you were locked in a room for 48 hours and forced to watch one TV show the entire time, which television series would you choose?

True Blood because I’ve only seen the first season!

What is the most outrageous or bizarre thing you have done in the name of “research”?

Tromped around Cleveland late at night taking pictures…some through the chain-locked doors that opened just enough to snap a picture of the service tunnels under the rail system. Mwahahahahaha.

What is your latest release?

FATAL CIRCLE

What inspired you to write said story/book?

It’s the third in the series, so it’s the natural outgrowth of what the characters have dealt with in the first two. I wanted to raise the stakes—for all of these destined people. So I looked at them all individually and asked: What would push them? What would hurt them? And how can I weave those answers together? The weaving is the fun part.

Fab Five

• Coffee or Tea? Definitely JAVA! With chocolate and peppermint, of course.
• Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate.
• Vampire or Werewolf? BOTH!!!
• Meatie or Veggie? Meat.
• Salty or Sweet? Sweet.

Last but not Least

Three words that describe you:  goofy, creative, semi-introverted.

Win a signed copy of Hallowed Circle or Fatal Circle!

Once again, a big thanks to Linda Robertson for joining us at Wicked Jungle. Ask Linda a question and you are  automatically entered into drawing for a free signed copy of either Hallowed Circle or Fatal Circle! And yes, international contestants are eligible.

To get you started, here is a sneak peak of Fatal Circle.

My living room clock read two-forty-six a.m. It was no longer Hallowe’en night, but All Hallows Day. Or, as some called it, All Saints’ Day. But it was no saint who held me in his arms—it was a wærewolf.

“I think you’d like my apartment, Red.” Red. That’s me. Persephone Alcmedi to the rest of the world. Seph to some. Red only to Johnny, my not-exactly-Big-Bad-wærewolf. “It has that open-living concept.”

I wasn’t fooled. “It’s a glorified dorm room, isn’t it?”

“If, by ‘glorified,’ you mean it has a private bathroom, then yes.” Johnny sniffed, affecting annoyance. “Something I sacrificed when I moved in here.”

I’d had to forfeit my home’s vampire defenses three weeks ago to save a friend’s life, Johnny had temporarily moved into the third-floor attic room—for protection purposes only. In the three weeks since, those defenses had since been reinstated, but he’d remained. Being the epitome of “tall, dark, and handsome,” I hadn’t complained.

“C’mon.” Johnny’s deep blue eyes glittered seductively. His voice dropped low. “Nothing’s more romantic than a bachelor pad.”

We’d both had a hell of an evening. Words like “hectic” or “demanding” didn’t begin to cover it. I must have been the only one suffering from fatigue.

Read More Here

ENETER THE CONTEST

Each person who posts a comment will get one entry in the contest.

You can get an additional entries by doing the following (note these are in addition to posting a comment. You must comment first to be qualified).

• Option A: Tweet about the contest on Twitter (you must include @wickedjungle for your tweet to qualify each tweet will get you an additional entry).
• Option B: Become a follower of our blog (only new followers joining between the time of the contest will be counted).
• Option C: Promote the contest on your blog (you must include a link below to your blog post to be counted as an official entry).

Contest Ends Sunday July 4th at  Midnight (Eastern) !!!

Author Spotlight: S. A. Swann

Name:

S A Swann/ S Andrew Swann

Porn Star Name:

Critter Hampshire

Website Address:

www.sandrewswann.com

Writing Age:

Given the amount of sex and violence, probably Mature.

First Published Work:

Forests of the Night (as S Andrew Swann)

Current Release:

Wolf’s Cross (as S A Swann, Spectra, July 2010)

INSPIRATION & MUSE

If you could live in any fictional universe/world what would it be?

Maybe Zelazny’s Amber universe(s), if I could be a royal uninvolved with all the backstabbing.

If you could have lunch with any author dead or alive whom would it be and why?

Stephen King— so I could pitch a collaboration that would make me rich, and if he doesn’t take me up on the offer, he still gets to pick up the tab for dinner J

If you were locked in a room for 48 hours and forced to watch one TV show the entire time, which television series would you choose?

I’m a great fan of Lost, but I actually did this one time with the entire run of Twin Peaks.

What is the most outrageous or bizarre thing you have done in the name of “research”?

Probably have to take the fifth on this as the statute of limitations hasn’t run out.

What is your latest release?

As I mentioned above, the medieval werewolf novel Wolf’s Cross is due out this July.  The last book was the middle third of my Apotheosis Trilogy space opera, Heretics, which came out last Feburary from DAW books.

What inspired you to write said story/book?

Wolf’s Cross was inspired by a combination of things; an interest in medieval Polish history, the mythos established in the prior novel, Wolfbreed, and Little Red Riding Hood. Heretics and Apotheosis Trilogy is a development of my thoughts about the spiritual implications of the technological singularity (the “rapture for nerds” taken literally.)

Fab Five

• Coffee or Tea? Diet Coke.
• Chocolate or Vanilla? White Chocolate.
• Vampire or Werewolf? See latest book J
• Meatie or Veggie? Kill it and eat it.
• Salty or Sweet? Large grains of salt.

Last but not least…three words that describe you: Things go boom.

Contest: Win it before you can buy it!

S.A. Swann was kind enough to offer us a sneak peak at his next release: Wolf’s Cross. Read below for an excerpt and comment to win your very own advance copy.

Interlude : Anno Domini 1333

Her name was Lucina, and she didn’t remember who had named her.  She lived in the deepest woods east of Gród Narew, and lived mostly ignorant of the humans dwelling there.  The people who lived on the fringes of these woods, especially those whose families had spent generations in its shadow, knew of her and her kind.  Lucina’s ancestors haunted the tales that had been spoken of in hushed tones ever since the land had become Christian.

However, it had been a long time since Lucina had family.  And a long time since her kind haunted these woods in any numbers.  She was alone, and the tales of the old folks about wolves clothed in human skin had become less urgent, less of a deterrent for hungry men who needed to hunt for their family’s larder.

Lucina would watch these men as they made their weak attempts to hunt.  Sometimes she would watch with the eyes of a wolf, sometimes with the eyes of a raven-haired maiden.  She would watch them come into her wood, and more often than not, return empty-handed.

She watched, not out of any malice, but out of curiosity and a deep loneliness.  She was the last of her kind in these woods, and she thought perhaps the last of her kind anywhere.  These men who came to find game, they all had a home to go to.

Home was as alien a concept to Lucina as having to trap her prey or shoot it with an arrow.

Each winter, her despair grew deeper.  She would always be alone, and she envied these human women who sent their men out to parade in front of her.  Why?  What could these frail human women give that she could not?  She was stronger then they were, faster, and a better hunter than these poor men. . .

It was not long before she decided that there was no reason she couldn’t have what they had.  When she decided this, Lucina studied these men with a new eye, looking for someone she could love, and could love her back.  She watched how they moved, how they hunted, how they carried their kill.

And only days into the winter, when the snow barely dusted the needle floor of her woods, she saw the man who would become her mate.  This man had broad shoulders and a stature above all the others who braved her forest.  He carried a masculine scent that made Lucina lick her lips in anticipation.

This was the man who would free her from her solitude.

Read More Here

Win a signed copy of Wolf’s Cross!

Once again, a big thanks to S.A. Swann for joining us at Wicked Jungle. Share your thoughts or ask a question and you are automatically entered into drawing for a free advanced copy of his current book Wolf’s Cross.

Each person who posts a comment will get one entry in the contest.

You can get an additional entries by doing the following (note these are in addition to posting a comment. You must comment first to be qualified).

• Option A: Tweet about the contest on Twitter (you must include @wickedjungle for your tweet to qualify each tweet will get you an additional entry).
• Option B: Become a follower of our blog (only new followers joining between the time of the contest will be counted).
• Option C: Promote the contest on your blog (you must include a link below to your blog post to be counted as an official entry).

Contest Ends TUESDAY June 29th, 2010 at  Midnight (Eastern) !!!

Wolf’s Cross by S. A. Swann

Maria lives a simple life in a small Polish village, working for the lord of the nearby fortress. Motherless since birth, Maria has been raised by her father and stepmother. Around her neck she wears—as she has always worn—a silver crucifix, to protect her from the devil. Or so her father tells her.

But when a contingent of badly mauled Teutonic knights, including a handsome and gravely wounded young man named Josef, ask for succor at the fortress, Maria’s quiet and comfortable world shatters. For the knights are Wolfjägers, an order dedicated to the extermination of werewolves, and Maria, unknowingly, is one of the creatures they hunt. Only the crucifix about her neck prevents her body from changing into a lethal killing machine.

When Maria meets Darien, a wolfbreed bent on exacting a terrible revenge on humans, she will learn the truth about herself, and find her loyalties—and her heart—torn in two.

Read the Excerpt

Interlude : Anno Domini 1333

Her name was Lucina, and she didn’t remember who had named her.  She lived in the deepest woods east of Gród Narew, and lived mostly ignorant of the humans dwelling there.  The people who lived on the fringes of these woods, especially those whose families had spent generations in its shadow, knew of her and her kind.  Lucina’s ancestors haunted the tales that had been spoken of in hushed tones ever since the land had become Christian.

However, it had been a long time since Lucina had family.  And a long time since her kind haunted these woods in any numbers.  She was alone, and the tales of the old folks about wolves clothed in human skin had become less urgent, less of a deterrent for hungry men who needed to hunt for their family’s larder.

Lucina would watch these men as they made their weak attempts to hunt.  Sometimes she would watch with the eyes of a wolf, sometimes with the eyes of a raven-haired maiden.  She would watch them come into her wood, and more often than not, return empty-handed. Read more

Author Spotlight: Marcia Colette

Today’s guest blogger is Marcia Colette. Marcia was born in upstate New York and holds a bachelors degree in biomedical engineering and a masters degree in information technology. She is now living in the south again, in the lovely state of North Carolina, with her mom and beautiful daughter. Marcia is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Paranormal Mystery Writers, and Romance Writers of America. The best place to find her is on her blog (marciacolette.wordpress.com) where she loves connecting with readers and other writers. Conferences/conventions where sci-fi, fantasy, and horror reign supreme are a good bet, too, along with the occasional romance conference. Welcome Marcia!!

Author Profile

Name: Marcia Colette

Porn Star Name: Whiskers Schuyler  (Wow.  That’s so not sexy.)

Website Address: www.marciacolette.com

Writing Age: Appropriately Mature and very naive.

First Published Work: HALF BREED

Current Release: STRIPPED Read more

Stripped by Marcia Colette

Alexa Wells wants her life back. She’s just not sure what that life was. The memories inside her head—a stripper’s—aren’t hers, and before she humiliates herself onstage one more time, she sets out to collect the scattered pieces of her mind. The trail leads to Boston, charges of identity theft and murder, and the real bombshell: a forgotten werewolf lover who insists she’s a werewolf hybrid.

Matt York doesn’t care that she looks at him like he’s been smoking crack between court cases. Now that he has her back he’s not about to let her go it alone, even if she can easily kick ass and take names all by herself. Amnesia only scratches the surface of her problems, and like it or not, she’s stuck with him.

She’s also stuck with Robert Gamboldt, a venture capitalist who’s not above murdering his way to the top. He’s not about to lose his prize possession without playing dirty. It’s a simple enough offer. Be his personal assassin, or go to jail.

With options like that, it’s enough to make a hybrid go full-blood.

Warning: Delicious sexual tension with a werewolf who’ll wait as long as it takes for his hybrid werewolf mate to come around. Read more

Day 13: Best Were Series

Continuing a super duper month of giveaways here’s your next chance to win some cool Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy goodies. Remember rules of the game change daily, so be sure to check back often to see how to enter and whether or not you won!

Day 13 : “owww, werewolves of London…”

The next few contests are going to be open polls! Meaning we are looking to find the best, most beloved books around in the genre. Today, you have the opportunity to nominate your favorite “Were/Shifter” book or series. We will use the full list to do voting in June!

THE RULES

1. Type the name of your nominee into the comments below.  Include the full name of the book or series along with the full author’s name. For tracking purpose, please only put one nominee per comment.

2.For each NEW nominee you add to the list, you receive an entry into today’s online contest.

3. You can post as many times as you want. Please NOTE: Werewolves, shifters, or “Were” creatures of any nature must be central character’s in the book (not minor or supporting roles). We will have other opportunities for other books later! YA Books are included.

4. As always, you get an additional entry for promoting the contest on your website, blog, facebook or twitter. Just be sure to include the link in the comments. If using twitter include @wickedjungle in the tweet!

5. The contest is open from now and will close at 12PM Eastern on Thursday May 27!

The PRIZE:

Each daily winner will have the option of choosing an autographed copy of the following books:

• C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp–Touch of Darkness
• L.A. Banks –The Forbidden (Selected by previous winner)
• Mary Janice Davidson–Undead and Unwed (Selected by previous winner)
• Mary Janice Davidson–Undead and Uneasy
• S.J Day–Eve of Darkness–(Selected by previous winner)
• Devon Monk–Magic to the Bone (Selected by previous winner)
• Devon Monk–Magic in the Blood (selected by previous winner)
• Kat Richardson–Greywalker (Selected by previous winner)

or an un-autorgraphed copy of one of the following books:

• Rachel Caine–Kiss of Death
• Jocelynn Drake–Nightwalker (Selected by previous winner)
• Angie Fox–The Dangerous Book of Demon Slayers
• Richelle Mead–Succubus Blues(selected by previous winner)
  
• Linda Wisdom–Hex in High Heels

Each book is also paired up with a swag bag, which contains buttons, postcards, bookmarks, and posters (some signed, some not).  Each bag varies and winners will not have the option of pre-selecting the swag-bags.

Winners of the daily contest will automatically be entered into the grand prize drawings (winners to be announced May 31st).  This includes the RT 2010 Tote Bag, Strange Brew Anthology (signed by Jim Butcher), signed posters, books, swag and your choice of a $25 gift e-gift cart to borders.com, bn.com or amazon.com. (Second place winner will receive similar package with signed poster, tote bag, and $10 gift card).