Fantasy Dreamer's Ramblings

Nalini Singh, author of the Psy-Changeling Series, has a new series out this year, The Guild Hunters. Angels' Blood, the first book in the series will release on March 3, 2009. There will also be an e-book novella, Angels' Pawn, available starting today! Go to Nalini's web site to read more about this great new series.

Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione, a novel in the Demonica series released today! Whoopee! Very good news!

Below is an Excerpt & Click here for more on the author's web site

Though some of the black market killers have been put down, the threat remains, weakened, but growing stronger. When Shade is captured along with an ex-lover who blames him for a terrible betrayal, he is forced to confront dangerous emotions that, if acted upon, could result in a fate worse than death.

Ticket to Anywhere is hosting a contest to win the Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost! Woohoo! Yes, that is 3 books! Contest runs until March 7th. Check it out, click here, for the details.

Good Luck!

The Book Faery Reviews is holding a contest to win copies of Kim Harrison's White Witch, Black Curse plus a t-shirt and tomato seed packets. There will be 2 winners picked. The contest runs until Tuesday, February 24^th, 2009 at 12 Noon EST.

Click here for the details on entering. Good Luck!

Anne Aguirre is having a contest "The Blue Diablo Blowout" over on her blog to celebrate her new book Blue Diablo that releases on April 7, 2009.

This contest is open until 11:59 pm CST, April 6, 2009. The contest is two parts.

Part 1 of The Blue Diablo Blowout:
4 Prizes:

• Grand Prize: $100 gift card from Barnes and Noble
• First runner up: $50 gift certificate from Amazon
• Second runner up: $25 gift card (or egift card) from Lush
• Third runner up: Signed copy of Blue Diablo

Part 2 of The Blue Diablo Blowout:
1 Prize:

• A $250 Visa gift card!

Part 2 is unrelated to Part 1. You create a book trailer for Blue Diablo!

Head over to her blog for the details on entering these contests: Click here. Good Luck!

*** Update: This book is no longer available in its full length on the publisher's web site but you can still get a peek at the book there! ***

I just read on Kim Harrison's web site that Harper Collins' has her book Dead Witch Walking online as a free read. You have to read the book on their website. What the Hey, huh? It's free. This is a good opportunity to start the Hollows series, since this is book 1 in the series.

I'm going try and read it this week or by the end of this month, if time allows. I'm not sure how long this book will be offered online as a free read, so I wouldn't wait to long to take advantage of this offer.

Click here.

Happy Reading!

Bitten By Books is having a contest starting today 2/17/09 until 2/23/09. You can enter to win 1 of 7 (Yes, that's right 7) sets of books that include Night Life and Pure Blood by author Caitlin Kittredge. The contest is open to everyone around the world.

Click here for the details on how to enter.

Images linked from Caitlin Kittredge's Web Site.

Today is Friday, February 13th. To some it is a day of bad luck. Paraskevidekatriaphobics — people afflicted with a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. Crazy to think, huh? And how in the world do you pronounce Paraskevidekatriaphobics.

I was raised by a very superstitious mom, now she didn't have the unpronounceable affliction Paraskevidekatriaphobics but she was weary of Friday the 13th none the less. For instance, if my mom saw a black cat, we had to go around. There was no way she would let anyone of us cross it's path. If she found a clover patch, she would spend hours searching for that lucky four leaf clover. My brother and I had to help search (Fun, right? - not!). And I'll give you a lucky guess who taught us about the "step on crack, break your mother's back" bit. Gosh, the list could go on and on.

Because of my mom's superstitions, I have made a point of saying Friday the 13th is a lucky day. I really think that if you believe strongly in something, you can be your own self fulfilling prophecy. So hence, I say Friday the 13th will be a good luck day.

Well, I combed the world wide web and gather 13 superstitions/facts on Friday the 13th:

1. Friday the 13th is the most wide spread superstition in the United States.
2. 8% of Americans suffer from Paraskevidekatriaphobics.
3. It is believed if a person's name adds up to 13, he or she will be cursed with devil's bad luck: Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson
   
4. Many buildings do not have a 13th floor (remember wondering when I was a kid why in the elevators, the buttons for each floor went from 12 to 14).
5. A lot of cities skip 13 in the street avenue/boulevard numbers.
6. The Chinese believe the number 13 is a lucky number as did the ancient Egyptians.
7. Hindus believed it was always unlucky for 13 people to gather in one place.
8. Vikings believed the number 13 was bad luck because of Loki, the god of mischief, was the 13th god in Valhalla banquet gone wrong.
9. There were 13 present at the Last Supper in Bible. In the Bible, one of the thirteen betrayed Jesus.
10. The Knights of Templar were rounded up on Friday, October 13, 1307 by King Philip IV of France for torture and execution.
11. The "Death" card is number 13 in a tarot deck.
12. Supposedly, Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit on a Friday.
13. Last but by no means least, some historians say the number 13 was believed unlucky by early Christian patriarchs because it represented femininity — What a crock of BS, right?

If you want to read more, here are the sources for my information above:
Why Friday the 13th Is Unlucky, Freaky Friday & Friday the 13th.

On March 1, 2009, The Vampire's Bride by Gena Showalter will be released! I already have my copy pre-order. I can't wait to get it, I already have all of the previous books in the Atlantis series. Gena also wrote the The Lords of the Underworld series, which I highly recommend you also check out. Read on about The Vampire's Bride...

“One of the premier authors of paranormal romance.”
—New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole

Return to Gena Showalter’s mythical world of immortals, magic and dark seduction…return to Atlantis…
He is Layel, king of the vampires, a master seducer no woman can deny. But since a rogue horde of dragons killed his beloved over two centuries ago, Layel has existed only for vengeance…until he meets Delilah.

Wary of love, the beautiful Amazon wants nothing to do with the tormented vampire. Yet there’s no denying their consuming desire every time he nears her.

Neither trusts the other—nor can they survive alone. For in an impossible game of the gods’ devising, they’ve been trapped on an island, about to face the ultimate challenge: surrender to the passion that will bind them forever…or be doomed to an eternity apart.


“A world of myth, mayhem and love under the sea!”
--New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward on The Nymph King

SciFiGuy.ca is having a contest to giveaway five copies of The Terror by Dan Simmons.

The contest will run until midnight (E.S.T.) on Saturday, February 21.

Click here for the contest rules and to enter. Good Luck!

I just started reading Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance late this past summer. Before I usually only read Fantasy/Dark Fantasy or Horror books, like Neil Gaiman, Dean Koontz, Ann Rice, Margret Weis & Tracy Hickman and R.A. Salvotore, the list goes on.

Well, actually, years ago I did read Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, when it very first published. I really enjoyed that book and wanted to read more of the same type of genre but couldn't find any.

Since summer, I have rediscovered UF & PNR, so as you can imagine I have been gobbling up books as fast as I can. It's seems since I had read Bitten, these genres have gone through a boon. But it seems my To Be Read list just keeps growing and growing. I have discovered so many new authors, especially through the blogosphere. There are so many reviews and interviews. So much information on finding books in this genre, it just crazy wonderful. Every time I come across a new one, I think "Oooh, oooh, I have got to read that one!" Then I discover there were several novels before that one, so I end finding out I need to read an entire series.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about books in a series. Because I love finding series, to me a series mean there is just more of the "that" to come. Which I love knowing.

But "Whew!" My PDA is getting full. I been keeping my TBR list in One Notes, so I can keep track of all that I have bought/read/want to read/want to buy. It acutally has become quite a task keeping track of this list.

So, I asked myself today "Will I ever catch up?"

Bitten By Books is conducting an interview with Kelley Armstrong and a contest. Very interesting information plus ask Kelley questions you have been dying to ask! Click here.

Check out Blood of the Muse's contest to win the entire series of Kitty Norville books:

Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Kitty Goes to Washington
Kitty Takes a Holiday
Kitty and the Silver Bullet
Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand
Kitty Raises Hell

Contest open until February 20th at 11:59pm PST. Good Luck!

Bitten By Books has an exclusive interview with Caitlin Kittredge that includes some great prizes. Caitlin has a new book Second Skin that releases on March 3, 2009. Check out at BittenByBooks.com

The Discriminating Fangirl is giving away a complete set of the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn! The contest will run until Friday the 13th, 10:00p.m. CST.

Check out her review on Kitty Raises Hell (Book 6) by Carrie Vaughn and how to enter the contest: Click Here.

Sidhe Vicious is having a contest to win a signed copy of Amanda Ashley's Night's Pleasure.

Awesome word tool, came across a word cloud generator, Wordle, that will create a word cloud based on words you enter or you can give it an URL to a web site or blog, etc. Wordle lets you randomized the words with a click of a button, change the colors and layout. Nice.

Here's my creation based on my blog, love this:

This is neat, blog'd by Midnight Moon Cafe earlier:

Your Word is "Fearless"

You see life as your one chance to experience everything, and you just go for it! You believe the biggest risk is being afraid and missing out on something amazing. Sometimes your fearlessness means you're daring. You enjoy risky activities. And sometimes your fearlessness means you're courageous. You're brave enough to do the right thing, even when it's scary.

Literary Escapism did a great write up about a new Firefox browser add-on called Glue. In a nutshell this add-on is a great way to connect to others with similar interests as yours in movies, music and books by use a toolbar that will appear automatically when you visit a web site that features these items. You can comment on movies, music and books and give them ratings.

Click here to read Literary Escapism's post on Glue.

Here another chance to win a copy of Ravenous by Sharon Ashwood and read a great interview with her on Amberkatz's Book Blog.

Contest is open until February 8th at 4pm CET. Click here for the contest.

Contest for a signed copy of Ravenous by Sharon Ashwood over at Sidhe Vicious Reviews. The contest runs until February 11th.

Click here for the contest.

Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand (Kitty Norville, Book 5)

Kitty Raises Hell (Kitty Norville, Book 6)

Hachette Books is offering a copy of each of the books above by Carrie Vaughn to 5 lucky winners.

Contest Dates
Begins: February 3, 2009
Deadline: February 17, 2009.

I finished the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole last night. By finished I mean, I have read all books in the series up to Kiss of a Demon King.

I loved this series, it was fast paced. Every novel unique with it's own story line but tied nicely into each other stories. As you moved through the books, you get glimpse of how the characters from the previous books are fairing in the new lives together. Ms. Cole has build a sexy world of mystical characters that belong to the Lore. The Lore has beings such as Lykae, Vampires, Valkyrie, Demons, Nymphs, Phantoms, Sirens and more. These novels are full of very passionate sex, much a bunch of action and mysterious intrigues. If you like the alpha male and witty, intelligent heroine type of book, these are definitely it.

Here are links to book excerpts on Kresley Cole's web site and my ramblings:

Book 1
A Hunger Like No Other - Book Excerpt

Main Characters:
Alpha Male: Lachlain MacRieve, Lykae
Heroine: Emmaline Troy, Half Vampire/Half Valkyrie

My ramblings: I read this book in one day, it was so fast paced and full intrigues, the pages just kept turning. I knew from this very first book this was going to be great series.

Book 2
No Rest For the Wicked - Book Excerpt

Main Characters:
Alpha Male: Sebastian Wroth, Vampire
Heroine: Kaderin the Cold Hearted, Valkyrie

My ramblings:
Fast paced, loved the sexy Vampire, admired the "kick your ass" Valkyrie!


Book 3
Wicked Deeds On a Winter's Night - Book Excerpt

Main Characters:
Alpha Male: Bowen MacRieve, Lykae
Heroine: Mariketa the Awaited, Witch

My ramblings:
Sexy steamy story. Very Alpha male intensive.


Book 4
Dark Needs at Night's Edge - Book Excerpt

Main Characters:
Alpha Male: Conrad Wroth, Vampire
Heroine: Néomi Laress, Ghost

My ramblings: Devoured it. I had several "OMG! How will they make it?" moments.


Book 5
Dark Desires After Dusk - Book Excerpt

Main Characters:
Alpha Male: Cadeon Woede, Demon
Heroine: Holly Ashwin, Half Human/Half Valkyrie

My ramblings: This is definitely a story of "opposites attracts", a bad boy Demon and a goody two shoes Valkyrie. Edge of the seat gripper.


Book 6
Kiss of a Demon King - Book Excerpt

Main Characters:
Alpha Male: Rydstrom Woede, Demon
Heroine: Sabine, the Queen of Illusions,

My ramblings: Very high tension, I mean high-wire tension, sexy story. A lot of twists and turns.

I won! I can't believe it! I won a copy of Heart of the Dragon Book 1 of Atlantis series by Gena Showalter - signed! I am so excited, I haven't read this series yet, but I have read the Lords of the Underworld series to date, which I absolutely loved. From what I have read in the reviews for the Atlantis series, more than likely I will love it also. Whoohooo!!!

I just pre-ordered The Vampire's Bride this past weekend, it came up on my Hot Picks on Amazon.com. Now, I just need to buy Jewel of Atlantis and Nymph King!

	Heart of the Dragon Book 1
	Jewel of Atlantis Book 2
	The Nymph King Book 3
	The Vampire's Bride - March 1, 2009 Book 4