Category Archives: 7 Evil Dwarves

Jun 5 2013

A Swamp Visit with #pararom author @LivRancourt and her new release…

Today began like any other day.  Hellhound greeted the heralding light of a new day with a rousing chorus of canine delight. The Prankster Duo is prepping for their summer of total dominion. The Knight is considering various siege targets.  

And me?

I’m sneaking over to Snarky’s place because the talented and honored Dwarf Friend, Liv Rancourt, is stopping by. As a matter of fact, in apologies for sending buckets full of rain her way the other week, I invited her down to our sunnier part of the world to dry out and rediscover what the word ‘sky’ and ‘dry’ have in common.  

It helps that Eerie and Mischievous managed to tick off the Voodoo Queen down south, because it’s been a little warmer than normal. So much so, even the moss between toes has dried out and Dreamer’s become a little perturbed at the beating her flowers have taken.  I think she sent a few air elementals southward to Queenie’s place to help her re-arrange her perspective. 

Regardless, now that Snarky has set out some really cool pastries and Eerie’s coffee is scenting the air, it’s time to grill…<cough, cough>…ask Liv a few questions before we dive into her Paranormal Romance, FOREVER AND EVER, AMEN…

As children we tend to have an idea of what we want to be by the time we’re ten.  Before you decided to pursue the artistic dream of being a writer, what did you want to be and why?

The thing is, before I was ten I knew I wanted to be a writer, though by the time high school rolled around, I’d kind of forgotten. Writing was cool, singing was cool, but the future? Who knew?

One of my college roommates was a nurse, and I figured there was NO WAY I was smart enough to do that. Then I got into nursing school, and figured there was NO WAY I could handle the responsibility of the job.

Heh.

It was only after twenty-some years of nursing that I figured if I was ever going to do that writing thing, I better get on it. So now you know that my life was a clueless stumble from point A to point B – though I will say I’m pretty happy with where I am now.

-Isn’t that how we all get to where we’re going? Trodding the straight and narrow is so boring. At least when you stumble, exciting things happen…besides smashing face first into the ground!

Personally, I tend to be a bit on the introverted side so the thought of being in the actual presence of one of my favorite writers makes my heart race, my knees shake and tangles my tongue (yes classic fan girl behavior).  Who could reduce you to such a level and how do you imagine your initial meeting?

Neil Gaiman. OMG just saying his name …. I imagine if I ever met him, there’d be lots of silence with me sitting awkwardly, unable to connect my brain to any higher verbal functions, and him sitting awkwardly, wondering why this relatively normal woman has turned into a gibbering zombie.

-But you’d be such an attractive zombie, I’m sure he’d overlook the gibbering thing…

Growing up, what was your favorite book, comic, game or movie and did you create a character/player that might resemble you?

For a while I was the best friend Laura Ingalls never had, and then I lived in the attic next door to Sara Crewe (A Little Princess). I solved mysteries with Nancy, and survived the Crimean War with Florence Nightingale. So yeah, I pretty much plunked myself into just about every book I read. Actually, I kind of still do…

-Shhh! I won’t tell if you won’t…

Whether we’re plotters or pantsers (outlines not needed), creating our stories takes us on very memorable journeys.  Sometimes we may be part way through before we realize some major aspect of our story is just not working (plot, character, setting).  Have you ever hit this sharp, pointy snag and if so, how did you escape? We’re you battered and bruised or a bloody mess?

It’ s all about the characters. If I feel like something’s not working, I break out the notebook, grab my pencil (because pens make me crazy) and start writing from the POV of whichever character’s most involved in the situation that’s giving me trouble. Sometimes it’s more than one character, but either way, it helps to refresh my memory of who each person is and how they’d respond to things.

If that doesn’t work, I step away from the piece for a while and work on something else. Taking the dog for a walk can help, too, as can sleeping on it. Often when I wake up in the morning, I find yesterday’s plot macramé has unraveled itself nicely.

-I’m with you. Sometimes I’ll write from a secondary character’s POV just to figure out where in the hell are we going with this…

What is the best advice you can share with others? 

My standard answer to this question is: “WRITE”. But I’m going to vary that a little. Write some, share what you’ve written and ask for feedback, and write some more. Get yourself a couple good books, like “Goal, Motivation & Conflict” by Debra Dixon, or “Save The Cat” by Blake Snyder. Write some more. Sign up for a class – there are a bazillion on-line classes so you can work from home and on your own schedule. Write some more.

These steps can occur in any order you choose. The important thing is to learn the craft and to  get feedback. Oh, and write some more.

-And when all else fails, WRITE!

Now it’s time for quick fire round (and yes, I have been watching way too much Top Chef!)

Blades, guns, fists or feet?

Fangs. It’s all about the vampires, baby.

 -As long as they don’t sparkle, I’m good…

Favorite Fairy Tale of all time?

Does “The Lord Of The Rings” count? On their own, fairytales are a little…basic. I’d rather read a book that does a good job repurposing several to create something new.

 -LOTR works, and because we love you, we’ll count it as a fairytale!

Three titles and their authors sitting on your nightstand/bookcase/table/floor waiting to be read?

“Breathing His Air” by Debra Kayn (Crimson Romance), “Tarnished” by Karina Cooper, “Winter Knights” by Harper Frost, “Winterblaze” by Kristen Callihan, “The Chalice” by Nancy Bilyeau…oh, you said just three, right. Oops.

 -I’ve yet to find a writer that can stop at three…

Greatest one liner of all time?

Don’t know about “all time”, but right now my favorite one-liner happens in my current WIP (working title King Stud). The main character Danielle is exasperated with her best friend’s younger brother, who’s a carpenter. He tells her there’s so much original woodwork in the house she inherited it’s making his dick hard. She says, “You’re like twenty five years old. Your dick gets hard when the wind blows.”

And he says, “Twenty four, and…well…”

He’s pretty confident for a youngster.

 -*snort, giggle*  niceeee…….

Sarcastic witticism, Southern sweetness or Geeky disdain?

Sarcasm FTW!

 -and this is why we’re friends….

Strangest item currently taking up space in your writing cave?

I am the Queen of Clutter, and my “writing cave” is the dining room table. Someone has left a beret on the table. I don’t know who, and I don’t know why. I’m not writing about France or anything. Maybe I should be…

-Or maybe someone should take you to France? *waggles eyebrow*

Favorite supernatural creature?

Vampires. But you knew that.  ;)

-*big grin*

Big love to Liv for braving our wilds once more and bringing such a great title with her!

Want to spice up your reading list this summer? Check out Liv’s latest release and must have: FOREVER AND EVER, AMEN 

Molly, a forty-something single mom, tangles with the wrong guy and gets a hell of a hickey. That blotch is really a demon’s mark, and she’ll have to face the three things that scare her most to get rid of it. First, Molly loses her job and then she has a near-sex experience with her philandering, not-quite-ex-husband. Worst of all, she has to sit by a hospital bed, wondering if her son is ever going to wake up.

The Powers That Be assign Cass to help her. He’s an angel who’s trying to earn a seat in the celestial choir by helping out a human in need. Vanquishing the demon would be his ticket up, but only if he plays by the rules. He’ll never earn his wings if he loses his heart to the lovely Molly. But she has even bigger things to worry about. She stands to lose her soul.

9781440564147

Buy Links:

Crimson Romance/ Amazon/ Barnes & Noble/ ARe

Liv #2

Liv Rancourt writes paranormal and romance, often at the same time. She lives with her husband, two teenagers, two cats and one wayward puppy. She likes to create stories that have happy endings, and finds it is a good way to balance her other job in the neonatal intensive care unit. Liv can be found on-line at her website (http://www.livrancourt.com), her blog (http://www.liv-rancourt.blogspot.com), on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/liv.rancourt), or on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/LivRancourt). 

May 1 2013

Hellos and Goodbyes…

It’s been awhile since we’ve visited the Swamp and her inhabitants. Today I thought you might like to take a peek into our little farewell get together for Mighty, who shall remain with us via the technology gods until her return, and meet our newest member…

Wicked: *shoving Might’s duffle on to the back of the lopsided jackass*  Why the hell are you going to the Windy City? Between the Werewolf Monks and Eerie’s Free Range Zombies, I would’ve thought we had enough drama for you.

Mighty:*stashing her Staff of Bull Shark Repellent*  You know how it is, money’s a little tight and those Bull Sharks aren’t going to leave the lake any time soon. I’m just going to make sure they don’t pass beyond where they’re allowed.

Snarky: *lazily curling and uncurling her whip*  I can whip them into shape.

Mighty: *look of indulgent disdain*  Your whip is not going to reach.

*Overhead Mischievous calls out*:  Hey Mighty, you ready to lose a few fingers and toes?  The temps over there will keep you in deep freeze.  *He cackles at his lame attempt at humor*

Mighty: *rolling her eyes across the road. Picks them up and puts them back in*:  That bird would be great fried.

Wicked: *grinning in agreement, even as the Prankster Duo comment on Mighty’s gory trick*  Yeah, but I think Eerie might take exception to our meal plans.

Eerie: *taking his Free Range Zombies for a walk with chains and a pointy stick*  What meal plans? The Werewolf Monks have been promising me a new vintage, I could pester them for it.

*A cloud of smoke drifts over* Smokey: “Just took down a mastodon over by Swamp Thing’s place. It’s been smoking nicely for the last few days. I’ll have my Spicy Bit bring it over. We don’t want you heading off without a full belly, Mighty.

Quirky: *practicing knots with some newly purchased ropes*  The Muses headed out a few hours ago, so we could probably hang over at Filet Your Own Deli without worrying about another knock down drag out argument over the use of details or lack thereof.

Dreamer *arms full of colorful blooms and Angel Boy fluttering around her ankles*  What about your cabin, Mighty? Do you need someone to pop in and keep an eye on things for you?

Mighty: *the smirk we all know and love but have learned to be wary of appears* Nah, I forgot to mention I found someone to cabin sit while I’m gone.  That way it’ll still be standing, Zombie Free, when I get back.

Dreamer *beatific smile appears* It’s so nice to have new blood in the community.  So much to play with…*a small blush*  I mean, perhaps they’ll have new playmates for Angel Boy.  *Turns to Wicked and Snarky*  No offense girls, but I believe your progeny may be perhaps a bit too adventurous for mine right now.

Wicked & Snarky exchange high fives.  

Wicked: None taken…

Snarky:  So this new peep.  What’s the deal? Who are they? Where are they from? Most importantly, can they pass the Swamp Entry Exam?

*A loud pop and a blue telephone booth appears and settles in the road. Red Dwarf steps out* 

Red: Good eve, all, I thought I’d pop in before tea to bid Mighty adieu.  

*A small blond races from behind Red and joins forces with the Prankster Duo, where upon a discussion of how Yoda took down Darth in this year’s Star Wars March Madness*

Red: Did I hear something about an entrance exam? I thought we’d straightened that out months ago.  Besides, I don’t see any dead bodies lying around. Everyone’s here–Snarky, Wicked, Smokey, Quirky, Eerie, Dreamer, Mighty, myself…doesn’t that put us one over?

Eerie *capturing a wondering single hand and wrestling it back in line*  Even though you’re over the Pond and Mighty will soon be in the Land of Winds and You-betchas, we’ve decided to allow one more individual into the group.

Quirky:  We did? When?

Wicked: It was during the brawl over at the Kilted Ferret pub when we had to hold off that damn Molly and her two henchboys from Eerie’s Three Misfiteers.  

Quirky: *flying fingers and rope pause before continuing their dizzy dance*  Oh yeah.  So, who is the new person?

Mighty: *tossing another package on top of the lopsided jackass* I’d introduce you all, but she’s been here the whole time, so I ‘ll let her do the honors.

*All seven dwarves start checking out their surroundings*

Eerie: Short? Tall? Gnome? Troll? What exactly are we looking for here? And a name would be good.

*Mighty smiles and continues to finish her packing*

*From behind him a shadow separates and forms into a petite, lithe form*  Names are not to be given lightly, small man.

Eerie: *huffs up to his full three foot one inch height* Who you calling small?

Wicked: *arms folded so knives are in easy reach* Nice move there, I need to introduce you to Raine.

Snarky: *lets her whip snap, crackle and pop*  And you would be…

*Shadow girl drops a very elegant bow* I am called Ninja Dwarf.

Quirky: *looking intrigues*  Wow! Totally cool, we get our very own ninja!

Jan 26 2013

The Plague has arrived…

Flu

The Swamp has been hit with the plague, so I’ve been huddling inside a salt circle warded by every known repulsion spell I can possible conceive of.  First it raced past the beautiful gardens at Dreamer’s place and left foliage carnage in its wake. Snarky managed to curb its insatiable appetite with a few well-aimed licks of her whip of displeasure.  I haven’t heard from Smokey, the haze is pretty deep, but I think that’s what’s keeping the plague in check for him.  As for Quirky, nope, he tried, but in the end he too fell.  Red managed to put a whole ocean of water between him and the feared virus carrier.  Eerie and Mischievous? Well, they headed up Troll Mountain and let the frigid temps discourage the plague’s forward momentum.  For a while it looked like Mighty Dwarf was going to escape, but then this week, she finally succumbed, swearing and cursing all the way. We’re experimenting with a few medicinal drams in an effort to weaken the stupid bug, but so far all it does is knock the victim out, leaving them to roll around in bed with a few weak moans. 

Even here in our humble shack we haven’t been totally immune.  Knight in Slightly Muddy Armor went down a few days ago.  Supportive spouse that I am, I vanquished him to another room as far from me as possible, because, let’s face it, I JUST DON’T HAVE TIME TO BE SICK.  Oh no, with the Prankster Duo at full steam, demands from that pesky job that pays the bills, edits to finish, queries/synopsis to compose, the Blogger Book Fair to prep for and preparing to start the next WIP in February, there is not a lot of time to be laying around moaning. Unless of course those moans are because my brain is on the verge of imploding under the massive to-do list that haunts my nightmares. 

Until this harbringer of aches and fevers removes its shadow from the Swamp, I’m staying put, hunkering down and ignoring the anquished moans of suffering.  I’m fairly certain that’s the only way I’m going to make it!

Besides the Blogger Book Fair starts in two weeks and none of my highly anticipated visitors want to dodge the plague!

If the plague has found you, my sympathies, but please don’t be offended if I say that from wayyyy over here!

Until next week….

Jan 12 2013

Bacon and Beer w/NY Times Best Selling Writer Man @KevinHearne

Snarky  *boots propped on my porch railing, whip curled in her lap*:  So you finally womaned up and got Kevin Hearne to swing by?  ‘Bout damn time!

Wicked *hand on doornob*:  Look, I know you and the other Evil 7 think I’m all Miss Social but it’s only because I know you deviants.  Approaching world famous writers like *hush tone* Kevin Hearne reduces me to a stuttering mess. 

Snarky *does that “look” thing she does so well*

Wicked *mutters under breath, opens door and steps inside only to come to a complete stops as a mass of fur barrels by*  Was that JoJo and Jasmine, with Hellhound?  What’s the deal?

Prankster Duo 1: Hey Mom, Hellhound invited some chicks over.  He told them that Irish stud was stopping by.

Snarky *perking up*: Atticus?

Wicked: Snarky! Your drool is showing!

Prankster Duo 1 *rolls his eyes across the floor*:  You guys are so weird! Like no, the other one, Oberon.

Wicked: Weird? Looks who’s talking, child of mine.  Okay, does Smokey and Eerie know where their girls are?

Prankster Duo 1:  Dunno.

Wicked: Go tell them.  First, do me a favor and make sure the fur trio doesn’t track dirt into the house. I just cleaned it.  I don’t need Kevin thinking that just because we live in the Swamp, we have to decorate with mud.  *Stops in shock* What the hell happened to my kitchen!

Prankster Duo 2 *head pops over the counter with towering plate of bacon*: Hey Mom! You’re home! Great! We need more bacon.

Knight in Slightly Muddy Armor *turns with devlish grin*: Check out the beer selection I got!  Eerie got the Werewolf Monks to send over some Howling Moon for our get together.

Before the craziness that is my life overtakes us all–Ladies and Germs may I present today’s guest, the always humorous and witty creator of the Iron Druid Chronicles, Kevin Hearne…

Trapped

Personally, I tend to be a bit on the introverted side so the thought of being in the actual presence of one of my favorite writers makes my heart race, my knees shake and tangles my tongue. Who could reduce you to such a level and how to you imagine your initial meeting?

It’s actually already happened to me. The first time I met Patrick Rothfuss I fanboyed all over him. It’s out of my system now and I can speak to him like a normal dude. I suppose now it would be Neil Gaiman. I don’t think I’d be able to handle meeting him. I’ll just be thankful I get to walk the world at the same time he does. 

                            –You’re not the only one! One of the few times I’ve seen Red Dwarve all a flutter was when Neil Gaiman responded to one of Red’s tweets!

Many writers have that first novel which will never see the light of day. Out of curiosity, do you have one stashed somewhere? Inquiring minds want to know: what was your first attempt at writing and how old were you?

I do have one stashed away—it’s called THE ROAD TO CIBOLA. By the gods of twenty pantheons, it’s awful, but I’m so glad I wrote it. I learned a lot writing that book—mostly things I should never do again. But those are crucial lessons to learn. And the other thing I got out of it was the confidence that I can finish a novel, period. That’s also crucial. It took me a long time to finish a book—nine years of starting and never finishing several projects, and then six years after that to finish Cibola. I wrote another book that will never be published in the next three years, and then HOUNDED in a year after that. So nineteen years, all told, before I got it right.

What’s some of the sweetest/strangest things you’ve heard from your readers?

The sweetest have been from a couple of people who said they read my books to someone who was recovering from surgery in the hospital and the stories somehow made their convalescence a bit easier and relieved a whole lot of stress. The strangest have been some folks who wanted me to start a religion based on the Druidry I’ve described in my books.

What is the best advice you can share with others?

Focus on character and let your plots flow from them. And if writing is truly your dream, don’t give up! It took me nineteen years, but I got published without any contacts in NY. If you write a good story that hits the market at the right time you’ll be published too.

Blades, guns, fists or feet?

I tend to avoid stabbity, shooty, punchy, smelly things.

Favorite fairy tale?

Anything that hasn’t been touched by Disney. Give me the old Baba Yaga tales.

Three titles and their authors sitting on your nightstand waiting to be read?

LOW TOWN by Daniel Polansky, LOSS by Jackie Kessler, and a book that’s not even out yet by an author no one knows. However, they *will* know him in the summer of 2013 after his first book, THE DARWIN ELEVATOR, comes out. He’s the next big thing—his name is Jason Hough—and I’m about to dive into the second book in his series. I’m getting early peeks from my publisher, muah-ha-ha-haa.

Strangest item currently taking up space in your writing cave?

A statue of Ganesha. I’m not a Hindu but he’s a cool dude and I really like him.

Favorite supernatural creature

Definitely yeti. I don’t know why. Ari Marmell had me read THE GOBLIN CORPS, which is full of all sorts of critters, but I couldn’t stop gushing about his yeti. That just pressed my nerd button I guess.

Kevin HearneMuch love and thanks to Kevin for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit with us! If you haven’t already, you must go add the adventures of Atticus and Oberon to your reading pile.  You can find him at his web site:  www.KevinHearne.com

His latest release is TRAPPED, the fifth book in the series.  Now run, fast before the mobs hit the bookstores and grab all the available copies!

Jan 5 2013

Happy New Year! Announcing Upcoming Guest!

NewYears300x299__33649_zoom

HAPPY NEW YEARS!  You survived the holidays! WOO HOO! Another year is staring you down, are you ready for it?

Since I know some of you are still recovering from your jublious (is that a word?) celebrations, we’ll keep this post simple.  However, I have to share: Next week the most awesome KEVIN HEARNE is stopping by.  Yep, you read that right.  Kevin Hearne, the NY Times Best Selling Writer man of The Iron Druid Chronicles, that follows the adventures (or misadventures) of Atticus the Druid and his trusty Irish Wolfhound (and spunky sidekick), Oberon.

So mark you calendars and swing over to join in the fun!

Dec 22 2012

Merry Holidays and Happy Christmas!

MERRY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

May your season be filled with laughter and love!

Christmas-Tree-Wallpaper-christmas-8142630-1024-768

We hope you continue to make Jami Gray and the 7 Evil Dwarves a part of your blog world!

Love,

Snarky

Wicked (aka Jami)

Eerie

Smokey

Dreamer

Red

Quirky

Mighty

6564967455_c99fbb66f5

Nov 24 2012

Week 3 #NANO check in…

Tally ho, my fellow writing warriors! We have hit the climax of our NaNo Battle! That’s right, we are now in our third week of conquering the blank page.  I’m sure there have been some grevious injuries, maybe a few fatalities, but fear not, there is light at the end of the tunnel. If nothing else there should be a stuffed turkey with your name on it this week!  Happy Thanksgiving!

So how am I faring?  It’s been a struggle–you would not believe how much crap Fate can throw in the path of your good intentions, but my word count as of 11/22/12 is:

35,464 

Take a deep breath, slip out and run around with the small humans for an hour, leave your cave, get away for a brief breather.  Promise it will help you refocus before you dive in for the second half of the storm.

Stay strong, writer peeps…until next week!

Nov 4 2012

IT’S TIME FOR #NANO!

5….4….3…2….1…. WRITE!

Were you ready? I’ve been gorging on my “to-be-read” book pile on my nightstand all last week because I knew with November 1st looming on the horizon my free time was about to drop to below non existent.  The Evil 7 (technically 8) have all taken up the crusade and will head out today to begin our NaNo battle. Come join the mayhem!

 Even my Knight in Slightly Muddy Armor understands the battle before us…he’s agreed to become a Writer Widow for the next month and survive on the good graces of our local food delivery places.  Even the Prankster Duo has been warned!

My muse is armed and ready.  We have laid out our battle strategey, sharpened our pens, strengthened our fingers and cleared our calendar as much as possible. Don your weapons of choice, my friends, it’s time to march into the wild wicked world of writing!

Fair warning: my posts this month will just keep you updated on my kill counts…I mean word counts…for each week.  If your trust stead falters, shout out and we’ll be there to get you back in the saddle and on the warpath. 

FORWARD HO!

…and don’t forget to see how many butchered phrases and bloodied punctuations we have conquered next week!

Jul 28 2012

Drum roll please! It’s the Amazing Liv Rancourt!

Alright my warped little crowd! Gather round! It’s that time again…we’re hosting the gorgeously brillant, LIV RANCOURT, author of the wickedly delightful A VAMPIRE’S DEADLY DELIGHT!  Sit up, stop messing around and be NICE!  Pull out your pens & paper, or iPhones & recorders, because it’s time to figure out how we keep those voices in our heads straight.  Without further adieu, I give you Liv…

Why cats?

So, I live with cats. Two elegant, aloof, endearing, amusing felines. I was inspired to write about them because of an incident that just occurred. One cat was draped across the dining room table – don’t think poorly of me, it’s a BIG table – when the other made a surprise leap onto one of the chairs. Table Cat, apparently unprepared for the sight of a creature with whom she’s shared an existence for over nine years, lifted about three inches straight in the air and came down of her feet, hissing ferociously, tail flying.

She’s a bit skittish.

Either that or she’s just not very observant. I mean, come on. Did you forget that there’s another cat in the house? Like, you know, your competition for the scratching post and the originator of those other turds in the litter box? I’m supposed to be a writer, capable of observing, notating, and regurgitating the minutiae of daily life, and yet I live with creatures who seem to forget each other’s existence over the space of a few hours.

Maybe if they took better notes, things wouldn’t sneak up on them that way.

An addition to having opposable thumbs, it’s the ability to take notes that separates me from my kitties. When a particularly snazzy bit if dialogue drops into my head from wherever those things come from, I jot it down on the nearest available piece of whatever (hopefully a post-it note and not the back of an envelope that’s destined for the recycling bin). If the solution to  a snarly scene catches me between hits on the snooze button, there’s always a spiral bound notebook and a pencil on my bedside table.

I’ll whip out my smart phone and make notes while stuck in slow-moving traffic. I tend to keep those fairly concise, for obvious reasons (Why no, officer, I WASN’T texting!), and I try to label them with the name of the WIP they relate to so I can find them later. And then there’s my on-line brain, Evernote, a website that has so many features I’ll be a (much) old(er) lady before I figure them all out.

Working with so many sources might sound confusing, and perhaps suggest to you that I’m not very organized – I let my cats sleep on the dining room table, for goodness sake. It is complicated,  but I seem to be able to make it work. The important thing is to capture the moment so that I’m not left staring at a blank document wishing I could remember that funny thing that just happened or the really cool thing someone said.

I’ve known writers who always carry a small spiral notebook or a stack of index cards to make notes on. Others swear by programs like Evernote. What about you? How do you record the stuff you see so you can scramble it up and spit it back out on the page?

And more importantly, cats or dogs?

Peace,

Liv

Want to Know More about Liv?
Liv Rancourt writes paranormal and romance, often at the same time. She lives with her husband, two teenagers, two cats and one wayward puppy. She likes to create stories that have happy endings, and finds it is a good way to balance her other job in the neonatal intensive care unit. Liv can be found on-line at her website (www.livrancourt.com), her blog (www.liv-rancourt.blogspot.com), on Facebook (www.facebook.com/liv.rancourt), or on Twitter (www.twitter.com/LivRancourt).

Don’t miss her exciting book:

She’s a quiet, unassuming bookstore owner by day, but by night…

Kristen has a deadly secret—when she smells a vampire, she turns into Jai, a beauti-licious babe who makes vamps permanently dead. To a vamp, Jai is like ambrosia. They can’t resist her. She uses this attraction, plus her super strength and her trusty blade, Mr. Sticky, to end their undead lives. The thrill of wearing miniskirts without worrying about cellulite stifles any qualms Kristen might have about killing the undead. Being

Jai is the most fun she has ever had—until they come up against the one vampire Jai can’t kill. If he and Jai have a history, as he claims, Jai can’t remember it…or him.

But when her work catches the attention of some old enemies—who won’t hesitate to destroy Kristen if it also means the end of Jai—this vampire may be their only hope. Can Kristen and Jai learn to tell the difference between good and evil in time to defeat Jai’s ancient nemesis? Or will being Jai’s hostess cost Kristen more than just her beauty sleep?

Available from Black Opal Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Jun 30 2012

A Visit with Adriana Ryan…

Welcome back everyone! Nice to see you all here. Today’s guest is the fabulous Adriana Ryan, so stop snickering and singing over there, Muses and focus. Put those damn flowers down, you all are embarrassing me.

Swamp Thing stop handing out those stupid plants! Mischievous, go drag Eerie away from that Venus Flytrap, it’s not his friend. Prankster Duo, release the Piranha Hummingbird and sit!

Adriana traveled all this way, you motley crew, so the least you can do is give her your attention.

*chaos drops to muted rumblings*

Thank you. Now, without further ado I give you Adriana Ryan, the most awesome author of Enlightened Book 1 of The Awakened Series and Her Heart’s Desire.

Pinterest for Spooky Inspiration!

By Adriana Ryan

Unless you’ve been trapped in a wormhole (or are a writer on deadline), you’ve heard of the internet sensation that is Pinterest. Pinterest is a great tool for filmmakers, photographers and others in the visual arts, of course, because it lets you advertise your wares. However, it can also be a great visual dose of inspiration for those of us who pen fiction.

The creepy pictures you see in this post are all courtesy of Pinterest. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a board full of spooky pictures? Imagine all the monstrous tales you could create!

I’m currently working on book two of my Awakened series. I can’t go into details because I don’t want to list any spoilers, but I needed to look up female demons for inspiration for one of my scenes. I just scrolled through Pinterest one evening, and within five minutes, I had scads of material to base my scenes on (and also for nightmares to last me through the century).

Another great use for Pinterest? A visual story prompt. Scroll through the front page until you find an eye-catching picture. Then, using a thousand words or less, challenge yourself to create a story worthy of it. What is happening in the picture? To whom? Why?

Now, the only caveat is: Pinterest in addictive! Use at your own risk. ;)

Adriana Ryan writes spunky supernatural fiction in beautiful Charleston, SC. She is currently at work on an urban fantasy series. A huge fan of spooky stuff and shoes, she enjoys alternately hitting up the outlet malls and historic graveyards.

         You can find her at: http://adrianaryan.com                                                     

On Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorAdrianaRyan

On Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/adrianaryansc

On Pinterest at: http://pinterest.com/adrianaryansc/