Animals and Ghosts

Most of my books have pets in them—or at least animals of some kind. I don’t really plan to include them. They just sort of sneak up on me. Dogs, cats, chickens, I’ve had them all wandering through one or another of my books. But when I wrote my paranormal Ramos Family trilogy for Berkley InterMix, the situation was a little different. I wasn’t sure how I’d work an animal into a series about a family of mediums, most of whom were reluctant to take advantage of their supernatural connections.

The first book in the trilogy, Medium Well, didn’t have any normal beasties hanging around, although a ghost cat provided some significant information to the hero and heroine. But the second, Medium Rare, more than makes up for it. My medium, Rose Ramos, ends up sharing her house (haunted, of course) with a couple of spirit animals that adopt her after some traumatic events.

This in turn led to some interesting problems in creating these animals. How would a pet hellhound behave, for example? What does it eat (besides people)? What kind of leash would you use? Where would it sleep? Do hell hounds sleep?

To make things more interesting, I made Helen (the hellhound) invisible to everyone except the heroine and her hero boyfriend—although being a thorough-going skeptic, he doesn’t catch on to that fact for much of the book. Helen is joined later on by a similarly invisible raven, but my heroine decides having spirit animals around isn’t any tougher than dealing with the supernatural guest she’s already got in residence—a several-hundred-years-old ghost who’s been part of her family for generations.

In Medium Rare, ghosts come in all sizes and shapes, some of them scary and some of them not so much. But at least a couple of them are of the house pet variety. And what do you feed a hellhound? Pretty much anything she wants, as it turns out.

Here’s a quick excerpt showing Helen’s arrival:

Suddenly, she heard the sound of paws galloping along the driveway, monstrous claws clicking on the asphalt. She fumbled for the key she kept in the old mailbox at the door, jamming it into the lock and twisting for all she was worth.

Close behind her, something yipped as she shoved the front door open, half falling through, trying to shove it closed with her shoulder. A large heavy projectile struck her chest with the force of a missile, blowing the door wide and throwing her down full-length just inside. She looked up into an immense mouth full of yellowing fangs. Threads of drool hung a few inches from her face.

She tried to twist away, pulling as far back as she could beneath the dog’s weight. Dread clenched her stomach as she closed her eyes. “Ohgodohgodohgod.”

“Rose!” Skag’s voice echoed through the hall. “That’s a hellhound. Stay absolutely still! Do not move!”

She couldn’t have moved if her life depended on it, which, of course, it probably did. The dog’s huge paws still held her shoulders flat against the floor. Its breath blew hot against her cheeks, smelling of old meat and open graves. She struggled to breathe under its weight, tensing for the moment it would clamp its teeth on her throat. She heard the faint creak of its jaws as they opened wider.

And then something large, damp, and utterly disgusting swiped across her cheeks.

She peeked through her lashes up into the dog’s face. Glowing orange eyes stared back as the animal prepared to lick her again. Read the rest of this entry »

Thank you, Delilah, for giving me the opportunity to guest blog and dish about my strange writing companion—my cat, BadKitteh.

I often get asked the typical “where do you write?” question. I don’t have an exciting answer. I write at my tiny cluttered built-in kitchen desk in the middle of my kitchen. I like being able to multi-task while I write. That way I can cook dinner, bake brownies, be close to the front door in case the door bell rings and close to the laundry room in case I remember to do a load of wash. Also, if I wasn’t in the room where all the food is, I’d often be too busy to remember to eat. Since I’m in the kitchen it’s easy to grab a snack. Although my most frequent snack is chocolate, I try to have the pretense of eating healthy, so at least once a day I’ll grab a piece of fruit….which leads me to the disclosure most people find baffling: My cat loves fruit.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter have likely long seen me posting about BadKitteh. He’s my twenty pound Maine coon cat. He’s got the personality of a dog. He’s deaf but talks constantly and, probably because he can’t hear what he’s saying, he makes sounds most cats never utter—lots of R’s and W’s and K’s—he often sounds like Dory speaking whale. And he doesn’t believe in personal boundaries. He will fall asleep with his head in my purse, stick his face in any glass anyone leaves anywhere (then drink from it, then knock it over), and he ALWAYS steals my fruit.

When we first brought BadKitteh home from the pound seven years ago we thought he was just a normal cat. He looked like a cat. How were we to know? Sure it was a little weird that he greeted all of our guests at the door and that he licked the feet of every woman who entered our house, but hey, who am I to judge? One day I bought a container of raspberries, rinsed them off in a little colander and set them on the kitchen table. I left the room for a few minutes and returned to find BadKitteh standing on one of the kitchen chairs, head in the colander and only a few berries left. I’ve had cats all my life. I’d never seen one eat a raspberry. I thought it was weird but I figured it was just a single quirk. Wrong.

Over the course of that summer it became apparent that he wasn’t just a raspberry fan. No matter what fruit I eat—plums, nectarines, apples, cherries, blueberries, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, kiwis—he will bat at my hands until I give him some. When he’s really determined he’ll swat it out of my hand. He’s occasionally pulled grapes out of grocery bags before I’ve gotten them in the fridge or stolen them out of the fruit bin in the fridge if I leave it open for too long.

***Hello readers. Karen has stepped away to start dinner. There doesn’t appear to be any fruit involved, so I’m going to take a moment to correct some things in this post. It’s so hard to type on her keyboard because she writes so much she’s worn all the letters off the keys. Lucky for me, I touch type. I have to say, I don’t know why she insists on calling me BadKitteh. I mean, I never actually hear her saying it, but does she seriously think I don’t read her Tweets? Besides, I’m really quite well behaved. Sure, I threw up in her tote bag once. None of her shoes were around. What was I supposed to do? Use the floor? I know she secretly enjoys sharing her fruit with me. Sure she shakes her head and scowls the whole time, but I know that’s just an act. Humans. They’re so moody and hard to train. I really just…oh, wait….there’s no fruit but she’s making a salad! I see a cucumber! And lettuce! Gotta go!***

See what I mean? No boundaries. None. He’s lucky he’s so cute. So, tell me (and BadKitteh, since you know he’ll read the replies the moment I step away from my desk)—what weird, quirky habits make your pet unique? Tell us all their secrets. You know they’d tell us yours!

Latest release: DECADENCE (cover photo attached separately)

In eight years of marriage, Eric Carlson has never forgotten to kiss his wife Jessica goodbye—until this morning. As Jessica runs her errands, all she can think about is the missing kiss.

When Eric calls to tell her he thinks he left the toaster oven on, she rushes home, annoyed and afraid their house may be burning down. Instead of smoke and flames she finds Eric, looking hot and sexy as hell as he prepares fresh waffles.

Eric knows he and Jessica have been drifting apart. He’s bought the hot new product everyone’s talking about—the Spice Rack, guaranteed to spice up your love life. The jar he opens advises them to “Spend a decadent day indulging all your senses.” With the whole day ahead of them, a fridge full of tempting treats and the house to themselves for a change, that’s exactly what Eric intends to do—in the kitchen, on the washing machine, wherever the mood strikes. And Jessica’s got a super-steamy surprise for him too.

What reviewers are saying about Decadence:

“Sweet, erotic and very satisfying.” ~ 5 stars and a Top Pick from The Romance Reviews

“A fun, hot story that made steam rise off my e-reader.” ~ 5 stars and a Top Pick from Night Owl Reviews

*~*~*~*~*

Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies and fictional British men. She writes erotic romance, contemporary romance and women’s fiction for Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing and Turquoise Morning Press, respectively.

“If you haven’t read a book by Karen Stivali then you are missing out on a wonderful writer of contemporary romance.” ~ GUILTY PLEASURES BOOK REVIEWS

“Karen Stivali is a mastermind at creating compelling, entertaining stories that have grit, depth, genuine, charismatic characters, fluid, believable dialogue, and emotional entanglements that will keep the reader engrossed from beginning to end.” BLACKRAVEN REVIEW

“Karen Stivali’s books are sweet and decadent and leave you hungering for more and more. Everything she writes is like chocolate on paper.” ~Tiffany Reisz, author of the Original Sinner series from Mira Books

For more information about current and upcoming projects please visit her website: https://karenstivali.com

Karen can also be found on:
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Double or Nothing!
Ménage a trois and cowboys.

Hello! *waving* Remember me?

I think I lost you all for a moment as your mind wandered off, no doubt engrossed in the possibilities. All that naked flesh coming together, hard chests, broad shoulders, sculpted muscles, lips touching, hands stroking, limbs entwining, soft moans…

Ahem! Sorry about that. Where was I?

Oh, yes, ménage a trois and cowboys. That’s a winning combination. After all, who doesn’t love a cowboy, a man who gets his rock-hard body from demanding physical labor and sweat. There’s something elemental about a man who works the land and doesn’t punch a time clock, a man with old-fashioned values who believes right is right and wrong is just plain wrong. Sure that old-fashioned machismo can be annoying at times to a modern woman, but there’s something reassuring about knowing this man will always have your back.

Now, what’s better than one cowboy? Two, of course.

Wesson and Remington Smith are brothers who are determined not to let Cherry Edmonds, the woman they’ve both hungered for over the past ten years, to slip away now that’s she’s come back to Texas. The problem is there’s no real tactful way to bring up the fact they both want to sleep with her.

That brings us to the ménage a trois part. How does a modern woman come to grips with the idea that two hot cowboys both want her. It’s enough to blow any sane woman’s mind. Sure it might be okay for a night or two, but what’s going to happen when both men want to make it permanent? How can that work without  at least one brother feeling shut out? It’s just crazy. Right?

Or is it…

That’s the premise for Double or Nothing, my latest release from Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

After ten years away from home, Cherry Edmonds returns to West Texas when her father is ill and dying. Now she is left to deal with the estate and pick up the pieces of her life. The past is waiting for her in the form of Wesson and Remington Smith, the two brothers she was half in love with when she was eighteen.

Wes and Remy know they’re different from most men. They are both in love with Cherry and have been since they were kids. One night of hot sex leaves all of them wanting more, but she believes their time together is just a one-night stand. It’s up to the Smith brothers to prove their love for Cherry and their commitment to the ménage, and to convince Cherry’s she’s definitely capable of loving two Texas cowboys.

A Romantica® contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Buy from Ellora’s Cave

N.J. has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.

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Just a quick note! My dd gave birth to a baby girl yesterday. Everything went well. Mom and little girl will be in the hospital for a couple of days. Siobhán Etaine is 7 lbs. 11 oz. and gorgeous! I’ll be back at the hospital, and then staying with the family to help out for a couple of weeks. I got the privilege of changing her first diaper. 😯

Back to the snippet. I don’t usually write smooth operators. My heroes tend to be gruff and to the point, but there have been a couple… Quentin from My Immortal Knights and Nicolas Mountfalcon from the Dark Realm series. I adore them both, and so did readers.

Nicolas makes his first appearance in book 1, Into the Darkness, and although he was a secondary character there, he made quite an impression. I think you will see why when you read the excerpt.

“Ms Devlin has created a suspenseful masterpiece against the back drop of the impending Hurricane Katrina. Her characters are passionately and elegantly written and the plot is full of twists that keep you turning the page.” ~5 Stars, Single Titles

“…INTO THE DARKNESS starts off running and never lets up…From its intriguing and twisted storyline, in-depth and well-written characters, to the torrid sex scenes, INTO THE DARKNESS is a must read for those paranormal lovers who love to live on the edge.” ~Romance Reviews Today

“In a field of plenty, Ms. Devlin cut a new vein in the paranormal/vampire genre with INTO THE DARKNESS. […] An amazing blend of storytelling smothered in carnal ferocity…” ~Paranormal Romance Reviews

Natalie Lambert’s life has changed in the space of weeks — and she has no idea why. Her parents were murdered, she has her first taste of sexual desire — and she feels out of control, afraid, desperate to understand her changing world. She flees to New Orleans , hoping to lure the murderer out of the dark and bring to an end the trail of dead loved ones. Instead, she’s attacked by crazed birds, swarmed by locusts, and saved by a Cajun cop who awakens all her latent desires.

When Rene Broussard rescues a virgin vampire, he ends up in her bed and becomes hers for life in one lusty bite. Rene awakens the vampire within Natalie, and she awakes the passion within him. Together, they fight the evil threatening to destroy The Born vampires amidst the horror of Hurricane Katrina while they discover a treasure of love they can share for all eternity.

A crunch sounded outside—a crisp scrape like a footstep on grit. A sound Natalie knew was distant, perhaps from the courtyard below the window, but it jerked her awake in an instant just the same.

And just as quickly, she knew something wasn’t right.

The sound might have been the rustle of drying leaves as they tumbled across the paving stones or a small animal slipping between the iron bars of the gate, but she knew that wasn’t true.

She no longer questioned how she knew—she accepted the prickling warning the same way she did the fact she was a vampire. Instinctually.

The hairs on the back of her neck lifted and alarm tensed her muscles, readying her for flight.

Only she wasn’t the same frightened girl she’d been before tonight. Now, she’d gained a measure of personal power. She was becoming a monster in her own right.

And she had Rene.

Only he wasn’t here, now. His musky scent lingered in the bedroom, clung to the pillow beneath her nose, but he’d been gone for some time.

Was he aware of the furtive movements outside his house? Had he left to investigate? Or had he tried to escape her once again?

She couldn’t aford to wait for him to come to her rescue. This time, she’d be ready for whatever stepped out of the shadows. Refusing to huddle beneath the covers, she slipped from the bed and crept to the French window. Read the rest of this entry »

Hobbies and Obsessions

A. Catherine Noon here.  Thank you to Delilah Devlin for inviting Rachel Wilder and I back for a guest post.  We’re pleased as punch to be back at Chez Delilah for some summer fun!

I got to thinking about summer, and fun, and Delilah (no, no, nothing like that), and on her Facebook page she periodically shares photos of some lovely jewelry that she makes when she’s not writing the books we know and love.  I do something similar in terms of my knitting hobby (obsession) and Rachel crochets.  But what about our favorite characters?

In our newest release, TIGER TIGER, available now from Samhain Publishing, we gave our main character Sasha the hobby of jogging.  Of course, if you know anyone who jogs, you know it’s really more of an obsession – if they don’t get their miles in, they get cranky.  In another novel we wrote, EMERALD FIRE, our main character is a textile artist and makes a pair of socks for the hero.  Who else do we know that has a real hobby?

Any of you out there NCIS fans?  Leroy Jethro Gibbs loves to work with his hands and does carpentry in his basement (the actor actually was a carpenter before he became an actor).  Sherlock Holmes plays the violin (which the two current retellings keep faithfully, though no one can eclipse Jeremy Brett’s performance).  Something about these hobbies makes these characters more real to the viewer or reader, makes the character more like a human being than a one-dimensional cardboard cutout.

What about you?  Who are some of your favorite characters and what are their hobbies?

Chicagoland Shifters, Book 2

Veterinary trauma surgeon and animal empath Sasha Soskoff has found everything he ever wanted with his new partners Neal, Steve and Carlos. Life feels as safe and secure as it can be among a group of ex-Marine tiger shifters. Until a homeless man is found, gruesomely mauled and murdered, near Neal’s BDSM club.

When it’s determined a rogue tiger did the deed, the jaguars’ accusing eyes turn toward Sasha’s lovers. The precarious balance of peace tips dangerously toward war.

Neal knows damned well none of his tigers committed the crime. Someone must be in Chicago without his knowledge or permission, and they’d better find him fast before uncertainty and conflict rip the tight-knit band apart from the inside.

As Sasha struggles to heal the stress fractures forming among his tiger family, he begins to wonder if his dreams of a home, and love, were too good to be true. And it’s precisely that moment the killer strikes at the heart of the tiger clan—Sasha himself.

About the Authors

For author and textile artist A. Catherine Noon, it’s all about the yarn, both metaphorical and literal—spinning a yarn, knitting with yarn, weaving, sewing, painting, sharing stories and good times over a cup of coffee with dark chocolate. She teaches creative writing, creative expression and textile arts.

Author and image consultant Rachel Wilder is passionate about the masks and costumes people wear. She loves exploring that with her characters. Living in Las Vegas gives her an ample backdrop to pursue her curiosity.

Noon and Wilder links:
https://taurusandtaurus.blogspot.com/
https://noonandwilder.com/
https://www.facebook.com/noonandwilder

A. Catherine Noon:
https://acatherinenoon.blogspot.com/
https://acatherinenoon.com/
https://www.facebook.com/acatherinenoon
https://twitter.com/acatherinenoon

Tomorrow, my daughter is scheduled for a C-section. We’ve been on the go all week making sure we’re ready. Tonight, I’ll spend the night at her family’s house. Early tomorrow, we’ll be getting ready to go to the hospital.

I’ll likely have my phone or iPad with me, so I hope to have pics to share, but don’t expect to see me too much. I’ll be taking care of the 9-year-old and dd’s menagerie of cats and dogs. I’ll have my laptop with me because I have to get some writing done, but realistically, I don’t know how much I can accomplish.

So, just one request, y’all. Prayers, wishes, incantations—I don’t care what denomination or flavor of faith you have. I’m eclectic that way. 😉 I just want good thoughts coming our way. Thanks! ~DD

Hello, and thanks so much to Delilah for hosting me today! My name is Sidney Bristol, you might have seen me around here once or twice before, and I’m on a one-woman parade through the blogesphere!

You see, I’m celebrating the release of my second So Inked book, The Harder He Falls. The So Inked series follows a shop of female tattoo artists as they ink customers, engage in daring sexual encounters and generally get into mischief, trouble and end up in love. Since the heroine of The Harder He Falls specializes in Asian tattoos, specifically the Japanese style and tradition, I’ve been chatting up all sorts of traditional tattoo elements and the history that has created a very unique tattoo culture surrounding the style.

There are a lot of the Japanese tattoo elements you see across cultures. Flowers, the phoenix, tigers and dragons, those are things you see in different cultures, the Japanese artists just put their own spin on it.

And then there are the creatures that are uniquely Japanese.

The kirin is one of those. It shares some similarities with its Chinese counterpart, the qilin, but has evolved into a majestic, serene creature unique to the culture. You might have seen a few in art or illustrations and tattoos.

Kirin as a word actually means giraffe, but because that animal isn’t from the island nation, it’s believed they were crafted on images and descriptions of the giraffe in the beginning, but have evolved. It wouldn’t surprise me if the overall serene disposition of the kirin is based on the giraffe. But they’ve become more!

The kirin is depicted with the head of the Japanese dragon, the body of a stag, much of the time it’s covered in either fish or dragon scales, they have the legs of a horse and the tail of a bull. You can find them with either the horns of a stag or a single horn in the middle of their head. Kind of like the Japanese unicorn! It’s also said that they can fly and have wings.

Such a weird, conglomeration of creatures is actually one of the most powerful beings in Japanese mythology. More powerful than even the phoenix or dragon, but as peaceful as a butterfly. They’re so careful, that they do not even move unless it will bring no harm to any living creature. The kirin in mythology is the pet of the gods, and only appear in the lands ruled by just and virtuous leaders.

As a symbol, the kirin represents serenity and prosperity. You see it depicted as being in motion in most tattoos. It’s one of the lesser popular elements, but when you do see it, it’s often with flowers. As with everything in the Japanese tattoo tradition, the combination can mean different things depending on which flower it’s paired with.

The kirin is a strange animal, I’ll give you that. After doing the research for The Harder He Falls, I had to read up more on this creature. If you aren’t familiar with my So Inked series, I do a lot of chapter headings with tattoo facts and definitions. The mythology behind these animals is really neat, and if you’re the digging type, it’s something totally worth looking into.

What is a mythological creature that’s fascinated you? One random commentor will receive one digital ebook copy of Under His Skin, So Inked #1.

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It can never be said that Sidney Bristol has had a ‘normal’ life.  She is a recovering roller derby queen, former missionary, and tattoo addict. She grew up in a motor-home on the US highways (with an occasional jaunt into Canada and Mexico), traveling the rodeo circuit with her parents. Sidney has lived abroad in both Russia and Thailand, working with children and teenagers. She now lives in Texas where she splits her time between a job she loves, writing, reading and belly dancing.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | YouTube

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The Harder He Falls, So Inked #2   Ellora’s Cave | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

A woman who doesn’t have time for love…

A hot night full of hotel-destroying sex was all Kellie wanted from her client-turned-sex god. Between family and work, there isn’t room for love, just hot, sweaty lust. An arrangement for mutual gratification is exactly what Kellie wants, but every kiss, each mind-blowing orgasm twines her heart around a man she cannot have.

A man building a new life…

Quinton’s assumptions about the So Inked shop owner are turned on their head after one session under her tattoo machine. Kellie’s not the vandal he’s looking for, but she’s the woman he wants. In his bed, on the desk or under the stars, he’ll take her any way he can get her. But Quin has secrets and someone is out to destroy him. Someone who has their sights set on Kellie now.

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Excerpt

Kellie  shifted on the wooden bench, still restless. The evening breeze was cooler than normal thanks to a cold front blowing in. It was ridiculous that dropping into the nineties was considered a cool spell, but in the height of Texas summer, you took what you got. She swept her hair up into a knot and tipped her head back. The slight dampness of her skin, courtesy of the ever-present humidity, was a small price to pay for being able to sit outside. She’d shed the formfitting dress for jeans and a tank top and felt more like herself for it.

“How hot does it get here?” Quin plunked down their dinner and sat on his side of the picnic table. Behind him the food truck was starting to pack up.

“Can’t handle the heat?” It was too much to ask that the man be able to cope with everything. He’d sat through the tattoo yesterday without complaint, being a heat weenie wasn’t terrible.

His brilliant blue eyes stood out in the dim illumination of the parking lot light. “When you have A/C, why should you?”

“You do realize that it’s going to get at least ten degrees hotter and stay there, don’t you?” She unwrapped the tacos and inhaled the spicy aroma of peppers and onions mixed with tender beef.

Quin made a show of wiping his forehead with a napkin. “I’m going to melt.” Read the rest of this entry »