Crescent Moon Press Archives - Page 3 of 5

#petthecover – Oh, It’s My Cover!

April 1, 2013April 1, 2013 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Crescent Moon Press, Leigh, Pet the Cover, The Grave Winner

Do I even need to tell you how much I love it? Probably not, but I will anyway.

When I first saw the email from Crescent Moon Press with a subject line that said ‘Grave Winner cover art,’ I stopped breathing. What if I hated it? What if I liked it? What if I loved it so much I started crying? I’d been waiting for that moment for a long time, after all. I was at work in the school library at the time, and I quickly glanced around to make sure no one would see me open it in case I did cry. Hey, don’t judge. I’m a crier.

I opened the email and gasped. There was Leigh, just like I’d imagined her, sitting on tree roots in a graveyard. It was absolutely perfect. I didn’t cry, probably because I repeated to myself over and over, “Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.” I replied back in all capital letters how much I loved it.

The cover designer is Liliana Sanches, aka the Princess of Shadows. She’s a genius and a wizard. I sent her a gushing thank you through Facebook when I got home from work that day.

I’ve accomplished very little since I saw the cover because I can’t stop staring at it.

Don’t forget to add this to your Goodreads list if creepy YA paranormal fantasy is to your liking! Oh! I guess I should tell you it releases May 15, 2013.

13 Questions With @sromkey

March 19, 2013March 19, 2013 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Book Birthday, Crescent Moon Press, Shawna Romkey, Speak of the Devil

I recently sat down with Shawna Romkey and ~~tortured~~ entertained her with weird interview questions. Remember Shawna’s delicious cover for Speak of the Devil?

Yes, of course you do. 😀

Here’s the interview:

Me: Let’s get right to it. What’s your favorite planet?

Shawna: Xena, Gallifrey or Alderaan

Me: The supernatural – is it real? Why or why not?

Shawna: Yes, we just haven’t seen hard evidence yet. Or we haven’t interpreted and acknowledged the evidence we’ve been presented with.

Me: Fair enough. What’s your favorite drink?

Shawna: Iced cappuccino from Tim Horton’s

Me: Yummmmmm. Cats or dogs?

Shawna: Dogs ftw

Me: Errrrrrrr, wrong answer. 😉 Did you learn anything today? If so, what?

Shawna: I learned that the planet Xena was renamed Eris.

Me: Cool! What makes you laugh?

Shawna: Everything. I’m easily amused.

Me: Me too! What’s the last song you listened to on purpose?

Shawna: Probably “Running up that Hill” by Kate Bush

Me: What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

Shawna: Had a baby, asked a guy on a date, went sky diving… not necessarily in that order.

Me: Scary stuff! Here’s a free plane ticket! Where would you like to go?

Shawna: The Greek Isles… thanks!

Me: You’re welcome! What’s something about yourself that really annoys you?

Shawna: My craving for sweets and my weight which go hand in hand.

Me: What’s the name of the book you’re reading?

Shawna: The Last Keeper’s Daughter by Rebecca Trogner

Me: That’s on my TBR list, too! You just walked in the door after a long day. What do you do first?

Shawna: Keep the hellhound from mauling me.

Me: Good idea! What do you write?

Shawna: YA Paranormal Romancy stuff

Me: Me too!

Both of us also went to KU. It’s such a small world sometimes. Thanks for joining me here today, Shawna!

Here’s more info about Shawna and her book:

Shawna grew up in around farms in the heart of Missouri but went to the University of Kansas, was raised in the US but now lives on the ocean in Nova Scotia with her husband, two sons, two rescue dogs and one overgrown puppy from hell. She’s a non-conformist who follows her heart.

She has her BA in creative writing from the University of Kansas where one of her plays was chosen by her creative writing professor to be produced locally, and two of her short stories were published in a university creative arts handbook. She earned her MA in English from Central Missouri State University where she wrote a novel as her thesis.

She’s taught English at the university and secondary levels for close to twenty years and can’t quite fathom how all of her students have grown up, yet she’s managed to stay the same. She’s a huge geek and fan of Xena, Buffy and all kick ass women, and loves to write stories that have strong female characters.

About Speak of the Devil:

What happens when falling in love and falling from grace collide?

After dying in a car accident with her two best friends, Lily miraculously awakens to grief and guilt. She escapes to her dad’s to come to terms with the event and meets some people at her new school who seem all too eager to help her heal. Sliding deeper into sorrow and trying to fight her feelings for two of them, she finds out who…what they really are and that they are falling too.

Can she find the strength to move on from the past, reconcile her feelings for Luc, find a way to stop a divine war with fallen angels, and still pass the eleventh grade?

Links:

Shawna’s website/blog

Wait! There’s more!

Shawna has hidden some Easter eggs in her blog tour. If you find them and decipher the pass code, you can win a signed copy of Speak of the Devil, a swag pack and a $25 Amazon gift card!

To enter, read through her post today. In it, you will find an Easter egg (a letter that stands out.) Find her other blog entries for the tour. (HINT: the list is posted on her website at http://www.shawnaromkey.com/.) You will find Easter eggs in the starred blog posts, too. Once you’ve found the eggs in each post, put them together to find the secret code and tweet the code including @sromkey #speakofthedevil (ANOTHER HINT: the letters are in order.) (AND ANOTHER HINT! The secret code will look like this: — — – —- — — —–)

One winner will be chosen from the entries on Easter, March 31! Good luck!

Bess’s Strength in #ResurrectingHarry

March 11, 2013 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Constance Phillips, Crescent Moon Press, Editing, Harry Houdini, Resurrecting Harry, Salt In the Cupboard

So this is what daylight looks like! I’ve been hunkered down in my editing cave while working on Salt in the Cupboard edits, but I’m done now. I have a chocolate mustache and beard smeared across my face because my editing cave has chocolate, but I think I’m going to leave it there while Constance Phillips talks to us about Harry Houdini and her new book Resurrecting Harry.

Take it away, Constance!

Thank you so much, Lindsey, for having me on your blog today!

The question I’m most asked about Resurrecting Harry, is “Why write a book about Harry Houdini?”

There’s no doubt that Harry Houdini was a fascinating person and his persona made for a great character, but for me Bess was even more intriguing.

While Harry was still alive, she served as his partner – not only in life, but in business. After he passed, she still devoted herself to the legend and legacy by conducting the séances on the anniversary of his death for ten years. At the end of that last séance, she is said to have blown out a candle that had burned for the entire decade and said, “ten years was long enough to wait for any man.”

I have to say I agree.

And it is part of the inspiration behind Resurrecting Harry; that a woman of such strength and character shouldn’t have to spend so much time devoted to a ghost.

Though the story is a work of fiction, I hope that I was able to capture the strength that this woman had, and that the Bess that is on the pages of the book, at the very least, resembles the Bess who lived, breathed and stood by her partner on the stage and in life.

Wow! Now that’s dedication! Here’s the book trailer, cover, and blurb for Ressurecting Harry:

Can the greatest escape artist ever known break the grim reaper’s chains to save the only woman he’s ever loved?

In order to save Bess from self-destruction, Harry Houdini puts his afterlife on the line by entering a wager with purgatory’s keeper. He gives Harry a younger face and body, and a new name: Erich Welch.

Bess clings to his promise to deliver a coded message from beyond the grave, determined to provide the bridge for him to cross, even if that means befriending her husband’s sworn enemy.

Erich needs to help Bess over her loss and put her on the road to healing, but will any good come from resurrecting Harry?

It sounds awesome! Here’s Constance’s bio:

Constance Phillips lives in Ohio with her husband, two ready-to-leave-the-nest children, and four canine kids. Her perfect fantasy vacation would involve hunting Dracula across Europe with her daughter, who also digs that kind of stuff. When she’s not writing about fairies, shifters, vamps, and guardian angels, she’s working side-by-side with her husband in their hardwood flooring business.

Constance is actively involved in her local Romance Writers of America chapter (MVRWA) and the Southeast Michigan chapter of the United States Pony Club. When not writing or enjoying the outdoors, she loves reality television or can be found at a Rick Springfield concert (just look for the pink Converse high tops).

Constance blogs regularly at www.constancephillips.com. You can also follow her on Twitter or friend her on Facebook.

Website/blog: http://constancephillips.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6470282.Constance_Phillips

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ConstancePhillipsRomanceAuthor?ref=hl

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CPhillips

Buy links

Amazon POD : http://www.amazon.com/Resurrecting-Harry-Constance-Phillips/dp/1939173132/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1361977605&sr=8-3&keywords=Resurrecting+Harry

Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Resurrecting-Harry-ebook/dp/B00BLBKDDQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361977605&sr=8-1&keywords=Resurrecting+Harry

What’s Love Got To Do With It? Everything!

February 17, 2013February 16, 2013 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Characters, Contests, Crescent Moon Press, Firefly, Foo Fighters, Giveaway, Librarians, Life, Lynn Rush, Music, Reading, Writing

Love’s got everything to do with everything in my life. I love books so much I became a librarian so I can build forts out of them on my desk and pop out from behind them whenever anyone comes into the library. (If that doesn’t wake the students up, nothing will).

Chocolate and the Foo Fighters and Firefly all put a smile on my face because I love them/it so much.

So, yeah, love is huge in my life. But why do I feel the need to write about it in most of my stories? I’ll answer that question with another story. Don’t worry – it’s short.

Lightning struck my heart when I first got to know my BF eighteen years ago. No, not literally, but it sure felt like it. Every time I thought about him, which was all the time, my cheeks heated, a smile would dance across my lips, and I’d lose my appetite. Oh, yeah. I was falling for him. Big time.

Fast forward to now. The lightning that struck me has fueled a raging fire, and me and the BF are still ridiculously in love. We leave love notes for each other. We call each other cute nicknames. We walk each other to the door before work for one last kiss goodbye. It’s almost sickening how cute it is, isn’t it?

But that’s why I write about love. I want to capture that feeling for my characters because that feeling will stay with them forever, even if that particular love doesn’t last. Plus, as a reader, I enjoy reading about characters who find first love or long-lost love or love in the strangest place. I feel what they feel all over again.

Now, because I love all of you, here’s a gigantic contest! The winner gets a $250 e-giftcard to Amazon or Barnes & Noble, your choice. The contest is international and ends February 19th, so hurry! Enter the Rafflecopter below to win and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you want to hop around to other Crescent Moon Press authors’ sites to see what they think love’s got to do with it, you can start here.

The Year of the Snake

February 10, 2013February 9, 2013 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Crescent Moon Press, The Grave Winner, Wendy Russo, Year of the Snake

Today marks the beginning of the Chinese new year. According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2013 is the Year of the Snake. Some of the things that the snake represents are deception, delusion, and opportunism. Dun, dun, dun!

Wendy Russo came up with the brilliant idea to help celebrate the new year and those cunning snakes by posting a scene from our writings that has to do with deception, delusion, and/or opportunism.

Here’s my scene from The Grave Winner:

The [news] woman turned towards me. Her eyes grew brighter as she click-clacked her ruby red high heels faster than I’d ever seen anyone go. Before I could run or react, she took my elbow and dug her sharp red fingernails into my arm.

“What do you think is causing the dead to return to life?” She shoved her furry microphone at me.

I glared at her over-excited, makeup-plastered face. “I… try not to think about it. But people like you make that impossible.”

Something flickered across her eyes, and she gasped. Was she shocked that I wasn’t eager to participate in this news circus? She stared at me a beat past uncomfortable, smoothed an eyebrow, then smiled into the camera. “Perhaps it’s the result of too much processed food. We’ll have more at ten on this developing story.”

“And we got it.” The cameraman lifted the bulk off his shoulder and pressed several buttons.

“What do you think you’re doing?” a female voice hollered. Mrs. Rios, the Spanish teacher, dodged reporters and trotted up to the woman. “There’s no way you had enough time to contact this student’s parents for permission to put her face on TV. You just got here.”

The news lady removed her grip from my arm. “Relax.” She turned and glared at me. I was getting a lot of that today. “We’ll cut her attitude and just use a shot of her lunch tray.” She gave Mrs. Rios a chilly smile. “No harm done.”

Yep, it’s short and non-spoilery, and it’s deceptive and opportunistic in more ways than one. My evil laugh goes here.

If you’d like to read more slithery Year of the Snake inspired scenes from other authors’ works, here is a list of participants. You should definitely check these out!

#Petthecover : Speak of the Devil by @sromkey

February 1, 2013January 31, 2013 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Crescent Moon Press, Pet the Cover, Shawna Romkey, Speak of the Devil

Oh, the pretty! And the sexy because check out those holy mega biceps.

Speak of the Devil was written by Shawna Romkey, and it releases March 15th from Crescent Moon Press!

Here’s the blurb:

What happens when falling in love and falling from grace collide?

After dying in a car accident with her two best friends, Lily miraculously awakens to grief and guilt. She escapes to her dad’s to come to terms with the event and meets some people at her new school who seem all too eager to help her heal. Sliding deeper into sorrow and trying to fight her feelings for two of them, she finds out who…what they really are and that they are falling too.

Can she find the strength to move on from the past, reconcile her feelings for Luc, find a way to stop a divine war with fallen angels, and still pass the eleventh grade?

Awesome, right! You can read more about Shawna at her website: http://www.shawnaromkey.com

The Last Keeper’s Daughter by @RTrogner

January 29, 2013January 28, 2013 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Crescent Moon Press, Last Keeper's Daughter, Pet the Cover, Rebecca Trogner

February 15th, people! That’s when The Last Keeper’s Daughter by my Crescent Moon Press sister, Rebecca Trogner, releases.

Here’s the lovely cover:

And the blurb:

Born into old money, Lily Ayres lives at Waverly, her family’s estate situated at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Paris, Virginia. She is a strange, small, almost mute, young woman who has no idea that her father has given her to the Vampire King Krieger. Walter Ayres is the King’s Keeper and part of a secret society of historians who unearth, preserve, and attempt to understand relics of long forgotten civilizations.

Lily has never felt comfortable in the human world, but after she suspiciously falls down a flight of stone steps, and is healed and claimed by Krieger, she realizes there is another world. In this Other Realm she feels a sense of belonging, and begins to untwine the mysterious event which left her mentally and psychologically damaged. When Walter disappears in England, Lily works with human and supernatural beings to uncover his whereabouts. With each new discovery, she is pulled deeper into the vortex of magic, intrigue, and dark desires that permeates the supernatural world. The revelations revealed unfold a story of deception and betrayal that threaten to tear the thin veil between the supernatural and human world asunder.

It sounds awesome!

About the Author:

Rebecca Trogner lives in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia, and frequently crosses the Blue Ridge Mountains that were the inspiration for Krieger’s home. She always dreamed of being a writer, but got sidetracked by the day-to-day adventures of life. With the encouragement of her family, she has finished her first novel and is currently writing the next book in The Last Keeper’s Daughter series. Rebecca lives with her husband and son, and a rescue dog named Giblet. To find out more about the author visit http://www.rebeccatrogner.com

You can add The Last Keeper’s Daughter to your Goodreads here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17252265-the-last-keeper-s-daughter

Happy Book Birthday to January Black

January 20, 2013January 20, 2013 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Book Birthday, Books, Crescent Moon Press, January Black, Pet the Cover, Wendy Russo

Actually it’s a belated birthday, but it still counts! My fellow Crescent Moon Press sister, Wendy S. Russo, has just released her debut YA book called January Black.

Here’s the cover:

Pet it. Love it. It’s so pretty!

Here’s the blurb:

As the son of The Hill’s commandant, sixteen-year-old Matty Ducayn is expected to conform to a strict, unspoken code of conduct. Small acts of defiance over years—such as walking on the grass—have earned him a reputation for being unruly. When sarcastic test answers finally get Matty expelled from school, King Hadrian offers him a diploma if he can answer a deceptively simple question.

What was January Black?

The challenge takes Matty, and his girlfriend Iris, beyond The Hill’s walls and tightly controlled media into a gritty world kept in check by riot police. There, the young couple follows a path through old books and clandestine news pages that becomes a collision course with a deadly royal degree.

As he realizes he’s been set up to fail, Matty must make a choice: walk away from the challenge with Iris and his life. Or call the king’s bluff.

It’s available at Amazon in both Kindle and paperback versions, and it’s available at Barnes and Noble. You should totally go read it!

The LOOK Challenge

October 10, 2012October 10, 2012 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Crescent Moon Press, Critique Partners, Jennifer Wells, Look Challenge, Salt In the Cupboard

My poor, neglected blog. Between work, the nonsense that is my immune system, and my overall laziness, I’ve been away far too long. *wags finger and give self a stern look*

Anyway, back in August, my Crescent Moon sister, Jennifer Wells, tagged me in the Look Challenge. Here are the rules:

Find the first usage of the word “look” in your work in progress and paste the surrounding paragraph(s) into your blog.
Invite as many people as you want to take part in the challenge with you.

So, here are a couple paragraphs of my romantic horror novella, Salt In the Cupboard:

As I take a step forward, the door bursts open. My heart leaps into my throat. I cry out. My cheeks heat at the surprised face of Ian Reese, my chemistry lab partner from last year. His hair has been shaved into a buzz cut, accentuating his sharp cheekbones and those blue eyes that shoot static to where my heart should be. A black t-shirt hugs every dip and curve of his muscles, and his jeans hang from his hips in a sexy peel-me-off kind of way. Holy. Cow.

“Alexis,” he says with a smile that could melt the sun. “How are you?”

“Ian.” I look away to mentally fan myself. “I’m great. You live here, too?”

“As of yesterday.” He juts his chin to his right. “Apartment twelve.”

“Twenty-six.”

He nods. We stand in awkward silence because I can’t think of anything else to say. Our date that never happened mixes through the cool air and hangs heavy with the clouds.

Not many people have seen this story, not even my beloved critique partners! I’ll explain why in an upcoming post, along with some BIG news!

I’m inviting everyone who sees this to participate in the Look Challenge. I’ll be LoOkInG for your post!

A Subscribe Button!

September 29, 2012 by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Crescent Moon Press, New Website, The Grave Winner

If you look to the right, you’ll see a brand new subscribe by email feature. Do you see it? I double dare you to type in your email address. You know you want to! That way you’ll hear all the Grave Winner news as soon as I announce it!