E.J. Stevens's Blog, page 30

I am excited to announce that I will be attending the Speculative Fiction: Southeast convention in Orlando, Florida.

Speculative Fiction: Southeast
Here's what the official SF:SE website has to say about the event:

SF:SE—Speculative Fiction: Southeast—is an event for all lovers and artists of Speculative Fiction, a term encompassing Horror, SciFi, Fantasy, Paranormal and Weird.

E.J. Stevens at SF:SE 2015

I will be at Speculative Fiction: Southeast convention September 25 - 27, 2015.  I'll be doing panels and I'll have a table on Author Avenue.  Stop by my SF:SE table for:
Autographed BooksT-shirtsTote BagsMini PostersFREE Pens FREE Signed Postcards FREE Audiobook SamplesFREE Shadow Sight Ebooks More details about the book signing and my panels coming soon.

SF:SE Banshee Promo
The staff at SF:SE 2015 are offering up a special one day convention ticket promo on March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. 


Details below (copied from the official SF:SE website).

For one day only, take advantage of this AMAZING discount we’re calling the BANSHEE PROMO. On 12AM St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th), we open the portal, through which pale-haired girl ghosts will deliver VIP registration for the price of GENERAL ADMISSION registration.

That’s a WHOLE WEEKEND of SF:SE magic.  That’s a WHOLE WEEKEND of early admittance to all programming. (and other stuff, like LARPquesting and masquerade ball-ing. Check out TICKETS for VIP info.)  That’s a $119 DISCOUNT. Yeah, we know, it’s insane.

Go get it, Leprechauns! One day only, 12AM to 11:59. March 17th.

Visit the SF:SE 2015 website to take advantage of this limited time deal.

I hope to see you there!

The authors of FIERCE, a limited edition 99 cent fantasy book bundle, are generously giving away $100 Amazon Gift Card!

Read on to learn more about the Fierce fantasy collection.

Join epic fantasy legend Mercedes Lackey and fifteen additional New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling authors on the adventure of a lifetime!

Over one million words and sixteen realms of fantasy brought together for your reading pleasure. Discover courageous characters fighting for justice and order. Journey between kingdoms of dragons and lands of anarchy as tales of magic and mayhem unfold.

About the Authors and Titles:

Mercedes Lackey – Moving Targets

Stuck watching over four Herald trainees on circuit, Elyn is at her wits’ end—and that’s before a town asks for help with a ghostly infestation.

Michael G. Manning – The Blacksmith’s Son

A journey to discover the secrets of his past reveals a magical heritage and embroils Mordecai in a deadly battle for the future of mankind.

K.F. Breene – Chosen

Prophecy has foretold that when war threatens the world, the Chosen will appear to help the Shadow Warriors reclaim their stolen freedom and lead them out of the Land of Mist.

Morgan Rice – A Quest of Heroes

Thorgin, an outsider and a dreamer, fights to become a warrior in an epic quest that finds him at the center of a maelstrom of royal plots and counterplots that threaten him and everyone he loves.

Michael James Ploof – Whill of Agora

When Whill learns the truth of his lineage, he sets out to face his father’s murderer, but what he learns along the way will change his life—and the realm—forever.

Daniel Arenson – Requiem’s Song

Weredragons, men call them. Monsters. Cursed ones. People who can turn into beastly reptiles. Together they will forge a nation.


Note: Want to learn more about Daniel Arenson?  Check out his previous interviews and guest posts here at From the Shadows!  Character Guest Post: Erry, Character Guest Post: Kyrie Cross-Novel Character Interview, Character Interview: Eliven, Character Interview: Neev and Romy)

Kate Sparkes – Bound

When a young woman accidentally saves the life of an enemy Sorcerer, she finds herself drawn into a world of magic that’s more beautiful, more seductive, and more dangerous than she ever imagined.

David Adams – The Pariahs

Two sellswords—a half-elf and a half-orc—find their war over before it even begins. But trouble is stirring on the home front, conflict which threatens more than just their lives.

Amy Raby – The Fire Seer

Taya must use her fire visions to investigate a series of murders, but the Coalition of Mages has partnered her with her old nemesis, the man who used to bully her when they were young.

C. Greenwood – Magic of Thieves & Betrayal of Thieves

In a province where magic is forbidden, young Ilan, born with the powerful gift of her ancestors, has only one hope for survival—concealment.

David Dalglish – The Weight of Blood

When half-bloods Harruq and Qurrah Tun pledged their lives to a death prophet, they only sought escape from their squalid beginnings. Instead, they become his greatest disciples, charged with leading his army of undead.

K.J. Colt – Bear Heart

In the savage lands of Ruxdor, young Klawdia must fight the champions of four rival clans to defend her future as the first female chieftain.

Shae Ford – Poison

A bandit girl is taken from her home and thrust into a complex world of lords and ladies, where she learns that she must kill to survive.

Endi Webb – The Maskmaker’s Apprentice

Masks of legend. Masks of power. Those who dare to wear them trifle with the old powers and risk ruin and mayhem. But a young apprentice maskmaker cannot contain his curiosity, and accidentally unleashes a deadly terror upon an unsuspecting world.

Michael Wallace – The Dark Citadel

A slave boy and a young queen lead an alliance of spies, servants, and merchants to stave off the encroaching armies of a dark wizard.

Terah Edun – Blades of Magic

As an unstoppable war breaks out, a young girl enlists in the military to unravel the secrets surrounding her father’s execution.

Release Date: March 10, 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Add to Goodreads.

And now for the giveaway...

Fierce $100 Giveaway
The authors are giving away winner's choice of a $100 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash.  

To enter, use this Rafflecopter form.  This giveaway is part of a book tour.  Winners will be randomly selected by the author or publisher using Rafflecopter. Giveaway ends 3/15/15. 

Good luck!

Congratulations Barry H. the winner of the Karen Memory Book Giveaway here at From the Shadows!  Barry will receive a hardcover copy of Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear.



Thank you to all who entered!

*Giveaway winner randomly selected using Random.org*

Today we have a special book giveaway for our readers.  Tor Books is offering up a hardcover cover of UNBREAKABLE by W.C. Bauers, and this book looks fantastic!


Unbreakable by W.C. Bauers.

The colonists of the planet Montana are accustomed to being ignored. Situated in the buffer zone between two rival human empires, their world is a backwater: remote, provincial, independently minded. Even as a provisional member of the Republic of Aligned Worlds, Montana merits little consideration—until it becomes the flashpoint in an impending interstellar war.

When pirate raids threaten to destabilize the region, the RAW deploys its mechanized armored infantry to deal with the situation. Leading the assault is Marine Corps Lieutenant and Montanan expatriate Promise Paen of Victor Company. Years earlier, Promise was driven to join the Marines after her father was killed by such a raid. Payback is sweet, but it comes at a tremendous and devastating cost. And Promise is in no way happy to be back on her birthworld, not even when she is hailed as a hero by the planet's populace, including its colorful president. Making matters even worse: Promise is persistently haunted by the voice of her dead mother.

Meanwhile, the RAW's most bitter rival, the Lusitanian Empire, has been watching events unfold in the Montana system with interest. Their forces have been awaiting the right moment to gain a beachhead in Republic territory, and with Promise's Marines decimated, they believe the time to strike is now.

Release Date: January 13, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction
Add to Goodreads.

Unbreakable Book Giveaway
We are giving away a hardcover copy of Unbreakable by W.C. Bauers to one lucky winner!

Do you read science fiction?  Want to win?
To enter, please leave a comment on this post, including your email so that we may contact you if you win.  This giveaway is open to US and Canada.  Giveaway ends March 20, 2015 midnight EST. 

Good luck!

Come on boys and ghouls!  It's time to hop on Route 666 for a spooktacular Paranormal Road Trip.

This week's stop is New York City and our special guide is Susan Wright.  Susan is the author of the Allay urban fantasy series.

Susan's Top 5 Spooky Places in NYC
New York is a city that has it all, including lots of creepy places. That’s why I had a hard time narrowing down my list to just 5!

I’ve picked out the truly weird stuff, the places that stand out even in the Big Apple. There are also plenty of more mildly creepy places like the Chelsea Hotel, which has a reputation for ghosts, or the underground remains of the Lovelace Tavern outside 85 Broad Street, a popular party spot in the early 1800s until Lower Manhattan burned.

These five are my all-time favorite spooky spots in New York City:

Roosevelt Island TB Hospital (map)

Everyone can see the huge ruins of the TB Hospital because they’re exposed on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island. Among the locals, it’s the most discussed spooky site in the city. You used to be able to walk among the fallen-in buildings, and it was best to do it on a rainy day when you could see the clouds and gray water all around you through the open window frames. Then you could feel how incredibly isolated it is, even while you’re completely exposed. Now the last remaining ruins are barricaded off by a chain link fence, but the park goes all the way to the tip of Roosevelt Island so you can walk all the way around the ruins and get a great view of the old place.

City Hall Subway Station (map)

The subway station under City Hall is a glorious place that was closed in 1945. It’s got towering arched ceilings made of patterned brick that are lit up by natural light pouring through the ornate wrought iron and glass skylights placed in the street overhead. You can see it—like it’s been caught in time—by staying on the 6 train past the final stop at Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall station. The train takes a big curving turn-around to go uptown under City Hall, letting you see the slowly moving panorama of a time gone by.

Staten Island Ship Graveyard (map)

It’s the freakiest thing – one minute you’re driving along ordinary road along the Arthur Kill, the waterway that separates Staten Island from New Jersey. Then suddenly the trees part and all you can see is a bay filled with dead ships. Some ships have sunk so the skeletons of their prows stick out, and others are rotting low in the water or turned on their sides in various states of decay. It’s such a sight of ruin and devastation that it’s hard to forget once you see it.

Brooklyn Navy Yard (map)

There are several spooky spots in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I ran a Trap-Neuter-Return project in the BNY for years, so I saw every nook and cranny. The 300-acre site holds a vast Naval Hospital Annex where a dozen buildings sit frozen and empty because of asbestos. There are also giant skeletons of ship-building warehouses, with the glass all shattered and the deep water slips murky and oily between them. You can take a tour of BNY if you don’t have access to the industrial complex that has grown up on the site in the midst of the ruined buildings.

Ridgewood Reservoir (map)

The reservoir sits oddly enough on a hilltop in Highland Park. It was decommissioned in 1898, but there was still water in it until there were a number of drownings in the 70s. To reach it you have to go past the Cypress Hills National Cemetery with its white tombstones in neat rows undulating over the hillside. Then you have the climb up the crumbling steps to the overgrown forest at the top, emerging into a wilderness that seems like it’s been transported hundreds of miles from New York City in an instant. But be careful – you’ll see signs of people living in there though you rarely see them. It’s not your usual walk in the park!

Thank you Susan for giving us such a haunting tour of New York City!  
To learn more about Susan Wright and her books, please visit her website.  You can add her Allay series here on Goodreads.



Have you visited New York City?  Ever experience anything of the supernatural kind in and around New York City?
What did you think of Susan's picks for spooky places?
Last week on Paranormal Road Trip we visited Australia with Cassandra Page.  Next week we'll be traveling to Kennian with E.L. Tettensor.

Join us for another spine-tingling Paranormal Road Trip...
if you dare!

Congratulations Susan V. the winner of the Birthright Cover Reveal Giveaway !  Susan will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card, Birthright mini-poster, and signed Birthright postcard.


Thank you to all who entered!

**Giveaway winner randomly selected using Rafflecopter**

February is for Paranormal Romance...and we have an incredible month of special author features for you.  Today we have a Valentine's Day themed "this or that" Q+A with Leigh Goff. 

Keep reading for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card!

Q+A with Leigh Goff and Sophie Goodchild
Sixteen-year-old Sophie Goodchild, the half-witch main character from the YA fantasy romance Disenchanted by Leigh Goff answers the following February This or That questions.

EJ:  Chocolates or Flowers?

Sophie:  My Aunt Janie, an herbalist witch who owns a shop called Scents and Scentsabilities, has infused a deep appreciation for plant magic into my head and heart, but she also makes a mean enchanted chocolate confection to help me keep secrets and it melts on my tongue in the most delicious way. I’m torn on this question, but if I have to choose, I choose flowers because they really communicate so much more sentiment than chocolate, and they come in handy when you want to concoct magical products like Tulips to Kiss Stick and Forever First Love Lip Balm.

EJ:  Going out or staying in?

Sophie:  Staying in. Hands down. When you are dating a guy as hot as mine, you want to spend as much alone time together as possible. His name is Alexavier. He’s American, but went to school in London, so he has a dreamy British accent. He’s tall, dark-haired, and a bad boy at heart. Did I mention he’s forbidden? Oh yeah. *Swoon*

EJ:  Fancy restaurant or pizza/burger joint?

Sophie:  I’m going with fancy restaurant on this one. Witches own most of the pizza/burger/sandwich shops in Wethersfield, and sometimes, they add enchanted ingredients like Parisian basil to their Witch Wraps to keep customers coming back. I’ll take mine without Parisian basil, thank you very much!

EJ:  Action flick or romantic comedy?

Sophie:  Alexavier really prefers action flicks because he is all about action. He never shies away from a fight. He even goes out in thunderstorms looking for trouble. That’s how we met. Me, I prefer watching zombie flicks with my pal, Callum. My friend, Macey thinks there is a love triangle going on with Alexavier, Callum, and me, but as sweet as Callum is, my heart belongs to Alexavier.

EJ:  Nightclub or ballroom?

Sophie:  Ballroom. And only because of the weird dreams I’ve been having lately where I find myself wearing seventeenth century gowns and dancing to harpsichord music with a well-dressed gentleman who looks a lot like Alexavier. I think my witch ancestor is trying to tell me something…

EJ:  Coffee or cocktails?

Sophie:  Coffee. I’m too young to drink cocktails and with the sleepless nights I’ve been having thanks to a witchy ghost from the past, caffeine is exactly what I need to wake up and keep me out of trouble. Good thing I have my mom’s diamond bloodcharm to enhance my magic, just in case trouble finds me and I’m not caffeinated.

How do you celebrate Valentine's Day?
Thank you Leigh and Sophie for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

Leigh Goff is the author of Disenchanted.


To learn more about paranormal romance author Leigh Goff, please visit her website.

February is for Paranormal Romance Giveaway
All month long we are posting special features from our favorite paranormal romance authors, and we are topping this off with a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card!


To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below.  This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.  If you cannot accept an electronic Amazon Gift Card, you may choose one paranormal romance book from The Book Depository (value up to $10.00).  Giveaway ends February 28, 2015 midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck!

Come on boys and ghouls!  It's time to hop on Route 666 for a spooktacular Paranormal Road Trip.

This week's stop is Australia, the setting of Isla's Oath and our special guide is Cassandra Page.  Cassandra is the author of the Isla's Inheritance urban fantasy series.

Cassandra's Top 5 Spooky Places in Australia
The title is a bit misleading, because Australia is a huge country and I haven’t been to all the spookiest places and done a creep-factor comparison (presumably measured based on the number of goosebumps per square inch!). Still, these places come up again and again in conversations about spooky places to visit.

Monte Cristo Homestead, New South Wales

The Monte Cristo Homestead, a beautiful two-storey house ringed with balconies and set on gorgeous grounds, was built in the late 1800s. It’s located in the New South Wales town of Junee, whose name is Aboriginal for “speak to me”. The homestead claims to be Australia’s most haunted house, and its hauntings include strange lights and presences, and visions of the reclusive Mrs Crawley, the wife of the man that built the house, who died there when she was 92.

Port Arthur, Tasmania

Port Arthur was Australia’s allegedly “inescapable” prison back in our convict days, and was the place where all the worst British criminals were sent. Located on the Tasman Peninsula, these days it’s an open-air museum, but at the time the waters around it were rumoured to be shark-infested, and guards protected the isthmus accompanied by half-starved dogs. Much more recently, in 1996, Port Arthur was the site of Australia’s last killing spree, in which 35 people were killed and 23 wounded.

Beechworth Asylum, Victoria

Originally known as the Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum, this is a decommissioned hospital that closed 20 years ago, after being in operation since 1867. Regardless of whether you believe in ghosts, any abandoned hospital is going to be creepy—with the peeling paint on the walls, bars on the windows and the strange marks on the floor—but an abandoned psychiatric hospital from the dark old days of isolation boxes and restraining chairs is far, far worse. Apparently over 3000 people died at the asylum over the course of its life.

Old Melbourne Goal, Victoria

The Old Melbourne Gaol—well, the third gaol—is a three-storey bluestone building that operated from 1842 to 1939. It was also used during World War II to house AWOL prisoners. Many of Australia’s most notorious criminals were housed there, and 133 were hanged, including a serial killer, an innocent man who strangled for 40 minutes before finally dying, and our most famous bushranger, Ned Kelly. Kelly’s skill was stolen in 1978, but his death mask and those of many others are still on display.

Lake George, New South Wales

This one is close to my own heart. Lake George is located on the highway just outside Canberra, where I live. It is long, almost completely flat, and generally extremely shallow (averaging around a metre, but up to 4.5 metres deep when its full)—this shallowness means that during a strong wind the surface gets very choppy and dangerous. The lake is also notorious for its fluctuating water levels.

More often than not these days it’s shallow or bone dry, so it’s hard to believe that in 1956 five cadets from the local military academy drowned there. Its Aboriginal name, Werriwa, means “bad water”.

Sure, you could say that this was due to how salty the water is, when there is any at all—it’s almost as saline as seawater. But every time I drive past this lake, it creeps me out. And others claim to have seem ghosts out there. It’s also a popular site of UFO sightings


Thank you Cassandra for giving us such a haunting tour of Australia!  
To learn more about Cassandra Page and her books, please visit her website.  You can add her Isla's Inheritance series here on Goodreads.



Have you visited Australia?  Ever experience anything of the supernatural kind in Australia?
What did you think of Cassandra's picks for spooky places?
Last week on Paranormal Road Trip we visited Rapid City with Elizabeth Bear.  Next week we'll be traveling to New York City with Susan Wright.

Join us for another spine-tingling Paranormal Road Trip...
if you dare!

I am excited to finally share with you my super secret project!

Since the beginning of the year, I've been secretly working to bring additional books from the world of Ivy Granger to life in audiobook format.

I am amazed by the talented voice actresses who submitted auditions, but one audition blew me away.  Melanie A. Mason, and her voice partner David, did such an amazing reading that it gave me chills.

(You heard that right.  We have female AND male voice actors working with us on this project!  You do not want to miss this.)

So I am very happy to announce that we are now under contract to bring you the BLOOD AND MISTLETOE audiobook this May.


Rejoice audiobook fans!  A new Ivy Granger urban fantasy audiobook coming to you in time for Audiobook Month.

Note:  If you subscribe to my author newsletter, this news won't come as a total surprise.  I let subscribers in on the secret earlier this month, in my February Newsletter .  Not a subscriber?  What are you waiting for?  I never share your personal information EVER, and being on my mailing list gives you access to special deals, giveaways, FREE signed postcards, and insider info.  Sign up here to subscribe to E.J. Stevens' newsletter .

February is for Paranormal Romance...and we have an incredible month of special author features for you.  Today we have a Valentine's Day themed "this or that" Q+A with Maggie Shayne. 

Keep reading for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card!

Q+A with Maggie Shayne
EJ:  Chocolates or flowers?

Maggie:  BOTH. And something else, too. Valentine's Day is also our Anniversary. (This year is our very 1st anniversary in fact!) So I get extra presents!

EJ:  Going out or staying in?

Maggie:  I really, truly prefer staying in. If we do go out, we enjoy going to movie theaters in the middle of the week, in the middle of the day, when no one else is likely to be there, and we often wind up with the whole place to ourselves. Our favorite place to do this is a theater that recently installed huge, comfy reclining chairs. We could lay there all day!

EJ:  Fancy restaurant or pizza/burger joint?

Maggie:  Barbecue on the deck out back if it's passably warm. If not, pizza and wings!

EJ:  Action flick or romantic comedy?

Maggie:  Depends on whose turn it is to pick. He picks action flicks, I pick romantic comedies. But our favorites are Marvel Comic based movies and fairy tales, like Avengers and Thor and Maleficent and Mirror, Mirror.

EJ:  Nightclub or ballroom?

Maggie:  Living Room.

EJ:  Coffee or cocktails?

Maggie:  Coffee. We really are boringly tame, aren't we? Mine would be decaf. But we'd both prefer apple cider!

How do you celebrate Valentine's Day?
Thank you Maggie for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

Maggie Shayne is the author of the Immortal Witches, Fairies of Rush, The Portal, and the Wings in the Night paranormal romance series.



To learn more about paranormal romance author Maggie Shayne, please visit her website.

Before we get to the giveaway, we also have an exciting announcement.  ETERNITY (Immortal Witches #1) is now FREE for the entire month of February.  Okay, now for the giveaway...

February is for Paranormal Romance Giveaway
All month long we are posting special features from our favorite paranormal romance authors, and we are topping this off with a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card!


To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below.  This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.  If you cannot accept an electronic Amazon Gift Card, you may choose one paranormal romance book from The Book Depository (value up to $10.00).  Giveaway ends February 28, 2015 midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck!