E.J. Stevens's Blog, page 37

Today is All Souls' Day, the Day of the Dead, the perfect day for a quickie review of the movie The Book of Life.


5 Reasons to Watch The Book of Life
Gorgeous Animation: Seriously, the vibrant colors and the unique, 3-D animation style, with a marionette-like character design, make this a beautiful film.Music: One of the characters does a cover of Creep by Radiohead.  Enough said.Humor: For a film that deals with weighty subjects such as true love, living up to parental expectations, and death, The Book of Life still managed to keep me laughing.  Message: Like the folktales The Book of Life draws from, this movie has important messages for viewers, namely to follow your heart.Unique:  Unlike so many films, The Book of Life dares to be different.  We have diversity of characters, an unusual animation style, and unorthodox subject matter for an animated film. 
Overall, this was a beautiful, entertaining film that was worth going to the cinema to see on the big screen.  I highly recommend for fans of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride.

Have you seen The Book of Life?

Congratulations to Andie the winner of our Spooktacular Giveaway here at From the Shadows.  Andie will receive a *signed* trade paperback copy of Legend of Witchtrot Road and Legend of Witchtrot Road swag (bookmarks, postcard, and sticker).

Thank you to all who entered!

*Giveaway winner selected randomly by Rafflecopter*

Today is the first day of November, which means that HUNTING IN BRUGES releases in 11 days.  Are you getting excited?  I know I am!


We have two Hunting in Bruges book excerpts for your reading enjoyment.  Enjoy the sneak peek!

Hunting in Bruges: Chapter 1
     I’ve been seeing ghosts for as long as I can remember.  Most ghosts are simply annoying; just clueless dead people who don’t realize that they’ve died.  The weakest of these manifest as flimsy apparitions, without the ability for speech or higher thought.  They’re like a recording of someone’s life projected not onto a screen, but onto the place where they died.  Most people can walk through one of these ghosts without so much as a goosebump.
     Poltergeists are more powerful, but just as single-minded.  These pesky spirits are like angry toddlers.  They stomp around, shaking their proverbial chains, moaning and wailing about how something (the accident, their murder, or the murder they committed) was someone else’s fault, and how everyone must pay for their misfortune.  Poltergeists are a nuisance; they’re noisy and can throw around objects for short periods of time, but it’s only the strong ones that are dangerous.
     Thankfully, there aren’t many ghosts out there strong enough to do more than knock a pen off your desk or cause a cold spot.  From what I’ve discovered while training with the Hunters’ Guild, ghosts get their power from two things—how long they’ve been haunting and strength of purpose.  If someone as obsessed with killing as Jack the Ripper manifests beside you on a London street, I recommend you run.  If someone as old and unhinged as Vlad the Impaler appears beside you in Targoviste Romania, you better hope you have a Hunter at your side, or a guardian angel.
     The dead get a bad rap, and for good reason, but some ghosts can be helpful.  There was a woman with a kind face who used to appear when I was in foster care.  Linda wasn’t just a loop of psychic recording stuck on repeat; this ghost had free will and independent thought—and thankfully, she wasn’t a sociopath consumed with bloodshed.  Linda manifested in faded jeans and dark turtleneck and smelled like home, which was the other thing that was unusual about her.  Most ghosts are tied to one spot, the place where they lived or died.  But Linda’s familiar face followed me from one foster home to another.  And it was a good thing that she did.  Linda the ghost saved my life more than once.
     Foster care was an excellent training ground for self defense, which is probably why the Hunters’ Guild uses it as a place for recruitment.  Being cast adrift in the child welfare system gave me plenty of opportunities to hone my survival instincts.  By the time the Hunters came along, I was a force to be reckoned with, or so I thought.
     The Hunters’ Guild provides exceptional training and I soon learned that my attempts at both offense and defense were child’s play when compared to our senior members.  I didn’t berate myself over that fact; I was only thirteen when the Hunters swooped in and welcomed me into their fold.  But learning my limitations did make me painfully aware of one thing.  If it hadn’t been for Linda the ghost, I probably wouldn’t have survived my childhood.
     The worst case of honing my survival skills had been at my last foster home, just before the Hunters’ Guild intervened.  I don’t remember the house mother.  She wasn’t around much.  She was just a small figure in a cheap, polyester fast food uniform with a stooped posture and downcast eyes.  But I remember her husband Frank.
     Frank was a bully who wore white, ketchup and mustard stained, wife-beater t-shirts.  He had perpetual French fry breath and a nasty grin.  It took me a few weeks to realize that Frank’s grin was more of a leer.  I’d caught his gaze in the bathroom mirror when I was changing and his eyes said it all; Frank was a perv.
     Linda slammed the door in his face, but that didn’t stop Frank.  Frank would brush up against me in the kitchen and Linda would set the faucet spraying across the tiles…and slide a knife into my hand.  My time in that house ended when Frank ended up in the hospital.
     I’d been creeping back to the bedroom I shared with three other kids, when I saw Frank waiting for me in the shadows.  I pulled the steak knife I kept hidden in the pocket of my robe, but I never got a chance to use it.  Now that I know a thing or two about fighting with a blade, I’m aware that Frank probably would have won that fight.
     I tried to run toward the stairs, but Frank met me at the top landing.  Frank reached for me while his bulk effectively blocked my escape.  That was when Linda the ghost pushed him down the stairs.  I remember him tumbling in slow motion, his eyes going wide and the leering grin sliding from his face.
     Linda the ghost had once again saved me, but it seemed that this visit was her last.  I don’t know if she used up her quota of psychic power, or if she just felt like her job here was finally done.  It wasn’t until years later that I realized she was my mother.
     I guess I should have realized sooner that I was related to the ghost who followed me around.  We both have hair the same shade of shocking red.  But where mine is straight and cropped into a short bob, Linda’s was wavy and curled down around her shoulders.  We also share a dimple in our left cheek and a propensity for protecting the weak and innocent from evil.
     Linda the ghost disappeared, a wailing ambulance drove Frank to the hospital, police arrived at my foster house, and the Hunters swooped in and cleaned up the aftermath.  It was from my first Guild master that I learned of my parents’ fate and put two and two together about my ghostly protector.
     As a kid I often wondered why Linda the ghost always wore a dark turtleneck; now I knew.  Young, rogue vamps had torn out her neck and proceeded to rip my father to pieces like meat confetti.  My parents were on vacation in Belize, celebrating their wedding anniversary when it happened.  I’d been staying with a friend of my mother’s, otherwise I’d be dead too.
     I don’t remember my parents, I’d only been three when I was put into the foster care system, but I do find some peace in knowing that doing my duty as a Hunter gives me the power to police and destroy rogue vamps like the ones who killed my mother and father.  When I become exhausted by my work, I think of Linda’s sad face and push myself to train harder.  And when I find creeps who are abusive to women and children, I think of Frank.
     That’s how I ended up here, standing in a Brussels airport, trying to decipher the Dutch and French signs with eyes that were gritty from the twelve hour flight.  It all started when my friend Ivy called to inform me that a fellow Hunter had hit our mutual friend Jinx.  Ivy didn’t know how that information would push all my buttons, she didn’t know about Frank or my time in the     foster system, but we both agreed that striking a girl was unacceptable.  She was letting me, and the Hunters’ Guild, deal with it, for now.
     I went to master Janus, the head of the Harborsmouth Hunters’ Guild, and reported Hans’ transgressions.  It didn’t help his case that he had a reputation as a berserker in battle.  The fact that he’d hit a human, the very people we were sworn to defend against the monsters, was the nail in the coffin of Hans’ career.
     I was assured that Hans would be shipped off to the equivalent of a desk job in Siberia.  I should have left it at that, and let my superiors take care of the problem.  But Jinx was my friend.  Ivy’s rockabilly business partner may have had bad luck and even worse taste in men, but that didn’t mean she deserved to spend her life fending off the attacks of the Franks in the world.
     Hans continued his Guild duties while the higher ups shuffled papers and prepared to send him away.  Hans should have skipped our training sessions, but then again, he didn’t know who had ratted him out—and the guy had a lot of rage to vent.  I stormed onto the practice mat and saluted Hans with my sword.  It wasn’t long before the man started to bleed.
     We were supposed to be using practice swords, but I’d accidentally grabbed the sharp blade I used on hunting runs.  I didn’t leave any lasting injuries, but the shallow cuts made a mess of his precious tattoos.  I just hoped the scars were a constant reminder of what happens when you attack the innocent.
     One week later, I received a plane ticket and orders to meet with one of our contacts in Belgium.  I wasn’t sure if this assignment was intended as a punishment or a promotion, but I was eager to prove myself to the Guild leadership.  Master Janus’ parting words whispered in my head, distracting me from the voice on the overhead intercom echoing throughout the cavernous airport.
     “Do your duty, Jenna,” he said.  Master Janus placed a large, sword-calloused hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye.  I swallowed hard, but I managed to keep my hands from shaking.  “Make us proud.”
    “I will, sir,” I said.
     “Good hunting.”


 Hunting in Bruges: Fight Scene
     “Help!”
     A woman’s scream pierced the night and all thoughts of sleep fled as adrenaline pumped through my body.  I sprinted down the street in the direction of the woman’s cry, scanning the sidewalks and alleyways, and listening for any sign of trouble.
     “Please, somebody help me!”
     The voice was weaker now, but I nodded to myself, suddenly sure of where the attack was taking place.  I put on more speed, vaulted over a metal railing, and raced down the embankment toward the canal.  The woman’s scream had come from beneath the bridge—the same bridge that hid the mouth of the sewer tunnel with the bloody grate and magically warded door.
     I palmed a silver combat knife and a wooden stake as I ran, a fierce snarl curling my lips.  I was not going to allow another vampire kill.  Not on my watch.
     Heart pounding, I eyed the narrow ledge leading into the dancing shadows beneath the bridge.  There was no way I could make my way across that expanse of moss slick stone without discarding my weapons.
     “Damn,” I muttered.
     I shoved the wooden stake into a loop in my battle skirt and bit down on the silver knife, holding it between my teeth.  I’d need both hands free to make the climb to the bridge.  If I was dealing with vamps, I’d rather lead with the stake, but there was a chance that this was a mugging or rape.  Vampires weren’t the only monsters that preyed on the weak.
It would be foolish to bring a stake to a knife fight.  Everyone knows that.
     Shoulders tight, I shimmied across the ledge.  I was exposed, vulnerable, but the whimpering sound ahead of me kept me going.  As my foot hit the wet platform with a splash, a clawed hand grabbed my leg in an iron grip.
     My attacker wasn’t human.
     I slashed out with the silver knife and the hand retreated, leaving behind a searing pain in my calf where the creature’s talons had punctured flesh.  Working fast, I retrieved the wooden stake and, with a flick of the wrist, turned on my flashlight and tossed it into the shadows.  The flashlight spun, illuminating a crumpled heap near the iron grate and three vampires: one to my left, one to my right, and one scuttling along the ceiling like a cockroach.
     It was a goddamned ambush.
     I didn’t know if the woman crumpled on the ground was still alive or not.  Her cries had ceased, but there was nothing I could do for her at the moment.  I was too busy trying to stay alive.
     I spun to the left, slashing upward with the silver knife.  The vamp on the ceiling hissed and scuttled to the right, giving me some breathing room.  I shivered, my subconscious mind reeling in horror.  These vamps weren’t even bothering to maintain a glamour.  Instead of being drop dead gorgeous, these guys were just dead—as in mummified.
     Skin the color and texture of dried parchment was stretched tightly over skeletal bodies that moved with an insectile, alien grace, but their grinning faces were the worst.  I’ve seen a lot of monsters during my time as a Hunter, but there’s something about the fanged, rictus grin of a vampire that gives a girl chills—and not the romantic kind.
     As soon as a vampire dies its first death, their body begins to dehydrate.  It’s part of what makes them appear so monstrous in their true form.  There’s just something nauseating about seeing such a grotesque caricature of a human moving around animated with life.
     These vamps with their empty eye sockets and gaping sinus cavities were a prime example.  As a vampire’s body deteriorates, the soft tissue is the first to go, which makes for some butt ugly vampires.  Drinking blood helps, but nothing can fully restore life, not even necromancy.  Vamps are nothing more than dried up, walking corpses.
     Too bad their desiccated bodies don’t slow them down.
     If I was going to survive this, I’d have to out think my opponents.  I feigned a minor stumble, and the vamp on my left didn’t hesitate.  The monster lunged in, fangs bared, the hollow pits of his eyes intent on my jugular.  One, two, three…
     He closed the distance and I thrust the wooden stake up beneath his ribcage and into his chest cavity.  The vamp froze, completely paralyzed, and I knew I’d staked him through the heart.  It wouldn’t kill him, but it would keep him out of the fight until I had the time to finish him off—and add his fangs to my necklace.
     I grinned, showing my own small, white teeth.
     “Okay, boys,” I said.  “Who’s next?”
     I drew my sword, now glad I’d worn my hunting gear to my visit with the rusalka.  I’d had a feeling I might need my favorite blade.  I guess I was right.
     Lightning fast, the vamp struck.  One second he was circling to my right trying to flank me, and the next he was tearing away a chunk of my flesh.  The iron and silver coated steel boning of my corset deflected the worst of the attack, but one of his talons managed to slash through the space between.
     I heard the sizzle of his claws, knowing the silver was eating away at the tips of the talons that scored across my abdomen and flank.  I let out a satisfied grunt, but the zing of pleasure was premature.
     Hot blood leaked from my side and the two vampires shrieked in hunger.  Shit.  The blood was stirring them into a feeding frenzy.  I had to end this now, or I’d be the body they’d find in the canal tomorrow.
     I drove my sword through the air, separating the vampire’s head from his body.  The creature continued to cling to the ceiling for a moment, but when the head hit the cement with a meaty thud, both pieces of the beast burst into ash.
     The sound of the vamp’s falling head still echoed throughout the chamber beneath the bridge as ash fell like grisly snow.  The remaining vamp and I warily circled each other, searching for a weakness.  Vampires like to play with their food, but I didn’t kid myself.  Saliva was dripping from his elongated fangs and a leathery tongue darted out to lick dry, papery lips.
     If I gave this one the opportunity, he’d go straight for the kill.
     I struggled to keep my sword up and shifted my weight to allow for the wounds in my leg and side.  I swallowed hard and grit my teeth.  Every move tugged at the edges of the gash in my side, making it burn and bleed.
     My knuckles whitened as I increased the grip on my sword, readying for the kill.
     “Jenna!” a familiar voice cried out.  “Behind you!”
     I dropped to the ground and rolled, never hesitating.  As I came to my feet, I faced not one vamp, but two.  A female, judging from the sagging breasts, had joined the party.  I flicked my eyes to the ground where the “victim” had been curled up just moments before.
     The woman was gone.
     “You smell delicious, ma chérie,” said the female vampire.
     Oh yeah, this had been a trap from the very beginning.

Did you like the book excerpts?
Need more?  You can pre-order Hunting in Bruges now.

Hunting in Bruges, the first novel in the Hunters' Guild series by E.J. Stevens, releases into the wild November 11, 2014.

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Danielle Ellison.  Danielle is the author of The Boundless Trilogy (Follow Me Through Darkness) and the Salt series (Salt, Storm).

Q+A with Danielle Ellison
EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Danielle:  I started imagining when I was kid, and from there everything sort of took on it’s own life. I was a big reader, a big pretender, and I love shows. I started in fan fiction, then in playwriting, transformed into short literary fiction, and finally found my spot in young adult.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Danielle:  I think it was my love of a life that could be more with magic. I don’t write only paranormal, but I love to write to escape—which is the same reason I read. Nothing screams escape like the paranormal.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Danielle:  I want to teleport!! Which isn’t really magical, but I totally want it. I’d also settle for any sort of magic.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Danielle:  SALT was called "Buffy meets Charmed meets Supernatural” once  and as an avid television fan, that was a huge honor. I think Storm amps up all of that and it gets a little darker while still keeping the elements that people loved about SALT. Plus, it’s only $.99!

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Danielle:  I really like Cody Christian for Carter; he’s from Pretty Little Liars. And for Penelope, I like Maddie Hasson.



Storm (Salt #2) by Danielle Ellison.

Up until recently, Penelope was a witch with no magic. After having it stolen by a demon when she was just a child, Penelope had been forced to rely on sharing others’ powers as she went through the grueling training required to become an elite demon hunter. Now Penelope has more magic than she’s ever known. And when you’re this powerful, who needs salt to keep the demons away?

But power has a dark side.

Carter Prescott just wants to hunt demons and be with Penelope. But suddenly, witches who formerly had no magic are developing terrible, out-of-control powers. Now the world Carter swore to protect isn’t just endangered by malicious demons―it’s threatened by the same witches who once defended it. And Carter is horrified to see his girlfriend starting to change. Stronger. More powerful. Unrecognizable. It’s just a matter of time before Penelope changes into something far beyond his worst fears...

Release Date:  September 29, 2014
Genre:  Paranormal, Young Adult
Add to Goodreads.

Thank you Danielle for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Danielle Ellison and her books, please visit her website.

Congratulations to Melissa the winner of our Paranormal Road Trip: Destination Austin Giveaway at From the Shadows.  Melissa will receive a Keepin' it Weird Austin, Texas t-shirt.

Thank you to all who entered!

*Giveaway winner drawn randomly using Random.org*

Come on boys and ghouls!  It's time to hop on Route 666 for a spooktacular Paranormal Road Trip.  This week's stop is Detroit and our special guide is Laura Bickle author of the Anya Kalinczyk series.

The Anya Kalinczyk series is set in Detroit, Michigan so it seems fitting that our guide for this week's Paranormal Road Trip be the amazing Laura Bickle.  Let's see what terrifying places Laura has planned for our tour.

Detroit's Top Five Spooky Places
As Detroit is the setting for my Anya Kalinczyk series, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to explore spooky places in the Motor City. By day, Anya Kalinczyk is an arson investigator for the Detroit Fire Department. By night, she’s the rarest kind of spiritual medium, a Lantern. While other mediums allow spirits to use their hands and voices to communicate, Anya devours and incinerates them. With the help of her fire salamander familiar, Sparky, and an eccentric group of ghost hunters, Anya chases down unseen threats to her city.

Sparky and Anya have visited some of these chilling sites. Others are still on their bucket list. See what you think about some of these five spooky places in Detroit!

The Detroit Salt Mine. Unknown to many residents, a salt mine has stretched beneath the streets of Detroit for more than a century. The mine is vast (more than a hundred miles), cavernous, and smells like the sea. It’s easy to imagine that there are all kinds of light-averse creatures lurking in the dark. Anya and Sparky found a slumbering dragon in the depths of the mine, one that could devour the city if disturbed. What kinds of creatures might others find in this hidden underworld?

The Majestic. Many of Detroit’s speakeasies and bars date from the time of Prohibition, and a fair share of them are rumored to be haunted. The Majestic Theatre has been touted as the site where Harry Houdini gave his last performance (though there’s still some debate about that). Regardless, it’s rumored to be haunted by shadowy figures and ghostly applause. It’s still open for a variety of shows and one’s choice of food and spirits.

Northville Regional Psychiatric Hospital. If this site isn’t haunted, it should be. The abandoned psychiatric hospital sits on the outskirts of Detroit, crumbling in place, since 2003. Weeds grow through the pavement, and the mid-century disintegrating building makes me think of a post-apocalyptic landscape. Stories of madness and untimely deaths have peppered its history, and no one really knows how many patients passed through its on-site morgue.

Fort Wayne. A perennial favorite of ghost hunters, the historic fort has gathered a collection of restless apparitions, disembodied voices, slamming doors, and untraceable footsteps. Built in 1854, the site has a nest of underground tunnels and its own partially-excavated burial mound that’s over 900 years old.

Michigan Central Station. Once a busy hub for rail travel, this magnificent building has sunk into disrepair. It seems that very little glass remains in its beautiful façade, and the interior is little more than a shell of what it once was. Anya and Sparky have investigated Michigan Central Station, where they discovered that it’s a way station for ghosts traveling from our world to the spirit world beyond. Hopping the wrong train can take one to dark corners of the underworld.

Are there any spooky places in your local area that you’d like to share? Is there any place that you’ve visited that you’d bet your bottom dollar was haunted? Please share in the comments below!

Thank you Laura for giving us such a haunting tour of Detroit!  
To learn more about Laura Bickle and her books, please visit her website.  You can add the Anya Kalinczyk series here on Goodreads.




Readers, was this your first visit to Detroit?  Have you experienced anything supernatural in and around Detroit, Michigan?

What did you think of Laura Bickle's picks for spooky places?
Last week on Paranormal Road Trip we visited Tokyo, Japan with Steve Bein.  Next week we'll be traveling to Bruges, Belgium with E.J. Stevens (yep, that's me! *wink*).

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

Congratulations to Library Lady the winner of the World Zombie Day Giveaway at From the Shadows!  Library Lady will receive a Zombie Survival Mini Journal.


Thank you all for the fun discussion of what we'd bring with us during the Zombie Apocalypse.  I took notes, you know, just in case. 

*Giveaway winners selected randomly using Random.org*

It's time for our annual All Hallow's Read Giveaway!

All Hallow's Read Giveaway


Ghost Light (Ivy Granger #2) by E.J. Stevens

Ivy Granger, psychic detective, thought she'd seen it all...until now.

With a vengeful lamia that only she can see on the city streets, reports of specters walking Harborsmouth cemeteries, and an angry mob of faerie clients at her office door, it's bound to be a long night. Add in an offense against the faerie courts and a few foolish bargains and one thing is clear--Ivy Granger is in some seriously deep trouble.

Ivy Granger is back, gathering clues in the darkest shadows of downtown Harborsmouth. With the lives of multiple clients on the line, she's in a race against time. Ivy finally has a lead to the whereabouts of the one person who can help her control her wisp abilities, but will she put the needs of her clients above her own?

If Ivy doesn't find a solution soon, she could wind up a ghost herself.

We are giving away a GHOST LIGHT ebook to one lucky winner!
To enter, leave a comment on this post telling us about a spooky book that you love.  This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.  Ebook available in choice of Kindle, PDF, or ePub formats.  Giveaway ends November 7, 2014 midnight EST.

Good luck!

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Georgeann Swiger!  Georgeann is the author of The Trinity of Souls series (Adorned, Cloven).

Q+A with Georgeann Swiger
EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Georgeann:  I started out writing news stories at a television station. When I left TV to raise my family, I found something was missing from my life. I realized I missed writing. That’s when I started penning short stories as a hobby. I joined a local writers group and worked on my skills as a fiction writer. After I won an award for the original manuscript of Adorned, I decided to pursue being a serious writer. I queried agents and publishers and started learning the ropes of publishing into today’s marketplace.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Georgeann:  I love anything and everything paranormal. Even as a kid, I couldn’t wait for a good scary movie to come on television. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, you name it, I like it. When I decided to write a novel, something drew me to the world of angels. After researching these heavenly beings, I knew I wanted to play up the idea of the Heavenly Hierarchy that ranks angels according to their status and assigns them specific jobs. When I found out the angels in the group known as the Powers were Heaven’s soldiers, a story started to form in my mind. Who wouldn’t love to read about a heavenly soldier who is sent to Earth to watch over a new angel learning to be a guardian? It was perfect material for a forbidden romance.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Georgeann:  If I could be any paranormal creature, I would be a witch. A good witch. Like a fairy godmother that could cast a spell and make good things happen.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Georgeann:  Readers are going to love the characters in this story. Every one of them is flawed and has their own little set of quirks that make them unlike anything readers are used to in the paranormal world of angels. I think when readers finish Cloven, they’ll look at angels in a new way. The story mashes up the stereotypical images of Heaven and Hell and gives readers a new perspective of what these places are like.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Georgeann:  Anya really grows and comes into her own in Cloven. In Adorned, she’s a shy, quiet character that is a bit immature for her age. In Cloven, she doesn’t have time to be any of those things. The weight of the universe falls on her shoulders. She becomes tough, determined and fearless. For those reasons, I think in Cloven, Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr would be my ideal Anya.

When it comes to Micah, I have a poster that hangs by my desk that came from my hairdresser’s shop with is picture. I don’t have any idea of what the model’s name is. I’ve tried to research the photographer but haven’t been able to find anything about the model. I wish I could show you the picture, but it has a copyright. In my mind, nobody but the guy on the poster could be Micah. He’s cute, built and everything a heavenly soldier should be. ;)




Cloven (The Trinity of Souls #2) by Georgeann Swiger

What would you do if the only things standing between you and the angel you love were another angel and the fiery pits of Hell?

When Anya and Micah declare their love for each other, the battle for the souls of the star-crossed angels stretches across the heavens. With Heaven forbidding their love, Micah vows to protect Anya by sentencing himself to Hell.

But Anya won’t let him go without a fight. She goes into Hell after him, only to discover an angel from Micah’s past is willing to do anything to keep Micah in Hell.

With love and lies blinding Micah, Anya fights to get him to face his demons and return to Heaven, even if it means hearts will be broken.

The battle for the angels begins where it left off. Between Heaven and Hell is forbidden love.

Release Date:  October 21, 2014
Genre:  NA, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Add to Goodreads.

Thank you Georgeann for joining us here today at From the Shadows.

To learn more about Georgeann Swiger and her books, please visit her website.

Now, more than ever, safety is an issue for our community.  Bloggers and authors have become the recent victims of stalking and cyber bullying.  One author even went so far as to stalk a reviewer at her home and workplace, raising an important question.

What can bloggers do to remain safe?


While there is no one perfect solution, there are steps we can take to reduce the risk.  Here are a few blogging strategies for keeping safe.
Pseudonym:  Using a pseudonym/nickname/alias is a great way to protect your anonymity.  If you pick a pseudonym that works with your blog name or the topic of your blog, you'll be safer and you'll get bonus points for building your brand and increasing your blog's SEO.  A win win!Blog Email:  Setting up an email account for your blog is another way to keep your personal and blogging life separate.  If you incorporate your blog name into your email address, you'll again be helping to build your brand and your email addy will likely be much easier for your readers to remember. Phishing Scams:  Okay, if you took my advice, you now have a blog email address that is different from your personal email account.  Unfortunately, that doesn't mean your inbox is a safe place.  A good rule of thumb for email, as in life, is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  A stranger in Nigeria probably doesn't have a zillion dollars that they want to transfer to your bank account.  P.O. Box:  While there are sometimes restrictions on shipping to post office boxes, getting a P.O. box is still a good way to route most of your mail to a location other than your home or business.Ebook Only:  Book reviewers may also opt out of print copies (which must be mailed to a shipping address).  Most authors and publishers have ARCs in ebook format and sending is as simple as attaching to an email message (remember that blog email account we mentioned above?) or providing a download code.  With the rise of ereaders and the ease of loading reading apps, such as the free Kindle reading apps, to any computer, tablet, or smartphone, this option is available to more bloggers than ever before.Computer Security:  One strategy for keeping safe begins with protecting your computer from outside attack.  Protect your personal information (and your blog!) by keeping all of your programs updated and backed up.  Make a schedule for backing up your computer, and your blog, and update your programs on that day.  Picking a day of the week as your backup/update day is a great strategy.  Security Alerts:  It's also a smart idea to keep your finger on the pulse of computer security.  Scheduling regular updates is a great strategy, but sometimes you need to stay a step ahead of the bad guys.  One resource that I utilize is the US-CERT (Computer Emergency Readiness Team) website's email alerts and bulletins.  If you sign up, you can get free bulletins sent to your inbox letting you know whenever new software updates are released or about a new security threat (like Beast and Poodle).Check Privacy Settings:  Check your privacy settings on social networking sites.  Some, like Google+, will default to showing your birthday day and month.  (Note:  Many sites will return to these default settings when they've performed a significant system/site update.)  Information like that can potentially leave you open to identity theft and phishing scams.  My suggestion is to turn off any information that may make you vulnerable (real name, birthday, home address).  If you wouldn't want a crazy stalker to have it, turn the setting to private. Which leads me to my next suggestion...Gut Check:  Before you do anything online, listen to your gut.  If the thought of sending that email, posting that photo, or sharing your personal information with someone makes you queasy, DON'T DO IT.  You are not obligated to share more than you are comfortable with.Report Abuse:  If you are ever the target of bullying or stalking, let someone know.  If threats are made through a website or social network, report the person for abuse and for violation of the site's terms of service.  Most sites have a strict no tolerance policy for threatening behavior.  Abuse reporting will also begin a paper trail demonstrating a timeline of when the bullying/stalking began and that you attempted to take reasonable steps to make it stop.  If at any time you feel unsafe, contact your local authorities.Blogging Community:  While some of my strategies promote keeping certain personal details private, that doesn't mean you can't talk about your situation with other bloggers.  If you're having a problem, it's likely that someone else has been there too and can share a bit of what they've learned from their own experiences.  The blogging community is a wealth of information and most of us enjoy helping our fellow bloggers.  Don't believe me?  Take a look at my Twitter timeline for the past week.  The blogging community is filled with many amazing people who will help you, and stand by you.  All you have to do is ask.
Have you tried any of these above strategies for having a safer online presence?  If so, how have these strategies worked for you?

Do you have any suggestions for keeping safe?
Blogging is incredibly fun and being a blogger means being part of an AMAZING community.  I was saddened to hear that some people were giving up their love for blogging due to feeling unsafe.  If you know of a blogger who could benefit from the above blogging strategies for keeping safe, please share my strategies.  I'm also hoping that you will share your own ideas in the comments.  Stay safe and blog on!