Showing posts with label paranormal fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paranormal fiction. Show all posts

Monday, December 29, 2014

Book Review: The Graveyard Book Volume 1

The Graveyard Book Volume 1The Graveyard Book Volume 1 by P. Craig Russell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nobody Owens (or “Bod” for short) seems like a mischievous young boy in the manner of Huckleberry Finn. Bod loves to explore. He’s curious about the people and the world around him. He gets himself into serious trouble from time to time and has to use his wits and tenacity to extricate himself from danger. The real difference between him and a normal boy? Bod is a human child who dwells in a graveyard with ghosts for adopted parents and a tall, dark guardian, Silas, who is neither living nor dead.

But can Bod’s extended graveyard family keep him safe? Silas provides food and clothing since he can roam outside the gates at night. Mr. and Mrs. Owens give Bod a home in their crypt, as well as love and discipline. Miss Lupescu’s lessons in paranormal creatures and Mr. Pennyworth’s lessons in fading from view like a ghost come in handy when Bod deals with evil ghouls and greedy humans searching after buried treasures. A friendly witch Liza buried right outside the graveyard gives him tips as well, and Bod repays her in kind by giving her the headstone she never had.

Neil Gaiman’s Newberry Medal-winning The Graveyard Book has been beautifully adapted to graphic novel form by illustrator P. Craig Russell. The first volume of the fantasy series features seven excellent illustrators with five chapters and a cliff-hanging interlude that leaves the reader dangling as to whether Bod’s ultimate fate will be among the living or the dead. Volume 2 can’t come soon enough!

View all my reviews

Friday, May 16, 2014

Red Hot Excerpt from The Vampire Next Door


  WARNING: This is an adult excerpt from The Vampire Next Door, now available at eXtasy Books!


The Vampire Next Door
by Celine Chatillon
180 pages
http://www.extasybooks.com/the-vampire-next-door/

The vampire Valentine Drakul longs for a mate, someone to share eternity with who won’t be totally grossed out living on a diet of steak tartare. Could the sexy girl living upstairs fulfill his every fantasy? 

    Melynda Kerpanik got the heck out of Dodge and ended up in St. Louis working for her cousin as an interior decorator. But will her career plans take a backseat to her curiosity about things that “go bump in the night”?


    A deadly foe ensnares Mel in his evil plot to rid the world of Kindred vampire race… Can Val save the mortal woman he loves without transforming her into the eternally lonely being he’s become?



Excerpt: Val and Melynda meet up in an alleyway...


She began to kiss his chin and face over and over again, stroking his shoulders and pecs, pressing her warm, womanly curves tight against his muscular frame. Val sighed and relaxed, pulling her deeper into the shadows with him. Leaning against the brick building brought back memories of other secret lovers’ rendezvous long ago on deserted streets and in back alleys. His cock grew hard, throbbing at the thrill of getting caught in the act.


Hmm, Melynda, have you ever…?”


Ever?” She paused her assault on his senses and smiled. “Have I ever done it under the moonlight in some back alleyway, you mean?”


Exactly.” He lowered one dress strap and then another, lowering his lips to each nipple, licking it to full attention. “No one will see us here and the nearest occupied house is a block over.”


She chuckled. “I promise not to shout if you won’t.”



No promise.”


Val squeezed her buttocks, rubbing the bulge in his pants against her pussy covered only by the thinnest of cloth. She threw back her head, and a low moan escaped her lithe, lovely throat. He fought off the urge to sink his fangs into the smooth, white flesh and partake of the life-giving liquid contained within.


Mel would give of herself in a human manner, the manner he had always desired to enjoy without corrupting it with his people’s ancient curse. He had vowed to act human, or at least as close an approximation to humanity as he could attain.


He pushed up her skirt and pulled her thong down, greedily fondling her clit. She was hot and wet and ready for the taking. As if reading his mind, she undid his jeans zipper and yanked his pants all the way down to his ankles.


Hmm, I didn’t have any dessert tonight, by the way.” Mel knelt and nibbled his stiffening cock through the silky material of his boxers before removing the barrier and tantalizing the red, engorged head with her tongue. “Delicious.”


He groaned. The cool brick on his backside and the hot breath of his lover on his cock drove him to distraction. If he wasn’t careful, the neighbors would hear them. “I know someone else who’s finger-lickin’ good.”


Val pulled Mel to her feet, simultaneously plunging a tongue into her mouth and a digit deep into her eager pussy. She squealed in delight. He backed her up against the first step of the stoop and laid her down, continuing his assault on her cunt. As their kiss deepened she wrapped her legs about him and speared herself on his erection, drawing it deep within her.


He lifted her up as easily as she were a phantom without substance and took her deeper into the shadows, pinning her against the cool brick wall with his hot cock, madly ramming it harder and harder into her eager pussy. His mind went blank and his canines extended. He lightly raked them against the tender flesh of shoulders, drinking in the perfume of her blood. He teetered close to the edge of insanity.


Mel sighed. “Oh, Val, you know exactly how I like it—fast and hard. And that is the most wonderful sensation on my neck. Bite me, will you?”


His head instantly cleared. “What did you say?”


I said give me a hickey. It won’t show if I wear a turtleneck for the next week or so. You’re driving me crazy with your nibbling. And I’m about to… I will if you…”


Melynda, I can’t bite you. If I did, I’d…” He couldn’t say the words I wouldn’t stop until I had drained you of all your blood.


Hmm, that’s okay. Just gum me a little harder.”


Drink, drink! She’s offering herself to you, a willing victim.


The Vampire Next Door, book 4 in the Kindred Vampire series, is now available at eXtasy Books:
http://www.extasybooks.com/the-vampire-next-door/

Monday, April 28, 2014

It's almost time to sink your teeth into... The Vampire Next Door!


Coming May 15th from eXtasy Books... The Vampire Next Door

Book 4 in the Kindred Vampires series is a contemporary tale of a divorcee who moves to the big city and discovers her handsome "night owl" neighbor is more than just sexy and handsome--he's a vampire!

 The Vampire Next Door
http://www.extasybooks.com

Valentine Drakul longs for a mate, someone to share eternity with who won’t be totally grossed out living on a diet of steak tartare. Could the sexy girl living upstairs fulfill his every fantasy?

Melynda Kerpanik got the heck out of Dodge and ended up in St. Louis working for her cousin as an interior decorator. But will her career plans take a backseat to her curiosity about things that “go bump in the night”?

A deadly foe ensnares Mel in his evil plot to rid the world of Kindred race... Can Val save the mortal woman he loves without transforming her into the eternally lonely being he's become?



(I hope to see you at Marcon May 9 - 11 in Columbus, Ohio! This is our first time at Marcon, so be sure to say hello and help us find our way around.) 

Saturday, September 01, 2012

Blood Bond now available at eXtasy Books




Blood Bond

(Book 2 in the Kindred vampire series)

from eXtasy Books

Edwin travels to Liverpool and discovers desire in the arms of the wildly sensual Ophelia and her darkly exotic employer known simply as Hamlet. When a vampire hunter threatens to destroy Hamlet, the three lovers’ blood bond is tested. Will Edwin be able to save his Kindred sire and return home in time to see the 1904 World’s Fair?

Warning: This tale contains menage scenes, m/f/m and m/m/f.


 Edwin's first experience with the vampire...

“Relax, it only hurts a little,” she murmured in Edwin’s ear as she stroked his head and shoulders from behind. “What you feel later more than makes up for it.”
“But will I…will I have to drink blood after I am…initiated?”
“Don’t worry, Edwin. I promise it will be many years before either you or Ophelia will need to seek your sustenance in such a manner.” Hamlet kissed his cheek. “Are you ready?”
Edwin nodded. Closing his eyes, he turned his head slightly to give Hamlet easier access. He felt a momentary pinch and then…
Ecstasy! Overwhelming warmth flooded his veins as colors exploded in his mind and a feeling of euphoria lifted him from the bed to the skies. He was flying free from the confines of his body. He soared above the clouds…heading into the stars.
“Wonderful, isn’t it?” Ophelia giggled and clapped her hands. “I wish I could experience it more often, but Hamlet says it’s even better once you’re on the receiving end.”
He opened his eyes slowly. Still light-headed, Edwin observed the gaze of mutual pleasure in Hamlet’s dark eyes. His sensual lips glistened with tint of red. Instead of horror or aversion, Edwin felt complete peace and contentment.
“Thank you.” Without hesitation Edwin pulled Hamlet's lips to his and kissed him.


 Blood Bond available now at eXtasy! http://www.extasybooks.com/blood-bond

More excerpts to come! (Let me know in the comments below what kind of excerpt you'd like to read.)

Friday, July 06, 2012

Trying to Find Humor in the Heatwave





Getting ready for the parade...
  It's next to impossible to smile on a day when it's 95 degrees Fahrenheit at 9 o'clock in the morning. It's next to impossible to get excited about it being mid-summer when the forecast says the high today will be 109 F with a heat index of 115 F. It's hard to even think about tomorrow when the guy on the radio says tomorrow's temperatures are suppose to be worse.


I mean, my insides literally feel like they're baking themselves into haggis. How much worse can it get?


At least we still have electricity and somewhat of an air conditioner and box/ceiling fans. We're blessed compared to many who lost power in the recent storms. But still, I'm praying for rain and looking toward the skies and sighing a lot. When? When will it rain or at least cool down to say... 92 F?



Still, I've tried to find a little fun in all this sweltering heat. Independence Day started out in the mid-80s, so I figured I could make it through a two mile jaunt called the Webster Groves Independence Day Parade. I didn't go it alone, of course, as I accompanied the Greater St. Louis Ghostbusters along the route. We passed out candy and flyers for the upcoming unofficially first-ever Ghostbusters sci-fi con, Ecto Con.


Check it out. You know you want to... I promise, it will take your mind off the heat. Who you gonna call? I hope not the A/C repair guys but the Ghostbusters!

Thursday, March 01, 2012

A small bite from BLOOD BETRAYAL

I admit it--I was totally caught off guard by my book's early release. I'll be blogging about the poll results from last week in a few days, but for the moment, here's a small bite from BLOOD BETRAYAL...

Blood Betrayal (A Kindred Vampire Tale)
by Celine Chatillon
ISBN # 978-1-77111-124-9

eXtasy Books
http://www.extasybooks.com/blood-betrayal-4/


She gently caressed his cheek, then wound her fingers through his shoulder-length black hair. “I don’t want to go. I must go. I hope you understand.”



“I understand.”


The words came easily to him, but the emotions behind them did not. He wanted her to stay. For the first time in a millennium Vladimir Drakul felt close to a woman—to this woman. He felt more than just the hunger to satisfy his physical needs and…nutritional requirements. His brain had been engaged by Sofia’s sophistication and depth of knowledge, his heart engaged by her unselfish giving and receiving in matters of love.


Yes, even loners like the Kindred desired intimacy with others at times. The object of affection did not have to be of their kind—in fact sometimes it was better when it came to expressing their sexuality fully. Many of his kind had simply forgotten they possessed genitalia and the soul-stirring sensations that could be engendered there. Vlad was glad he was not one of them.


“We’ll still have this weekend together, won’t we?” he said, raising an eyebrow.


She looked him straight in the eyes, slowly lowering the sheet to reveal her glorious form to him. “Yes, we do. Let’s make the most of it, shall we?”


  A longer excerpt is posted at Goodreads.
 
To find out more about the Kindred, read my blog posting at the Essence of eXtasy Blog:
http://extasybooks.net/essenceofextasy/?p=858
 
(You can see why I got caught off guard by two weeks!) ;)