BHSV–Interview w/ Sterling Packard by Carolyn Crane + SIGNED “Mind Games” Giveaway!

 

 

What? It’ s the end of June already? I’ ve been slaving away at my computer this summer, with the occasional walk outside. Writers tend to lead pretty boring - and busy - lives. That’ s why you don’ t see any reality shows with writers in them. We would just sit there in front of our computers.

HOWEVER, characters are another story. That’ s the thing about characters - most of them don’ t have jobs. Heck, they don’ t even do chores!

Do you see many characters doing laundry? Has Justine Jones ever once shaved her legs? Has Shelby ever cleaned a sink? Has Sterling Packard ever cleaned a cat litter box?

The answer is NO. Instead, these bums have endless free time to visit with each other and solve mysteries and get into trouble.

So instead of talking about my summer, I’ m going to ask Packard about his summer.

Hey Packard, what are you up to this summer?

Packard: Did you just call us bums?

Carolyn: Yes, but you know I didn’ t mean it. So what are you up to this summer?

Packard: I can’ t tell you, or I’ d ruin the series for readers. But I think, of all people, you know that I’ ve been up to things.

Carolyn: Yes, you have, haven’ t you? Do you want to give our readers a hint?

Packard: Big things.

Carolyn: * grins* Okay, let’ s talk about what you wish you were doing this summer. You have always loved beaches.

Packard: My ideal summer would definitely involve a beach, Carolyn.

Carolyn: Did you love beaches before you were trapped in the Mongolian Restaurant for 8 years?

Packard: No. Back then, I felt like beaches were more for families and young singles with frisbees, not so much for tortured masterminds.

Carolyn: Right, because what would a tortured mastermind wear to a beach? Plaid slacks with a
polyester sports coat? And unibomber sunglasses?

Packard: * long stony silence * If, in one of your books, you send me to a beach in plaid slacks with a polyester sports coat, and unibomber sunglasses, I will go on strike.

Carolyn: How about if I send Otto to the beach in that outfit?

Packard: * looks thoughtfully into the distance* I wouldn’ t stop you.

Carolyn: Do you know how to play frisbee? Or swim?

Packard: You know I don’ t. I might as well have been raised by wolves.

Carolyn: Right. My fault. And we all know who you WISH you could go to the beach with.

Packard: Yes you know who I wish to go to the beach with, don’ t you? I wish she was with me all the time. I’ m miserable without her. Happy? Carolyn, if you’ re feeling angry that you’ re spending this summer inside banging away at a keyboard, don’ t take it out on me by reminding me of things I desperately want but don’ t currently have.

Carolyn: Never mind, we’ re in no comment territory. What else? A beach ball. You would need a nice bright bouncy beach ball.

Packard: * total silence*

Carolyn: What if I found you a black beach ball? Would that be more appropriate for a tortured
mastermind?

Packard: No. But maybe a dog. I’ ve always wanted a dog.

Carolyn: Really? A dog?

Packard: I never had a dog of my own.

Carolyn: That’ s kind of sweet.

Packard: * shrugs *

Carolyn: * stares off thoughtfully, then rushes off to her laptop, leaving Packard brooding.*

***

Hey, have a great summer everybody, and Larissa, thanks so much for inviting me to the summer vacation event!

Goodies for all: In addition to the free copy of Mind Games up for grabs, I have a whole bunch of new trading cards.

Just email your snailmail address to:

carolyn@authorcarolyncrane.com

within the next week or so, and I’ ll send the entire set of 5 out to you. International: I have a few International stamps left, so try me. I’ ll send until I run out!

 

 

For more information about Carolyn Crane and her books, check out her website at

http://authorcarolyncrane.com

 

 

Win a SIGNED Copy of “Mind Games by Carolyn Crane!

 

To Enter:

 

Leave a comment about anything on this post

 

&

 

Fill Out THIS Form! 

 

INTERNATONAL!

 

Extra Entries in The Comments WILL NOT COUNT!

 

*please read my Contest policy*

Extra Entries:

• +50 Write a Blog Post about the event
• +25 Add the event button to your blog {Grab the Button HERE}
• +10 Google Friend Connect Follower {Follow Publicly}
• +10 Networked Blogs Follower
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• +7 Follow me on Twitter {@larissa_sarah}

• +5 “Like” Larissa's Life on Facebook
• +5 Be my friend on Goodreads
• +1 For spreading the word {+1 per link - Twitter, Facebook, etc – Please add links to the Form of the Giveaway you are entering}
• +1 Add all your entries! {including this one!}

 

 

Don’t Forget to Vote for the Theme for

My TOP 5 Sundays Post on the Poll at the left sidebar!

 

Check Out The OTHER BHSV GIVEAWAYS:

 

 

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Thanks so much for tuning in and I’ll see you soon!

xoxo,

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#UPDATED! Bookish Have Summer Vacation Event – Starts Now! – Posts/Giveaways Links + General Info!

 

 

The Event is Over, but All Giveaways are still open until JULY 15th!

GOOD LUCK!

 

 

Welcome to Bookish Haven Summer Vacation!

 

For those who missed our announcement post last month, Bookish Haven Summer Vacation is an event that I put together along with the ladies from Paranormal Haven.

The Event will run the entire month of June and We'll be celebrating the coming of Summer with guest posts and giveaways from some really great authors.

Not all posts {Here or at Paranormal Haven} will have a giveaway but each author put time into participating so we'd really appreciate you commenting even if there isn't a giveaway involved.

Before we get started, we need to go over the rules and guidelines for the event. Make sure you check Paranormal Haven as well because her rules are slightly different.

1. When entering a giveaway, pay attention to the instructions. They may be different depending upon the giveaway and/or blog you are entering the giveaway on.

2. Also make sure to pay close attention to the shipping on each giveaway. Some are open to US citizens only, others US/Canada and others will be open internationally.

3. You can enter as many event giveaways you want on Paranormal Haven or here on my blog. My Contest Policy applies to all event giveaways hosted on THIS blog. Please read before entering.

4. All giveaways on both blogs end on July 15th and winner’s will be announced on July 20th on the blog that hosted the giveaways. Winner’s will have 3 days to respond to our emails [or message me at larissa@larissaslife.com ] or another winner(s) will be chosen.

<center><a href="http://www.larissaslife.com/2011/05/bookish-have-summer-vacation-event.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h44/icyjezebel/Blog%20PIcs/BookishHavenSummerVacationeventbutton200pxwidth.png" border="0" alt="Event Button" width="100%"></a></center>

5. Extra Entries:

• +50 Write a Blog Post about the event
• +25 Add the event button to your blog {Linking to this post}
• +10 Google Friend Connect Follower {Follow Publicly}
• +10 Networked Blogs Follower
• +10 Subscribe to The Blog by Email {Form near the top of the Right Sidebar}
• +7 Follow me on Twitter {@larissa_sarah}

• +5 “Like” Larissa's Life on Facebook
  
• +5 Be my friend on Goodreads
  
• +1 For spreading the word {+1 per link - Twitter, Facebook, etc – Please add links to the Form of the Giveaway you are entering}
  
• +1 Add all your entries! {including this one!}

I will be updating this post daily with the most recent guest post information and which blog you'll be able to enter giveaways on.

 

6/1 – Jess Haines Guest Blog & Giveaway {International}

 

6/2 - Huge Giveaway w/ Adrian Phoenix {International}

 

6/3 - Kelly Gay Guest Blogs + Giveaway! {International}

 

6/4 - Interview and Giveaway with Sophia from Sophia by D.B. Reynolds {International}

 

6/5 - Laura Bickle Guest Blogs + Giveaway! {International}

 

- Seanan McGuire Guest Blogs + SIGNED Book Giveaway! {US Only}

 

6/6 - Guest post and giveaway from author Vivian Arend {International}

 

6/7 - Gini Koch Guest Blogs + SIGNED Book Giveaway! {International}

 

6/8 - Character interview and giveaway with D.J. Clayborne from The Darkness Beyond by Alexis Morgan {International Giveaway}

 

6/9 - BHSV – Dakota Banks' Guest Blog + SIGNED Book & 25$ Amazon GC Giveaway! {International}

 

6/10 - Character interview and giveaway with Lucas Simone from Never Cry Wolf by Cynthia Eden {International}

 

6/11 - Original Mira & Danaus Scene by Jocelynn Drake + Win 1/2 SIGNED Copies of “Wait For Dusk” Giveaway! {International}

 

6/12 - 10 things I love about summer by Zoë Sorensson from Flying Blind by Deborah Cooke

 

6/13 - Character/Author Interview by Michelle Rowen + 1/2 SIGNED Copies of “Bloodlust” Giveaway! {US/Canada Only}

 

- Paranormal Haven’s Guest Post + Signed Larissa Ione Book Giveaway! {International}

6/14 - Guest post and giveaway from author Karin Tabke {International}

6/15 - BHSV–Linda Robertson Guest Post + Signed Books Giveaway! {US Only - International}

6/16 - Guest post and giveaway from author Jill Myles {International}

6/17 - BHSV–Jeanne C. Stein Interview & 7 Signed Book Set + Swag Giveaway! {International}


- BHSV–Nancy Holzner Original “Deadtown” Story + Sea Glass Earrings Giveaway! {International}

 

6/18 - Giveaway from author Eve Langlais {International}

 

- Giveaway from author Jennifer Turner (including a $50 GC. Winner's choice!)  {International}

 

6/19 - Guest Post by Vicki Pettersson & SIGNED Copy of “Neon Graveyard” + NG Poker Chip Giveaway! {International}

 

6/20 - Guest post and giveaway from author Allyson James {International}

 

6/21 - #Updated / BHSV–Guest Post by ALPHA Reader + SIGNED “This Side of The Grave” or “Halfway to The Grave” by Jeaniene Frost Giveaway!

{International}

 

- Alice Clayton Guest Post + 1 of 3 "Redhead" Series eBook Sets Giveaway! {International}

 

6/22 - Guest post and giveaway from author Virna DePaul {International}

 

6/23 - BHSV–Missie, The Unread Reader Guest Post + Win A SIGNED “Taken by Midnight”, A “Kiss of Midnight” Audiobook & Bookmarks by Lara Adrian! {International}

 

6/24 - Interview and Giveaway with author Alyssa Day {International}

 

6/25 - Guest Post by Michele Bardsley + A 25$ Amazon Gift Card Giveaway! {International}

 

6/26 - Guest post and giveaway from author Alexandra Ivy {U.S. Only}

 

6/27 - Cullen Seabourne Guest Post + Copy of "Blood Challenge" by Eileen Wilks Giveaway! {International}

 

6/28 - Guest post and giveaway from author Dianne Sylvan {International}

 

6/29 - Interview w/ Sterling Packard by Carolyn Crane + SIGNED “Mind Games” Giveaway! {International}

 

6/30 - Guest Post & Giveaway from author Christina Henry {US/Canada Only}

 

 

Don’t Forget to Vote for the Theme for

My TOP 5 Sundays Post on the Poll at the left sidebar!

Check Out My Design Blog:

Great Anti-Piracy Badge Up for Grabs!

*Great Freebies Available!

 

&

Sign Up for…

Thanks so much for tuning in and I’ll see you soon!
xoxo,

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BHSV – Cullen Seabourne Guest Post + Copy of "Blood Challenge" by Eileen Wilks Giveaway!

 

Hey.  My name’s Cullen Seabourne.  Eileen asked me to do this blog thing for her—something about edits and a deadline, which means her brain isn’t working too well at the moment, and she doesn’t have time.  I said sure, no problem.  I’m only in the middle of a war, trying to find a cheap way to shield tech from magic, newly married  and a new father, so sure, I’ve got plenty of time to blog about summer.

            That’s what this is supposed to be about.  Something to do with summer.  But you already know all about summer.  Right now you’re either complaining about how damn hot it is or how it won’t stop raining or how it hasn’t rained.  You’re wishing you could go to the beach or the mountains or that some guy would call.  Or, if you’re a guy, you’re thinking about how last night went and how—shit, Eileen says I’m not supposed to write about sex.  How do I talk about summer without talking about sex?

            Never mind.  You don’t want to hear about summer anyway.  It’s hot.  It’ll stay hot awhile, then get cooler and we’ll call that fall.

            What you want to hear about is magic.  And I’ve got plenty to say about that.

            Eileen tells me you live in a realm almost exactly like mine, except that it’s really low on magic and there aren’t any lupi.  Big surprise.  Since mine is the only realm with lupi, I kinda knew that. Now, since you live in a low-magic realm, I know something about you.  Either you’re convinced that magic doesn’t exist and people who think it does are Looney Tunes, or you’re convinced it does exist and you can find great spells on the Internet.

            Stop that.  Just stop it.  First, you’re feeding the smug of the magic-isn’t-real crowd.  Second, do you have any idea how much trouble you can cause?  Sure, you live in a low-magic realm, so odds are 99 to 1 that even if you find a halfway decent spell, it won’t do anything.  But say you hit the magic lottery and the spell works,.  The odds of it doing what you—a completely untrained practitioner—want it to do shoot up to around a thousand to one.

            Magic is not electricity.  If you want to change out the light fixture over the sink, you don’t have to get your mind, body, and soul lined up with all the wiring in the house.  You just have to know about ground wires and shit like that.

            Magic is chaos in search of order.  It’s the balancing force to entropy.  Now, if you aren’t a physicist, you don’t have a clue what that means, and maybe you don’t care, but you aren’t going to understand anything about magic if you don’t understand this, so pay attention.  The first two laws of thermodynamics are the key.  First law:  the energy in a closed system remains constant. It may change form, but the amount stays the same.  Second law: energy always seeks equilibrium.  That’s entropy, and basically it means that things tend to go from highly ordered but unstable to disordered and stable.  Which leads, eventually, to the heat death of the universe.

            Or it would, without magic.  Entropy: order slides into disorder.  Magic: disorder slides into order.  See?

            Magic unbalances closed systems.  It starts out as pure chaos and is drawn into order.  Node energy is the most powerful form of magic—the most dangerous--and the most chaotic.  It gets soaked up by everything around it, becoming one of the elemental magics--Earth, Air, Fire, Water—which then becomes further ordered by whatever absorbs them.  Plants, for example, are the mildest, safest, most-ordered spell components around.  They combine minute amounts of all four of the elemental magics because they use earth, air, sun (fire), and water to grow, but they are not elemental magic.  They’ve ordered it beyond what it was before, so that the magic of a lavender blossom is very different from that in sage.  But it’s all so mild that in low-magic systems like yours, people can explain all the properties of herbs in scientific terms.  Or think they can.

            But even in its mildest, most orderly form, magic retains some of its chaotic nature.  Which means that if you don’t know what you’re doing, you are going to get results vastly different from what you want when you pull a damn spell of the damn Internet.  So don’t do that.  Ever.

            Especially quit looking for love spells, love charms, and all that rot.  They don’t exist.  Unless you’re an elf and able to cast a glamour, that is, and a glamour is not a spell.  It’s an innate ability, and it isn’t really love, anyway.  Attraction, infatuation, sexual fixation, sure.  Not love.  And you can’t do it.  You aren’t an elf.  How do I know that?  Because you’re in such a low-magic realm that even an elf can’t get there, or if he did, he couldn’t leave, and he’d probably kill himself if he had to try and live without magic.  So whoever you are, you aren’t sidhe, and you can give up on the damn love spells.

            It may be that you’re smart enough to be wondering how the hell, if your realm is so closed off to other realms, I could be blogging here on your Internet.  I bloody well don’t know, and Eileen won’t tell me.  It has something to do with her being a writer.  She says writers draw on other realms all the time, but she won’t explain what she means, though she claims it isn’t telepathy.  I bloody well hope not, since telepaths are all crazy.  Which, come to think of it, explains a lot.  She may be fooling herself about that part.

            She wants me to finish this up, which is fine, because I do have other things to do.  Oh, and she wants me to remind you to go buy her damn book or books or whatever.  Someone’s supposed to put up a link for that.

            So have a great summer, even if it is too hot or too rainy or whatever.  And don’t believe what you read on the Internet.

Check Out My Review of Blood Challenge!

 

 

For more information about Eileen Wilks and her books, check out her website at

www.eileenwilks.com

 

 

Win a Copy of "Blood Challenge" by Eileen Wilks!

 

 

To Enter:

 

Leave a comment about the summer, heat, Michele’s books, or whatever you want….

 

&

 

Fill Out THIS Form! 

 

INTERNATONAL!

 

Extra Entries in The Comments WILL NOT COUNT!

 

*please read my Contest policy*

Extra Entries:

• +50 Write a Blog Post about the event


• +25 Add the event button to your blog {Grab the Button HERE}


• +10 Google Friend Connect Follower {Follow Publicly}


• +10 Networked Blogs Follower


• +10 Subscribe to The Blog by Email {Form near the top of the Right Sidebar}


• +7 Follow me on Twitter {@larissa_sarah}

• +5 “Like” Larissa's Life on Facebook


• +5 Be my friend on Goodreads


• +1 For spreading the word {+1 per link - Twitter, Facebook, etc – Please add links to the Form of the Giveaway you are entering}


• +1 Add all your entries! {including this one!}

Don’t Forget to Vote for the Theme for

My TOP 5 Sundays Post on the Poll at the left sidebar!

 

Check Out The OTHER BHSV GIVEAWAYS:

 

 

Check Out My Design Blog:

 

Great Anti-Piracy Badge Up for Grabs!

*Great Freebies Available!

 

Sign Up for…

 

Thanks so much for tuning in and I’ll see you soon!

xoxo,

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BHSV – Guest Post by Michele Bardsley + A 25$ Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

 

Summer! Now with More Heat!

By Michele Bardsley

Well, once again it’s summer in Texas (and it happens every year … go figure). Well, I guess it’s summertime all over the United States, but I can’t really speak to the kinds of  summers that people not in Texas are having. I assume, however, that Alaska still has  a glacier or two that calorifacient (um, a big ol’ fancy word that means “really damned
hot”) residents can roll around on naked.

That’s what I’d do.

You’re welcome for that visual.

What were we talking about?

Oh, right. It’s freaking hot. Now, sometimes when people talk about June or July or even August, they probably don’t refer to any of those months as “the time when the bowels of hell opened up and exuded its foul sulfuric breath upon the land.” Maybe we just say that in Texas (and parts of Oklahoma).

Well, I suppose I can do more during the summer than complain about the heat. So long as I stay in the air conditioning along with a big, cold drink (ice, ice, baby) then I don’t even think about the heat. Much. You know what makes the summer goes faster?

Books. And you know which books are awesome summer reads? Mine. Okay, that may sound vain, but I’m hot, people. It makes me cranky. And also, vain. But let’s forget all that and talk about my books.

For instance, let’s draw attention to my Broken Heart books. (Hot summer reads! Wait. Too much? Yeah. Too much.) The eighth novel in the series, MUST LOVE LYCANS, comes out in September. Okay, that isn’t exactly summer, except in Texas where it’s always freaking summer. Except maybe a couple days in December. Maybe.

Anyway. The book isn’t actually set during the summer time. But who cares, right? It’s got a sexy werewolf, a psychotherapist empath, goddesses, vampires, Broken Heart action, and a big ol’ castle in Germany.

So, you know, a hot read. Hah.

Leave a comment about the summer, heat, my books, or whatever you want and you’ll be entered to win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com. I suggest you buy books. Or a fan. Or a ticket to Alaska.

 

 

For more information about Michele Bardsley and her books, check out her website at

www.michelebardsley.com

 

 

BHSV – Win a 25$ Amazon Gift Card from Michele Bardsley!

 

 

To Enter:

 

Leave a comment about the summer, heat, Michele’s books, or whatever you want….

 

&

 

Fill Out THIS Form! 

 

INTERNATONAL!

 

Extra Entries in The Comments WILL NOT COUNT!

 

*please read my Contest policy*

Extra Entries:

• +50 Write a Blog Post about the event
• +25 Add the event button to your blog {Grab the Button HERE}
• +10 Google Friend Connect Follower {Follow Publicly}
• +10 Networked Blogs Follower
• +10 Subscribe to The Blog by Email {Form near the top of the Right Sidebar}
• +7 Follow me on Twitter {@larissa_sarah}

• +5 “Like” Larissa's Life on Facebook
• +5 Be my friend on Goodreads
• +1 For spreading the word {+1 per link - Twitter, Facebook, etc – Please add links to the Form of the Giveaway you are entering}
• +1 Add all your entries! {including this one!}

 

 

Don’t Forget to Vote for the Theme for

My TOP 5 Sundays Post on the Poll at the left sidebar!

 

Check Out The OTHER BHSV GIVEAWAYS:

 

 

Check Out My Design Blog:

 

Great Anti-Piracy Badge Up for Grabs!

*Great Freebies Available!

 

Sign Up for…

 

Thanks so much for tuning in and I’ll see you soon!

xoxo,

Read more...