Giveaway & Interview with New York Times & USA Today's Bestselling author Allyson James

Series: Book One of a new Contemp. Fantasy / Paranormal Romance series.

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Berkley Sensations

Format: Mass-Market Paperbacks

Release Date: May 2010

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Cast of Characters
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Half-Navajo Janet Begay comes to Magellan to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the police chief's daughter. But the people of Magellan sense that Janet is not what she seems, and they're right.

Janet possesses extraordinary power which is tied to the storms that waft across the desert. The only person who can control her when she's caught in the storm's evocative power is Mick, a dark-haired, blue-eyed biker Janet can't seem to touch with her powers. He can wield fire and not get burned, and Janet's never sure where he goes when they're not together.

Together they investigate mysterious disappearances, which Janet fears are tied to her mother's people, the mythical gods from below the earth. They are helped along the way by Coyote and Crow, but these shapeshifting gods have their own agendas.

Get to know the Author of the Day.

Over the Edge Book Reviews

Questions with

New York TImes  & USA Today's Bestselling

Author

Allyson James

1.  Name one eye-opening thing you learned from your book research.

I’m not sure if this qualifies, but it surprised me. My new series, Stormwalker, is set in a fictional small town in northern Arizona. I made up the fact that a railroad ran through it a hundred years ago, connecting northern Arizona with the mining towns in the mountains to the south. In my story, the railroad went bankrupt and ceased, the rails and ties long ago taken away. It seemed plausible.


While continuing my research I found mention of an abandoned railroad tunnel in the mountains south of where I set my fictional town. This tunnel was to have been for a railroad that connected nearby mining towns to Flagstaff (in northern AZ), following a line very close to the one I’d made up for my railroad. The railroad company had started it then went bankrupt. I hadn’t known about this, because the company didn’t last very long, and no rails were ever laid (the railroad tunnel is the only thing left). However, that railroad started about the same time my fictional one did, it ran very close to where I’d put mine, and went bankrupt close to the time mine did.


Very weird to realize my made up history was so close to the real one! Did I channel that?


2. Do you have a favorite fictional hero? Favorite fictional heroine?

My favorites change from year to year. Right now, my favorite fictional hero is Michael from Burn Notice; heroine is of course Fiona from the same show. I love a kick-butt woman who can be also be beautiful and sexy and love shopping for shoes.

3.  What is one of your favorite book covers, your own or someone else’s?

As both Jennifer Ashley and Allyson James, I’ve had some great book covers. I love what Berkley has done with my new series, Stormwalker. The cover for Stormwalker has a great mood to it, and Firewalker rocks. You can’t see it on the jpg, but the fire has a metallic tone to it, and it shimmers when you move it. Beautiful!

4. What would readers be surprised to learn about you?

How laid-back I am. Romance writers these days are supposed to wear business suits and go to power lunches, but I’m much more at home in casual and comfortable clothes, maybe dressed up with semiprecious stones. I’ll take sipping a leisurely iced tea on a patio over a power lunch. Put me in a broomstick skirt with sandals, and I’m happy. This preference might come from living so long in the Southwest (it’s hot and we dress for it). :-)

5.  Allyson, please tell us more about your recent release, “STORMWALKER.”

Stormwalker takes place in a small town in the high desert near the Navajo Nation. The heroine, Janet Begay, is a Stormwalker, meaning she can channel nearby storms and use them to work powerful magic (they can be thunderstorms, rainstorms, dust storms, blizzards…). She’s also the daughter of a goddess from the shell world Beneath—except that her mother is an evil bitch-queen from hell, and Janet doesn’t want a family reunion.


Janet has a boyfriend, Mick, a Firewalker who looks like a bad-ass biker. Mick is the only one who can take Janet’s Stormwalker power and calm her down, he wields fire, and teaches Janet how to control her turbulent magic.


Janet is joined by a cast of characters including Coyote the trickster god, a cranky young sheriff certain Janet’s up to no good, and a bi-sexual magic mirror.

The adventures continue in Firewalker (Berkley, Nov. 2010), where we find out more about Mick and other Firewalkers, and the new evil that comes to town.


6. Which do you find is most important to you as a writer, voice or story? Why?

I think it’s important to match voice with story, and I believe that voice can get in the way of storytelling if you’re not careful. On the other hand, I’ve read terrific stories that shine through regardless of voice. But then, it’s likely the author got the voice just right, because I wasn’t noticing it. Voice is a tricky thing!

7. Allyson, please tell us where we can find you out in cyber world. For desperate readers like me, we just have to know…:)

My main website is http://www.allysonjames.com/ On that site you can find my current and forthcoming books, excerpts, and pages dedicated to the Stormwalker series.


From allysonjames.com you can connect to my Jennifer Ashley website, plus all my social networking sites (check the right-hand menu). I’m on Facebook as Jennifer Ashley/Allyson James and Twitter as JennAllyson.


8.  I know this is a difficult question with there being so many amazing authors out there to choose from but who are some of the GOT-TO-HAVE authors in your TBR pile?

As Allyson James I’ll focus on paranormal/scifi: I’m loving the urban fantasies of Ilona Andrews, Charlaine Harris, Carrie Vaughan, and Patricia Briggs. Staying in fantasy, I like the dragon series by Naomi Novik. I’m also a big fan of Lois McMaster Bujold’s scifi series (Miles Vorkosigan)—great world building and character development plus action/adventure. She’s got the touch.

9. What’s next in the works for you? When can readers expect to see it out on shelves in their local bookstores?

The next Stormwalker book is Firewalker, out in November 2010 from Berkley. The next in the series, Shadowwalker, will be out next June. In addition, Janet and friends will have an adventure in an anthology called Hexed, out next summer (with Ilona Andrews, one of my must-read authors!)

I’d like to thank Allyson James for stopping by and spending time with us, it’s been a blast getting to know more about you and your books. I wish you all the best and much success in everything you do. :)

Thanks for inviting me! It’s always fun.

*Giveaway*

Two randomly selected commenters will win a copy of "Stormwalker", book one in New York Times & USA Today's Bestselling author Allyson James' new contemporary fantasy series with a Native American twist series by Berkley Sensation . To enter here are a few simple rules.

* +2 Leave a comment for Allyson James including email.
* +2 Spread the Word! ( this means go out into cyber world and post it on any network sites that your are a member of, or on your blog or website. +2 Then come back and leave a link so I can verify the post.)
* Become a follower of Over The Edge! (+3 Already a follower--You ROCK! +2 Become a follower.)

The giveaway is open to all and will be running until August 1, 2010. I'll be picking and contacting the winner directly on August 2, 2010. Please make sure to include your email with your comment. Happy Reading!

Giveaway & Interview with New York Times Bestselling Author Brenda Novak

Series: Book One, Dept.6 Hired Guns Series

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Mira

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Release Date: July 27, 2010

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Paradise? In name only…

Nate Ferrentino and Rachel Jessop are operatives for Department 6, a private security company, and they’re going undercover to expose a new and dangerous cult.

This group has taken up residence in the Arizona desert, in a ghost town called Paradise. Members worship at the feet—and in the bed--of its charismatic leader, Ethan Wycliff. On his orders, they tried to stone a woman to death. And they’re implicated in the disappearance of a teenage girl.

To expose the Church of the Covenant, with its arcane rituals and debauched practices, Nate and Rachel must pretend to be married. That’s the only way they can get in—but being Nate’s “wife” is the last thing Rachel wants. She and Nate have a one-night history that’s just an embarrassment to her now. But they don’t have a choice. Wycliff has to be

Read excerpt.
Get to know the Author of the Day.

OVER THE EDGE BOOK REVIEWS

QUESTIONS WITH

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING

AUTHOR

BRENDA NOVAK

It fascinates me, the different paths writers take to publication. Will you tell us about your journey as a writer? When you started were there any big milestones? What was your first book?

I never dreamed I’d be a writer! I caught my daycare provider drugging my children (I have five now, had only three then) with cough syrup to get them to sleep so she could watch soap operas all day. :-/ After that I quit my job as a loan officer and decided I had to do something at home. I wasn’t sure what that something would be, but I was reading a good book at the time and thought, “Maybe I could write a novel!” The idea was born—but success didn’t come immediately. It took me five years to do the research (it was a historical entitled OF NOBLE BIRTH) and teach myself the craft. I was lucky enough to sell that first book, however. HarperCollins picked it up in 1998 and it was released in November 1999.

Unfortunately, my editor was fired when Harper merged with Avon (this was before my book even came out) so I might’ve been a one-book wonder if not for Paula Eykelhof. Paula is my current editor. I met her at a small, regional conference and was so impressed that I wanted to write for her. She was in charge of Harlequin’s Superromance line at that point, so I began to create some proposals I thought she might like. Fortunately, she did like them and the rest is “history,” as they say. We’ve now done nearly 40 books together—and have branched out beyond the straight romances in Supers to do the bigger single title suspense books.

2. What is a typical work day for you?

Simply put, I work all day. LOL The only thing I stop for is my family. When they’re again busy or at some function, I head back to the computer. I think it’s surprising how much time the “business” side of writing takes. I wasn’t prepared for that. Fortunately, I love sales and marketing because it plays a huge role in my life.

3. For some writers research is a pain they’re forced to endure, and for others it’s their favorite part. What about you?

I love the research. I’ve learned so many interesting things. And it’s often tidbits I find while research that gets my imagination churning with a new books idea. In BODY HEAT, I had to research the whole illegal border crossing issue, and it was so different from what I’d imagined. I found it all fascinating.

4. Are you a creature of habit, needing a routine to write? Or are adaptable to write when and wherever the mood strikes?

I’m generally a creature of habit, but I’ve learned to be more adaptable. My deadlines are so tight these days that I can’t afford to be finicky! LOL

5. Do you have any advice for new writers—maybe things that you’ve learned through trial and error?

Just one word: Believe. No two paths are alike. People are different. Publishing is evolving and changing. But if you believe in yourself and what you do you’ll find a way to make it relevant and achieve success.

6. Other than writing, what do you love to do?

Other than spend time with family and friends, I love to travel, eat out, see movies, read. I also love to work on my annual online auction for diabetes research. In the six years I’ve been running it, we’ve raised over $1 million. Now I can’t wait to reach $2 million!

7. Please tell us more about you first installment in your DEPARTMENT 6 Trilogy, “WHITE HEAT”.

In WHITE HEAT, Nate Ferrentino and Rachel Jessop, two members of Department 6, are hired to infiltrate a dangerous cult that has recently settled in the former ghost town of Paradise, Arizona. Members of this cult worship at the feet—and in the bed--of its charismatic leader, Ethan Wycliff. But with one woman claiming to have been stoned, and another missing, Wycliff might be more of a devil than the prophet he claims to be….

8. What was your inspiration for DEPARTMENT 6 Trilogy? Why only three books? Will there be a spin-off series from DPT. 6?

I’m not sure what my inspiration was. I was just thinking one night how interesting it would be if there was something like Blackwater that operated inside the US. I could easily imagine the hot men who would work for such an operation and how these hot men could specialize in undercover operations to help the DEA and other policing entities and off my imagination went. LOL

There are only three books because there are so many fans who don’t like to wait a whole year for more books in a series. I figured I’d give them a break this year and end it after 1, 2, 3!

9. In the series of DEPARTMENT 6 Trilogy did you have a favorite character? Did you find that there was one character over the other that was more intriguing to write than the others?

I particularly liked Roderick Guererro, the hero from BODY HEAT. He has a very interesting background and it has created a hard on the outside but soft on the inside type of guy—always my favorite.

10. What’s up next for you and when can we look forward to seeing it out in our bookstores?

I’ll have three books out next summer, too—INSIDE, IN SECONDS & IN CLOSE. They’ll be released end of June, end of August and end of October.

As always Brenda it is a delight to have you drop by and chat with me and my readers here at Over the Edge Book Reviews. :)

Thank you!! Also, I wanted to tell you about a fun partnership that mixes romance and beauty--WHITE HEAT LIP GLOSS

Three Custom Color Specialists has created a lip gloss just for me—and the name of the shade? WHITE HEAT! Lip gloss is the one beauty essential I can't live without, so you can imagine how pleased I am to have found a company that can customize shades. A sheer and sexy hot pink lip gloss with silver-white and opalescent shimmer, WHITE HEAT is perfect for revving up your favorite lip shade with sparkle and shine. Available in Three Custom Color Specialists’ swing-out lip gloss pot. Apply with your finger or favorite lip brush. ($21.50) You can purchase it at http://www.threecustom.com/

*Giveaway*

Two randomly selected commenters will win a copy of "White Heat", book one in New York Times Bestselling author Brenda Novak's new Dept. 6 Hired Gun series by MIRA . To enter here are a few simple rules.

* +2 Leave a comment for Brenda Novak including email.
* +2 Spread the Word! ( this means go out into cyber world and post it on any network sites that your are a member of, or on your blog or website. +2 Then come back and leave a link so I can verify the post.)
* Become a follower of Over The Edge! (+3 Already a follower--You ROCK! +2 Become a follower.)

The giveaway is open to all and will be running until August 1, 2010. I'll be picking and contacting the winner directly on August 2, 2010. Please make sure to include your email with your comment. Happy Reading!

Giveaway & Interview with New York Times Bestselling Author of "The Homecoming" JoAnn Ross

Series: Shelter Bay, Book 1

Genre: Contemporary Romance/ Fiction

Release Date: July 6, 2010

Publisher: NAL Signet

ISBN-10: 0451230671

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Your first love never really fades away.

Former Navy SEAL Sax Douchett has returned home to the small coastal town of Shelter Bay, Oregon, determined to put war behind him and get on with his life—which is easier said than done when everyone is hailing the former bad boy as a local hero. Adjusting to a new beginning becomes even more difficult when he unearths a long-buried secret that, in turn, reunites him with a cherished part of his past that he’s never forgotten.

Drawn back into his life is Sheriff Kara Conway, his best friend’s girl for a long as he can remember---a girl who always held a special place in Sax’s heart. But as he cautiously reconnects with Kara and bonds with her young son, another long-held secret in Shelter Bay threatens their second chance at a forever-after love.

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Watch Trailer.



Get to know the Author of the Day.

Over the Edge Book Reviews

Questions with

New York Times Bestselling

Author

JoAnn Ross

1. What is the best part of being a writer? What is the worst?

The best part of being a writer is being able to share my stories with readers I’ll probably never meet in person. Second best part is that people actually are willing to pay me to tell them a story, which allows me to live my dream life. How cool is that?


I haven’t found a worst part yet. But I’ve only been published twenty-eight years. Can I get back to you on that?



2.  Name one eye-opening thing you learned from your book research.


That’s difficult, since I love research. Having changed majors in college five times, beginning each new book is like changing majors yet again. I will say the most important to me was discovering Soldiers Angels while researching my High Risk stories.


Soldiers’ Angels is a military support organization, that among other activities, also allows people to “adopt” an individual military men or women during their deployment. We’ve adopted soldiers (currently a female soldier in Iraq), a sailor, and an airman. Having two nephews who’ve served multiple tours in Iraq and one who’s currently a medevac in Afghanistan, I know how important cards, letters, and packages from home are. Also, while researching Shattered, High Risk #3, I discovered the Marine Graduation Foundation, which helps families who couldn’t otherwise afford their new Marine’s graduation. Their motto is So No New Marine Stands alone.

3.  Do you have a favorite motto?

Actually, I do. “If little children don’t die of it, it can’t be that important.” Although it’s admittedly at times difficult to embrace because I’m never without my control freak empress tiara, it’s kept me fairly sane while working in a business that can, at times, be a rollercoaster.

4.  Do you have a favorite fictional hero? Favorite fictional heroine?

Quite honestly, my favorite fictional hero and heroine is usually the one I’m currently writing because I’m getting to know them, and that’s always an exciting stage. But I was reading The Homecoming to my husband on our ten hour drive to and from a booksigning in Ohio this weekend (he’d read the earlier version in manuscript form, but not the final book) and was reminded how much I really, really love Sax Douchett and Kara Conway. And I’m not just saying this because I want everyone in the world to read their story. :)

They’re both survivors, who’ve managed to overcome very difficult circumstances and move on with their lives. Sax proves himself to be the strong, caring person he actually was back in high school, but most people, including Kara’s mother, only saw his bad boy persona. And Kara’s particularly special to me because I was also a single working mom of an eight-year-old boy, so I layered many of my own feelings and experiences from those days into their story.

5.  Which fictional character would you hang out with?

That’s easy. Definitely Sax. Because, having always had rescued dogs (we currently have three), I’m a sucker for any guy who loves dogs. Plus, he not only cooks, he cooks Cajun food. What’s not to love about that?

6.  What is one of your favorite book covers, your own or someone else’s?

There are some great covers out there, and although I may admittedly be prejudiced, I have to say that the romance genre has some of the most talented artists and designers in publishing. I’ve been blessed with some really great covers, but I’d have to say that my current favorite is the one for The Homecoming, again, for personal reasons. Not only is it lovely and evocative of my beloved Oregon coast, where my husband proposed, but I was super jazzed when the NAL art department used a photo I took of the Heceta Head lighthouse keeper’s house as the inspiration for the book’s cover. Readers can watch a scrapbook video I made of photos taken where Sax and Kara’s story is set on my homepage.

7.  What would readers be surprised to learn about you?

Great question! Coincidentally, I’ve listed ten things people probably don’t know about me on my website. I guess I’ll go with the fact that I’ve jumped out of an airplane – solo, not tandem -- over the Arizona desert.


Oh, and the second thing, and the one probably most related to my writing, is that I remarried my former husband. Which makes us a real life HEA reunion romance story. :)

8.  What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever learned by Googling your name?

I have to agree with my editor, who once said that no good ever comes from Googling your name. Plus, since you asked, I just checked, and came up with 979,000 results in 0.18 seconds. Who has the time to even begin to read all that stuff?

9. If you could go backward or forward in time which would you chose? Why?


Neither. I’ve never been one to look back, but I’ve also spent too many years early in my career constantly looking forward, which often kept me from enjoying the good things that have happened to me in this business. (Such as THE HOMECOMING – yay! -- hitting the printed New York Times bestseller list its first week in stores.)


So, taking a cue from my grandkidlet, I’ve been focusing on living in the present
and have discovered that even the most ordinary appearing moments can be very special.

10.  JoAnn, please tell us more about your recent release, “THE HOMECOMING.”

A spin-off of my New York Times best-selling High Risk series, THE HOMECOMING is the first book in my new Shelter Bay series, which will bring many of my sexy military heroes back home in stories of community, family, love, and the universal choice between what is. . . and what could be.


From the back cover: Your first love never really fades away.


Former Navy SEAL Sax Douchett has returned home to the small coastal town of Shelter Bay, Oregon, determined to put war behind him and get on with his life – which is easier said than done when everyone is hailing the former bad boy as a local hero. Adjusting to a new beginning becomes even more difficult when he unearths a long-buried secret that, in turn, reunites him with a cherished part of his past he’s never forgotten.


Drawn back into his life is Sheriff Kara Conway – a girl who’s always held a special place in Sax’s heart. But as he cautiously reconnects with Kara and bonds with her young son, another long-held secret in Shelter Bay threatens their second chance at a forever-after-love.


Of course, romance readers know that Sax, Kara, and her son, Trey, will receive their well deserved happily-ever-after. There’s also a secondary romance between Kara’s mother and Shelter Bay’s chief deputy that I really had a lot of fun writing!


11.  Which do you find is most important to you as a writer, voice or story? Why?

For me, the most important thing, and always the first that comes into my mind, are actually the characters. Because a writer can have the most unique, exciting plot in the history of publishing and a compelling voice, but as a reader, if I’m not engaged with the characters, I’m just not going to care enough to keep reading.


As for voice, my grandda McLaughlin was a seanachie – an Irish storyteller – and my earliest memories are listening to the music of his lyrical brogue spinning grand stories of kings and castles, battles and banishments, magic and miracles. So, having grown up with a family tradition of oral storytelling, I try to tell my stories the same way, and in the same voice, I would if I could wander from town to town sharing them in person. Which, admittedly, is a tad impractical!

12.  JoAnn, please tell us where we can find you out in cyber world. For desperate readers like me, we just have to know…:)

My website is at http://joannross.com/ I have a “shout box” on the homepage where I respond to readers’ messages. I try to blog on Tuesdays and Fridays, with Friday being fun video day. Readers can reach that from the link on my homepage, or http://blog.joannross.com/


I’m also on twitter at http://twitter.com/joannross and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=774687802



13.  I know this is a difficult question with there being so many amazing authors out there to choose from but who are some of the GOT-TO-HAVE authors in your TBR pile?

You’re right, there are so many wonderful writers, and I read many different genres, not just romance, I hate to have to choose! I will say that James Lee Burke is a must buy for me – I never even bother to read the back cover copy because I know he’s going to give me amazing writing and characters I care about. Also Pat Conroy. I’d read the man’s grocery list. Which, actually, I have because I bought his cookbook.


Romance, especially is difficult to choose because there are so many good writers, many of whom are friends, but to keep the list from going on forever, I’ll just say that I’m a huge Virginia Kantra fan. (She just can’t write those Children of the Sea books fast enough for me, so I’m forced to go back and reread them again and again, which isn’t any hardship!) I was recently fortunate to get to read the ARC for her upcoming IMMORTAL SEA, the fourth in the series, and it’s fantastic! If readers haven’t discovered her, I’d recommend they begin now, with SEA WITCH, so they’ll be ready when Morgan’s book comes out in September.

14. What’s next in the works for you? When can readers expect to see it out on shelves in their local bookstores?

ONE SUMMER, the second in my Shelter Bay series, out next July, will feature Marine war photojournalist Gabriel St. James, who’s briefly described at Sax’s brother’s wedding in THE HOMECOMING.


Having become a drifter after leaving the military, he’s on his way out of town when, unable to resist his inner hero, he stops to rescue an abused Shih Tzu, who just happens to be modeled after one of our own rescued dogs. This brings Charity Tiernan, who’s a veterinarian determined to find a forever home for every stray in Shelter Bay, into his life.

Sparks fly. Emotions run high, and yes, some tears will be shed. But I promise, everyone, including the dog, will live happily-ever-after.


They’ll be two Shelter Bay books in 2012. One, tentatively scheduled for April, will feature Navy SEAL medic Lucas Chaffee. And readers of my Irish trilogy may be glad to hear that Mary, the teenager aspiring actress from A WOMAN’S HEART, will be arriving in Shelter Bay for the town’s first film festival in a book tentatively scheduled for October.

I’d like to JoAnn Ross for stopping by and spending time with us, it’s been a blast getting to know more about you and your books. I wish you all the best and much success in everything you do. :)

Thanks so much for inviting me, Christine. It’s always lovely to have a chance to connect with readers!

*Giveaway*

Two randomly selected commenters will win a copy of "The Homecoming", book one in New York Times Bestselling author JoAnn Ross's new Shelter Bay series by NAL Signet . To enter here are a few simple rules.

* +2 Leave a comment for JoAnn Ross including email.
* +2 Spread the Word! ( this means go out into cyber world and post it on any network sites that your are a member of, or on your blog or website. +2 Then come back and leave a link so I can verify the post.)
* Become a follower of Over The Edge! (+3 Already a follower--You ROCK! +2 Become a follower.)

The giveaway is open to all and will be running until July 25, 2010. I'll be picking and contacting the winner directly on July 26, 2010. Please make sure to include your email with your comment. Happy Reading!