Author Guest Post: S.J. Davis

Today we are welcoming S.J. Davis author of Invisible Sun.  Thank you for stopping by and chatting about Steampunk!

Why Steampunk?

Steampunk is a subgenre of Science Fiction, and a thriving subculture. When I think of Steampunk, I think of stories and fashion based on Victorian (Age of Steam) sensibilities with a dystopian/punk rock aesthetic. A bit of Jane Austin fights the power. Of course the fun element is merging this art with modern technology retrofitted to appear Victorian – that is where an amazing amount of crafting and etsy shops blossom.

I am no stranger to subcultures – especially in the music scene. While I’ve never gone full force, I’ve dipped my toes in one or another most of my life and found most of them have elements in common. They all have distinctive fashion and style. Many have a music genre to call their own also. But they all fill an emotional need – and that is what draws in the hardcore members. The easy example to go with is Goth. Kids are programmed have a certain degree of normal teen angst and often going Goth allows them to acknowledge and deal with that angst on the surface. Of course, many people like to wear black and listen to dark music, but the true Goth embraces the emotional support of others just like them. An outsider embracing the outside and finding a place to belong – it’s a basic human need.

SteamPunk, just like Goth, fills an emotional need to belong. What I love about SteamPunk is that it acknowledges a sense that we do not belong. SteamPunk creates a time that did not exist, whose elements do not belong together. The melding of an artificial past with a future not likely to exist has created a place where anyone can co-exist and build a world. It is not a depressing place like Goth can be, but rather a place of pure fantasy.

People have been adopting the SteamPunk aesthetic lately just because it is stylistically appealing. I certainly love Victorian fashion, aviator goggles, parasols and corsets. Some people love the gears, brass and futurist tech. Steampunk will likely take its place beside Goth, as something everyone knows about. Goggles and geared jewelry will find there way into Hot Topic, but not everyone will be into it. This is of course just fine with me.

If you’d like to immerse yourself in some more SteamPunk info check out these links I’ve gathered.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Steampunk/19157172299

http://steampunkchat.com

Invisible Sun

By SJ Davis

 

Genre: steampunk and vampires

 

In Victorian London, at the beginning of the Industrial Age and the height of man’s obsession with alchemy, scientists gave birth to the foundation of modern genetic science. As steampunk airships cut across the foggy city ofGravesend, vampires are brought to life.

But instead of scavengers prowling the fringe of society, these creatures have evolved to be the respected organizers of the Society, a universal religion, and the Guardians of Science.

One stray drop has spilled from the vein. Draegan, heralded from birth as the genetically perfect vampire, has turned rogue, attacking the women ofLondon’sEast End. Only his brother, with the help of Lady Astrid West, can hunt him down before he is able to unleash his full insanity upon the helpless city. And only another birth, the birth of yet another perfect vampire, can stop his madness.

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/_LhyHSQuNdU

About the Author:

SJ Davis is the daughter of an ex-patriate British mother and a Southern Baptist ex-CIA father. As a child, she spoke in silly accents and recounted outlandish tales of fantasy over afternoon tea and to this day it remains her favorite activity. Born in Long Island, NY, she was raised in the suburbs of Washington DC and went to school for a very long time (University of Virginia and George Mason University), married an all-around wonderful man, had two kids (smart, funny, full of opinions), moved from Virginia to New Jersey to Philadelphia to Chicago, and began her writing career. She is a believer in fate, an avid tea drinker, a stiletto aficionado, Doc Marten worshipper, punk rock listener, and lover of flip flops and cardigans. She has a terrible sense of direction, loves gummy bears, and is a Johnny Depp fangirl.

www.steampunksarah.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/sarah.jane.davis (fan page)

http://www.facebook.com/sarah.davis.brandon

http://twitter.com/#!/SteampunkSarah

http://www.vamptasypublishing.co.uk/#/sarah-davis-brandon/4552691454 (author page at Vamptasy)

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5542711-sarah-davis-brandon

https://plus.google.com/106918592949279293409/about

Author Guest Post and Giveaway: Chosen by Denise Grover Swank

I’m the single mother of six kids. They range in age from twenty-four to four.  I can hear you asking, “Are you crazy?” Of course, I am. I’m a writer. Enough said.

I became a single mother almost six years ago when my husband died from burn injuries he sustained in a single engine plane crash. When he died, I had four children. The oldest three are biological and the youngest at the time, was adopted from China. My husband and I had talked about adopting again and I decided just because he died didn’t mean all of our dreams had to die with him. So when I announced to my friends and family that I was going to adopt as a single parent to my surprise I received nothing but support. Still, I think they were all shocked when I announced I was adopting another child several months later. But that’s another story.

I love children and for a good portion of my life, I devoted myself to my kids and my husband. But after  Darrell died, I began to reevaluate everything. Who was I? What was my purpose? In a previous guest post, I talked about deciding to follow my dream and write a book.  I also said that once I completed my first novel, I was hooked. Writing was the profession for me.

Which sounds nice, doesn’t it? I’m an author.(My older boys would now pretend to peck at their imaginary laptops with their index fingers.) The reality is that I have four kids from age fourteen to four living in my house. We have dance lessons and voice lessons, piano and violin. Play practice, Wednesday night church. Soccer. T-ball. We’re a busy household and I’m running these kids around pretty much by myself. (My two older sons often help if I ask for it.) That doesn’t leave a lot of time to write.

I try to write three books a year, but that doesn’t happen by just fitting writing in where I can. I have to schedule my writing time. I have to make it a priority. Sometimes that means taking a laptop and head phones so I can writing in a waiting room or car while my kids are at activities. Or sometimes it means telling my kids that I can’t cater to their “need” to go to the mall because Mommy has to work. Often it means starting to actually write after my kids go to bed, writing from 9 p.m. to 2 or 3 a.m. (You’d be amazed at all the non-writing things authors do.)

Once I decided to declare myself an author, I had to become serious about making time for it to happen. Sometimes, especially when I’m close to a tight deadline, I have to say no to things that make my children unhappy.  Or I have to work after dinner when I’d rather be watching TV with my kids. These are choices I have to make to meet my deadlines. Even if they are self-imposed. Being self-employed often means working harder than you would at a 9-5 job, and writing is no exception.

I know mothers who feel guilty taking time from their kids to write and I used to be one of them. But not anymore. My kids might not realize it, but sitting in front of my computer is working. I’m not playing solitaire or Bejeweled. I may be on social media, but that’s work, too. (Self-promotion, connecting with readers)  Any small business owner will tell you that when you start your own business, you spend a lot of time working to get it going. The same goes for writing. If you want to be successful, you have to produce. And if you want to produce, you have to make the time to do it.

It finally hit home with my older kids this summer when the proof of my first published book came in the mail. My kids held my book in their hands and scanned the pages, their eyes lighting up with the realization—Mom wrote a book. They looked at me with a whole new respect. Not only was all that work paying off, literally, with the book in their hand, but they also saw that Mommy had a dream and she worked her ass off to get it. The door to possibilities for them flung wide open.  If Mom could achieve her dreams, so could they.

What better example could I show them?

Chosen Theme Song I write with music. Some people need quiet. Others need visual stimulation, but for me it’s music. Music sets the tone, sets the scene. If it’s a quite scene I might listen to Death Cab for Cutie. A car chase or fight? Linkin Park. I plug in my head phones and lose myself in the scene with my own personal background sound track. Most of the time I bock out the lyrics, only hearing the instruments, but others I hear the words and find myself amazed that the song seemed to be specifically written for my book. Almost every book I’ve written has a theme song. (The only exception is my humorous southern mystery, Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes. I never found just one song that fit quite right.) My soon to be released young adult science fiction/romance, Torn, plays heavily on the guilt of the main characters. Guilt rules many of their decisions and actions, often with detrimental consequences. Linkin Park’s What I’ve Done is perfect for Torn. I had a hard time with Chosen. If I had to name a theme for the book, I would say it’s redemption. Both Emma and Will are broken and flawed. Will thinks he’s beyond redeemable yet he finds himself yearning for something more with Emma, even if he thinks she deserves better. But Will’s image isn’t the real him, just a persona he’s created to keep out the world so he can wallow in his guilt. He’s not the only one pretending. All three characters are so much more than they let others believe, hiding from the real world for varying reasons. Yet, one fact remains. They are pretending. Still, when I heard the Foo Fighters song The Pretender, it didn’t occur to me how perfectly it fit. Remember, I hear the instrumental and the lyrics often hit me later. But when I listened to the words I got chills. It was like the song was written about Will.

About the Author

 

Short Bio:

 

Denise Grover Swank lives inLee’s Summit,Missouri. She has six children, two dogs, and an overactive imagination. She can be found dancing in her kitchen with her children, reading or writing her next book. You will rarely find her cleaning.

You can find out more about Denise and her other books at www.denisegroverswank.com or stalk her on Twitter—Twitter.com/denisemswank

Long Bio:

 

Denise Grover Swank began writing her first novel in the fourth grade, stopping at page seventy on her wide ruled spiral notebook. She continued writing in high school and attempted several novels in her twenties before life got in the way. In the fall of 2009, she participated in National Novel Writing Month, which led her to completing her first novel, a book which shall be eternally chained to a pillar in her external hard drive. Denise released her first published book in July, 2011, a southern mystery titled Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes. Denise lives inLee’s Summit,Missouri. She has six children, two dogs, and an overactive imagination.

You can find out more about Denise and her other books at www.denisegroverswank.com and you can connect with her on Twitter.

Giveaway:

Enter to win an ecopy of Chosen.

Please leave a comment with why you would like to win and an email address.

Extra Entry for following (leave separate comment with email address)

Winner will be drawn 10/18/2011 and have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected

Author Guest Post and Giveaway: Seeker by Su Halfwerk

Today, I would like to welcome Su Halfwerk as a part of her Bewtiching Book Tour

Being SH

It’s about being a Super Hero, or in Andrew Taylor’s case, a Spirit Hunter.

The world is full of everyday heroes; policemen, firefighters, medics, etc. They all hold jobs that require facing danger, be it airborne like bullets or germs, or life threatening…ending it sometimes.

But I’m here today to talk about super heroes, the ones endowed with super powers to protect the unsuspecting public from danger. Andrew Taylor, the main character in Seeker, is a hero on so many levels.

  • He’s the leading man in romantic movies
  • He’s a Spirit Hunter endowed with special powers
  • And he’s the hero in Seeker.

If you’re to ask him, he will deny being a hero, let alone a super one. Perhaps it’s humility or maybe because his identity as the Spirit Hunter is a secret. Oops!

(please, do keep this to yourself. I don’t want to put him in danger.)

Going back to our point about him being a hero; Andrew suffered through loss and pain to reach his current stage of success. Still, he’s burning with a seething need to even the scores with the one he seeks, George Darby. At best, Andrew will admit to being a reluctant, if not forced, hero.

I don’t agree with him. He makes it a point to take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of exorcised people, a small detail the Laymour people aren’t very concerned about. The Laymour is where all spirits not destined for heaven are locked up until judged.

When it comes to his acting career, Andrew Taylor is focused and good at what he does. Women want him, men want to be him, yet that doesn’t distract him from keeping his business as his only.

Until Adoria steps into his life, turns it upside down, and becomes his business.

Love is the only weakness this hero didn’t anticipate.

*sigh*

It’s not easy being SH.

Thank you for reading.

Su Halfwerk

Seeker

By Su Halfwerk

Genre: sweet paranormal romance

 

Blurb:

The only obstacle in his quest is his heart.

Andrew Taylor has it all. A flourishing acting career, a stunner of a model as a girlfriend, and a countenance that swoons women right into his arms.

Except, this is not the only life he’s living. He is also a Spirit Hunter tormented by the murder of his wife and daughter and destined to hunt rogue spirits, seeking the one who destroyed his family. Even if that means repressing his needs.

Adoria Hall’s life is turned upside down after an unfair layoff from her job.

Financial pressures force her to accept babysitting a spoiled actor like Andrew. Or so she thinks, until she discovers a lonely heart beating beneath his glamorous façade. Protecting Andrew’s life from harm is her duty, safeguarding her heart is her compulsion.

When the spirits drive the war to Andrew’s turf, he must confront his key enemy to settle the score. Yet, if forced to pick, will Andrew choose to exorcise the one he seeks or will he opt to protect the one he adores?

Publisher’s buy link: http://www.extasybooks.com/seeker
Amazon: Not out yet, but should be up in a week or so.
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9ImwhCKwLk

 

Excerpt:

With the intention of ignoring Helen, Andrew continued toward the door, but he was wrenched backwards. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that Helen had grabbed Adoria’s upper arm and turned her around, pulling him backwards as well in the process. Adoria snapped something at her, and Helen raised her hand as if to slap her. With one hand, Adoria seized Helen’s elbow and pushed the producer to carry on with the momentum of her body, except, Adoria pulled backward and continued steering Helen’s arm until her hand connected with her own face in a loud slap.

The sound echoed in the hushed dining room, everyone stared at the two women, Adoria glaring at Helen, and the other woman holding her cheek, eyes brimming with tears of humiliation and anger.

“Now, this gives a new meaning to bitch slapping,” Andrew mumbled and snickered. He hadn’t meant to say it aloud, he could still think clearly, he believed, but his actions went haywire. A few giggles sounded around them, as he, Adoria, and Steve walked away from a raging executive producer.

They stepped out into the night, the smog, for the first time, invigorated him, reducing his sickness and confusion. The downside to this change was that his senses were centered in his lower region. Adoria’s hips nudging his as they walked didn’t help matters any.

They reached the SUV, and Steve left his side to unlock the door, Andrew thought. He couldn’t take his closeness to Adoria anymore. He intended to move away from her, but instead he pushed her against the car, placed both hands on her waist and leaned into her, grinding that ache against her warm body.

“Andre—”

Desire, so long forgotten, hummed through him. Her breathing caught when he delicately touched her cheekbones and lips with his hand, his lips trailing his fingers’ path. They tasted her, teased her. He was driving himself insane, just as he did to her, for her body reacted to his touch, her breasts pushed against his chest in an inviting challenge.

Andrew, stop! You will ruin everything, Gruesome shouted in his head, but he ignored his Guide.

 

Author info:

Su Halfwerk writes in the horror and paranormal romance genres. From a tender age, the written word left a strong impression on her,later on terrifying, blood-chilling books became the object of her interest. Su’s style in horror combines shuddery ter

ror with elements of surprise; some would even call it an enigmatic twist. In the world of paranormal romance, she transforms the des

ire to scare into a quest to seduce and tantalize.

Other books by Su

Halfwerk:

  • Untamed Temp
  • tation (Paranormal Romance)
  • His to Possess (Finalist in 2011 EPIC Awards in the Paranormal Romance category)
  • Zuphreen (Horror/Urban Fantasy)
  • Intricate Entanglement (Horror/Thriller)

The books are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online outlets

When not writing, Su is designing book trailers for herself and other authors.


www.su-halfwerk

.comYou can find Su online in any of these places:

http://www.suhalfwerk.blogspot.com/
www.facebook.com/Su.Halfwerk
http://twitter.com/SuHalfwerk

Su is offering 2 giveaways- open tour wide.
1 lucky winner will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card and another lucky winner will receive a PDF copy of Seeker.