Mind Sweeper

My Paranormal Writing Path

Thank you for inviting me to your blog today. I thought it would be fun to tell you about what has influenced me along my paranormal writing path.

I decided to start writing seriously about 5 years ago. I had dabbled in writing mysteries over the years, but had never really found my niche. The funny thing is, I have always been a prime candidate for writing paranormal. I grew up watching sci-fi and was addicted to shows that straddled into the paranormal, like the X-Files. And then the paranormal Holy Grail hit TV. In the form of a sarcastic and angsty teenage vampire slayer named Buffy and the floodgates opened for supernatural stories everywhere. And I was officially hooked.

But even then I had not been clued into my paranormal writing destiny. So I sat on my couch and watched, Fringe and Supernatural and Lost and Heroes and anything else you can think of that smacked even the least bit of ‘other’. I often re-wrote episodes in my head of my shows that I didn’t particularly care for!

And even though I was filling my VCR, then DVD, then DVR with shows, I had not really started to read paranormal. The only exception to that was Harry Potter. I was addicted to the bespectacled warlock and his band of friends. I stood in line at midnight to buy the last Harry Potter book and finished it the next day in a thirteen-hour-marathon read-fest. Which looking back was not too smart since I had to wait for all of my other friends to finish it before I could talk about it! Ugghh.

So what finally tipped the scales for me? I went to the library and picked up a book about a vampire. A vampire who was scarred both internally and externally. A vampire named Z who was in love with Bella whom he saved from evil things that I came to know as Lessers. And as I devoured JR Ward’s book the light went off in my head.

I want to write this.

Then I went back to the library and got out the other five Black Dagger Brotherhood books available at that time and fell in the love with the incredibly alpha, incredibly damaged characters and the females (and males) that loved them. And now I count the days until the latest installment appear in the spring.

My next influence? Sherrilyn Kenyon. Dark Hunters! And wonderful mythology and world building. Wow. And I read others…well, I could fill this post with just the names of wonderful paranormal and urban fantasy writers. And the voices got louder in my head.

I want to write this.

So I started down the path of writing - seriously. But I had to be careful to forge my own path and let my voice come through my words. And so here I am. My debut novel, Mind Sweeper, released on September 15^th. It is book one in my Mind Sweeper series. Book two, The Fledgling, is a novella releasing on October 13^th.  

And I am pinching myself as I write this to see if I’m dreaming. Because if I am, I don’t want to wake up!

 2013 RWA Golden Heart^® Winner, Mind Sweeper

An angel, a demon and a vampire walk into a bar. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it's just another day in the life of Kyle McKinley.

Kyle was born with the ability to erase memories, and the inability to keep her opinions to herself. She and her teammates – a vampire who looks like a sexy pirate with fangs, and a Shamat demon with a penchant for Italian pastries – provide supernatural damage control when humans see too much. Today’s problem? A sword-wielding angel and a demon had a supernatural smackdown during happy hour in a Cleveland bar, leaving behind a headless vampire and a dozen human witnesses.

This latest supernatural slip-up is attracting all kinds of attention. So much attention that the police step in, and Kyle has to deal with Joe Dalton, a know-it-all human with the sexiest turquoise eyes she has ever seen. Kyle has no room in her life for yet another human who will treat her like a freak. However, Dalton definitely makes her naughty parts sit up and take notice, and it’s more than mutual. But before they can act on their attraction, they must join forces to solve a dangerous puzzle. And when they uncover the truth, the apocalyptic ripple effect forces Kyle to make a choice. Learn to trust again, or risk losing everyone she cares about, including Dalton.

Mind Sweeper is Book One in the Mind Sweeper Series.

Book Two - The Fledgling, A Mind Sweeper Novella (coming October 2014)

Book Three - Shifter Wars, (coming Fall 2014)

Website:  http://www.aejonesauthor.com/

Twitter:  @aejonesauthor

https://twitter.com/AEJonesAuthor

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/aejones.author1

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22733969-mind-sweeper?from_search=true

Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Sweeper-Book-ebook/dp/B00MSTNHDI/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1409321466&sr=1-1&keywords=ae+jones

Kobo Buy Link:  http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/mind-sweeper-4

Itunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mind-sweeper/id914620470?mt=11&uo=4

Barnes & Noble : http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mind-sweeper-ae-jones/1120341800?ean=2940150516243

AE Jones

Growing up a TV junkie, award winning author AE Jones oftentimes rewrote endings of episodes in her head when she didn’t like the outcome. She immersed herself in sci-fi and soap operas. But when Buffy hit the little screen she knew her true love was paranormal. Now she spends her nights weaving stories about all variation of supernatural—their angst and their humor. After all life is about both…whether you sport fangs or not.

AE lives in Ohio with her eclectic family and friends who in no way resembles any characters in her books. Honest. Now her two cats are another story altogether.

Trial by Fire Virtual Book Tour

Trial by Fire

Covencraft Book One

Margarita Gakis

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal

Publisher: Fable Press

Date of Publication:  6/25/2013

ISBN: 978-1-939897-03-9

ASIN: B00CX779MK

Number of pages: 325

Word Count:  84,000

Cover Artist: Steven Novak

Amazon   Amazon.ca   Amazon.co.uk

Book Description:

Jade leads a structured life:

Routine job.

Caffeine addiction.

No serious relationships.

And now, she can spontaneously set things on fire with her mind.

Well... perhaps “normal” was never in the cards for her. As she questions her own sanity and spirals out of control, a man appears on her doorstep and tells her that, like him, she’s a witch.

Pulled in all directions, her unbridled magic draws dangerous attention and Jade wonders if she’s made the worst mistake of her life by joining a coven, or if she’ll even live long enough to regret it.

Excerpt from Trial By Fire (Covencraft #1) by Margarita Gakis, available at Amazon.

Jade shrugged and looked around the medical area.

“I sent Callie home. Your testing is next and it’s best to have no other witches about when it occurs.” Paris answered her unspoken question.

“What about you guys?” Jade asked, gesturing to the doctor and the coven leader.

“Oh, I’m not a witch,” Dr. Gellar said. “I just work for the Coven.”

Jade looked at Paris as he spoke. “Part of the test involves your power being tested against another witch. I’ll be testing your power with mine.” He smiled benignly at her.

“Is it going to be like the other night, when you were trying to kill my fire?” she asked, wary. Thinking about the sick, heavy feeling that had permeated her chest and stomach made Jade wrinkle her nose in distaste. Paris made a waffling motion with his head and looked uncertain.

“Possibly,” he admitted.

At least he’s honest, she thought.

Dr. Gellar motioned Jade over to one of the chairs in the public area. “If you would like to have a seat over there, we can begin your power testing. I’m going to attach some electrodes to your head, neck and a few of your fingertips and then we can begin.”

The room was silent as the doctor connected Jade to the monitoring equipment. Jade released her hair from her ponytail and shook it out, knowing it was probably in a huge halo around her head. She wasn’t one of those women who could take their hair down and have it look like she stepped from the pages of a magazine. Out of the ponytail, her hair curved along a huge wave from where the elastic sat. It puffed from her head like a lion’s mane. Gellar clipped more sensors to Jade’s fingertips, and put a few on the side of her neck. Jade tugged at a few of the electrodes and poked at the machine they were attached to until Dr. Gellar rolled it out of her reach.

“Try to remain still, Jade,” the doctor admonished.

Jade snatched her hand away and leaned back in her seat, tapping her foot on the marble floor.

“Completely still,” Dr. Gellar said without even looking over at her.

Feeling churlish, Jade stuck her tongue out at her and then felt like an idiot for doing it, but it was too late. She slunk lower in her seat.

“Okay,” Dr. Gellar said as she made one final adjustment to the machine, “now we can begin. Paris tells me that you’ve already been able to generate fire?”

“Yeah.”

“I want you to try again now.”

Jade held her hand out at elbow level and immediately a blue flame appeared in the center of it. Eyes wide, the doctor tilted her head sharply at Jade’s palm and then glanced at Paris.

“I know,” he said. “She has a knack for that one.”

Dr. Gellar raised her eyebrows but didn’t say anything as she made a few notes on a clipboard. Jade craned her head over to the side to see if she could read it but it was too far away.

The doctor returned her attention to Jade. “Can you extinguish it?”

As soon as she was done asking the question, the flame winked out with an audible puff. Dr. Gellar made additional notes.

“And bring it back.”

The flame sprung up in front of Jade again, only this time, she didn’t even raise her hand. The flame just floated softly in front of her at chest height.

“Jade, would you be able to change its shape?” asked Paris.

She shrugged. “I guess.”

Thinking about the tiny flame caused it to dance a bit and she could feel the shape of it in her brain. She pulled at it, twisting it, getting a feel for it and then stretched it out and shaped it. She thought about a triangle and then discarded that idea immediately for a pyramid. The flame flickered into a flat triangle and then quickly folded in on itself and settled as a pyramid, keeping up with her thoughts. She rubbed her fingertips together and, feeling a rough edge along one of her cuticles, turned her focus away from the flame in front of her and looked down at her nail. When she glanced back up at the pyramid, it was rotating lazily in front of her, like a gyroscope, in three dimensions. She looked over at Dr. Gellar who was staring from Jade to the flame to the machines with interest.

“Anything else?” Jade asked.

Dr. Gellar came to stand in front of her. “You can extinguish your fire again, Jade.” As it dissipated, she held out both hands toward Jade, a small object in each. Her right hand held a tiger eye stone, the left held a small gold coin.

“One of these objects has been charmed.” Dr. Gellar stated plainly. “Can you tell which one?”

Jade looked at the items in the doctor’s hands and although she didn’t know why, she immediately pointed at the coin. Surprising herself, she raised her eyes to the doctor, who nodded and put the stone in her pocket.

She handed the coin to Jade. “What can you tell me about this?”

Jade took the coin and turned it over in her fingers. The top of her knuckles tingled slightly. She rested the coin on the top of her fingers, in the soft skin between her pinky and ring finger. The coin rolled easily from knuckle to knuckle, flipping itself over. She moved her fingers slightly, letting the coin flip itself over, running back and forth across the top of her hand.

“It was charmed so it won’t fall off,” she stared down at the flickering gold. Then, turning to Paris, she asked, “How do I know that?”

“Magic lingers, gives off an energy,” he said as though it was a response she would fully understand.

****

Trial by Fire (Covencraft #1) can be purchased at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Trial-by-Fire-Covencraft-ebook/dp/B00CX779MK), Amazon.ca (http://www.amazon.ca/Trial-by-Fire-Covencraft-ebook/dp/B00CX779MK) and Barnes and Noble (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/trial-by-fire-margarita-gakis/1115416716?ean=9781939897039)

About the Author:

Margarita loves the art, creativity and romanticism of storytelling. Sometimes, however, the act of putting pen to paper proves challenging, elusive. She develops genuine, relatable characters which grow in the hearts of her readers. From that foundation, the stories flourish into a warm friend.

She enjoys pursuits which blur the lines between the analytical and creative sides of her brain. This includes her day job in electronic data management, where she uses her creativity to solve logical problems, and also her lessons learning to play the cello, where she finds beauty in the structure of music and the instrument. She believes there is a place for both logic and imagination to work together. When they do, the results are magical.

Margarita has a special spot in her heart for dogs and lives with three of them. It can be a little overwhelming but the quality snuggle time makes up for it.

Margarita lives in Calgary, Alberta with her family.

http://margaritagakis.wordpress.com

Twitter:  @margaritagakis

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/CovencraftSeries

 Tourwide giveaway: 5 Kindle copies of Trial by Fire! Follow the blog and fill out the form below.

Box Office Poison by Phillipa Bornikova

A fresh, original blend of urban fantasy, legal thriller, and workplace drama—with a heroine you won’t soon forget!

BOX OFFICE POISON by Phillipa Bornikova

“Bornikova accurately depicts Hollywood with warmth and wit, her puzzles will keep readers guessing until the end, and she tops it off with a smart, sassy heroine

willing to poke and prod those more powerful than she. Refreshingly different, intriguing and involving:

A sequel that’s even better than the splendid opener.”

-Kirkus Reviews, starred review for BOX OFFICE POISON

“The feisty and indomitable Linnet Ellery is back, and her second outing is a well-plotted, continuously intriguing story that delivers on every level.

Bornikova excels at blending the paranormal elements of her stories with the mundane realities of daily life and workplace politics, making a world that’s

instantly recognizable and delightfully dark and complex. The chemistry between her main characters and the continued hints about

Linnet’s secrets heighten the anticipation for the evolution of this series even before the final page.”

-RT Book Reviews for BOX OFFICE POISON

“..lots of fun, and I’m looking forward to finding out more about Linnet and her world.”  

-Locus Magazine for BOX OFFICE POISON

TITLE: BOX OFFICE POISON

Author: Phillipa Bornikova

$24.99 / 320 pages

What happens when exquisitely beautiful elves start getting all the roles in Hollywood? Human actors sue, that’s what and the Halls of Power have to step in. In Phillipa Bornikova’s BOX OFFICEPOISON (A Tor Hardcover; On Sale August 6, 2013; $24.99), law, finance, the military, and politics are under the sway of long-lived vampires, werewolves, and the elven Alfar. In a desperate attempt to keep the squabbling inside the Screen Actors Guild from going public, the president of SAG forces the two sides into arbitration.

Enter Linnet Ellery, a human lawyer working for a vampire law firm, to serve as arbitrator. Linnet discovers that there are sinister forces at work in Tinsel Town determined to shatter the fragile peace between elves, vampires, werewolves, and humans. To complicate matters, it seems that something has been coercing famous elven actors into committing sudden and terrible acts of violence that they claim to have no memory of.

During the course of her investigations Linnet realizes that a puzzling secret surrounds her, and that a strange power has been affecting the very course of her life. . . .

A new flavor of urban fantasy, BOX OFFICE POISON is a legal thriller plus supernatural action, with a clever and gutsy heroine you will cheer for as she uses the power of the law and her personal sense of justice to save the day.

PHILLIPA BORNIKOVA has been the story editor of a major network television series, a horse trainer, and an oil-company executive. She lives in the Southwest.

Picking up this book on my first day of vacation is like a breath of fresh air. Box Office Poison is a book you fall into and the rest of the world falls away. Urban fantasy is one of my favorite genres and Phillipa Bornikova has outdone herself with the vampire politics and supernatural elements. I can't wait to sit down and read more, but even the first few pages have given me a collective sigh of happiness. High emotional impact, characters you can literally sink your teeth into and a plot that I know is going to keep me up into the late hours of the evening (hurray vacation!) 

5/5 so far! Love the book

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.