SPOOK-A-LICIOUS Blog Hop

SPOOK-A-LICIOUS: WHERE BOO-KS DEVOUR YOU: BLOG HOP TOUR (Oct 17-24)

1) HAVE FUN!!!

2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!

3) THIS TOUR STARTS: Monday, October 17, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, October 24, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
Winners will be drawn and posted October 25th! ***

4) MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS & BOOK PAGES! EXPERIENCE A NEW DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!

5) PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR & BOOK PAGE IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW THEM SOME LOVE!

6) DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN? WHOO! HOO!! HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!***Authors & Book Pages have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules***

So now that we have all the rules out of the way, lets get to the fun stuff!! Welcome to CEWTNK!  I am so excited to be participating in this blog hop with all these wonderful authors and blogs! I have a Spooktacular Spotlight below that you can literally sink your teeth into! Ashley Lynn Willis is here with us all week and you will be entering for your chance to win her amazing novel The Calling! Stay tuned for details and a review of the book we are giving away after the post!  Take it away Ashley!!

Are Vampires Dead?

Well of course they are. What I mean is, are vampires going out of style? I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve been asked that question or seen the same question posted on writer’s boards. While I don’t write about fanged hotties, I do love to read about them, and I don’t see that changing in the foreseeable future. But what about other readers? Have they been so inundated with vampires that they want to kick the pale creatures to the curb?

For a quick answer, I’ll be cliché and say that variety is the spice of life. Demons, angels, fairies, zombies and shape shifters are great fun to read about.  They are the sprinkles and icing on your cupcake, but not the cake.  No, the cake belongs to the vampires. While the icing and sprinkles gives you a zing of sweet goodness, the cake keeps that sweetness from being overwhelming, and it fills you up.

So what is it about vampires that keeps us coming back for more? (Besides their prowess in bed?)  I’ll go off on a tangent by telling you a short story. When I was in college, my best friend and I decided to go bar hopping one Halloween. It was one of those rare holidays that landed on a Saturday. Since hangovers could be spent snuggled in bed, not wearing sunglasses in class, the evening and early morning hours were all ours.

The air was slightly chilled with the promise of winter, and leaves crunched under our feet as we headed into the night, strolling toward the Strip, the main street filled with college bars. Soft light spilled from the windows lining the boulevard, and we chose a cozy establishment where a band was playing. The moment we walked in, we saw several of our guy friends sitting at a huge round booth in front of the stage. With a beer in each hand (two for one special), we slid in with our friends, chatted and listened to music. There were lit pumpkins casting shadows across the wooden floor, their triangular faces scowling. On a TV next to the bar, a horror movie played with a naked zombie girl dancing around a chained man.

The air in the bar crackled with energy, and the place was abuzz with laughter, revelry, and debauchery. All my sensations felt heightened for the simple fact that it was All Hallow’s Eve, and the veil between the living and dead was at its thinnest. You could feel it in the air, see it in the glow of our friend’s eyes, and hear it in the frenzied strumming of the grunge band. The costumed witches and warlocks only added to the eerie ambiance, and for some strange reason, even as I sat there, the bitter taste of ale drowning my tongue, I knew I’d never forget that night. It felt dangerous, alive, all consuming, as if seeing a real vampire on a barstool would not have been an impossibility.

Why am I telling you about that night? Because I think a tryst with a vampire invokes the same emotions – a dangerous, all-consuming passion that crackles with energy. A vampire is Halloween, the living and the dead, embodied in one powerful being. That’s why women covet the idea of being taken, consumed, even loved by a fanged man. He heightens your senses, he lusts for your blood, he feels dangerous, and if you can conquer him, then you are truly a desired woman. When I read Twilight, I was Bella, desired by Edward. When I read the Sookie Stackhouse Series, I was Sookie, touching, feeling, loving Eric, and when I read The Night Huntress Series, I was Cat, in love with and never able to forget Bones.

Many people believe that new vampire books will soon go extinct as agents hunt for the next big thing.  I’m here to tell you, as long as women are reading books and kids are getting Halloween sugar highs, that will never happen. And thank goodness, because though I love angel icing and a sprinkling of demons, I still need my weekly dosage of vampire cake to go along with it.  

Happy Halloween!    

Ashley Lynn Willis

          

 Vampire Cake is super yummy....although I can think of a few vampire sandwiches that would be too!!  LOL!  Up for grabs is an e-copy of  Ashley's Book The Calling.  Here is a little bit of a sneak :)

 Mandy Hardy lost more than a breast to cancer; she lost her fiancé when he dumped her a week before her mastectomy. Her ego bruised and her self-esteem battered, Mandy’s sure she’ll never fall in love again.

Justin Seward is a headstrong Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer with a heart of gold and the supernatural ability to command the seas. He had to hide his feelings while Mandy was engaged to his best friend. Now that she’s free, he’s vowed to make her his.

Together, they may hold the key to each other’s salvation. But when Justin’s past catches up with him, and Mandy’s ex-fiancé wants vengeance, they realize they might not live long enough for happily ever after.

My Review 

Mandy was done with men.  After her horrible breakup with her fiancé Ty and her continuing battle with cancer, she was unwilling to put herself out there.  So many of her so called friends had deserted her during her battle with breast cancer, including the person that was supposed to stick by her side no matter what.  If the only man she had ever loved couldn’t stand by her through thick and thin, what chance did she have now that her body was disfigured?  Her heart ached because her one true desire was to have a family of her own.  But she was unwilling to go through any of that pain again.  Especially not with Ty’s best friend, no matter how yummy he looked.

Justin had finally reconnected with Mandy, a girl that he had been obsessed with from the moment he had laid eyes on her.  After his rescue of a little boy during a storm caused shipwreck in the middle of the ocean, Justin had made it a point to visit with him.  As unbelievable luck would have it, the little boy ended up being Mandy’s patient.  He had called her, texted her, emailed her, and stopped by after his x-best friend’s brutal betrayal of her.  He couldn’t forgive him for what he did to Mandy and gave up on their friendship shortly after that.  Just as Mandy had given up on their friendship when Ty had walked away.  But even though his heart ached every time he looked at her, could she except him when she found out about what he really was?

This was an amazing read.  The story was so real life with just a touch of supernatural in it.  This could happen to anyone, if you exchange out the fact that Justin was a demi-god, with another secret.   The two of them have so many real-life issues that the fact isn’t completely human seems the least of their problems.  Then Ty becomes jealous and tries repeatedly to ruin their new found happiness.  This is a realistic love heals all plot that will make you stop and think about life in general.  So many people stop risking their heart because of a bad experience with love.  When in reality love, in the end, is what completes a person.  Justin and Mandy are a wonderful example of the real life problems encompassing today’s relationship.  Even the super-natural twist was infused with real characters.  Justin’s father was a classic example of his time period and what it would realistically be like if that family had been in fact carrying  a and demi-god gene.  Mandy and Justin both make your heart ache for the problems they face and have you praying for a happy ending.   This story clutches your heart and refuses to let go until you finish the read. This author has definitely gained a new fan!

So what do you need to do to enter to get a chance to win this awesome book?  Simple.  Just be a GFC follower and leave a comment with your e-mail address.

+1 Answer Ashley's Question....Are Vampires Dead?

+1 Ask Ashley a Question (have to make her work!! LOL!!)

+1 follow me on goodreads, twitter, or facebook...there is a cute little spider web for each at the top!!  Good Luck and be sure to hop to the rest of these great blogs!!