Tuesday, August 01, 2017

Soul Deep up for Cover of the Month


If you like the cover of my book, Soul Deep (The Soul Series Book 4), please vote for it for the Cover of the Month contest on AllAuthor.com!

Click to Vote!

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Looking for Recommendations for Positive Paranormal Stories

Hey, everybody! *waves* Remember me?

I don't like to be one of those people contributing to our ruin due to limited attention spans, but since this blog has been soooo stagnant, it's obvious I've also been corrupted by social media. I stopped having topics to talk about in this "long" form that I hadn't talked about before.

But today I was thinking about superheroes and mutants and other fictional extraordinary abilities and how I've felt about their portrayal in entertainment for a long time, and I thought, "that's way too big a topic for Facebook" and then I thought BLOG! So here I am.

I'm a longtime casual "super" fan. As in, I watched the X-Men cartoon with my husband when we first got married, and my brother and I played the Wonder Twins when we were kids, and I love "genre" TV and film and I write a lot of people with various kinds of abilities in my paranormal romances and YA.

There's been a trend I don't like over the past several years, not just with the whole "downside to being a superhero" approach that DC takes, but setting up an active negative societal attitude toward those types of characters. It used to be just the X-Men, but now it seems to be almost everything. As much as I loved Wonder Woman this year, I still felt empty when I left the theater because it was so bleak and lonely. That's one of the reasons I prefer Marvel (MCU, not TV), because they launched with Tony Stark fully embracing being Iron Man—and the world embracing it along with him.

Overall, the MCU still embraces the fun and adventure of being a superhero, even with its downsides, like in Spider-Man: Homecoming (which I loved!). But even Marvel got into the Sokovia accords and Civil War and using the premise that the world as a whole is against people with powers because we're afraid of them. I don't get why paranormal entertainment seems unable to get away from ostracizing people with extraordinary abilities. "People fear what they don't understand" is getting very tired, isn't it?

And besides...it's wrong.

Metaphor aside, let's look at how we handle the extraordinary people in our real world. People who have incredible talent like, say, athleticism or acting talent, or people who are really good at making "smart" accessible (Neil Degrasse Tyson, anyone?), or who create amazing things technologically or artistically. We revere them. We make them celebrities and toss pots of money at them. I mean, sure, we can't relate to them, but with social media and Comic-Con-type events and a million interview sources, we're trying pretty hard. We might not be able to fit into their worlds or become friends with them, but we're not running screaming from them or making laws against them.

Someone might say, "Yeah, but an actress can't hurt me with her acting the way someone with super strength can." Except...yeah, she can. She can use that talent to lie and rip your heart to shreds, or con you out of your life's savings. And despite the fact that athletes and Navy SEALs could do some serious damage to us physically, we don't treat them as if that's our first thought about them. Athletes get autograph and hug requests, not stones thrown at them.

I feel like as a society, if extraordinary people existed, we would look more to what they can do FOR us, not TO us. Take what's been happening this week. We are far more likely to react in fear and hatred toward people who can only hurt us emotionally, if at all, and celebrate those who display physical strength of some kind, for good or bad. We go after those who are vulnerable because we fear our own vulnerability. (Maybe. That's probably going way too deep for someone as shallow as I am and isn't the point of this post.)

THE POINT is...I want people to share! I want to find books, movies, and TV shows that celebrate people who have paranormal abilities, instead of shunning them, subjugating them, or otherwise forcing them into hiding so they don't get killed. I want fun stuff, light stuff, even heavy stuff where having abilities is a good thing.

Oh, and here's the big challenge: No vampires or shifters, please. I'm sure there are plenty of those that fit the other parameters, but they aren't what I'm looking for.

Ready...GO! :)

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Victoria Smith Announces Into the Fire!

I had the pleasure of reading this book before release, and let me tell you, if you enjoy dark, emotional, dangerous stories set in violent worlds where survival is everything, this is the book for you! Also..OMG with that cover. I love it!


Into the Fire


In Olivia Sanders' world, people like her don't survive very long. Special abilities are a threat to the corrupt government and those loyal. Olivia and those with similar abilities struggle to keep their secrets as new laws threaten them daily. Though hiding isn't enough for Olivia. A healer and firestarter, she works with the resistance to ensure the safety of the people of her sector, toiling in an unforgiving world without freedom or hope with the goal that someday they will find both.

Poisoned by someone she should never have trusted, betrayed by her godfather, the former governor, who is using disturbing methods to control the population and grow his army, Olivia is forced to seek help from Luke Jamison, the leader of the resistance. They join forces with his brother, Matt, and Jillian Derrick, a hard-as-nails woman leading a band of "undesirables" to safety.

As conditions in the sector deteriorate and the death toll climbs ever higher, Olivia and Luke, Jillian and Matt, cling to the miracle of found love while facing the horror of a future without each other.

Buy Now


Victoria Smith lives in Central PA with her high-school sweetheart and way too many animals. She writes paranormal, urban fantasy, and dystopian—all with romance, because who doesn’t love a happy ending? She publishes with Liquid Silver Books and Soul Mate Publishing. Visit her at http://vickismith.blogspot.com

Tuesday, July 04, 2017

The Power of Redemption

Many, many years ago, I read a series by Maggie Shayne that contained a really evil villain. Who got a story of her own. That I loved. I couldn't believe I could hate someone so much and then come to understand them and root for them to find some happiness. The skill she used to make me feel that way awed me, and I never forgot it.

So when an author I really liked announced the next book in her series would feature a character she'd set up in previous books as not very likable, I went "eh." But then I remembered Maggie Shayne, and I really do liked this author's books, so I bought, read, and of course loved it.

Unfortunately, not all readers have that touchstone of a reminder. This was proven to me with Sunroper, the third book in my Goddesses Rising series. Marley was a woman who'd made a lot of mistakes in the first two books. I think Sunroper is the best of the three, that she becomes a very worthy kick-ass heroine who deserves her hero, but it's hard to overcome that "eh."

And here I am trying to do it again. :)

At long last, I get to announce the release of the final book in The Soul Series, with Soul Deep.

The hero is Tars Suinn, the villain from Soul of the Dragon (which is still free in digital form, FYI, and now out in paperback as well).

Ten years has passed since the events in the first book. Tars has worked hard to make up for the choices he's made, and the consequences of his actions. But he doesn't believe in his own redemption. He's disconnected from the powers he used to wield, and the world is a colorless place.

Until he meets Ke'an Oliviera. Series readers will recognize her from Soulflight, where she was one of the abductees that Samantha and Rock Davis (along with Alexa and Ryc from SotD) rescued from Pike Laurent. Ke'an was still suffering from the loss of her fiancé, and though it has now been 15 years since he died, she still hasn't really moved on. Until she meets Tars, who defies what she thought she knew of the men like him.

I knew back when Tars walked away from Alexa that he would need his own story. And I knew when Ke'an fought her way out of Pike's compound that she would need hers. And I freaking love the way it happens! (Note: I am not a plotter. I discover the story as it happens, just like a reader does, so I don't feel I can take credit for writing something that makes me happy. LOL)

A lot of things come full circle in Soul Deep. Tars' redemption, sure, and Ke'an choosing to live a more dynamic life. But the past has to be resolved before the future can be happy, and Tars' story isn't just about him. It's about the man he betrayed, too. And because I write action-adventure, you know there are some dire straits and chases and battles and all that stuff. There's a megalomaniac billionaire with more resources than sense and a stalker who shows what can happen when you can't find resolution with your past. You'll see a lot of characters from the previous books in the series, too. Some have big roles, some cameos, but all fun.

I really hope you'll give it a try! If you're not already a reader/fan of The Soul Series, you can find links to all the book pages here. Or, if you're ready to dive into Soul Deep...

Buy Now (or click the preferred store link below)


Amazon Kindle  iBooks  Nook  Google Play  Kobo  Inside Romance  Smashwords

Goodreads

Friday, June 30, 2017

Just Romantic Suspense Giveaway

I have a LOT of news coming over the next couple of days! Some really exciting stuff.

But let's start with this giveaway by Just Romantic Suspense! It includes a print copy of Soul of the Dragon, so if you've been patiently waiting for that, you can try to win it there.

There are 30 books by 30 authors. The first winner gets to pick 10, and the other two winners split the rest. Click the image to go to the contest page to review the prizes ahead of time. The giveaway opens on July 15. Good luck!

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

The First Sentence

I am really excited to tell you about my new project!

A couple of years ago, I was at a conference with a bunch of authors I know, hanging in the bar after all the workshops and events of the day were done. It was a nice bar. Comfy seats. Most of us don't ever drink, so this wasn't one of those "brilliant" ideas you think better of the next morning. It was still brilliant!

We were all talking (probably) about how much of a bummer it is when you have a story idea you love and then you see an author—usually one more well-known than you are—with a book using that idea. Even though you KNOW that author wrote a totally different book than you would, because that's how it goes. You give 10 people a writing prompt and they'll all write very different things.

And Misty Simon said, "WE SHOULD TOTALLY DO THAT!!!!"

And so we did.

Introducing THE FIRST SENTENCE
A collection of romance novellas



We ended up with five stories by five authors, all beginning with the same sentence. From new adult to contemporary, paranormal to futuristic, with a post-apoc style weather event thrown in, we run the gamut of romantic subgenres. These are emotional adventurous stories we had a ton of fun writing. And they are FREE!

I probably should have mentioned that sooner.

So go check it out, and stay tuned for The Second Sentence, which we're already working on! The degree of difficulty will increase each time, and you know you want to witness it! :)



The premise: That if 5 authors start with the same sentence, they will all write vastly different stories. The results: made of awesome. From contemporary to futuristic, these novellas have a little bit of everything, but most especially—love-filled happy endings.

Rebound by Allison B. Hanson
After wallowing in agony for weeks after a bad break-up, Reese is set up on a blind date. Reluctantly, he goes and meets the girl of his dreams. The only problem? He was at the wrong place and met the wrong girl. Now, desperate to find her, he scours the campus as fate weaves an impossible journey.

Lost and Found by Misty Simon
When Mike Emory sees his ex’s post on social media that she’s looking for her lost dog, he’s out the door in a flash. Their break-up was not amicable, but he loved that dog and can’t imagine him on his own. Elsie Hews has been scouring the streets for hours when she runs into the last person she wants helping her—the guy who never seemed to think she was capable of doing anything herself. This is her dog, though, her baby, and she’ll accept Mike’s help to find him, then say goodbye again. Or that’s the plan, at least…

Frozen Dreams by Victoria Smith
When a dangerous weather anomaly strikes, Jane will do whatever it takes to travel to be with her family. Even if it means getting stuck with her husband, Adam. Instead of talking to him about how they will never have a family, she took the chicken route and left, despite being deeply in love with him. Now they must face the storm and their emotions.

Through the Void by Natalie J. Damschroder
There’s only one thing Vix can do when she finds out about the secret life that has led to her husband’s coma—make that life hers. When she goes on her first mission through the void, however, she finds not only a new self-purpose, but her lost husband, as well. She did the impossible once. Can she do it again, and bring him home?

A Real Boy by Vicky Burkholder
Jillian Night is on the hunt for inter-planetary kidnappers. Her bosses demand she have a partner, but Jillian has had enough of human ones. She prefers to work alone so Fleet assigns her one of the new androids. Zeus is a little too real for Jillian’s comfort and she finds herself attracted to him—until she meets the real man pulling the strings. Maybe having a real, live partner wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Friday, March 24, 2017

D.R. Grady Gives Us Trouble with Nerds!


The Trouble with Nerds
by D.R. Grady


Odd things keep happening to Dr. Sara Newton. She’s a soon-to-be-unemployed pediatrician with an alleged stalker, a hot cop on her heels breathing dire warnings, and way too much student debt.

It doesn’t help that the hot cop is Clay Morrison, her best friend’s older brother. The man has made her heart pound and her palms sweaty since puberty. The trouble is, he only interacts with her when he’s expounding on new security measures. He sees threats everywhere.

Clay Morrison is frustrated. He hates his new job, misses his Army Ranger days, loves his well-meaning, pushy family—and when did sweet Sara Newton grow up? She won't admit she has a stalker, and she won't keep out of his thoughts. He can only protect someone in denial for so long. No matter how attractive she is...

Clay and Sara are circling each other, trying to meet in the middle. Then a brand new threat sends them in a completely different direction.

Buy Now!

Excerpt:

The man in front of her grinned. In a twisted parody of a grin as he reached for her. She eluded with a slick move from Janine, but the man flowed with her. As though he had anticipated her action. This time she thrust forward to jab him in the knee, then followed through with a shot to the crotch. He dropped to the floor, grabbing at his damaged goods as she stepped over him to flee the small room.

And slammed into a solid object. The hard hands circling her arms weren’t friendly. This man’s gold tooth gleamed in the dimmed light, and the flash made her heart sink. To the catacombs. She spun, trying to break his grasp, as Greg had taught her.

His grip didn’t falter. Instead, he used his hold on her upper arms to sweep her off the rug and over the men all around them. She shrieked. Just because they wanted to keep quiet didn’t mean she had any intention.

Especially with fear now clouding her thoughts, because her heart thumped and sweat coated her top lip. She knocked her head into his chin and let out another scream. Putting as much volume into it as possible. He countered with a fist to her chin.

The blow snapped her head back, and blanked her mind as pain ratcheted up her jaw into her head. Everything blurred before she yanked up a hand and thrust two fingers into his eyes. Greg had warned there was no need to play fair in battle, so she jabbed at his eyes and used her aching head to free herself, head butting him whenever the opportunity arose.

Her feet were free so she aimed for his knees. Desperation and pain fueled her actions, no matter how cliche. The man laughed at her efforts. Red slashed across her vision as she thrust away her aches and the nasty taste in her mouth. At the clamoring of her common sense, yelling at her to shrivel into a sack of pleading.

She wiped blood off her lip as the images in front of her narrowed to this leering man with his ugly golden tooth. Maybe she wouldn’t win this, but she’d do her best to make Clay proud.

This time when she jabbed him, she did so with her medical expertise. She hit him in the solar plexus and then followed through with a blow to the nose. Next, the money shot. A swift knee to the groin. It was gratifying when he cried out, and crumpled.

Her success surged to her head. Triumphantly, she spun, right into the chest of the largest man she’d ever seen. This might be a gorilla pretending to be a man. He was hairy and needed to bathe, and he leered at her just like the idiot she’d just toppled.

Sara’s bravado faltered and scuttled away with a whimper as she stared at this person so much bigger than her. This is why guns had been invented. Because there was no way...

“Sara, run,” Clay bellowed.

Not about to disobey, she darted between the gorilla’s legs and slid across the rug. Her sweater caused drag, but she scrambled to her feet, and sprinted down the hallway. Away from the terror behind her. Her heart pounded in tune with her fleeing footsteps as her breath came in short, staccato gasps.

Buy Now!


About the Author:

D.R. Grady lives with her husband near Hershey, PA. She adores chocolate, laughing, collecting bags, books, and shoes, and writing stories that resonate with others.

Website
Twitter
Amazon Author page
FacebookPage
Google+



Other works by D.R. Grady

The Morrison Family Series:


The Trouble with Nerds
The Nerd who Spied Me


Free Short Stories:


Math Nerds and Mechanics
Tall Golf


The Me Series:



The Dragon Chronicles Series:




For additional buying options and updates, please visit her website-

Friday, March 10, 2017

Tomatoes, Pickles, and a Whole Lot of Ivy!


Hoedown Showdown

The Final Ivy Morris Mystery


With the Tasty Tomato Tournament just days away, the small town of Martha’s Point is all abuzz. This is the first year without a sure winner, and the competition is fierce to gain the judges’ approval, even before the tournament starts.

But when Ivy finds one of those judges dead in a shed across the street, things go from bad to worse. All she wanted was seven glorious, kid-free days of messing around with her husband. Instead, she’s going to be tracking down a killer, staying out of the way of a pickle-obsessed farmer, and dodging the new cop who seems out for her blood.

Buy Now

Excerpt

“Myrt,” I said patiently, as if talking to a small child. “First of all, this wasn’t the tomato crusher. It was Judge McIntyre.”

I didn’t even get to the next part since she started wailing. “Oh, my stars! I’m never going to win the Tasty Tomato Tournament now! It’s the fiftieth anniversary, and I wanted at least one chance before I die! And now I will never win this! I’ll be a dead woman long before I can ever show my face again in the tournament! And this was supposed to be my year!”

Not only was that a lot of exclamation points, but she also dragged the last word out until it sounded like a cat dying. I tried to calm her down by settling my hand on her shoulder. She shook me off while dropping her cane at her feet. With a ton of creaks and cracks, she knelt down beside him and started babbling about how sorry she was.

“I don’t think you should touch him.” I said this while definitely keeping my distance. I did not want to touch him more than I already had. To be honest, it had been some time since I was involved in anything more than feeding and playing with my kids or running my store and being a wife. Occasionally I would help Ben with a case or two in his work as a private investigator, but it was more paperwork than anything else. I did not want to even know what had happened to the judge, much less who had done it. Ben was not going to be pleased. At all.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. McIntyre,” Myrt said with her face close to his, her hand patting his chest. There was a crinkling noise, but she was still talking. “So very sorry. When Irma died last year in her sleep after winning her forty-ninth straight tournament, I thought I finally had a chance, and now I hit you, and I’m so very, very sorry, and I can’t believe I mistook you for a burglar.” She twisted her hands together like she was wringing out a dishtowel. And she was going to draw blood if she continued biting her lip in between babbling some more.

I had few choices right now. I have to admit here that I had no desire whatsoever to call the police. I didn’t want to be involved in things. I had plans this week. This was not going to keep me from swinging from the freaking chandelier if I could.

Of course, I could go across the street and call from the house, or have Ben call and then remove myself from the situation altogether. But that would be completely unfair to Mrs. Crandall.

I couldn’t help myself. I let out a scream that would have brought down an opera house, something between frustration and fright because, at that moment, something furry ran against my leg before shooting into the bushes.

In the end, the decision of what to do was taken out of my hands because the police came tearing up in the one marked car in town, screeching to a halt at the curb. A man in uniform was out of the car before I could blink again. And I’m glad I didn’t blink because I would have missed the way he jumped from the car and then did a forward roll across the front lawn as if he was in some crazy-assed shootout.


Author Bio: Misty Simon loves a good story and decided one day that she would try her hand at it. Eventually she got it right. There’s nothing better in the world than making someone laugh, and she hopes everyone at least snickers in the right places when reading her books. She lives with her husband, daughter and three insane dogs in Central Pennsylvania where she is hard at work on her next novel or three. She loves to hear from readers so drop her a line at misty@mistysimon.com, or visit her on Facebook or Twitter.