Blog Tour: From Russia with Blood by Michael Lee

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.

You can click HERE to get to the entire tour schedule.

Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour!

I am thrilled to present my feature:

Michael J. Lee and From Russia With Blood.

We are so lucky...

We get both an book excerpt and a guest post!!!

Please welcome...Michael Lee!

Watching the Paranormal Walls Come Tumbling Down

I can’t hate the Twilight series. The success of the first movie directly spawned True Blood and the Vampire Diaries. The book series is a big reason why the Paranormal genre went from a niche to a juggernaut.

It wasn’t always like this. And I remember the pre Twilight years only too well.

I was a semi-finalist in the Austin Teleplay contest. It was a major event for amateur screenwriters. I was invited to the festival and had one on one access to people like producer Barry Josephson. I was having a great time. Then I talked to one of the top TV agents in LA. TV is a hard game. You have to have an agent who specializes in teleplays otherwise they won’t even look at your work. And the top TV agencies don’t read unsolicited manuscripts so winning a major contest is one of the few ways you can get your screenplays read at a major agency. I was having a pretty good conversation with this agent and I was very hopeful. She asked me which show my spec script was for. I answered, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Nope, sorry. They weren’t going to read it. They weren’t going to even look at it.

I stood there with my jaw hanging open for a few seconds while I tried to process her response. I knew Buffy wasn’t a ratings winner, but she responded with such open contempt for the show. It had been critically acclaimed. It had a ravenous fan base. Yet none of that meant anything. It was persona non grata or script non grata as far the other showrunners were concerned. She suggested I do something like CSI instead. Or maybe Monk. That’s what all the tough showrunners around town were watching. Not stuff for teenage girls.

Well, that put my TV writing career on hold for a bit. I tried meekly to defend my beloved show but the hardened and serious professional was having none of it. No joy for Buffy. No joy for me.

One hit movie later and things changed. A lot. Sure CSI is still king of the ratings but I don’t think anyone would scoff at a Supernatural or a True Blood spec script. Now a smart, well written paranormal series is just another TV show.

Maybe you viewed that Buffy vs. Edward video a hundred times. Maybe your vampires burn in the sunlight rather than sparkle. But things were very, very different for the genre before Twilight. Now if you make it to the finals of a major screenplay contest with a True Blood spec the agents there will take you seriously. 

Excerpt of From Russia with Blood:

 Instantly he was right next to her. One hand gripped her shoulder and yanked her backward. His other hand held something that flashed brightly. There was a loud echoing sound.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Gunfire. He’s got a gun!

Larissa stumbled away from Ian. She saw the speeding auto tear down the center of the road. It swerved toward her as she ran.

There was a dark alley immediately behind her. She sprinted into it. It looked narrow. She didn’t think a car could follow. She hoped it couldn’t.

She was ten steps down the alley when she heard a huge crash behind her. She felt it too and half stumbled for a few steps. Larissa whipped her head around and saw the car with its hood crumpled around the corner of the alley. The headlights were flickering and the horn blared.

She slowed a little bit. The car horn stopped blaring. The driver’s side door opened with a crunch and a large man in a dark suit kicked his way out. He staggered into the mouth of the alley clutching his forehead. Larissa saw blood oozing from a cut on his scalp. Then she saw the gun in his other hand. The man raised it at her.

She stood frozen. Was this it? The moment her dreams had warned her about?

Pop! Pop! Pop!

It was the same sound as before. Sharp and loud like fireworks on the Fourth of July. The man hadn’t fired. He stumbled and then fell awkwardly to the ground. She’d never seen a dead body before but she knew that man was dead. He lay in such a twisted manner there could be no doubt.

A shadow approached the alley.

Larissa tore herself from the spot and ran.

She looked back once and saw a tall figure enter the alley. She was on the verge of recognizing him when she smacked into something large and heavy.

Two burly men had jumped out of the shadows and she had run right into their arms. She screamed with all her might as they lifted her off the ground. She kicked and flailed around.

“Is this her?” asked one man in a rough voice.

“Who cares. Shut her up!” came the answer.

A hand like sandpaper clamped down over her mouth and smothered her screams. She saw the black metal of a gun barrel. It hovered above her forehead. She bit down hard on the hand but it wouldn’t let go, even as her teeth tore through the skin.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the tall figure streaking down the alley toward them. It was Ian. He was moving faster than any man she’d ever seen. It didn’t seem real. She’d been to the Central Park Zoo once. There she’d seen a snow leopard dash across its enclosure. It moved so fast and so fluid, like lightning. That was what it was like watching Ian move. There was nothing human about it.

Her attackers dropped her. She fell on her butt as Ian collided with the two of them like a train. There was a flurry of blows. One dropped to the ground. He crumpled like the man at the mouth of the alley and Larissa knew he was dead.

She backed away from the fight. Broken glass and other bits of debris scraped and cut her hands and rear end but she barely noticed. She was too busy watching the fight. What little fight there was.

Ian seized the other man. The brute was nearly twice his size but Ian held him tight and forced him to his knees. They were standing over a sodium lamp and by its pale light she saw the fangs gleaming inside Ian’s mouth.


About the author:

Micheal J Lee was born in the Midwest and has spent time out on the East Coast and in LA.  He learned the craft of screenwriting the hard way, as a barely paid reader. That’s how he got a good feel for writing form and the craft of storytelling. His approach to a story is a lot like Bruce Lee's approach to fighting, absorb what is useful.

Lee published his first paranormal romance, My Frankenstein, recently. It's been an adventure – and now he’s on to book 2, From Russia with Blood.

 http://myfrankensteinebook.blogspot.com/

 http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4849011.Michael_Lee

Thanks for stopping by The Wormhole!

Happy Reading!!!

Blog Tour: Forged in Fire by Trish McCallan

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.

Click HERE to see the entire tour schedule.

Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour!

It is with great pleasure that I present

Trish McCallan!

?When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? The first time my mother read me a bedtime story.

? How long does it take you to write a book? My first book took me eight months. My second took me eight years. I learned the craft of writing on that second book. I must have completely rewritten it, first sentence to last, at least eight times. Not one sentence from the original draft remains in the finished product. My last book took me a year to write. I’m hoping to drop the timeframe down to eight months on the current WIP.

? What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk? That my most productive time of the day is from 4 am until 7 am. But I need a nice hot shower and lots of coffee to wake me up.

? Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write? Yes, I turn my internet off, and lock myself in my office. 

? Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters? Forged in Fire came from a dream, The Cat’s Meow came from the nightly news and Yesterday’s Child came from a newspaper article.

? How do you decide what you want to write about? I choose the project that consumes me the most. I dropped The Cat’s Meow even though I had the first draft down and was halfway through revisions because I couldn’t get the storyline or characters for Forged in Fire out of my mind. I’m hoping to pick The Cat’s Meow back up again after I finish Forged in Ice, the second book in the Forged series.

? What books have most influenced your life? Linda Howard and JR Ward’s books have influenced me the most.

? What is the first book you remember reading by yourself? The Black Stallion.

? What are you reading right now? Never Cry Wolf, by Cynthia Eden

? What do you like to do when you are not writing? Gardening has become a great joy for me since I bought my house.

? What is your favorite comfort food? French Toast

? What do you think makes a good story? Strong, well defined characters. It always boils down to the characters for me.

? Who would you consider your favorite author and why? Guy Gavriel Kay, because his books are so emotionally haunting. I remember them in detail years after I have read them.

? What book, if any, do you read over and over again? Mackenzie’s Mountain by Linda Howard, The wedding and The Secret by Julie Garwood, Dark Lover by JR WARD.

Fun random questions: 

·        dogs or cats? Both, and way too many of each.

·        Coffee or tea? Coffee, but only with French Vanilla Creamer

·        Dark or milk chocolate? Milk Chocolate with whip cream

·        Rocks or flowers? Flowers! Everywhere.

·        Night or day? Day, Morning  preferably.

·        Favorite color? Deep, rich purple

·        Crayons or markers? Markers

·        Pens or pencils? Pens

And her book...

     Forged in Fire

     By Trish McCallan
Genre: paranormal romantic suspense

     Beth Brown doesn’t believe in premonitions until she dreams a sexy stranger is gunned down during the brutal hijacking of a commercial airliner. When events in her dream start coming true, she heads to the flight’s departure gate. To her shock, she recognizes the man she’d watched die the night before.

Lieutenant Commander Zane Winters comes from a bloodline of elite warriors with psychic abilities. When Zane and two of his platoon buddies arrive at Sea-Tac Airport, he has a vision of his teammates’ corpses. Then she arrives—a leggy blonde who sets off a different kind of alarm.

As Beth teams up with Zane, they discover the hijacking is the first step in a secret cartel’s deadly global agenda and that key personnel within the FBI are compromised. To survive the forces mobilizing against them, Beth will need to open herself to a psychic connection with the sexy SEAL who claims to be her soul mate. 

****What did I think of this book???  FANTASTIC!  I truly enjoyed Forged In Fire!  The characters are wonderfully created, the plot is action packed, fast paced, and cleverly creative.  The book is well written.  I found it hard to put down even for a minute or two!

Thanks for stopping by - Happy Reading!

Off the Shelf 2012 Reading Challenge

Hosted by Bookish Ardour, the Off the Shelf.

I am choosing the "Trying" level.  I am going to try to read as many books off my currently overflowing shelves, but I am committing to read the "Trying" level of 15 books.

Wish me luck!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Thanks to all of those brave men and women who serve so we can be free!

May we always remember....

Release Day Blitz: Genesis by John Hartness

Today's the day!  Release day!

Genesis by John Hartness is available!

GENESIS
By John Hartness

The end of the world was just the beginning.

Now they have to stay alive.

17-year-old Christin Kinsey started the day with nothing more pressing than an English exam. But when an EMP attack knocked out all technology across the globe, she found herself in the mountains of Georgia trying to stay alive in a world suddenly thrown back in time a hundred years or more.

And when she starts shooting lightning bolts out of her hands, things get really weird. Christin, her younger brother Matt, and Matt’s cute friend Dave have to figure out what this new world is about, why they suddenly have super powers, and what happened to their mom in this apocalyptic fantasy novel geared for audiences 16 and up.

Mad Max meets X-Men: First Class in the first book of the Return to Eden trilogy by the best-selling author of The Black Knight Chronicles.

John G. Hartness is a recovering theatre geek who likes loud music, fried pickles and cold beer. John is an award-winning poet, lighting designer and theatre producer, with a theatre career spanning three decades.

His first novel, The Chosen, is an urban fantasy about saving the world, snotty archangels, gambling, tattooed street preachers, immortals with family issues, bar brawls and the consequences of our decisions.

He followed up The Chosen with Hard Day’s Knight, a new twist on the vampire detective novel and the first book in the highly successful series The Black Knight Chronicles. The second book of The Black Knight Chronicles, Back in Black, landed in March 2011 and enjoyed immediate success. Knight Moves, the third Black Knight book, was released in August 2011.

John has been called “the Kevin Smith of Charlotte,” and fans of Joss Whedon and Jim Butcher should enjoy his snarky slant on the fantasy genre.

He can be found online at www.johnhartness.com and spends too much time on Twitter, especially after a few drinks.

The Virtual Book Tour is being presented by Bewitching Book Tours.

Be sure to stop by and check out the many wonderful blogs hosting!

(and now.... in case you want a little bit more...)

GENESIS EXCERPT

 Chapter 1

The three teens burst out of the darkened hallway, squinting after the darkness of the hallway. Christin Kinsey drew a sharp breath to ask her brother Matt just what was going on, but a sharp look from the younger boy and the question died on her lips. He hurried across the blacktop parking lot toward her battered old Chevy truck, waving at her to hurry up as he stood by the passenger door, bouncing from one foot to the other like he had to pee or something. Christin unlocked the door, then slid over to let Matt in. He scooted over to the middle and his best friend Dave hopped in beside him.

“What’s going on, Matty? And what is he doing here?” Christin asked, keys dangling from her fingers.

“No time, sis. If I’m right we’ve only got a little time before things get really bad, and we need to be out of here before that happens.”

“Before what happens? Matt, we’re not going anywhere until you explain exactly what is going on here?”

“Please, Chris, just trust me and go home. Now. I know it’s weird, but it’s really, really important.”

“Weird doesn’t even begin to describe this morning, little bro.”

“And it’s probably going to get weirder before it’s all over, sis.”

“You still haven’t told me what he’s doing here.” Christin jerked a thumb at Dave, who was ducked as far down in the seat as his lanky frame would allow.”

“He saw me sneak out of Trig class and tagged along.”

“Wherever you go, adventure follows, Matty-boy. And Adventure is my middle name!” Dave replied.

“Too bad your first name is Dork, then.” Christin muttered as she cranked the truck and pulled out of her parking space. She looked around the nearly deserted lot, smirking a little at a couple of the preppy kids trying to crank their new Priuses and Lexuses. Her truck might be old, she thought, but it was as dependable as her dad had been. Her smirk dipped a little at the thought of her father, but she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and pointed the nose of the truck towards home.

“Okay, Matt, we’re rolling, how about you explain what’s going on?” Christin said as she pulled out of the parking lost onto the main road.

“I can get part of the story by the time we get home, but then you’ve got to go with me, okay?” Matt asked, his eyes flickering between the dark storefronts and the stalled cars all around them.

“Depends on how good your explanation is, so get to it.” Christin said, steering around a stalled Volvo.

“Well you know how all the lights went out all at once, right?”

“Yeah, kinda hard to miss that. So?”

“So did you notice that your cell phone is dead, too?”

“Yeah, but I figured I just forgot to charge it last night. You know how I am about that.”

“Fair enough, but when was the last time I didn’t charge mine?” Matt asked, holding up his phone for her to see the darkened screen. Dave reached into his pocket to show that his phone, too, was completely dead.

“Okay, so the power went out at the same time the cell phones died, that’s kinda weird, but why are you so panicked?”

“Turn on your radio.” Matt said. Christin reached down and snapped on the radio she’d had out in at Best Buy last month, and nothing happened. No lights on the front, no noise, not even static.

“It’s dead.”

“Yeah, sis. I think an EMP has knocked out all electronics in Asheville, and maybe a bigger area. That’s why I want to get out of town.”

“An E-what? And why do you want to leave town?”

“Because if there’s no electronics, no computers, then there’s nothing. No power, no communications, most cars won’t work. That means no police. And no hospitals, and no way to get there. So the more people are around, means more people that could go nuts and do bad things. So I want to get out of town before people figure out that there are no cops and decide to do whatever they want to whoever they want. Is that enough explanation for now?” Matt said as they pulled into their neighborhood. The trip had taken twice as long as usual because it seemed like every traffic light in Asheville had gone out at the same time, and at least ninety percent of the cars were stalled in the streets.

“Park at the end of the drive, nose out, sis.” Matt said as they approached the end of their cul-de-sac.

“What? Why?”

“I don’t want anyone blocking us in. Dave, get to your house, load up like we talked about and get back here in half an hour. No later, I’m not waiting on you. You got it?” Matt’s dark eyes were unusually serious under the shock of brown hair that he usually wore flipped around like a skateboarder or something.

“Got it.” There was no humor in Dave’s eyes either as he bolted down their street toward his house.

Christin knew he only lived a few blocks away, but he was running like his life depended on it. She got out of the truck and looked at her brother over the hood. “Matt, is it really that bad?” 

“Have you read Lord of the Flies? Because we’re on that island. If I’m wrong and everything goes back to normal tomorrow, we’ll come back and face the music about skipping school. But we have to go now.” Matt turned and walked quickly to the front stoop, fumbling with his keys in his haste to get the door open.

Christin caught him on the step and yanked the keys away from him. “No, little brother. I don’t know what Doctor Who episode you think we’re trapped in, but we’re not going anywhere. We’re going to go in this house, pick up the phone, call Mom, make sure she’s okay, and then we’re going to chill in our house until the power comes back on. You understand me?”

The expression on Matt’s face as he looked up at her chilled Christin as much as the words that came out of his mouth. “Chris, you know in disaster movies how there’s always the one guy who sees what’s coming before anyone else and tried to tell everybody about it, but nobody listens and then they’re all screwed? And the guy manages, against all odds, to save his loved ones from the apocalypse?” He had hold of both her arms now, and was looking straight in her face, as if to drive his point home.

            “Yeah, so?” Christin was starting to get really worried, now.

            “Well in this movie, I’m that guy. I’m Jeff Goldblum in Independence Day, John Cusak in 2012, Jake Gyllenhall’s dad in The Day After Tomorrow, all rolled into one because this is real, it is happening, and I have a plan. So please, stop being my big sister for a couple hours and just believe me so I can keep you alive!” He almost broke down at that, but pulled himself together after a moment and looked back up at her. “Please?”

            She didn’t know if she believed in what was going on, or if he was right, but he sure seemed sure of himself, so Christin just took a deep breath, nodded, and said, “Okay. What do I need to do?”

            “You’ve got ten minutes to pack clothes and camping gear. We don’t need tents, because we’re going to Grampa Don’s cabin, but you’ll need all the clothes you can pack into two duffel bags. That’s all you get. Forget about makeup and conditioner and crap like that, just think of it like a long camping trip. Pack as light as you can, but don’t forget anything essential. Figure we’ll be gone for about six weeks. By then it should be safe to come back into town.” He turned and ran inside and up the stairs to his room.

            “Safe from what?” Christin murmured as she watched her little brother run into the house. It was only then that she noticed the absolute quiet that had settled over the town. No car horns, or highway noise broke the afternoon silence. No humming of central AC units from the nearby houses, no refrigerator noises from her own. It was as if the world had been turned off by a giant switch.

            Ten minutes later she dragged her two duffels down into the den to find Matt loading the contents of their father’s gun cabinet into a long bag originally designed for baseball bats or something similar. She dropped her bags and crossed over to him, angry. He looked up as she headed his way.

            “Good. That was quick. Go to the pantry and load up the boxes of canned goods in the bottom of the closet into the truck. Once I’ve got the guns and ammo loaded this bag will need to ride on top, just in case.” He went back to his work, ignoring the stunned look on her face.

            “Just in case of what?” She asked very quietly.

            “Just in case anyone tries to stop us or steal the truck while we’re on the way to the cabin. While you’re in the kitchen, take a dry erase marker and write ‘Plan A in effect, C&M’ on the fridge. That’s the signal Mom and I agreed on in case this happened.” He was in the bottom of the gun case now, loading shotgun shells and rifle ammo. He picked up their father’s 9mm, checked the chamber like he’d done it a thousand times before, and clipped the holster onto his belt.

            “Mom’s in on your plan? Why didn’t you ever talk to me about this?” Christin asked as she headed to the kitchen.

            “It’s not like she was in on it, in on it, it’s more like I told her what my plans were, from A to C, just in case something like this happened and she was away when it all went down. Like today. I don’t think she ever believed it could happen, which was why I never brought it up to you, because you’d have just made fun of me.”

            He’s right, I would have. Christin thought as she started loading canned food into boxes in the kitchen. Suddenly there was a loud knock at the front door, disturbing the unnatural stillness that was all around them. Christin jumped and squeaked a little in surprise, but Matt was already on his feet with their dad’s 12-gauge in his hands, pointed at the door.

            “Answer it, Chris. If I yell duck, I need you to drop to the ground immediately, because I’m gonna shoot whoever’s at the door.” Christin looked at him like he was nuts, but nodded as she went to the door. She opened it to see Mrs. Alldren, their neighbor from three houses down.

            “Oh Christy, I’m so glad you’re home! Whatever is going on everywhere? My power is out, my telephone is out, and I can’t even get my cellular phone to work. And of all times, now my car won’t start! Could you be a dear and run me up to the corner so I can call the power company from a pay phone?” She started looking around Christin into the house like she always did whenever she came along to snoop, but Matt’s voice from the den stopped her.

            “I’m sorry, Mrs. A, but we can’t help you today. We’re packing for an unexpected vacation and have to meet our mother at the airport in 45 minutes. So we’ll be rolling out of here in the next ten minutes. I think if you just head on home you’ll be okay in a couple of hours.” Matt came forward, shotgun nowhere to be seen, and gently but firmly pushed the door closed in the old woman’s face. The kids heard a muffled hrmph! from the other side of the door, and then saw her blue hair totter off down the sidewalk through the windows by the door.

            “What are you doing, Matt? If it’s going to be as bad as you say, shouldn’t we take her with us?” Christin grabbed his arm as he turned to go back to the gun cabinet.

            “Take her with us for what? She’s almost eighty, Chris! If I’m wrong about what’s going on, she’ll be fine by morning. But if I’m right, she won’t last the winter regardless of if she comes with us or stays here. And we can’t take care of her. It’s going to be all we can do to take care of ourselves. I know that’s kinda cold, but it’s about to be a very cold world.” He headed back to the den to finish packing up. I think that kid has seen Red Dawn too many times. Christin thought as she went back to the kitchen to finish loading boxes.

Thanks for stopping by The Wormhole!

Happy Reading!

Christmas Challenges 2011

This challenge is hosted by The True Book Addict and it has it's own blog!

Because challenge are apparently addictive - I have signed up for this one too!

I am however, shooting only for The Mistletoe level - 2-4 books.

These are the books I plan to read:

1. Hot for the Holidays - anthology

2. The Christmas Brides by Linda Lael Miller

3. Christmas with a Vampire - anthology

This reading challenge is being hosted by Book Lovers, Inc.

Of course I had to sign up for this one too!  Challenge Addict - remember!

Overlapping is acceptable, so I figured I could handle one more holiday reading event.

I decided that I would keep the theme and go for the Serial Mistletoe-er level of 4-6 books.

So... my list for this challenge will be the same as for the Christmas Spirit Challenge, but I will be adding a book to the top of the list as this challenge begins earlier!