Heroines of Fantasy: Miss April

Well, based on interest from last month’s installment of this series, and that April is the fourth month of the year, I’m going to go ahead and give the fourth Charmed sister her own feature. Here she is.

Paige-Matthews-charmed-and-the-secret-circle-32240062-400-388Paige Matthews

We’re introduced to Paige in Season Four of Charmed. The Power of Three had been broken at the end of Season Three (not saying how), and, naturally, the only way to fix it was to discover a half-sister the Halliwell’s had never known about. Paige is the daughter of mother witch Patty and her whitelighter, Sam (tragic love story that coincidentally mirrors Piper’s own situation…). Paige was given up for adoption because if the Powers That Be ever found out a witch and whitelighter had gotten together, there would be trouble. Unfortunately, Paige’s adoptive parents were killed in a car accident when she was in high school, in which she miraculously survived.

When we meet Paige, she’s working at Social Services as an assistant, though she’s trying to climb the ranks to actual social worker. She has no idea she has magical powers until she meets her half-sisters. Because Paige is a whitelighter, her magic manifests itself a little differently. She can “orb,” which is basically a glowing lights version of “Beam me up, Scotty.” And when she tries to telepathically move things, they end up orbing too.

Paige_Telekinetically_Orbing

“I’ll take that crossbow.”

Paige is the youngest sister, and since she grew up an only child, she struggles to fit into the family dynamic the other Charmed Ones are used to having. Paige is independent and stubborn, and it takes her a while to learn to work as a team with her new sisters. She also struggles to find her own identity outside of running to the beck and call of her family and fighting demons. She tries many things in order to find her place in the world, including being a full-time witch (during which time a potion explosion turns her hair carrot orange red for a season), various temp jobs, and even teaching at magic school.

Like Phoebe, Paige loves being a witch, but it still sometimes gets in the way of romantic relationships. She even falls in love with a male witch at one point who has an unhealthy addiction to magic. Trying to keep her beau from casting spells while she’s running around doing it all day isn’t the best for a healthy relationship…

So with her, the Power of Three lives on and these kick-ass witches continue to fight evil, find love, and look good doing it.

~~~

I hope you enjoyed your visit and come back for more!  You can subscribe using RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.  And if you want to ensure you don’t miss any new releases, sign up for the newsletter!

Cover Reveal: Dreamstealer

I am so excited to share with you all the cover for my next release, Dreamstealer, the sequel to Dreamwalker. It looks AMAZING. But first, here’s some fun info about the upcoming book.

1. Where did the idea for Dreamstealer come from?

Well, it’s the sequel to the novella, Dreamwalker, which was supposed to be a single book, but readers kept threatening begging me to write another one. So I did.

2. What genre does your book fall under?

Fantasy. Kick-ass fantasy, I might add.

3. Who’s the main character?

Lexa is an ex-special forces soldier who knows how to kill a man half a dozen ways with her bare hands. She also has the rare ability to transcend from her mind into the dreamscape, an otherworldly realm somewhere between dreams and the heavens, and then to also enter other people’s dreams. Lexa is a tough, no-nonsense kind of woman who tackles challenges with either sharpened sarcasm or well-aimed right hooks.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Jennifer Garner as Lexa (definitely with the sai from the movie Elektra, but not the leather outfit):

Lexa

Hugh Jackman for Sir Neil Duram (think from Kate & Leopold):

Neil Duram

Child actresses are really hard to find, so let’s say we’d cast an unknown, brand new girl for Princess Taryn and she’d become a star.

Hector Elizondo for, well, Hector, the Steward:

hectorelizondo

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Lexa is once again called out of retirement, this time to help her country’s former enemy when they suspect their twelve-year-old princess is a budding dreamwalker.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It will be self-published, represented by me.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The first draft…two months. But it was bare bones. The second draft and fleshing out took another month, and the real magic happened in the next two. From the first draft to final, the word count more than doubled. So those of you who were sad when Dreamwalker was so short…buckle your seat belts.

8. Does this book have a soundtrack?

Not a very long one, but “Skyrim” by Peter Hollens & Lindsey Stirling is perfect for every fight scene, and “Set Fire to the Rain” by Adele is the backdrop for a very specific, very romantic, scene. (Yes, that’s right, Lexa is getting a shot at romance.)

9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?

My readers. They loved Lexa so much, they wanted more of her. And really, who could blame them? She’s now my favorite character (don’t tell the Elemental Magic women).

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Everything readers loved about the first book—action-packed scenes with plenty of combat, intrigue, snarky Lexa humor, and a quirky guy attempting to sweep her off her feet—you’ll find in this one. And just when I thought I’d already thrown Lexa through the ringer in the first book, well, let’s just say Dreamstealer is one hell of a ride.

And now, drum roll please….

Dreamstealer-AngelaWallace-600x900

Cover Design by Amber Shah at BookBeautiful.com

~~~

I hope you enjoyed your visit and come back for more!  You can subscribe using RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.  And if you want to ensure you don’t miss any new releases (Dreamstealer will be in the next couple months!), you can sign up for the newsletter!

Blackout Poetry

I came across this very interesting concept a couple weeks ago and discovered it’s an actual art form. So what is blackout poetry? Well, an artist takes a piece of printed material, whether a page out of a book, newspaper, article, etc. and draws swirls or images all over it, blacking out most of the words. BUT, the key is that select words are left untouched, creating a poem. Fascinating, huh?

So I thought I’d give it a try. I approached mine more like a doodle, which is why the scrawlings are kind of random. Perhaps that’s why the people who make these are considered artists, not writers. Anyway, I’ve seen some gorgeous pictures of blacked out drawings that relate to the topic of the poem. I won’t re-post them here because of copyright issues, but type “blackout poetry” into Google and be amazed at what pops up.

Blackout poetry

Copyright Angela Wallace 2013

Not the best “poem” lol, but it was a fun exercise to try. If any of you feel an itch to give it a go, I’d love to see what you come up with!

~~~

I hope you enjoyed your visit and come back for more!  You can subscribe using RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.  And if you want to ensure you don’t miss any new releases (one’s coming up in a couple months!), you can sign up for the newsletter!

Inside the Life of a Talking Necromancer’s Knife

I have a very special guest on the blog today. He’s a necromancer’s best friend, and this guy has the honor of working with Kari Hunter, the “worst necromancer on the planet”. Please welcome Stubby!

Thanks for having me. I always knew that I would one day rise to greatness. Sure, I hoped it would be because I finally reached my dreams of stabbing a million butt cheeks, but this is almost as good.

Uh, before we get started, I just want to remind Stubby that this is a family-friendly blog, and there will be no murdering, stabbing, or poking of the guests while he’s here.

What? I’ve been tricked! If I had legs I’d march right out of here…

Luckily for our audience, you don’t have legs, so let’s get to it, shall we? I understand you don’t get to work with Kari much, her being anti-sacrifice and all. What do you do with your time?

I actually do get to work with Kari, even more now that Mouth, another knife of hers, is gone. Sadly, Kari wastes her time and squanders her potential as one of the most spectacular killers in history by researching magic on the plane of the dead. So whenever someone needs a pinky or toe stabbed to set off a blood power, I’m your knife. When my spectacular stabbing services aren’t needed, I like to kick back with my fellow knives and watch a little TV.

What’s your favorite TV show?

I don’t have a favorite, but I typically watch crime shows. Can’t get enough of them. I’m always on the edge of my seat, hoping that the heroic killer will get away. Sadly, they rarely do.

Uh, right… Can you give us any juicy secrets about Kari? You know, the kind I can sell to the tabloids for beaucoup bucks?

Yes! Now come close and listen to me very carefully. The truth is: Kari sucks. Come to think of it, that’s not really a secret…

I hope she reads this interview. I hear she has a very special form of punishment for when you misbehave… Oh, no comment now? How about if you could stab anyone in the world, who would it be?

I’m afraid to answer. It might give me another week in the underwear drawer. Don’t laugh! You don’t know what it’s like in there, choking on lace and satin and the scent of flowers. Horrible. Kim Jong Un.

*snickers* Do you think Kari and Mikelis make a cute couple?

Yes! I have high hopes that one day they will become a terrific killing duo!

Why are you looking at me like that? Isn’t that what you meant?

What about Kari and the actor Cody Springer?

I like that Cody guy. I hope he sticks around. I think if Kari were finally going to snap and kill someone, it would be him. And my services are always available, if you know what I mean.

Sadly, I do. Now be honest, do you wish Kari didn’t keep her identity a secret so she could take you on tour? Maybe you could even be in the band?

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought of living a life on the road, in the spotlight, on the stage, with plenty of adoring groupies to stab backstage. I’d make a great percussion instrument, where I make rhythmic, soothing sounds of sawing people’s limbs off or that squelchy sound of stabbing someone repeatedly in the big toe. Kenny G, call me.

Perhaps that’s not the best idea after all. If you weren’t confined to a drawer or whoever’s holding you, what would be your dream for your life?

Besides stabbing a million butt cheeks? I’d love to be an actor and star in my own crime series as the most amazing murder weapon of all time!

Sounds thrilling. Thank you for taking time to chat with me today!

Want more of Stubby? Check out The Fourth Channel by Jen Kirchner.

For years, Kari Hunter’s fooled the world into thinking she’s just an everyday girl. Sure, she’s the lead singer of world-renowned band Vis Viva, but outside of that, she recycles religiously, is an avid supporter of the environment, and she’s a certifiable coffee addict. But Kari has a secret she keeps from her family, friends, and fans.

Kari Hunter is a necromancer.

The rarest and most powerful of all magic-born, necromancers are notorious for leaving a trail of sacrifices in their wake. But Kari isn’t interested in hurting anyone. She works hard at being as un-necromancer-like as possible: everyone she stabs gets a bandage and a lollipop, and whenever her sacrificial knives get too excited by the prospect of violence, she puts them in time-out… in her lingerie drawer.

But when an agent of voodoo master Ruairí O’Bryne catches Kari using her powers, her secret’s out. And if Ruairí finds out who Kari is, he’ll stop at nothing to make her his next sacrifice.

~~~

I hope you enjoyed your visit and come back for more!  You can subscribe using RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.  And if you want to ensure you don’t miss any new releases (one’s coming up in a couple months!), you can sign up for the newsletter!

Heroines of Fantasy: Miss March

Welcome to our third installment of a year-long blog series where we feature a heroine of fantasy each month. I’m going to give your TBR lists a break and instead introduce you to a television icon in urban fantasy. And since it’s the third month in the year 2013, we’re getting a magical three in one: The Charmed Ones!

Hear now the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the night, the oldest of Gods are invoked here, the great work of magic is sought. In this night and in this hour, I’ll call upon the ancient power, bring your powers to we sisters three, we want the power, give us the power.

Three sisters born to a witch’s line would become the most powerful force for good in the world: The Charmed Ones. Six months after their Grams’s passing, Phoebe moves home to live with sisters Prue and Piper. She discovers an old Book of Shadows in the attic and recites a spell that unbinds their powers.

 Prue is the eldest. She practically raised her sisters after their mother died and is very responsible, which sometimes leads her to clash with the youngest Halliwell sister, Phoebe, who lives more like a free-spirit. Prue has the power to move objects with her mind. It’s considered the most active power, laying even more responsibility on her shoulders, and leading to guilt when her “superior power” fails to save someone she loves. Prue struggles to keep her identity a secret, especially when it comes to fighting demons and keeping her 9-5 job at a high-end auction house. Eventually, she learns to invest in herself a little more, and quits to pursue her dream of being a photographer.

 Piper is the middle child, always mediating between Prue and Phoebe. She works at a restaurant where she lets her boss walk all over her, yet she endures it because her dream is to become a chef. She has the power to freeze time. Her power starts small, only lasting a minute or so, but eventually grows powerful enough to freeze an entire room, and later she can go the opposite: speed molecules up so fast they explode. Piper just wants a normal life without vanquishing demons and ruining expensive pairs of boots. She also wants to fall in love and get married, but she doesn’t have the best luck with men—one was a demon who tried to kill her, another guy was a ghost, and then she fell in love with her white lighter (a witch’s guardian angel), which was a big no-no.

 Phoebe is the youngest and “without vision” for her life, so Prue would say. Ironically, Phoebe’s power is premonition. It’s not a very active power, which she laments in comparison to her sisters, because unlike them, Phoebe likes being a witch. It gives her a purpose and an identity she’d been lacking in her life. Phoebe is a gung ho heroine, eager to kick some demon ass, and she even learns martial arts to make up for her lack of offensive magic.

Together, the three sisters face the challenges of fighting evil, finding love, and pursuing their dreams, all through the bond of sisterhood. If you haven’t watched this series, run to your Netflix or Hulu stream. (For those of you who are fans, yes, there is a “fourth” sister, but we’re not going to get to her today.)

~~~

I hope you enjoyed your visit and come back for more!  You can subscribe using RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.  And if you want to ensure you don’t miss any new releases, sign up for the newsletter!

LOL Cat Shuffle Results!

Congratulations to Diana Beebe! Her caption suggestion was selected as the winner for our LOL Cat Shuffle. I used a very scientific process for this: I wrote all the suggestions on strips of paper, folded them several times, and then tossed them in the air in front of the kitten. The first one she attacked and chewed on was declared the winner. See? ;-) So here it is!

"Yesh, my hidey sleeve"

Thanks to everyone for playing! I hope you come back the next time I have an LOL Cat Shuffle. Sadly though, my little darlings have been doing so many cute things and they STOP before I can get the camera out. I need to wear it around my neck 24/7 or something. Or install security cameras.

~~~

I hope you enjoyed your visit and come back for more!  You can subscribe using RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.  And if you want to ensure you don’t miss any new releases (one’s coming up in a couple months!), you can sign up for the newsletter!

LOL Cat Shuffle

Okay everyone, time to put your thinking caps on. I have another cute cat picture in need of a funny caption in order to make it an LOL cat picture. So drink some coffee, browse for inspiration, and practice your poor spelling. Here we go!

I See You copy

Thursday night I’ll put all your suggestions in a box…maybe I’ll even let one of the cats dig out the winner. And remember to come back Friday and see the final LOL cat picture!

~~~

I hope you enjoyed your visit and come back for more!  You can subscribe using RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.  And if you want to ensure you don’t miss any new releases, you can sign up for the newsletter!

Friendship Is Magic: Much Ado About Nothing

Love is in the air! I hope you all had a nice Valentine’s Day. And now get ready because Jen Kirchner and I are revamping two famous looove stories. Over here we’re taking Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing and giving it a Friendship Is Magic twist. Then be sure to hop over to Jen’s blog where she brings some much needed ass-whupping with Better With Predator: Fifty Shades of Predator. (I’ll include the link again at the bottom for easy referencing. :) )

Much Ado About Nothing poster   Don Pedro and his nobleponies return from war after having quashed the melancholic uprising led by his pessimistic half-brother Don John. Among the victors are the sharp-tongued Benedick and the young Count Claudio. The gay and triumphant party comes to stay with Leonato and his family. Witty Benedick and fierce Beatrice have a longtime war of words between the two, and boyish Claudio has fallen in love with Beatrice’s cousin, Hero. When Prince Don Pedro learns of Claudio’s feelings, he insists on arranging the match.

Ever sullen and ill-tempered, Don John means to mess with these good intentions.

At a masquerade ball, Prince Don Pedro plans to woo Hero and then give her to Claudio. But his grumpy brother tells Claudio that the prince loves Hero and plans to gallop off into the sunset with her himself. The poor sap falls for it. He turns green with jealousy for all to see, but after a pouting display of barely refrained tears and a quivering lip, he deflates when Don Pedro gives him Hero as promised.

Now the prince needs to pass the time until the wedding. Ah, perfect! He’ll see to matchmaking Benedick and Beatrice! Of course, with the two ponies sworn off marriage, that will be quite the challenge.

Leonato, Claudio, and the Prince stage a loud conversation of how much Beatrice loves Benedick, how she whinnies in fits of painful love, knowing that Benedick is hiding within earshot. Hero and her gentlewoman play the same trick on Beatrice. They both fall for it hook, line, and sinker.

Disgusted with the merrymaking and not to be defeated, Don John has his dragon servant Borachio meet with Hero’s gentlepony in Hero’s chamber window where they share a triple hot fudge sundae. Don John brings Claudio and the Prince to witness this breach of the boyfriend/girlfriend code and convinces them it is Hero. Claudio, of course, is heartbroken. Hot fudge sundaes are his favorite.

Celebrating his mischief-making, Borachio brags of his act in the ears of the watchponies, who then arrest him. The next morning, Constable Dogberry goes to Leonato to have the fiendish dragon examined, but Leonato is too impatient preparing for the wedding to decipher Dogberry’s incoherent babble around his slobbering muzzle.

At the wedding, Claudio takes the bride and groom’s ceremonial ice cream cake and shoves it in Hero’s face, and then leaves her at the altar. Publicly disgraced, Hero balls her eyes out over the ruined wedding, and the ruined cake she spent all night making. The Friar plots to hide Hero and publish that upon Claudio’s vile and hurtful words, she died. (Sugar overdose may have played a part as well.)

Beatrice and Benedick linger to share a sweet moment alone where they declare their love for one another. Beatrice then asks Benedick to shave Claudio’s mane and tail and horseshoe him.
Benedick’s response: “Um, let’s be friends first!”
After more ranting from the also sugar dosed Beatrice, Benedick finally agrees to challenge Claudio. Just after the horseshoe is thrown down, the story of Don John’s deception comes to light and Claudio and the Prince are sorely grieved for their mistake. Claudio begs Leonato for forgiveness, and the old pony gives it on the condition that Claudio marry Beatrice. Claudio agrees.

When the bride is brought forth, veiled, she is revealed to be none other than Hero herself. They profess their undying love. Benedick and Beatrice discover everyone had played with their heart strings and declare they in fact don’t love each other, but Hero and Claudio produce evidence to the contrary: school notebooks with each other’s name drawn in hearts. They kiss and all are friends again. With the exception of Don John, who is caught after escaping. Benedick devises grave punishments for him, beginning with listening to “It’s A Small World” over and over in chipmunk voices. And they all go prancing into happily ever after.

~

Now don’t forget to hop over and read about Fifty Shades of Predator!

~~~

I hope you enjoyed your visit and come back for more!  You can subscribe using RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.  And if you want to ensure you don’t miss any new releases, you can sign up for the newsletter!

My First Love

Happy Valentine’s Day early! I hope all the couples out there have some good plans for celebrating your special someones. And if you’re currently single, be proud and enjoy the positives that come with that. This week I’m celebrating a first love—Phoenix Feather.

Phoenix Feather new cover

Phoenix Feather contained many firsts for me. It was the first book I wrote set in our world. Before that, I’d always written straight fantasy: dragons, sword fights, magic. But then I was thinking about superheroes and this thought struck me—”What if there was a supernatural character who *wasn’t* the hero?” Aidan Quinn was born, a woman who in every way was just like any other except for the dormant power inside that manifested at her death and brought her back to life from the ashes.
When I started writing Phoenix Feather, I just thought it would be a fun experiment; I didn’t expect it to actually go anywhere. But then the process of writing it took off, making it, not the first book I ever finished, but the first book I finished that wasn’t terrible.

Phoenix Feather was also the first book I ever published. It’s hard to imagine how far I’ve come in the past two years (even harder to imagine it’s only been two years!). I knew next to nothing when I published it, not to mention I had no social media presence. I hit that heart-palpitation-inducing “Publish” button  and then read up on good marketing tips, which stated I needed to start a blog and get on Twitter. So that’s what I did. It’s a good thing I fell into the #mywana hashtag group, because I met a handful of amazing people who I’ve been good friends with since.

Lastly, if you’ve read my books, you might find this a little surprising—Phoenix Feather was the first book where I gave my characters a happily ever after. That’s right, before that, I had an unfortunate habit of not letting the guy and girl get together. It’s not like I killed everyone off (though in one case I did kill the guy), but romance just wasn’t in the cards for my characters. Aidan and Trent changed that, and I’m so glad they did. Plus, Trent is a guy I could totally fall for. He’s sweet and solid, with old fashioned values. Half of the writing of this story was me living vicariously through Aidan and falling in love with the guy too.

Phoenix Feather was my first love, not just because it was my first published book or my first romance, but it awakened in me a love for writing urban fantasy, which led me down the path to writing Elemental Magic. Some people have asked if I will write a sequel for Aidan and Trent, but though I love the characters and each one holds a special place in my heart, their story feels complete. For now. The muse may very well change her mind later down the road.

Have you read Phoenix Feather? Tell us about your favorite romantic moment in the book. Hey, even tell us about your first love (doesn’t have to be human ;) ).

Snuggle up this Valentine’s Day with a sweet romantic suspense. Phoenix Feather on Amazon!

Aidan Quinn is a centuries-old phoenix living as a human. Weary of the repetitious life cycles, she’s not sure she has it in her to love again, though dashing fireman Trent McCain is going to do his best to convince her otherwise. But the clock is ticking—a serial killer is on the loose, and he’s on the hunt for a phoenix.

~~~

I hope you enjoyed your visit and come back for more!  You can subscribe using RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.  And if you want to ensure you don’t miss any new releases, sign up for the newsletter!

Heroines of Fantasy: Miss February

This is the second post for our brand new series on this blog called Heroines of Fantasy. Every month we’ll feature a strong, kick-ass heroine from books, movies, or television series. Today we’re tipping our hat to YA book lovers with Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series.

Rose Hathaway

Seventeen-year-old Rose Hathaway is a dhampir—half human, half vampire. Dhampirs/Guardians have one purpose: protect Moroi (good, mortal vampires) from Strigoi (very evil, immortal vampires). Her best friend, Lissa, is a Moroi princess, and the two share a unique psychic bond that allows Rose to mentally eavesdrop on Lissa’s thoughts, feelings, and whereabouts. That would make Rose an excellent guardian for Lissa–if only the dhampir would stop breaking the rules. Even though she’s a student, she can’t help falling for her guardian combat mentor, Dimitri. (And let’s face it, who can blame her? He’s tall, roguishly handsome, a skilled fighter, and has a sexy Russian accent.)

Rose has a bit of a temper, especially when it comes to protecting her best friend. Don’t insult Lissa, or you will likely end up with a broken nose. Try to kill her, get a stake through the heart. Rose is sarcastic and quick-thinking (my kind of girl). With super human strength and speed, she is one bad-ass chick.

Rose isn’t just tough physically. Because of her psychic connection to Lissa, Rose absorbs the dark side effects of Lissa’s Spirit gift. They call it “shadow-kissed.” Rose’s soul walks a fine line between life and death, but her love for her friends keeps her going. And she’ll do anything for them, including cross an ocean when her beloved Dimitri is taken by Strigoi. She has no respect for orders or rules when they go against her instinct to protect those she cares about. But in a life or death fight with undead, blood sucking monsters, or a cat fight in the halls of high school, there’s no one better to have on your side.

~~~

I hope you enjoyed your visit and come back for more!  You can subscribe using RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.  And if you want to ensure you don’t miss any new releases, sign up for the newsletter!