Guest Post with Kendra Leigh Castle

I'm happy to introduce Kendra Leigh Castle to my blog today. She is the author of three amazing paranormal romances, one of which I just recently reviewed, Wild Highland Magic. I'm desperately hoping that she is going to write more as I love the world that she has created. Needless to say, I'm a huge fan and jumped at the chance to have her post here :)

A Chat with Kendra Leigh Castle

Heroes. They come in all shapes and sizes, from all over the planet and, in quite a few cases, from parts beyond. But whether in a kilt (yay!) or a pair of butt-hugging jeans, these guys have one thing in common: they win the day and get the girl. Still, I love that there are endless variations on the romantic hero. Lots of inspiration out there for those of us who are proudly mushy of heart. I tend to like mine on the alpha side, larger than life and a little bit dangerous, though there are exceptions (I admit, I always liked Spock, and am positive he would have made an AMAZING romantic hero if Kirk had ever quit hooking up with random bikini-wearing alien babes long enough for the writers to focus on something else). I thought, considering I’ve just released another hero into the world with the release of my new book Wild Highland Magic, that I’d share some of my favorite heroes with you. But first, a little about that new release, which caps off the MacInnes Werewolf trilogy with a handsome, cursed hero, a sexy werewolf heroine, and dragons and demons galore.

Bastian an Morgaine has always been a man apart. The only male ever born into the Dyadd Morgaine, Tribe of the Goddess, his unusual powers and silent strength have kept him a mystery even to those closest to him. But Bastian hides a terrible secret, one that drives him to isolate himself on the remote Highland estate of the MacInnes Wolves: he carries a terrible curse, one he knows he must either find a way to remove, or make sure that it dies with him alone.

Catriona MacInnes, the daughter of the powerful Pack Alpha’s long-estranged brother, has only just begun to discover her family’s rich legacy. Worried about her father’s increasingly strange behavior, Cat hopes that Scotland might somehow hold the answers to all of her family’s problems. But upon Cat’s arrival, it’s the reclusive stranger with the face of a fallen angel who consumes her thoughts and fires her blood. Cat soon begins to suspect that her father isn’t the only one with secrets. If only her every instinct wasn’t telling her that Bastian must be hers alone, no matter the cost…

In the western Highlands, as the Wolves gather, an ancient evil watches, waiting to reach from the shadows and fulfill its dark destiny. A daemon’s curse has terrible power. But the love of a Wolf might just be stronger…and as Bastian and Cat are about to discover, the Highland moon has a magic all its own.

I’m really excited about the way Wild Highland Magic came together, and I hope you’ll all check it out! And now, as promised, I present to you, in no particular order, some of my favorite heroes from film and fiction (and men who’ve definitely informed the way I write my own heroes!):

1. Aragorn - A reluctant king who's dirty and sweaty and sword-wielding, with honor and bravery to burn. My kind of man!

2. Wolverine - See above, except substitute "razor-sharp claw" for "sword." Cyclops was cute and everything, but I never could figure out Jean Gray's rationale for picking him over Logan.

3. Simon Hunt from Secrets of A Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas - Lisa Kleypas's Wallflowers books are some of my very favorites. I love all four heroes, but Simon is probably my favorite (with St. Vincent a close runner-up). A tall dark and handsome commoner who is only grudgingly allowed to run in noble circles because of his huge fortune and keen financial knowledge, Simon knows he doesn't fit in and and revels in it. He's bold, brash, and earthy in the absolute best way, and watching him finally catch the impoverished-but-still-above-him Annabelle Peyton, the one person he secretly fears he isn't good enough for, was an absolute treat.

4. Darius en Kragin from Heart of the Dragon by Gena Showalter - Gena Showalter never ceases to amaze me with her heroes' Lust Index, which is always off the charts. For me, though, Darius is and will always be in a league of his own. A dragon warrior who acts as Guardian of the gate between Atlantis and Earth, he's lost the ability to feel any emotion...that is, until Grace Carlyle unwittingly stumbles through that gate and Darius can't bring himself to kill her, as he's been sworn to do. Pure alpha male, able to sprout scales and wings AND breathe fire...there are seriously no words. Utter hotness.

5. Tristan Thorne - When I saw the movie Stardust last summer, I immediately knew I would end up buying the DVD (which I don't do all that often). I'm a sucker for a good fairy tale, and this adaptation of Neil Gaiman's graphic novel was definitely that! Tristan goes from adorable, bumbling shop boy to swashbuckling hero over the course of the movie (from beta to alpha, I guess you could say!), and I loved him on both ends.

6. Wolf from the miniseries The 10th Kingdom - The series itself was a little uneven, but it had a great premise (real world girl must save the fairy tale world she discovers is closer than anyone might have imagined), and the good-guy Big Bad Wolf is a fantastic hero. Puppy dog sweet with an interesting edge as the moon waxes, Wolf definitely influenced my conception of the hero in my book Dark Highland Fire. Gabriel MacInnes is a big, outgoing party boy who's deeper than he seems...and sexy as all get out. He owes some of that to Wolf.

7. The Phantom of the Opera - Yeah, yeah, I know he's a tortured anti-hero who doesn't get the girl. Know what I say to that? Boo. Hiss. there's a reason why this character has turned up in various ways with various names in lots of different romance novels, and it's because a lot of us think the Phantom got robbed. Gerard Butler as Phantom, by the way = WHAT were you thinking, Christine??

8, 9, 10 - My own heroes, of course...I wouldn't write them if they weren't my favorites! Gideon and Gabriel MacInnes, and now Bastian an Morgaine are all my favorite sorts of heroes, big and bold, but with a sweet side, capable of amazing bravery, and always surprised when they fall like a ton of bricks for one of my smart and sexy heroines. They may be different...Gideon carries the weight of the world on his shoulders because of his impending rise to the position of Alpha of his pack, Gabriel, as the second son, parties more than he should and struggles with what his place in the world is, and Bastian spends every moment of his life in very literal danger... but they're all heroes in every sense of the word.

Thanks so much to Sam for having me by the Book Blog today, and to everyone for stopping by! So now it's your turn: who are some of your favorite heroes, and why?

Kendra Leigh Castle is the author of the MacInnes Werewolves trilogy, as well as the upcoming series The Fallen, coming from Harlequin Nocturne. She lives in Maryland with her husband, three kids, and menagerie of pets, and loves to be visited online at www.kendraleighcastle.com

And guess what?!? I have a copy of Wild Highland Magic to giveaway! Yay! Just leave a comment with your email address and you will be entered. How easy is that? Sorry, but it only open to U.S. and Canada residents. And if you haven't given this author a try yet go out and pick up Call of the Highland Moon.

Guest Post with Terry Spear

How fun to have yet another author blogging today. I should have made March guest author post month or something fun like M.G.A.P. (ok, that wasn't very fun but it was the best that I came up with). Today, I am lucky enough to share a post from Terry Spear, author of Destiny of the Wolf. I just posted my review of this book so when you are finished reading this go check it out :0) And without further ado...

Ticking Time Bombs
By Terry Spear

Ever read a story that doesn’t have one? If so, was it booooring? We’ve got to have them to make the reader want to see what happens in this lifetime, not the next!

In Lord of the Rings, the ring must be destroyed before the evil guy gets hold of it.

In Gone with the Wind, Scarlet O’Hara has to save her plantation home before she loses it.

In Destiny of the Wolf, the heroine is determined to discover who murdered her sister and make the villain pay. But not only does that person not want her to expose him for what he is, her own pack is looking for her and they’re bad news. She knows the longer she stays in the area, the greater chance she has of ending up like her sister or getting caught by her pack and forced to return home against her will. So there’s definite immediacy to the situation.
Excerpt from Destiny of the Wolf:
“More than ever, she had to avenge her sister’s murder and leave. The longer she stayed, the higher the risk Bruin would locate her. Probably Darien would want to contact the leader and tell him what happened to her sister and Lelandi. Sense of honor. Then Bruin would force her to return home.”

In Heart of the Wolf, Bella has to leave her pack behind in a hurry. Not tomorrow. But now. Excerpt:

“She bolted, with her legs stretched far out, her heart pounding, her breath steady, but her mind frantic...her only chance was to toss her clothes and run like the wolf.”

In the first novel I ever wrote, the span of time for the story was a year. A year to deal with tons of issues, but a year was way too much time for the story to drag on.

So when creating a story, I factor in urgency, which helps to create conflict. Think of a scenario where a Cub Scout is baking a cake from scratch and everything works out fine. No urgency, no conflict. Boring. But let’s say the Cub Scout has all the ingredients out but one, and that one isn’t in the kitchen. And the cake has to be ready in two-hours time. And we live in the country. So it takes half an hour driving time just to run into town to get the missing ingredient. Let’s say the ingredient is now in the kitchen, and the Cub Scout makes the cake, trims it into a Star Wars spaceship. It’s sitting nice and pretty on the high kitchen counter waiting for the icing, and then will be taken to the Bake Auction, which is one of the most fun Cub Scout events they have. But his standard poodle who is a chocolate stealing thief swipes it. Okay, now yes I write urban fantasy. But yes, this is a totally true story. And yes, the dog got sick, which is the reason we had the cake up on the high counter. But that didn’t detour her and we never thought in a million years she’d do that anyway.

So we have even greater urgency. The Bake Auction is looming even closer. Cub Scout is at wits end. It has to be a cake made from scratch, but there’s not enough time to make another one like that. So we whip out the box cake mix and despite being so disappointed that he’s “cheating” with making a box cake, he starts all over.

Ticking time bombs. They have to be sprinkled throughout the story to make it work. So what happened with the Star Wars cake? Friends kept bidding the price higher so that the Cub Scout’s dad HAD to buy it at the highest price at the auction. Had to! Because the Cub Scout had to have a piece of that cake that he’d worked so hard to make—twice.

So can you think of books that kept you riveted in your seat because of the time bombs planted throughout the story?

Thanks so much for dropping by and hope you will check out my books that are filled with conflict, romance, and mystery!

Terry Spear
And join me at this locations, too!
www.terryspear.com
http://wickedlyromantic.blogspot.com
http://casablancaauthors.blogspot.com
http://shapeshifterromance.wordpress.com/
http://www.myspace.com/terryspear
http://twitter.com/TerrySpear
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=698072929http://www.myspace.com/terryspear
http://wickedlyromantic.blogspot.com/2009/03/talk-about-sexual-frustration.html (Here I'm talking about sexual frustration in the strangest of places! But check out our Mascot, AKA The Blond Muddy Guy!)

I just want to thank Terry Spear for this post and taking the time out to write it. I didn't realize that there was another book out by her (Heart of the Wolf) and I am going to have to reserve it at the library. Thanks again Terry!!!

Guest Post with Helen Hollick

This week I was lucky enough to have two authors agree to guest post here. Helen Hollick is the author of the amazing novel The Kingmaking which I just reviewed. This book was awesome (as if I haven't gushed enough about it) and I am so excited to here what she has to say.



The Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy
The Kingmaking ~ Pendragon’s Banner ~ Shadow of the King

I had no interest in history at school. The lesson I looked forward to was English. Mrs Llewellyn brought passion to the subject and suggested such exciting novels for us to read. She encouraged my writing and spent time showing me how to make my essays better—advice I have never forgotten and am willing to pass on to other new authors.
After leaving school I found a job as an assistant at my local library. While working there I re-discovered Rosemary Sutcliff’s wonderful novels set in Roman Britain – Eagle of the Ninth, Frontier Wolf, Mark of the Horse Lord etc, and then Mary Stewart’s Hollow Hills Trilogy - and I had discovered the real Arthur.
I had never liked the traditional Arthurian stories. I could not accept that King Arthur of the medieval tales was so poor at being a king. To become King, and then abandon his Kingdom in search of the Holy Grail? Surely he would have foreseen the affair between Lancelot and Guinevere?
Mary Stewart’s novels had an author’s note where she stated that if Arthur had existed he would have been a post-Roman war lord. I liked that idea and read as much about the ‘real’, more interesting Arthur as I could.
I also read novels, but was frustrated with most of them. They were not how I saw things. I was so annoyed at one of them that I threw the book away. That made my mind up. I was going to write my ideas of what might have really happened.
There would be no knights in armour, turreted castles or Holy Grails, No myth, no magic. No Lancelot, no Merlin. Instead, I went back to the early Welsh legends of Arthur and his wife, Gwenhwyfar. The early legends turned out to be far more exciting than the other stories. This Arthur was real.
I wanted to bring Arthur alive to put flesh and bone on the names we are familiar with – to make my readers think “Yes, that is how it was!”
My characters were to be people no different to us – yes the situation was very different – no running water, no heating, electricity or plumbing. All food had to be hunted or grown, no medical services … but people do not change, emotions remain the same. They loved and hated, wept and laughed. Were compassionate or spiteful.
It took me ten years to finish the Kingmaking – I was so proud when finally I finished. Even more proud when my good friend Sharon Kay Penman recommended me to her agent, who passed me to William Heinemann/ Random House UK. And now Sourcebooks Inc have renewed the pride by publishing this fabulous new edition.

Helen Hollick
Main Website: www.helenhollick.net
My Pirate Novels: www.myspace.com/cptjesamiahacorne
1066 the Movie: www.myspace.com/haroldgodwinson
or: www.1066thefilmplc.com


Thanks so much to Ms. Hollick for taking the time out to share this with us! I have to admit to being curious as to why she decided to write this book as well as take such a realistic spin on this story. If you haven't had the chance yet, definitely check this book out as it will be worth your time :) And if you want to read more reviews, interviews, and guest posts on this book then check out the links below!


http://harrietdevine.typepad.com/harriet_devines_blog/2009/02/the-kingmaking.html 2/20
http://lazyhabits.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/the-kingmaking/ 2/21 and interview 2/27
http://carpelibrisreviews.com/the-kingmaking-by-helen-hollick-book-tour-giveaway/ 2/23
http://www.historicalnovels.info/Kingmaking.html 2/23
http://www.historicalnovels.info/historical-novels-blog.html
http://www.bibliophilemusings.com/2009/02/review-interview-kingmaking-by-helen.html 2/23
http://lilly-readingextravaganza.blogspot.com/2009/02/kingmaking-by-helen-hollick.html 2/23 and guest blog 2/25
http://chikune.com/blog/?p=484
http://chikune.com/blog/?p=488 2/24
http://booksaremyonlyfriends.blogspot.com/ 2/25
http://peekingbetweenthepages.blogspot.com/ 2/26 and guest blog 2/27
http://webereading.blogspot.com/ 2/26
http://www.caramellunacy.blogspot.com 2/26
http://bookthoughtsbylisa.blogspot.com/ 3/1
http://www.skrishnasbooks.com/ 3/1
http://jennifersrandommusings.wordpress.com/ 3/1
http://rhireading.blogspot.com/ 3/1
http://passagestothepast.blogspot.com/ 3/2
http://thetometraveller.blogspot.com/ 3/2
http://steventill.com/ 3/2
http://savvyverseandwit.blogspot.com / 3/2 and interview 3/3
http://www.carlanayland.blogspot.com/
http://readersrespite.blogspot.com/ 3/3 and interview on 3/5
http://libraryqueue.blogspot.com/ 3/4
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/ 3/4
http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/ 3/5
http://samsbookblog.blogspot.com 3/5
http://goodbooksbrightside.blogspot.com/ 3/5

Guest Post with Linda Wisdom

Hey guys, I'm lucky enough to be able to share a guest post from Linda Wisdom. I just read and reviewed Wicked By Any Other Name that is the newest book in her Hex series so check out my review if you haven't. This is a fun series that I highly recommend so let's see what Ms. Wisdom has to say :)

The Librarian Explains The Trouble With Witches

Whenever Jazz needed to do research she visited The Library and if you who have read the Hex series you know The (long e) Librarian is the one to torment Jazz, guide her to the correct research realm, but also make her work for it. He does the same when Stasi seeks answers in Wicked By Any Other Name and leaves her with more questions than enlightenment.

And now The Librarian has decided it’s time to have a talk with the young witchlings about the dangers of venturing outside the protected magickal realms. But he forgets that maybe some of these witchlings might see it as more of an adventure!

The witchlings sat in a semi-circle around the ornate chair that resembled a throne. But then, the wizard seated in the chair did think of himself as a member of wizard royalty even if his kingdom consisted of many portals and realms that held books, scrolls, papyruses and even stone tablets filled with every form of magick and magickal history known to the supernatural community. And woe be to anyone who dared interfere with The (long e if you please) Librarian who ruled his kingdom with an iron plumed pen. Banishment from The Library was one of his favorite punishments.

The short bodied wizard wore old-fashioned bottle green colored knee britches, a faded waistcoat over a linen shirt the color of old parchment and a bottle green long tailed coat. Narrowed black eyes peered at the witchlings over the rim of
ancient half-spectacles perched on his beaklike nose, while his thinning brown hair was fashioned in a neat comb over.

“As you mature and gain full use of your magickal gifts, you must always consider your behavior,” he spoke in a rusty voice. After all, why speak when you can better use your time reading? “ There are those who haven’t carried themselves with the poise and grace your kind are known for and as such, they were banished to the earthly realm for the past 700 years.”

“The class of 1313,” one dark-haired witchling piped up. “But they have all had such rich lives.” She didn’t cower under The Librarian’s censuring look and the wizard knew she would cause trouble in decades to come.

“And they have had much trouble they could have avoided,” he said. “Such as Anastasia Romanov, Stasi,” his nose wrinkled with distaste. “She was one of the Witches Academy shining jewels and she chose to follow her classmates into banishment and ultimately living in a small town that offers little in magicakal enrichment.” He placed his fingers together steeple fashion and sat back in the chair, enjoying the rapt attention the young girls gave him. “By consorting withumans she was threatened with a lawsuit in Wizards’ Court and treated as a pariah among those she walked with. She was a shopkeeper.” His upper lip curled. “

“And a handsome wizard named Trevor Barnes walked into her shop and saw red hearts over her head, the same over his head that meant that they were soulmates,” another sighed. “

“Yes, well.” Clearly not something the prissy wizard cared to think about. “But she had taken care of the lake in her town and that was harmed by magick. She had been accused of interfering with a human’s marriage, and she learned that many did not see her as anything other than a creature of the dark arts.”

“But she wasn’t!” a student protested. “She only wanted women to be happy with themselves. It was wrong of them to see her as evil. To treat her so shabbily.”

“And that is what happens when you interact with others who have no idea of what you truly are,” he instructed. “Anastasia – there was no way The Librarian would use her nickname – was reminded of her time in Olde Salem during the Witch Trials and she fought many battles during a time when the veils of the realms were the thinnest. When Samhain connected with Mercury Retrograde and a lunar eclipse. When ghosts could not understand troubles in their own realms and modern conveniences proved to be useless as the snow fell on their town and took out power.” He glanced at the torches burning along the walls and candles on his worktable. “Some things are best left alone. In order to understand what can happen to you among humans you must study those who have walked among them. Anastasia and others have been among them for 700 years and while they may have performed their share of good deeds along the way, they also have created trouble that has only added to their banishment.”

“But they’re allowed here in The Library,” one witchling inserted. “I have seen Jazz, Griet,” she quickly amended under his glare, “and Blair, ur, Eilidh, and others from that class.”

“Yes, well, Eurydice,” he named the headmistress of the Witches Academy along with being the head of the Witches Council, “has deemed they be allowed to come here. Naturally, I make sure they follow all the rules.” A scroll that appeared to weigh a least 1000 pounds suddenly appeared then plopped itself on his desk.

The witchlings stared at the scroll of rules and fervently hoped they wouldn’t have to memorize them all. The Librarian is well known for inventive punishments if you break one of his ironclad rules.

“But Stasi is happy now,” the dark haired witchling reminded him. “Isn’t that what counts?”

The Librarian sniffed. “Perhaps you need to study more of our history as you help dust the shelves.” He smiled at the memory of that particular realm being miles long.

What about you? Would you prefer to stay in a safe orderly world such as The Librarian’s or would you rather venture out into the outside world as Stasi did even if her time there includes danger and the threat of her world never being the same again?

Linda

Thanks so much Linda for sharing this with us! I've gotta say that I would want to venture into the outside world myself but of course I've read the series and think it sounds like fun. LOL! If you haven't checked this series out yet then pick up 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover. And many thanks to Linda for sharing this and taking the time to post here.