A New Home for Our YA Series!

Good news--we have a new publisher for our YA SF series!

Our BloodDark series--set on a tidally locked world inhabited by a vampiric race and others--will be re-released by Devine Destinies Books. All new stories set on this world will also be DD releases.

Fire on the Sands will be the first re-release followed by the "Olivia trilogy" of books.

Stay tuned for release dates and details.

Olivia's Return (BloodDark Series Book 2)

It's good to return home--or is it? A year after Olivia Brown's abduction by vampiric aliens, she isn't sure where she belongs anymore.

Cover art by Gwen Phifer.

Olivia's Return
by Cindy A. Matthews and Adrian J. Matthews
Desert Breeze Publishing, February 2017
(Click on cover for direct purchase link)

On Earth, Olivia's told to forget her adventures and go to college. But evidence of wrongdoing by the Pure Bloods prompt fellow Resistance fighter Annara to concoct a plan to spy on Clan Alpha. Are the Alphans dealing with billionaire Roland Grundfest, a man willing to supply "vampire brides" for a price to serve their needs for fresh DNA on BloodDark?

To become a spy, Olivia must do more than dye her hair and change her clothing tastes--she must lie to both her parents and her Quadsang boyfriend, Hernando. A little white lie can't hurt, can it? Once again on BloodDark, Olivia realizes she needs friends like Valori, whose psychic powers can incapacitate hired killers. Will Olivia return to Earth ever again?

Also available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Olivias-Return-BloodDark-Book-2-ebook/dp/B01N9XRMZ2/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1486166534&sr=1-4&keywords=Olivia%27s+Return

Excerpt

Something wasn't quite right. It was quiet aboard the small aircraft. Too quiet. A cold shiver of dread tingled up her spine. Olivia glanced around. Leaning across the narrow aisle, she whispered to Hernando, "Where are all the families? This is a holiday weekend, so you'd expect there would be more people than just us, your driver and those big beefy guys in the black suits and ties in the back... Oh, no."

Annara rotated in her seat and rose up slightly on one knee to gain a better view of their fellow passengers. "I wish they hadn't made me pack my bow and arrows."

Hernando frowned. "How many of them are there?"

"Counting your driver, six," Annara replied, returning to face forward. "These tight spaces will make it difficult to defend ourselves, especially if they have weapons."

"Don't forget we're in an airplane. Chances are they won't have guns. There's too much risk of shooting a hole through the fuselage which will endanger us all." Olivia swallowed a large lump in her throat and tried hard not to sound frightened. "The pilot is either one of them, or this is a hijacking."

"What is a hijacking?" Annara asked. "Does this mean they can make this aircraft go to where they want it to go without our say so?"

Olivia nodded. "Kidnapping ambassadors isn't unknown. You'd think all this extra security the government puts people through at airports would prevent something like this."

"Unless they are working for the government. It explains a lot." Hernando's grim tone didn't inspire confidence. Olivia reached out, took his hand and squeezed it. His expression grew darker. "We're at their mercy," he continued under his breath. "Should we announce ourselves? Or should we pretend we're oblivious to their plans?"

"The longer they don't suspect we're onto them, the greater the element of surprise when we turn on them," Annara suggested. Smiling, she stood up and turned around, pretending to re-arrange the seat pillow behind her back. "They're watching us. We should wait until we've landed to make our move. That way, we won't have to worry about dropping out of the sky."

"The soaring lizards of the deserts soar so high on BloodDark," Valori whispered, "and many years ago in the days of my youth the great ships lifted by hot air and the fiery gas..."

Olivia startled and turned to her seat mate. Valori stood, her petite height allowing her to turn about in her seat area and not hit her head on the overhead bin. Olivia had thought her friend was engrossed in reading the fashion magazine, unaware of what was happening. Was I ever wrong. How do you keep secrets from a psychic?

"They are working for an Earth organization friendly with Clan Alpha," Valori explained in a calm and reassuring tone. "I sense their loyalty is more to the money they are promised if they bring you to their employer unharmed, however, and not the honor of the clan or their organization."

"Valori, sit down, please." Olivia took her friend's hand and tried to pull her into her seat, but the older woman resisted.

"Their lack of honor will be their undoing. They're going to sleep now for a very long time." Valori closed her eyes and concentrated, her brow wrinkling.

What on Earth is she doing? Can she use her mind as a weapon? Olivia and the others stole quick glances at the rear of the plane and were surprised to see the men in black slumping in their seats. A couple of them began to snore. The limo driver, sitting several rows behind them, stood up. He looked at the sleeping men in astonishment. A nervous sheen of sweat dotted his brow.

"Where do you think you're going?" Valori addressed the quivering chauffeur in her typical calm manner. "This aircraft soars very high in the sky. You wouldn't want to open the door by accident and fall out of it."

Countdown to Our Upcoming Release...

It's been a hectic year so far, which is a lame excuse as to why I haven't been updating this blog as often as I could have. I've written several book reviews that I hope to get around posting soon. In the meantime, join the countdown for my our upcoming release.

Coming in mid-August, Desert Breeze Publishing will release the first title of our new Young Adult science fiction series, BloodDark, by husband and wife writing team Cindy and Adrian Matthews. Here's a sneak peek at the blurb and cover.

Olivia's Escape 

by Cindy A. & Adrian J. Matthews

Book 1 in the BloodDark series and the first book in Olivia's trilogy (Olivia's Return, Olivia's Decision) is coming August 2016 from Desert Breeze Publishing.

Seventeen-year-old Olivia Brown is abducted on her way home from a night out on the town and wakes up to find that she is imprisoned by a vampire-like race in a dark city bathed in eternal night. Hernando, a handsome half-human slave, reveals what is intended for her – the bloodsuckers want her blood for the upcoming festival. Together they plot an escape.

 Joining a resistance cell, they help plot a revolution, and fall in love. Their group plans take control of the Portal, a teleportation device that links Earth with BloodDark. They plan to attack when the Pure Bloods go into hibernation in caverns located deep beneath the city. The Resistance fighters make it to the city only to find the Overseers, the Pure Bloods’ henchmen, are armed and waiting for them.

Will Olivia and Hernando survive the battle? And if she returns to Earth, will Olivia see Hernando ever again?

Now available in print: Clan Drakul--The Kindred Vampires

For all erotic-romance vampire lovers--and readers who like two stories for the price of one...

Now available from Amazon, my first print book from eXtasy Books--Clan Drakul: The Kindred Vampires by Celine Chatillon.

Click here to order your copy today!


Two tall, dark and handsome vampires looking for someone to share eternity with-while dealing with a maniacal vampire hunter provides the focus for Clan Drakul.

In The Vampire Next Door, Val Drakul thinks the sexy girl upstairs could fulfill his every fantasy, but will Melynda's career plans take a backseat to things that go bump in the night? When a deadly foe ensnares Mel in his plot to rid the world of the Kindred Vampire race, can Val save the mortal woman he loves without transforming her into the lonely being he's become? 

Kinsman Vlad Drakul has found the love of his existence in the beautiful businesswoman Sofia, but is the sex-loving vixen all she appears to be? Leo Van Helsing cherishes his family's calling a bit too much. He'll see the bloodsuckers dead, and he's not above using others to obtain his goals-even if it kills them. One fatal night in Istanbul will change Vlad's afterlife forever. Can Vlad abide a Blood Betrayal?

 Clan Drakul now available in print at Amazon.

Book Review: The Graveyard Book Volume 1

The Graveyard Book Volume 1 by P. Craig Russell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nobody Owens (or “Bod” for short) seems like a mischievous young boy in the manner of Huckleberry Finn. Bod loves to explore. He’s curious about the people and the world around him. He gets himself into serious trouble from time to time and has to use his wits and tenacity to extricate himself from danger. The real difference between him and a normal boy? Bod is a human child who dwells in a graveyard with ghosts for adopted parents and a tall, dark guardian, Silas, who is neither living nor dead.

But can Bod’s extended graveyard family keep him safe? Silas provides food and clothing since he can roam outside the gates at night. Mr. and Mrs. Owens give Bod a home in their crypt, as well as love and discipline. Miss Lupescu’s lessons in paranormal creatures and Mr. Pennyworth’s lessons in fading from view like a ghost come in handy when Bod deals with evil ghouls and greedy humans searching after buried treasures. A friendly witch Liza buried right outside the graveyard gives him tips as well, and Bod repays her in kind by giving her the headstone she never had.

Neil Gaiman’s Newberry Medal-winning The Graveyard Book has been beautifully adapted to graphic novel form by illustrator P. Craig Russell. The first volume of the fantasy series features seven excellent illustrators with five chapters and a cliff-hanging interlude that leaves the reader dangling as to whether Bod’s ultimate fate will be among the living or the dead. Volume 2 can’t come soon enough!

View all my reviews

Celine's latest vampire tale--Blood in Berlin

 Now available from eXtasy Books!

Blood in Berlin

By Celine Chatillon
Book 3 in the Kindred series
http://www.extasybooks.com/blood-in-berlin/



    In 1938 London, the vampire Edwin Carstairs attracts the attention of British Military Intelligence. A Nazi scientist known as Madame V is creating super-vampire-soldiers in Berlin and must be stopped. Edwin accepts the mission, hoping to prevent another devastating world war. But what will he and his team do when Edwin’s lost love Ophelia Jones is discovered taking an eager part in experiments that risk the very survival of human and vampire-kind alike?

Book Review: Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Should anyone mess with a historical personage to the point of creating a "history" that never happened? Do we owe our idols some loyalty in keeping their reputations clean and their hands free from blood? Seth Grahame-Smith does a very good job of researching Lincoln's formative years growing up in Indiana and his early years in Illinois politics. He creates a credible world in which vampires might have lived and gives plausible situations in which Lincoln might have interacted with bloodsuckers. The one point where the whole conceit falls down, I believe, is with the title character. Do most Americans see our beloved Lincoln as a blood-thirsty killer or as the savior of the republic? Possibly creating an original character living in the time period of the Civil War fighting off the evil vampires in league with southern slave owners would have worked just as well without the unpleasant aftertaste of the betrayal of a cultural icon... Still, it is a very well written book, with the caveat that it's not possibly to everyone's tastes.

View all my reviews

Lots for Vampire Fans to be Thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving all you vampire romance lovers! And man-oh-man, do you have a lot to be thankful for in the next few weeks...

 I'll be blogging and doing an ebook giveaway of my latest Celine Chatillon release Blood Bond on December 3 at the V Spot Blog, but first I'll be hanging out with fellow Vampire Realm writers on November 30 at the Coffeetime Romance Latte Lounge.  Please join us then for more prizes and giveaways and good ol' fashioned non-sparkling vampire romance fun. ;)

NaNoWriMo On the Road!

November is the month for NaNoWriMo--that's the "write a novel in a month challenge" for those not familiar with the program. I successfully wrote a novel (or a series of novelettes) a few years back in my first NaNoWriMo, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to at least start and finish a proposed novella I've had in mind for a few weeks now this coming November.

The added challenge to my "novel challenge" is that we'll be on the road for the next few months quite a bit. 

Yet I still think it's a doable feat. Why? Well, for one thing I won't be able to access the Internet quite as often as I can now. I'm one of those dinosaurs who don't access the Internet via my mobile phone. (My cell phone is not "smart".  It only lets me talk and listen on it. I prefer it that way.) So while we're traveling, I'll be without Internet distractions. I hope this means I'll be able to concentrate on developing my story and finishing it before the end of November. 

I have two story ideas actually, but my best bet this NaNoWriMo is the next story in the continuing tale of the young vampire Edwin Carstairs, first introduced in my Celine Chatillon novella, Blood Bond. I had a dream that Edwin survives and thrives as a vampire and 35 years later, at the onset of World War II, he is recruited to find a rogue vampire in league with a Nazi scientist... none other than his former lover, Ophelia Jones. The tentative title is Blood in Berlin.

If that story idea doesn't get the creative juice flowing, then I have a romantic-comedy idea about two lonely people who watch each other from afar and dream what life would be like if they were together. But will they ever get together in reality? That's the rub! 

Hey, why don't I let the readers decide? You tell me which one of these story ideas strike you as one you'd like to read in the comments below. Thanks and Happy NaNoWriMo to us all! :)

 

50 More Shades of Great(ness)

Since I have two scheduled book releases within the next two months, I thought I'd share a little secret with my readers. I could really use your help. I could really use your expertise with social media and the web. I need to sell books (not have them pirated) and I need to sell them today. 

Why? Because the rent  has to be paid in cash. I can't talk my landlord into taking a book manuscript in lieu of rent payment for some reason. He likes money--don't ask me why! So does the grocery store, the gas station, and the utilities. (I gave up buying non-essentials like medicine, make-up and clothing a long while back.) If the world ever went back to bartering, it might be feasible to get some creditors off your back with trading writing services, but at this time, they just look at you funny and start thinking about things like eviction notices.

As a reader, you can help me (and many other struggling authors out there--I know I'm not alone) by buying and reading our books. After you've read one of our books, you can post a short and honest book review on Amazon, Goodreads, our publisher's web site, or even your own blog. You can tweet a buy link to your contacts and pin the cover art on your Pinterest boards. Let us know that you've done so, and we'll gladly quote you on our blogs, book jackets, web sites, Google Plus, etc., and tweet and pin in return. By sharing your thoughts with other potential readers across the web, you are giving our work some much needed publicity that we can't otherwise afford.

Most of the book review places these days are asking for money upfront (there's that cash fixation again!) to review books. Okay, if I can't afford to replace my sandals (after I accidentally ripped a strap off my ten-year-old pair), then I'm not able to pay hundreds of dollars to a book reviewer to read my book. I can't afford to pay for advertising online, either, since few sites give those away for free. So when readers freely share their book reviews and use their blogs, Twitter and Pinterest accounts to help advertise our books, they are truly helping out the little guys and gals. We appreciate it, too.

There's lots of talk about helping  "little people" survive these days, but there's little being done to actually do it or so it seems. If you want to make a difference in the life of a struggling writer, please buy--and encourage your friends to buy--his/her books and tell others how much you enjoyed them. 

We as authors don't expect that all of us will become the next J.K. Rowling or have a mega-bestseller like Fifty Shades of Grey (and why would we want to be copycats anyway?), but if we're given a fair chance, perhaps more of us will be able to support our families.

To put it simply, when writers can eat, they can live long enough to spin more tales of fun and fantasy for your enjoyment. It's a win-win situation.

My latest release, Blood Bond, a vampire erotic-romance from eXtasy Books: http://www.extasybooks.com/blood-bond
 (You can read an excerpt from it at my Celine's Dreams blog.)

Feel free to share the buy link and reviews of it wherever you're inspired to do so. Also, you can share ideas of how and where to promote our books in the comment section below. Thank you.

The All New, All Dancing, Singing, Performing Blog

It's time to throw beads! Happy Mardi Gras! Opps, that was last month, wasn't it?

Happy April Fools’ Day! The blog title is no joke. I’m attempting a new format with my blog(s) and this seems as good a time as any to implement it.

I’ll admit it right here and now: I was born sometime B.C. (before computers). I’m not so keen on the daily blog thing. Sure, many people blog daily, but having worked as a columnist in the time B. B (before blogs), when words were actually printed on paper, monthly postings worked best for me. I’d come up with one good idea (or even one not so good), write it and post it on the blog. I’d write several hundred or a thousand words on a topic and hope to get some sort of feedback from readers. Most of the time I heard only crickets chirping in the distance.

Times change. People don’t have time to read long blog postings. Short blog postings are perceived as being more entertaining than one longer, in-depth rant. Short blogs also more conducive to promoting one’s other writings I’m told. Being unemployed, I need to promote and sell more books in order to survive, so it’s time for me to bite the bullet of blogdom and attract more readers to both my blogs and books.

On our way to Sesame Street, Mardi Gras style!

A lot of what I use to send out in my monthly e-newsletter for many years now, I’m going to post here whenever it happens. I enjoy sending out the e-newsletter, but I understand how much email you read everyday for work, play and other groups. From now on, the newsletter will be very brief and direct you to where the information can be found online. That way, you can pick and choose what interests you most and skip the rest if you’re rushed for time. If you’re not already one of my general e-newsletter members, sign up for it at http://groups.yahoo.com/cindyappelnewsletter If you just want to know what’s going on with my erotic-romance persona Celine Chatillon, you can join that newsletter at http://groups.yahoo.com/celinesdreams

Since I possess “multiple personalities” (I write in multiple genres), I host separate blogs for them. But time and health issues have kept me from making them all that different lately. That will change over the next few months. This blog will continue to feature the “G to PG-13” rated writings of Cynthianna and Cindy A. Matthews. The hot, adult-oriented, erotic-romance excerpts and book news will be found exclusively at Celine’s Dreams: http://celinesdreams.blogspot.com . Please become a “follower” of any and all of my blogs by clicking on the “follow this blog” button on the right hand side. Thank you.

What is it? Whatever it was--it works!

I used to share lots of fun and fascinating articles and web sites I came across on the ‘net in my e-newsletter, but in this day and age of Twitter, I tend to “tweet” them instead. If you’d like to follow my infrequent tweets, I invite you to become one of my followers. http://www.twitter.com/cynthianna3

I enjoy interacting with my readers, my friends, family members and other denizens of the electronic age at my author page at Facebook, too. You can “like” my author page at http://www.facebook.com/cynthianna.celinechatillon This past month, I sponsored a contest for new members of my Facebook page. (You can read about it there.) A free e-book prize has been awarded to Linda for joining my Facebook page and leaving a comment. I plan on doing some more giveaways and contest promos again in the future, so keep checking back here for details.

Slowly I’m becoming more in tune with the digital world around me… And I am publishing on a more regular basis again. Many of my books are now available in Kindle format (especially Celine’s titles), so if you got a Kindle for Christmas or your birthday, can I entice you to give them a try? You can find direct links to my Kindle books at my Amazon author pages:
Celine Chatillon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002CQY3BM
Cynthianna: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002CQZYGK
Book reviews and “tagging” and “liking” of my books at Amazon is appreciated.

Mardi Gras tip #6: If you're nice to the parade marshals and the cops, you get more beads!

I’m still updating my author pages at Goodreads. I should get there in the end, but if you’re tech-savvy and can walk me through it, feel free to drop me a line and share your sage advice. Thanks! So far, I think I’ve discovered Celine’s author page and updated it at http://www.goodreads.com/celinechatillon_cynthianna
If you’re a Goodreads junkie, please feel free to become my “fan” and rate/review my books.

Okay, now’s the time to actually blog a little about my upcoming releases…

Slowly catching up with the digital book revolution—I discovered my writer’s how-NOT-to from Uncial Press, The Curse of the Manuscript Eating Slushpile Monster, is now available for the Nook reader at Barnes and Noble. Just do a search for it by title at bn.com and it should pop up. It’s also available in print with a shorter title, Defeating the Slushpile Monster, from Smiling Assassin Productions.

My science fiction-romance novella, Unalone, is coming soon from Devine Destinies books. I don’t have a release date for it yet, but you’ll be the first to know if you follow this blog. A brief synopsis can be read on my web page: http://www.cynthianna.com

Both my romantic fiction persons are working together on another science fiction book series along with several other writers. We’re still in the preliminary planning stages and we don’t want to spill the beans just yet—sorry. Keep it tuned here for updates… particularly if you’re a fan of vampires, steampunk, action-adventure and romantic-suspense.

Here’s something different I’ve written lately—I’m writing sketch comedy and I’ve seen it produced onstage at a local night club. My husband, author Adrian J. Matthews, and I know Brendan Allen, an up and coming actor. We thought we’d like create some new material for him and his fellow cast members. Our sketch “2011: A Fridge Oddity” was performed this past week by The Non-Prophets Theater group during their “Non-Prophet Militant Propaganda Bingo Machine” sketch night at Lemmon’s in St. Louis. We really enjoyed seeing our work performed and thought the cast did a great job. They might even do another sketch we wrote next month.

This new blog post has gone on long enough! If you want to see what Celine Chatillon is up to bookwise, head on over to her Celine’s Dreams blog—now. And be sure to leave me a comment here telling me what all you'd like to see in upcoming blogs.