Virginia Gray's Blog

Spring finally came yesterday in the form of blooming flowers, warm breezes and the mighty urge to roll down my car windows. I was just leaving the park--a place where my story ideas float around in the ether, when Van Halen's "Dreams" queued. Grinning like an idiot, I turned up the volume and let High School wash over me.  Which song defines your glory days?

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C.L. Schneider is one of my favorite fantasy writers. I fell in love with her dark hero, Ian Troy, in Magic Price and Dahlia Nite is equally wonderful. Schneider's ability to create intricate and fully authentic worlds is astounding. If you are a fantasy reader. This series is one not to be missed!

​Cover Reveal
 Nite Fire: Chain Reaction (Bk#2)
 
Inspired by a compilation of several scenes within the book, the cover features empathic shapeshifter, Dahlia Nite, in her (mostly) human form. It also provides a glimpse of the “ghosts” that Dahlia’s empathic abilities allow her to interact with. Artwork by Alan Dingman.
 
 








Blurb
If anyone can tell the difference between monsters and humans, it’s Dahlia Nite. For nearly a century, she’s hunted one to protect the other; safeguarding humanity from the creatures that slip through the torn veil between the worlds—creatures like her. But the lines are blurring. As people begin mutating and combusting on the streets, Dahlia realizes a strange affliction has descended upon Sentinel City. The mysterious ailment strikes all walks of life, from the posh, high-end nightclub district to the homeless community. Its victims, driven to random acts of savagery, are drawing attention too fast to cover up.
Assigned to the case, Dahlia and her human partner, Detective Alex Creed, investigate the deaths. But all they have is questions and bodies, and a public on the verge of panic. Working behind the scenes with her self-appointed sidekick, Casey Evans, Dahlia struggles to discover what, or who, is behind the alarming transformations. As the violence spreads and the mystery unfolds, she wonders: are the victims still human? Were they ever?
Chain Reaction is the second book in the Nite Fire Series.
 
 
Curious about the series?
Read excerpts at clschneiderauthor.com 
​Subscribe to the author’s newsletter for information on the official release date and the upcoming Kindle pre-order for Chain Reaction  http://bit.ly/2EgLFfr
Catch up with Flash Point (Book #1) before Book #2 comes out http://mybook.to/NF1
​

As a holiday gift to you, my favorite readers, The entire Susan Wade Sage is on Kindle countdown until December 28th. At 0.99 per book. That's an insane 75% off! This will help you fill your kindle stocking without harming your budget! Though the prices aren't reflect on my author page just yet, I assure you Amazon's elves are working hard to fix that. Just click on any of the books and you'll be magically transported the deals you're looking for!

Or you can click here:
​
The Interview 

The Carrot

The Golden Handcuffs


Thanks again for your support and Happy Holidays.

Hurricanes are an unnecessary evil the southern and eastern parts of the United States are cursed with annually. Having grown up in what I've always considered Hurricane Central (North Carolina), it seems they generally go out of their way to hit our beloved Outer Banks.

​But Harvey has tested the country's patience to the point of near breaking.We helplessly watch in horror as tens--maybe hundreds of thousands wade through the flooded streets of large cities like Houston, TX and small neighborhoods in humble Parishes in Louisiana, past cars and trucks floating like buoys: these people carrying their most precious belongings: children and pets. 



Those of us not directly affected can help. We can click one of the links provided below and donate a small (or large) bit of money to any one of the incredible organizations whose missions are to help those in disaster riddled areas. Think of it as
giving up one cup of your favorite Starbucks concoctions--just one. 

I hope you, the horrified, the appalled, never have to face what Harvey victims are facing right now, but I truly believe that if that fate ever befalls you, someone will surely click one of the following links for you. 

Local: If you're looking for a local charity to support in the wake of Hurricane Harvey please consider Houston SPCA, Houston Humane Society, Houston Food Bank, Food Bank of Corpus Christi, or San Antonio Humane Society. These highly-rated organizations are located in the most-affected areas and are providing support to individuals and animals. ​Larger scope: The  It's our world. Let's help repair it.

It’s official! The Golden Handcuffs, Susan Wade Saga ~ Book 3 will launch June 2017!

​Sign up for my newsletter to get insider information and a chance to win special pre-launch prizes.

If you’re interested in becoming part of my street team, contact me at virginia@virginiagraynovels.com

Here's a sneak peek at the cover. Ashley at of One of a Kind Covers did an amazing job!

I look forward to hearing from you soon. We authors couldn’t do what we do without your support.

It’s official! Book 3 of The Susan Wade Saga is will launch in
June 2017!

​Sign up for my newsletter to get insider information and a chance to win special pre-launch prizes.

If you’re interested in becoming part of my street team, contact me at virginia@virginiagraynovels.com

Here's a sneak peek at the cover. Ashley at of One of a Kind Covers did an amazing job!

I look forward to hearing from you soon. We authors couldn’t do what we do without your support.

​7. The Real Magic [image error] When invited to contribute to the 7 Blogs series, I considered memories, humorous anecdotes, and any number of other ideas. What came to me instead was a passage from the novel I’m currently writing. As Christmas Eve is nearly upon us, it seems especially apropos. I hope it touches you.
 
"He reached down to the bottom of the bed and felt around in the darkness until he encountered the filled stocking he knew his father had left there. Then he reached over to his brother's side of the bed and located his stocking, reassuring himself that one was no bigger than the other.
 
He knew what was in there. The sole bulged with the inevitable apple and orange. In the heel he could make out the unmistakable shape of a pink sugar mouse, that little jaw breaker which only seemed to appear in the shops at this time of year. There would be a handkerchief, or something equally useless, then something that felt like a pencil case, or perhaps one of the packets of Edinburgh rock his mother had brought with her on her last trip home from the hospital. At the top of the stocking would be the usual chocolate hollow Santa Claus.
 
Individually there wasn't a lot there on which to base the special magic of Christmas Eve… Read More Bestselling Author Bob Atkinson writes time-travel/alternate reality novels set in the magical Scottish Highlands he calls home. His first two books, The Last Sunset and its sequel Red Sky in the Morning, predict a very different America, had the Scots beaten off the English in a great deciding battle.




​Contact Bob:
Facebook Author Page
Twitter
Goodreads
Website  ​

6. The Year My Christmas Tree Was A Chair As Christmas memories go, mine probably hint at the same nostalgia and youthful excitement as most of yours, with maybe two important exceptions. One, my parents are immigrants from India, and we aren't Christian—although that didn't stop us from celebrating. And two, holiday dinners didn't resemble anything close to what I'd seen on A Christmas Carol or the Brady Bunch. No goose, turkey, or ham. Not even fish. Our everyday menu usually consisted of Indian vegetarian food, and as I got older, special occasions called for the only meat dish my vegetarian mom ever made: Onion Chicken Curry. My sisters and I never failed to drop everything and ruuuun to the kitchen for dinner!

(I suppose this is where I need an I digress—not really my style, but you get the picture.)
Because of TV, school, friends, and co-workers, Christmas became a hodgepodge of this is what you should do and this will be fun for the girls and don't let them feel left out. Ever the eager parents, they purchased a tree, strung lights, and bought into the idea of Santa like it would help us get into Harvard one day... Read More Shaila Patel writes from her home in the Carolinas and dreams up all sorts of stories with epilogues. A member of the Romance Writers of America, she's a pharmacist by training, a medical office manager by day, and a writer by night. Her debut novel, SOULMATED, releases on January 24, 2017 (Month 9 Books) and won the 2015 Chanticleer Book Reviews' Paranormal Awards for Young Adults.
You can reach out to her online at:
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2aVbeiR
Facebook page: http://bit.ly/2btIJLK
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2btID6X
Goodreads SOULMATED page: http://bit.ly/2aX5aJU
Website: www.shailapatelauthor.com
 Amazon Author Page:  http://bit.ly/ZonSpSM

​5. The Turkey That Almost Wasn't My fondest memories of the holiday season revolve around the tradition of simply being together—like drawing names with relatives and friends, hiding behind the couch to watch my mom wrap presents, getting a bag of candy from church, white elephant gifts, and trying to dodge a turkey tryptophan coma. It’s hard for me to nail down one memory, but when I was asked to participate in the Holiday Blog Hop, one particular holiday stuck out. It was Christmastime a few years back. My husband and I had both our families over for the holidays along with some of our dearest friends. We divvied up the menu between us, and my responsibilities included the biggie—the cooking of the Christmas ham and a holiday bird. Sounded easy enough…right? I mean, you put a ham in the oven and with a turkey you just follow the directions. Anyway, my husband bought a twenty-one pound turkey at Costco (love that place) and a Reynolds Wrap roasting bag. Only a moron could screw that up… Read More ​A. J. Lape is the author of the Darcy Walker Series which has stayed on Amazon's teen's mysteries and thrillers bestseller's lists since its debut in 2012. She lives in Cincinnati with her husband, two daughters, an ADD dog, a spoiled hamster, and an unapologetic and unrepentant addiction to Coca-Cola--plus a lifelong love affair with bacon she has no plans to sever. A graduate of Morehead State University with a Master's degree in Communications, she's a PI wannabe and daily stops crime through the fictional ADHD character of Darcy Walker. If the FBI ever checks her computer, she'll be wearing prison-orange due to the graphic and disgusting "wiki" articles she looks up...all in the name of career research, of course.

Website: http://www.ajlape.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ajlape
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorajlape
Fan Club & Street Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ajlapestreetteam/
Google + https://plus.google.com/+AJLape/
Instagram: ajlapebooks
Newsletter signup: http://www.ajlape.com
Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajlapeauthor
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ajlape/
Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6576193.A_J_Lape
Amazon Author Link: http://amazon.com/author/ajlape

It's a great pleasure to introduce my friend, Author Matthew Peters. Matt has some incredibly important information to share about coping with the holiday season. 4. Surviving the Holidays
 For some people the holidays are a great time to get together with family and friends. For others holidays bring an even greater sense of loneliness and isolation. I especially speak of those who suffer from depression, or some other form of mental illness, as well as those who are chemically dependent. People who suffer from this combination of illnesses, known as the dual diagnosed, are doubly marginalized from society, for both mental illness and addiction are highly stigmatized. Here are some tips for surviving the holidays for people who suffer from one or both maladies or know someone who does...

Read More ​Dual diagnosed* from an early age, Matthew Peters dropped out of high school at sixteen. He went on to obtain an A.A., a B.A. from Vassar College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Duke University. He has taught various courses in a variety of disciplines throughout North Carolina. He is committed to increasing the awareness and understanding of the dual diagnosed. Conversations Among Ruins (All Things That Matter Press, 2014) is his first novel. His second novel, The Brothers’ Keepers: A Nicholas Branson Novel–Book 1 (Melange Books, 2016), is a political-religious thriller that capitalizes on his love for history and research. Currently, he is working on the next book in the Nicholas Branson series. He is a member of International Thriller Writers.
*The term dual diagnosed refers to someone suffering from a mood disorder (e.g., depression) and chemical dependency.
 
Connect with Matt!
Website
Amazon Author Page 
Facebook
Twitter Next Up: The Hilarious AJ Lape!