HEX IN HIGH HEELS BY Linda Wisdom

Fourth in the popular, light paranormal romance series by an author whose books have sold 13 million copies. In this sexy, funny paranormal romance by bestselling author Linda Wisdom, it's all beautiful witch Blair Fitzpatrick can do to keep a lid on her talent for revenge spells, but things are about to get a lot more complicated...
Blair loves running her vintage shop and hanging out with witchy friends Stasi and Jazz. She's forever had a crush on hunky carpenter Jake Harrison, whose Were nature (he's a Border collie) makes him loyal, lovable, and fierce when need be. Just as sparks are beginning to fly, Blair is served with a big surprise when Jake's mother shows up along with his pack leader, who threatens to make Jake heel! When the alpha does the unthinkable, Blair is pushed over the edge. No one messes with her boyfriend-to-be, even if he does shed on the furniture!

Description taken from: Borders.com  Find out more about Linda Wisdom at her site http://www.lindawisdom.com


Review By Doni Miller
ritbsdoni@gmail.com

Linda Wisdom’s Hex in High Heels is a non-stop treat. From the beginning of the book to the back cover, it is a delight to read. The story flows well. The writing makes for easy reading, but not simplistic. I truly enjoy the charming small town with all of its interesting inhabitants, even Mayor Floyd and his Wife Agnes.

Each character, both good and bad, is vibrant and alive. I feel as I could put myself in the story, and watch the goings on in the town. I just can’t pick a favorite character: Stasi the Witch, Trev the Wizard, Blair the Witch, Jake the Were-Border Collie (first one of those that I‘ve seen), Jazz the Witch, Horace the obnoxious and smart mouthed Gargoyle, or Felix the talking Kit-Kat Clock. Oh, and I can’t forget, Fluff and Puff. I so want bunny slippers! I don’t like Vera the Werewolf who tries to get Blair to do a revenge spell on her son. It’s just not right to hurt your children. The wide range of characters is bound to tickle something in every reader’s fancy.

There is sex and sexual tension, but it is not overdone and not overly graphic. But it still descriptive enough to hold the reader’s interest. There is intense passion and connection between Jake and Blair. The magick between them really causes sparks to fly.

One of my favorite scenes in the story, aside from the one at the lake (which I cannot describe without spoiling), is when the elves pulled up in the puke colored RV in front of Blair’s shop. The elves are truly obnoxious and crude. Blair teaches them a lesson in manners, and Agnes finishes the job, but not until later in the story.


All in all, Linda Wisdom’s Hex series, and this story specifically, are awesome reads. She is an author that regardless of the genre, I would recommend. The next book cannot get here soon enough.

Linda Wisdom Author 5 of 5 stars
Hex in High Heels 5 of 5 stars

Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark Series

So here it is the nitty gritty - down and dirty - how I feel about the Immortals After Dark Series.
WRITE FASTER!  Umm... Not that I am obsessive or nothing.  I mean I only buy the books the minute they come out.  So now to the series.
As with all series it has its ups and its downs.  Ones I reread till my copy is dead.  And heck I lost my first copy of A Hunger Like No Other and bought ANOTHER!  If you knew what a cheapo I am you would understand.  One or two on the other hand I have not cracked open after the first reading.  Intensity is the word I would use to describe the writing, and based on personal preference some appeal more then others, but they all moved me at one moment or another.  

In A Hunger Like No Other Lachlain MacRieve our sexy werewolf hero is willing to break his own leg and crawl out of imprisonment at the scent of his mate.  Emmaline Troy, part Valkyrie part Vampire is quite the match, her insecurities and the intensity of the relationship building between the two grips my heart.  Vampires are not a much liked race in the world of the Lore - all things out of the ordinary - but he worries about her so much that he feeds her his blood while she is asleep to try and make her stronger, though it slows his own healing.  Heart ache.  You would think I asked my boyfriend for the moon when he can't reach the remote from where he is and has to get up to get it for me.

I am a sucker for destined mates.  And great big soul burning love.  All of which the books in the series have to varying degrees.  Certain heros just call to us, or in some of the books it has been the heroine.  In the very best of her books both called to me equally.  Now the stories tend to keep it all in the family, well on the Valkyrie side they are not exactly siblings but if you live in the same house you are family.  So we got a set of four Wroth Brothers all vamps, two Demon Brothers, all the Valkyrie in Val Hall, and the men of the Lykae Clan - Werewolves - The next book Pleasure a Dark Prince - due out in February - read forever - is my love from Hunger's younger brother.  Yippy skippy - a love a cuddly wolf story!

So which did not light my fire and which did?  Well I already told you one that warms my heart, so now the ones that did it for me less, which are the stories with the Vampire Wroth Brothers.  I liked No Rest for the Wicked, cause I liked our heroine Kaderin the Cold Hearted.  Dark Needs at Nights Edge?  Oh I liked this Wroth brother, tortured and burdened, is it getting hot in here?  Now his ghostly love I could take or leave.    Kiss of a Demon King - adore them both!  Oh the intensity between the two, the tension Kresley Cole builds gets me in the guts, which is the highest praise I can give an author.  


Authors walk this tight rope - and it is hard, I know it is hard - between getting books out fast and making them the best they can possibly be.  A few of the books in the series may have fallen prey to this.  I have moments in Wicked Deeds on a Winters Night where I say - I love it, it is one of the best out there, but I feel a bit rushed in the story.  That is why A Hunger Like No Other and Kiss of a Demon King stand out.  The pressure builds and builds and develops throughout the story until I feel like I will explode from everything the characters are going through.


In short, they are all great, and though I wait with baited breath and need to concentrate to suppress my excitement about the next book in the series, take your time Ms. Cole.  I can always read the others again and again while I wait. 
Find out all about Kresley Coles Books on her site. - http://kresleycole.com/

Interview with Annette McCleave

I would like to welcome the dark and dangerous paranormal author Annette McCleave to the Backseat.
 Annette:  Hi all!
 TK:  So tell us a little about what lured you to the Dark Side?
AM:  I love dark paranormal stories, have since I was a kid. There's nothing like a vampire or a tortured mage--or in my case a tortured Soul Gatherer--to get my heart beating faster.
 TK:  Soul Gatherer sounds scary...
AM:  Nah....the Soul Gatherers are the good guys. They beat back the demon thieves to save the souls of the dead from going down when they should be going up.
TK:  Oh, now I am curious, how do you mix the sexy in in with the scary?  These are dark worlds you create in your books.  Not the romance of daisies in the field.
AM:  Competent, intelligent warriors are always sexy--even when they're dealing with the devil and death and stolen souls.
And a bit of dark turmoil just makes them more mysterious and alluring.
TK:  So do you go for the "Bad Boy", or just write about him?
AM:   I like to write and read my tall angsty Alpha warriors, but in real life I like them with a little Beta in them.  But I have to say that if Lachlan MacGregor, my Scottish hero from Drawn into Darkness, came knocking at the door, I wouldn't turn him away.
 TK:  I won't tattle on you.  My boy knows if Dean from Supernatural comes to the door he is toast.
 AM:  Ahhhh...Dean. 'Nuff said.
 TK:  So give us a clue, a hint , be a tease...What is coming next?
Cause we all want more.
AM:  The hero of my second Soul Gatherer book, Bound by Darkness, is a suave guy with a taste for everything expensive. He may seem a like a mild-mannered guy, but he's hiding some dark secrets of his own.  Check him out in May 2010. I feel like I'm cheating on Lachlan for saying this, but yummmm.
TK:  Well, it is tough to move on from a Scot, but we shall try as we wait with baited breath.
 AM:  If you like Scots...stay tuned.
TK:  Ouh! Goody, goody.
You are a tease!
Find out more about Annette at her site - http://www.annettemccleave.com/
Also you can see her in Romance in the Backseat's paranormal free read Short Stories  White Wedding Nightmares - with Angie Fox - and the fabulous new Stars are Empty
 Annette McCleave:  Happy Halloween!

A Tale of Tail - by Inez Kelly

With animal shifters, specifically cat shifters, you cannot ignore the tail. True there are more aesthetically appealing things to write about. Cat eyes are mesmerizing in shape and color, the slanted mysterious glow, the unblinking stare. The purr lends itself to all sorts of romantic and sexual connotations. The hiss of a feline leaves no room for confusion- Hiss = fury. Glossy coats, the sensual gait, the sleek muscles all are feline images that add well to the sexual verve of a cat shifter.

Then you have the tail, an appendage that humans don’t have. So how can you enliven it with human characteristics? One way is to translate tail = ass which does work in some instances. But not all. Any time spent watching a feline, whether house cat or big cat, and you will discover the tail is much more than an extension of the rump. It is a warning system. The minute flickering of the tail tip, the quiver of a stiff tail, the puffed fur when agitated are all clues into the cat’s mindset.

Long leisurely swipes of a tail when a cat is stretched into the sun are kind of like a human, relaxing, idly fingering a blanket or other object. It is a sign of contentment. When preparing to pounce, the cat’s tail will sway, jerking in readiness to balance those powerful haunches to give the most lift, the most grace. Tail held high when passing another cat is a way of saying ‘hey, how are you, I am not threat, smell my butt, no aggressiveness here’. A tail curled tight to the body means ‘I don’t feel comfortable here and you better be wary’.

It would be a mistake for writers to just stick a tail on a cat shifter without thought. What is the tail doing at that minute, what is the cat’s mood, how is it communicating with us in that silent language? Those are things one must ask to adequately convey the emotion of the nonverbal animal. The tail talks. You just have to listen to hear what it is saying.

In my fantasy romance MYLA BY MOONLIGHT, Myla is a jaguar shifter. Her jag’s tail is a warning. At one point specifically, the prince realizes her tail is twitching, waiting to balance a leap. When combined with her flattened ears and snarling growl…Myla is a miffed kitty about to attack. He calls her down. He read the signs. Another time, when she is in human form, she mimics her jag by presenting and shaking her tail at him, a sexual ‘hey big boy, wanna play?’ Of course he does. Most romance heroes, and most human men are not going to pass up a prime opportunity to get a little tail.

Tails, like tales, carry meaning. So what’s your tail saying?

MYLA BY MOONLIGHT is available now from Samhain Publishing.  INEZ KELLEY writes romantic fantasy and romantic comedy. Visit Inez Kelley at http://inezkelley.com/

DRM
I do and its fun to do.
What do you like to read Madonna?
M. L.
Well, I have three granddaughters so I do read a lot of YA, just so we can talk ..  read Steve Berry, Rick Riordan (both his YA and adult)  Fun things, I don't like sad stories, I don't read a lot of blood and gore I've read Harry Potter, Twilight, things like that.
DRM
Don't really like horror?
M. L.
Not really into horror...  My books may get a little darker as they go on, but nothing to pull the bed covers over your head...Just make ya want to smack Esmeralda around.
DRM
Don't like Esmeralda  Thomas has possibilities.
M. L.
Thomas has a LOT of possibilities. 
Yes he does I can't wait to see what happens Emeralda isn't happy though Where did she come from?
M. L.
She is your typical bully, You will enjoy it. I have two beta readers - I made one cry and the other had to go cook!
DRM
I'm jealous!
DRM
You mix and match myth and legend where did the Native American information come from?
M. L.
My father was a very big arrowhead collector. I loved the old westerns, I really liked Dances with Wolves so I just added him - Gram Greene.
DRM
I had a hard time in the beginning of your book it seemed a bit slow...I kept thinking where is the young Bree’s story?  is there a reason you kept it under wraps and showed it in pieces? 
M. L.
I tried to give you the information up front so Bree could continue the story.  All the books will start like that...bring the reader up to speed  That way I don't have to do a lot of that in the story.  Because the first book had a lot of the past, the next books are very current
DRM
Bree is very relatable.
M. L.
I wanted her to be that way and I'm glad it came across.
DRM
She is real and has lived life do you think that readers enjoy that versus the heroine that has never had an issue in her life?
M. L.
I think so, it's easier to put yourself in her shoes then it is to someone who has never had any problems - we all have problems
DRM
In my review I describe your writing like that of an artist.  It's like a painting to me with all the bright colorful strokes yet the shadow of what is going to happen down the road .  do you see your self in that way or just a woman who has a story to tell.
M. L.
I see myself as a story teller. I enjoy it. I am working hard to perfect it.
DRM
Do you write full time?
M. L.
No, unfortunately I work full time, I write at night, a couple of hours on the weekend. I can write it pretty fast cause I'm always thinking about it - when it's done i walk away then come back and begin my edits, changes, deletes.
DRM
That must be hard to edit your own work?
M. L.
I read and re-read then I had it off to Mikki (My editor) she does more edits, makes suggestions and hands it back.  Then I edit and rewrite email her the changes and then one finally read through.
DRM
That is a question I often wonder about given the mistakes I have read in many published works.
M. L.
I found a few in mine too. So many words.  Oh oh....House is on!
DRM
Thank you for your time Madonna.
M. L.
I look forward to your review and hearing from you once in a while.
DRM
Me too.  Thank you.


Read Doni's Review of Chrysalis The Awakening - Here

Round 2 - Paranormal Author Fight Club

All New Installments by the Fighters just went up.     Your votes decide who moves on.  The Grand Prize is a full manuscript read and critique by New York Times Bestseller  Angie Fox.   You can be a winner too.  Leave a comment with your email and enter to win two books from Simon and Schuster.   I look forward to seeing you there.   Romance in the Backseat - Paranormal Fight Club - HERE

Interview with R.F. Long

Terry Kate: I would like to welcome Author R F Long to the Backseat today to talk a little about her books.

R.F. Long: Thanks very much for having me, Terry.

 
TK: So what is it about the genre you write that appeals to you the most?

RFL: I write in two genres, one of which came from the other. The first is Fantasy, and the second Paranormal Romance. The thing I love most about them is the sense that everything is bigger - problems are life or death, worlds can be altered by the actions of the characters, and love really can be life saving.
My fantasy stories are set in worlds of my own imagining, but the paranormal romance take place in our world, where the world of magic bleeds through. Both have their own challenges and both are really exciting to write.
 
TK: Big Drama is appealing, but would you want to live it?
 
RFL: Oh no, I'm a total coward. Especially when you look at some of the things I put my characters through. I don't think there's any way I would be strong enough!!! I'm a really mean author.
 
TK: I hear that a lot from authors. That they torture their characters, where does that come from? Any ideas?
 
RFL: I've just been reminded by my other half that when a very good friend of ours beta-read The Scroll Thief, he came into the house and the first thing he said to my husband was "I'm a little worried for you". :D
I think a lot of it is that characters torture us (by not giving us all the information we need, refusing to follow orders etc) so we have to get the last word.
It's also a case, especially in fantasy, you have to keep raising the stakes in order to see what a hero or heroine is truly made of, to see them rise about the most dreadful things. It's one of the reasons it’s such an exciting and, I believe, insightful genre.
 
TK: So are you saying you are cruel to be kind so your characters reach their greatest potential?
 
RLF: I think so.
But sometimes I'm just mean.
(Just kidding!) 
 
TK: Aren't we all.
Did you ever think you had given a character too much?
That they might not overcome?
 

RFL: I had some very dark moments writing The Scroll Thief. Trask and Malachy (the two heroes) are put through so much that I wondered for a while how I would pull them out of it. But I believe that's why the ending works. If it’s clear to a reader that it's all going to be all right in the end, they aren't going to get drawn into the suspense. Similarly with Soul Fire, the Sidhe Prince Daire has his doubts. There's no way he can win through at the end, not on his own and he has to think his way through his problem rather than just blindly attack. I love an action hero, but I like them to have a brain as well. Indiana Jones, one might say.
Oh, and with Shan from The Wolf's Sister and the forthcoming novella The Wolf's Mate... well, lets just say if you thought he had a hard time in the first two stories, wait until you see what I'm doing to him in the third (which I'm currently writing). *resists urge to laugh manically*
 
TK:  Is it only your boys your torture?
 
RLF: No, not at all. I'm mean to everyone. I'm an equal opportunities meanie.
Although I do tend to put the girls through a large amount of anguish and the boys through a large amount of physical pain. There are exceptions. The worlds in which a lot of my stories are set are pretty brutal places. Even the paranormal romances have characters that come from ancient legends - they aren't forgiving to anyone who stands against them regardless of their gender.
I'm just thinking back on The Scroll Thief and actually, I pretty much torture everyone.
 
TK:  Well I can not wait for the newest book.  I like mean authors.

RFL: Thanks again for having me here today.

“The Scroll Thief” will be out in paperback on 1^st December 2009 and is available for pre-order in all the usual places. “The Wolf’s Sister”, “The Scroll Thief” and “Soul Fire” are all currently available as ebooks. “The Wolf’s Mate”, sequel to “The Wolf’s Sister” will be out in ebook format in January 2010. You can find out more at www.rflong.com or http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/r-f-long, or follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/rflong

Romance in the Backseat's Paranormal Blog Get's Started Today

I love Paranormal Novels - You love Paranormal Novels so lets meet some of the authors that write it and enjoy discussing it here.  Written interviews, book reviews, and videos, what fun.  I hope to see you here.  It is October so lets have some Scary Fun!
Terry Kate