Kait Nolan – Guest Blog & Giveaway

We’re excited to have Paranormal Romance author, Kait Nolan, here with us at SVR today! She’s celebrating the release of her new YA novel, Red, (which I loved! See my review here). She’s written up a fascinating & funny post on What Constitutes A Fairy Tale. I know that I definitely enjoyed reading it and I’m thinking that you, yes, all you awesome readers out there, will love it too!

Kait’s generously offered up an ebook copy of Red and a MP3 digital download of  End Of Silence by the band, Red!! The cd was one of Kait’s inspirations while writing the novel. One lucky commenter will win both the ebook and the MP3 download. Details for the giveaway will follow Kait’s Guest Blog. 🙂

“Welcome to my lair Kait, you may proceed…”

What makes a fairy tale?

 If you ask the average person, “What makes a fairy tale?” you’re likely to get a flurry of answers involving Once upon a time, damsels in distress, noble princes, magic, and happily ever after.  Certainly this is the formula of tale most of us grew up with for bedtime stories.  But I can think of quite a few fairy tales that don’t fit that description, so it seems like the essential qualities of fairy tales must be something more.

It’s a simple question that ought to have a simple answer.  A quick Google search will tell you otherwise.  Opinions vary widely as to what constitutes a fairy tale vs. a folk tale or a fable.  For my purposes, I’m not interested in making that clear a distinction.  At the root, all of these story types evolved from oral tradition.  Which is why, so often, such stories begin with A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…oh wait, no, that’s not how it goes.  But you know what I mean.  This kind of phrasing sets the mood for the tale and automatically establishes a set of expectations in the reader/watcher/listener.

It’s gonna happen in some time and place removed from our own. There’s a universality to fairy tales.  They’re told in such a way that, even if they’ve taken on regional color with the telling, they could be heard almost anywhere in the world and it would be the same story.  It’s not attached to a real place or time—that’s a characteristic of legends, which is outside the scope of our discussion.

It’s gonna have a Good Guy. Well, most stories do, obviously.  This is our hero, who may be anybody from a prince to a humble farmer.  He may be kind and innocent.  He may be clever.  Or he may go through the story helped by others.  Or maybe he’s not that nice at all and has to learn a lesson over the course of the story. Beast anyone?

Good Guy’s gonna encounter a problem. Said problem might be an actual Bad Guy or it might be situational.  But either way Good Guy has to find a solution to the problem.  It’s important to note that this might not actually be a happy ending.  In the original Hans Christian Andersen version of The Little Mermaid, the prince actually marries somebody else, and if the Little Mermaid wants her voice back, she’s supposed to murder the prince and his new bride.  Yeah, I like the version with Scuttle and Flounder better too. (Side note: She doesn’t do it.)

There’s probably gonna be some kind of magic or enchantment. This seems to be one of the big divides between fairy tales and folk stories.  In folk stories, the hero typically has to rely on his wits.  In fairy tales, magic is kind of a must.  The Little Mermaid makes a bargain with the Sea Witch to get legs.  The spoiled prince is so awful to the hag woman that she turns him into the beast he behaves like.  The beanstalk grows from magic beans.

The story is probably gonna convey some sort of prohibition or consequences for breaking some prohibition. Sleeping Beauty isn’t supposed to touch the spindle on that spinning wheel (which, in the original story, is symbolic of, ahem, something else) or she’ll die (…not in death, but just in sleep, the fateful prophecy will keep…).  As safe sex campaigns go, I’m not sure how effective that one was.  Red Riding Hood (in the familiar version rather than the one I use in my YA paranormal Red) was warned not to talk to strangers.  Her talking to strangers got her grandmother eaten.  And in that version, Grandma doesn’t make it, and the wolf winds up boiled in oil.

The story is probably gonna convey a universal truth. This is one of the biggies, for me.  This is why fairy tales, folk tales, and the like actually last.  They have become archetypal to human culture, and variations of the same stories can be heard all over the world because they spark something in our imaginations and hearts, such that we’re still telling stories that originated hundreds of years ago.  And that, in its own way, is some very powerful magic.

Bio:

Kait Nolan is stuck in an office all day, sometimes juggling all three of her jobs at once with the skill of a trained bear—sometimes with a similar temperament. After hours, she uses her powers for good, creating escapist fiction. The work of this Mississippi native is packed with action, romance, and the kinds of imaginative paranormal creatures you’d want to sweep you off your feet…or eat your boss.  When she’s not working or writing, she’s in her kitchen, heading up a revolution to Retake Homemade from her cooking blog, Pots and Plots.

You can catch up with her at her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

Her debut YA paranormal, Red, is currently available from Smashwords, Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Barnes and Noble, and All Romance EBooks.

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Thanks so much Kait. It was a blast having you here with us. 😀

Giveaway Details:

Kait Nolan has been gracious enough to supply a digital copy of her novel Red & a digital MP3 download of the band Red’s CD, End Of Silence to giveaway to one of my readers! Contest is open to Everyone. Kait’s more than likely off globe-trotting in one of her upcoming novels right now, or she could just be at the evil day job, but I believe that she’ll be popping by to respond to comments or questions as she’s able, so feel free to ask her questions as well.

Question: What do you find fascinating about fairy tales? Do you have a chilhood favorite? If you could write a really well written rewrite of one of those fairy tales, which one would you pick?  

For one entry: Please leave a comment with the answer to one or all of the questions.  (+1 entry)

For extra entries:

• Subscribe to my blog, Sidhe Vicious Reviews, through the links at the top right hand side of the blog, and let me know in your comment. Be sure you verify your subscription through the email you’ll receive or it won’t count. (+1 entry)
• If you’re already subscribed, you’ll receive two extra entries, but be sure to let me know in the comments if you’re an old follower. (+2 entries)
• Post a link to this contest on your Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, GoodReads, LibraryThing, or on your blog and send me the link either in the comments or by email and you’ll get an extra entry for each place you add a link to. ( + 1 entry each for  however many links you’ve done)
• Follow me on Twitter, Add me as a friend on FaceBook, GoodReads, MySpace, Chapters Community or LibraryThing. Tell me your user name in the comments. (+ 1 entry each for however many places you’ve followed/friended me)
• Follow Kait Nolan on Twitter  ( +1 entry )
• Contest is open to Everyone and will run through September 20th until 11:59pm. The winners will be posted here on September 21st.
• Please leave your email addy in your comment for me to contact you if you’ve won, but please post it like wilmaflinstone(at)boomshakalaka(dot)com so you don’t get any spam. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 7 days, a new winner will be drawn from the eligible comments. Winners will be chosen by a random number generator. Good Luck everyone!

Please leave your links in one comment if possible. And yes I know I should get that Rafflecopter everyone’s using, lol.  Thanks!

Winners – JK Beck & Jennifer Rardin

Congratulations!!

I have a couple of winners to post today, first, for the copy of JK Beck’s When Pleasure Rules courtesy of the lovely lady herself and second, for a copy of one of Jennifer Rardin’s Jaz Parks books. I was really impressed with all your answers to both questions!

I am blown away by JK Beck’s new series and encourage you all to try to get your hands on a copy of either When Blood Calls or When Pleasure Rules, which are both out now. If you can’t get out to buy a copy right away, then harass your local library to bring some in for you to borrow. 🙂

I’m still a bit in shock over Jennifer Rardin’s passing, so sad. I saw a comment on Twitter last week that bothered me a bit, but I won’t get into it here. Suffice it to say that if I had a bunch of money, I would send a copy of any one of Jen’s books to everyone who commented. That’s how much I love the Jaz Parks series! Unfortunately, I can’t afford to do so, but I wanted to honor her memory by sharing my love of her awesome books and getting the word out about this great series. I hope you all find a way to read the series, so you can enjoy the legacy that Jen left with her writing.

So, on to the winner of When Pleasure Rules by JK Beck. Random.org picked #42, so SiNn whose email begins with “mortalsinn…” Congrats!!

Next up is the winner of a copy of one of Jen Rardin’s Jaz Parks books. Random.org picked #11, so Tynga whose email begins with “Tyngauf….” Congrats!! Tynga chose book 2, Another One Bites The Dust.

I will be emailing both the winners and they have 5 days to get back to me with their snail mail info so we can send your books out. If I don’t hear back from the winners, a new name will be drawn out of the eligible entrants. I will be shipping the Jennifer Rardin book out via The Book Depository.

Thank you again to everyone who entered. I love you guys! 😀 There are currently two contests still on the go here at SVR. Erica Hayes is giving away a copy of Poison Kissed to a commenter and Moira Rogers is giving away a digital copy of A Safe Harbor, so be sure to go and leave a comment to be entered.

Robert Sadler – Winner

Oi, sorry for being late with posting the winner. I know that I hate it when people are really late in posting winners and here I’ve gone and done the same thing. Some really sad news in the Urban Fantasy community set me back and I will be discussing it in another post shortly.

On to the winner. Victoria Z. with the email beginning with “Tore923…” Congratulations!! Please contact me at sidhevicious(at)shaw(dot)ca so we can get Secrets Of Blood & Bone sent out to you.

To everyone who entered, I thank you. 🙂 I have another contest going on right now as well as a few more coming up shortly.

Sherrilyn Kenyon’s The League Series – Spotlight

Born Of Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Mass Market Paperback: 560 pages

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press; 1st edition edition (Sep 29 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0312942303

ISBN-13: 978-0312942304

Book Description: Buy

“In the Ichidian Universe, The League and their ruthless assassins rule all. Expertly trained and highly valued, the League Assassins are the backbone of the government. But not even the League is immune to corruption . . . Command Assassin Nykyrian Quikiades once turned his back on the League-and has been hunted by them ever since. Though many have tried, none can kill him or stop him from completing his current mission: to protect Kiara Zamir, a woman whose father’s political alliance has made her a target. As her world becomes even deadlier, Kiara must entrust her life to the same kind of beast who once killed her mother and left her for dead. Old enemies and new threaten them both and the only way they can survive is to overcome their suspicions and learn to trust in the very ones who threaten them the most: each other.”

Born Of Fire by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Mass Market Paperback: 540 pages

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press; 1st edition edition (Nov 3 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0312942311

ISBN-13: 978-0312942311

Book Description: Buy

“In a universe where assassins make the law, everyone lives in fear-except for Syn. Born of an illicit scandal that once rocked a dynasty, he always knew how to survive on the bloodthirsty streets. But that was then, and the future is now… Syn was raised as a tech-thief until his livelihood uncovered a truth that could end his life. He tried to destroy the evidence, and has been on the run ever since. Now trained as an assassin, he allows no one to threaten him. Ever. He is the darkness that swallows his enemies whole. Shahara Dagan is the best bounty hunter in the universe. When Syn comes back on the radar, she’s the only one who can bring him to justice. There’s only one problem: Syn is a close family friend who’s helped out the Dagans countless times. But if she saves him, both of their lives will be on the line. Is Syn’s protection worth the risk? The only hope Shahara has is to find the evidence he buried long ago. Now it’s kill or be killed-and they, the predators, have just become the hunted…”

Born Of Ice by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press; 1st edition edition (Dec 1 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 031294232X

ISBN-13: 978-0312942328

Book Description:  Buy

“In the Ichidian Universe, the League and its ruthless assassins continue to keep rule. But at what cost? Welcome back to the future…and a whole new world. Devyn Kell spent his life in service to the League until he learned of the double dealing and backstabbing that was costing innocent people their lives. Refusing to play those politics, he became a Runner-someone who makes sure planets get the weapons, medicine and supplies they need to survive. May the gods have mercy on any who get in his way, because he definitely won’t. Alix Garran is a woman on the run from a past she can’t escape. Signing on to work for Devyn as a System’s Engineer, she finds a cause she can fight for-and a man she can respect. But as Alix’s past catches up to her, and Devyn’s old enemies turn lethal, they have to fight together…or fall alone.”

Here is the final book trailer for Sherylin Kenyon’s latest trilogy, ‘The League’. It is an enticing compilation consisting of clips from all three of the official book trailers (‘Born of Night’, ‘Born of Fire’ and ‘Born of Ice’). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-C7dGr5mYY

The third book in Sherrilyn Kenyon’s The League series, Born Of Ice, hit shelves yesterday. I’ve read the first two and loved them! I’m definitely looking forward to reading Born Of Ice. I’ve never been a huge Sci-Fi Romance fan, but this series is excellent.

Contest – St. Martins Press is also offering my (USA only) readers a chance to enter a sweepstakes to win digital downloads of all three books from ‘The League’. Here is the link: http://us.macmillan.com/smp/promo/bornofaudio So head on over and enter to win!

Links to Official Sherrilyn Kenyon Sites:

Livetheleague

www.Sherrilynkenyon.com

www.Officialsanctuary.com

Winner of Christine & Ethan Rose’s Prize Pack

The random number generator has provided me a number, 10, so Pam K, you’re the winner of copies of Rowan Of The Wood, Witch On The Water and your choice of either the Green Man Journal or a Pewter Bookmark!

Pam, please email me at sidhevicious@shaw.ca to send me your mailing info. If I haven’t heard back from the winner in 5 days, I’ll be drawing a new winner from the eligable entrants. 

A huge thanks to authors’ Christine & Ethan Rose for coming by to guest blog and for providing the awesome prizes! I loved all the great comments by everyone. 🙂

Christine & Ethan Rose – Guest Blog & Contest

 Today I have Christine & Ethan Rose, authors of the Rowan Of The Wood YA Fantasy series here guest blogging to celebrate the release of the second novel, Witch On The Water. There’s also a contest for some pretty awesome prizes (she says enviously ;)), so be sure to read through till the end and I’ll pass the keyboard over to Ethan…

 

 

The Lonely Hero (by Ethan Rose)

It is no accident that most of my central characters are solitary figures. The lonely soul adrift in a world that defies understanding is one of the most pervasive archetypal characters in human storytelling. It is a character easy to identify with since we all feel that way to some degree.

I believe that one of the strongest longings for humans is companionship, not to feel alone in a hostile and confusing world. This longing can be well employed to create an undercurrent to any adventure.

The classic hero’s quest is primarily a quest for the hero to find himself and how he or she fits into his or her world. It is a right of passage that begins alone and ends with a community.

The corollary characters to the lonely hero are the wise teacher and the lover. The wise teacher is typically grand-parental in aspect though not a real relative. They are often imbued with mystical type of knowledge. Merlin to Arthur and Obi Wan to Luke Skywalker are both good examples. They are there to help and guide the hero.

The lover is someone on the hero’s basic level, searching for their own answers and joining forces with the hero for mutual benefit. Taran and Princess Eilonwy from Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles are great examples of this kind of partnership.

I admit that I am heavily influenced by my own life. I grew up without any real community or even a family. As a result I have always been a solitary person myself. But I have spent a good deal of my life searching for both a community and answers. This is why I can identify with my characters so well. There is a little bit of me in all of them.

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Thanks Ethan! I can relate to the solitary figure myself, seeing as I’m somewhat of a hermit as well. I’m always fascinated by an authors insight into the inner workings of their character motivations and characteristics. Now on to the contest… 

CONTEST Details:

Christine & Ethan have generously offered one lucky commenter signed copies of both books as well as an absolutely gorgeous handmade Green Man Journal or you can choose a pewter book mark along with your signed books!

      OR 

Contest open to USA only. (Sorry to my international readers)

How To Enter

Leave a comment telling us what your favorite kind of hero is. Do you love the reluctant hero? The reformed bad-boy/girl hero? The totally alpha hero? The unintentional hero?  

For An Extra Entry: 

-Subscribe to my blog and be sure to verify the subscription through your email. Leave a comment to let me know you’ve subscribed. If you’re already subscribed and you enter, you’ll have an extra entry.

The contest will run until 11:59pm on Sunday, October 25th and the winner will be posted at some point on the 26th. Please leave an email address in your comment if you’d like an email to let you know if you’ve won. If I can’t contact the winner and I don’t hear back from the posted winner after 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

Thanks again to Christine & Ethan Rose and good luck! 🙂

Send Witch to the top on October 15th!

 

 

Jaime Rush Contest

 

Jaime Rush, author of the Offspring series sent me some information about a contest she’s having that I thought I’d share with you all. 🙂

BE IN A BOOK! YOUR NAME, NO CONTEST, NO KIDDING!

 

Urban fantasy romance author Jaime Rush is giving you the chance to have your name in a nationally-published book as a way of thanking you for your support, being a friend, or just being you. There is no contest, no “lucky” winner. You’re all winners! Tell your friends, too. Go to her website www.jaimerush.com or MySpace page www.myspace.com/jaimerush and sign up by October 30th!

 

A Cool Contest for Readers and Writers –A little fame & a little fortune!

Jaime Rush (aka Tina Wainscott) is celebrating the second book in her urban fantasy romance series, OUT OF THE DARKNESS (Avon), with her Kick Butt First Line contest.  Shocking, suspenseful, funny…make us want more!  Cash prizes! Contest runs from through November 1, 2009. For aspiring authors, it’s a chance to get your name out there and add a “win” to your bio.  For readers, it’s a chance to play at being a writer. For details, and to check out the entries, go to www.jaimerush.com and click on the Contest link.

Buy Out Of The Darkness

Buy A Perfect Darkness

Night’s Pleasure Contest

That’s right, awesome readers, another contest! Up for grabs is a signed copy of Amanda Ashley’s new release, Night’s Pleasure. To read my review, click HERE.

To be entered to win, leave a comment about any experiences you’ve had with magician’s, newspaper reporters or vampires! 🙂 For extra entries you can subscribe to my blog and/or post about this contest somewhere and let me know about it in the comments.

The contest will run until February 23rd and is open to USA and Canada. I’ll post the winner here on the blog and make every attempt to contact the winner, but if I don’t hear back from the winner in 4 days, I’ll draw a new winner. So good luck everyone. 😀 Ready… Set… Comment!!

Guest Blogger – Sharon Ashwood & Contest

Today we have a special treat. Sharon Ashwood the author of Ravenous, an up-coming Urban Fantasy release, is here to guest blog! She’s written an awesome post about where authors find their characters, so without further delay, I’ll let Sharon take the page. 🙂

Dark Hero Product Testing

 

Where do authors get their characters from?

 

Always a good question. When I needed to choose my hero for RAVENOUS, I perused the Author Supplies Emporium catalogue very carefully. What should he be like?  I flipped through the Romantic Tycoons, the Sexy Cops, and the Hard Hat Hunks. I wanted just the right guy for my book:  definitely an alpha hero, but not one of the overly pushy types. He’d have to be heavy-duty enough to like smushing villains, because I had a lot of action planned. There was no getting away with the affordable but flimsy Comic Lite products.

 

Picking the right model took time. My favourite heroes may be a little twisted as well as dark, but there’s always some line they won’t cross, and it’s that restraint that divides these edgier heroes from the villains. Still, a little envelope-pushing keeps things interesting. For me, the best kind of dark hero has to earn his way into the light, and the price he pays for his happy ever after is high. This kind of hero doesn’t stumble into love and flop down on the couch. He has to earn it, and it takes a strong heroine to stand up to him.

 

When I found the model I wanted, I placed my order, being careful to select the “sense of humour,” “fully operational brain,” and “redeemable soul” options.

 

I was so happy when my order arrived!  Unlike most true life heroes, mine came with instructions:

 

Hello, and welcome to your new Dark Hero, Vampire Edition 3.2!  Warranty provisions require that you follow these instructions for safety and for optimal customer satisfaction:

 

1.  This unit may be damaged if left for long periods in direct sunlight.

2.  This Hero unit may be cleaned using products designed for dark wash.  Do not bleach. Dry flat. Cool iron only.

3.  Your Dark Hero, Vampire Edition is intended for nighttime use only. Recharge daily.

4.  Use of the unit during the “brood” cycle is not recommended.

5.  If unit begins to watch Underworld repeatedly, remind him that he wears leather way better than Kate Beckinsale. This should reset unit to “arrogant” mode.

6.  It is not recommended that unit operate heavy equipment during full moon.

7.  This unit is not designed for domestic use. For daily household tasks, we recommend the Dark Hero, Djinn Slave 4.0

5.  If you wish to disassemble unit, use stake provided.

 

By way of product review, the Dark Hero, V.E. 3.2 worked a treat. I have to admit, though, I’m curious about the 3.3 upgraded “green” model. The solar rechargeable batteries might present some issues.

 

 

LOL. I LOVE this post! Sharon’s got a wicked funny sense of humor. And now, lucky readers, we have a contest to WIN a signed copy of Ms. Ashwood’s Ravenous! In the comments, tell me about what characteristics your favorite heros have. For extra entries, subscribe to my blog or blog about this contest and leave me the link in the comments.

I’ll use the random number generator on February 11th to pick the winner, so start commenting, blogging and subscribing! I’ll make every attempt to contact the winner & the winner’s name will be posted on my blog on Feb 11th. If I don’t hear back from the winner in 4 days, I’ll draw another winner. Good Luck Everyone! 🙂

Book Giveaway Carnival

 

I’m participating in the Book Room Reviews Book Giveaway Carnival! There are over 100 participants with giveaways, so after you enter my CONTEST, head on over to Book Room Reviews to find some more awesome giveaways.

This contest is now over, but I’ll have another one up soon. Thanks!