Witch's Nocturne is more fun than 8 seconds on a bronco

"A handsome and likely intelligent guy, who wasn't my best friend and gay, was something of a unicorn in my life. So I maybe let my eyes linger a touch too long on the front of his pants as he approached. And my posture might've stiffened to let him know I was tall and lean, but still had enough curves to make driving dangerous--and fun."

                                                      -- Witch's Nocturne by E.J. Wesley

You know how agents and professional writing blogs are always telling you to write with voice? E.J. has got voice down. You can pick it up in that single paragraph, and it's like he picks you up and stuffs you into Jenny Moonsong's head. It's SO AWESOME.

I LOVE Witch's Nocturne. Finished it in two lunch breaks at work. E.J. brings alive the best aspects of a paranormal hunter by giving us a character that is equally cool to the well-known Anita Blake that we saw in Laurel K. Hamilton's earlier books, Burnt Offerings and my favorite, Obsidian Butterfly. Here's one of my favorite lines from Hamilton (compare the voice with Penny Moonsong):

“Accidental sex. He made it sound like I fell down, and there just happened to be an erection in the way.”

—	Anita Blake, Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton

Jenny Moonsong on the outside, would not fit your typical Texan. But on the inside she's a gun totin', ass-kickin, mohawk wearin', tomahawk totin' female with size 11 boots (everything is big in Texas). Along for the ride is Marshal and the above tall, dark, and handsome stranger who just happens to be a warlock.

Because the story is short, I'm not going to spoil the plot. But if you're a fan of dark paranormal stories that don't shy away from blood, language, and violence all in the name of putting dirty bad nasties (DBN's) back into the grave, then E.J. is the author for you. Witch's Nocturne is the second book in the Moonsong trilogy and I can't wait for the third. I've seen werewolves, and now I've seen a powerful coven of witches summoning dark powers under a blood red moon. What's next E.J.?

I give this novella five stars, because I can't wait until the next installment. Witch's Nocturne is more fun than 8 seconds on a bronco at a championship rodeo. And you can take that all the way to the roundup.

If you are intrigued, visit E.J. at his blog HERE. You can also pick up a copy of Witch's Nocturne by visiting his book page HERE wherein you will find links to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other fine online outlets. For 99 cents, you should own this book out of principle. Seriously. Cheapest entertainment ever.

*****

Ellie Garratt allowed me to post on her blog yesterday. If you have time, please go and visit. I'd love to have some more comments to read. 

Please welcome the rockin' cover of Blood Fugue by E.J. Wesley

Author E.J. Wesley is throwing a blog party to celebrate the release of his new book cover and wants you to join in the fun. Jump over to his blog to learn about how you can win some awesome prizes, including $50 toward a cover of your own and advance reader copies of Blood Fugue.

Now here's the rockin' cover!

Cover work by Sketcher Girl, LLC

What's the Story About?

“Some folks treated the past like an old friend. The memories warmed them with fondness for what was, and hope for what was to come. Not me. When I thought of long ago, my insides curdled, and I was left feeling sour and wasted.”

Missouri's own E.J. Wesley

Jenny Schmidt is a young woman with old heartaches. A small town Texas girl with big city attitude, she just doesn’t fit in. Not that she has ever tried. She wears loneliness like a comfy sweatshirt. By the age of twenty-one, she was the last living member of her immediate family. Or so she thought…

“We found my ‘grandfather’ sitting at his dining room table. An entire scorched pot of coffee dangled from his shaky hand. His skin was the ashen gray shade of thunderclouds, not the rich mocha from the photo I’d seen. There were dark blue circles under each swollen red eye. A halo of white hair skirted his bald head, a crown of tangles and mats. Corpses had more life in them.”

Suddenly, instead of burying her history with the dead, Jenny is forced to confront the past. Armed only with an ancient family journal, her rifle, and an Apache tomahawk, she must save her grandfather’s life and embrace her dangerous heritage. Or be devoured by it.

BLOOD FUGUE by E.J. Wesley, is the first of the MOONSONGS books, a series of paranormal-action novelettes. At fewer than 13k words, BLOOD FUGUEis the perfect snack for adventurous readers who aren’t afraid of stories with bite. Available wherever fine eBooks are sold September 2012.

Join the Party! Here are some links you may want to check out.

The Open Vein, E.J.'s blog -

E.J. Wesley on the Twitter

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If you are feeling particularly supportive and happen to have a twitter account, please tweet this sample tweet or feel free to make one of your own:

Join the party! Author @EJWesley is previewing the cover to his story, Blood Fugue. Win an ARC & other stuff http://the-open-vein-ejwesley.blogspot.com/

*****

If you have the time, Brinda Berry interviewed me on her blog today. Check it out HERE. Have a happy Monday.

Three of my favorite things on a Friday

The first of my favorite things was that I got to see a pre-screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" last night at 7:30 p.m. I will say nothing that could be considered a spoiler. However, I am going to give you five reasons to drop everything you are doing and go and see it now.

1) First off, see it in IMAX if you can. Christopher Nolan filmed half of it for IMAX and refused to go 3D on it because he feels that 3D is just a way to jack up ticket prices and not add anything to a film.

2) There's not as much C.G.I. as you might think. Nolan wanted this installment to be an epic. That meant having thousands of extras. All of those people you see clashing in the streets are not computer rendered. They really did close down entire streets in Manhattan to film this thing. The men hanging from the plane are also not computer generated. Just think about that when you go and see this movie.

3) The writing is excellent. I didn't feel wanting in any form at any point in the plot. I didn't walk out of the theater thinking..."hey this didn't make sense..." because it all made sense. Everything down to the last cut that you see.

4) Expect the unexpected. There's twists and turns that you never saw coming unless you try to meta-think the film and read online reviews. I found the unexpected to be delightful.

5) The villain is better than Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight. I never thought I'd say that, but Hardy's Bane is a masterpiece.

The second of my favorite things is I got a really nice review from a professional book blogger over at the Kimi-Chan Experience. Please stop by and read it if you have the time. She really made my day when she posted the review. Her blog focuses mostly on Yaoi which I think is awesome. There needs to be more Yaoi in the world.

You can find her blog HERE.

And the third of my favorite things is when bloggers do things for other bloggers. The one I'm highlighting today is blogger E.J. Wesley of The Open Vein. 

Beginning Thursday, July 26, at 9 PM EST, E.J. will be hosting an all new regular Twitter chat focusing on New Adult literature. Please check out the details at the link above. It honestly sounds like a great experience to learn more about New Adult literature.

Have a great weekend.