To put an end to the Halloween weekend of events here on Amberkatze's Book Blog I have one last author interview to post. I am very honoured to have Award winning author Lori Handeland here as my guest! Her new book and first in a new series called Any Given Doomsday is due out this week! Her Nightcreature novels helped my book addiction evolve and if you haven't come across her work then I highly recommend that you rectify the situation ;)

Keep reading till the end because Lori is giving away a copy of her new book!

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Amber - Welcome to Amberkatze's Book Blog! I have been following your Nightcreature series since it started and can't wait to read your upcomming release. Maybe you can start things off by telling us a bit about 'Any Given Doomsday'?

Lori - The Phoenix Chronicles begins in Milwaukee—my hometown—and travels to many urban cities—New York, New Mexico, Detroit, Los Angeles. You see, the world is coming to an end and there are demons all over the place. Elizabeth Phoenix discovers that the Grigori, the fallen angels of Biblical Legend mated with humans and produced a legion of supernatural creatures known as the Nephilim. They’ve been here since the beginning of time, wearing human faces but beneath they are all the monsters of legend—vampires, shape shifters and more. There’s a secret society that fights them and she’s just been put in charge of everyone.

Amber - Any Given Doomsday sounds like it is going to be a great read. How does it differ to your Nightcreature novels?


Lori - The world of The Phoenix Chronicles is similar to my Nightcreature world in that I use supernatural elements and actual legends of other lands and cultures. There’s romance and action, snappy comebacks, both humor and horror, steamy sex and conflicting relationships.

However the Nightcreature Novels were romances. Each book had a heroine and a hero whose romantic story was resolved in that book along with a legendary mystery. Continuing characters, such as Edward Mandenauer, the leader of the Jager-Suchers, or Hunter-Searchers, strolled through each volume, but the story belonged to one hero and heroine.

The Phoenix Chronicles is Liz’s story and it continues from book to book. Liz has psychic abilities and her powers increase as time goes by. She is torn between two men. She loses people she loves and she meets new people, as well as un-people, with each subsequent book. Liz is like us, but she’s also very different. We want to be her—smart, savvy, funny, special—and then again, we don’t. Because in Liz’s world people die badly and she’s in charge of the ground troops.

Amber - What kind of research did you have to do for Any Given Doomsday?

Lori - I did a lot of research into Biblical Prophesy, Revelation, the Navajo, and scores of other ancient legends of every culture. It was fascinating.

Amber - How did the idea for this new series come about?

Lori - The concept for Any Given Doomsday came to me several years ago when I was researching another book and came across the legend of the Grigori. It fascinated me. I bought a bunch of books on prophesy, Revelation, angels, demons and read them whenever I had the chance and an idea started to nag at me—one of those ideas that captures an author and won’t let go.

In between contracted projects, I spent whatever time I had in the world of The Phoenix Chronicles. I loved it there! I showed the first few chapters to my agent, who flipped and gave it to my editor, Jen Enderlin, at St. Martin’s during a lunch meeting. Jen read the first page and said, “I love it!” An author’s dream come true!

Amber - The second book in this series called Doomsday Can Wait is due out in
May. How many books are planned for the series?

Lori - Right now there are 4, but it is still open ended.

Amber - So the Nightcreature novels...for anyone who is reading my blog who
hasn't come across them before...could you tell us a bit about them?

Lori - The Nightcreature Novels began with Blue Moon and tells the story of a secret group of monster hunters called The Jager-Suchers, or Hunter Searchers. During WW2 Hitler commissioned a werewolf army from Dr. Mengele, then when the Allies landed, they released them. This group has been fighting the results ever since.

Amber - Will there be any more Nightcreature novels or is that series over?

Lori - I am still hoping there will be more Nightcreature Novels but at
present there are none scheduled.

Amber - Are you working on any other projects at the moment?

Lori - Right now I'm finished the third book in The Phoenix Chronicles, Apocalypse Happens. I'm also hoping to begin another paranormal romance series if the Nightcreature Novels are indeed finished.

Amber - What books do you like to read when you have time? Any favourite
authors or series you can't wait to get your hands on?

Lori - I'm a huge fan of Janet Evanovich and Stephanie Plum. I count the days until the new one comes out. I also love Harlen Coben, Stephen King, Lisa Gardner, Tami Hoag.

Amber - Alot of authors have playlists that go with their books. Do you have
any musical influences or favourites that correspond with any of your books?

Lori - I'm afraid I need complete silence when I write. Music, or any noise, distracts me.

Amber - What are some of the best moments you have experienced so far as an author?

Lori - My first sale, winning a RITA for Blue Moon and then again for The Mommy Quest, meeting readers at signings and talking about books!

Amber - You are stranded on a desert island. What 5 items do you have with you
to help you survive?

Lori - A lighter, antibiotics, a knife, my husband, a flare gun.

Amber - Thank you so much for your time! Good luck with the new release and I hope you will stop by again sometime in the future!



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Contest Time!

Lori has kindly said she will give a signed copy of her new book 'Any Given Doomsday' to the winner of this contest!

So to enter comment here and tell us what special powers you would like to have? If you could have them ;)

No special powers mentioned, no entry!

You can earn yourself an extra entry by posting about this interview & contest somewhere on the internet and leaving me a link so I can confirm your post.

This contest will be open until Sunday 7th of Novemeber 4pm CET and all entrants should check back to see if they have won. I will draw a new winner if the prize is not claimed within 7 days.

Enter away and enjoy!

Labels: Author Interviews, Contests, Halloween, Lori Handeland

It is time to announce a few winners! First I will end this weeks main contest with Arlene Russo. One lucky winner will win a copy of Blood Lite while four winners will win a copy of the latest Bite Me magazine.

The winners are drawn using this randomizer so lets see who has won!

The first winner drawn is the person who gets the copy of Blood Lite!

Carol

Then the four winners of a copy of Bite Me magazine are -



darbyscloset

Ruth Schaller

Breeni Books

&

Dawn M.

Congratulations to you all! The winners should contact me via email (amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot eu) with thier mailing addresses! I will draw new winners for prizes not claimed within 7 days!

If you didn't win then keep entering the other contests (see the sidebar) but hang on! There is one more winner to be drawn today!

The J.F Lewis contest winner comes to an end today!

So the randomiser works some magic again and picks -

Michelle

Congratulations! Send me your mailing details and I will pass them on to Jeremy!

Thank you to everyone who took part and a special thanks to Jeremy for being a guest!

Don't forget to enter the other Halloween contests!

Labels: Bite Me Magazine, Contests, Halloween, J. F. lewis, winners

My second author guest today also has alot to do with death. Well actually the main character in her Aspect of Crow Trilogy, Rhia, has alot to do with the dead or dying and her vampire DJ's are of course all dead! Please welcome, for the second time on Amberkatze's Book Blog, the lovely Jeri Smith-Ready!!!

Read to the bottom of the interview to enter the contest!!!
(only open to people in the US! Sorry!)

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Amber - Thank you Jeri for coming back to Amberkatze's Book blog to celebrate the release of The Reawakened ! I loved the book and it was a perfect end to an amazing series. Maybe you can start things off by telling us a bit about the Aspect of Crow Trilogy?

Jeri – Thanks for having me, Amber—I love your blog!

The Aspect of Crow Trilogy takes place in a world where everyone has magic bestowed by their Guardian Spirit or “totem” Animal. I always say it’s sort of X-MEN meets CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR. ;-) The main confrontation throughout the trilogy is between the Animal Spirit people and those they call the “Descendants,” who have rejected the Spirits, built cities, and created their own pantheon of human gods. You could loosely compare it to the European invasion of the Americas and the conflicts with the Native Americans, or with any colonial occupation of a less “advanced” populace. Except this time the colonized have magic and the Spirits to help them fight back!

Eyes Of Crow is mostly a coming-of-age story (a “delightful” one, according to one of my favorite authors Charles de Lint). It’s told from the perspective of the main heroine Rhia as she learns to accept her powers as a Crow woman. She’s still the primary character in Voice Of Crow
and The Reawakened , but those books are also told from the points-of-view of secondary characters.

It’s full of magic and action and romance, and it’s quite a bit darker and more serious than my vampire books. I really loved doing these two series simultaneously, because it let me bring out both sides of myself.

Carol asked -

How did you come up with the idea for the Aspect of Crow Trilogy?

Jeri - I’ve always loved crows and ravens and wanted to write a book that featured them. Then I had the idea for someone who could predict when people were going to die. I put the two together, along with the shamanistic concept that everyone has a Guardian Spirit Animal, and that’s how the idea came together. Then it was a lot of sitting around thinking how the story itself would go and what kinds of conflicts the world would bring to the characters.

Speaking of Spirit Animals, my website features an interactive personality quiz (www.jerismithready.com/quiz) to show you which of twelve Animals from the book you'd be. E-mail me your results and you’ll automatically be entered into a prize drawing during your animal’s month. The drawings will continue until October 2009.

Amber - The Reawakened is the last book in the trilogy. Will we ever see Rhia or any of the other characters from the series again?

Jeri – A short story called “Storm Reaper” will be featured on my publisher’s site beginning November 17. There’ll be eight weekly installments for people to read online for free. I really enjoyed writing this story about Kiril and Filip and Alanka (from VOICE OF CROW) stirring things up in Ilios. It was an aspect of the world I’d wanted to include in The Reawakened but had to be cut so that the book was less than 800 pages long. ;-) “Storm Reaper” takes place about two years before The Reawakened, but it’s in a different area with different characters, so there are no spoilers if you read one or the other first.

Besides that, I think Rhia and her friends and family would like to be left alone with their happy ending.

Amber - Who are your favourite characters from the Aspect of Crow Trilogy? Are any of them like you or based on people you know?

Jeri – My favorite characters, not surprisingly, are the heroes. Marek in Eyes Of Crow , Filip in Voice Of Crow , and Lycas and Dravek in The Reawakened . Out of all of them, Filip was the most fun and in many ways the easiest to write. As an Ilion, he’s a lot more like us than the rest of the characters.

Some would say Rhia is like me, in that she loves to eat, questions everything she’s told, and, at the beginning of her life at least, is kind of a scaredy cat. But she’s a lot more selfless and focused on others than I am.

Amber - Did you have to do alot of research for the Aspect of Crow Trilogy?

Jeri – I tried to be careful about keeping the books “ecologically correct,” i.e., getting all the biological/ecological/geographical details about the animals and plants right. As a former biology major, I try to do this with any book, but since the Aspect of Crow world is so deeply tied to nature, it was particularly important.

For The Reawakened , I did a ton of research on guerrilla warfare. It’s amazing how much can be accomplished by so few warriors, as long as they have the people on their side. I studied everything from the American Revolution to the French Algerian war to Vietnam to Cuba to China to the current conflict in Iraq. I learned that it’s nearly impossible to occupy a country when the population is determined to kick you out. You can’t overcome them with force alone—you have to win them over by other means.

Carol asked - Was this (Aspect of Crow Trilogy) your first series and do you find it is easier or harder to write a series than it is to write a single title?

Jeri – It was my first published series. I had a stand-alone novel (Requiem for the Devil, 2001), for which I wrote half a sequel that was never published (which is probably a good thing). Everything else I’ve written has been part of a series. I think particularly with fantasy, when you build a world and create compelling characters that continue to grow, a series is almost inevitable.

Kimberly B. asked -

You've written fantasies set in both the real world (Wicked Game, Requiem for the Devil) and an imaginary world (the Aspect of Crow Trilogy). Which do you find more difficult to write, and is there one you prefer?

Jeri – Imaginary world fantasy is more difficult for me, even though the Aspect of Crow Trilogy takes place here on earth in the same part of the country in which I live (the mid-Atlantic region). The most challenging part is the dialogue—while my characters don’t talk in high-falutin’ “fantasy-speak” with lots of thou’s and thy’s, certain modern colloquialisms would sound very jarring coming out of their mouths. To put it bluntly, when I write contemporary fantasy, I can use all the words I know (including cuss words, of which there is only one in the entire AOC trilogy).

ddurance asked -

What brought on the aspects of music and radio in your book Wicked Game? What importance is music to you and in your own life?

Jeri – Music has always been a part of my life. There was constantly a radio or stereo on in the house when I was growing up. My family was an early influence in my musical tastes, but by the time I got to high school, it was usually friends and/or boyfriends who had the most influence. Now I pretty much find music on my own. I just couldn’t live without it, and I feel extremely lucky to be able to share that love of music in my work with the vampire DJs. Not only in the book, but also on my website (www.jerismithready.com/books/wicked-game/music.htm) and that of the WVMP radio station (www.wvmpradio.com/).

Amber - What is next? More fantasy? More paranormals? Upcoming projects?

Jeri – Bad to the Bone, the second in the WVMP series, will be out in May 2009, and I have high hopes that there’ll be more of those coming down the pike in future years. *fingers crossed* I also have a young adult urban fantasy in the works, so let’s hope it finds a home with a publisher who loves it.

Oh, and there’ll be more vampire DJ turning stories coming soon! Monroe’s (www.jerismithready.com/books/wicked-game/monroe.html) and Spencer’s (www.jerismithready.com/books/wicked-game/spencer1.html) are already on my site. Jim’s should be up by Thanksgiving. I’m looking forward to that one—should be deliciously weird. ;-) Then I’m planning for Noah’s around New Year’s, Regina’s mid-February, and finally Shane’s at the beginning of April.

Michelle asked -

How is your progress on Bad to the Bone!? What is this story about & where did you get your inspiration from for the story?

Jeri – Heh. My deadline is next Wednesday. I’m in the final polishing stage right now, and I’m really happy with where I’ve taken the story in the rewrite—more action, more conflict, more vampire DJs!

The story focuses on a new threat to the station—this time from a religious broadcaster who pirates WVMP’s signal and claims that anyone who glorifies the occult (by, for example, pretending to be vampires) is going to hell. It also features a stray dog named Dexter who turns out to be a lot more than meets the eye.

I got the idea for the story from the real-life so-called “culture warriors,” who always seem to rear their heads this time of year railing against the evils of Halloween. Dexter was based on a foster dog I knew and loved, whose name was Foots. We wanted to keep Foots for our own, but he wanted to eat our cats, so there was a basic conflict of interest. ;-) He went to live with another foster family who adopted him the next day.

Amber - What have you been reading, watching or just enjoying lately?

Jeri – I’m a political junkie, so most of my tiny spare time has been absorbed by reading, watching, and talking about the upcoming election here in the States. I’m looking forward to getting past that event, finishing this book, and returning to reading and movie watching. I am nowhere near my goal of fifty books and fifty movies for 2008!

Our current Netflix DVD is the final season of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, possibly my favorite show ever. I’m in the middle of two very funny books right now: Chuck Klosterman’s DOWNTOWN OWL and Beth Ciotta’s ALL ABOUT EVIE. They are keeping me sane through the crazy times.

Amber - Thank you again for stopping by Amberkatze's Book blog! I hope you will come back again when Bad to the Bone comes out!

Jeri – I absolutely will! Thanks so much for having me, and thanks to you and your readers for the great questions. Please feel free to ask me more questions in the comments, and good luck in the book drawing!

You can visit my website at www.jerismithready.com. Also, I have signed bookplates for anyone who wants a quick-and-easy way to get an autographed copy of the novels. Just e-mail me at jeri AT jerismithready DOT com and tell me which ones you want. (Please include your mailing address with your request.)

Happy Halloween, everyone!



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Contest Time!

Jeri has kindly said that she will send the winner from this contest a signed set of the Aspect of the Crow trilogy!

That means you get all 3 of these amazing books in the trilogy!

This contest is only open to US mailing addresses!

To enter the contest go to Jeri's site and fill in the interactive personality quiz (www.jerismithready.com/quiz) and then post here which of twelve Animals from the book you are!

To get an extra entry post about this interview & contest somewhere on the internet and leave the link here so I can confirm your entry!

The contest will stay open until Sunday 9th of November 4pm CET and all entrants should check in to see if they have won! I will draw another winner if the prize isn't claimed within 7 days!

Enjoy!

Labels: Author Interviews, Contests, Halloween, Jeri Smith-Ready

It is the day of the dead!

Here in Austria people are visiting the cemeteries and leaving flowers and candles. So I thought my first guests today should have something to do with death!

First up is author Nancy Haddock who was my first ever author guest here on Amberkatze's Book Blog. She writes for Berkley Publishing and her first book, La Vida Vampire is available now, and the sequel, Last Vampire Standing will be released May 5, 2009. The main character of her series is vampire Cesca Marinelli. She was buried for more than 200 years in a smelly coffin under an old Victorian house and works as a ghost tour guide in St. Augustine, Florida.

Keep reading to the bottom because Nancy has a great prize to giveaway!

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Haunted Beach House?

Boo-rific greetings, readers! I’m Nancy Haddock, and I write paranormals because I love them. I’m into ghosts partly because St. Augustine, Florida is overflowing with them. Yet, for all the spirits in town, none resided in my little pink house on the beach … until now.

My ghostly tale begins with a lighted mirror in my bedroom coming on by itself at odd times during the day and night. The light is a three-way job, operated by touch. Admittedly, it doesn’t take much to turn on or change the level of the lights, but it does take more than mere vibration. Each time I saw the light on, I asked if a spirit wanted to talk. No response. Okay, I’d played this kind of game with ghosts in my Dallas area house. No biggie.

So, one day last week I realized I needed to – cue the spooky music and hold on for the horror – Clean The House. I grabbed a handful of rags and charged the dust dragons in the bedroom, muttering to myself that I wished the faeries would come do this job.

The mirror light suddenly blinked on. I was halfway across the room. Whoa!

I blinked, and asked, “Are you my house spirit?”

The mirror brightened to its next level. I took that as a Yes.

“Do you agree I need cleaning faeries?” I asked.

The mirror turned off, then back on to the lowest light level. Another Yes.

“I don’t suppose you’re that faerie, right?”

The light never flickered, so I took that as a No. Bummer.

“Do you have a message for me, or want to talk?”

Again, no change in the light.

“You’re just here to watch me slay the dirt, huh?”

The light brightened. All the ghosts in the world, and I get a comedian.

Still, it’s a treat to have a spirit around again. It quite makes my house a home.



CONTEST –

Do you have a ghost in your house? Know anyone who does? Is the presence a good thing? I love ghost stories, so share yours and be entered to win a prize!

One lucky poster will win a signed copy of La Vida Vampire and a $10 Barnes & Noble gift certificate!

Rules -

You must post on this thread will an answer to be entered! You can earn an extra entry by posting about this contest somewhere on the net and leaving a link for me to confirm your entry. You can also win another entry by signing up to my newsletter by clicking this icon

 Subscribe in a reader

The contest will close on Thursday 6th of November at 2pm CET. Please check back to see if you won as I will pick a new winner if the prize is not claimed within 7 days.

Labels: Contests, Guest Blog, Halloween, Nancy Haddock

I was a cat today and I decided to show you all the picture! I just had a few friends over and we had pizza and watched some scary stuff and now Halloween is over here in Europe.

However it isn't over here on Amberkatze's Book Blog!

There are still 2 author interviews and one guest blog left to go! and there are 3 Halloween contests already open and still the weekly contest as well (see sidebars for more details).

Hope you all had a good Halloween! See you tomorrow for two more author guests and contests!

Labels: Contests, Halloween

My second Halloween guest is RITA Award winning author Terri Garey! Her Nicki Styx series is spooky, fun, romantic and addictive! I loved both books so far and can't wait for the next book to come out in Spring!

If you haven't had a chance to read this series yet or you are missing on of the books, keep reading because Terri has a couple of prizes to give away!

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Amber - Terri Garey '2008 RITA Award winner for DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY' welcome to Amberkatze's Book Blog! Please start things off by telling us about your great series starring Nicki Styx.

Terri - Nicki Styx is a young woman whose life is changed forever after a near-death experience leaves her with the ability to see and hear spirits. A former goth girl who owns a vintage clothing store in the quirky Atlanta community of Little Five Points, Nicki now finds herself an unwilling “ghoulfriend” to the dead. Needless to say, nothing will ever be the same for Nicki! Forced to make choices she might not ordinarily make in order to help the restless dead, Nicki uses her sense of humor to cope, her friends and family for support, and falls in love along the way. It's dark humor with a Southern slant—the angst of a young woman on the edge, a healthy dash of sex and romance, a sprinkling of spookiness. The series is meant to make you laugh, make you think, and hopefully send a few chills down your spine.

Amber - 'Dead Girls Are Easy' was the first book in the series and the latest release was 'A Match Made in Hell'. What is next for Nicki Styx and how many books can we expect in the series?

Terri - The next book in this series will be released in March 2009, and is titled You’re the One That I Haunt (I just got the cover, it’s a totally new, completely FABULOUS look for the series, but I’m not allowed to show it yet!) Following that will be another Nicki Styx book (as yet untitled) in November of 2009. After that, who knows?

Amber - Nicki loves vintage clothes, has a doctor boyfriend and can see the dead. Are you and Nicki alike in anyway?

Terri - Nicki is who I’d like to be (minus the seeing dead people part!) I got married very young, had children, worked full-time in the computer industry, and never really got the chance to be young and carefree, much less goth—I was always too busy being responsible! Her wicked sense of humor is mine, but Nicki’s much more comfortable saying things out loud than I am. I felt like adding a gothic aspect to her personality would make her life more interesting—it’s one thing to be “into the dark side”, but it’s a whole other ballgame when the dark side becomes interested in you, don’t you think?

Amber - How did the idea for the series come about? What came first? Did you always want to write something paranormal?

Terri - I’ve always been fascinated with the paranormal – ghosts and vampires, in particular. When I was growing up, there was a very campy Saturday afternoon horror movie host named Dr. Paul Bearer, who showed old movies like “Dracula”, “The Wolfman”, “The Blob”, “Abbott and Costello meet the Mummy”, etc. on a show called Creature Feature. I absolutely adored how he took “scary” and made it funny. I also loved shows like The Addams Family, The Munsters, and Tales from the Crypt. There’s a lot of paranormal romance out there, but not much of it combines the “light” with the “dark”, and I wanted to do that.

Amber - How did you get into writing? Was it something you always wanted to do?

Terri - I’ve always loved to read. I’ve always admired anyone who could take a person out of their everyday world and put them somewhere else for a time. My desire to write is an natural extension of my love of reading.

Amber - You just won the RITA award for Best First Book. That must have been the best moment of your writing career? Do you have any others?

Terri - Oh, I’d have to say that the day I signed with my agent and the day I sold my first book were both pretty amazing!

Amber - You contributed a story to 'The Weddings are Hell' anthology. Are you working on any other projects at the moment? Do you have any other ideas you would like to write and see published?

Terri - Right now I’m working on the fourth book in the Nicki Styx series, which will be released in November 2009. Yes, I have other ideas for some “darker” paranormals and some women’s fiction, but right now, Nicki is keeping me pretty busy.

Amber - If your books were going to be adapted for TV or Film who would you like to see playing the lead roles?

Terri - Oh, I’d LOVE for Zooey Deschanel to play Nicki. She’d be absolutely perfect! Joe is a little harder to cast, but David Boreanz comes to mind.

Amber - What books/authors do you like to read when you have time? Any favourites?


Terri - I read widely – all types of romance, straight historicals, fantasy, some horror. I seem to gravitate toward historicals, though. One of my recent faves was Silent In The Grave by fellow RITA nominee Deanna Raybourn.

Amber - You are stuck on a desert island. What 5 things would you most like to have with you?

1) My husband.
2) A tarp (hey, I saw enough of Survivor to know I need a tarp!)
3) A fishing pole
4) A crate of books
5) A knife








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Contest Time!

Terri has very kindly said she will give a signed copy of DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY and a signed copy of A MATCH MADE IN HELL! That means two people are going to win one of Terri's great books!

You can enter by posting here on this thread by telling us what you are doing or did this Halloween! No sharing no entry!!

You can get another entry by posting about Amberkatze's Halloween event somewhere on the net! Make sure you post a link so I can confirm your entry!

For another entry you can send a friend and have them mention your name in their entry! Then you both get an extra entry!

The contest will be open till the 4th of Nov 2pm CET and entrants are asked to check in to see if they have won. I don't hunt down winners and will pick a new winner if the prize hasn't been claimed within 7 days.

Enjoy!!

Labels: Author Interviews, Contests, Halloween, Terri Garey