Guest Post with Cynthia Garner + Giveaway(International)

Cynthia Garner stopped by and shared her debut book KISS OF THE VAMPIRE with us in March when she went on tour with fellow paranormal author Stella Cameron. Today, she is sharing how she got into the paranormal genre as well as a little bit about the second book in her Warriors of the Rift series, SECRET OF THE WOLF.

WELCOME BACK TO THE BLOG CYNTHIA!!!

Meet Cynthia:

Cynthia’s interest in writing got an early start when her sixth grade teacher told her class to complete the following sentence: “It was a dark and stormy night…” With that Cynthia’s love of all things paranormal was born.

She didn’t start writing with an eye toward publication until 1999. She had a few short stories win some contests and get published in now defunct publications. A move to Arizona in 2000 and a new job put her writing on hold. In early 2005 Cynthia couldn’t keep the stories inside any longer, and made the decision to focus on a writing career, beginning with electronic publishers. Under the pen name Sherrill Quinn, she signed her first contract in September 2005, and her first novella was published in March 2006. In 2009 the first of three Kensington Brava books was released.

Cynthia is very excited that her Warriors of the Rift series found a home with Grand Central Publishing. You’ll get to meet vampire Tobias Caine and half-demon Nix de la Fuente (KISS OF THE VAMPIRE), werewolf Victoria Joseph and human cop Dante MacMillan (SECRET OF THE WOLF), demon Finn Evnissyen and fey princess Keira O’Brien (HEART OF THE DEMON) plus many interesting secondary characters that make up the dark and dangerous preternatural world of the series.

By day Cynthia is a mostly mild-mannered Human Resources Manager for a non-profit organization. She’s originally from northeast Ohio and fled the snow over ten years ago to live in the heat of southeastern Arizona which, this time of year, is about to kill her.

Connect with Cynthia: Author Site | Facebook | Twitter

HELP! THE PARANORMAL BUG HAS BITTEN ME.

On second thought, I don’t need help. I have always loved the paranormal. Not everyone in my circle of family and friends understands my attraction to vampires, werewolves, mummies, elves and the like, which makes it hard sometimes to find people to go to movies with me. I love it when movies/TV and books take a tried and true notion and turn it on its ear to make it something different. Let’s face it—ever since Bram Stoker made the vampire a sexy, beguiling creature instead of a putrified reanimated corpse, vampires have been done to death. Or undeath, as the case may be. And the same thing goes for werewolves, too. So if a writer (or producer/director) is going to create a monster, they’d better do something new with it, or it’s not going to be very successful.

Probably about a year ago now I had read an article about an asteroid, which got my brain freewheeling with a bunch of “What if?”s. What if the asteroid (I later changed it to a comet so it could have return trips), as it flew past the Earth, ripped open a section of space/time between dimensions? What if, in the other dimension, the people were technologically advanced (and had been for millenia) and knew of this rift? What if they’d figured out a technological way to get rid of their undesirables without practicing capital punishment? By having their souls stripped from their bodies, criminals, political dissidents, religious heretics and the like could be held in large holding tanks that were opened when the rift occurred. No one knows what happens to these incorporeal entities once they get sucked into the other dimension (ours!), and not too many care. All they care about is that their problem is solved. And they know that in another 73 years they get another chance to rid their populations of more troublemakers.

The will to survive is one of the strongest instincts in nature. When these entities enter our dimension they are driven by that instinct to enter the first human body they come upon. And generally speaking, they then suppress the human soul and take control, though the individual’s personality begins to impact them almost immediately. They have the memories of the human but now, as a result of the blending of human and alien, they are endowed with immortality and preternatural abilities that have resulted in the myths and legends of our planet.

In SECRET OF THE WOLF, my heroine is one of these preternaturals. Tori Joseph was sent through the rift as punishment for something a family member did (you can read all about her ordeal in my e-novella, INTO THE RIFT). After being on Earth for a hundred years or so, she’s finally reunited with her brother who was sent through the rift with her, as well as the cousin whose actions had caused her rifting. Family is everything to her, and she’s unwilling to give it up even as those family members start acting suspiciously.

So let’s talk monsters and sci fi. Do you like a blending? What’s your favorite type of creature? Is there some creature you haven’t seen in a romance yet and would like to?

One commentor (open to everyone) will win a signed copy of SECRET OF THE WOLF along with a bookmark and magnet.

SECRET OF THE WOLF:

Genre: Paranormal
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Forever (June 26,2012)

Once a generation, the rift between the paranormal world and the human world opens, allowing supernatural entities to cross. Vampire, demon, or shapeshifter, they can save the world–or send it spiraling into chaos.

As a werewolf liaison to the Council of Preternaturals, Tori Joseph is used to straddling the world between humans and immortals. She plays by the rules and always delivers justice, no matter the cost. But after a string of increasingly brutal attacks results in humans turning into werewolves, Tori doesn’t reveal her horrifying suspicion: Someone very close to her might be responsible.

Investigating the paranormal violence, no-nonsense detective Dante MacMillan believes Tori is hiding something. His search for the truth draws him into greater danger as he gets closer to the dark realm of the immortals—and to the sexy werewolf who stirs his primal lust. Now with evil closing in around them, Dante must convince Tori to trust him . . . before her deadly secret destroys them both.

Get Your Own Copy: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Nook | Powell's
Book Extras: Read an Excerpt
Other Books in Series:

Cynthia is giving away some fabulous stuff including a signed copy of SECRET OF THE WOLF, a bookmark and magnet. The best part? It's international. Here's how to get your hands on this fabulous prize:

• Leave a comment answering Cynthia's question:So let’s talk monsters and sci fi. Do you like a blending? What’s your favorite type of creature? Is there some creature you haven’t seen in a romance yet and would like to?
• Fill out the rafflecopter form below. You must leave a comment. All other entries are optional.

Thanks to Cynthia for sharing a bit about her latest release as well as donating the giveaway prize!
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