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Sunday, October 25, 2009

Guest Blog & Contest with Author Maria Lima!

This week we have a guest blog to read! 

My guest this week is author of the Blood Lines series, Maria Lima. The Blood Lines series is growing this month with the release of 'Blood Kin'. So make sure you check out the previous books in the series if you haven't already had the pleasure!

Thank you Maria for sending me this great post to show you all. Oh and a big thank you for the prize one of you is going to win...keep reading to find out what and how!


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There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb*


Urban Fantasy: conjures up tales of the mean streets, doesn't it? Wizards on a case, stomping the alleyways of gritty Chicago with their magic staff; Druid investigators tracking down evildoers in South Boston; PIs joining with a vampire partner searching for demons in downtown Toronto. From vampire executioners in St. Louis to all the amazing and wonder leather-clad kickass female heroes and heroines in today's urban fantasy, we all love these stories set in modern cities.

But what about the country? Small towns, rural areas? There's no lack of intrigue, suspense,backstabbing partners, and all the things you'd find in a large city (except perhaps for the high-rises and traffic).

I chose to set my Blood Lines series in Rio Seco, Texas - a fictional small town very much based on a lovely Hill Country community I lived in during my late high school years, Lago Vista, Texas. The Hill Country, dotted with small towns, rural communities and resorts remains, to this day, a jewel in the bellybutton of the state. Lakes, rolling hills, gorgeous scenery complement the hustle and bustle of the major cities. It's a place to get away and a wonderful place to live. Even as early as the late 1970s, the Hill Country was becoming a mecca for those with money/fame/power to buy a vacation home. Now, in the early 21st century, nearby cities keep expanding into this once isolated area, bringing with it the pressures of new population, new development. Small towns may not have the numbers of people as in cities, but they certainly have the same issues, often magnified because people all tend to know one another.

I describe this in the opening to BLOOD BARGAIN:

Small towns are like glaciers. Moving slowly in their majestic beauty, ideas, mores, thoughts frozen in the ice—pretty to look at. Occasionally, you see things happen, slight changes, tiny cracks in the ice, drips melting away piecemeal as Johnny Rodriguez takes a job in Austin and moves himself, his wife, the kids, Mom and Aunt Betty out of the homestead. SueEllen Parker leaves her husband of fifteen years to live in quietly proud defiance with her best friend of even more years, Mary Rose Messing. But overall, life continues as it was, these small ripples hardly changing the face of the ice. Until suddenly, one day, that which you thought was immutable, fixed in stone, carved into eternal ice sheers away, large chunks tearing away with a shriek, crashing and splintering into a million knife-edged shards.

Seriously, does this not sound like an ideal place for a community of supernatural beings to establish their base? I may be joking a little, but I loved the idea of having this completely closed and fairly isolated group of people smack in the middle of rural Texas--a place not known for their easy acceptance of outsiders. The tensions and everyday worries of life can then be magnified as filtered through the very special lives of Keira Kelly, Adam Walker and their gang of shapeshifters, vampires and other supernaturals. Keira and gang may not stalk the mean streets, but their lives are no less interesting, for the lack of subways, highways and alleyways.

BLOOD KIN takes them to a real city, Vancouver, British Columbia and things get a lot more interesting when all sorts of secrets and family conspiracies come to light as Keira begins her new life. What's going to happen to Rio Seco and how is this town and its people going to handle what comes next?

That, my friends, is the best part of writing...I get to decide all this. It's good to be the queen.


-- Maria Lima

* with a brief nod of thanks to Joss Whedon for a brilliant title





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Contest Time!

Maria is kindly giving away a copy of her new release 'Blood Kin' and I am pretty sure she is going to sign it for the winner as well!

Now you are wondering what horrible question I have thought up for you this week? Well I didn't think up this one! Maria came up with her own ;)

Name your favorite tall tale about Texas or Canada (since Blood Kin takes place in Vancouver).

No Tall Tale = No entry!

The usual rules apply!

Earn another entry for each place you link this contest on the net. Make sure you add links here for me to confirm your entries!

You can also earn extra entries by emailing your friends about the contest. Just make sure you send a copy of your email or receipt to me at Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot net.

I can offer more prizes if my Amazon Associates account gets more money!! So please make sure you order at Amazon.com through the links around the site and help keep the contest coming!




The contest will stay open until Sunday 1st of November 2009 4pm CET and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.

If you are claiming a prize, have emailed me and have not heard back before the 7 day limit is up then post a comment here on the blog. Your email may get sucked into my spam filter.

42 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi :)
Thank you for the great guest post Maria.
My favorite tall tale about Canada is that we have snow year round. It is so pervasive that every summer we get tourists coming here (I live in a border city) with skies on the roof of their vehicle, asking where the snow is. Invariably we tell them to keep driving north *grin* (if they keep going north for a couple of days they will reach the North Pole).
:)
Maria Lima is on Twitter! She's @chickwriter
:)
All the best,
RKCharron
xoxo

Jen D. @ Not Now...I'm Reading! said...

Thanks for stopping by Maria.

Not sure if I'm understanding the question but here goes. My favorite tall tale about Texas would be the tales of Pecos Bill. I think it was the whole riding a tornado like a bronco that got me.

Thanks for the contest Amberkatze.

*Jen*
iiiioneloveiiii(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Karen W. said...

Hi, Maria,

I enjoyed your blog, and kudos for the Joss Whedon reference! You're my kind of woman! :)

How about the Texas tall tale about Bigfoot Wallace? The roughest, toughest Texas Ranger that ever rode West of the Pecos?

Thanks for the contest!

karenwitkowski AT aol(dot)com

Ms. Deeds said...

I think I'll go with the stories in Texas about the Chupacabbra, the monster that sucks blood of cows. I don't think it's true but I've always heard stories about cows in Texas being found bloodless and this creature being blamed.

demmi said...

he Texas tall tale about Bigfoot Wallace
con5459(at)gmail(dot)com

KayeDean said...

Texas Tall Tale : "Everything is bigger in Texas'. SO NOT TRUE! I dated a man from Texas years ago and believe me when I say everything is Not bigger in Texas.

Andrea I said...

I loved the interview. I have purchased Matters of the Blood and need to get Blood Bargain and Blood Kin.

My tall tale is from Texas. It is the story of Pecos Bill and being raised by coyotes. This was after falling out of the wagon as his family crossed the Pecos River.

clynsg said...

Can't say that I know any about Canada, but have been hearing Texas ones all my life. My favorites are any of the ones featuring Pecos Pete (although sometimes they are about Pecos Bill--guess maybe they were twins!).

clynsg at yahoo.com

Sweeter the berry said...

I heard the tall tale everything is bigger in Texas. I live near Canada but all I hear is the cold air coming from canada keeps everywhere else cold (true). letessha@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Great guest post! Since I live in Canada, my favorite tall tale is that we all live in igloos! Um, I've never seen an igloo, an eskimo or a polar bear except in pictures. :) I live in a big city in case anyone's wondering.

sidhevicious(at)shaw(dot)ca

wanda f said...

I'd have to say my favorite would be the tale of Pecos Bill and Slue -foot Sue also loved the one about pecos bills birth

ezmerelda said...

There are plenty of tall tales in Texas, but I'll go with Pecos Bill. He was adopted by coyotes. (Love the urban fiction.)

Asylumgirl said...

I like the Canadian tale of The Tolling of the Bell from Prince Edward Island which supposedly was a foretelling of the ship, the Fairie Queene that never arrived. Eight people died when it sank.

Deidre

Vickie said...

Thank you for the introduction to a new to me author. I look forward to adding her books to my WWBL and Mt Git'r'Read.

My favorite Texas Tall Tale would be Pecos Bill.

Maria Lima said...

I love the various tall tales you all have! Funny note about Canada, last year, when I told my parents I wanted them to come along on a research trip to Vancouver, my mom was afraid it would be way too cold. Of course, it wasn't, Vancouver weather was gorgeous the entire week we were there.

Cheers!
Maria

Curling up by the Fire said...

Having a French Canadian background, I grew up with tales about La Corriveau. She was a woman who supposedly killed several husbands and had to hang in a cage as part of her conviction. She apparently haunted the place for years. I know the real story now but it certainly scared the heck out of me as a kid. You can hear her legend in a hauntings tour in Quebec. It's very interesting and some books have been written about the case.

souldolphindream said...

I like the one in texas about Dancing with the devil. You should really be careful who you dance with!

souldolphindream@aol.com

BrigidsBlest said...

I have an uncle in Texas who likes to tell tall tales about the weird animals down there. Everyone's heard about the chupacabra, of course, but he's also mentioned hoop snakes and jackalopes and the sidehill gouger.

Jennifer L.

BrigidsBlest@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

As a kid "Pecos Bill" was one I remember enjoying. There were stories such as why coyotes howl at the moon and how the Painted Desert became so colorful.

alterlisa@yahoo.com

Erica G said...

I can only think of the one about the wild creature in Texas called the chupacabbra. It sucks blood out of other animals. I think it has been mostly linked to cows. CrazY!!

egreca (at) hotmail {dot} com

Dawn M. said...

Well, the only Texas tall tales I've heard about have already been mentioned. And like most, Pecos Bill is my favorite. I always liked the story about how he rode a tornado. :0)

Thanks!
librarygrinch at gmail dot com

Reading said...

A tall tale about Canada is Sasquatch. I remember seeing a really los budget movie about this when I was little.

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

booklover0226 said...

The only "tall tale" I can think of concerning Texas is the Texas Chainsaw Massacre!

Sorry...

Tracey D
booklover0226 AT gmail DOT com

ky2here said...

Let's go with the legend of Michael Buble. The tall tale is that he was shooting pepper vodka with k d lang and challenged her to a sing-off. But they had to do urban rap and k d was unable to adapt her style. Michael did a beat box routine and won the $25 prize.

jellybelly82158 said...

Hi, My tall tale about Texas is that there is an animal found in Texas called a jackalope. It is suppose to be a cross between a jack rabbit and an antelope. People really go there looking for them.
jellybelly82158@gmail.com

Llehn said...

My fav tall tale about Texas is the one about the Hook Man, the killer who stalks young couples.

Mardel said...

Hello,

One of my favorite tall tales is called Boo-Hag. Bobby, desparate for a wife, gets fooled into marrying a boo-hag (a witch shapeshifter who leaves her skin everynight to go hunting)

wanda sissle @ yahoo dot com

Kim (Randominities) said...

I guess my favorite tall tale is the one about Pecos bill meeting his ox Blue.

Ina said...

Hi :)
I've never heard before about Pecos Bill - but that sounds interesting... I will search for more informations.
And I too heard the tale that there is in Canada all year long snow and icy cold - don't tell me that's not true *gg*
Greetings,
Ina

erma said...

My fav tale of Texas is of Pecos Bill.
erma.hurtt@sbcglobal.net

dreamcleavers said...

i think the sinking of the edmund fitzgerald had to do with canada aye?
dreamcleavers@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

about the ult up in cancda, i watched a tru story movie about it

and texas. hmmm the alamo

Chris J. said...

Hi Amber and Maria, Happy Halloween to you both.
It has been great learning about your books and the covers are cool. I really like the titles.

I live in Texas and my fave tales have been of the Chupacabra. A blood sucking mysterious animal that wonders the night. No one has really ever saw it, captured it or photographed it. Especially this time of year, stories are every where and some tell there children to beware of the Chupacabra.

saturdaynightfever said...

All my exes live in Texas, George Strait sang; that cannot be true!

edgenemmers@gmail.com

SiNn said...

when pacos bill married Sue


and calamity jane


mortalsinn@yahoo.com

lilyk said...

My favorite tall tale about Texas is that everything is bigger there. ;0D

Unknown said...

My favorite tall tales about Canada are the ones about lumberjacks-Paul Bunyan and Blue Babe his Ox. garrettsambo@aol.com The name in Canad may not have been Paul Bunyon.

Gloria's Bits and Pieces said...

My tall tale about Canada is that I heard Bigfoot was roaming around there for years and lives in the woods some place.

kngmckellar@hotmail.com

Kathy said...

The ghost of an evil trapper roams the wilds of Labrador. He rides on a sleigh pulled by eight white huskies. If you follow him, he will lead you to the nearest town.

cissikat said...

Maria's books look great, now another author I have to find books from! I haven't heard any tall tales from Texas or Canada, honestly, but my mom lives in Canada and I have heard (from her) that Canadians don't eat biscuits and gravy, wow, that would be a tall tale to me!~

Pissenlit said...

My favourite Canadian tall-tale is of the Ogopogo of Okanagan Lake in British Columbia.

cman said...

Paul Bunyon.