Author Guest Blog & Contest with Darynda Jones (with book excerpt!)

Everyone has regrets in life and there are also regrets we make as readers. One of my biggest reader regrets is not reading the Charley Davidson series earlier. Darynda Jones is just an amazing author and her humour had me falling in love with the series instantly!

With the quirky and fun T-shirt and Bumper sticker quotes at the beginning of every chapter I just couldn't help myself from laughing out loud as Charley does her Grim Reaper business. Add to the funthe amazing Lorelei King who narrates the books on the audio books. She captures the characters perfectly and I can't wait for the fourth book to release at the end of the month.

Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet is due out on October 30th! Mark your calenders! Tired of waiting and need a Darynda Jones fix? The first book in her new series, Death and the Girl Next Door, is out now!

But wait! Darynda has sent me a great guest blog, an excerpt from Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet and a contest for you all to enter! So keep reading and check it out!!!


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WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE

Thank you so much for having me today, Amber! I LOVE your blog.

With Halloween fast approaching, I thought I’d talk about how I got started writing paranormal. You know, what inspires me.

The answer to that, of course, is anything and everything. Honestly, I saw a red dot on the floor once and wrote a story because of it. Yeah.

But what about paranormal specifically influenced my writing?

Well, a long time ago in a land not so far away, I read a picture book called Cinderella. Cinderella is nothing if not fantasy, and I was hooked on storytelling. I used to pick up sticks and write stories on random pieces of paper or even in the dirt. I used to think it was all about the story. I’ve since realized it’s all about the characters. The story is just a plus. But that’s a post best saved for another time.

Still, my stories do tend to go a bit darker than Cinderella did. At least Disney’s version of it. And I think I’ve always been attracted to the macabre. The first scary movie I ever saw was a vampire movie. I’ve never been the same. Who knew the pairing of supernatural elements and scary creatures could be fun? Admittedly, I didn’t at the time. That movie was not fun. It was scary. But it hooked me. I have been fascinated with paranormal creatures, their powers and weaknesses, ever since.

Combine that with inspirations like Mary Shelley, Joss Whedon, Anne Rice, and Neil Gaiman, and you have yourself a cauldron of good times. (Get it? Cauldron? Because it’s almost Halloween . . .)

I absolutely love the paranormal world and everything in it, from fairies to werewolves to zombies.

What is your favorite paranormal creature and what inspires you in the paranormal realm?

Thank you again for having me!
~D~

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work including a prestigious Golden Heart®, a RITA®, and a Daphne du Maurier. As a born storyteller, she grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike. Darynda lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.

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4th Grave Beneath My Feet Excerpt!

With renewed energy, I pulled back onto Academy— after hitting a
drive- through for a mocha latte— and had just started for home when
my phone rang.

“Yes?” I said, illegally talking on the phone while driving within the
city limits. Scoping for cops, I waited for Uncle Bob to stop talking to
whomever he was talking to and get back to me.

My uncle Bob, or Ubie as I most often referred to him, was a detective
for APD, and I helped him on cases from time to time. He knew I
could see the departed and used that to his advantage. Not that I could
blame him.

“Get that to her, then call the ME ay- sap.”

“Okay,” I said, “but I’m not sure what calling the medical examiner
ay- sap is going to accomplish. I’m pretty sure his name is George.”

“Oh, hey, Charley.”

“Hey, Uncle Bob. What’s up?”

“Are you driving?”

“No.”

“Have you heard anything?”

Our conversations often went like this. Uncle Bob with his random
questions. Me with my trying to come up with answers just as random.
Not that I had to try very hard. “I heard that Tiff any Gorham, a girl I
knew in grade school, still stuff s her bra. But that’s just a rumor.”

“About the case,” he said through clenched teeth. I could tell his teeth
were clenched because his words were suddenly forced. That meant he
was frustrated. Too bad I had no idea what he was talking about.

“I wasn’t aware that we had a case.”

“Oh, didn’t Cookie call you?”

“She called me a doody- head once.”

“About the case.” His teeth were totally clenched again.

“We have a case?”

But I’d lost him. He was talking to another officer. Or a detective. Or
a hooker, depending on his location and accessibility to cash. Though I
doubted he would tell a hooker to check the status of the DOA’s autopsy
report. Unless he was way kinkier than I’d ever given him credit for.
I found his calling me only to talk to other people very challenging.
“I’ll call you right back,” he said. No idea to whom.

The call disconnected as I sat at a light, wondering what guacamole
would look like if avocados were orange.

I finally shifted my attention to the dead kid in my backseat. He had
shoulder- length blond hair and bright blue eyes and looked somewhere
between fifteen and seventeen.

“You come here often?” I asked him, but my phone rang before he
could say anything. That was okay. He had a vacant stare, so I doubted
he would have answered me anyway.

“Sorry about that,” Uncle Bob said. “Do you want to discuss the
case?”

“We have a case?” I said again, perking up.

“How are you?”

He asked me that every time he called now. “Peachy. Am I the case? If
so, I can solve this puppy in about three seconds. I’m heading down San
Mateo toward Central in a cherry red Jeep Wrangler with a questionable
exhaust system.”

“Charley.”

“Hurry, before I get away!”

Charley Davidson Series

#1 - First Grave on the Right
#2 - Second Grave to the Left
#3 - Third Grave Dead Ahead
#4 - Grave Beneath My Feet (Due out end of October)

Darklight Series

#1 - Death & The Girl Next Door (Out Now!)
#2 - Death, Doom, and Detention (March 2013)
#3 - Death and the Girl He Loves (2013)

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Giveaway:

Only 1 copy of Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet by Darynda Jones will be awarded to one lucky follower per month during the tour. Best of luck!

This giveaway is an Official Darynda Jones Giveaway.

Contest Rules

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