But done is done. Here’s the link to the new page (in case you weren’t transferred over or are new to my page and want to LIKE it).

I’m thrilled that the likes from fans and friends number over 5300, so I’m planning a celebration with a giveaway. I’ll keep y’all posted!

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If you enjoy Supernatural, trust me, you’ll LOVE Rob Thurman’s Cal Leandros books. (Nightlife pre-dates Supernatural, actually.)

So to help my friend celebrate the release of her latest, we’re giving away three signed copies of Doubletake!!

To enter the contest, just post a comment stating who your fave character in the Cal Leandros books is or, if you haven’t given them a try yet (and you should. You are so depriving yourself otherwise), simply post a comment below. Receive extra points (2 points for each outlet you use) for tweeting about this contest or posting about it on Facebook (please provide links) or on any other social media. So spread the word for more chances to win!

Contest has ended. The winners are: Dana A., Judy, and Melankalia. Congrats!

Half-human/half-monster Cal Leandros knows that family is a pain. But now that pain belongs to his half-brother, Niko. Niko’s shady father is in town, and he needs a big favor. Even worse is the reunion being held by the devious Puck race – including the Leandros’ friend, Robin- featuring a lottery that no Puck wants to win.

As Cal tries to keep both Niko and Robin from paying the ultimate price for their kin, a horrific reminder from Cal’s own past arrives to remind him that blood is thicker than water…

And that’s why it’s so much more fun to spill.

READ AN EXCERPT

Rob also has available some awesome (and free) audio, music, and wallpaper downloads. And be sure to check out the book trailer (chockful of HOT MEN)! You can also read excerpts from all the previous books in the series on Rob’s website (not to mention finding buy links.)

**I’m loving everyone’s comments below! If you need any more reasons to try this series, please read the comments being posted.

For those of you eager to try something different, consider picking up book one in this series, NIGHTLIFE. You’ll learn all about Cal and Nikos and nightmare they’ve lived since Cal was born.

Cal is my fave character, but his brother Nikos is a damned close second. Love Robin Goodfellow too.

I love humorous stories. Adore dry wit and droll manners. Admire quick quips and snappy comebacks. How many times have I come up with the perfect, the most hysterical comeback . . .only mere hours after it was needed? And delivered it with smoking, devastating style to chirping crickets? Way too many.

Okay – once in a while I pop one off without even thinking about it, but for the most part, I just stare slack-jawed with admiration as others do the zinging and I madly take notes. (I sometimes accidentally bump up against them hoping it’ll rub off on me—oh, excuse me, did you just lose a bit of funny? My bad.)

I think the love of comedy, of regular people dealing in a witty fashion with absurd realities, was learned from my father. He loved to write funny stories for me and my sister, stories that usually had us laughing so hard as we took turns reading them aloud to each other that we could barely choke the words out.

One such story was a parody of Jaws called “Beak” and was about a rogue killer twenty-thousand pound Cornish game hen. And sketched bird beaks formed each letter of the title. Written on yellow legal paper in felt tip pen. I took that story to school and read it to everyone and delighted in their laughter.

I think the love of comedy, of regular people dealing in a witty fashion with absurd realities, was learned from my father. He loved to write funny stories for me and my sister, stories that usually had us laughing so hard as we took turns reading them aloud to each other that we could barely choke the words out.

One of the things I loved about the TV show Supernatural—aside from the great storyline, the character relationships, and the yummy actors portraying those characters—was the dialogue. Chockful of quips and comebacks and snarky banter. There are way too many great quotes to list, but here’s a few from different episodes as a taste.

Sam: When I told Dad I was afraid of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45.

Lucifer: Sorry if it’s a bit chilly. Most people think I burn hot. It’s actually quite the opposite.
Dean: Well, I’ll alert the media.

Sam: Huh, when you sacrifice to Holnacar, guess what he gives you in return?
Dean: Lap dances, hopefully.

At a workshop I took a couple of years ago on different genres and their structure, we were assigned random genres and told to mix them and write a short synopsis for a story. I ended up with “Literary” and “Zombie.” Literary is a genre I’ve never dabbled in before, so the idea of a literary zombie story had me wriggling like a happy, albeit demented, puppy. Below is the result.

FALLING APART

Bill stares at his reflection in the slot machine wondering when his nose fell off and what it means. Every machine Bill touches wins and the mini-skirted waitress keeps bringing him drinks. She frowns amid ringing bells and saxophone wail. What does it mean? She follows Bill from table to table.

The waitress brings a pair of guys in mortuary blacks up to the table. They carry a big net. And speak very softly. Bill runs. Betrayed by Beauty one last time. When had he lost his jaw? What does it mean? Every person Bill touches becomes a winner. Mortuary guys and Beauty pursue.

Bill leaves a little piece of himself everywhere he goes. No one notices. Ain’t that the way? Beauty heads him off, a shotgun in her hands. Mortuary guys block him in on the other side. Beauty fires with a cool, graceful gesture.

And hits mortuary dude #1 in the chest with a round of rock salt. Ringing bells. Flashing lights. No one notices. Bill and Beauty run, but he leaves a trail of flesh pieces behind. Invisible man. No one cares. Bill plays a final round of poker with his left foot. And wins. No one cares.

Mortuary dude #2 catches up with Bill and drops the net over him as he tasers the betraying and bewitching Beauty.

Bill falls apart and his eye rolls long the floor until it finally stops. He wonders when he first started to come apart and how. Endless night approaches.

***

Thank you, thank you. I keep expecting a phone call from The New Yorker demanding the right to buy and publish it. Annnnny day now. *crickets*

Here’s a brief excerpt from my story, “The Horror in the Living Room” from the Daw anthology, The Trouble with Heroes, a tale about H.P. Lovecraft, his housekeeper, and an unexpected and tentacled guest.

Augusta strode down the portrait-lined hall, her steps muffled by the thick Persian carpet. The stench from the living room grew worse with each stride. Augusta’s eyes stung and watered. She pulled her handkerchief from her apron pocket, but before she could blot up the tears, she halted at the living room’s mouth and stared. The handkerchief fell from her fingers.

A sigil or Elder sign or some other damned thing that would require lots of elbow grease and scrubbing to clean had been etched into the carpet with what she suspected was the last of her flour. Candles positioned along the sigil’s edges dribbled wax onto the flour, adding the scent of beeswax to the sulfur stench curling through the room like a ghastly yellow fog.

Lovecraft sat in his over-stuffed easy chair, a notebook in his lap, a pen in his gloved hand. A leather raincoat protected his shirt and trousers from ichor, goggles his eyes. But nothing protected the room. The walls, ceiling, plush velvet sofa, and carpet were spattered with a greenish-black spray of gore. And so, of course, was the easy chair.

“Dear God,” Augusta whispered.

Ichor trickled down Lovecraft’s thin cheeks, dripped from his chin. He pushed the goggles to the top of his head and smiled. “I am fine, Mrs. Howard,” he said. “I managed to transcribe the creature’s story before consigning it to oblivion.”

“I just cleaned in here!”

Lovecraft pushed up from the easy chair and stripped off his gloves. Dropped them onto the carpet. “Is supper nearly ready? I’ve worked up quite an appetite.”

Augusta could only nod.

“Then I shall wash up,” Lovecraft said, combing his fingers through his hair. “I would appreciate it if you could tidy things a bit before the Thing Beyond Description arrives.” His warm smile was so genuine and boyish, Augusta could only nod once again. “Mrs. Howard, you’re a gem!” He peeled off his raincoat and then bounded away towards the bathroom.

Bending, Augusta picked up her handkerchief, then blew out the candles. She straightened and regarded the mess. She had asked Mr. Lovecraft several times to confine his work to a room dedicated to that purpose. He’d nodded, then swept a hand through the air.

“I have,” he said. “My work encompasses my life, so everything in my life is a part of my work.”

Since then, Augusta had decided that Lovecraft’s wife had fled to a sanitarium in order to keep her sanity, not because she had lost it. Sweeping up spare tentacles and the odd eyelid tended to make one’s sanity a tad loose.

Lovecraft’s work was necessary, yes; he was quietly saving mankind from tentacled doom. But, really, how hard was it to pick up after oneself?

Of course, hilarity and madness and (more) tentacles ensue.

I have a humorous story in the works about a female serial killer, a handsome mad scientist and an infatuated pigeon. I’m still expecting a call from The New Yorker any day now eager to nab early rights. *damned crickets*

Thanks for joining me!  I’d love to hear your fav snappy comebacks, quips, or snarky banter.

*This blog first appeared on Paranormal Haven in June of 2010.*

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You can find it for sale on Smashwords (where you can read a free sample of the story), Amazon, and BN.com (free sample also available). A review of the story by BN.com’s own Paul Goat Allen absolutely floored me (in a good way. LOL)!

Deep in the bayou, justice comes in many forms.

When Cass finds her partner lying on the floor of their New Orleans tattoo shop in a pool of blood, the world as she knows it ends. Alex, her ink-slinging Michelangelo, lies in the hospital comatose, perhaps permanently.

Lacking faith in the police and their ability to find whoever shot Alex, Cass puts the word out that she’s seeking justice, justice she will willingly pay for.

When a Voodoo mambo offers the services of her mysterious godson, Cass finds herself stepping into a dark, deadly world, one that she may not walk out of again intact.

“Phoenix is a beautiful storyteller–her prose flows like poetry.”
–Explorations: the BN SciFi & Fantasy Blog

Right now through January 17th, we’re having a giveaway with two prizes: 1 signed set of Hoodoo books (Black Dust Mambo and Black Heart Loa), and 1 signed copy of any of my titles. The giveaway is happening simultaneously on three blogs, so 3 chances to win! You can read the character blog, which is a little chat with Kallie, Belladonna, Jackson, and a hapless newcomer to Bayou Cypres Noir, then enter the contest. Or you can just skip down to the contest entry. No promises that Kallie won’t lay a trick on you if you do. Just saying. Just drop by On the Broomstick or Zombie Girl Shambling or Bookgirl Knitting or all three to enter.

Also, two truly awesome reviews for Black Heart Loa came out today. My Bookish Ways, a fantastic site for urban fantasy, suspense, horror and more, and On the Broomstick, a witchy and fun blogsite.

Black Moon Mojo will be the third book in the series and, yes, I’m working on it.

Grab a drink of your choice, snuggle into a comfy chair and cyber-cruise over to 13 Wicked Days of Christmas on Wicked Little Pixie where we have a fun holiday chat with Dante, Von, Heather, and Lucien. They discuss holiday traditions (or lack thereof), favorite holiday movies, worst gift, and more!

Prizes include 1 signed set of Maker’s Song books (A Rush of Wings, In the Blood, Beneath the Skin, Etched in Bone); 1 signed set of Hoodoo books (Black Dust Mambo and Black Heart Loa), and 1 signed copy of any of my books, winner’s choice!

Enjoy! And HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Everyone who asks me a question will be in the running for a signed copy of Black Heart Loa!

I’m looking forward to the chat and answering your questions! See you there!

It was pretty cool to see several of my fellow Pocket authors named in both the Top 13 and the Honorable mentions: Jenn Bennett, Jennifer Estep, and J.F. Lewis. Rob Thurman made Honorable Mention with her 6th Cal Leandros book, BLACKOUT–a book I loved (along with the entire series. READ THEM).

Congratulations to each and every author! And big thanks to Paul for being an untiring advocate for exciting, entertaining, and original paranormal/urban fantasy. You rock, dude!

“2011 was the best year ever for paranormal fantasy…”

– Paul Goat Allen

“I’ll admit it: after the phenomenal year paranormal fantasy had in 2010 – I called it “a watershed year” – I thought that there was no realistic way that 2011 could be as strong, both in terms of quality and quantity of releases. But as I began to compile my “year’s best” list in late November, it hit me: this year’s releases were, collectively, far superior to those of 2010. And while there was no clear #1 pick this year, I found it virtually impossible to trim my list down to a baker’s dozen. So many 2011 releases were noteworthy, I couldn’t in good conscience exclude them. So this year, I’ve included an honorable mention list.” Read the rest.