Hey everybody! Guess what today is? That’s right, it’s release day for The Diner 2! I can’t believe it’s finally here, and at the same time, it’s felt like it’s forever coming. Probably because my book has been finished for a while. I know that all of us authors are so excited for this and can’t wait for you to read the book!
We’re also throwing a release party tonight and tomorrow in our group: The Diner, on Facebook. The author takeover schedule is posted below. You don’t want to miss it!
Looking for some paranormal reads for Halloween? Look no further. We have witches, black cats, druids, hellhounds, reapers, shifters of all sorts, fae, and a host of many other creatures you don’t want to miss! (including creatures that eat people, seriously you don’t want to miss that.)
All stories are standalones and it is not necessary to read The Diner, the first year. Although, why wouldn’t you??? Who knows how much longer it will be available…
Guess what day it is!!! That’s right. It’s release day for Dark Of The Night!!! If you love enemies to lovers, vampire romances, witches, and lots of angst and snark, then this is going to be your next favorite book. First, here’s the blurb, and then I’ll tell you a little more about this book.
Henley Stark is no angel, but she is a survivor.
Disowned by her witch coven as a teenager, Henley was driven to Amos, a vampire loan shark. There’s little Henley hasn’t done to keep a roof over her head and food in her stomach as Amos trained her for his purposes. It all comes to a head when Amos assigns Henley and Alex, her newly found mate, to a job that can only lead to death.
Going up against the greatest threat the vampires have ever known, it’s clear one or both of them will not survive the encounter. However, as Alex begins to soften toward her, Henley must decide if giving them a chance is worth the effort, especially when she’ll likely be dead soon anyway.
Can Henley find her worth and true love before the mission ultimately claims her life?
For readers who enjoy books by K.F. Breene, Heather Hildebrand, Jaymin Eve, and Karen Lynch.
Now for the fun part. If you don’t know who Melanie Gilbert is, you should. 😉 I may be biased, but she’s an amazing author…and she’s my sister. Melanie started writing a year or two after I published my first book, and I’ve loved watching her books grow and become stronger. Actually, she’s been pushing me for about a year or so to write a book with her, and I finally relented (it wasn’t on this book). I’ve enjoyed writing with her. It actually goes faster than when we write individually.
Our writing style together is quite different than most I’ve heard of. Instead of writing one point of view each, or writing 3k words at a time, we write one paragraph at a time. This works especially well at the beginning of the story. Toward the middle, our sections can grow to several paragraphs, but that’s when we know exactly what’s about to happen and it all needs to be written together. Since we’ve been doing random projects together for about a year, and our writing voices are so similar anyway, it’s hard to tell who wrote what. Even for us this is true sometimes.
At the end of last year, Melanie moved to Madison for her husband’s new job, and she actually lives quite close to me. It’s been great to go over after work and write this together in the same room. It helped planning out certain parts easier. Now, you may notice the “certain parts” for planning. For the most part, we pantsed this book. What does that mean? We had no plan on what was coming next. It was one big surprise! Some parts had to be planned because we needed a blurb and title right away (why we were short on time was a huge fiasco, but we have to say our cover designer is the awesomest!). Melanie is a plotter and I’m a panster. Part of our writing over snippets of stories before this was practice in how we could mix both of our writing styles together, and I have to say, we succeeded with Henley’s book.
Overall, this has been a great experience, and the early reviews couldn’t be more positive. More than one person sat down and read it in one sitting into the wee hours of the morning- like 2-3am. We can’t wait to see what you think! Let us know by leaving a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or Bookbub!
The day has finally come!! It’s cover reveal day for The Diner 2. I’m so excited about this. Not only did we get to create more stories in the world of the original The Diner, but we were able to add in a couple more amazing authors! Who’s ready to celebrate Halloween The Diner style? Releasing October 29th!
“Step into The Diner and enter into a world where nothing is as it seems. Enjoy a hot mug of coffee while you chat with a rakshasa as a black cat passes by. The Diner, a place where food is served with a side of supernatural. A place hidden from human sight, where you’ll discover witches and druids, salamander fae, and even raven shifter witches.Join the supernaturals in The Club, where the drinks are unusual, the hellhounds come hot, and the reapers keep a watchful eye.Step into The Diner if you dare.”
My story this year features a black cat again, but she’s accompanied by a druid healer. Nightshade has got to be one of my most favorite characters because her personality makes me laugh. It’s not the same funny as Lucky was last year, but she can hold her own making me laugh. And Joel, well he’s such a sweetheart. He really does have the biggest heart of all my characters.
The stories this year are no less amazing than last year. We’re joined by Julie Trettel and SF Benson, who are two amazing women that I adore. Our creatures this year have expanded to include hellhounds, reapers, wolf shifter, more witches, salamander fae, rakshasa, mimics, and raven shifter witches. Seriously, you don’t want to miss this year’s Diner anthology!
If you remember last year, we had a huge release party the weekend The Diner went live. Well, we’re doing it again! Check out The Diner group on Facebook to join in the fun!!
In the past, Mondays have been reserved for books and indie authors. I’m currently working to revamp the blog a little, so Monday is now switching to a Music & Books day. Why the change? Well, I was just sitting here at my desk staring at my TV playing Pandora and the song playing reminded me of one of my books. In fact, I think it was one of my books theme songs, so I thought it’d be fun to have a day to talk music and books. Either one or together.
Music plays a large role in many authors lives. Some can’t write with music on, some have to have music but with no words, and others can listen to anything. I’m in the last group, but I tend to listen to the current work’s “playlist”. Whatever songs put me instantly into the mood for that book or who make me feel what I need to for the book (this year’s Christmas book didn’t have any Christmas songs in the playlist.
With this being said, I’ll go through the different books and their playlists, but also talk music in general. I like to listen to a broad range of music (with a few exceptions). What do you like to listen to?
Lately, fonts have been on the mind. Why? Because, as I’m not sure many know, I make most of my book covers myself. While I’ve purchased some premades and customs, I prefer to make my own covers. It’s cheaper for me to do it that way, but I also find it relaxing, and it’s a chance for me to learn something new. Learning new talents is like going on an adventure and not knowing what you’re going to find. It’s the same when I start a book and a new cover. I never know what adventures they’ll take me on!
Now, back to fonts. While the cover art is absolutely necessary and important, the right font is VITAL. You wouldn’t put a spooky looking font on a sweet contemporary romance cover just as you wouldn’t put beautiful swirly fonts on a horror cover. The fonts need to match the cover, story, and genre.
Since I make most of my covers, I have to constantly be on the search for new and good fonts. I’m still not an expert with fonts and finding the right fonts, but it’s fun to play with. I’m still learning all there is to know about fonts and where to get them, but I’ve found a few great places for amazing fonts.
One of those places is FontBundles.net. They have a huge selection of fonts! Some are free, others are on sale, and they have bundles of fonts also on sale. Their new font selection is one of my favorite sections to scroll. And, it just so happens that I found an email in my inbox today about a Christmas bundle for sale…well the word Christmas piqued my interest. You know how much I love Christmas anything! It’s definitely worth a look! I was giddy about every font I scrolled past.
So, in short, if you’re looking for a great font site, don’t miss FontBundles. Really, don’t. They have the perfect fonts at the right price and you’re sure to find a style that you love for whatever project you’re working on! I have some fun Christmas covers on the mind now…
(PS they even have craft bundles any crafters should check out too!)
And we’re back for another book spotlight! I haven’t read this one either, but it has tigers, so you know I’m in! I’ve added to my TBR pile and you should too! This is the start of an addictive 10-book binge read with all types of shifters.
He’s on a mission to find missing shifters. She’s about to become one of them.
Abandoned as a baby, Amber Allen has never known another shifter like herself. She came to Shifting Sands Resort hoping for answers about her past, but she only finds questions about her future. She doesn’t understand the connection she has with the handsome stranger at the bar, but she knows that his arms feel more like home than anywhere she’s ever been.
When spy and tiger shifter Tony Lukin asked for an assignment somewhere warm, he wasn’t expecting that the real heat would be between the sheets. But he’s at the all-inclusive, shifters-only, clothing-optional luxury resort for only one reason, and it’s not the sapphire pool or the white sand beach… or the enchanting botanist at the bar offering to buy him a drink.
Tony’s real mission is to uncover who or what is behind the sinister disappearance of shifters from the resort over the last few years. He’ll have to move fast or risk losing everything… and the secretive owner of the resort seems to be doing everything in her power to stop his investigation.
Can Tony convince Amber that they’re destined to be together… before she goes missing, too?
It’s release day for Negative Energy!!! Again, this is a standalone novel. Here’s the blurb, snippet to follow:
Shannon Dart’s magic is out of control. Rather, her flaring temper causes her magic to blow up the nearest object. With ninety days to learn control, and a bully set on making that impossible, Shannon is at her wits end. That is, until a wolf shifter appears in her first hour class after his pack moves to town. There’s something about this shifter that Shannon can’t put her finger on.
With Jackson’s help, Shannon is hopeful to learn control, especially when her magic responds to him. However, the rising tension between the magical coven and the wolf pack create problems for the two friends. If Jackson is the key to unlocking Shannon’s control, can they find a way to make it work while keeping their distance, or are they bound to fail?
Snippet:
Jackson’s grin grew wider as his steel eyes returned to me, their depths pulling me in. “My one goal today was to make a friend, and I chose you.”
“You chose me?” I stared openly. “You know what I am, right?”
He tapped his nose. “I smell that too. Which makes me wonder, what creature, or what person, makes someone like you so afraid?”
I ground my teeth together and stared back at the papers on my desk. “It’s no one.”
“Fine, if you don’t want to tell me, I’ll just have to figure it out for myself.”
“Why do you care?”
“Because I chose you as my friend, and no one is going to cause the amount of fear I smelled and the spiked heart rate I heard from my new friend. Not without me stepping in.”
“First-.”
“Welcome to class everyone,” Mrs. Gulf called from the doorway as the second bell rang and she closed the door.
She began instructing us about the packets on our desks when Jackson leaned closer. “I’m still listening. Talk low, I’ll hear it.”
I looked down at my paper like I was listening to the teacher, though I was only half aware of what she was saying. Covering my mouth so she couldn’t see my lips move, I spoke as softly as I could, not worried he’d hear me. “First, you don’t just choose a friend like that. The other person has a choice. Second, you can’t help me with my problem. No one can.”
Jackson leaned over toward me, pretending he was digging in his bag for something, likely a pencil. “We’ll see about that. And you do have a choice to be my friend, but you’ll find I’m completely irresistible.”
I haven’t done a Snippet Saturday in forever, so let’s start again! This snippet comes from next week’s release, Negative Energy. It’s a standalone in the First Blood world, and reading the original trilogy is not required to understand it. You really don’t want to miss this one.
When I turned around, I spotted a new face sitting at the desk next to my usual place. It wasn’t the shaved sides of his head with a short, spiky mohawk running down the center of his head that first caught my attention. Nor was it the wide, wolfie grin he aimed at me. Nope, it was those deep pools of steel gray eyes that made me come up short when I saw him.
“Hey.” His light, tenor voice shook me from whatever trance those eyes had put me under.
I jerked out of it. “Hi.” Ignoring him, and Theodore’s odd stare, I took my seat and opened the textbook, pretending to read it as two sets of eyes continued to be preoccupied with me.
“The name’s Jackson,” the new boy stated, extending a hand in my direction, which I caught sight of in my peripheral vision.
Turning, I met those gray eyes again and swallowed. “Shannon,” I stated without taking his hand.
The boy’s nose flared, giving him away. Wolf boy. His grin grew wider as my lips pressed into a thin line and worry crept up my spine.
“It’s nice to meet you. I mean it.” Jackson shrugged and looked to the door as a strange female entered the room. The girl took one look at him, and then us, as she strode passed Jackson and took the seat behind him. Jackson ducked his head for a second before turning his attention back to me, the grin plastered back on his face. “So, what’s interesting to do here in town?”
“Nothing,” Theodore stated, voice hard and stern, not the usual tone for my cousin.
The tone didn’t faze Jackson, who stared at me. I shook my head. “Honestly, not much. Small town.”
“I see.” The first bell rang, cutting him off. “I guess I’ll just have to find something to do then.”
He winked at me. My cheeks heated as I turned away. It didn’t help that the girl behind Jackson snorted. The flush crept down my neck and I took a deep breath to steady my emotions, already feeling my power wanting to flare. It didn’t matter the emotion. As long as it was strong, my magic would react to it.
Whew, that’s a big question! It’s been a long time since I wrote a blog post, and sooooo much has happened, both personally and with writing. Yesterday marked one year that I’ve been at my new apartment, and Gunney and I couldn’t be happier about that move. We’ve enjoyed sitting out on the back deck most of the summer, both writing and reading, or just eating dinner. The view is great with all of the greenery from the trees and bushes, so much so it’s hard to see the apartments and road behind them. It helps me feel like I’m less in the city. It’s also much quieter.
Because of Covid, I’m now working from home, and it’s been great! I love it, and so does Gunney since I can give him love and attention every day. However, this year’s goals of getting out and being social more are not happening, and I have to make a conscious effort to reach out to people. That’s been a tough one for some reason.
However, besides working from home, not much else has changed for me. I’m still writing like crazy (probably too much) and working on book stuff. I’ve taken up crocheting more again, making book cozies. Lots of books have been published and written, and next year is going to be awesome! I have huge plans for the First Blood world, as well as adding a new series into the mix and another sci-fi book. Yeah, because I’m not crazy to try this and never plan too much into my schedule…
So, in closing, here’s what’s upcoming for the rest of the year:
*Fourth Bunker (Released in August)
*Negative Energy (Releasing Sept 12)
*The Diner anthology ~ Black Cat’s Curse (Releases Oct 23)
*Something in the Shadows anthology ~ Whispered Summons (Releases Oct 28)
*Christmas Book (Currently unnamed, Sometime in November)
![Tropical Tiger Spy (Shifting Sands Resort Book 1) by [Zoe Chant]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51LFUGhzLiL.jpg)
Heather Karn 