Why Authors like Conventions: Books by Silver James

Hi, everyone! I’m Silver James and I like to walk on the dark side. Since I love the dark, why am I coming to Hot Mojave Knights in Las Vegas, the city of neon lights? Because I can’t wait to meet the readers and other authors who will be in attendance. Oh, yeah. And the knights. ;)

I do have a confession to make. I’ve never actually been to a reader event, much less been a featured author and I have this secret fear that I’ll be sitting in the room for my “personal” chat all by myself. I’m bringing some special swag as a bribe to get people to my room. Shhhh. Don’t tell. Just come. At least with the panels, I’ll have the company of some amazing authors. I’m sitting on the Otherworldly Panel and the Mystery/Thriller/Suspense Panel.

So here’s my question to the folks who will be coming. What would you like to hear us talk about in the individual chats? Do you want to know about process? About the books we’ve written? About characters? Setting? Plotting? Trust me. You don’t want me to get up there and just “wing it.” You’re liable to get a song and dance and for anyone who has ever heard me sing….well, let’s just say they paid me to stop. ;)

I know why authors like to come to these events. We get the chance to meet readers and talk about books we love—yes, authors are readers, too. We have our own favorite authors and books. I’m guessing that’s why readers like to come too. Did I mention the knights? That’s another reason for coming. And the banquet costume party on Saturday night. And the gift basket raffle for charity during the book signing.

Do you have your costume ready? We went shopping for my daughter’s last weekend. Yes, she’s coming with me for a girls’ working weekend.  She’s a professional photographer and will be there to capture all the terrific moments at the panels and parties. She’s coming as Major Hannah McIntire,  heroine of BLOOD MOON, the first book in my Moonstruck series. I’m coming as an “older” version of Sade Marquis, the heroine of my new Urban Fantasy series, the Penumbra Papers. Sade’s a kick-ass FBI agent and I get to wear a long, black leather coat. I’m dying to see what costumes the other authors are wearing. And the knights. Will they come dressed for court?

Who’s going to Hunk Mansion for the male review? Who’s going to stay at the hotel for the wine tasting? Who’s going to bed early? No you aren’t! There will be too much fun going on. There are books to talk about. New friends to meet and get to know. There are knights to visit with.  And books. There are a couple of book signings going on in addition to everything else. What more could you want for a weekend filled with fun?

If you haven’t signed up yet, there’s still time. If you have signed up, what are you most looking forward to during the weekend? I’ll see everyone there in just 18 days! Come get your fun on!

About Silver James: BIO

Silver likes to take walks on the dark side and coffee. Okay. She loves coffee. LOTS of coffee. Warning: Her Muse, Iffy, runs with scissors and can be quite dangerous. She’s the author of the best-selling Moonstruck series and new urban fantasy series, The Penumbra Papers. She's been a military officer's wife, mother, state appellate court marshal, airport rescue firefighter and forensic fire photographer, crime analyst, technical crime scene investigator, and writer of magic and mystery. Now retired from the “real world,” she lives in Oklahoma and spends her days at the computer with two Newfoundland dogs, the cat who rules them all, and myriad characters all clamoring for attention. She writes dark paranormal thrillers, time travel romance, and light contemporary with a kiss of suspense. To find out more about Silver, visit her WEBSITE, like her

FACEBOOK FAN PAGE, and follow her on TWITTER.

About SEASON OF THE WITCH (advance copies will be available in limited supply at the book signing):

Welcome to The Penumbra Papers, the exciting new Urban Fantasy series from award-winning author Silver James. Fans of her Moonstruck series will love the Penumbra Papers. These "Cases from the Shadow's Edge" explore the forces of light and dark as they dance through shadows humans barely glimpsed prior to the Big Rip. Since then, all manner of preternatural magicks intermingle with humans in ways mysterious, magical and, in some cases, criminal. Much to humanity's surprise, there really are monsters under the bed and the things that go bump in the night are bigger and scarier than anyone ever imagined.

SEASON OF THE WITCH

__________________________

Sade Marquis. Her best friend turns furry. Her godfather’s a master vampire. Her mother was once a mistress of the King of the Faerie Court.

After the Veil rips, FBI Special Agent Sade Marquis is picked to head up the newly-formed MAGIC unit. When magic’s in the air, Sade is the agent FBI Director George Bailey wants in the trenches. She's savvy, snarky, and sexy but she may have met her match when she's sent to Chicago to investigate the murder of a congressional aide.

Is the vampire, Kristian St. John, guilty as sin? Once a Templar knight, Sinjen now teaches history at the University of Chicago. He must rely on Sade to clear his name and track the real culprit.

Together, they unravel a thousand-year-old mystery. If they don’t solve it, the world—human and magick—will suffer the consequences unleashed by evil incarnate.

Also available in all digital formats now: THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC – A Penumbra Papers Novella

Along with her FBI partner—and werewolf best friend—Caleb Jones, Sade is sent to New Orleans to investigate the murders of several high-ranking magicks. The Big Easy is neutral territory so Sade must find and arrest the culprit before war breaks out between the Realms. Things look up when the gargoyle Sentinel, Roman, a permanent fixture in Sade’s childhood, arrives to keep the peace. Maybe.

The investigation is hampered by Sade’s faerie nemesis, Ariel—the King’s Seducer. Oh, and then there’s the new dragon in town, Nikolas Constantine. Sade can’t decide whether to arrest his ass or admire it.

When guilt and innocence come to play in the French Quarter, it’ll take Sade’s brand of crazy to sort it all out.

AMAZON | SMASHWORDS | ALL ROMANCE eBOOKS | GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLE | KOBO | Now available on iTunes and more sites coming soon

Who Will You Be at Hot Mojave Knights? by Siobhan Muir

"Who Will You Be Now?" Okay, so it's a little play on the title from Men at Work, but with Hot Mojave Knights coming in less than two months-Can you hear the clock ticking down?...tick...tick...tick-it's time to get your thinking caps on.

I'm so excited to see everyone at the event. There will be wine meet & greet going on Friday night and we'll have local wines from the Pahrump Valley Winery to enjoy. Trust me, they're all really good. Plus the Knights, Sir Scott Nova, Sir Scott Roahrig, Sir DeLonn Donovan, and Sir Benny Bekro will all be there to schmooze and talk with everyone who isn't attending the Hunk Mansion Girls Night Out. Whichever event you choose to attend, it's going to be a blast. And handsome men to talk to, as well.

But my favorite thing will be the King's Coronation and Masquerade Ball on Saturday night. The idea is to dress up as your favorite literary character, whether Alice from Alice in Wonderland or Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. Heck you could probably dress like Master Chief from Halo if you're so inclined. For myself, I'll be dressed as my heroine Sabrina Foxglove from The Beltane Witch, and if we're really lucky, Darius Winterbourne just might stop by. ;)

In the meantime, check out the Facebook pages. There's all sorts of news and announcements that come through.

Hot Mojave Knights Facebook
Hot Mojave Knights Event

And if you haven't signed up for Hot Mojave Knights Romance Reader Event, you can always jump over to the website and get your spot. If you're local to Las Vegas, there are a la carte options as well as the full weekend tickets.

It's going to be an amazing time with great authors, hot men, and fun costumes. I'll be the one in the glasses (oh, wait, most of us wear glasses) and the big grin. I can hardly wait to meet all of you and I hope to see you there.

All the best,

Siobhan

About Siobhan:

Siobhan Muir lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, with her husband, two daughters, and a vegetarian cat she swears is a shape-shifter, though he's never shifted when she can see him. In previous lives, Siobhan has been an actor at the Colorado Renaissance Festival, a field geologist in the Aleutian Islands, and restored inter-planetary imagery at the USGS. She’s hiked to the top of Mount St. Helens and to the bottom of Meteor Crater.

Siobhan writes kick-ass adventure with hot sex for men and women to enjoy. She believes in happily ever after, redemption, and communication, all of which you will find in her paranormal romance stories. She loves to talk to readers.

You can find her here:

http://siobhanmuir.com

Finding Balance in World Building by Shannan Albright

Or better: How to Rule Your World

I’ve spent more time in my head than out of it, much to my family’s frustration, I’m afraid. Called a dreamer as a young child, I don’t think anyone was surprised when I became a writer. I claim a distinction within my eclectic relations, as being the only writer, as the majority of them are artists of some renown.

If I chose to be a brain surgeon, they wouldn’t have been more surprised, and though they cannot understand why I went down this path, I have found encouragement. I do know if my Mother still lived, she would have been thrilled, and perhaps, understood me a bit better. As it stands, my sister Lisa is a wonderful support for me, along with a few of my closest friends, I couldn’t ask for more.

My ideas come as moving pictures, much like being in a theater, only it’s all being done in my mind. The images flash in living color, complete with emotions. I quickly note the high points and get the gist of the plot. Once I know the conflict and a few character quirks, I start building my words.

Whether it’s contemporary or set in another time the world building still must hold rules to the world that can be broken and those, which can’t. In my paranormal world, all beings have a weakness to compensate for the special abilities they hold. As with this world, there are limits to what a human can endure, same holds true with my characters.

Though my vampires don’t go up like a torch in the light of day, they do grow noticeable weaker. A dangerous condition to be found if you have enemies, which have no problem with sunlight. Newly turned vampires have no endurance in daylight, needing to build a tolerance to sunlight over time. Usually falling unto a death-like  sleep until the late afternoon when the sun is weaker.

My Dark Breed world is filled with paranormal characters, which, though they have incredible powers, also must live by the rules I set down in the world I built. It’s a give and take relationship between my characters and me. I give them great powers then balance it with conditions. Hey, even superman had Kryptonite and his attraction to Lois Lane to battle.

In The Knights of Excalibur, the same rules apply. In a world of magic, there is always a price to pay. For Gwen, my witch, she has great power, but suffers insecurities, which hamper her magic. Juliet is a rare Druid who can commune with the earth and animals, but she can also make mindless zombies of humans when she subjugates their will.

It’s this yin and yang in my worlds deepens the characters and gives me the foundation for conflict to build from. The line from Spiderman comes to mind and holds true for all my worlds, ‘with power comes great responsibilities.' 

Growing up Shannan Albright was the dreamer in her family, something not always thought of as a positive thing. As a child she would draw and build stories around her pictures, so writing was a natural extension for her.
 
Recently a family member told her that from now on she would encourage those dreamers she knew. Stating with hard work and focus dreams can come true.
 
Shannan Albright is proof that dreaming can be a positive thing. When not writing she spends her time between oil painting and reading. She loves writing paranormal, urban fantasy, historical and fantasy romances because of the world building and rich characters she finds. She loves dark, edgy heroes and heroines overcoming impossible odds internal and external. She is a "hopeful" Romantic who believes a healthy relationship built on respect and a strong partnership is the key to a happy ever after.