Monday, October 21, 2013

Big Cocks and Broomsticks Giveaway Hop



The Appeal of Darkness
By Roxanne Rhoads

Why are we drawn to the paranormal? Perhaps because it is the Other, it is the great unknown. The lure of the darkness that resides inside us all.

Are Others real? Are there really paranormal creatures that exist?

Who knows, but some of us sure like to believe.

Maybe we just need an escape from the everyday existence that has become so…ordinary. In today’s world people want to stand out and be noticed or at least experience something that is different. Perhaps that’s why so many of us turn to the world of the supernatural for an escape from the everyday.

Wouldn’t it be great to have super powers? Or to be immortal? Super strong? Have mind control? Or just be super seductive and a fabulous lover (we can all dream right)?

Of all supernatural creatures, vampires seem to be the most seductive. People are drawn to the vampire more than any other creature of myth and fantasy. Vampires grace the pages of books and appear on the movie and television screen over and over again, each new vampire a source of amusement and desire to us. But why? What is the everlasting attraction of the vampire?

Before the 19th century vampires were just mindless monsters, myths and legends that were horrible and frightening, not sexy, not desirable. Literature changed all that.

Consider this description from the introduction of Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture written by Joan Gordon and Veronica Hollinger.
[The vampire is] “an ambiguously coded figure, a source of erotic anxiety and corrupt desire, the literary vampire is one of the most powerful archetypes bequeathed to us from the imagination of the nineteenth century.”

Vampires were turned into seductive and inherently sexy creatures that we just haven’t been able to get enough of. The unknown allure is there, evil has become sexy, darkness is beautiful. Once the monsters of myth and legend were shunned for their differences but today we embrace them because they are different, because they are Other.

Our modern society is full of disquiet, pain, suffering, depression, things that spiral out of control-real monsters and horrors face us every day on the news.

In entertainment we want monsters that we can control, monsters…Others that are appealing in their difference and offer us an escape. The vampire offers us all that and more.
I love many creatures of the Other world but the vampire is my first love and will always hold the top spot in my monster loving heart.

In my fiction, the characters are more often than not, Others, with a vampire playing either the hero or the heroine of the story.

Hex and the Single Witch (set during Halloween) features a human and vampire vying for witch Anwyn’s heart. From the beginning my goal was that Galen, the vampire, supernatural hottie extraordinaire would have Anwyn and there would be no love triangle. Then Mike Malone decided otherwise and ended up shoving his way into the book as not only a main character but as a love interest for Anwyn.  A romantic story line turned into a steamy love triangle. Now it’s human versus vampire to win the heart of a witch. Who do you think will win? 

The vampires in Hex are all a little different from each other. Some have issues with sunlight, some do not, some have silver sensitivities some do not. I wanted to take all the myths, legends and variances of vampire abilities, mix them all up and create an explanation as to why vampires are so different. I hope that readers will enjoy my take on vampirism it’s a bit different than anything I’ve read before- and I’ve read a lot of vampire fiction ;-)



My Halloween novella A Halloween to Remember (eXcessica) features Adena, a young woman hoping to someday meet the man of her dreams. When she encounters Dimitri at her friend Chrissy’s wild Halloween party she doesn’t believe she has a ghost of a chance with him until they get to know each other a little better and Adena realizes he may be the man she’s been hoping for. Too bad the next morning Adena wakes up alone- in a small cemetery behind the house. Halloween magic brought them together but will it be strong enough to keep them together?

It’s a fun filled paranormal erotic romance- heavy on the erotic. No vampires but there’s plenty of magick in the air.

(A Halloween to Remember also appears in the Paranormal Pleasures collection)

If vampires are what you crave my novella Eternal Desire (Eternal Press) is set in New Orleans during Halloween. LizBeth, a paranormal researcher, is searching for the shadowy vampire that haunts her dreams. Instead of finding him she encounters a handsome stranger that may finally be the one man that can take her mind off the vampire. As Halloween grows closer LizBeth finds herself torn between a shadow and a stranger not knowing who to choose. The magic of Halloween may help her decide once the clock strikes midnight and spirits walk freely in the flesh.


You have the chance to win an ecopy of Hex and the Single Witch and Paranormal Pleasures 
or a fun filled prize pack full of book swag from authors that love their supernatural bad boys.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

prizes for the entire Hop: 

$100 amazon or  BN  Giftcard 
$50 amazon or BN card 
$25 amazon or BN card


a Rafflecopter giveaway

14 comments:

Debby said...

I have read some of the books and loved them. I need to get the ones I missed. thanks for the great post.
debby236 at gmail dot com

Stormy Vixen said...

Thanks for sharing your wonderful post, the hop and your giveaway. Your books sound great. evamillien at gmail dot com

JeanMP said...

Enjoyed reading your great post. Your books sound like great stories.
Thanks for the giveaway.
skpetal at hotmail dot com

Lisa said...

Putting your books on my TBR list. Can't wait to read them

wolphcall(at)bellsouth(dot)net

Meghan said...

Thanks for the giveaway!

Unknown said...

These books look amazing, can't wait to read them!

bn100 said...

Intriguing books

Pam said...

Thanks for participating in the hop.

pjmillion (at) comcast (dot) net

Ashley Applebee said...

Thanks for the great post and giveaway and for joining the hop! Happy Halloween!!
Ashley A
ash_app@hotmail.com

Natasha said...

Thanks for the chance to win!
Happy Halloween!

Sherry said...

Your books sound very good. Thanks for the giveaway.
sstrode at scrtc dot com

Krysta B. said...

Awesome swag pack.

Toni Porter said...

I love encountering new authors whose books go on my TBR list!

BookLady said...

Your books sound fantastic. Thanks for sharing and thanks for the great giveaway!
bhometchko(at)hotmail(dot)com