Showing posts with label Twin Flames. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Twin Flames. Show all posts

Wednesday, 17 June 2015

Favorite Heroines Giveaway Hop - Win an $5 ARe giftcard #Giveaway



June 17th-24th we're sharing our favorite kickass heroines! Come meet these awesome ladies and find out why they're the best of the best. Be sure to stop by each blog. There's a giveaway at every stop!

It’s as if this blog hop was made for me. A huge thanks to Anna at Herding Cats and Burning Soup for organizing this. One of my favorite things about a romance novel is a strong heroine. Strong women raised and influenced me. No simpering females in my life who spent their time waiting for others (mostly men) to get things done for them.

I was going to limit myself to one heroine, but then I asked myself what’s the point of that when I can share four. I hope you enjoy them.



Annwyl the Bloody from Dragon Actually by G.A. Aikens. Not only can this woman fight, but she’s passionate and loyal. She’s my favorite in the while series. Amazon







My next choice brings tears to my eyes thinking about her. Raine is tough, snarky and had a horrible childhood. And yet she survived to become one of the best Waifs – they protect …. Yet had the ability to allow love into her life (not without a fight though). Shadow’s Edge by Jamie Gray is a must read.  Good news - it's free for a limited time Amazon  



I will never forget Natalia from Twin Flames by Debbie Christiana. The woman resonated power and strength, and confidence. The whole concept of Twin Flames cinched the story for me. Buy link: Amazon


I couldn’t leave out one of my heroines. Being a woman of strength, myself, it would be a huge stretch for me to write in a weak heroine.  Can all of my heroine’s kick ass? In one way or another yes. The question is will they?  I present to you Sarita Cerez. An agent for the Secret Service who is willing and does kick some ass when it calls for it.  Amazon

I’m giving away a $5 Amazon gift card. All you have to do is leave a comment telling me your favorite heroine.



Thanks for stopping by. This is a blog hop so I hope you head on over to the other stops to see which heroines they’re praising.

Monday, 18 August 2014

Debbie Christiana explains: Why a novella? #paranormal #romance #NewRelease

I am so happy to have Debbie Christiana come visit me. I've waited a long time for a sequel to Twin Flames which I loved, see my review here. She impressed me further with her novella Forever Flames, see my review here. Just like Cookie Monster, I want more!

Thank you so much, Nana, for letting me stop by to celebrate my two new releases.

TWIN FLAMES is technically a re-release.  My publisher, Black Opal Books, was nice enough to let me revise it and give it a spanking new cover. I like to think of it as my story having a little work done, some tightening up here and there, removing some wrinkles – a complete makeover.

The Twin Flame series is a paranormal romance about reincarnation, past lives, soul mates and a mischievous ghost. The reliving of the Marc and Natalia’s past lives is a crucial part of the story. As they are regressed back in time, they must ‘open a door’ to their past lives and my new cover reflects that.

FOREVER FLAMES is a novella that closes a gap and answers a question that’s left open at the end of TWIN FLAMES, so that the next installment, (working title ETERNAL FLAMES) could begin, as it’s own story.  My intention was to answer that question in the sequel, but as I started writing it, I found it wasn’t working. By the time I went back to deal with that issue, I had written four or five chapters and hadn’t gotten to the meat of the next story yet. A friend, who is both author and editor, suggested a novella to solve the problem, and FOREVER FLAMES was born.

It was a perfect idea as it allowed me a new perspective on the story. It gave me the freedom to write and expand on the character’s unusual love story without worrying about info dump or boring backstory.

Here’s the blurb for each story and I’ve included a brief excerpt from FOREVER FLAMES.

The Blurb 

She’d never met him before, or had she?
The last thing forty-year-old Natalia Santagario expected was to be sitting on a Manhattan barstool, ogling a man she’s never met, but swears she knows.
He didn’t know her at all, or did he?
The mysterious dark-haired woman at the end of the bar stops twenty-eight-year old Marc Tremonti in his tracks. His head says she’s a stranger, but his heart tells him otherwise.
Together they embark on an adventure that will change their lives forever.
Marc’s aunt Mariella, an expert in reincarnation, persuades them to relive their past to help explain their enigmatic attraction. As they open the doors to their past lives, they discover they have been lovers for hundreds of lives, are connected by an ancient bond, and are considered Twin Flame soul mates.But their reunion in this life is complicated by an almost ex-wife, a temporary bout of amnesia and a mischievous and meddling ghost with its own agenda. Will their strong connection find a way to bring them together? Or is this the lifetime they must go their separate ways?


 The Blurb

Sometimes the past won’t stay where it belongs.
Marc and Natalia are settling into parenthood, but can’t shake the feeling of déjà vu when it comes to their new baby.
Sensing they’ve been a family before and something horrible happened, they journey back in time, through hypnotic regression, to eighteenth century Belgium. Here they relive a shocking lifetime that challenges their love more than any other, and brings repercussions back into their present life.
Last time, remembering their past lives brought Marc and Natalia together, this time it may tear them apart.
Excerpt from FOREVER FLAMES:

Natalia and Marc sat as Ophiuchus made his way behind his desk.
“Welcome to Soul Severance and Separation Services. I say welcome with a heavy heart because I am always saddened when one soul wants to sever itself from another. But I also understand eternity is a long time and some- times these things just don’t work out. It becomes impossible to learn your life lessons with each incarnation if you’re being dragged down by a soul mate who you can no longer get along with.”
He moved his chair back, smoothed out the back of his robe and sat down. “However, I’m especially dismayed to- day because of your status. Twin Flame soul mates usually pass the test of time, but alas, every once in awhile, these too fall apart.”
Natalia bolted up from her chair. “Excuse me. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t want to sever my soul from Marc’s. This is a huge mistake.”
Ophiuchus folded his hands in front of him. “Maybe you don’t, my dear, but Marcos does. Do you always believe everything is about you?”
“Yes, sir, she does,” Marc answered before she could speak for herself.
“I do not!” Natalia twisted her whole body to face Marc. “What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, but it’s time,” he said. “You’re too difficult and I’m exhausted. I don’t think I can go another round with you.”


BIO:

Debbie Christiana would sit in her room as a little girl and write stories about ghosts, unexplained events and things that go bump in the night. She combined her love of the paranormal with her fascination of unusual love stories and decided to write paranormal romance.  She has two novels published with Black Opal Books, TWIN FLAMES and SOLSTICE.

 In 2012, she had two short stories published. The Land of the Rising Sun, was one of ten included in the anthology BITES: Ten Tales of Vampires and The Thirteen Steps is featured in BELTANE: Ten Tales of Witchcraft. Debbie is a member of RWA and the International Thriller Writers, Inc.  She is the Secretary of her local RWA Chapter of Connecticut and Lower New York. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and three children.

Author contact information
Twitter: @DebChristiana


Sunday, 13 October 2013

Debbie Christiana's #giveaway month

From Google.com
Debbie Christiana is celebrating two things this month: Halloween and her birthday. I'm not quite sure which one she's more excited about, but both are awesome.
From Google.com
In honor of Debbie's favorite month, I'm giving away a copy of one of her books (winner's choice) along with a $5 Amazon gift card. One lucky winner gets both prizes.

All you have to do is:

Answer this one question in the comments section (you don't even have to answer correctly, guesses are accepted, and creativity is even more welcome, written with a cackle).

           Who is Debbie Christiana's favorite witch of all time? 

The last day to comment will be Wednesday October 23rd. 
Debbie will announce the answer along with my randomly chosen winner on her blog,  Friday October 25th.

In the meantime don't wait for me to gift you with a copy of one of her fantastic books. Run out (or click on your computer) and buy it.

BLURB 

Time is running out for Armend Zogu. The 250-year old family curse on his head will claim him on his 30th birthday, the winter solstice.

Sofia Palmalosi is just the Strega who can save him. A descendant of a long line of powerful Italian witches, their magic was a gift bestowed on them by the Goddess Diana.

In order to break the curse, Sofia and Armend must piece together the sheet music from an old violin sonata that Armend’s ancestor wrote for his forbidden love. 

Together Sofia and Armend embark on a journey from New York to Sicily and the ancient ruins of Diana’s temple and back to New York while fighting a battle of wits and magic with a psychopath who wants them both dead and the curse intact.

If the curse doesn’t kill Armend, breaking it just might.



The Blurb

She’d never met him before…or had she?

The last thing forty-year old Natalia Santagario expected was to be sitting on a Manhattan barstool ogling a man she’s never met, but swears she knows.

He didn’t know her at all…or did he?

The mysterious dark-haired woman at the end of the bar stops twenty-eight year old Marc Tremonti in his tracks. His head assures him she’s a stranger, but his heart tells him otherwise.

Together they embark on an adventure that will change their lives forever.

Their attraction instant and enigmatic, they undergo past life regression and discover that, not only have they spent hundreds of lives together as lovers, Natalia holds the secret to Marc’s puzzling birthmark. But what should have been a joyful reunion is complicated by a kind, albeit confused, almost ex-wife, an unfortunate accident in a taxicab, and a bout of temporary amnesia that threatens to ruin everything. On top of all that, they must contend with a mischievous ghost from their past. What else could possibly go wrong?

Buy links:  Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Smashwords / All Romance

Happy Birthday and Halloween, Debbie. Boo!

Wednesday, 29 May 2013

Guest Blogger Debbie Christiana Talks About Paranormal Writers beliefs in the Paranormal

I talk about her all the time, so it’s only right that I should entrust my blog to my good friend and amazing author, Debbie Christiana. I'm sure you'll enjoy her post as much as I did. (Check out my review of Solstice when your done).

A few weeks ago, Nana asked me a great question. Do paranormal authors believe in the supernatural characters and the world they invent and write about?

I think you need a love or passion for the unexplained. You don’t have to believe in every paranormal aspect of the story.  Its fiction and creative liberties are fun and a big part of writing.
But I think it helps drive the story if you believe some of the things could happen.

My debut novel, Twin Flames, tells a tale of reincarnation, past lives and soul mates. There is also a determined but playful ghost that lives with the heroine. Do I believe in ghosts? Yes, but sadly I’ve never seen one so I can’t say for sure that they exist. Do I believe we live more than one life and are spiritually connected to other souls? Yes. Am I positive we come back time after time to learn our life’s lessons? No. But I consider it a likelihood so writing Marc and Natalia’s love story through countless past lives over several millennia was real to me.

My new novel, Solstice, is a story of Italian witches, magic and a curse all set within a love story. Let me answer before you ask. Yes, I believe in witches and know quite a few.

The biggest mystery involving witches is the magical aspect known as witchcraft.  It’s complex and simple at the same time. Witches believe their magic comes from tapping into the powerful energy of the universe, Mother Earth and themselves. They also consider all things in nature to be connected to Mother Earth and the universe.

Could science agree with the ancient understanding of how the cosmos work? Here’s a quote from one of my favorite people in the world, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist and Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. I saw him there once and was smitten. He’s handsome, brilliant and funny.

“Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically, and to the rest of the universe atomically.   That makes me smile and I actually feel quite large at the end of that. It’s not that we are better than the universe; we are part of the universe. We are in the universe and universe is in us.”

Granted, Mr. Tyson’s explanation has a scientific edge to it whiles pagans and witches see it in a more spiritual way, the message speaks the same.

What’s my opinion on magic? I’ll leave you with another quote – I love quotes. Thank you everyone for spending a little of your time with me today.

The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.
Eden Phillipotts, 1862-1960 British author and poet

BLURB:

Time is running out for Armend Zogu. The 250-year old family curse on his head will claim him on his 30th birthday, the winter solstice.

Sofia Palmalosi is just the Strega who can save him. A descendant of a long line of powerful Italian witches, their magic was a gift bestowed on them by the Goddess Diana.

In order to break the curse, Sofia and Armend must piece together the sheet music from an old violin sonata that Armend’s ancestor wrote for his forbidden love. 

Together Sofia and Armend embark on a journey from New York to Sicily and the ancient ruins of Diana’s temple and back to New York while fighting a battle of wits and magic with a psychopath who wants them both dead and the curse intact.

If the curse doesn’t kill Armend, breaking just might.

BUY LINKS FOR SOLSTICE:


Author contact information
Twitter: @DebChristiana




Tuesday, 15 January 2013

Interview with paranormal romance author Debbie Christiana


I am honored to welcome my friend and fellow Black Opal Books author of Twin Flames, Debbie Christiana, for my very first interview.

Thank you, Nana, for having me as your guest today. I love to talk about Twin Flames, past lives and writing, so you many never get rid of me. I thought it might be fun to add a few brief facts or theories about past lives before I answer the first question.

The idea of reincarnation appears to have been around since the Iron Age. The Greeks, pre-Socrates era held a doctrine of reincarnation as did the Celtic Druids. Hindus, Buddhists, New Age and several million others that don’t affiliate themselves with a particular religion or philosophy believe in reincarnation. That’s about a quarter of the world’s population. While it may seem to people living in the West to be a new, wacky religion, it’s really an old concept that many advanced cultures believed in or still do.

Do you believe in past lives?  
One of my characters in Twin Flames, Mariella Tremonti says, “None of us know anything for sure, but we’ll all find out one day.”  While that’s true, I find myself leaning towards a big YES!

I’ve had many déjà vu experiences - which I love when they happen. They pass so fast I wish I could hold on to that feeling and remember what it is that is so familiar about that moment. But I never do. I’ve also met a few people that from the minute we’re introduced, I feel I’ve known them forever, the conversation is easy and everything clicks. I’m still close friends with each one of them. On the other hand, I’ve met two people in my life that from the second I laid eyes on them, the hair on the back of my neck bristled. Not in fear but they made me extremely uneasy and agitated and we hadn’t even spoken. I also think it explains many issues in our lives; phobias, uncontrollable fear of certain things, our bad habits as well as many other things. I guess I’ll find out for sure someday J

Where did you get the idea for Twin Flames?
Well, I’m a bit of a romantic and I love unusual love stories. My mother was a big believer in reincarnation and books on the subject littered our house. I started reading them and became fascinated. Being an avid reader, I always wanted to write so it just seemed the natural thing for me to start with. I was in my favorite Italian restaurant in New York City at Christmas time and the waiter at the bar had a beautiful but strange tattoo that covered most of his arm. When I asked him about it all he would say was “It tells a long involved story.” That’s when I had it.

Some people say that the characters write themselves. Is this how writing Twin Flames was for you?
Yes. I had the story in my head for a while before I sat down at the computer so it just flowed from me. It was as if Marc and Natalia hired me to write their story. They dictated and I typed.

When Marc and Natalia were undergoing their past life regressions, I wanted them to open more doors.  The stories you told about their past encounters were wonderful and it made the connection between them that much stronger.  Sorry, no question here, just wanted to express my opinion on the matter.
Thank you, Nana. That was the hope when I wrote it. Marc and Natalia will be opening more doors, because I’m working on the sequel. I’ll keep you posted.

Where did you find all those wonderful quotes about past lives?
The internet can be a wonderful thing. I Googled quotes about past lives, reincarnation and soul mates and voila, there were hundreds to choose from. I love quotes so reading through them was a labor of love.

The grapevine (your blog) has it that you have a book coming out later this year. Please tell us a little about it?
Solstice is a romantic suspense that will be released by Black Opal Books. The heroine, Sofia, is a Strega or an Italian hereditary witch that must break a curse on her love, Armend’s head by his thirtieth birthday on the winter solstice. Their adventure takes them from New York to the ancient ruins of the Goddess Diana’s temple in Sicily and back to New York while being pursued by a psychopath who wants them both dead and the curse intact.

It’s a little darker than Twin Flames but it has its share of light and humorous moments, and it was a blast to write.

Before you go, please give an analogy of what writing is like for you. This is hard and I’m afraid I may have come up with a lame analogy but writing draws me to it like iron to a magnet.  I can’t stay away from it. Thank you again, Nana for inviting me today. It was a lot of fun.


Thanks for spending your time with me Debbie. I can’t wait to read Solstice when it comes out this year. Move fast on the sequel to Twin Flames because I’m getting antsy to read it.


TWIN FLAMES - BLURB
The last thing forty-year old Natalia Santagario expected was to be sitting on a Manhattan barstool ogling a man she has never met, but swears she knows.

The mysterious dark-haired woman at the end of the bar stops twenty-eight year old Marc Tremonti in his tracks. His head assures him she’s a stranger, but his heart tells him otherwise.

Their attraction instant and enigmatic, they travel back in time only to discover they have spent hundreds of lives together as lovers and Natalia holds the secret to Marc’s puzzling birthmark.

But their reunion in this life is complicated by a kind, albeit confused almost ex-wife, an unfortunate accident and a temporary bout of amnesia.  When a mischievous ghost from their past decides to help them, what could possibly go wrong?

Twin Flames is available through BlackOpalBooks.com, Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble and Smashwords.

Contact Debbie:
Twitter: @DebChristiana

Tuesday, 30 October 2012

Book Review:Twin Flames by Debbie Christiana

      If you don’t believe in soul mates, you will after reading Twin Flames by Debbie Christiana. This paranormal romance novel is about a couple who has known each other for over a hundred lifetimes and the adventures they go through in order to be together in this lifetime. I fell in love with the connection between the spunky smart ass Natalia and the cool, level headed Marc who were immediately drawn to each other when they first met.

Twin Flames reinforced my belief in soul mates, especially with the fantastic soul mate quotes at the beginning of each chapter, and introduced me to the term 'twin flames' which I found to be a fascinating concept.
The past life regressions that Natalia and Marc experienced were like mini stories within a well structured bigger story. The fact that they could remember all of their previous lives when the session ended actually made me want to undergo regression to find out about my own past lives. That’s how I know a book is really good, I’m compelled to do the things that the characters do (this is probably why I don’t read crime fiction).
The portrayal of the love and passion between Natalia and Marc was heart stirring. The characters had a love that transcended time and this made their love in this current time even stronger and yet concurrently fragile. The supporting characters were entertaining and the links between them were were surprising. The involvement of a ghost was interesting, I never thought I’d like the presence of a ghost so much. The book had me laughing out loud, frustrated at points and hungry for Italian food (and a hot Italian man, wink wink). 
Debbie Christiana has woven a spectacular tale of love and time that I am pleased to recommend to everyone I know because it was just that good. I just wish I could have seen that compelling birthmark, I don’t think my imagination did it justice.
I have included a blurb of the book below (I am horrible with recapping a story, and the author has already done such a great job of doing it).

She’d never met him before…or had she?

The last thing forty-year old Natalia Santagario expected was to be sitting on a Manhattan barstool ogling a man she’s never met, but swears she knows.

He didn’t know her at all…or did he?

The mysterious dark-haired woman at the end of the bar stops twenty-eight year old Marc Tremonti in his tracks. His head assures him she’s a stranger, but his heart tells him otherwise.

Together they embark on an adventure that will change their lives forever.

Their attraction instant and enigmatic, they undergo past life regression and discover that, not only have they spent hundreds of lives together as lovers, Natalia holds the secret to Marc’s puzzling birthmark. But what should have been a joyful reunion is complicated by a kind, albeit confused, almost ex-wife, an unfortunate accident in a taxicab, and a bout of temporary amnesia that threatens to ruin everything. On top of all that, they must contend with a mischievous ghost from their past. What else could possibly go wrong?

Twin flames can be purchased at  http://www.blackopalbooks.com/ and Amazon.com
 Happy reading everyone.http://www.debbiechristiana.com/blog/