WORD WARS !

Word Wars! Twelve Shades of Midnight Authors Share Their Most (& Least) Favorite Things

OCT 28

Posted by Rachel Grant  reblogged from KISS & THRILL

Twelve Shades of Midnight, an anthology of 12 all new paranormal novellas is out today! My novella, Midnight Sun, is included and I’m thrilled to be part of this amazing lineup of authors for my first foray into the paranormal.

I’ve had a blast working with the other authors in the making of this anthology! From brainstorming titles to coming up with Easter eggs hidden in the stories, the messages between the members of the group have been hilarious. How lucky am I to be in this amazing anthology?

Twelve Shades of Midnight

The stroke of midnight ushers in many things. From hijinks and mischief to danger and evil, romance is the magic that binds these paranormal novellas together. Join 12 bestselling and award winning authors as they explore the different shades of midnight in exclusive, never-before-released stories.

Liliana Hart – THE WITCH NEXT DOOR
Darynda Jones – A LOVELY DROP
Shea Berkley – DARK SECRETS: STONE COLD DEAD
Dakota Cassidy – WITCHED AT BIRTH
Claire Cavanaugh – MIDNIGHT RENEGADE
Rachel Grant – MIDNIGHT SUN
Trish McCallan – SPIRIT WOODS
Angi Morgan – BODYGUARDS IN HEELS: HIT & RUN HALLIE
Robin Perini – NIGHT OF THE JAGUAR
Robyn Peterman – SWITCHING HOUR
Ann Voss Peterson – THE SCHOOL
Jenn Stark – GETTING WILDE

Watch the Twelve Shades trailer: Facebook | YouTube

We’re celebrating the launch tomorrow with a Facebook party with lots of games and prizes. This is your opportunity to find out what I mean when I say how funny these authors are! Click on the image to RSVP.

Amazon | iBooks | Kobo | Barnes & Noble

Because I love exploring the similarities and differences in the answers, I subjected the Twelve Shades of Midnight authors to the Inside the Actors Studio quiz.

What is your favorite word?

Dakota: Serendipitous	Robyn: Yes
Angi: Conundrum	Rachel: Necropolis
Shea: I’m a writer. It’s nearly impossible to whittle it down to one…but I do love my name being said by someone who loves me.	Jenn: Kabillion. Except that’s not a word I don’t think.
Robin: Cacophony, just because it sounds cool.	Claire: Happy
Ann: Fabulous	Liliana: Dude

What is your least favorite word?

Dakota: Can’t	Robyn: No
Angi: Procrastinate	Rachel: Racial and homophobic slurs
Shea: Snot. It’s just one of those words that sounds gross and refers to something gross.	Jenn: Disappointed
Robin: Moist…just ’cause, well, yuck.	Claire: Anything prejudicial
Ann: Ensconce	Liliana: Moist

What turns you on?

Dakota: Serenity	Robyn: Humor and a nice ass
Angi: Being shown love	Rachel: Captain America
Shea: Kisses on my neck…soft, slow kisses. (sigh)	Jenn: The eyes have it: If a glance is intentional, intense and interested (from the right guy), I’m in.
Robin: Slow dancing and swaying to the music	Claire: Eagerness and humor. Cleaning my house doesn’t hurt either!
Ann: Coffee	Liliana: Brains, baby. Followed closely by the ability to make me laugh like crazy.

What turns you off?

Dakota: Whiners	Robyn: Negativity and lack of humility
Angi: Talk Talk Talk and More Talk without any action	Rachel: Rudeness
Shea: Hypocrisy and arrogance. They often go hand in hand except the person demonstrating these qualities rarely knows they’re doing them.	Jenn: Abuse of any sort–mental, verbal, physical–no matter the scale. If you don’t choose your adversaries nobly, you suck.
Robin: Unkindness	Claire: Stress
Ann: Running out of coffee	Liliana: Bad hygiene

What sound or noise do you love?

Dakota: Laughter	Robyn: My kids laughter
Angi: Ocean waves and puppies playing	Rachel: My children’s laughter
Shea: A drumline. It’s all about the beat, baby!	Jenn: The gentle crash of ocean waves
Robin: A baby’s laugh	Claire: My granddaughter’s magical laughter
Ann: Wind chimes	Liliana: Rain and thunderstorms

What sound or noise do you hate?

Dakota: Sloppy eaters	Robyn: My alarm clock
Angi: Leaf blowers	Rachel: My husband’s alarm clock
Shea: My cat hacking up a hairball. Why is it always in the middle of the night? And does he clean up his mess? Nooo. He tries to bury it in the carpet, and I’m the one who’s got to clean up the nastiness he leaves behind.	Jenn: My cat demanding breakfast at 4:15 a.m. Every. Morning.
Robin: Telephone ring	Claire: A dentist’s drill
Ann: My alarm clock	Liliana: Teeth scraping against a fork

What is your favorite curse word?

Dakota: Dicknuckle	Robyn: Fuck
Angi: Damn	Rachel: Fuck
Shea: Arse, but only when British people say it. It makes me giggle.	Jenn: Fuck. Such a multitasker.
Robin: I don’t have one.	Claire: Damn, and any variation thereof
Ann: Fuck. Really, so versatile!	Liliana: Douchecanoe

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Dakota: Supermodeling	Robyn: Chef
Angi: Photography	Rachel: Travel writer who gets paid to go everywhere on vacation (Rick Steves, I want your job)
Shea: A falconer. Hunting with a bird would be fun.	Jenn: Artifact Hunter
Robin: CIA Analyst, because I think it would be fascinating, and it would bring me that much closer to the books I write.	Claire: FBI agent in my dreams. Travel writer as a possible reality.
Ann: Horse trainer	Liliana: Professional shoe shopper and cheese fry eater

What profession would you not like to do?

Dakota: Porta Potty maintenance	Robyn: Computer programmer
Angi: Anything with math	Rachel: Wearing a hot dog costume and passing out flyers.
Shea: Sewage worker. Does anyone actually want to be a sewage worker?	Jenn: Social worker. My heart would break or I’d want to seriously beat up people every day.
Robin: Sewer Maintenance. Self explanatory :)	Claire: Anything involving strange smells. I have a weak stomach.
Ann: School teacher, way too tough	Liliana: Anything dealing with poop

If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

Dakota: “Your castle with a turret, high on a hill, with all your family members and pets inside is to the right.. :).”	Robyn: “It was a close one, but I was owed some favors. I was in the middle of a Scrabble tournament before you arrived, would you like to join me?”
Angi: “Welcome home.”	Rachel: “I’ve decided to make an exception for you.”
Shea: “It’s about time you got here. You did good. There’s an all you can eat chocolate section next to the sushi bar and steaks grilling on the barbeque. And the mashed potatoes are so creamy…and fully loaded.” (yeah, the way to my heart is to feed me comfort food)	Jenn: “Good job.”
Robin: “There really is a reason for everything, and if you’ll come with me, I’ll explain it all.”	Claire: “You really gave your guardian angel a work out, but I’m glad to see you made it, Claire.”
Ann: “Everyone you love is here or on their way… eventually.”	Liliana: “Your family and friends are waiting for you. And there’s an all-you-can-eat buffet.”

The 12 SHADES SHINDIG-O-RAMA

We're throwing a Shindig

&

YOU

get all the party favors!

Just stop by our Facebook Event Page: http://bit.ly/12ShadesShindig 

Leave lots of comments.

And be eligible for lots and lots of giveaways.

Party is open for 24 hours. Winners announced 10-31.

Here's the schedule in central time:

5:00 Ann Voss Peterson
5:30 Angi Morgan
6:00 Rachel Grant
6:30 Robin Perini
7:00 Robyn Peterman
7:30 Claire Cavanaugh
8:00 Shea Berkley
8:30 Jenn Stark
9:00 Darynda Jones
9:30 Trish McCallan
10:00 Dakota Cassidy
10:30 Lilianna Hart

Celebrating Halloween Traditions

Rachel: First I want to thank Maureen and everyone at Just Romantic Suspense for letting us take over JRS this week, I’m super excited to be here to talk about my first foray into paranormal romantic suspense! I’m also thrilled to be here with Jenn Stark, who is three of my favorite people in the world (you may also know her as Jenn McGowan and Jennifer Chance) and talking about one of my favorite holidays: Halloween.

When I was growing up, Halloween wasn’t just about the costumes, trick-or-treating, and jack-o’-lanterns, it was also about the most important day of the year, which happened two days later—some call it All Souls’ Day, in Mexico it is El Día de los Muertos, but in the Grant household, it is known as my birthday.

Having your birthday fall on the third day of the triduum of Allhallowtide is about the coolest thing, ever, because it means the party starts with costumes and candy on October 31^st and doesn’t end until about 60 hours later, when it’s capped off with cake and presents. 

But naturally, sharing my birthday with the Day of the Dead led to an interest in the traditions around the holiday… an interest shared by Jenn as well!

Jenn: Thanks as well to Maureen and the whole JRS team—it’s great to be joining you! For me, Halloween is a fabulous mix of past and present celebrations. I love the story of “soul cakes”, popularized in Tudor and Elizabethan England, which were small currant-crossed, white-frosted pastries sold on All Hallows Eve. These little cakes were not only delicious… they could free a soul from Purgatory if consumed before midnight. What kind of awesome sales pitch is THAT?

Also, I’m a huge fan of an even older superstition, which holds that the veil between the worlds thins dramatically on the feast of Samhain, such that the spirit world can mix with the realm of the living. So all those amazingly ghoulish costumes you see? Just good folk trying to confuse (or imitate) the spirits! This acceptance of magic as part of our world fits well with my Twelve Shades anthology novella, Getting Wilde. My heroine hunts down magical artifacts with the use of Tarot cards—and encounters more than she bargains for while pursuing her newest job. The festival of Samhain would be right up her alley!

A relatively new Samhain tradition that I’ve adopted is to create a costume that represents the person you most want to become in the coming year, so you literally “dress the part” of your future self. Since I want nothing more than to be a successful, full-time author, my costume is pretty easy: tank top, pajama bottoms, slippers… and bags of mon-eh. J

But while my tradition focuses on how life goes on, Rachel can take us back to remembering lives that have ended: or The Day of the Dead celebration!

Rachel: The Day of the Dead celebration is intended to encourage the souls of departed relatives to visit and hear the praises and prayers of the living who are celebrating them. Families visit cemeteries and often decorate graves with Mexican marigolds; some families create altars in their home, which they fill with favorite foods and beverages as well as photos and keepsakes. Stories told about the deceased can be funny, and my understanding is the Day of the Dead can be quite joyous.

I’m particularly intrigued by this idea of reaching out to a departed soul with offerings, as the reverse is true in my novella in the Twelve Shades anthology. In Midnight Sun, a departed soul in an ancient Iñupiat shaman’s mask needs to reach out to the living, and unfortunately, when information needs to flow the other way, it’s not always joyous for the living or the dead…

~ ~ ~

* 12 SHADES OF MIDNIGHT  * 12 authors *

* 12 unforgettable, never-before-released stories *

The stroke of midnight ushers in many things. From hijinks and mischief to danger and evil, romance is the magic that binds these paranormal novellas together. Join 12 bestselling and award winning authors as they explore the different shades of midnight in exclusive, never-before-released stories.

For more information on Twelve Shades of Midnight

 Facebook | Amazon | iBooks | Kobo | Barnes & Noble

Find Rachel and Jenn on the Internet

RG Website | JS Website | RG Facebook | JS Facebook

~~~

Your BLOG COMMENT also counts for the 12-Shades week-long RAFFLECOPTER drawing. Lots of ways to enter. Lots to give away. 

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY, share your favorite Halloween (or, as Rachel prefers to call it, triduum of Allhallowtide) tradition!