Authors and Their Pets day 7 with RM Sotera and her cat

Please welcome RM Sotera and her Cat Dracula!

Dracula – AKA- Bad Ass Cat

It is only fitting that my cat is named Dracula.  I did not name him Dracula.  Last year, when we purchased him from a cat sanctuary here in Vegas, he was already given the namesake.  And it fits him to a tee!

Little did the newest addition to my family realize that his mom had long adored everything vampire.  I’d read every book about vamps that I could get my hands on, and even write my own stories filled with these drop dead gorgeous creatures of the night.

So, we brought Dracula home with us. And oh…the fun began!  May I add that I’ve never had a cat as a pet before.

Dracula. His black fur always looks as slick as an oil spill and the white patches skillfully drawn on his paws, neck, face and underbelly a perfect piece of his tuxedo style.  There is always a touch of mystery surrounding him.  Many times he shows up in nooks and crannies around the house…and basically scares the crap out of me. LOL

Dracula.  We’d decided his name was perfect for him so we didn’t change it.  As soon as he’d entered our home he became the purveyor of all.  Each day since the day we brought him home he wakes us (mostly me) at 3:00 am by shoving everything off the dressers in the master bedroom.  If we don’t get our butts out of the bed (again, me), he starts to do laps back and forth down the hallway.  And when that doesn’t work he starts flinging the doorstops.  Then I get up – since my time to rise is 4 am – and feed the little man.  By the time I hit the button on the coffee machine and make it back down the hallway to the master bedroom, he’s already sprawled out sleeping on my side of the bed.  And I just laugh.  Damn if that cat doesn’t know how to rule the roost.

Dracula.  Curiosity fit for a master!  A master vampire that is.  Yes, this cat is a night owl.  A Casanova of the feline kind.  Sometimes, when twilight is near, the neighbor cat, a beautiful tiger stripped female, occasionally plops in front of the sliding glass door on the back patio of our home and meows at Dracula.  He just lays in front of the door, all sprawled out on his back, staring at her as she meows and continues to whine like a little baby.  Finally, after what feels like way to long, she stops her bellowing and the two cats stare at each other.  Must be Dracula’s powers of hypnosis – he’s mesmerizing the fair kitty.  Then she runs home, probably relishing in kitty dreams of the cat in the window.

What a kitty man.  He is truly a creature of the night.  Undeniably his name fits his personality.

Check out his pictures.  Enjoy.

RM Sotera - Romance writer, wife, mom to a teenage boy and one bad-ass cat named Dracula.

Review Calling for a Miracle by Lydia Michaels

Title: Calling for a Miracle (The Order of the Vampyres: Book 2)
Author: Lydia Michaels
Source: Author request
Genre: Paranormal romance
Length: ebook 384 pages

Authors and Their Pets day 6 with Tina Carreiro and her pets

Please welcome Tina and her pets!!

Bela

Hi everyone! First I’d like to thank, Bitten by Paranormal Romance, for the opportunity to stop by and introduce my furry baby to everyone.

This is Bela. We call him our one-eyed, cycloptic cat. Bela is a Seal Point Siamese and will be 14 next month. I’ll never forget the day we bought/rescued him.  At the time, we had a Chocolate Point Siamese, Mr. Viv, who passed away two years ago at the age of 21. He was getting old and lazy so we wanted to get him a companion to play with, hoping it would get him off the back of the couch.

I’m in love with the Siamese breed and searched my local rescue shelters for them first. After having no luck, I searched the local newspaper and when I saw an ad in the paper for Siamese kittens, we were off to find a new addition for the family. I was shocked when I arrived. The ad didn’t lie. They had kittens there—tons of them. Kittens with weepy eyes and fur matted with fleas were scattered around a tiny room.  Dogs could be heard barking in the garage, and I was sure that Cujo was going to come crashing through the wall at any minute.

At this point, the only thing I was committed to doing was turning her in for being a pet mill.  That’s when this little cat, about one year old, jumped up on the counter in an attempt to find water. He looked at me with his one eye and snaggletooth with almost a pleading expression on his furry face. I turned to my husband, and he knew right then, we were not leaving without that cat. He was nameless and filthy with earmits and fleas and he had an overly skittish demeanor. Once we got him home, I stepped into the shower with cat in hand and started scrubbing him down. He screamed the entire time.

I’m thankful every day that we brought him home. Yes, him. Most people think he is a girl because of his name, but my handsome Bela was named after Bela Lugosi. He has such a unique personality, and I truly believe he thinks he’s a dog. If I pat my chest, he’ll jump into my arms. He also plays fetch with his favorite stuffed monkey and waits at the table, begging to be fed scraps. He doesn’t care that much for catnip, but he has a dirty little secret…he loves to lick plastic. We tried therapy to help him with his plastic addiction, but it didn’t work… J

  Oh… and, he LOVES cheese. Yep, he can hear the cap pop off  a can of Cheese Wiz a mile away and loves Colby Jack. He loves music that is played softly and he’ll flip over on his back and hams it up when I sing, You Are So Beautiful, to him.

As you’ll see in some of the pictures, Bela also loves to camp with the family. Bela has kept me company many late nights while I write and the rest of the family sleeps. He’s made crucial decisions with me as if a character should be killed off. Paw up… the character is a goner. Bela has his own starring role in my books and now thinks he’s king of the jungle.  At least he only wants to be paid in cheese.

I hope my Bela brings a smile to your day.

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ANIMAL RESCUE GROUPS.

Tell me what your favorite cat breed is and one lucky winner will be entered to win my book Power of the Moon when it is re-released into the reading world. In addition, two lucky winners will receive SWAG!!

(bookmark and trading card)

Power of the Moon – Book one in the Power of the Moon series

Tina Carreiro

Author of Power of the Moon

Coming Soon to Time and Tide Publishing

http://tinacarreiro.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tina-Carreiro/113900751973213

http://timeandtidepublishing.com

Review My Familiar Stranger by Victoria Danann

Title: My Familiar Stranger (The Order of the Black Swan : Book One)
Author: Victoria Danann
Source: Author request
Genre: Paranormal/Sci-fi Romance
 Length: Novel

Authors and Their Pets day 5 with Sam Cheever and her pets

Bitten Pet Week Post – May 10^th

Help a Pet Hint: Do you love animals and want an easy way to help those who haven’t found their forever homes yet? Both Petco and Petsmart allow you to donate a small amount to shelters each time you buy something at the pet store. With the press of a button on the card scanner, I donate a few dollars each time and it definitely adds up!

ADDICTED AND LOVING IT!

Let me just get something right out there…I’m a dogaholic. Yup. It’s true. I’m addicted to dogs. But I don’t need an intervention. I’m perfectly happy with my addiction. I have 11 dogs and at any given moment my husband and I are in danger of adopting another. We don’t go on vacations. I don’t crave jewelry. My husband doesn’t collect machinery or spend money going to sports events. We spend our money on our two daughters and our 11 fur babies.

We’re pleased that we’ve been able to rescue dogs who needed a good home and we feel lucky that they’ve found us. Our fur babies are a labor of love, pure entertainment, and part of our extended family. 

And I’m also happy to say we’ve passed the addiction on to our girls. My oldest daughter has 3 

fur babies and my youngest has 2. 

Now I know that many people have multiple dogs. We’re not all that unique. However, most people with over five dogs are breeders or run shelters. LOL My husband and I hoard our babies. We don’t let them go once we get our greedy hands on them. I realize we’re lucky that we can do this and we’re very thankful. We have a hobby farm so there’s lots of room for our dogs to run and play.  

We’re both fortunate to work from home. And, though we occasionally travel with our jobs, we’re mostly able to stagger our travel so that one of us is always home with the fur babies.

Aside from the many joys of having so many dogs, there are, of course, challenges. Feeding time is interesting, yearly visits to the vet can be a challenge, and keeping track of all the little furry heads is a near impossible task. I find I’m constantly doing head counts to make sure I haven’t lost anybody. Especially at night, because we have lots of coyotes around here. Ish! But our biggest challenge is finding room on the bed at night. We have a king sized bed but, when you add 7 to 8 dogs to the space, there isn’t much room left for the human-type critters! Despite my whining though, I don’t think I could sleep without all those soft, warm bodies draped around me every night. They’re very cuddly. #:0)

I created a video of what it’s like to spend a day with so many dogs and I’d like to share it with you. As a bonus, if you can find the typo in the video (Yes, I know it’s there but I’ve changed software since I created the video and I can’t fix it without redoing the whole thing, LOL), just send me a note telling me what it is and I’ll add you to a drawing for one of my books, winner’s choice. Send the email to samcheever@samcheever.com, Subject: Typo. I’ll pick the winner on May 24^th. Good luck!

Here’s the link to the video: http://www.samcheever.com/bio.html  It’s on my bio page so just scroll down a bit and you’ll see it. I hope you enjoy my fur babies!

Review of MY WICKED GLADIATORS by Lauren Hawkeye

MY WICKED GLADIATORS
LAUREN HAWKEYE
Publisher:  Avon Red
May 15, 2012
ISBN:  9780062196897
Erotic Historical Romance
Review Copy from Edelweiss

Alba has spent her entire life pleasing others.

As an upper-class woman in Ancient Rome, that is her place in life. But when her husband, Lucius, the owner of a prestigious gladiatorial school, uses her body as a bargaining tool to increase his fortunes, she is faced with doing as he demands-or finding herself on the street.

Forced to lie with masked gladiators chosen by Lucius, Alba is surprised to discover pleasure in being powerless. Only in the forbidden arms of Caius and Marcus does she find comfort, however temporary it may be.

But with Lucius' demands looming and the threat of death for her gladiators ever present, will Alba's fleeting pleasures be enough? Or will she finally grab hold of her own desires, no matter the consequences?

Author and Their Pets day 3 with Dominique Eastwick

Please welcome Dominique Eastwick and her pets!

For the love of our Pets.

They are there when everyone else has long gone to bed. They are the constant companion reminding me that I need to get up away from my computer every now and then if only to feed them or open the back door. And they always make sure I get up when that alarm clock goes off for the third time.

I am one of those Cat and Dog people. I Love both. I love that cats are independent and do what they want. And that they love you enough to come back home, at least that’s what I keep telling myself. Chai my cat, is a pound cat, she came to our home and has added so much to our lives. Just don’t leave a suitcase open around her you will find it full of cat. She sleeps at the foot of my bed and when I write she lays right behind my computer screen watching me write. Well she started sitting in front of the screen but learned that that only got her shooed off the desk.

Then there is Suki, my crazy black lab. We lovingly refer to here as the labragator who will eat anything and everything excerpt her heartworm pill. Now Dogs you love for a completely different reason, they depend on you, they love you no matter what and all they want is you. How can you not love that? Suki pulled her dog bed from the living room into my office so she can lay down next to me. Every now and then I get a persistent nudge at my arms that says “Hey mom play with me, pet me, just show you love me.” So I get up go outside and throw the Frisbee a few times until she says okay time to go back to sleep.

Both animals have added so much to our family’s lives and to my sanity.  I can’t imagine our home without them. Tell me are you a dog or a cat person. And one lucky winner will be entered to win my book Shifting Hearts J

Shifting Hearts Book One of the Wiccan Haus Series

The Last of his Kind…Rekkus is the last of the Great Black Tiger Weres and he is content to stay that way. Working as security for The Wiccan Haus, a spa for inner healing, he has enough danger and women to keep him busy. Unfortunately the Fates are not content with him being content.

Feeling Alone and discourage…Dana has walked away from all she has known, her fiancé, family, apartment and job. Now having a ticket to the Wiccan Haus maybe the only way she can move on. But what she finds isn’t what she expects nor what she thought she was looking for.

Meet the residence of the Wiccan Haus, the proprietors, the Rowan Siblings who with powers they have honed from years of practice, do what they can to create a resort of healing and inner peace. Where Humans and Para’s reside side by side, and everyone in need of their services are welcome.

WELCOME TO THE WICCAN HAUS

http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=33

Dominique Eastwick

Author of Shifting Hearts

Coming Soon to Musa Publishing The Wiccan Haus Sirens Serenade.

www.Musapublishing.com

http://dominiqueeastwick.blogspot.com/

http://thewiccanhaus.blogspot.com/

Book promo giveaway Crescent Bound Karli Rush

This book promo giveaway is a young adult so please keep that in mind when you enter.

Crescent Bound by Karli Rush

The blurb is

Alyssa Worthington is the daughter and sole heir to the most prestigious coven in the witch world.  Her childhood has been spent in the mundane human world learning to blend in and hide who she truly is, and it is here, during her last year that she meets a striking ex-high school quarterback from a small town in Montana who will turn her world upside down.

Alyssa holds the element of fire, unlike her best friends Lisa and Megan, who are both air elementals.  It is the elemental powers that reside inside which require positive thoughts and positive actions in order to maintain this magickal connection.  What would happen to a witch that let this get out of control?  How can evil become the driving force behind revenge and death?

Dark secrets, dark magick and a desperate desire for revenge will bring Alyssa to the brink of destruction.  She is being chased, but this pursuit is a silent one and her chaser has but one goal, Alyssa’s complete and total destruction.  Will she overcome this dark threat and begin to live out her destiny?  Will she survive and if so, will she lose herself as part of the price for being alive?  Or, will her destiny rest on being crescent bound?

Links are

Purchase site - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/135671#longdescr 

Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crescent-Bound/248279951917028

Author's Page - http://www.wix.com/crescentbound/karli-rush

Karli is giving away 3 copies smaswords code of Crescent Bound. Please leave a comment along with your email below to enter.

Review Wishful Thinking by Gabi Stevens

Title: Wishful Thinking (Time of Transition #3)
Author: Gabi Stevens
Source: Author request
Genre: Paranormal romance
 Length: mass paperback novel

Review of Chasing Earth and Flame by Adonis Devereux

Title: Chasing Earth and Flame
Author: Adonis Devereux
Source: Requested Review
Genre: Fantasy Romance - BDSM
Format: ebook - 210 pages
Release Date: March 31, 2012
Author's Website

Authors and Their Pets day 2 with Claudy Conn and her pets

Claudy Conn shares her pets 

My name is Cherokee, and my mom is 100% MacKenzie Wolf and life as a hybrid is sometimes confusing. I lying on the grass, and the dark handsome boy, is my son, Rocky the Man.

I love my people, but I would have been an alpha and taking orders…like, ‘sit, down, and no,’ just doesn’t work for me. However, when I can, I try and please them…they are so cute and my man person makes a flirt out of me.

I had the wander lust in me, howling for a pack, and my people thought I needed my own pups. I had five beautiful treasures. Just as I would have in the wild, I appointed my female person as my nanny. When it was time for them to leave our den, my female person sat with me and my son, Rocky the Man, and we cried and howled together late into the night.

They send pictures, and Rocky’s brothers and one sister are all over 175 pounds, but Rocky is 190 lbs. He too would have been an Alpha—except that he is a bit of a clown.

He likes to eat, and because his father was all German Sheppard, he does take orders from our people. He is a big mush, and snuggles them more than I like. I have tried to show him that we only snuggle when we want to be massaged.

My eyes are yellow like my wolf mother, Vanilla Ice, and my feet like hers are webbed as we wolves are wonderful swimmers.

Our people take us to a nearby lake and Rocky and I have a blast.

Our people have a horse and he thinks we should be friends. Not happening. However, Rocky the Man adores the horse…they call him Pride, and so I make allowances. My son likes to run with him. At times, I do as well.

Yes, now and then we have a family howl…not always at the moon, and my people join in and it is quite satisfying. Things are good. I have my people and my Rocky and no longer look to wander…

My female person has pictures of us that you may wish to glance at. There is also a picture of my mother with a friend, an alpha MacKenzie called Shawnee, and his brother Yellow Tail. Have a peek, I hope you like!

Review Worth Fighting For by Sondrae Bennett

Title: Worth Fighting For (Alpine Woods Shifters #4)
Author: Sondrae Bennett
Source: Author request
Genre: Paranormal romance - Shifters
Length: Novella

Review of Bride for the God-King by Adonis Devereux

Title: Bride for the God-King
Author: Adonis Devereux
Source: Requested Review
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Format: ebook - 204 pages
Release Date: December 24th 2011
Author's Website

Authors and Their Pets day 1 with Dani Harper and her pets

Please welcome Dani Harper and her pets

“Life with author Dani Harper “

         – an Exclusive by Fiona the Pug

My name is Fiona the Pug and I’m the executive secretary for author Dani Harper. I’ve held this position for four years now, ever since Dani traveled to Anchorage, Alaska to adopt me from the kind people at Polar Pug Rescue. Until then, I’d spent most of my life in a cage having puppies. (I’ve been afraid of cages ever since!)

When I came home with Dani, my whole life changed. Hers did too – she just didn’t realize it yet. Writers require special care you see, and I’m a very good caretaker. I showed her my skills right away by taking care of her very old pug, Scooby. He’d been her Official Muse for years and years, but he couldn’t hear or see much anymore. I helped him by leading him around and helping him to not get lost. I told him when the family came home so he could be excited too. And I sat by his bowl and made sure he ate because he kept forgetting. It helped Dani a lot because she didn’t have to worry so much about her old friend.

When Scooby passed away, we were all very sad. I made sure I sat next to Dani when she wrote, so she would always have a warm furry armrest, just like Scooby had done for her. And it was definitely time to get her moving more! Like I said, writers need a lot of care. So I worked at getting her away from her laptop regularly. I would suddenly “have” to go outside, and then I would “have” to come in. We went walking along the hiking trails every day, and my very favorite place is the beach (I’d never seen one before in my whole life. I just can’t resist running and running when my feet touch sand!)

Guarding the writer is part of my job as executive secretary. Writers have to be protected from interruptions such as the Evil Paperboy on weeknights, and the Invasion of the Garbage Snatchers on Friday mornings. I have to keep my eye on the TV as well. There are all kinds of creatures on it. I bark at them all, but especially at horses and camels. You just can’t trust camels!

White noise is very important. It helps writers concentrate by blocking out outside noises, but it has to be constant, rhythmic and steady in order to work. As a pug, I’m naturally equipped to create useful white noise, although it’s usually mistaken for snoring and wheezing.

My most important job as an executive secretary is to listen to Dani’s ideas. A writer needs a sounding board to see how a story should develop. I lean my head to one side to show that I’m paying close attention. And sometimes when the story isn’t going well, I lick Dani’s elbow while she’s typing or rest my chin on the keyboard. Just to encourage her.

It’s a lot of work looking after a writer. I was so glad when Dani went back to Polar Pug Rescue and adopted an assistant for me. I don’t think she understood quite what I was looking for, however. Toby doesn’t take dictation at all, and he makes terrible coffee. He had a pretty rough life though – he’d been hit by a car and had a broken leg when he got rescued. He’s all better now, but he’s still very young and inexperienced – a big puppy really. In fact, I’ve ended up being his mom. I don’t really mind too much, though. He has other talents. Writers need lots of love and he is definitely a “weapon of mass affection”. Also, writers need to laugh regularly so they don’t take their work too seriously. Toby and I play tag around the living room and steal toys from each other to entertain our writer and keep her mentally healthy. We also make sure to scatter toys from one end of the house to the other – it’s good exercise for Dani to pick them all up every day. Writers have to stay flexible.

Now as Dani’s right hand pug, I know all her secrets. Of course I’m not going to reveal – cheese? Is that cheese in your hand? Really? Well, maybe I could let you in on a few little things. Nothing important, mind you but – omigosh, I loooove cheese. *whispers* Okay, here’s the dirt – Dani is a pillow monster. I mean it, she has FOUR on her side of the bed, and she’s negotiating for five. She says that they’re for sitting up and reading, but I have it on good authority that she makes a nest out of them at night. I mean, that’s what any self-respecting pug would do with them, right? 

Ahem, I have to go now. I see Dani is opening up her laptop in the kitchen. Toby! We’re on duty now – check the living room window and see if the garbage truck is coming…

PS – PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ANIMAL RESCUE GROUPS. If you would like to check out Polar Pug Rescue in Anchorage, Alaska, go to http://polarpug.org/  They accept PayPal donations if you want to help with the medical expenses that so many of their foster dogs have. If you can’t donate, please consider going to this animal rescue site and VOTING for Polar Pug Rescue!  It may help them to get a grant. Thanks! 

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3  (The only info you have to type in is “Polar Pug” and then select the state of Alaska. It’ll bring up a voting button for Polar Pug Rescue of Alaska!)

* * * * * *

GIVEAWAY – Dani is offering a signed copy of her latest PNR release, Changeling Dawn, plus a tote bag to put it in! Just leave a comment that has something to do with pets (Fiona says she would prefer something about pugs, but we’ll open this up to ANY pets – not everyone is lucky enough to be a pug!)  Draw closes at midnight EST on May 13^th and a winner will be chosen at random on May 14^th.