Angels & Werewolfs With jj Keller & Ericka Scott

Updated to add: The winner of J.J. Keller’s fabulous prize pack is Kendra! Congrats

Greetings D.emons A.nd M.agick M.ixer Fans,

My name is jj Keller and I write the creepy, so weird-it-must-be-true type stories. Today I’ll be giving away a free e-copy of Dark Sun and Undercover Housewife. In addition, I’ll give away a lovely angel and pair of handcuffs. (Wink, this should make your Halloween a little more interesting.) Here are a couple of trailers to help you determine which story you might like the best:

In addition, my friend Ericka Scott will be attending and you can see her thoughts on Werewolfs (see below).

October 1^st Dark Sun, He’s almost an angel and she’s pure temptation, was released through Cobblestone Press.

In Dark Sun, Brandi is a chef trying to transform Dark Shadows bar into a restaurant. Unfortunately someone tries to burn the place down. Her firefighter ex—always happens to be at the scene and so is her new beau, Niall Howard.

Niall is a Guardian Squad Chancellor testing Mark Kepler before he becomes a full fledge Guardian Squad member sending evil souls to hell or to repent at a Weigh Station. Part of Mark’s assessment is to revisit his old grounds, which brings us to Dark Shadows a pub he used to own but sold to his friend Brandi Sedgwick.

Niall is catapulted back in time to his marriage to Fiona, Brandi reincarnated. He wants her, but does she want him?

In an attempt to woo Brandi, Niall prepares an old Irish Love in My Heart Potato Soup: Here is the recipe…you won’t be able to find this anywhere but here…shhh it’s a secret.

1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
3 ounce(s) thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
2 clove(s) garlic, crushed
4 medium Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cup(s) chicken broth
1/3 cup(s) chopped fresh basil
2 cup(s) half-and-half (I use 2% as a sub to make it less calories but it’ll have a thinner broth)
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
1/8 teaspoon(s) white pepper ( I use black and it works just as well, but then I get inspiration for creatures of hell in a variety of ways )
2 tablespoon(s) grated Parmesan cheese

How to mix the love in:

1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto and sauté, stirring frequently, until crispy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain on paper towels; set aside.
2. Add garlic, potatoes and broth to pan; bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally. Add chopped basil and simmer for another few minutes.
3. Remove from heat. Dump into a blender of use a hand mixer (in the pot) to purée the soup until smooth. If you used a blender pour the contents back into the stock pot. Add half-and-half, salt, pepper and cheese. Stir until well blended (if needed put back onto burner for a few minutes).
4. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with the prosciutto. Garnish with basil sprigs.

I guess you’ll have to read the story to see if Niall’s magical mix convinced Brandi to fall in love with him. Let me know if you try the potion on someone you want to captivate.

My good friend, Ericka Scott, has a clever mind, always twisting and turning mythology and what happens beyond the norm. Her book The Werewolf Whisperer has been a hot seller on the market. Here is what she has to say about the Weres.

A Howlin’ Good Time by Ericka Scott, author of Seductive Suspense

Werewolves. Stuff of myths and legends? The result of psychosis. Or…real?

As I was researching The Werewolf Whisperer and of late, Unleashed, I came across the story of the Henrico County Werewolf.  It is a well known local legend although no one seems to know its origins. The creature is only seen during the full moon and has been known to howl. It also chases people, although it has never killed or hurt any humans. Six-feet tall, it’s covered with grayish white hair. It can stand on its hind legs or run on all four legs. It has a human-like body but a face like an animal.

This, along with all the books, movies, and stories told around the campfire when camping spurred my imagination. So, when I was looking for inspiration for a tale of seductive suspense, it’s no surprise that werewolves came to mind.

But, not just any old werewolf. This one is of man’s own making. As we know from the media and popular fiction, the government has the unfortunate habit of dabbling in biological warfare. Both real and fictional mad scientists are endeavoring to harness the power of ebola or, in my story, lycanthropy. Needless to say, these diseases weren’t created to be servants of men and tend to have nightmarish results.

Which is how Eclipse, California, my fictional high-desert town featured in The Werewolf Whisperer and Unleashed came into being. As you drive through town, it looks like any other middle to upper class neighborhood. Nice houses, well-kept lawns, and a particularly well-stocked meat section at the grocery store. The only difference, the population of Eclipse are outcasts, nearly prisoners in their little town. For, once a month, at the full moon, the inhabitants turn into werewolves. For public safety, they’ve been isolated from the rest of the world. You can read all about Eclipse and its residents in The Werewolf Whisperer and Unleashed. The print edition of The Werewolf Whisperer includes Unleashed is available in paperback at Amazon.com

And just to make sure you stay awake and glued to your windows during the next full moon, here’s a few more recent werewolf sightings.

Perhaps one of the most famous cases is told by Delburt Gregg of Greggton, Texas. In 1958, she was alone on a dark and stormy night. Her husband was away, and she had of the night, she awoke to the sound of scratching at the screen. When the lightning flashed, a “huge, shaggy, wolf-like creature”  was “clawing at the screen and glaring … with baleful, glowing, slitted eyes.” As she jumped from the bed to grab a flashlight to get a closer look, the creature dashed away and hid in a large collection of bushes. Ms. Gregg didn’t fall asleep right away and was stunned to later see a tall man walk down the road and into the darkness.

In 1936, Mark Schackelman claimed to have seen a six-foot tall, hair-covered creature digging in an Indian mound near Jefferson, Wisconsin. The creature had a large muzzle and included both ape and dog characteristics. With pointed ears and human-like hands, the creature smelled to high heaven with the scent of dead meat. The next night, Schackelman saw the same creature and heard it making a strange “three-syllable growling”. When he began to pray, the creature quickly turned and dashed away.

Then, there’s the Beast of Bray Road. On October 31, a young woman was driving along Bray Road near Delavan, Wisconsin when she felt her car jump as if the right tire had hit an object. After stopping the car, she saw a dark and hairy figure running toward her. She sped away only to have the creature jump onto the car’s trunk. Due to the slick metal, the beast was unable to gain a hold of the vehicle. When returning with a friend, the duo saw a large dark shape standing near the side of the road.

When the report got out, several other people also claimed to have seen the strange creature. In 1989, Lorianne Endrizzi was traveling along the same road when she caught site of a figure kneeling at the side of the road. When she slowed the car, she claimed the creature stared at her through the passenger window. She estimated the beast was about six feet away and had grayish brown hair with large fangs and pointed ears. She also claimed the creature had a snout and human-like hands. A local farmer also saw the creature, but took it to be a gigantic dog.

Real or Fiction?

What do you believe?

Ericka will be signing copies of The Werewolf Whisperer at the Barnes and Noble in Encino, California, as part of the Los Angeles Romance Authors RWA Book Fair. If you are in the neighborhood, stop by and say “Woof!”

You can also find out more about Ericka at www.erickascott.com

All rights reserved.

Buy Dark Sun: http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/darksun.htm

Buy Undercover Housewife: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-undercoverhousewife-403888-149.html

jj Keller

Fantasies with spice and humor.

http://www.jj-keller.com