MystiCon 2012 + Give Away

By: Sharon Stogner
Co-Founder & Media Relations


I had the pleasure of spending a day at the second annual MystiCon - a family friendly convention by the fans for the fans of Sci-fi, horror and fantasy in the beautiful mountains of Roanoke, VA. I got to meet New York Times best-selling author Sherrilyn Kenyon, actor Richard Hatch, author Stephen Zimmer of Seventh Star Press and authors Sapphire Phelan (AKA Pamela Kinney) and Alethea Kontis along with many other artists, writers and publishers. And let's not forgot all the fans dressed up and ready for action! The icing on the cake...there was a real working Delek!
I have lots of pictures and links to some of the awesome people I met. Baaart had a good time too. He will have his own post later on to tell you about who he met...

Meeting author Sherrilyn Kenyon was a highlight. The mastermind behind the award winning Dark-Hunter and Lords of Avalon series plus graphic novels Sword of Darkness and Knight of Darkness. Sherrilyn was very popular and the long line only enforced her large follwoing, but once you got your turn she spent as much time with the fans as you wanted. She was extremely personable and quiet funny. It was worth the wait. And she also happened to love our mascot Baaart.

I was excited to meet author Stephen Zimmer of Seventh Star Press who has worked with I Smell Sheep to promote the small press. His enthusiasm for SSP and all its authors is infectious. SSP uses the talents of artists Matthew Perry and Bonnie Wasson to illustrate their books. Stephen graciously gave me many sets of glossy post cards featuring the art from some of the books. They are gorgeous! And I am sure the Cheerwine I brought him had nothing to do with him handing over all that swag <G>. I will be giving away a set of these at the end.

Is this Pamela or Sapphire and what is she doing to Baaart!?

Pamela Kinney (AKA Sapphire Phelan) As Pamela she has written two non-fiction books about ghost stories in Virginia called Haunted Richmond, Virginia and Haunted Virginia: Legends, Myths and True Tales from Schiffer Books . As her alter-ego Sapphire, she writes in the romance genre about aliens, werewolves, vampires, fairies, including other supernatural and otherworldly heroes & heroines. I have a signed CD copy of her romance novel To Teach an Ancient God to give away.

I also talked with author Alethia Kontis. Her highly anticipated debut Young Adult fairy tale Enchanted hits shelfs this May. What a lovely person and she wears a tiara, pretty much a win in my book <G>. She has also published some children's picture books and The Dark-Hunter Companion with Sherrilyn Kenyon. You can find her: website-FB-twitter

I briefly chatted with actor Richard Hatch who acted on Battlestar Galactica, Murder, She Wrote, T.J. Hooker, Dynasty and MacGyver just to name a few. I was Team Apollo back in the day.

There were a few independent film makers like
The Adrenalin Group and Mad Ones Films

I want to give shout outs to some of the people I met:

Black Raven Paranormal

a paranormal investigation team in Virginia. They do free and professional investigations. They are now offering Haunted Retreats where you can be a guest investigator!

Intervention 2012 (Sept 21-23)
This “internet convention” is meant to Intervene and Inspire the whole family to embrace Technology, Digital Media, and the potential of the Internet in order to make a better world.


Beck Kramer

A wonderful sketch artist.

I met my first Delek. It was quite noisy.

And last but not least, there was one zombie, who came with me. My teenage daughter Ren making her second appearance as

The Con Prom Zombie.

Baaart will be posting his pictures very soon.

In the meantime I have a few things to give away:

*set of 40 amazing Seventh Star Press artwork cards

*CD of Sapphire Phelan's To Teach an Ancient God

*signed card + button from Sherrilyn Kenyon

*small book of Beck Kramer sketches

*various swag

*moon pie and Kool-Aid

1. Leave a way to contact you

2. Tell me what you would like to dress up as for a Con...

Contest ends March 7th at midnight. DOUBLE entries for followers!

Sheep Review: Fair Game by Patricia Briggs + Giveaway

By: Sharon Stogner
Co-Founder & Media Relations
*I received this ARC copy from Penguin Group USA


“Leslie learned two valuable things about the fae that day. They were powerful and charming-and they ate children and puppies.” Pg. 7 Fair Game

After reading this sentence I knew I was going to love this book, as well as Briggs. Fair Game is the third book in Patricia Briggs's Alpha and Omega series, and the first Briggs' book I have read. I am a big dark Urban Fantasy fan and people have been telling me for years to try her books, and let me just say I was not disappointed. Even though I jumped into this series at book three, I had no problem immersing myself into the impressive world Briggs has created and her unique characters. She is a master storyteller, creating a cast of characters I quickly connected to, as well as a story which was fast-paced, riveting and written particularly damn well.

They say opposites attract. And in the case of werewolves Anna Latham and Charles Cornick, they mate. The son-and enforcer-of the leader of the North American werewolves, Charles is a dominant alpha. While Anna, an omega, has the rare ability to calm others of her kind.

Now that the werewolves have revealed themselves to humans, they can't afford any bad publicity. Infractions that could have been overlooked in the past must now be punished, and the strain of doing his father's dirty work is taking a toll on Charles.

Nevertheless, Charles and Anna are sent to Boston, when the FBI requests the pack's help on a local serial killer case. They quickly realize that not only the last two victims were werewolves-all of them were. Someone is targeting their kind. And now Anna and Charles have put themselves right in the killer's sights...

My favorite paranormal creatures are the Fae and shifters, and guess what this story is about? Needless to say, I was thrilled. The plot of this book focuses on two major story arcs carried over from the first two books of the series, as well as a new mystery that must be solved in this one. Anna and Charles are mated in this book, but his job as the Pack enforcer and executioner is having a negative impact on his mental health and by extension his relationship with Anna. I absolutely love Charles, he's an old school alpha male, which means he doesn’t apologize for or try to hide what he is. Others around him submit without even realizing what they are doing. Charles carries the world on his shoulders and feels the need to always be strong, only he has finally met his match and instead of protecting his mate he has put her in danger. I also love Briggs’s werewolf mythology, in which the wolf is a distinct and separate personality from the human. The wolf and man take care of each other and consult to decide the best way to handle things. Sometimes one will take control without asking, especially if it's to protect themselves or their mate. Anna is an Omega, a rare type of werewolf, she has a calming effect on those around her and alphas can’t force her into submission, making her the perfect match for Charles. I like her strong will and gentle touch and I find their romance passionate and swoon worthy.

Not only do Charles and Anna have to work on their relationship, they must jump through political hoops while containing a P.R. nightmare with the human world. The werewolves and other supernatural creatures like the Fae and witches are trying to co-exist with humans, but it isn’t going very well. It appears that someone is trying to sabotage the delicate peace. In this book, Anna and Charles are working with the FBI to track a serial killer who is preying upon Weres and Fae. Anna and Charles hope that by working with the FBI they can prove that humans and shifters can work together. In this particular case, someone or something has kidnapped the human daughter of a very old Fae Lord who will stop at nothing to get her back. Alistair Beauclaire is everything I love about the Fae; old, confident, powerful, and indifferent except when it comes to the ones he loves. Alistair said it best when talking to Charles about what he is willing to do to save his child.

“It is not wise to give something old and powerful something they care about. And I am very old.” pg. 126 Fair Game

Briggs has created a complex and captivating world that I can’t wait to visit again. The story, characters and quality of writing make this a must read.

5 "smitten with Briggs" sheep

Berkley Publishing Group (Ace) is offering a signed copy of On the Prowl to one lucky reader. US ONLY
and I Smell Sheep will be giving away a signed copy of Fair Game US ONLY
*signed copy will be mailed after March 15

To enter:

1. Leave a way to contact you in the comments

2. Tell us how you follow (FB, Twitter etc.)

3. Tell me, do you like your alpha males hard and crunchy or soft and chewy?

Contest ends: March 6th

Fun stuff from Think Geek for any occasion!

Did some window shopping. I adore this site. Check out all the cool things I found. Got a birthday coming up? Send them this link so they can shop for you.

Soft Kitty Singing Plush Sings "Soft Kitty." Polyester fiber. All new material. Do not machine wash. Surface clean with a damp cloth. For ages 3+.

Le Whif Breathable Chocolate ..also in coffee flavor! Contains 18mg caffeine per serving.

Melting Clock even if the clock is stretched and pulled like taffy, it still tells accurate time... unless you're spiraling towards the event horizon of a black hole, or traveling at relativistic speeds where time tends to slow and stretch. Hmm... maybe Dali was thinking about special relativity after all?

Floppy Disk Sticky Notes It's a sticky note pad Write your awesome notes on the "label" of the disk, then stick Comes as a 3-pack of floppy disks notepads, in assorted colors

Swedish FireSteel Originally developed for the Swedish Department of Defense, Swedish FireSteel is a flash of genius. Its nearly 3,000°C spark makes fire building easy in any weather, at any altitude.

SpyNet Night Vision Mission Video Watch Basically, it's everything you could want crammed into one cool looking watch. Read on, and become enamored with the SpyNet Night Vision Video Watch, too. Ok, sound recorder, video recorder, still picture cam (with time lapse) - check, check, and check. But then cram in some downloadable spy missions, games, and apps, and you've almost got a full list of the SpyNet Night Vision Video Watch's features. And get this: it tells time, too! And, if you really need to go covert, snag the Snake Cam Add-On.

Deluxe Jedi Robe

BaconPop - Bacon Flavored Popcorn Everything is better with bacon and this popcorn is so much better, you'll never go back to regular popcorn. Ever.

Shocking Pen

Star Wars Lightsaber Pen A pen for a more civilized era Available in red, blue, and green Comes in a tin collector's box to protect it (since it's lucky!) NOTE: Luckiness of pen may vary.

Zombie Mints Zombie Mints are not to be trifled with. They are Undead Approved for stinkening your breath. Are you brave enough to try some? Go on . . . we dare you. For nutrition information, click here.

PorkKleen Bacon Scented Hand Sanitizer Product Specifications Bacon scented hand sanitizer for humans Be germ-free and smell like delicious meat Are you as clean as a pig? You can be! Each bottle contains 2.25 ounces of hand sanitizer

Electronic Rock Guitar Shirt All major chords are recorded from a real electric guitar, and the included magnetic pick allows you to strum just like you would a real guitar. The included mini amp clips to your belt and gets plenty loud with great sounding amplification circuitry. The tone knob on the amp lets you adjust the sound just like a real guitar.

Geeky Wrapping Paper Each pack of wrapping paper contains 4 sheets. Each sheet is 20" x 30". Many trees *were* harmed to bring you these unique creations, but it was all in good fun so what can we do?

Rubik's Cube Salt & Pepper Mills What better way to pay some homage to the days of your culinary roots then with these puzzling retro style grinders. Each cube is built around a high-quality ceramic grinding mill. The top layer of the cube rotates to operate the mill. The action of grinding the pepper or salt has the same feel and sound as the classic Rubik's cube puzzle. Dimensions: 5.7 x 5.7 x 5.7cm

Death Star Wall Cling Keep the Death Star in your hearts and minds by proudly displaying this vinyl depiction of the new Death Star in your bedroom or office! 50 inches in diameter, this highly detailed cling looks fantastic! See the detail of all the unfinished decks still being built! Note the enormous planet-buster cannon - it almost looks fully armed and operational, doesn't it? All proceeds from the sale of the Death Star Wall Cling go directly to the Imperial Fund to Rebuild the Death Star.

Zombie Family Car Decals Stick on decals to make a zombie family on your car Black, white, and red stickers Includes: Mom, Dad, Daughter, Son, Baby, Dog, Cat, Fish Sizes from 1.25" (fish) to 5.5" (Dad)