GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ Release Day Character post: Children of Shadows by Joleene Naylor + giveaway | I Smell Sheep

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Release Day Character post: Children of Shadows by Joleene Naylor + giveaway


It’s nice to be back here at I Smell Sheep. As you can see, we’re hanging out in the living room of the Amaranthine character complex. It’s like a huge, imaginary house where all the Amaranthine characters live.


Livingroom.jpg (photo credit: Danilo Nunez Jr via Flickr -  )

Today Children of Shadows, the sixth book in my paranormal series, is finally released. To celebrate I wanted to do something really special for my characters. They’ve put up with a lot from me. I’ve killed some of them, tortured others, and made more than one express their “feelings”. That kind of stuff can really get to them after a while.

Oh, I think I hear our protagonist, Katelina, and her vampire boyfriend Jorick approaching. Quick, let’s hide so we can hear how grateful they are!

~~~~~~
Katelina: *looks around*What’s this? *picks up the letter from the coffee table* Looks like our wonderful author has gotten us some movies and popcorn as a reward for all the crap she’s done to us. Joy.
Jorick: A better reward would be writing lessons for her. *pokes the bag of microwaved popcorn* She does remember that vampires don’t eat?

Katelina: I guess it’s all for me, then. Oh great! It’s low fat. Who buys low fat microwave popcorn?

Author’s note: The low fat popcorn was on sale. I’m not made of money. Oh look, there’s Verchiel, the vampire Jorick loves to hate.

Verchiel: Hello, lovelies! What’s this message to come to the – Oh! Popcorn. Are there movies, too?
Katelina: *waves letter* Apparently our author felt we didn’t deserve to go to a real theater because we’re, and I quote, “motley”, so she rented some DVDs for us.
Verchiel: *grabs the stack*Let’s see. There’s Kung Fu Rabbit, A Case of You, Two Brothers/Flipper Double Feature, and Venom.
Katelina: My God. She had all the DVDs in the world to pick from and that’s our selection?

Author’s Note: No, I had a handful of choices in Redbox. It’s a Saturday. There’s not much left.

Jorick: Who or what is Kung Fu Rabbit?

Verchiel: *pulls out his smart phone* Let’s google these bad boys and see what they are. Okay. Kung Fu Rabbit is a cuddly rabbit who think s with his tummy and… eh, it looks like a Kung Fu Panda rip-off.
Jorick: I have no idea what that is.

Verchiel: A Case of You is a chick flick where some guy pretends to be something he’s not to land the girl. Flipper is self-explanatory feel-good-family-time, and Two Brothers is the same, but with tiger cubs. And Venom… Ohhh! Snake bite, desert, desperate dash for salvation. I think we have a winner!
Jorick: *growls at Verchiel with his best, dark, menacing expression* No. No snakes. No chick flicks. Now, what exactly is Flipper?

Katelina: Are you serious? What, are we ten now?
Verchiel: It’s Flipper. Like the TV show about the dolphin. *sings* “They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning, No one you see, is smarter than he!”
Jorick: *covers ears* For the love of all that’s holy stop!

Verchiel: Just trying to help.
Katelina: No animal movies, and no snakes. Ugh. I hate snakes.
Jorick: No chick flick.

Verchiel: Um, you guys are aware that that leaves us with Kung Fu Rabbit, right?
Katelina: Just put the chick movie on!
Jorick: I am not watching a movie about a man who is so pathetic he has to lie to get the woman of his dreams. If he can’t win her by being himself then either she’s a vapid, shallow shrew who’s unworthy of his attention, or else he’s a sad, pathetic creature who doesn’t have any redeeming qualities for her to love. I fail to see how that can be entertaining.

Katelina: Because that’s not the story! It’s just that he lacks self confidence in who he really is, and in the end she’ll come to love him for his true self, yadda, yadda, and everyone learns the valuable lesson that being yourself is best because you are really a worthwhile and interesting individual. That’s how they always end.
Jorick: Why watch it if you know the end?

Verchiel: I’m with Jorick. Let’s watch the snakes chasing the mom and the little girl through the desert.
Jorick: No. I’d rather... I think...Maybe the dolphin...The tigers…No. We’re not going to watch anything.

Katelina & Verchiel: What?

Jorick: We don’t have time to waste on this crap. We have to appear in other guest posts for the rest of this God forsaken tour, and one hopes our horrible author will work on the next book soon.

Verchiel: Whoa! Slow down. This is our book release celebration! There’s no need to worry about the next book already.
Jorick: It beats this crap. *points to DVDs*

Author’s note: Pssst! I’ve had it. You might want to stay low, but I’m through hiding! *leaps out from behind furniture* Characters! It is I, your amazing author! I took the time to think of this nice reward for you, and what do I hear? Bitching, griping, complaining! Well, that’s it. I’m taking it back. *grabs popcorn and DVDs* If you don’t want to watch them, then I’ll be more than happy to. Except this one. *tosses the chick flick to Katelina* It’s all yours. And now, I’m leaving.

*Strides out*

Verchiel: Well, that was uncomfortable.
Jorick: more like irritating. Come on Katelina.

Katelina: Actually, I think I’m gonna watch the movie.
Verchiel: I’ll watch it with-
Jorick: *grabs Verchiel* Oh no, you won’t. You’re going to stay as far away from Katelina as possible until our crappy author forces you to be near her, and even then you’re going to back off. Got it?

*Jorick drags Verchiel away. Alone, Katelina pops the DVD in and gets comfy on the couch*

Katelina: *sighs* I hope the rest of the book release is better than this.
~~~~~~


The sixth installment of the Amaranthine series pulsates with the dark blood of vampire lore.

The Children of Shadows, a vampire cult not seen for hundreds of years, resurfaces to wage war on the vampire guilds. Led by a familiar face, the cult wreaks havoc while Katelina and Jorick are trapped in Munich. Ume, a mysterious vampiress, claims to know Verchiel and offers the help of her secret organization. But can they trust her?

As mysteries are solved, new ones appear. Why have the Children of Shadows returned, and is it really a former ally that leads them, or a look-alike?

Legends rise and secrets are revealed in a world where vampires walk, drenched in blood and shadows.

About the Author:
Joleene Naylor grew up in southwest Iowa surrounded by soybeans, corn and very little entertainment – so she made her own. She has been writing and drawing since she was a small child, with a particular leaning towards fantasy, horror and paranormal. It is this love of all that goes bump in the night that led her to write the Amaranthine series.

In her spare time she is a freelance artist, book cover designer and photographer. Joleene maintains blogs full of odd ramblings and hopes to win the lottery. Until she does, she and her husband live near Bolivar Missouri with their miniature zoo. However, unless she starts buying tickets she won’t win anything.

13 comments:

  1. I loved this. Sigh. Jorick always gets his way. They should have watched 'Flipper', it might have eased his mood. Congrats on this book, one of your best.

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    1. Thanks so much, Donna! ha ha! you should see the look jorick is giving me (and now I sound crazy...) ;)

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks Aurian! (That's a cool name, by the way!)

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  3. I like the "Movie Night" post. I think it is cool that you make your characters aware they're being written.

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  4. How have I missed this series??!! I MUST read this. Thanks for a great and fun interview.

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    1. I agree!!! I really love her writing style and the dark nature of the story.

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