WIP it real good with Urban Fantasy Author Linda Welch

We have a new guest post feature for authors. I love getting snippets from an author's W.I.P. (work in progress). So here is a chance to share a  bit of what you have in store for readers.

Urban fantasy author Linda Welch

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-Linda's current WIP: Dark Demon Risen, Whisperings Paranormal Mystery book seven. Coming 2015.

Sharon: ACK! I've been reading Linda's paranormal mystery series, Whisperings, since the beginning. Now I'm worried...

Whisperings series

Along Came a Demon (book 1) is always free

The Demon Hunters (book 2)

Dead Demon Walking (book 3)

Demon Demon Burning Bright (book 4)

Demon on a Distant Shore (book 5)

A Conspiracy of Demons (book 6)

Downside Novels

Downside Rain (book 1) sale $.99

Baelfleur (book 2)

Linda Welch guest post "Who is Tiff Banks?"

Today we have one of my favorite authors Linda Welch. She writes The Whisperings paranormal mystery series. Book six, A Conspiracy of Demons, was recently released. Her books have a dark edge to them and most importantly our heroine, Tiff Banks, has a smoking hot partner named Royal. Linda is going to tell us the question she gets asked most and tell us a little bit about Tiff Banks.

Whether there are many people in your life, or only a few, losing one hits just as hard. An old friend is murdered, and a new friend stops by long enough to provide a listening ear where Royal and I need it most. Conducting our investigation under Provo PDs radar involves enough shenanigans to make this gal have nightmares, and that I'm a "person of interest" doesn't make it any easier.

You'll never believe where this investigation takes us. Never in a million years. Not in your wildest imagination.

Together with the High House, we uncover a plot of epic dimensions. Can we put a stop to it? When desperate times call for desperate measures, will there be casualties?

As if a major catastrophe in the making isn't enough to deal with, a conversation prompts me to relook at a decades old case closer to home. What I discover makes me face a tough decision. Do I tell the police and get myself in a heap of trouble? Do I tell the victims? Or do I let it go?

“Is that really you?”

You won’t believe how many times I was asked that question until I wrote a piece for the Indie Chicks Anthology in December, 2011, which included a picture of yours truly. After that, few people confused me with Tiff Banks, the main character in my Whisperings paranormal mystery series.

I thought an avatar of Tiff was a good promotional tool when I joined Facebook and Twitter back in 2009. She is seen from the rear, with her Scottish terrier MacKlutzy at her feet and a host of ghosts in front of her. I still use the avatar, except Tiff’s hair is now braided, whereas before it hung loose down her back. Tiff wears blue jeans, brown boots and a black sweater. Nothing sexy about that, yet some people, apparently, found it attractive. Yeah, I’m talking about men. Mostly, it was the long hair. They asked me, “Is that really you?” and “Is that really your hair?” I denied it. They didn't seem to believe me. “Your hair is beautiful,” they kept saying.

One local journalist Tweeted, “Is that really your butt?” followed by, “I find it very relaxing.” To which I replied, “Thank you. I think.”

Another Tweet simply said, “Turn around.”

Much as I would like to lay claim to a relaxing backside – or perhaps not – the avatar looks nothing like me.

Who is Tiff Banks? She carries a gun and generally hits what she aims at, but she’s no marks-woman  She doesn't wear micro-skirts and midriff-revealing tops. No high heels either, because contrary to what you see on TV and the movies, running down a suspect while wearing four-inch heels will likely result in a broken ankle. Tiff wears jean, T-shirts, boots or sneakers. Not that she’s homely; at six-four, with long silver-white hair and pale skin, Tiff is a striking figure and a startling contrast to her partner. Royal Mortensen is tall, exotic and built, with long copper and gold hair, lightly burnished skin and mesmerizing copper eyes. Everything a red-blooded girl could want, except he’s not 100% human.

I don’t look like Tiff, but I could be her. Yeah, sure I could. I could talk to dead people. Though not the really grisly deaths, and talking to dead children would be hard. And living with Tiff’s dead roommates Jack and Mel would drive me crazy.

Okay, so maybe not the “talking to dead people” part. And I wouldn't like being chased by demons, or shooting bad guys, or dealing with grouchy police captain Mike Warren. And forget hiking up mountains. But Royal. . . . Ah, Royal. When the sparks fly and the heat rises, I’d happily step into Tiff’s shoes.

It goes without saying, though, that Tiff and I are alike in some ways. Her opinions on a wide range of topics are mine. We’re both impatient, and take very little at face value. Although I don’t share my home with two dead people, I know living people as irritatingly needy as Tiff’s dead roommates. We both adore food. Long years ago, my mother told me some people eat to live and others live to eat. Tiff and I are of the latter variety. I think, because I can’t indulge this particular passion and not look like a blimp, I live gratuitously through Tiff – she enjoys some yummy food in the Whisperings books.

Tiff and I love our Scottish terriers, Tiff’s feisty MacKlutzy and my Duncan. We spoil them with treats, and at the same time tell them they’re getting fat and it’s bad for them. We worry about them as a mother worries about her children.

And I admit I may be just a touch cranky until I get my first cup of coffee in the morning.

If only I had Tiff’s figure, and her hot demon partner. . . .

Please read an excerpt from Whisperings book one: Along Came a Demon.

“You have to trust me, Tiff.”

Trust him? I wanted to and had no idea why. I wanted to believe him. I wanted him to be the good guy. But was it wishful thinking because he was lip-smacking gorgeous, or did he use demon magic to sway me? Either way, trusting him was not a wise choice, not with what I knew about demons and this one in particular. And he had not said anything to persuade me he told the truth.

All I had was the word of a demon, and sorry, it was not enough.

Another silence with the clock tocking in the background and his gaze riveted to my face. I wondered what his hair would look like loose, sliding over his shoulders.

We sat and stared at each other. Don’t look in his eyes, don’t look! I told myself, but I did.

He shifted on the bed to face me, leaned in, and I thought he must hear my heartbeat. I forced my body erect, but my nipples embarrassed me by perking beneath my nightgown. Loose as it was, they still stood up like happy little mountain peaks. His gaze went to them; he very slowly arched one eyebrow.

I crossed my arms over my breasts. “Cold in here.”

Supporting himself with one hand on the mattress, he leaned in yet closer. “It must be you. I feel . . . warm.” And the bastard unfastened the top button of his shirt, then the next one down, baring a triangle of smooth, pale-copper skin, looking in my eyes all the while.

His eyes twinkled with what could be amusement.

I glared angrily, shamed by my body’s response as I realized he laughed at me. Or . . . teased? He saw my reaction and teased me? Teasing was outside my experience. Taunting, yes, teasing, no. The guy had some nerve, waltzing in here and having fun at my expense.

I thought I had learned to control my facial expression and body language long ago, but Royal Mortensen read me. What began as a muffled chuckle came from his mouth as a guffaw. I grew hot with mortification as he composed his features.

He said in a low, throaty voice, “If I can prove you’re wrong in one thing, will you listen to me?”

I hugged myself tighter, said briskly. “Tell me and I’ll think about it.”

He disarmed me with a broad smile. “I don’t have pointy teeth, Tiff.”

And he didn’t. His teeth were white and even and perfect in his delectable mouth. But that proved nothing, not when I’d already seen a demon alter his entire face. “Huh! Neat trick.”

He came in nearer. I tried to disappear in my pillows.

“Seriously. I had them capped.”

“Capped? So people like me won’t know what you are?”

“No.” This close, he smelled of sandalwood and amber. “So I can do this.” He put his hands on the sides of my face and his mouth fastened on mine.

It was deep and hungry and utterly consuming. His lips were velvet fingers, exploring mine, drawing my breath. I could have lived in his kiss for the rest of my life. When he pulled back, a little gasping puff of air escaped my mouth.

And he didn’t have pointed teeth.

Stunned. I was stunned by a kiss.

His hands still cradled my cheeks, and we gazed in each other’s eyes. The only sound was my heavy breathing and the tock of the old carriage clock on the mantle. He looked alien, with his parti-colored metallic hair and gleaming eyes, and incongruous against the backdrop of the pastel greens and fawns of my bedroom. His skin was so smooth; it had an ageless quality. And his eyes were depthless.

He let me go and sat back, and I blinked back to the here and now. He’s a demon, Tiff! I told myself. Don’t let that kiss fool you.

I licked my lips. “If I ask you to leave, will you?”

“Are you sure you want me to, Tiff?”

“Yes.”

He dropped his chin so I couldn’t properly see his face.

“Did you really have your teeth capped so you could kiss me?” I couldn’t resist asking as he got to his feet.

His smile was slow and wicked. “Well, not you in particular.”

And then he was gone.

Damn! Nothing should be able to move so fast!

“If a man kissed me like that I’d be ripping his clothes off, not pissing him off.”

My mouth dropped open and I twisted to look at the corner of the room near the window. Mel stood against the wall next the fireplace, Jack beside her.

“What were you two in life? Peeping Toms?”

Jack pushed away from the wall. “Did you hear the one about the dead Peeping Tom?”

“Out! Or God help me I will call in an exorcist!” 

About the author
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Linda Welch was born in Hampshire, England, and still has a British accent, as those who have heard her dulcet tones will attest. She lived in Idaho, California and New Mexico before settling in Utah. She now lives in a mountain valley, more or less halfway up the mountainside, with her husband and Scottish terrier. Unlike Tiff Banks, the heroine of Linda's Whispering series of paranormal mysteries, she is not tall and white-haired, and does not see demons. What she does see are moose, deer, raccoon, skunk, wild turkey, a huge bird population and a ridiculous amount of snow. When not writing and depending on the season, she is usually tending to the Scottie, filling the bird feeders, futilely attacking the weeds in her garden or shoveling out after a snowstorm.

Look for Whisperings Paranormal Mysteries: 

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book one: Along Came a Demon.
book two: The Demon Hunters.
book three: Dead Demon Walking.
book four: Demon Demon Burning Bright.
book five: Demon on a Distant Shore.

Also: Femme Fatales, a dark urban fantasy short story collection.

Sheep Review: Femme Fatales by Linda Welch

The author of Whisperings Paranormal Mysteries takes you to a future where creatures of magic and myth openly mingle with humans, or hide inside other skins. When Mankind and the Otherworldy live side by side, who are the monsters?

Let Me Bring You Into The Light
Priestess Veronica accepts gifts for the temple, and rewards supplicants in the name of her god. When she whispers in their ear, they leave with a smiling face and promise to return. They will return, time after time, until she brings them into the light.
Harpy Song
Special investigator by night, the ultimate housewife by day, Rhea adores cooking, cleaning and pampering her husband Penn. One evening she witnesses a neighbor’s brutality. Someone should have told him, nobody had better disturb Rhea’s domestic bliss.
Cast in Stone
Meddie has been here since the dawn of the world. Lauded for her art, she captures the mighty and the lowly in stone.
Come Fly with Me
The gargoyle thinks she has seen everything on Earth, but when she decides to die and her soul flees to a human body, she learns the evil of which men are capable.
Troll Love
Ashamed of her stunted body, little Brillig does not think a man can love her. When she falls for Christian and her feelings are reciprocated, she must choose between her desire, and his life.
Gladiators
Jo is a bounty hunter and gladiator undefeated in the arena. Betrayed by her elven lover, she and her friend Etta are doomed. But Jo has an edge

I really didn’t know what to expect when I downloaded this anthology. Linda Welch writes one of my favorite paranormal mysteries, The Whispering Series. I enjoy her writing style, humor and the dark edge to those stories, but she said this anthology was very different from those books. Boy, are they ever! And in the good way. These short stories are dark urban fantasy with a horror element, my kind of reading. The tag line for Femme Fatales could have been: Welcome to the dark side, we have monsters!

What I loved most about this anthology, other than how the women in these stories go from prey to predator in a blink of an eye, was the unique world-building. Usually authors first create a world in a novel and then release some cool short stories set in that world. As a result, sometimes you have to be familiar with the novels to really appreciate the shorts. Welch did things the other way around. During the course of the 6 stories she masterfully created a fascinating and disturbing world in which each story about a different woman living Austin, TX 50 years after the Great Cataclysm when the Earth split and creatures of the “otherworld” entered and the elves took control. Under the elves’ feudal style of government things are getting better, but the humans and other races are beginning to want their freedom back. Each short story gives us another POV of what life is like in this new world. I would love this anthology just based on the world building technique. Be warned, these stories are dark and life is brutal in this new world, but the vengeance is sweet.

only $.99!

4 “I like the way you taste” Sheep!

Femme Fatales is only available as an ebook, The Whispering Novels can be purchased as paper or ebook

Book Review: Dead Demon Walking by Linda Welch

Dead Demon Walking (Whispering #3)
by Linda Welch

The sequel to Along Came a Demon and The Demon Hunters.

Is it just me? Is anyone else and their sweetie whisked from a romantic getaway and end up in the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington DC? I don't even get to show Royal my new sexy underwear.

The FBI think I'm a Medium. They want me to "communicate" with the victims of a particularly brutal crime. I have a hard time believing the Federal Bureau of Investigation would seek the help of a psychic investigator, particularly one from Utah. I don't think they're being honest with me.

What I discover at the crime scene tells me the killer is not human. I'm surprised when the agents reach the same conclusion. Luckily, they are way off base.

I don't expect to revisit old places, or see old faces who demand we quit the case. I don't expect to risk losing everything and everyone I cherish.

And what is it with Jack and Dale Jericho?

This is the third book in Linda’s fantastic paranormal mystery series and probably my favorite of the three (of course any book with Royal in it is going to be high on my list, but more on him later…) What I love most about this series (other than Royal, see a theme here?) is the writing. The expert use of description touches all my senses. I can see, hear and taste things vividly (don’t read this book on an empty stomach because there is a lot of delicious food mentioned). I also love the first person POV. Tiff Banks is smart and no nonsense with a tendency to speak her mind before she thinks, but it is balanced with her insecurities when it comes to Royal, her non-human partner and lover.

Linda does a good job of brining new readers up to speed with the plot, but the events of this story are closely related to what happened in book #2 The Demon Hunters. I suggest readers new to the series start with book #1, Along Came a Demon (only $.99 for kindle).

We learn more about one of Tiff’s ghost roommate, Jack. Yes, she lives with two ghosts, who add quite a bit of humor to the series. The mysterious Dark Cousins, who Tiff was hoping to never see again, have reappeared after a string of brutal murders. Tiff can see the ghosts of people who were violently killed and unfortunately they appear to her the way they died so this isn’t what you would call a “cozy” mystery <G>.

While this is a mystery style series there is a strong, but not overpowering, romantic element. Tiff and Royal’s first meetings had me laughing, and I have enjoyed watching their relationship mature to where it is now in book #3. There is a scene in the book when Tiff realizes what Royal means to her that had my in tears. For those who love a good alpha male, Royal will melt your heart (he cooks for freaking sake!) and Linda’s expertise with description will have you wanting a demon of your own. But I must add here that we meet a rather arrogant and, from my POV, smexy friend of Royal’s named Christopher Plowman (I will refrain from making a crude comment here, you are welcome <G>) and I hope he appears in the next book.

5 ‘zoom, zoom’ Sheep

Along Came a Demon (Whisperings) (Whisperings Paranormal Mystery) ($.99 kindle)

The Demon Hunters, Whisperings book two. (Whisperings Paranormal Mystery)Dead Demon Walking,
($2.99 kindle)
Whisperings book three. (Whisperings Paranormal Mysteries) ($2.99 kindle)

Swagday is here! PRIZES!!!

Are you ready to try a new author or a new genre?
Remember my post about dragging someone out of their box to try something new? Well, it is time to give away some books and some swag.

All you need to do is:

Leave your name and email in the comments below.
Tell me what box you "normally" read in. Example: PNR, UF, YA.
Play the game (you don't have to get them all right, but you got to play)
Earn an extra point for being a follower.

What will you win?

1. A cool doggie tote bag filled with swag from our featured authors as well as some surprise stuff, including Sheep Swag!

2. Three of these books (depends on which ones are new to you) I have read all these books. You can't go wrong with any that you pick. I have signed a singed copy of Afterlife and Nightwalker, and ARC of The Iron Duke, and a paper copy of Demon Slayer. You will have to receive ecopies of Along Came a Demon and Shades of Gray, Devil Without a Cause can be paper or ecopy.
3. In addition, I will send a book and some writing supplies to a soldier overseas in your name through Operation Paperback.

The Game to play for the winning to happen!

Match the Author to their pet
1. Linda Welch
2. Jocelynn Drake
3. Terri Garey
4. Angie Fox
5. Meljean Brook
6. Merrie Destefano
7. Joleene Naylor






Your entry should look like this: 1a, 2b, 3c, 4d...


*~*~*~*~*~~*Blog Shout Out is for Literary Escapism~*~*~*~*~*

L.E. was the first blog I joined when I started trolling the web to satisfy my need for UF and PNR. This is my go to place for a printable copy of release dates. Jackie manages to run a great blog while being a mom to two young boys. Jackie, you ROCK! Thanks for all your hard work :)


Jackie has offered up an awesome bag of swag (I peeked at it). I will pick a random person from all who get the matching game answers correct.



So, there you have it! Play the game, answer the question and get the heck out of your box! (if you have any questions or feedback about this contest please contact me at sstogner1[at]gmail[dot]com)










Featured author swag

Fox: signed So I Married A Demon Slayer cover flat, signed set of Demon Slayer trading cards, book thong

Destefano: Feast magnet, Afterlife and Feast buttons, bookmark, postcard

Drake: Magnets for Nightwalker, Dayhunter, Dawn Breaker

Brook: Demon Marked trading cards, bookmarks

Garey: Signed Devil Without a Cause coverflat, bookmarks

Naylor: Signed set of her Amaranthine Night character trading cards (featuring her own artwork)

Welch: Signed copy of Along Came a Demon (book one) and Dead Demon Walking (book two) T-shirt

You also get a dog collar (says "Dogs Rule, Cats Drool) and a doggie tote bag full of swag from these authors: Kerrelyn Sparks, E.J. Stevens, Sylvia Day, Anne Elizabeth, Sophia Jordan, Jennifer Estep, Colleen Gleason, Larrisa Ione, Tera Lynn Childs, Erin Kellison, Karin Tabke, Donna Grant, Pamela Palmer, Jamie Rush, Michelle Hauf, Helen Lowe, Rachel Aaron, Lisa Hendrix, Leah Cypess, Jessa Slade, Tracey O'Hara, Casey Daniels

You will have a swaggasm!

Good luck contest ends Friday June 17 at midnight, and thanks for playing. Visit our featured authors sites to learn more about their work.

SS