We fell in love with this series with the first book. It has taken some time for the next two installments of the series to come in, but while you wait for book four- here are the new covers. Enjoy! I think they look every bit the porcelain like goddesses they portray. If you haven’t picked up the series yet, follow the links.
A limited number of books are available with the older covers, visit http://www.DeserieKelly.com for more information
We never have a Liquid Friday without a drink of some kind.
Outside of green tea which she drinks all day, Deserie is fond of 3 parts black tea (Assam is you have it- though any black tea works fine) and 1 part Passionfruit juice. No tapioca balls or sugar required- just serve over ice and enjoy.
We hope you try our mocktail and get some good reads in this week.
This week is so filled with celebrations, I want to take a moment and wish everyone Happy Mardi Gras, Happy Lunar New Year, Happy Valentine’s Day, and more. There is also a special birthday on Valentine’s Day, so happy birthday Claire- hope it’s the best yet!
If I missed any of our reader’s birthdays, I hope it was amazing and you had lots of fun.
Enjoy this last week before the Christian Lenten season begins and people turn to more spiritual pursuits.
During lent I look for organizations to work with either through sponsorship or stewardship to help out those in need, local and abroad. Since the troublemaker and I wear many hats that can mean entertaining for charitable walks, food pantries, fundraisers… or donating to some local charities or people in need.
For this weekend, however, I’m going to some festivals and parties. I’ll be making some hurricanes (see my 2023 blogs for the recipe and make them at home or somewhere you don’t need to drive to, just to be as safe as possible) and some gumbo for one party and spicy chicken skewers for the other.
I’m also stopping by a Super Bowl party with some treats. I don’t know who you want to win this Super Bowl Sunday, but I’ll be watching and then continuing with festivities for Mardi Gras and the Lunar New Year.
Then, just when the week is going to start and you think there would be a break to settle down, blam!!! I’ll be making chocolate covered everything for Valentine’s Day (candied orange rind, strawberries, marshmallows, and pretzels).
All scheduling aside, I find myself working at lightning speed on my pursuits because I live day to day with an autoimmune disease that can shut me down for a week or two at a time. If I seem a little maniacal it’s only because I know I am racing the clock to get things done before something like pollen, perfume, dairy, or weather forces me to take a break.
I find myself planning things just to keep motivated, not that I need the extra work with a house full of imps that drive me bonkers and the cutest dog in creation, but still… I feel like Alice In Wonderland some days with one pill that makes me feel smaller and another that makes me feel bigger. Better living through chemistry has its moments. I’ve had undifferentiated autoimmune disease for about 14 years since diagnosis (probably an additional 14 years living with it before the doctor discovered what it was) at this point and sometimes I need to just live through my stories because the body won’t cooperate regardless of what potion I drink or eat.
We all have things we work through and I know it can be hard at times. I find something wonderful and go with it as long as I can. A supportive partner or friend is also a game changer, and sometimes if all you can have together is misadventures remember to laugh about it.
On the plus side, Spring is on the way. A few conspiring rodents decided it, so let’s just go with that.
Some goodies for our readers-
Don’t forget these two treats are available on KU for a limited time and are also at a special price for download or paperback.
I think most of us began as fearless children, the ones that wanted to jump the highest on the trampoline, swing highest, build a ramp and take it at top speed, sit on the edge of a cliff and looked down, rode the Cyclone as many times as they’d let us in a row(trust me it was a lot)… we set the bar high.
What separated us from the rest of the pack wasn’t a lack of imagination of the bad things that could happen with our stunts. To the contrary, we probably had the best imaginations of the horrors that could occur, we just didn’t let fear stop us. We didn’t let anything stop us. We ate that fear like it was sugar coated cereal on a Saturday morning.
While our friends cringed and covered their eyes, ours were wide open. We waited for that little terror to make us giggle and make us feel alive. We were the first to tell spooky stories by the campfire and approached Halloween with religious reverence. (Still the best day of the year)
We played out Horror movies in backyards and parks and got into character, complete with black trash bag capes and weird smelling leftover plastic Halloween masks. The thrill was everything.
And with classic horror movies like Nosferatu, The thing With Two Heads, Mars Needs Women, Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Black Cat, Fall of the House of Usher, the Phantom of the Opera… we got hooked on the terror and the monster themselves. In the 1908’s we saw so many great monster movie remakes. They were brilliant and we were so ready for them.
Then came slasher movies like the Nightmare on Elm Street, Sleepaway Camp, Halloween. Puppet Master… How many of us bought that Freddy Krueger glove and sat in the movie theater for the third or fourth time scaring the wits out of unsuspecting people? Okay, I did but it was all in fun.
We’ve watch so many great vampire films like Near Dark, the Hunger, the Lost Boys, Fright Night… and laughed at so many cheesy ones like Modern Vampires, Vampire’s Kiss, Subspecies, My Best Friend is A Vampire, Vamp… while we were reading incredible books like Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (we’ll chat about that movie later).
And we ate up movies with jump scares like Poltergeist, the Evil Dead, Pet Sematary, the Exorcist, IT, Cujo, the Descent, Hell House and others because we couldn’t get enough. It’s in our blood.
Highschool ended and I packed up my things (movie posters included) to take with me to college. The first day I went room to room knocking on every door trying to find all the horror film fans I could and I brought out my shoebox of vhs horror films and we sat and giggled our asses off watching them. They were also the same group that went to comic book conventions and got the very best vampire/monster/horror comics, some wrapped in brown paper for mature audiences only-but they got them all the same in vinyl bags with backboards or cruised the mall for the bookstores and read every scary word they could find. You know your people and where to find them.
Now we are streaming horror films and playing the audio in our cars or as ringtones on our phones and why not? It’s all in fun, right? Break out the popcorn for viewers in the back while we drive to the latest horror film, horror book signing, vampire convention, book store hunt, or other dark broody adventure.
If your the choosy connoisseur and prefer a signed copy, those will be available directly from me at Vampires of New Jersey Convention on November 18, 2023 from 2p to 8p at QXT’s Night Club, 248 Mulberry St, Newark, NJ.
I’m going to be there and we’re going to have some fun, talk about horror films, books, comics… Promise I’ll keep the Freddy Krueger glove at home, so the scares will have to come from someone else this time (maybe).
Claire will be vending jewelry to die for and I’m going to have some kooky things like filled coffins, goodies, give aways, and we’ll also have Deserie Kelly’s Zodiac Shifters books.
Though I try and celebrate everyday, Halloween is extra special for me. I decorate, bake, make up goody bags with lots of candy, snacks, and prizes for my trick or treaters(sometimes overwhelming them with my costumed dog- Butler), but it’s all in fun.
In that same playful spirit, I am releasing my newest book, Desperately Seeking Vampire: Help Wanted Romance Series to Kindle unlimited and ebook on Amazon (link below the image)
Get your copy now and tell me what you think of it. Does it get you in the mood for some spooky fun?
So easy to get spooky!
I’ll be mixing up a batch of cocktails this evening, before I break out a bottle of Apothic Red Wine and my favorite NY aged cheddar. You can turn any drink spooky with a black olive stuffed cocktail onion. If you’redrinking adult beverages take and Uber or Lyft home and save that blood for a vampire.
Oh, did I mentioned it is a Trilogy… Oh well! Don’t let me get ahead of myself. First we need to pick a drink for this fine evening. So let’s ask Declan if he has any suggestions.
Declan: “Here’s an unusual drink that I discovered in my youth that has a sweet and sour velvety texture. The name of the drink is aptly named Black Velvet. For some reason, it is also called a Snakebite. Concocted to mark the death of Queen Victoria, that historical fact has somehow been lost. The drink is made up of half stout (Guinness) and half champagne, but it is more common the substitute the champagne with cider. it’s usually served in a pint glass so it’s not usually a ladies choice. For the ladies, it could be shared in half pint glasses.”
Now that we got our drink, lets dive into the books.
The entire trilogy is set in the USA, after a climate change drought spanning thirty years has all but destroyed the population. With the constitution long dead and the states fragmented, the ruthless president presides over what is left of the Union, its citizens living in domed citadels.
The only other survivors live off the grid in the wastelands, clinging onto life. This is the story of one such survivor, Jack Cole, whose family is taken by the Denverines as breeding stock for the citadel of Denver, and his lethal journey begins in an effort to rescue them.
This will not be his only challenge. In a world where you can trust no one, death is around every corner and your own worst enemy can be your own psyche. Dragged into a power struggle, he finds himself defending the Union against The Protectorate of Texas, run by AI technology with a conscious agenda. If he fails, humanity will be lost forever in favor of Artificial Intelligence computer algorithms and robotic machines.
Check these fantastic books… only 99c each, for a limited time on Kindle
And here is some more info about our featured guest author and connoisseur of “Black Velvet” cocktail Declan Conner:
Declan lives something of a nomadic life, traveling between Brazil, Portugal, and the UK. Over the last 12 years, he’s published 14 books, mostly thrillers. Besides authoring, he also has a passion for music and his guitar is never far away for the times when writer’s block rears its head. Fortunately, that doesn’t happen too often. More recently he has taken to writing speculative fiction as thrillers set in a future on Earth, fascinated from “what if” scenarios, when considering current disasters, AI, and climate change, and what that could mean for the individuals psyche, not to mention society if taken to extremes.
We are featuring a paranormal teen fantasy this week, so we’ll keep our treats fun and light.
Time of the Silver Dragon: Tales of the Zodiac Shifter Book 1 currently available on Amazon
Storyline: After years of hard work, practice, and sacrifice, Silver has earned the honor of entering the coveted underground martial arts tournament in Chinatown. Her excitement is only matched by her fear of failure. Little does she knows that the tournament is not the end, but the beginning of trouble, trouble times twelve. After the tournament is over she must face the wrath of the grandmaster, her illusions about herself, and find out who her real friends are. She finds out that the myth of the twelve zodiac animals great race, the Jade Emperor, and even demons are real. In this frightening new reality, will she have the strength to save humanity?
Our recipe: Silky Onion Dip with veggies and crisps
Ingredients
1 container silky tofu
1-2 packages vegan onion dip mix
Fresh Veggies (carrot sticks, celery sticks, snow peas, sugar snap peas, cucumber slices, green and red pepper slices, blanched asparagus spears)
Crisps (your favorite chips, pretzels, or fried wonton wrappers)
Cut silky tofu into small squares and pulse in food processor with package of onion soup mix until blended. Add more soup mix to taste and put in a bowl surrounded by your favorite munchies- it’s that simple.
Serve your Silky Onion Dip and munchies to friends or just have a snack anytime. We absolutely love this with gingerale mixers (1 ounce pomegranate juice, matcha tea, grape juice, or orange juice to 4 parts gingerale).
edenfreed.com 