Hot Paranormal Nights Blog Hop

 

Welcome to my stop on the

Hot Paranormal Nights Blog Hop!

I'm thrilled to join my good friend Tricia Schneider on a fun and sexy summer reading venture. Who better to accompany on a blog hop like this than the author of the Merriweather Witches series, herself?
 

 

In fact, it was Tricia and her books who inspired me to approach The Wild Rose Press with a story of my own. Lucky for me, senior editor Callie Lynn Wolfe loved the story as much as I did. "Strangers at the Hell Gate" is a Wild Rose Press July 2013 release.

 

About Stranger at the Hell Gate: When a charming Seraph knocks on half-demon Jagger’s door, he doesn’t expect her to be anything more than a vulnerable woman in need of shelter. Sonya, however, isn’t just another pretty angel. She’s an unexpected ally in his war against Hell, his brother…and himself.

Find it at The Wild Rose Press!

 

YOU CAN WIN a gift certificate to The Wild Rose Press just by leaving comment on this post.

 

Have you enjoyed a Hot paranormal story lately?

 

Let us know the title and the author, as well as a little about why you liked it so much. (We like teasers *grin* )

Share the love and let us all know who we should be reading next!

 

Winner will be announced at the end of the hop,

which goes until July 30, 2013.

Good luck and thanks for hopping!

 

(Be sure to check out the other giveaways that are going on by clicking the tabs at the top of the page.)

SEE WHO ELSE IS HOPPING...more books to discover, more chances to win!

 



Kintsugi Poets Society: Poetry Blog Hop

 

 

The Art of Kintsugi

 

Kintsugi (金継ぎ^?) (Japanese: golden joinery) or Kintsukuroi (金繕い^?) (Japanese: golden repair) is the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with a lacquer resin sprinkled with powdered gold. Kintsugi may have originated when shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent a damaged Chinese tea bowl back to China for repairs in the late 15th century. When it was returned repaired with ugly metal staples, it may have prompted Japanese craftsmen to look for a more aesthetic means of repair. Collectors became so enamored of the new art that some were accused of deliberately smashing valuable pottery so it could be repaired with the gold seams of kintsugi.

 

What does Kintsugi mean to me?

 

Recently, friend and fellow poet Kim Koning extended an invitation to join the newly-formed Kintsugi Poets Society. It was impossible to resist that invitation--not only had I been away from my poetic roots for far too long, I also resonated with the philosophy behind the Society.

 

Poetry, for me, has always had an element of Kintsugi. My poems, as dark as they may be sometimes, gleam with a glint of emotion. The precious threads of pain and loss that accompany every joy. The streaks of beauty that lace through the fabric of death. The discovery of new reality after being conquered. 

 

I am a Kintsugi Poet because I use words to join the pieces of my life, to pull together the shards of broken experiences, to heal the rifts between what is and what should be. Poetry is the golden glue that binds me together and makes me whole.

 

Poetry is Chiaroscuro. Poetry is Kintsugi. Poetry is Life.

 

I'm proud to join the other members of the Kintsugi Poets Society in the July 2013 Poetry Blog Hop. I'm excited to work with many poets I've known for some time as well as many new faces, whom I hope to get to know better. All of us will be sharing our private work with readers and poets.

 

Hope to see you there.

 

Click here (or on either graphic) to visit the Kintsugi Poets main site.

 

 

 

A Special Offering...

 

 

 

Meridiana's Lament

By Ash Krafton

 

Once I dreamed of my soul-mate, a specter that rose up

from shadowed street with tangled limb and perfect grace

to hover at the edge of my sunlight

 

And I kissed him with the same desperation as I would an Angel

Innocence tarnished with the tinges of foresight

knowing love is damnable and lovers are damned

 

And I kissed him knowing his soul would pour forth

to cling to my wicked glistening lips

before withering and flaking away upon the swollen wind

 

And I kissed him planning how best to pierce him through

Sever his heart and separate the beats

like swept piles of dust waiting to be collected

 

I kissed him wondering if I'd see him again

on this side or on the other

He could never make that journey alone.

 

Knowing he had to die one day

I gave him a single taste of what life might be like

had he or any other man ever deserved to live

 

as if this Meridiana ever deserved to be loved by one such as him.

Better to avoid sleep altogether

so as not to destroy yet another dream.

 

 

 

 

Stranger at the Hell Gate: Wild Rose Press Full Release

When a charming Seraph knocks on half-demon Jagger’s door, he doesn’t expect her to be anything more than a vulnerable woman in need of shelter. Sonya, however, isn’t just another pretty angel. She’s an unexpected ally in his war against Hell, his brother…and himself.

Today, my urban fantasy novella “Stranger at the Hell Gate” is celebrating its full release from The Wild Rose Press!

It was previously available only through the Kindle Select program, where it did very well…along with Bewitching Book Tours, we promoted the hell out of our free Kindle days and the story shot up the charts.

In May, Hell Gate reached #245 in the overall Free Kindle Store, #6 in Fantasy/Paranormal & Urban, and #1 in Genre/Demons & Devils. I’d say that’s pretty hawt stuff. J  

Now, Stranger at the Hell Gate is fully available on its proper release day. Let’s celebrate!

Stop by The Black Rose Blog where I stop by for a little chat with senior editor Callie Lynn Wolfe. You'll find an excerpt of the story. (You can also meet the ghosts who live in my yard.) Leave a comment to win a Wild Rose Press gift certificate so you can pick up your own copy of Hell Gate (as well as other great stories, such as The Merriweather Witches series by my good friend Tricia Schneider.)

And don’t forget to enter a quick giveaway here, too! Be sure to fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

Stranger at the Hell Gate       
by Ash Krafton

Genre: urban fantasy

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Date of Publication: July 2013

Word Count: 20000

Cover Artist: Debbie Taylor

Book Description: 

Jagger Sintallon, a half-demon warrior, has dedicated his existence to fighting demons who enter the world through Hell gates. A loner of conflicting ideals, he offers shelter to a troubled woman but knows he is too rough, too dangerous, and too cocky for her delicate nature.

Dedicated to Divine Will, Sonya Camael, a Seraph, is determined to discover why she is drawn to Jagger's doorstep and the reason behind her mission. She needs the demon's help but fears he may get himself killed before she can figure it out and the world slips into Hell's dominion.

Sonya faces grave danger with evil stalking her every move, and Jagger shouldn't care but realizes he cares more than he'd likely admit. Sonya knows Jagger cannot win this war alone, but will her divine intervention mean his imminent end? Or will just the right combination of Heaven and Hell set the world right once again?

 

 

Find Stranger at the Hell Gate

at The Wild Rose Press and Amazon

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway