K.Childs

Fangs in the blood It was 2004 and my sister got the sixth or seventh book in a series she was rather fond of. At the time I had been devouring just about anything with vampires in it- I was going through ‘that’ phase so many of us go through and the urban fantasy/paranormal scene was just starting to slowly slide out of the shadows it had been hiding in for years. I’d finished Tanya Huff’s Blood Ties trilogy and was eager for more of this gritty dark and sexy vampire thing that was still a fresh new taste to my reading palate. So my sister said, ‘you might like this’ and slid Guilty Pleasures by Laurel K Hamilton across to me. I was a slow, slow reader in those days; getting through a book took about a week. I gorged myself on Guilty Pleasures in about two days (which was a record for me). I stayed up until dawn the night I read Circus of the Damned (the third book) and I can tell you with total honesty, I have read the first nine novels of the series at least 6

Slouch Witch by Helen Harper So I found it in the top percent of amazon for paranormal reads and the blurb seemed quirky and sort of 'okay' for me to at least read the sample. First, the sample was a really nice slice of the start; it definitely had enough to hook and then reel me in. I put it down, broke and determined that I needed the money for food, not books. An hour later, my willpower broke under the oppressing need to read more. I mean, I read like I'd like to eat; picky about content, high-quality and five-star restaurants only (don't we all!) so finding something I /want/ is pretty solid. I finished it in a day. First of all, the writing is smooth, quirky, characterful and enchanting. The characters are likable, solid, detailed and breathe with life and effort. There's mystery, there's humor, there's danger, a rich world and right after finishing I wanted to delve straight into the second novel in the series. The story is self-conta

So during November, inevitably there comes a time where I would rather do anything, anything at all, than write another word. If you've participated in the great conspiracy and secret that is NaNo, you know of what I speak. My muse alternates between a seductive adonis beckoning me to build him into yet another mind-blowing erotica and Major Payne. He's a sadistic Dom with a whip in my mind and a short attention span. During NaNo, it can be hard to keep him focused; or he's so focused that my fingers blur on the keyboard, my wrist begins to smart and small whimpers escape my lips. My Muse likes that. But taking a break here and there is needed (like, I have to shower and eat, you know,) and creative breaks are a necessity. I find that all the rage from my Muse can sometimes be chanelled into art, or in this case, photomanipulation. I got all the references for these two from DeviantArt. I've been playing a lot at getting better with  lighting and I felt