Happy Halloween

Just a few little pictures to remind you of this time of year. I've been taking a bit of a break, being guested on other's blogs.

We've got rain tonight, and the Giant's parade was wet, but typically San Francisco.

But I still feel sorry for the kids. Rain really spoils Halloween, IMHO.

With all the election hoopla, I admit to being a little burned out. There is so much at stake and people are mincing over soundbites. And now with the massive storms in the east coast, so many people are hurting.

The economy sucks--can we just say it like it is instead of pretending everything is great? After all, you can't change anything unless you first acknowledge what's so. Truth is in short supply these days.

But most important, let's not forget our men and women who have to face danger every day. I know many of them wish they were home to help their families in their time of need. I hope they stay safe and understand we apreciate them, and haven't forgotten what they are doing, and why. They do it so we can have a life.

Even at our worst, we still have the best country in the world. I hope it stays that way for generations to come. Time to stand up and be strong. Tell the truth. Give thanks.

I hope that we never lose sight of that.

I'm At the Atlantean Blog Today-Best site ever!

This incredible blog is probably the nicest one I have ever seen. Cheryl has agreed to let me guest post today. Come join the fun over at the Antlantean Blog. Everyone wins a prize.

Love to see you all there today.

Sharon

Alpha Male Blog Hop Winners!

ALPHA MALE BLOG HOP WINNERS

After over 9,000 comments our Alpha Male Hop 

has some grand prize winners!!

Congrats!

Grand Prize Winners:

Kindle Fire Winner:

Marie Hahn

$130 Amazon Gift Card:

Jessica Mange

Swag Pack:

Natasha Donohoo

Congratulations! As you know, everyone 

who showed up on this site won 

a prize as well. If you haven't 

received notification, please email me 

off loop. Thanks for your participation. 

Come back and join me again. 

I'll be participating in two more blog 

hops between now and New Years.

Heroes of Every Genre: Who's the Best?

What is your favorite thing about Alpha Heroes? Well, we authors are ready to share our favorite Alpha Males, our favorite things about them, and everything sexy and heated about those Alpha Males you can think of. *wink* Starting on Friday and ending on Oct 22nd, over 200 Authors and Bloggers will share their favorite things about those sexy men we know and love.

And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yep. There will be over 200 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.

But that's not all....

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $130 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: The following Swag Pack!

So, here's my blog and giveaway, and you have until October 22nd to leave your comments. If I had a big Highland Games event and I invited all the heroes of the six books I've written, who would win? Yes, I want you to pick the winner, after I give the evidence. And I'll even make it more fair. You can pick a hero from someone else's blog or book and vote for them here too.

Every comment gets entered into our Grand Prize giveaway, and every commenter will receive something, and YOU EVEN GET TO CHOOSE. Now, when were you ever given the choice of prizes on a blog hop? Be sure you follow the instructions at the end of this post.

We have 6 Alpha Heroes: Daniel DePalma, Joshua Brandon, Marcus Monteleone,  Paolo Monteleone, SOC Kyle Lansdowne and SO Calvin Cooper. You get to vote for one of them (or another hero, if you must), by leaving a comment and telling us all why you think they should win, and what would you do with them to celebrate?

So, since this is election season, here are the descriptions of the candidates, and their Hollywood likenesses:

Daniel DePalma: Brazilian-born painter of colorful wall-sized jungle prints. He does not know his best friend, posing as his agent, is a dark angel who has hooked him up with a very bad girl. The relationship nearly destroys him. Not realizing there are forces of good and evil at play, a guardian angel comes to his rescue. He falls in love with her in spirit, until he falls in love with her in the flesh. He is willing to spend his life separated from his angel lover just to see her safely home.

Joshua Brandon: A colorful dark angel who was looking forward to an eternity of partying with his former best human friend, Daniel, bedding women in the Underworld as well as "on top" in the human world, until the guardian angel intervened. He has a fondness for redheads, especially redheadded guardian angels. He hates birds and detests order and rules. But he soon finds that, among other things, he has grown a conscience and finally meets a soul he cannot claim. He faces the ultimate sacrifice when he is asked to deliver that very woman to the Director of the Underworld to become a concubine. He discovers there are rules worth dying for.

Marcus Monteleone: A 300-year old golden vampire, has spent most of those years searching for his fated female, only to find her dying in his arms. He saves her life by turning her, only to be enjoined by the rules of his breed, to not interfere with her once human life. He does not believe he has fathered a child by a half vampire half witch/villainess, but he feels an obligation to take responsibility for the boy.  In the end, he is willing to spend eternity without her if it means she will be safe from the jealous mother of the boy.

Paulo Monteleone: Brother to Marcus. He loves human women, and, unlike his brothers and sisters, does not take golden vampire mates and chooses to marry outside the fating, resisting a fating that went terribly wrong. He falls in love with a professor of legend and myths, who claims she knows everything about the "non-existant" golden vampires of Tuscany. He finds he is willing to sacrifice his immortal life to rescue his human lover from those that want her silenced.

Kyle Lansdowne: SEAL team leader sent on a mission to find his AWOL swim buddy, who has been kidnapped by a drug gang. The gang's intent is to get weapons and equipment from the SEAL community for their illegal use. By accident, Kyle runs into a newbie Realtor, and he finds in her the woman he has always wanted, just when she is nearly taken from him forever. He is forced to choose between her and his SEAL team buddy's life.

Calvin Cooper: Nebraska farm boy turned U.S. Navy SEAL. A specialist with gadgets, a medic and one of the tallest SEALs to ever graduate BUD/S. He is ordered to meet the family of a fallen SEAL medic, to help him heal the loss of his own family in a tornado. He helps a prominent psychiatrist protect his family, including his lovely daughter, from a psychopathic killer bent on revenge.

Now for your choice:

1. Dog Tag from Accidental SEAL
2. Amazon Kindle version SEAL Encounter.

Be sure to leave your name, AND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS, and please do so in code like: Jane Doe (at) gmail (dot) com.

Have fun, and good luck!!

Sharon Hamilton

Life is one fool thing after another.

Love is two fool things after each other.

Sharon's Blog ** Sharon's Website ** Facebook**Twitter

Heavenly Lover    Underworld Lover    Honeymoon Bite 

Accidental SEAL   SEAL Encounter    all available through Amazon

Accidental SEAL Book Trailer

Go to another blog here.

Interview: In The Shadow of Greatness

Joshua Welle and Graham Plaster, I must say, it is entirely a privilege to interview the two of you. Can’t wait to spread word about your wonderful book.

We military romance novelists write stories with military heroes. Different genre than yours, of course, but our readers like to learn about heroes and heroines who do the right thing, rise to the challenge and, against all odds, achieve a happily ever after. We wish it was always so in real life for these brave men and women.

In romance, we create fictional stories, based on things that could happen, not what did happen. Our average romance reader reads 3-4 books a week. It is estimated to be upwards of 51% of the publishing market. There is currently huge interest in things military, especially Special Ops.

So, thank you not only for your service, but for your time. I've written some questions about this book I think other writers and readers would want to know. So, welcome, and let's begin.

Tell me how you got the idea to put together the stories in this book? Who came up with the idea and how did it happen?

The concept for the book was originally a solicitation to our classmates, the first class to graduate from the US Naval Academy following 9-11, asking them to write something reflecting on their experiences over the past 10 years. We received 63 submissions over the course of three years and spent a considerable amount of time processing the themes that were emerging in the short stories.  

Our primary reason for writing the book was to give voice to our current generation of leaders, promoting an honest but hopeful vision for the country.  We're excited about the result because the book is exceeding our expectations.  Not only was there a lot of interest to write, but there has also been tremendous energy and support from those who are reading the stories.

Whose idea was it?

Joshua Welle, our class President, along with the elected leadership of the class, initiated the project.  Josh deservers the lion's share of the credit for networking with veteran's groups and book endorsers, but we've also assembled a highly talented team of editors, PR and social media professionals.  It has been a team effort.  The four editors on the cover, Josh Welle, John Ennis, Katherine Kranz and Graham Plaster, worked with the content of the book and created the anthology which is the final product.

Who do you want to read this book? Why?

As Tom Brokaw has already said, this book is a "must read for all Americans."  We think that it is a book that can be read by young and old alike, military and civilians.  The stories are short and inspirational, providing insight from up and coming military leaders. They would make great leadership case studies for any group working through particular issues.  

The broader theme of the book is bigger than military service.  By honoring veterans in the book, we also want to cultivate a national dialogue surrounding the enduring qualities that make America great.  These qualities - cherished, defended and exemplified by our veterans, are worth discussing as we continue to grapple with strategic decisions for America.

Tell us how the book is structured and some of the tales it contains.

The book is structured thematically, starting with short stories about experiences at the Naval Academy and remembrances of 9-11, followed by war stories and anecdotes of heroism.  Finally, there are several stories about life after the military, the impact of military service on community leadership and major changes to military and civilian culture over the past 10 years.

Some folks tend to think of their 20s as a carefree decade in their lives…yours was not. Would you have had it any other way?

This is a question that is best answered by reading the book. The answer is mostly no, but there are shadows in our stories.  Not everything is black and white. When we applied to the Naval Academy, we were attracted to the crisp distinctions between navy blue and white, good and evil, satisfactory and unsatisfatory.  These paradigms were tested.  Read the book to get an inside glimpse of how we navigated those waters.

Only 1% of Americans are wearing the uniform and fighting the nation’s post-9/11 wars…should this be a concern?

There is a different opinion on this for every contributor to the book, and the editors cannot speak on behalf of everyone for questions like this, but even in leadership classes at the Naval Academy we discussed the widening culture gap between the military and civilian life. This is a concern to some people, and simply par for the course if you ask others.  

There is a culture gap in any specialization, and in some cases the military does a much better job of keeping the public informed about our values and sacrifices.  We rely heavily on the non-profits, civic organizations and veteran support groups to ensure this gap is bridged.  We are so thankful to those who do understand military sacrifice.  This book is a bridge across that gap.

How has the military treated you and your family?

The military has tremendous programs in place to support families, and the close knit communities that form on far flung bases are the bedrock of American society.  Supporting families is a high priority to our leaders in the military, which is why failures in the system get so much scrutiny.  It is through the difficult process of discussing shortcomings in the system of support that we make it better.  We have confidence that as we raise issues, leaders from our generation will continue to rise to the challenge of supporting military families in the years to come.

And by supporting those families, we learn to heal our nation as a whole. How did you decide who to invite into this endeavor?

The entire class was invited to participate.  Not everyone wanted to write, felt like they were in a position to write.  Because we are still mid-career, there are many questions that go into a project like this.  Am I writing for a good reason?  Am I writing what needs to be said?  Am I correcting a misconception?  We wrestled with these questions as writers and peer editors.

Tell me your most inspirational story and why?

One of the most moving accounts is written by Lisa Freeman, mother of Matt Freeman, who was killed in action.  She writes from the perspective of her son.  When she was first approached to write, she was still too raw from the loss of her son.  Through the process of putting words to paper, and working with the classmates of her son to edit the story, she was able to work through some of the difficult emotions.  She spoke at our national book launch at 9-11 and received a standing ovation for her courage and the great work being done in Matt’s name through The Matthew Freeman Project (freemanproject.org).

Let's hope that some of our readers today can help you and Mrs. Freeman with that goal. Do you have plans for future projects along the same lines? Or, anything you felt got left out because it needs a separate book?

We have 30 more stories that will be published directly to eBook, hopefully soon.  All profits from the book and eBook go to veteran charities.  Our only goal is to make sure the stories get told.

What would you like readers to know about this book?

This is a really unique book.  Many memoirs are written at the twilight of a career, this is a slice of life from 33 mid-career leaders.  Who knows what will become of them?  There may be a future government official or CEO in the mix.  This hall of heroes is an exciting glimpse into the making of America’s next generation of leaders – where they are now and where they might be headed.

What would you like readers to know about you, your team of writers?

We had a few professionals help us with editing, but for the most part, the writing was done by the “doers”.  We had over a hundred submissions by the time we were done, but had to edit it down to reduce redundancy in some of the themes, and find a common thread.  The common elements are leadership, sacrifice and service – across the board.  These are men and women who have done incredible things and will continue to serve our country in heroic ways when they are out of uniform.

Especially with what has happened with current events, why is reading this book so important? What will readers find here they won’t find elsewhere?

Hollywood and newspapers give their accounts of war, but this book allows us to speak for ourselves.  We were eager to write the book to clarify certain misconceptions and help bridge the cultural gap between military families and non-military families.

I'm sure others will agree with me, it is truly an honor to have you here today, and we thank you, not only for your service, but for helping us understand what it takes to be a true leader, told by those who are living it every day.

Some of our readers may have questions and comments. We welcome one and all. Those of you who can, leave them some likes and tags on Amazon here.

Thank you both,

Sharon Hamilton


Excerpts are available at http://shadowofgreatness.com/lookinsid

In The Shadow of Greatness interview this Friday

This Friday, come back to this site for a gripping interview of the two editors/authors of the new Leadership book, In The Shadow Of Greatness.

This was the first graduating class of the U.S. Naval Academy since the 9-11 disaster. It is a non-political book about what courage it takes to be one of America's leaders and the sacrifice it requires.

In my opinion, this should be read by every American citizen. Please show these men and women your support as they shape the vision for this great nation, which isn't always about black and white, red and blue, male and female. Leaders are born and created and step up to the plate every day. And they die that way too.

I am very honored and proud to bring it to you.

Welcome author Elysa Hendricks

Happy today to introduce you to a new author for me, Elysa Hendricks, a self-described author of multiple genres. Listen carefully to how she caught the writing bug-a tale similar to mine. Out of sad circumstances miracles happen. Sometimes we have to be reduced to the person we are in the wee small hours of the morning, where no one else is near, before we get in touch with that muse, that voice inside us that won't be denied. Welcome to my place, Elyssa. So glad you are here with me today.

What genres do you write and why? Anything interesting about how you got started? 

I write in a variety of romance sub-genres - contemporary, western historical, fantasy and sci-fi. I let "the story" decide which sub-genre it needs to be in.

You must meet my friend and fellow western historical writer, Arletta Dawdy. Tell me more about your journey.

I started writing one lonely Christmas Eve. My sister-in-law passed away early that morning. My husband, his mother and younger sister, as well as our older son, took the train to Phoenix to attend the funeral. We postponed celebrating Christmas and I remained at home with our younger son. That night, after putting him to bed, I sat down at my typewriter (yes, I began writing long before computers were common) and started writing what I thought was going to be a short contemporary romance. It turned out to be about a winged, telepathic alien who stows away aboard a passing space ship. That book is hidden under my bed guarded by killer dust bunnies. Maybe someday I'll resurrect and rewrite it. Maybe.

LOL. I think every writer has a few of those. One question I have is, do the bunnies read? I digress... Do you like writing in series, or single?

I enjoy writing both, but once I've created a fictional world it's fun to revisit it, so I have several books that are linked together.  My western historical romances THIS HEART FOR HIRE and HER WILD TEXAS HEART are companion books about a brother and sister surviving in the old west. My sci-fi romances STAR CRASH   and STAR RAIDERS   are both set in the same futuristic universe, a combination of Star Trek/Star Wars and Planet of the Apes/Pirates of the Carribean. I also have a series of alternative universe fantasy romances published by ImaJinn Books that are all linked together:

GEMINI MOON 

CRYSTAL MOON

SHADOW MOON

FORBIDDEN MOON 

Wow. You are prolific. Did you get “the call” or did you get the call to “go Indie?"

My first sale to a traditional publishing house came via email, so I've never gotten "the call." (Editor's note: LOL) I've just recently jumped into the self-publishing pond (ocean) with several books that I've gotten my rights back on, as well as some new titles. I have a traditionally published book DARK STAR DAWNING is coming out with ImaJinn Books in 2013. Because I want to have my cake and eat it too, I intend to pursue both traditional publishing and indie publishing.

Very savvy of you. A lot of traditionally published authors are doing the same. Many with great success. Who is your favorite character you've created? Why?

Since each character I create reflects a small part (good and bad) of me, it's hard to pick a favorite. I suppose if I had to choose the one that reflects me the closest I'd say Brandon Alexander Davis, the slightly neurotic hero of THE SWORD AND THE PEN. 

Do you find it easier to write the bad boys or the good boys? I'm assuming both are heroic, but which ones are more fun to write?

While bad boys are more fun to read and sometimes to write, they're definitely NOT easy to write. Writing bad boys is nearly as hard as living with one in "real" life. They're strong, opinionated, pushy, arrogant and always think they know better than the woman (or author) in their lives.

I find it kind of sexy when they try to have their way with me. What about the heroines? Do you find it easiest to write the bad girls or the good girls?

I'm of the opinion that there are no "bad girls" just girls who haven't found the right man yet, but both are tough to write.

If you could have a date with one of your characters, which one would it be and why? Where would you go?

I'm a one-man woman who has been married to the love of her life for over forty years, so I'm not going to step out on him with anyone, not even a fictional character. Besides, if I even tried, the woman in that character's life would get pissed at me and some of those ladies are really, really tough.

If you could go to a desert island with two companions, who would you bring? What would you do there? What would you bring if you could bring anything?

I'd have to take my husband/best friend, and Surviorman, Less Stroud. I think I'd bring along a portable generator that runs on sea water. Need to have electricity for light, heat and running hot and cold water. I'll leave it to your imagination as to what I'd be doing.

Love it! I have such an active imagination, too. Pretend you have just sold your 100,000th copy of one of your books. What will you do to celebrate?

Since I celebrate each time I sell one book, I probably wouldn't do much different when I reach 100,000. Besides, I'm afraid by the time it happens the only thing I'll be capable of doing in celebration is sipping my Ensure through a straw.

LOL, but you never can tell, right? Tell us something about you that most people wouldn't know or guess about you?

My life is pretty much an open book. Basically boring and bland. No secrets. No skeletons. I'm 5'6" tall. I have curly hair and brown eyes. I'm an author, a wife, and a  mother. Everything else is subject to change without notice. If you want to know more check out my web site  or Like my Facebook page.  

Who are your favorite authors/books?

I've been reading for a long, long, long time, so my list of favorite authors and books is extensive. Here are just a few of the authors whose books are on my keeper shelf: Kathleen Woodiwiss, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Karen Robards, Arthur C Clarke, Robert Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov.

Some of my faves in there too. Especially Kathleen Woodiwiss. What are you working on now?

I have several projects actively in the works. TANGO IN PARADISE is a contemporary adventure romance featuring an idealistic schoolteacher and a mercenary caught in the middle of a South American revolution. THE NINE LIVES OF THOMAS CASH RILEY is a humorous contemporary fantasy romance that features a matchmaking cat. I'm also working on another sci-fi romance in my Star Chronicles series. And I have about a dozen other stories on simmer in the back of my mind just waiting to be written.

As a Thank You to everyone who stopped by today I'd like to offer you a FREE ebook - your choice of one of the following titles from Smashwords:

COUNTERFEIT LOVE (Small town romance)

THE BABY RACE (Small town romance)

THIS HEART FOR HIRE (Western Historical Romance)

HER WILD TEXAS HEART (Western Historical Romance)

Just drop me an email at: elysa@elysahendricks.com and let me know which title you'd like and I'll send you the Smashwords link and Coupon Code to download that title for FREE!

Excerpt:

THE SWORD AND THE PEN

Contemporary Fantasy

Blurb:

It was time. After penning ten popular sword-and-sorcery novels, Brandon Alexander Davis was ready to move on. Ready to stop hiding in his fictional world. Ready to start living a real life. There was just one problem: as he plotted the noble death of Serilda D'Lar, his fictional creation, complete with mile-long sword, skimpy leather outfit and badass attitude, appeared in his study.

Was she nothing more than a crazy fan, or had Brandon finally cracked?

This warrior woman whom he knew so well, so strong yet vulnerable, was both fantasy and reality. She was an invitation to rediscover all he once knew--that life is an incredible, magical journey and, for love, any man can be a hero.

EXCERPT:

She poked him in the arm with the tip of her sword.

"Ow!" Brandon scooted back, nearly under his desk.

"Warrior? Priest? Sorcerer?" She crouched down to rest on her heels, and stared at him. The position put her full breasts nearly in his face. "Definitely not a warrior." She pinched his arm. "You have muscle, but not enough to wield a sword in battle. No courage, either. Priest? Unlikely. They don't fear the sword. Only their god makes them cower.  Wizard? Perhaps, but not one of any power, or else I'd be at your feet. So…you're the wizard's assistant most likely." As if satisfied with her conclusion, she rose to her feet.

"Get up. I'll not harm you. I wish to speak to your master. He and I have business to discuss."

Brandon eyed the woman warily. Though her speech and clothing were odd, she sounded and looked extremely familiar. Why? Was she a crazy fan he'd somehow communicated with before?

To be honest, she bore a striking resemblance to Serilda, if shorter. She was five feet seven or eight inches, rather than six feet, and she was less buxom and had softer features than the character he'd ultimately developed.

Despite the trampy clothing and hard scowl, she was attractive. Short reddish blonde curls framed an elfin face. Dark lashes fringed large, cat-like green eyes. Sun-kissed skin covered high cheekbones, and her lips, though currently set in a hard line, were full and red.

"I said get up!" She grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet.

He was surprised that, when he stood, he topped her by a good six inches and probably outweighed her by sixty pounds. That size difference gave him a bit of confidence, but the nasty-looking sword she held with such self-assurance negated it. One could never trust the actions of a crazy person.

"Who are you?" She looked him up and down then seemed to dismiss him.

"Brandon Alexander Davis. This is my home."

Unimpressed, she laughed. "Brandon? What kind of name is that? Bran is what I eat to ease my bowels."

Heat crept up Brandon's neck. "Who the hell are you? And what are you doing here in that ridiculous costume?"

"Who I am and" -- two spots of color stained her cheeks -- "what I wear is a matter I will discuss with your master. Where is he? Has he run to hide from me? It will do him no good. I'm determined to find him and solve this."

"I don't have a master. I live here alone." Damn! Why had he told her that? He eased back from the lunatic toward the phone. Could he wrest the sword away from her before then?

His size would be an advantage, but even standing at ease, the woman radiated strength and skill. The odds seemed against him. To win he'd have to hit her-- hard-- and he doubted he could bring himself to do so. The lessons of chivalry his grandmother had taught were too deeply ingrained. In that way, he and Donoval were of one mind. No matter how greatly provoked, men didn't hit women.

Although, the thought of wrestling with this woman was appealing.

"No master? Do not lie to me." The lunatic's fingers flexed around the hilt of her sword.

"Why would I lie?" he snapped. "It's obvious your beef is with someone else. If I knew who and where he was, why would I protect him?"

"Because you're a coward. A powerful sorcerer inspires fear if not loyalty in his minions. But you should fear me more than him," she warned.

"There is no him! I'm the only one here. And I'm not a coward." Being called one triggered something inside him. Having phobias about crowds, insects and small furry animals didn't make him a coward. Not really.

She gave him a thoughtful look. "Is it possible? Are you the one?"

"The one what?"

She ignored his question and studied him. Her intense perusal made him squirm.

"Why didn't I see the resemblance?" she murmured.

"What resemblance?" He didn't like the turn of this conversation. Come to think of it, he hadn't liked the original direction, either.

"To Donoval. You are him-- in form at least." A bit of fear crossed her features, though anger quickly erased it. "I'm loath to believe it, but you are the wizard. Did you construct me so you could play God in my world? Does it give you pleasure to toy with me?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Play God? I'm just a writer trying to make a living. I write stories for people to read and enjoy. It's just entertainment."

Thank you so much Elysa. Commenters, please leave a coded email address in your comments for a chance to win the freebies. 

I've really enjoyed having you here today. Always fun to find another new writer (to me) and another one who is so prolific. Good luck with your continued success!