Melissa Stevens is the winner of the Freaky Friday Author Promo from last week. She is an Urban Fantasy/Romance writer who is a native Arizona (one of my favorite states :)).  Loving to read from an early age, she fell in with love with the series Box Car Children,and her taste for the concept of book series was instilled. She loves a mix of genres including westerns, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. She is married with three children and prefers rural life and small towns to the crowded rush of the city.

Her works are:  Change, Fight, Escape, and her most recent, Hunt. 

When asked about her most recent  release, she offered the Hunt Synopsis: Nickie returns to town eager to get back to her life and routine but soon discovers that there are many more changes headed her way. After an old school friend is murdered, a threatening message is written on the news article about her death and left for Nicki. She begins to wonder if maybe her friend had been killed as a warning to her, but why?

Together, Nickie and Devon set out to figure out who is behind the murder and what it has to do with Nickie, but can they do it before she gets hurt again?

She even allowed me to post a little excerpt from the story.
The picture on the news bulletin was a surprise. Without reading a word, the face staring back at me caught my attention. I knew her, or I once had. Annette Bigler, Annie to her friends, had been in my class all the way through school. We hadn't been best friends, but we'd been friendly. Since then, I'd seen her around town, enough to say hi now and then but I hadn't spent any time with her since the summer we'd graduated, almost ten years earlier. She'd gone away to school, and though she'd returned, we'd never really rekindled our relationship. I scanned the headlines, trying to figure out why her picture was there.

"BODY OF LOCAL GIRL FOUND ON CAMPUS"

The headline shocked me. Today would to be my first day back to work after more than a week and I knew nothing about a body having been found on campus. Since I was the Dean of Student's secretary, I should probably know something. I read further and found that she'd been discovered beaten and stabbed. She hadn't been killed there, but her body had been dumped after she was already dead. The police had few leads.

Glancing at the clock, I picked up my Personal Communication Device, also known as a PCD, and dialed my brother. I hoped that as a police officer, he would be able to tell me more. I also knew anything he did tell me would be accurate, not rumors or twisted to be more sensational like often happened with the news.

"Hey, Sis. It's awful early isn't it?"  Raine answered, his voice sounded tired.

"Sorry," I hoped I hadn't woken him. "I just found out about Annie. Can you tell me anything other than what was in the news?"

"Not much," I heard him take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I know you knew her." His voice was full of sympathy.

"We were friends in high school but we hadn't seen much of each other since."

"A student found her body on Central Campus yesterday afternoon. That area’s pretty deserted on the weekend. You know what it’s like. We don't know exactly how long she was there before she was discovered, but not more than a few hours. We figure who ever dumped her, wanted her to be found, but probably not until this morning."

I knew what he meant, the campus was long and narrow, a block wide but three long, each block was identified by location, there was North, Central and South campus.

"Any ideas who could have done it?" I wanted to know as much as he could tell me.

Noise rustled over the line and I assumed he was shaking his head.

"No. She was severely beaten and stabbed several times, but we haven't found the primary scene and we don't have any leads yet." He sounded unhappy about it and I didn't blame him.

Violent crimes weren't common in the area. I mean, yeah, there were domestic disputes, and the occasional bar fight, but something like murder? The last murder I remembered in the valley was more than five years earlier. This was going to shake the entire community.

"I know there are things the department holds back, keeps from the public, things that will help you find and identify whoever is responsible, but is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Not that-" He stopped mid-sentence and changed what he was saying. "Wait. You know she's one of you, right?"

"One of me?" I was confused.

"You know, like you and Devon."

"Oh." I suddenly realized what he was trying to say, without actually saying, that is. Annie was Kitsune. She was a shape-shifter like I am. "No, I didn't know. There are still so many that I haven't yet met."

"I don't know if it's going to be a factor, but I have to keep it in mind, even if I can't tell the rest of the force." His voice was full of reluctance and doubt. I knew that having to hide something about the victim from the rest of the investigators was hard for him, but I didn't see how it could be helped, at least not now.

"I understand." My mind was already churning with possibilities. "I'll keep my ears open and let you know if I hear anything that might help."

"I'd appreciate it."

"You sound tired." I changed the subject.

"I am. I ended up pulling a double, investigating this. I just got home and I'm on my way to bed."

Sounds intriguing, right? I thought so! If you want to find her books, they are at:
http://melissastevens.us/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5062799.Melissa_Stevens

https://twitter.com/MelissaTStevens

https://www.facebook.com/melissastevensauthor

They can also be found on Amazon or wherever ebooks/paperbacks are sold! 

Robin's Nest will be her newest due out August 2013 so stay tuned for that one!
Thanks, Melissa for being my featured author this week and Congratulations!


 

Get an ebook of Change for free, here:
 https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/122871

Due for release August 2013!

So, three wonderful, adorable young people have ventured into the recesses of my mind --and my life.
Nola St. Germaine, Deslyn Wilder, and Bronte Ladeaux. They are my three lead characters for my YA Paranormal Fiction Series, S.P.I.R.I.T.S.
The main title is actually their Paranormal Group that has been named by fellow author, Kelly Erickson, who gets a mention in the novel, among other things after the first book comes out. She won the contest for best PARANORMAL Group Name/Acronym! Congrats, Kelly and thanks so much!

I have a feeling that this series will become as viral as the Twilight Series, if not more (at least I can hope). My characters have seemed to jump right out of the pages and feel as lifelike as you or me. I have a feeling they are gonna take over and make their own blog, so stay tuned for that! They already have their own *Paranormal Group* fan page, which has been a lot of fun seeing them interact. They will soon be introducing each other so that their fans can get to know more about them. They love their fans!!

As their creator and author of the future series, I am looking forward to bringing them into the light and making them a national sensation! Stay tuned for Book Cover reveals, swag giveaways, etc.
Thanks for your continued support! As Nola would say... Much Love and Ghost hugs! ;)

A Believer and Skeptic in One

The paranormal realm has always interested me, even as a child. I am both believer and skeptic, if there even is such a thing. I do believe and know that their is a spiritual dimension that we can't see, but exists. However, I do not count every little bump and noise as being paranormal. I look for a more logical, scientific reason for something happening before I claim it as supernatural. I have had my share of experiences throughout my life, and I am sure I will continue to have more as time goes on. I don't know if I could call myself sensitive, because it is not like spirits are drawn to me and I can see them every day.  However, sometimes my dreams are extremely vivid and I can remember them per every detail as they happened, even years later. I have also experienced strange hiccups in time. We call this deja vu, usually. Where you know you have experienced something before, but you can't quite understand when, how, or why? I have slight precognitive abilities where I can predict things before they happen. The strange thing about it is, it's usually all mental. For example, I'll dream something, or a thought or event will come to mind, but hasn't happened yet, and sometimes seconds, inutes, hours, or even days later, it will happen,  Sometimes,I don't really realize it, but others, it feels like a deja vu moment. I have even picked up the phone to call a certain person and they'd actually be on the other end. The phone never rang, so I would never have known until that moment. That sometimes freaks me out, but it's kind of neat.

Vivid Dreams

Going back to dreams for a moment, I have had several very vivid and strange dreams; sometimes even frightening where I wake up crying! I have had a repetitive dream about a certain house. I haven't had that dream in years, but I am sure it will rear it's ugly head again sometime in the future. I can't pinpoint what exactly makes me have that dream, but I have had it at least three times in my life.It's quite terrifying. The house has a white exterior, and is very charming, almost like a quaint little victorian cottage...sort of... anyways, going in, it's very small and claustrophobic....and dark. There are points of light within, but there are strange shadows along the walls. One in particular seems to chase me. it's very large and intimidating. As I try to run to escape it, the house appears to shrink, like a funhouse affect. I feel myself getting short of breath, feeling panic...I try to reach the door and just as I go to open it, I wake up. That's exactly how it ends every time!  Other dreams I have had involved my daughter when she was a baby. I think those were just stemmed from apparent seperation anxiety on my behalf. I was attending school at the time to get  my Asosciates Degree in Architectural Design, and I guess felt guilty for leaving her. My dreams were always about abandonment and me not knowing where she was, or knowing where she was but had been taken and something horrible happening to her. I woke up, countless times in tears and sweat freaking out! I always ran into her room to check on her and she would be peacefully sleeping. Afterwords, I would go back to sleep and be ok.

Another very vivid dream I had a few years ago, and I even remember the date of the dream. February 10, 2003... A few days short of Valentines day, but right before the night of our Valentines Dinner at church. Anyways, I am sitting atop of this cloud, kind of floating, the air is thick and the skies are dark and crimson,  and there are three crosses on a hill. I am at the head of the center cross, wiping the brow of  Christ...Yes, Jesus... I can hear and see the commotion below.I can see the other two men on the crosses. I can see the Roman soldiers standing guard. I hear Jesus say his seven final words and I realize I am at his crucifixion. *Side note: at the time of this dream, I had been certified as a Doula/labor assistant and during labor I would help the mother feel relaxed and wipe the sweat off her brow* I continue to dab the cloth on his brow, wiping away blood and sweat. He then turns to me, looks me straight in the eyes, with a bright smile on his face. The light around him glows brighter, and I could see no pain...nothing but love...He says to me, "Brandy, I love you, You are MINE!" I remember embracing him tight after that, and I feel the blood from his side dripping onto my hand. It felt so real! I woke up in tears, but it was such a mixed emotion, I could not even tell my then husband what I had just experienced until hours later. I also remember when I woke up, I could still feel him, his presence was there and I felt the embrace. I also felt something wet on my right hand, and when I looked, in between my thumb and forefinger, there were three little dark red droplet stains on my hand! This unfathomable peace came over me. I still get emotional even typing those words, because I knew at that moment, no matter what I had done in my life, I was not perfect, but he loved me and he claimed me as his own! Those three blood stains remained on my hand for three days, despite washing them, they did not go away til the third day! Now mind you, this was also Lent season, so it had a very particular meaning for me as a woman of faith. I will never forget that dream, and I don't think I am ever supposed to and that's quite alright with me!!!

Believe it... or Not!

I have not told too many people about that dream. Most, especially non-believers, would not get it, and others, well they may not believe me, despite the vivid detail and recount! Something just felt right about telling it here. That way, if you read it, you can either believe, or not... or come to your own conclusions. I just know that those who share my faith felt very blessed and touched when I told them, it was like a reaffirmation for me, and sometimes even for them. it was my Valentine's gift from God that year and I'll forever cherish it!! Does this make me psychic or sensitive, I don't really know. I just know that it was as real to me as someone reaching out and caressing my arm or face. I felt it! Was it paranormal? In a way, yes, because it was not of this world, and in the dream, I was not in this physical plane. My soul and psyche had transcended into a realm that is undefined by even science. How could it have been so real?Maybe because God's love transcends time and space, and that is how I was able to feel and sense everything from the dream even after waking. it is a unique and wonderful mystery, one of which not many get to experience and I am very fortunate and grateful to have been gifted with that!