9 hours ago
Spotlight author- Gracen Miller
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Welcome spotlight author, Gracen Miller!
A MOTHER’S NIGHTMARE
By: Gracen Miller
Thanks so much for allowing me to join you, Chastity!
Do you ever wonder where authors get their ideas for a story? Most of
the time, I can find inspiration anywhere, in everyday stuff, a lyric, a photo
or even a general comment. I’ve also been known to steal them from my dreams as
well.
The idea for the Road to Hell
series was spawned from a nightmare. Yes, a nightmare! My nightmares can be disturbing, stuff that
is so troubling I won’t voice them for fear of giving them power. But I love
them at times as well because they jump-start my Muse with creativity.
As for the Road to Hell series
story…I was demon hunting with Sam and Dean Winchester! Woohoo! What
Supernatural fan doesn’t love that dream, right? That’s more like a fantasy
come to life! So, the boys were at my house trying to save me from getting
eaten by a ghost, which turned into a demon. You know how dreams are, the
parameters change randomly and it makes total sense in the dream! In the
beginning of the dream, we were in an unrecognizable house and by the end of
the dream in my current one. And this made total sense in the dream! LOL I
wasn’t too worried about the ghost/demon even though Sam and Dean kept telling
me I should be. I kept reminding them that ghosts visited me all the time and I
knew how to handle them. Easy-peasy stuff. They were soooo not needed, except for as eye-candy. Never turn away prime
eye-candy, that’s my motto. ;-) Anyway, Dean was upset, calling me a stubborn
chick…I don’t remember saying thanks to that quip, but I do remember taking it
as a compliment! LOL
Then my subconscious threw a wrench into the dream, altering the
parameters once again. My children were suddenly mixed into the evolving
nightmare. The ghost/demon targeted them, wanting to steal their soul or
possess them—I’m not sure which really, all that mattered was that they were
the new aim. FYI, in mother lingo that means: game-freakin’-on and I will hunt
you down and kill you slowly for even turning your murderous eyes on them!
*smiles sweetly*
Furious and ready to kill the ghost/demon, I demanded directions from
the Winchesters on how to annihilate this sucker that endangered my babies!
Dean was being snarky, calling me sweetheart and reminding me that I should let
the professionals handle it. You know, I really didn’t like Dean-dream’s
attitude! He was this close *demonstrates with forefinger and thumb clamped
together* from getting smacked upside the head!!
He and I were going at it when I woke up. I came out of that nightmare
furious, and it took me a few moments of blinking in the dark room to realize
it was just a dream. My kids were okay, slumbering across the hall in their
beds. When that reality set in, I was a bit miffed about not getting the opportunity
to kill the creature or smack Dean. I hate the way dreams end without any
finality to them. It’s like watching a
romance movie where one of them dies at the end…. You’re vested, only to be
disappointed at the end!
But I got to thinking…the worst nightmare any parent can endure is
when their child is harmed. Especially when it’s something you cannot control
nor do anything about. The absolute helplessness of this is crushing. I’ve
endured this type of debilitation with my eldest son when he began to suffer
grand mal seizures at the age of 3. Nothing I could do but twiddle my thumbs
and watch while he endured them. We finally found the magical pill that
controlled them and he outgrew them—whew!—but we were ultimately unable to
help.
The nightmare got me to thinking “what if”…
What if a mother was faced with something supernatural tormenting her
child? What if doctors couldn’t help? What if she had no idea what she should
do? How would she react? How could she battle an unknown entity when she had no
knowledge of the supernatural world? Wouldn’t she require help, guidance, and a
teacher….anyone with experience to help her?
Ultimate question…How far would she go to save him and how reckless
would she become?
And that’s how the Road to Hell
series was conceived. My nightmare created characters that are so
real-to-life in my head, I don’t question their chatter any longer. I love each
of them—even the villain—as if they were my own children.
On December 18th, the final book, Genesis Queen, in the saga was released. I invite you to open book
one, Pandora’s Box, for a sexy and terrifying ride on the Road to Hell. A word
of caution this series must be read in order of
you’ll be terribly confused. If you read it, I’d love to know what you think!
Thanks for having me with you today!
Huggles,
Gracen
Where you can stalk me—not really!—but I would love to meet and
interact with you:
Road to Hell series
FB Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Road-to-Hell-series/112564408814796?ref=ts
Praise for Madison’s Life Lessons
“I loved it! Gracen has a natural talent for bringing her
characters to life. I literally felt like I was right there watching and
experiencing everything.”
~ Tich, Loves AllThingsBooks Book Reviews
Praise for Pandora’s Box
“Gracen Miller has definitely added spice and intrigue in to a
genre that can somewhat be monotonous with the same story lines about demons,
angels, succubi, and other paranormal creatures.”
~ Kathryn Grimes, Tsk Tsk What to Read
Praise for Hell’s Phoenix
“It blows J.R. Ward out of the water!”
~ Dawn Hagan, I Love Books
About the Author
Gracen
is a small town girl who was transplanted to the big city almost ten years ago.
She describes herself as a hopeless daydreamer masquerading as a “normal” person
in Southern society. When not writing, she’s a full-time
basketball/football/guitar mom for her two sons and a devoted wife to her
real-life hero-husband. She’s addicted to writing, paranormal romance novels
and movies, Alabama football and coffee…addictions are not necessarily in order
of priority. She is convinced coffee is nectar from the gods and blending
coffee and writing generates the perfect creative merger. Many of her stories
are spawned from these coffee highs. To learn more about Gracen and her writing
or to leave her a comment, visit her website at www.gracen-miller.com.
"Madison's Life Lessons"
Prequel Novella - ROAD TO HELL series
(NOT required reading before
beginning the series)
BUY LINKS
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords
/ Print
Fate can mark one early for a
particular future.
Madison
Wescott’s life is Hell on earth. Her father, a Baptist Preacher, convinces her
she’s morally corrupt when men notice her blooming beauty. She strives to be
unnoticeable, but nothing satisfies her condemning parents.
And sometimes fate has nothing to
do with one’s potential.
Temptation
rears its head when Micah Dominus visits her father’s church on Christmas
morning, but she is unprepared for her physical reaction to him. Frightened by
her own emotions, she is grateful she’ll never see him again. But when he shows
up again at a friend’s funeral, and at other times in her life, she’s swayed by
his charisma. Micah becomes her white knight through the good and bad, but can
they create the perfect life together? Or has she just located the beginning of
the Road to Hell?
Supernatural
forces more powerful than fate can claim one’s destiny…
Madison’s Life Lessons Excerpt:
“You’re morally
damned, Madison Grace Wescott!” Bruce Wescott screamed the outraged whisper
into his daughter’s face. “It shames me to recognize you as my daughter.”
Madison shrunk
further into the corner of the church bench, wishing she could shrink out of
sight. Maybe if she were out of Daddy’s sight, she’d be out of his mind too,
she thought as she blinked back the stinging tears. A hurried peek around the
church sanctuary confirmed no one else witnessed her setback.
Unsure what she’d
done to receive his censure this time, she offered a weak, “Yes, sir, I’m
sorry, Daddy.”
Not that an apology
ever appeased him.
“It’s not me you
should be apologizing too, young lady, but the Lord,” he snapped drawing to his
five-foot six stature. “If you don’t repent and alter your ways, God’ll see you
burn in Hell.”
“Yes, sir, I
understand.” She hoped she sounded meek enough to suit his temper or she’d find
herself on her knees after church service praying for her soul. Depending upon
his mood, she could pray for hours without a restroom break or a knee break.
And boy, oh, boy, could her knees suffer brutal agony in that position.
It would be great
if she knew what to repent so she could avoid the burn of Hell. She didn’t want
to burn any more than he wanted her to burn. A typical complaint centered on
her appearance. Her hair was too blonde, her eyes too blue, her boobs too big
and her figure too lush for her too-tall frame. At fifteen she was already
three and a half inches taller than him. All these complaints apparently forced
men to sin against God by lusting after her. Not that she encouraged men to
lust after her, mind you, but on the off chance that they did, it was still her fault in Daddy’s eyes.
“Brother Wescott,”
Becca Slayter said with her hand extended to her father, cheap red lipstick
smeared outside the lip-line of her saggy mouth. The over-abundance of lipstick
did not give her the appearance of fuller lips. Reminded of another one of her
father’s complaints—her lips were too full and sensual—Madison pinched her lips
together. “I wanted to extol how much your sermon last Sunday enriched my life
this week. Why I was telling Cynthia Jones…”
Madison stopped
listening to Becca Slayter’s conversation with her dad because she didn’t much
like ‘Sister’ Becca or her high-pitched annoying voice. And she was old, like
thirty or thirty-five, and all Sister Becca ever did was brag about some new
object she’d received.
She peeked around
the sanctuary and took special care not to openly snag the gaze of any man. Opening her worn leather-bound
Holy Bible to the Gospel of Luke, she began to read and mentally pray God would
forgive her for whatever sin she’d committed. If she were lucky, by the time
Daddy finished his morning sermon he would forget all about her morally damned
soul. She sure didn’t want to spend the afternoon praying on her knees.
"Pandora's Box"
Book 1 in ROAD TO HELL series
(MUST BE READ BEFORE READING HELL’S PHOENIX)
BUY LINKS
Where
does the road to Hell begin?
What
happens when your son turns homicidal overnight and your husband disappears on
his way to work? Do you cower in fear or fight for your life? Madison Wescott
fights against the odds. Distrustful of a God she doesn’t believe in, she finds
herself face-to-face with a world she didn’t know existed and discovers her own
soul is darkened with demonic connections.
With good
intentions? Or by demonic design?
Phoenix Birmingham bursts into Madison’s life
in a whirlwind of sarcasm and sexual appeal. A hero for the masses—and for her
jaded heart—but few will ever know the sacrifices he has made or the sacrifices
to come. Discovering her entire life has been influenced by multifaceted
paranormal beings, Madison is determined to defeat the apocalyptic blueprint
fate has decreed, but only one man dares to challenge the supernatural forces
manipulating them. Even with Phoenix’s aid, can destiny be denied? Or will
demonic design prevail while they pay the crucial price with their souls?
In a small, sleepy
Alabama town the battle for mankind’s liberty has begun...
Pandora’s
Box Excerpt:
“May I?” He held up the medical
supplies.
She nodded and watched as he doused
gauze with antiseptic. “Dr. Nix at your service,” he said with a grin, two
adorable dimples charming her where words failed.
Madison rolled her eyes, and tipped her
head to the side to give him better access. He brushed her hair off her neck,
back behind her shoulder. Such a simple gesture, yet it felt terribly personal.
The air grew thick and sticky with her awareness of him. She shifted in her
seat and crossed her legs.
Madison stared into his eyes. Green,
she thought, his eyes were green, gorgeous and intense, with ridiculously long
eyelashes women would fantasize about. If they didn’t, they should. A flicker
of compassion, concern, and something else she couldn’t identify flashed in his
eyes.
“Ready?” he asked.
The husky tenor of his voice forced her
gaze to shift to his mouth. Nice, sexy lips, designed for kissing. She gave a
mental shake but couldn’t resist wondering how his mouth would feel on hers.
“Madison?” Humor deepened his voice, a
touch of a smile tilted the edges of the lips she’d been fantasizing about, and
she realized she still stared at them. “You ready?” he asked again, and her
eyes widened in embarrassment over her foolish stupor.
She swallowed hard. “Yeah.” She
whispered past the lump in her throat and forced her vision to lock on the wall
over his shoulder. Good God, what was wrong with her? Her pulse throbbed like
crazy, and she felt woozy. Loss of blood! Must be why she reacted that way. No
other explanation made sense.
Even though the antiseptic stung like
hell, the gentle touch coming from such a gruff man surprised her. “It’s not
bad,” he said, dabbing the blood away. “Just a nick.”
Well, she could nix the blood loss
theory. Exhaustion and stress were the only other excuses she could come up
with. “I’ve suffered worse.” Her voice sounded off, kind of hoarse. She tried
to clear her throat delicately, but he must have noticed her unease, because
his perceptive eyes met hers. Again, she thought she caught the edge of concern
reflected in their green depths.
“This isn’t the first time he’s
attacked you?”
“No. It’s the first time he’s tried to
seriously kill me, though.” She sighed as she closed her eyes, ready to give up
fighting, the sudden tears threatening to fall. Okay, woozy and acting strange
because of strain…not because of him. Seriously, as far as first impressions
went, she wasn’t impressed.
"Hell's Phoenix"
Book 2 in ROAD TO HELL series
BUY LINKS
Print – Coming Soon
Hell’s become more than just a playground for the wicked…
Going to Hell was
supposed to save Madison, but knowing she’s dead because of his failure leaves
Nix with only one thing to live for. Revenge. With Micah’s help he learns to
use his Messianic power. Anything for Mads has become his mantra, even if it
means killing innocents to gather the power he needs to succeed. A tsunami he
unleashes on a Gulf Coast city is stopped with magical interference, and Nix is
more than surprised to feel Madison in the opposing magic. Can he and Micah set
a trap to lure her out?
Pandora’s Box…once you open it, there’s no turning back!
Madison has done the
unthinkable, opened Pandora’s Box to save Nix from Hell. And failed. She’s
willing to risk her own life to rescue Nix, but she worries about the welfare
of her accomplice in the mission and leaving her son behind. Following up on a
lead, she’s ambushed by Nix and Micah. Shocked and hurt to discover Nix has
become a willing participant of Hell, she’s more certain than ever she won’t
escape the demonic fate her husband outlined for her. While in Hell, she
discovers denying the emergence of her succubus is futile, which means getting
Nix out of Hell after embracing her inner demon just became a very real
dilemma…
Hell’s Phoenix Excerpt:
“You’ll heal her promptly,” Micah growled, shifting
back into his human persona, as he offered his legs as a pillow for her head.
She’d have pushed him away if she could’ve managed to contort her body to that
angle.
Madison gaped at the blood darkening her jeans and
spreading down her thigh. “That hurts way worse than I thought being shot
would.”
“I need to get your pants off, Mads, to heal you.”
Nix’s fingers went to the snap of her jeans.
She knocked his hands away. “You’ll heal the others
first.”
“He shot the main artery in your thigh, Madison.
You’ll bleed out before he finishes with them.” Micah compressed his lips
together and spoke as if he ground his teeth together. “I’ve lost you twice. I
will not lose you again.”
“Death would at least grant me freedom from you!”
Micah’s mouth flattened in displeasure. “Phoenix, I
would ask you to do as she requests.”
“Goddamnit, Mads, I swear I’ll heal them
immediately after I take care of you.”
Madison glared at Nix. “E kawoja ciok tauqelv.” I refuse your healing. Nix spewed
curses in Xapil. “Impressive, you’ve learned how to curse in demon.”
Nix scowled. “Stubborn.”
Madison clenched her teeth in silent mutiny. Nix
cupped the back of her head, tugged slightly and kissed her hard on the lips.
Excitement zinged through her system. Her attraction to him always presented
itself at the most inappropriate moments.
“I find that stubborn trait sexy, baby.”
“Flattery gets you nowhere, Nix.” She winced at the
tug against her wounded flesh as he rested her against Micah’s thighs.
“What does?” Nix jerked the hem of one pant leg up
and tugged the blade strapped to her ankle out of its harness.
“Good deeds.”
He brandished the knife he’d given her for her
thirtieth birthday and grinned. “Does healing them count?”
“No.”
Nix rolled to his feet and leveled her with his
stare. “You’re a hard woman to please.”
“Cease the flirtations with my wife.”
Micah’s grip on her shoulders intensified. “Heal those bottom-feeders, and then
heal her.”
"Genesis Queen"
Book 3 in ROAD TO HELL series
Coming December 18, 2012
to Decadent Publishing and online e-book stores
Victory is hollow
when fate maneuvers one as a pawn.
Madison’s
mission is complete. Nix is rescued from Hell and her son safe from his dark
destiny. But in the safe harbor of Nix’s love, her demonic husband warns of a
murderous plot. Can she trust that it’s the truth and not another scheme to
claim her for Hell’s throne?
Sometimes internal
struggles can house our biggest demons.
With
allies divided and prophecy heralding defeat, Madison gambles on Micah’s tenuous
honor to keep their son protected. Torn between her heart’s desires and her
dark requirements, Madison worries her hellish fate cannot be avoided. When
betrayal comes from an unlikely direction, all their futures may be damned. In
the darkest hour of Madison’s life, an undeniable providence will transpire.
Who can she trust? And how far will she fall to defeat her foes?
Amid the
rubble of defeat will Hell’s Genesis Queen dawn?
Genesis Queen Excerpt:
Nix
located Mads in the kitchen. Bacon sizzled in the frying pan and grits were on
a slow boil in a pot on the stove. She beat up a batch of pancake mix; at least
he thought that was what she whipped up.
“How
can you cook at a time like this?”
She
did the most normal things at the weirdest moments.
“I’m
not convinced this isn’t one of Micah’s attempts to bring me to heel.” She set
the bowl aside and pulled out a griddle. “And cooking soothes me.”
God
knew he loved her food. His belly grumbled in agreement. The way she moved as
she prepared food was a thing of beauty, too. Watching her calmed him.
He
handed over the photo Amos had drawn.
She
wiped her hands on a kitchen towel before grasping the picture. After a long
moment, she canted her face toward him. “What’s this?”
“Amos
had a vision. Went glowy-eyed. That”—he nodded at the paper in her hand—“is the
man he says is behind the attack.”
“An
angel.” No question. A stated fact. Mads blew out a breath and leaned against
the counter behind her. “He and Georgie hadn’t seen before….” She rubbed her
eyes. “I thought Micah was lying. Like always.”
“He
rarely lies.” The angel was painfully honest more often than not. It hurt to
admit that even to himself. He wanted her to think of her husband as an
unfeeling monster, but Nix’s relationship with Mads would always be built on
honesty.
Her
head snapped back. “Don’t defend him.”
“I’m
not.” Not really, just stating the truth. He strode
around the island and stepped in front of her. “We need him to help protect you
both.”
“No.”
“Mads,
baby….” He settled his weight against her. She adjusted her stance, widening
her stride and granting him space between her thighs. His fingers slid through
her hair, as her hands settled on his hips, her thumbs anchoring in his
belt-loops. “I want you two as safe as I can get you. If accepting that
bastard’s aid is going to keep you breathing, then we need it.”
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Thanks for the awesome post, Chastity! ~ Shelley, Tsk Tsk What to Read
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