A Hard-Earned Happily Ever After ~guest post by Ash Krafton, author of the urban fantasy Demimonde Series #giveaway

I'm happy to have a good friend, Ash Krafton, here today as my guest. She's talking about the fine line between paranormal romance and urban fantasy in her Demimonde Series. Be sure to check out her great giveaway at the end of this post.

BLEEDING HEARTS is the first book in Ash Krafton's Demimonde Series (urban fantasy novels with strong romantic elements). The book has won several awards and distinctions, including Finalist rank in six different RWA chapter competitions. Today, the author talks about the biggest difference between paranormal romance and urban fantasy…and why BLEEDING HEARTS was written to skirt the rules...

A Hard-Earned Happily Ever After

Romance. It's one of the most popular genres of books these days, and with good reason…it is so diverse! There is a flavor of romance to tickle any palate. Regency, western, pirate, paranormal, historical, suspense…and every level of heat imaginable. Despite the seemingly endless list of categories and variations, people who enjoy romance literature can all agree on one thing: there has to be a HEA.

HEA stands for "happily ever after". It's the ending our lovers are struggling to reach, their hits and misses and obstacles creating the story that sweeps us up in their journey. After watching two people go through so much together, we want them to get their HEA. We need it, ourselves.

When I set out to write BLEEDING HEARTS, I didn't intend it to be a paranormal romance. I knew that the story arc was going to be too big to wrap up neatly by the end of the book. Marek and the Demivampires had a lot of challenges ahead of them, serious issues that would keep him from being able to give Sophie a HEA by the end of the novel. The book was definitely urban fantasy (or paranormal chick lit, by some standards) but, because it didn't meet the single most criteria—the requisite HEA—BLEEDING HEARTS was not a romance.

Was it romantic? Sure it was! Sophie and Marek overcome many issues to allow themselves to fall in love. It's no surprise that more readers are on #TeamMarek than any other. They know there is more to their story than what we get at "The End" of the first book.

Over the course of the next two books, Sophie and Marek encounter more obstacles, more tender moments. Along the way, she gets tangled up in #TeamRode and #TeamDierk…but those aren't roadblocks. They were the kinds of challenges people meet along the way to the HEA of their dreams.

When I wrapped up WOLF'S BANE (Demimonde #3), I sat back and thought two things: With the Books of the Demimonde I'd completed an urban fantasy trilogy…but I'd also created an epic paranormal romance. And I was truly satisfied with how the story played out because I needed a HEA for me, too. We all did.

So if anyone asks what genre The Books of the Demimonde are, the answer may vary depending on which book I'm thinking about at the moment. Readers who pick up BLEEDING HEARTS and BLOOD RUSH know they are urban fantasy because of the ever-elusive HEA…

But those who get to "The End" of WOLF'S BANE may answer very differently. All you have to do is see the grins on their faces when they close the book to know the series goes far past the boundary of urban fantasy to that sweet place that romance readers crave. After getting to know her so well, I believe Sophie deserves her HEA.

And, as the readers who have come to know and love her, we deserve her HEA, too.

Bleeding Hearts

Demimonde

Book One

Ash Krafton

Genre: urban fantasy

Publisher: Ash Krafton

Date of Publication: October 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-946120-00-7

ASIN: B01M7PCLWJ

Number of pages: 380

Word Count: 94k

Cover Artist: Red Fist Fiction

Book Description:

Sophie Galen is an advice columnist whose work leaves her neck-deep in other people's problems. Thanks to her compassion, her gut instinct, and her magnetic charm, Sophie really knows how to attract little black clouds.

Marek Thurzo is no little black cloud; he's a maelstrom. Marek is Demivampire, a race with the potential to evolve into vampire. A warrior who's taken his share of spiritual damage, he hovers dangerously close to destruction.

He seeks salvation. She's driven to save him. But what if he can't be saved?

Sympathy for his plight becomes true empathy as Sophie's hidden nature is revealed. Marek suspects she may be one of the Sophia, oracle and redemption of the damned Demivampire. She alone can turn back the evolutionary clock.

All she needs is the courage to face her fears. Can she save him from Falling?

Amazon

Blood Rush

Demimonde

Book Two

Ash Krafton

Genre: urban fantasy

Publisher: Ash Krafton

Date of Publication: October 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-946120-01-4

ASIN: B01M7PCWFD

Number of pages: 376

Word Count: 94k

Cover Artist: Red Fist Fiction

Book Description:

Sophie doesn't believe in happily ever after. These days, she'd settle for alive after sunrise.

Advice columnist and newly-appointed oracle to the demivampire, Sophie Galen has more issues than a Cosmo collection: a new mentor with a mean streak, a werewolf stalker she can't shake, and a relationship with her ex's family that redefines the term complicated. And then there's her ex himself, who is more interested in playing leader of the vampire pack than in his own salvation.

Becoming a better oracle is tough enough, but when Sophie encounters a deadly enemy - one she never dreamed of facing - it will take everything she's ever learned in order to survive.

Amazon

Wolf's Bane

Demimonde

Book Three

Ash Krafton

Genre: urban fantasy

Publisher: Ash Krafton

Date of Publication: October 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-946120-02-1

ASIN: B01MA3JHUV

Number of pages: 388

Word Count: 104k

Cover Artist: Red Fist Fiction

Book Description:

Since becoming oracle to the demivampire two years ago, advice columnist Sophie has battled werewolves and survived a vampire attack (or two). However, not only was she powerless to save her lover Marek when he slipped to the brink of evolution, she also witnessed his transformation into a falcon, the symbol of Horus United.

Sophie’s quest to save Marek is further complicated when rock star Dierk Adeluf – who also happens to be the king of the Werekind – invites her backstage after a concert. Just when it seems she will find respite from heartache, Sophie is bitten by a werewolf and Dierk decides she is destined to be his queen.

Sophie is caught between the demivamps she loves and the Were who commands her to love him. Throw in his jealous wanna-be girlfriend—a true bitch if ever there was one—and an ambush by witches, and there you have the big mess that Sophie calls her life. And, hello? Her soul mate is still a bird.

Amazon

About the Author:

Ash Krafton writes because if she doesn't, her kids will…and NOBODY wants that. A speculative fiction girl through and through, Ash writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels as well as poetry and short fiction. Her work has won a bunch of awards and was even nominated for a Pushcart Prize. When she's not writing, she's practicing Tai Chi, listening to loud rock and metal, or crushing on supervillains.

Most recently, she's re-released her urban fantasy trilogy THE BOOKS OF THE DEMIMONDE because she never really left the world of Sophie and her Demivamps.

Find out more when you visit www.ashkrafton.com  

Blog: http://ash-krafton.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ashkrafton

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ashkraftonauthor

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/Ash_Krafton

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/demimondeash

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ash_krafton
Website: http://www.ashkrafton.com/

Tour giveaway:

$25 Amazon gift card and eCopy of Bleeding Hearts (Demimonde #1) in winner's choice of format (Kindle, Paperback, or Audiobook)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. 

JOIN MARSHA'S MAILING LIST and receive a free copy of her paranormal romance story RULER OF THE NIGHT.

Read Marsha's COON HOLLOW TALES of paranormal romance and her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance. For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Happy Unbirthday, Forever Girl: A Victorian Celebration for an historical fantasy ~guest post by Ash Krafton, author of The Heartbeat Thief

I'm pleased to bring you a fascinating guest post by an awesome writer and friend, Ash Krafton. Her book, The Heartbeat Thief, is currently on sale to mark its unbirthday.

Happy Unbirthday, Forever Girl: A Victorian Celebration for an historical fantasy

by Ash Krafton

As much as we romanticize Victorian times, life was much different back then—and not always in a good way. Due to sickness and undeveloped medical treatments, many children never had the opportunity to grow up. It is no wonder that birthdays were enthusiastically celebrated—each new year in a child’s life was truly a blessing. A birthday was another year’s victory over Death.

And Death was a huge preoccupation for Senza Fyne, the young Victorian woman whose dark tale is spun in THE HEARTBEAT THIEF. Her seventeenth birthday marked her debut into society…but it did not leave the fear of early death behind. Now of an age to marry, Senza’s mother constantly reminded her that she needed to find her mate before her beauty withered and faded, before her chances of an advantageous marriage was lost.

Senza didn’t want to be set out like wares at a market. She wanted a love-match—but that was one luxury a girl of even her station could not afford. She was trapped in a losing game, each passing day another hand won by Death.

Until she met Mr. Knell, the mysterious man who promised her an escape from all of her worries.

When Senza Fyne makes her dark deal with Mr. Knell, she is freed from the ravages of time and death, and her gives her a special present, a locket in which she must store heartbeats. “A gift on your Unbirthing day,” he said.

And when more than one hundred fifty years, that day was the only day that she remembered. Unbirthdays were remarkable things.

Throughout her long life, Senza forgot to celebrate her actual birthday. Perhaps immortality lessens the importance of another year’s victory over death.

Whom would she have invited, when the loves of family and childhood friends had faded into the past? The world had become a sea of nameless faces, images flickering on a distant screen. Everyone around her would wilt like flowers in late summer, grown brittle in autumn’s chilling wind, and disappear beneath the final snows of eternal winter.

Were there a cake served, a light fluffy delicate creation of sweetness and fruit and frosting, would someone have baked traditional trinkets into it? Would her slice hold the lucky coin? Or would she find a thimble, the harbinger of a life spent alone, unmarried?

And what gift would Knell give her, when he had already stolen her life? His locket hung heavy with memory, with regret, with the pilfered beats of men and women who each lived out their lives in natural order.

No. Mark the day, she would. Remember it, she was thus compelled. But no party. No celebration. Celebrations were for the living.

How dreary! Sometimes my heart aches for Senza Fyne, who, much like the narrator of Poe’s “The Raven” is constantly seeking companionship and release from loneliness. The tapping on her chamber door always yields an empty hall. No one there, and an eternity of it.

Let us give Senza a respite from her fate, and remember her book’s birthday—and therefore her Unbirthday—with a much lighter heart. I, for one, will raise a cup of tea and have a slice of cake and cheer the day I “met” one of my all-time favorite characters: Senza Fyne, the Forever Girl, Death’s Immortal Beloved, the Heartbeat Thief.

This week until June 26^th, THE HEARTBEAT THIEF ebook will be $0.99!

Find it at any of these retailers:

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK 

Amazon FR | Amazon DE

Kobo Apple Smashwords  Barnes and Noble

About the author: Ash Krafton

Ash Krafton writes New Adult speculative fiction under the pen name AJ Krafton. In addition to THE HEARTBEAT THIEF, Ash is also the author of a growing list of poetry, short stories, and urban fantasy novels.

Currently, she’s working on a new series, THE DEMON WHISPERER. First book, CHARM CITY, can be found on Wattpad.com where you can read it free. Find it here: CHARM CITY on Wattpad.com

Find more to love at www.ashkrafton.com

Follow Ash at:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Goodreads

Pinterest 

*~*~*

Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Read her COON HOLLOW TALES of paranormal romance and her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance. For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Writer's Burn Out ~ guest post by urban fantasy author Ash Krafton

Today, I'm so pleased to have Ash Krafton here to talk about she's attempted to assure her father that writing fantasy will never cause her to have writer's burn out. Be sure to check out her great new release, Blood Rush, as well as the terrific contest at the end of this post. 

Writer’s Burn Out by Ash Krafton

My dad called me the other day. (I think he does it to make sure I’m keeping out of trouble. Little does he realize, I’m crafty enough to avoid getting caught.) Our phone calls always start the same: How are you, what’s new with the kids, what are you up to today?

This summer, I’m completing Book Three of the Demimonde, so I answer that last question pretty much the same way, every time. Going to get some writing done today.

“Oh, honey,” he said. His voice was heavy with genuine concern. “Don’t burn yourself out.”

Burn myself out? Was he KIDDING?

I giggled through the rest of the conversation, which was kind of on the short side for him. I think he really did think I’d finally gone over the deep end.

Truth is, I can’t imagine a job that would be less likely to burn myself out than writing. That’s because I can’t imagine a job I’d want to do more.

I have a full time career in pharmacy and, believe me, that burns out a person fast. High pressure, low appreciation, no lunch breaks, and—gak, I can spit saying it—insurance company phone calls. If it wasn’t for the deep personal satisfaction I get from my practice, I’d have bailed years ago.

Writing is my second job. I can’t rightly call it a hobby anymore, although it will always feel like one—and that’s why I can never get writer’s burnout.

All the writers I’ve met may have become my professional network but, to me, they are friends and buddies on whom I can depend for advice, encouragement, and lots of fun distractions. Book conventions? Summer camp for writers: time to shop and make new friends. And the biggest part of it—the writing—is the greatest joy of all.

Especially writing this series…the Books of the Demimonde.

Bleeding Hearts (Demimonde #1) was my book baby. When it received an offer from Pink Narcissus Press, I was over the moon and I pretty much haven’t touched the ground since. The world I created, full of demivamps and werewolves and the others who hide within our society, is someplace I’d really like to live. Especially if Marek were really out there. *wink*

Blood Rush (Demimonde #2) continues the story of Sophie and her demivamps, although this story is sleeker and faster than the debut. That’s because the scene is set, the rules are down, and the world is built—so it’s time for action…and, time for Rodrian to get the attention you know he loves.

I’m writing Wolf’s Bane (Demimonde #3) right now. Every day I get to open up the pages of that world, changing the destinies of my characters with the tap of the keyboard. What lies in store for Sophie and the other denizens of Balaton? Only I know for sure…and the story grows and blooms, day by day. See what I mean about being over the moon? 

And my dad thinks I can get burn out doing this.

Parents can be so weird sometimes.

Don’t forget to check out the tour giveaway and good luck—thanks for entering and for taking a moment to check out the Books of the Demimonde!

Blood Rush
The Books of the Demimonde, Book 2

Ash Krafton

Genre: urban fantasy

Publisher: Pink Narcissus

Date of Publication: May 14, 2103

ISBN: 9781939056016

Number of pages: 353

Word Count: 94000

Cover Artist: Duncan Eagleson

Book Description:

Sophie doesn't believe in happily ever after. These days, she'd settle for alive after sunrise.

Advice columnist and newly-appointed oracle to the demivampire, Sophie Galen has more issues than a Cosmo collection: a new mentor with a mean streak, a werewolf stalker she can't shake, and a relationship with her ex's family that redefines the term complicated. And then there's her ex himself, who is more interested in playing leader of the vampire pack than in his own salvation.

Becoming a better oracle is tough enough, but when Sophie encounters a deadly enemy - one she never dreamed of facing - it will take everything she's ever learned in order to survive.

Excerpt:

I don't believe in happily ever after. These days, I'd settle for alive until sunrise.

I never thought I'd become a nine-to-fiver. Certainly never thought I'd be too pre-occupied to make fun of myself for being one. Sometimes the irony was too great to appreciate.

While I waited for the elevator to arrive at The Mag's foyer, I smoothed my scarf along the back of my neck and hefted my tote bag a little higher on my shoulder. Every chime increased my trepidation, tightening the fist of anxiety in my chest and the sensation of bees swarming in the top of my stomach. I hated quitting time.

More underappreciated irony. Why not?

People chatted around me but I fidgeted with my zipper, keeping my gaze lowered and my mouth closed. Leaving at five in the afternoon meant more than crammed elevators and crowded buses; it meant the light would fade soon and with it my peace of mind. The autumn wasn't a happy golden foliage time of year for me anymore.

Although it was only early October, already the longer nights and shorter days made me feel nervous and brittle. Bad enough I didn't have a sweetheart to share the long nights but even worse now that I knew what came out when the sun went down. Although I hadn't had any problems with vampires over the last year, the threat never left my mind.

Vampires were out there. It was just a matter of time until I had to deal with them again.

Halfway during our descent, I felt a vibe. It was a mild one but, over the past year, my empathy had become sensitive to the point of being squirrely. The thin thread of power wound its way around each of the passengers as the DV who owned it checked out who else was in the car. When it reached me, it felt like a poke on the arm. I glanced over my shoulder, catching the eyes of an older dark-eyed woman near the back. She sent a tiny pulse of apology-ladened power and lowered her eyes.

I smiled politely and concentrated on tugging my scarf loose. The DV didn't approach me in public where any old human could see. We kept our dealings distant and private. That was the way I preferred.

The door opened and I flowed out with the crowd, sunglasses on and scarf over my hair. I hoped everyone would more or less continue on together today so I could hide in the crowd a bit longer.

Without turning my head, I saw a rail-thin guy, his scruffy head and jeans out of place amongst the exiting office employees. He leaned against the wall, scanning the people emerging from the other elevators. Seemed to have missed me—good. Taking shelter behind a taller woman and her chatty companion, I hustled out the front doors.

Outside, my luck ran out. My camouflaging crowd of co-workers suddenly scattered like roaches when the kitchen light is turned on. I hesitated, taking too long to pick a direction.

It was all he needed to spot me. I looked back through the glass into the foyer of The Mag's building. He was on the move, eyes locked onto me.

I bolted.

Startled faces blurred past as I hurried through the five o'clock exodus, bumping into one man, dodging another, and rounding the corner at a speed unfitting for heeled pumps. Steve Madden would be horrified if he knew what I did in his shoes.

Well, Steve could kill me later. Right now, I was facing a much more immediate threat.

At the corner, a bus was loading and at this point I didn't care if it was mine or not. An elderly lady with a big shopping bag struggled on the steps and I danced behind her like a first grader with a full bladder. Once she cleared the last step I leapt up, slamming my token into the fare box.

The door closed behind me just as my pursuer caught up. For once I was glad for the driver's rude efficiency. The bus leveled and lurched forward. I grabbed the bar, almost swinging into the laps of the front seat passengers. As we pulled away from the curb, I met the man's stare through the grimy glass of the door.

Rusted-orange eyes with wide pupils.

Non-people eyes.

Werewolf eyes.

I sank onto an empty seat, heart thumping, gradually slowing. Glancing up at the sign over the driver's seat, I realized I'd ended up on the round-about route. Close enough for me. I tugged my necklace out of my shirt and kissed the pendant, my good luck charm, and offered a silent thankful thought to whatever divine powers had saved my behind, yet again.

Reaching into my bag, I pulled out a book of poetry and readied for a long ride home. Ironically, when I'd flipped to a random page, I opened to one of Dylan Thomas's poems.

Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

I had no energy left for rage. All I could muster was a thankful thought because at least today's escape had gone better than most.

About the Author:

Ash Krafton writes from the heart…of the Pennsylvania coal region, that is.

She is the author of the Books of the Demimonde (Pink Narcissus Press).

BLEEDING HEARTS (Demimonde #1) is a six-time RWA finalist and was voted "Reviewer Top Pick" by Gravetells.com. Ash continues the story of Sophie and her Demivampires in her latest release BLOOD RUSH (Demimonde #2). She's hard at work (when she isn't watching Doctor Who) writing the third book, WOLF'S BANE.

Ash Krafton's poetry and short fiction has appeared in several journals, including Niteblade, Bete Noire, Abandoned Towers, and Silver Blade. She's a member of Pennwriters, RWA, and Maryland Writers Association. She lurks near her blog and contributes to the QueryTracker blog.

Ash lives with her family and their German Shepherd dog deep in the Pennsylvania wilds, awaiting the day the TARDIS appears in the driveway (the dog most likely keeps the Doctor away. What a beast.)

Until then, she writes.

Find Ash at:

The Demimonde blog

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Rafflecopter giveaway:

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~ ~ ~ Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Read her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance: Book One, SEEKING A SCRIBE, Book Two, HERITAGE AVENGED, Book Three, LOST VOLUMES, and Book Four, STAUROLITE. For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.