Affairs of the Dead Contest Entries -- What's your Unfinished Business?

I recently wrapped up a two week contest tour where I asked bloggers to post funny, interesting, and creative unfinished business that a ghost would need taking care of, since that is what the main character in my novel, Affairs of the Dead, does. The winning entry will be incorporated into the sequel I am working on, which will hopefully be released next year. The winner will also snag an Amazon gift card along with books from Etopia Press. Here are the entries, read and enjoy! I will be picking a winner soon!

1) Her lover left one night and never came back a few weeks later she found out she was pregnant, she hid it from the world. She moved to a remote location in the woods and had the child at home with the help of a midwife she had befriended. Alone in her cabin raising a child by herself she vowed one day to make sure the baby would know the father. A few years later when the child was 3 the mother left the child with the midwife to make a trip to town. On the way back home she was ran off the road by a semi truck and died in the crash. She had told the midwife that if anything was to happen to her that she was to take care of her baby if she had not found the baby’s father. It was easy finding him while she was dead all she had to do was concentrate hard enough and Bam there she was in his bedroom staring down at his sleeping form. She hovered for a few moments trying to decide of a way to let him know, so far she hasn't been able to move anything, she decided to stay with him only leaving to check on her child, until she could find away to tell him about his daughter.

2) A man dies in his apartment while cross dressing. He returns as a ghost to get into his apartment and change his body out of his current lingerie, wig, heels and makeup before his body is found.

3) A ghost will remain to stick around and eat Pizza!

4) Maybe to haunt his/her favorite author to find out the end of a favorite series.

5) A ghost sticks around to cut coupons!

6) A very Type A woman’s ghost sticks around to find her great granddaughter’s little pink Hello Kitty sock that’s missing from her laundry.

7) A soldier is returning from (any) war with a last letter for the wife/sweetheart of a dying soldier buddy, but he himself is killed on the way. He still wants to see that the letter is delivered.

8) A ghost can't rest in peace without finishing that book their friend loved and loaned them, but they never got around to reading. Then after they have to let the friend know what they thought. 

9) A woman named Dana dies suddenly in a car accident. Dana was a fashionista that was very proud of her figure but one thing she never admitted to anyone was that she wore Spanx every day.  She doesn't want anyone to find out so her unfinished business is to hide all of her pairs of Spanx so that her secret dies with her!

10) My ghost pranked a friend who hates beans by swapping the labels of a can of beans and a can of soup, the friend hasn't opened what she thinks of the soup yet so my ghost hasn't seen the results of their prank. 

11) Teacher (clean cut average next door kind of girl) who works at night as a blogger for an adult toy (clears throat) company and has product testing experience. She has to get those things out of her house before her mother gets in from out of town. To do anything else would be disastrous. She can't just ask anyone. This is a girl to girl cry for help.

12) Girl has a fight with her boyfriend after another guy spells out a scene between said boyfriend and another girl. The event has a moment of truth and girl believes him only to fall victim to a horrific crime as he takes her away to console her. Now she is dead and watches boyfriend grieving and is powerless to stop the bad guy as his net of revenge draws closer. Guy has a bone to pick with boyfriend and is out to destroy more than his life-he won't stop until everything he loves is gone. She has to find someone who will hear her and help to prevent the boyfriend from being hurt-and tell him the truth. She is torn-she wants him with her but it is not his time-she can prevent any more evil from happening.

13) When you think of it being a ghost is like a lifetime of invisibility. And there’s definitely something I would do now as a ghost. I’m gonna go all Barney Stinson on you and say, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it. I am gonna make out with Jensen Ackles. Hell yeah!! That is like my ultimate dream come true. Well I would have preferred having little Jensen babies, but I’ll take what I can get! I know, I know I was only required to come up with one ‘unfinished business’, but man this is like the ULTIMATE unfinished business. No way am I going to cross over before I get to make out with and *cough* fondle *cough* Jensen Ackles.

Which entry is your favorite? 

Wild Fire Release Blog Party and Settings Hunt

I'm happy to help Ally Shields with the release of her new novel, Wild Fire. Be sure you grab a copy! Now, I'll let Ally take over:

Thank you so much for being part of the  release party and giveaway for the sixth book in my Guardian Witch series!

 (See contest details at the bottom.)

Book Blurb:

A vision. A lost talisman. A dangerous journey through time...

A month after their bonding, Ari and Andreas are still adjusting to married life when they learn the hard way that the O-Seven, the terrifying and brutal vampire elders, still have them in their sights. A three million dollar bounty hangs over each of their heads, and there’s no lack of assassins eager to collect.

When the local seer has a terrifying vision of the destruction of Riverdale, it’s up to Ari—as usual—to keep everyone safe. Only this time, an enemy from the past has bound her fire powers, and the city’s string of arsons seems connected.

Daron, the vampire prince in Toronto, has information that two of the vampire elders are on their way to Riverdale. Which can’t be good. Only a risky and unprecedented journey through time can provide the help they need. But that will leave Andreas to face the O-Seven alone...

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Book Trailer on Youtube: http://youtu.be/nGO1wudi7xQ

Excerpt:

The tracks in the snow gradually moved up the slope toward the older parts of Riverdale, out of the tourist district, past residential homes, angling toward the cliff area that overlooked the Mississippi River. Then it took a sharp swing north.

Ari looked ahead, her gaze following the tracks through the gate and into the Riverdale Cemetery. "I don't like this." She came to a stop with one hand on the gate. "Don't you think the trail is a bit too obvious? As if he wanted us to follow him?" Her eyes scanned the cemetery grounds for anything unusual, a shadow, a hint of color out of place among the stones and crypts. The only sizable tracks went behind a tall mausoleum.

"A trap?" Ryan drew his pistol. "Do you sense something?"

"Maybe. But there is a lot of magical interference in graveyards." Ari frowned. She sensed a flicker of Otherworld power, but it didn't feel right. Shielded? Would a halfling demon be that good? She eased through the gate; Ryan followed close behind. Her magic stirred, raising the hairs on her arms, and she stopped, extending her witch senses to probe the area around them—tasting, smelling, touching the environment. Her magic roared to life.

"Back!" she shouted. "Power. And lots of it."

Two gigantic figures leaped from the top of the nearest crypt. A howling rent the quiet of the cemetery. By the time the creatures landed—one in front of Ari and Ryan, and the other cutting them off from the gate—both had morphed into fiery red, eight-foot demons, their eyes deep black holes. Each carried a metal shield and swung a five-foot mace.

"Hellsgate warriors!" Ari crouched, raising her fingers to call the witch fire to her command.

Author Bio:

Ally Shields was born and raised in the Midwest, along the Mississippi River, and considers herself a "river rat." The setting and folklore of that area are often incorporated into her Guardian Witch series. After  a career in law and juvenile justice, she turned to full-time writing in 2009. She loves writing, reading and traveling. Way too often she can be found on Twitter. @ShieldsAlly

Author Contacts:

Website: http://allyshields.com

Blog: http://allyshields.com/blog.html

Facebook: http://facebook.com/AllyShieldsAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ShieldsAlly

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6527209.Ally_Shields

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/allyshields

Other books in the series:

Awakening the Fire (#1); Fire Within (#2); Burning Both Ends (#3); Blood and Fire (#4); Fire Storm (#5).

Coming Soon:

Cross Keys, a Dark Elf urban fantasy (Oct. 3, 2014)

Eternal Fires (Guardian Witch #7) (TBA)

Blog Tour GIVEAWAY: Nov. 7-10:  Readers and writers always talk about characters in books, but settings are almost as important, and they play a huge role in the Guardian Witch series. Wild Fire is no exception, and this blog tour is revealing several settings that are the backdrop for major events in the book. In fact, I think they're so important that I'm running a special contest.

If you collect the names and numbers of all ten settings, you could win your choice of three ebooks in the series (including this latest release) or a $15.00 Amazon gift certificate. It's easy to do. Here are the rules.

Visit the blogs on this list -- or enough to collect all ten settings -- then email me at allyshieldsbooks@gmail.com by 9:00 a.m. EST, Monday, November 10, 2014 with your completed list. You will automatically be entered in the random drawing (two winners).

NOTE: A setting may appear on more than one blog, so be sure you have 10 different settings before turning in your entry.

Here is the list of participating blogs*:

Angela Myers

Brinda Berry

Carmen Stefanescu

Danielle Devor

Dani-Lyn Alexander

DL Richardson

JL Buck

Joyce Laverne

Kath Marsh

Kirstin Pulioff

Lindsey Loucks

Norma Huss

Sue Roebuck

Tina Gayle
Erin Moore

(*If you can't find any of the posts, return to allyshields.com for updated links.)

Now for the setting: #3

Setting #3:  City Hall - Olde Town's buildings have always been part of every story, but this is City Hall's one appearance of significance. :)

Good luck! Thanks for  joining Wild Fire's release celebration!

More Fun: Those of you who read this before 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. EST on November 7, are invited to join us at the official Facebook release party (https://www.facebook.com/events/314795258698003/) for games and prizes, including books, swag and more gift certificates!!

Books...Blog Tours...Babies...Oh My!

Other than a promo post here and there for another author, blogging has seriously dropped off for me. One of the main reasons being a tiny, cute human being who even as I type this is trying to snatch the mouse away and bang on the keyboard. My daughter is approaching nine months old and as amazing as motherhood has been...it's also exhausting! And it doesn't always leave time for much else. But I have been determined not to let everything else in my life fall to the wayside.

So I've been writing. The past month or two I have worked A LOT on the sequel to Affairs of the Dead, which I have titled Requiem for the Living. My publisher recently contracted it based on the proposal, which is exciting. It's not finished yet but it's getting there. About 20k words or so more and I will have a nice, complete, messy draft to go to war with in the editing cave. The goal is to have it out next year. I will be tremendously happy when this book is done because it has been kicking my ass the past year and a half. It has never taken me this long to write a book (Affairs was drafted in about ten days), and having a baby is only part of the reason. The other part is severe writer's block and a huge amount of frustration over how to write this story. I don't think I've ever cut scenes, re-wrote scenes, deleted scenes, added scenes, then gone back and messed with those scenes again and again so much in one book. But it's all in the pursuit of a great sequel which is what I hope to accomplish.

Other than working on Requiem I also decided I would like to launch a blog tour company, Red Moon Book Tours. As an author I know how hard marketing your book can be, especially when you are indie, so I wanted to be able to help my fellow authors while offering low rates because marketing endeavors can get pricy. Right now I am in the process of recruiting bloggers and trying to grow Red Moon's social media presence. Hopefully I can launch before the end of next year though I think a launch in the new year is more likely. If anyone would like to be a tour host, please contact me!

So my plate is rather full but I am going to attempt to start blogging again. I kinda miss doing blog hops and such...hope those are still around? lol Small goal...blog once a week. Let's see how it goes.