Just for "You"

I had read somewhere (Judith's blog maybe?) that she liked to write songs about her characters..how cool is this!!! (note: you may need to turn up the volume & I have included the lyrics below).



Lyrics:

YOU

G C Am C
You said I was something else - well, it made me nervous

Lackluster lifetimes I have danced around this circus

You were hoping I would stay so I made my escape

Rattled off a few trite words and ya put it down to fate

CHORUS:

You made me high / You, you made me high / You….you….


I guess we’ll have no more weekend warrior adventures
Not in this sorrow till I get myself together
You were hoping I’d come clean, I’d admit to nothing
Rather bite off my own tongue than eat my heart out when you’re gone


CHORUS

F G
Well it’s on and on and on we go
Well it’s on and on and on we go
Well it’s on and on and on…we….go….

You said I was something else, well, it made me nervous
What if your hands can do more than scratch beneath my surface…

CHORUS
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Thanks to everyone who entered the contest...and asked a question :)  Sorry we couldn't get to all the questions, but this month Judith has a blog tour going on as well! Judith was such a sport and answered  many more questions asked by you guys - here are her answers...

• The Skinned series is made up of 3 books. UMS, Second Skin and Skin of My Teeth. I have other projects in the works – some with paranormal creatures and some without.
• I didn’t actually dedicate the book to any one person (there are many important people in my life and I didn’t want to choose between them). I thanked my family and friends and all the folks who worked hard to bring UMS to life. Thanks guys!
• When I found out UMS was going to get published I celebrated for about five minutes, then I started on edits.
• Kids at my school know that I have a book coming out. They’re elementary students though and most of them probably won’t be reading UMS. But I do pop into classes and talk about the writing process or editing or story beginnings, etc. That’s always a blast for me.
• How much influence did Willow have? HA! If she had her way, UMS would be one line from start to finish and I’d never write again. We’d spend all day swimming at the lake, or fetching sticks or hiking in the woods, or sleeping by the fireplace...hmm…maybe she’s got the right idea.
• What do I get up to at lunch time at school? Lol…..I think I know who asked that question. I write, of course! I usually hide in the back of the staff room with my laptop and iPod – the rest of the world does not exist.
• How does it feel to be a debut author? Like I ate too many of those little cinnamon donuts at the Fair and then went ten rounds on the Tilt-A-Whirl. A pukefest is imminent.
• What is the one comment I’d like to hear after someone has read UMS? “When’s book 2 coming out?”
• Writer’s block. I don’t believe in it – I do however, admit there are times when writing is the last thing I feel like doing. Like when I have edits for example – and I’m not in that “first draft / first love” excitement faze. The writing is actually work. To get out of this slump, I have one main technique (besides eating chocolate – which threatens my skinny jeans love, and leads to extra treadmill time – AKA…not really worth it). I either watch a great movie or read a great book. That’s all I need to get inspired and get my ass back in the chair.
• Love that I got kicked out of book clubs, do ya? Lol…yeah, I get myself in trouble sometimes. ;) UMS started with a “What if?”. What if paranormal creatures converged on a small town? What if there was this girl stuck in the middle of it all? What if the girl wasn’t quite human? What if yadda, yadda, yadda…..  For me, my stories come from “What if? or And then what happened?

....AND THE WINNER OF THE PRIZE PACK IS Elaine Gauthier

Thanks to everyone who participated, I hope you had a fun week with Judith & Under My Skin!

Under My Skin - Mini Guide to Beasties

Judith sure loves her beasties.. the poor town of Redgrave is overcome with them! I thought it would be fun to have her give you a little taste of what you'll find in Under My Skin....

Redgrave’s Beasties

As you’ve mentioned, Mel, Under My Skin (UMS) features a smorgasbord of paranormal beasties converging on one small northern Alberta town, Redgrave. Here’s the quick and dirty lowdown on the key creatures that roam the pages of my little gothic tale.

Wolven

In UMS, my main character, Eryn is a shapeshifter, part-wolven/part-human. They are born, not made. Wolven is a term I created for her species, but it’s basically the same as lycan, which is more familiar – humans shifting to wolf form. The difference between wolven and lycan is pretty great. Most wolven (with the exception of those like Eryn’s mother – those who feel more human than wolf) live the majority of their lives as wolves. That has huge impact on their human interactions; it affects their motivations and lifestyles.

I wanted to emphasise this fact, so wolven they became.

Eryn doesn’t know much about wolven strengths/weaknesses and therefore neither does the reader. But Eryn’s learning fast. ;)

Werewolves

Werewolves are very different from wolven. In the Skinned world, they are forged with dark magicks and ruled by their creator (usually a demon, vampire, or other strong supernatural being). They’re hell hounds, creatures without thought – acting on command and ruled by both their master and lunar cycles. When not killing, they rest in stasis, hiding in underground dens until the next full moon. At that time they awaken and serve the violent needs of their masters. They are filled with bloodlust. Bites do not themselves cause a human to turn. This can only be accomplished if the human is marked according to paranorm law, and then bitten. Without the mark, the bite only wounds or kills – it doesn’t spark the change.

And poor Redgrave is overrun with these nasty creatures. Yikes!

Vampires

No paranormal story is complete without a resident vamp, and Redgrave has a few in high places. Logan Gervais, the town’s chief of police, and his progeny, Wade, are taking the town, and Eryn, by storm. In the Redgrave world, vampires have the same rules as most vamp lore – they can’t be in direct sunlight, they drink human blood, and they can influence people with mind control.

Witches

There are several key witch characters in UMS. They work positive magic; their power isn’t used to harm. There are no warlocks – a witch is a witch – either male or female. However, witches rarely birth sons and when they do…look out – those boys have more than their share of power. Witches and wolven don’t get along (some pesky servitude thing from way back), so sparks are sure to fly if they’re left alone together. Maybe that’s why Wade and Eryn have such chemistry.

However, Wade is an oddity as far as vamps go. He’s the male child of a witch, and he inherited her power after he was turned. He has special abilities. He can walk in the sun, and Logan exploits this to his advantage. He thinks he has Wade under his black-nailed thumb. Humph. Too bad Wade’s developing a mind of his own.

Windigo

This creature of aboriginal lore is a shapeshifting, man-eating giant that lives in the North because its heart is made of ice. Legend has it that windigo were once human hunters who became lost in the snow and resorted to cannibalism to survive. Once they’d had a taste of human flesh, they became ravenous beasts. The more humans they eat, the bigger they get.

Luckily Alec Delacroix comes from a long line of shamans and hunters. He and his brother, Matt, manage to take down the windigo who killed their father. But will Alec be able to trust Eryn – to accept her ability to shapeshift like these crazed beasts?

Wolves

While not paranormal in any way, I did research wolf behaviour to incorporate their traits into Eryn’s character. There are many reasons my girl’s got attitude, hates authority figures, is competitive, etc. It’s in her genes, man!

Luckily, my husband’s cousin, Joe, is a Ranger working in Jasper National Park. He took this pic of a wolf he encountered while on a hike in the mountains.

 Joe was also kind enough to provide me with some stats on wolves in Alberta:

•  Wolves in Canada, particularly in Alberta, have it pretty good compared to wolves in the U.S. They don’t have to live in sanctuaries. We have plenty of wilderness for our wolves to explore.
•  The largest wolves are found in the northwest (Yukon, Northern British Columbia, and Alberta). Historic range is/was all of Canada and most of North America.
•  Average weight is about 45kg but can get up to 80kg.
•  They’re believed to mate for life and have an average of 6 young.
•  It’s believed that the species does not have an inborn tendency to kill but rather is born with certain behaviour patterns that allow it to learn to kill (i.e. they learn to kill from their parents.)
•  They hunt for prey through direct scent, chance encounter, and tracking. They are quite coordinated in their attack. I recall watching a pack hunt elk. One wolf acted as a decoy and essentially chased a bunch of elk into an ambush. Others were waiting in a series of thickets.

So there you have it. A bit of “real” info on wolves and some lore behind UMS. I hope this intro into the creatures of the Skinned series was of interest. NOTE: There are still lots of creatures to make themselves known.
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Now that you've had a glimpse into her world, what do you think?

Interview Time with Judith Graves

Tell us a bit about The Skinned series. Where did the idea come from?

Skinned was a long time brewing. Between working full time as a library technician, playing in a folk-rock band, and life in general – I’d write scenes, picking away at this idea of different mythological beasties converging on one small town. After reading about a Cree creature, the Windigo, things began to fall into place, and I decided my main character would be a shapeshifter. From there – Eryn pretty much took over. ;)

There are three books: Under My Skin (UMS), Second Skin and Skin of My Teeth.

Eryn is such a unique spelling, how do you come up with your character names?

Ah….the “y” in her name…lol…there’s actually a story to that. In an early draft of UMS, I had her name as “Erin”. She had this snarky line about how writers add “y”s to words to make them gothic – like “vampyre” for example. The line got nixed along the way, but the spelling of Eryn’s name is ever an inside joke to keep me from thinking too much of my writing. ;)

Have you ever experienced anything supernatural in your life?

If you go to the Class of 2k10 blog (http://www.classof2k10.com/) during my book launch, you’ll hear all about a wicked little incident with a doll my aunt gave me once. Nuf said.

Did you find any characters taking on a life of their own & deviating from your outline?

Yes! You sound like you have experience with this yourself. Tell me, Mel – how the hell do you keep your characters in line? Got any tips to share? While I do find out all kinds of nifty things about the Redgrave crew as I’m writing, it would be nice if my characters would at least pretend I’m the boss.

Who was you favorite character & why?

Most of my favourite characters in the Skinned series are ones that haven’t even taken the stage yet – Sebastian / Nikko / you only get a taste of Logan in UMS. Too bad, really. But in UMS, Kate is one of my go-to girls. She’s a witch who can control time. She’s very Zen and funky. I luvs her. ;)

What were your favorite authors growing up & how have they influenced your writing?

K – I know this is a Canadian cliché, but L. M. Montgomery was my fav author when I was a teen. Anne of Green Gables – the whole Anne series – was a major obsession. When we were planning our wedding, I told my husband he had two choices – either we have a Star Trek wedding (did I mention I’m a Super Nerd?!) or an Anne theme. We got hitched in Fort Edmonton Park (dressed in period costumes, rode in a horse and buggy, etc). Now that’s love. (Although I still wonder what our pictures would have looked like if we’d boldly gone…ya know?)

You worked with the amazing illustrator,Val Cox. Can you tell us a bit about the process.

Hanging out with Val was the best. Okay, we didn’t hang – I’ve still yet to physically meet her, but we talked on the phone, emailed a ton, and formed this cool collaborative vibe. Basically I searched through UMS for visual scenes and with my 10 illo limit, I targeted areas where Val’s gothic images would best used. Then we chatted about style/character personalities/physical descriptions, etc. Together we created the finished “Eryn.” Val’s idea of the funky ponytails beat my original (and clichéd) wavy auburn locks - hands down. I ended up changing the manuscript to match. Val = so damn cool. Check out her website: www.valcox.ca

This is your debut, how many books have you written?

UMS was the first.

How long did UMS take to write?

I started jotting down ideas for UMS in 2004. Sold the book in 2008, and here it is getting published in 2010.

What your first ever book was about & do you still have it?

Since UMS was my first book, I do still have my original (handwritten) notes. I also have about 7 different version of the story saved on various disks and flash drives. Just for fun, here’s the original opening (notice it’s in third person – yup, somewhere along the line I switched the story to 1^st): 

            Erin McCain stood at the bedroom window. Not that there was much to see. She’d lived in the mountains her whole life. She expected the prairies to be flat.

            But this was flat-flat.

Meh. I think the final draft has a much hookier intro.

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Thanks Judith! The thought of a Star Trek wedding cracks me up!!!

Thanks for all the extra questions for those who have entered the contest. A few were answered above as I had asked them too, but the others have been passed along to Judith and her answers will be posted Friday, along with a really fun surprise and the winner of the prize pack!

There's still time to enter the contest for an Under My Skin Prize Pack - open internationally & closes Friday.

Under My Skin - The Prequel and Pics!

I love the opportunity to read bits not written into the book. In this scene, you'll get a glimpse of the main character, Eryn. She is such a fun, sarcastic character and the ending of the prequel really captures this.

Judith worked with the amazing illustrator and graphic designer, Val Cox. Below I've included her stunning pictures - meet Eryn, Alec and Wade!



The Prequel....

Mom and I stood in the clearing, a fine mist of fog hovered a foot off the ground, snaking through the tall grasses. The damp ground smelled fresh and inviting. A gentle breeze brought the savoury scents of the forest to us. One scent stood out above the others. In synchronism we turned our heads. A deer pranced at the edge of the woods.

Shooting me a mischievous glance, Mom raised her arms, embracing the change. Her elegant form shimmered before me. Her hair whipped around in a wind of paranorm making. Energy crackled in the air. An instant later a sleek black wolf stood in my mother’s place.

The change took me then too.

Together we charged through the grass. Black wolf and grey wolf. Mother and daughter. Wolven.

The deer bolted.

We separated, flanking the panicked creature. In wolf form the complications of my human life slipped away. No more questions, just the thrill of the hunt. I was strong.

Invincible.

A different scent lit the air. Ignoring the black wolf’s sharp cry, I darted after the more intense lure.

A snarl. A lunge. A bite.

I feasted as if I’d never had a fresh kill before.

“Eryn, what have you done?” Mom, returned to her human form, stared down at me, horrified. Her beautiful porcelain skin paled to a chalky white, her delicate features twisted into a grimace. The revulsion in her eyes gutted me as if she’d swiped a claw across my belly.

I glanced down at the earth. At the bloodstained shoe that remained. A human. I had attacked a human. My stomach rolled.

“Help me!” I tried to scream, but in wolf form I couldn’t sound out the words.

Mom backed away, shaking her head.

I ran to her, not fast enough to reach her side.

She slipped into the mist.

Leaving me and the beast that had slipped over me like a second skin.

I woke on a strangled sob. My teeth throbbed in my mouth. The coppery taste of blood lingered. The hum of an old-fashioned slide projector brought me back to the present.

Someone had flicked on the lights.

“That was must have been some daydream,” Mrs. Stantial said over the snickers of the entire art history class. “Are you alright, Eryn?”

I stared blankly into her concerned, I-bet-this-kid-needs-therapy eyes and let out a jerky breath.

“Oh, I’m just peachy.”

Don't forget to enter the contest for an Under My Skin Prize Pack - open internationally & closes Friday.

Welcome to Redgrave! A chance to win a great prize pack

I am excited to host a week of Under My Skin by Judith Graves. I've had so much fun working with Judith on this and am so excited for her and her debut which is released later this month, March 27th. I hope you enjoy what we have planned.

About the book: 

All her parents wanted was for Eryn to live a normal life...

The town of Redgrave had had its share of monsters before Eryn moved to town. Mauled pets and missing children. The Delacroix family is taking the blame, but Eryn knows the truth. Something stalks the night. Wade, the police chief's son and Regrave High's resident hottie, warns her the Delacroix are dangerous. But then so is Eryn--in fact, she's lethal.

But Eryn can't help falling for one of the Delacroix boys, dark, brooding, human Alec. And then it all goes bad.

A normal life? That's the real fairytale.


Book Trailer:



About the author:

Judith reads as much as she writes, devouring at least two books a week. She loves heated debates over character motives...she's been kicked out of several book clubs for just this reason. With her faithful sidekick at her feet--that'd be, Willow, a yellow lab--Judith remains unfazed by book club drama and is furiously writing more paranormal stories. Which hopefully, you'll read.

Working in a school library, Judith is surrounded by children's and young adult literature (there's no escape!). She fosters the joy of reading in students and staff at her school. She helps out with the school choir and drama club. If it has to do with words or music, Judith is around. A singer/songwriter for more than 10 years, Judith often writes songs about her characters--since they are beasties of the night, this makes for interesting listening.

www.judithgraves.com/

And now for the fun part. Thanks to the great people at Leap Books and Judith, one winner has the chance to win a cool prize pack:

• an ARC of Under My Skin
• a bookmark
• a set of character cards
• necklace 

Blog Tour: Under My Skin by Judith Graves

It is my pleasure today to be the 1st stop on Judith's Under My Skin blog tour (click here for more details). You can find my review of this an action packed, monster filled story at the bottom of the post.

  

Synopsis:

All her parents wanted was for Eryn to live a normal life...

Redgrave had its share of monsters before Eryn moved to town. Mauled pets, missing children. The Delacroix family is taking the blame, but Eryn knows the truth. Something stalks the night. Wade, the police chief's son and Redgrave High's resident hottie, warns her the Delacroix are dangerous. But then so is Eryn--in fact, she's lethal.

But she can't help falling for one of the Delacroix boys, dark, brooding--human Alec. And then her world falls apart.

A normal life? Now that's the real fairytale.

Interview with Judith:


Mel: Tell us a bit about The Skinned series. Where did the idea come from?

Judith: Skinned was a long time brewing. Between working full time as a library technician, playing in a folk-rock band, and life in general – I’d write scenes, picking away at this idea of different mythological beasties converging on one small town. After reading about a Cree creature, the Windigo, things began to fall into place, and I decided my main character would be a shapeshifter. From there – Eryn pretty much took over. ;)

M: How many books are planned for the series?

J: There are three books: Under My Skin (UMS), Second Skin, and Skin of My Teeth.

M: How do you come up with your character names (Eryn is such a unique spelling)?

J: Ah….the “y” in her name…lol…there’s actually a story to that. In an early draft of UMS, I had her name as “Erin”. She had this snarky line about how writers add “y”s to words to make them gothic – like “vampyre” for example. The line got nixed along the way, but the spelling of Eryn’s name is ever an inside joke to keep me from thinking too much of my writing. ;)

M: Have you ever experienced anything supernatural in your life?

J: If you go to the Class of 2k10 blog (www.classof2k10.com) during my book launch, you’ll hear all about a wicked little incident with a doll my aunt gave me once. Nuf said.

Excerpt from Under My Skin by Judith Graves

For the second time that day, I stared into the werewolf’s red eyes, bright with human intelligence though a wildness flickered in their depths. The stuff of nightmares stared back at me, through me, and called to the beast that lurked within. Finding me out. My body tightened against the urge to flee. To hide.

I waved my dagger to remind the beast, and myself, that I was the one in control. Or at least, I hoped I was. The security lights glimmered off the sharp silver blade, making my point for me.

Flinching, the werewolf turned his massive head away. Thank God, I didn’t have to bluff this time. Now I was all about the follow through. My doubts faded on a mind-blowing rush of power at the beast’s show of fear.

I took a bold step forward.

The beast stumbled backwards, knocked into the bunny cage, and sent the trapped creatures into spastic scuttles.

I had him. We both knew it.

Then I slipped in the bunny blood. I cried out, flailing my hands in the air, trying to regain my balance, but my feet shot out from under me. I crashed to the floor. My head cracked against the linoleum.

I landed in a sprawl under the werewolf’s stinking jowls. His foul breath filled my nostrils as stars spun in front of my eyes. My athame flew from my hand, scraped across the floor, and came to rest a few feet away.

I twisted onto my stomach and reached frantically for the hilt. Oh, this was so wrong! My nails dug into the linoleum floor. I inched closer. My breath escaped in a ragged sob. My splayed fingers trembled. An inch. One inch more. So close. But not close enough.

My Rating: 4 / 5

My thoughts:

When Eryn's parents go missing, the Council decides it's best that she live with her Aunt & Uncle in Redgrave. On the outskirts to nowhere, they suggest a paranorm-free place like Redgrave would keep her safe as they search for clues to find what happened to her parents. When animals & kids go missing, someone needs to take the blame - the Delacroix family. Eryn struggles as she discovers there's more to this sleepy town then meets the eye!

Wow, this debut by Judith is action packed! If you love paranorm, this is one you need to check out. From vampires to werewolves to witches (well there's more but I don't want to spoil it for you), there's no holding back on beasties. Eryn is part wolven (shapeshifter) and part human. Her human father had created concoctions to suppress the wolf inside of her BUT with him gone, so were the meds. Hands down, she was my favorite character in the book, with her kick ass, sarcastic attitude. Her cousin, Paige, is one you love to hate, you can't help but laugh at what she does & sometimes just want to slap her! Of course, there's a hot guy, actually two, but ones a part vampire and we aren't really sure about him. There is a downfall to adding so many characters with so many beastly abilities and unfortunately this means that the plot sorta takes a  backseat for a big chunk of the book. Along the way questions are answered, but there were times when I wasn't sure exactly what the conflict in the story was all about. I think however, the very powerful ending more then makes up for this and I'm dying to see where book two takes us!

"Waiting on" Wednesday - January 27, 2010

This weekly event is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I can't wait to read Under My Skin by Judith Graves. A paranormal romance - I'm in!!


Release Date: March 27, 2010

Publisher: Leap Books

From publisher:

All her parents wanted was for Eryn to live a normal life...

Redgrave had its share of monsters before Eryn moved to town. Mauled pets, missing children. The Delacroix family is taking the blame, but Eryn knows the truth. Something stalks the night. Wade, the police chief's son and Redgrave High's resident hottie, warns her the Delacroix are dangerous. But then so is Eryn--in fact, she's lethal.

But she can't help falling for one of the Delacroix boys, dark, brooding--human Alec. And then her world falls apart.

A normal life? Now that's the real fairytale.

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What are you waiting on?