***Immorati Book Trailer******

Let me know what you think?

***New Release by LK Campbell***

ON SALE NOW!

When former paratrooper Scott Riley returns home from the war, he hasone aim—to meet the girl of his dreams, Cassie Wright. Cassie has beenhis penpal, and his light at the end of the tunnel through most of hiswar experience. He goes to her hometown on the Gulf Coast of Floridawith marriage on his mind only to find that she has other plans for herfuture. A talented pianist, Cassie has been accepted to a prestigiousmusic conservatory in Jacksonville. Will she give up her dreams forScott, or will he chase hers?

A DIFFERENT TUNE is my third World War II-era historical. Read the four sneak peeks I've posted on myMySpace Blogor Visit A Different Tune Homepage for purchase info and to download a 2-chapter preview.
For more information about me or my other novels, please visit: LKCampbell.com

Help support a fellow Diva!

-Kat

Cool and Super Cool Contests...

Hey All,

As promised, here is the Cool and Super Cool contest promos for my debut Triskelion novel Immorati.

Read the excerpt and answer the first set of questions by emailing me, or answering on the blog comments. I'll draw a name from the list of those who answered all questions correctly. To enter the Super Cool Contest, read the book and answer the second set of questions. I'll draw a separate name from that list. You can win both contests! So read, enjoy and good luck.

Blurb:

When the corpse of an unidentified species is found in the woods near Pine Haven, New Jersey along with a human female, anthropologist Edie Campbell is called in by local law enforcement and the medical examiner to help identify the strange humanoid male. The discovery of a heretofore unknown species is thrilling for Edie, up until she realizes the creature has recently mated with the human female.

Questions form with no apparent answers until Aidan LaMont arrives in Pine Haven to identify his cousin’s body. But the secretive Aidan hides as much of the mystery surrounding the strange creature as he explains. And Edie has no doubt that behind his simmering sexuality, and amber eyes, he knows much more than he’s willing to tell.

Set up:

Edie is home, soaking in a warm tub, when Karl calls her to come and identify the species of a corpse found in the woods.

******

She made it to the morgue in under fifteen minutes. Karl met her and opened her car door for her. Instead of his uniform, he wore jeans and a plain t-shirt. His short blond hair looked finger-combed and the slight stubble of beard could be seen on his square jaw. Deep brown eyes locked with hers and then he shook his head.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.” He draped his arm around her shoulder as they walked into the morgue’s examination room.

Tyler Fitzjohn glanced up from her work and did the same headshake as Karl. “Hi, Edie. Thanks for coming down. Grab a gown, gloves, and mask and join me over here.”

Tyler had also lived in Pine Haven most of her life, but had grown up and went to school with Edie’s mother and father. She was not only a friend, but an honorary aunt of sorts.
Edie put on a paper gown to cover her clothes and allowed Karl to tie up the back for her. Then she donned a pair of surgical gloves, hooked a mask over her ears, and stepped around the sinks and into the examination room proper.

The corpse lay on a stainless steel table, a big hulking specimen both fascinating and frightening. Edie swept her gaze downward from its head. It wasn’t just big. It was massive.

She moved under the bright florescent lights to get a better look at the creature.

“Where was it found?”

“In the woods, outside town. A couple of teenagers found it while hiking.” Karl put on a gown and stood across from her. Tyler moved back to give Edie room to examine the thing.

It was a humanoid— she was sure. The facial features were too human-like to be anything else, and yet they appeared alien. Fascinated, she leaned in to inspect him.

The head was large, and proudly shaped. Pale, waxy skin was stretched taut over high prominent cheekbones. The mandible was square and powerful. Edie gave a passing thought as to how much pressure such a jaw could exert when it latched on to prey. And looking down at the creature, she had the strange sensation that it was definitely a predator of some sort.

The lips were full and beautifully shaped, as if molded to perfection by the loving hands of a sculptor. She leaned forward and placed her fingers on the mouth. Pulling back the upper lip, she was treated to the most horrific canines this side of the food chain.

The nose was elongated, but still most definitely human in nature. The brow was broad and high, as well as the forehead. Both those features suggested a well-developed frontal lobe and possibility of higher intelligence.

Her gloved fingers spread the eyelids back and black eyes stared sightlessly back at her. They were odd, without sclera or iris. Long thick black hair hung down to broad shoulders, but there appeared no evidence of facial hair.

The chest was deep and broad with over-developed pectorals. In the center, where the heart should be, was a gapping wound.

“What violence.” Edie inspected the jagged claw-like serrations on the edge of the wound.

Her fingers trailed downward to his flat, yet muscled abdomen, and farther.

Karl coughed behind her.

She turned to peer at him over her shoulder for a moment. “You wanted me to look at him.”

He put up his hands and backed off.

Her hands slid down to his genitalia— there could be no doubt this specimen was most definitely male. The long, thick penis sat nestled in a patch of dense black hair and encased in a thick, spongy foreskin. She pulled the foreskin back, exposing the glans penis. A pearly, viscous fluid was caught on the tip and inside the protective cover.

“Is that what I think it is?” Karl frowned.

“It’s exactly what you think it is. Tyler, get a sample of this. I’ll be interested to see how the DNA stacks up against human.”

“You and me both.” Tyler quickly placed the semen sample into a container to have it run at the State crime lab.

“I wonder if the creature mated prior to the killing?” Edie felt a shift of tension in the room with the question. “What?”

“I’ll check the other victim.” Tyler moved to another table and uncovered a second body Edie hadn’t noticed before.

“There are two of these things here?”

Karl shook his head. “No, the other victim is a young woman.”

Edie’s throat constricted. She didn’t even wish to contemplate the ramifications of what that meant.

Tyler worked on the second body for several moments before she lifted her head. “There is a positive presence of semen. And quite a bit of blood. I’ll have to check for vaginal trauma.”

Edie turned back and looked at the creature on the slab. What exactly had happened in the woods? Did he rape the poor young woman and then kill her? If so, what killed him? A cold sweat broke out on her forehead and between her shoulder blades.

“Sweetheart, are you all right?”

“I think I need to sit down.” No sooner had she said that then Karl had a stool brought over for her. He placed it near the wall, but she shook her head. “Bring it here. I want to finish examining this thing.”

Tyler marked the samples with a pen. “I do have a call in to a zoologist, Edie, if you want to go home.”

“Go home? Are you kidding? I’m not going to let a little light-headedness stop me from examining the find of the century, no matter how disturbing the facts seem to be.”

She returned her gaze to the creature. His long muscular arms ended in disproportionately large hands, tipped with six-inch pointed claws. Edie picked up the hand nearest her and studied the claws. Dried blood decorated the point of each claw. Odd, if he had been the one to kill the girl, there would have been blood all over his hands and arms, not just the very tips of the nails.

The legs were the most amazing . Like the rest of the body, they were long and well muscled. Powerful thighs and calves proposed an excellent runner, or jumper, and tapered down to long canine-like feet with talonesque toenails, complete with a dewclaw. The configuration suggested the creature could move on all fours for speed.

“I haven’t a clue what this thing could possibly be.” Edie looked up and stared at Tyler before shifting her attention to Karl. “I’m sorry, but if I didn’t know better, I’d say someone or something killed the Jersey Devil.”

****

Cool contest question:

1) What is the Medical Examiner's name?

2) What is Edie's reaction when she realizes the creature mated?

3) What is Karl's profession?

4) What is found along with the creature?

5) What does Edie think the creature is?

Super Cool contest questions:

1) What is Aidan's mother's name?

2)Who did Nanine meet the night she was killed, and why?

3) Who else close to Aidan dies at the hands of the Corpesetti?

4) What are the only ways in which an Immorati can die?

5) Who is Karl secretly in love with?

To purchase your copy of Immorati go to http://www.triskelionpublishing.com and pull up the books store, put Immorati in your advanced search. (I would add it all here, but the address is really long.)

Good luck to you!

-Kat

I think I've Blown My Timeline

Well, it's the Eve of April (not to be confused with the Ides of March) and all the projects I'd hoped to have done by now are still, for the most part, languishing on my desk. As I open the files to work on those projects left behind by when other ones have turned my head and peaked my interest, I realize why I let them go: I was really and truly stuck.

The computer screen is in constant mock-mode. I swear I hear it laughing behind my back. I sit down to work, open a file and nothing comes to me. Could I be burned out? I have been pushing myself awfully hard the past few months...hell, the past year or two. Granted, I have been writing fresh stories to submit to those special project anthologies at Samhain, so things did get pushed back, but so far I've only crossed off one item off my WIP's list. ONE!!! Since January 1st. - (Refer back to sentence before that...I have worked on more than one thing since Jan. but I had hoped to be farther along on the others.)

Currently, I'm working on that erotic romance for Trisk's Fever line. The title used to be A Cold Day in Hell, but I changed it to Hot Days in Heaven. The premise has a fallen angel squaring off against a minor demon. So, far haven't gotten to much of the demon part. Have to figure out how to work that in without revealing which side of the fence the hero comes down on. Is he the fallen angel or the demon? The heroine is caught somewhere between them, though she doesn't realize that yet. You see, like the story of Job where God and the Devil make a wager on Job's soul, this minor demon and fallen angel make a wager on the heroine's heart. But I've switched rolls between who is demon and who is fallen. I thought it might make it a little more interesting...and therein lies the problem. This is definately going to be a story that I have to do a very loose rough draft in order to go back and fill in the plot holes. Or as I call them sign posts.

I'm still trying to work on the sequel to Immorati. Though I have a good working outline for Corpesetti, it isn't flowing as well as Immorati did. I think the problem may be that I've got the heroine injured during her first appearance in the book. Now, she has to get back up to speed in order to be productive. Which is the chapter I'm on now. I know what is supposed to happen next, but I want her to be more proactive. Not a standby character who things happen to, but she doesn't make things happen for her. An important distinction while writing a heroine. No wishy-washy females in my stories. I've always been a pretty straightforward person, so I like my heroines to have that quality as well. Fine if they begin a tale a little unsure or afraid and then bust out of their shells. That's just part of the character growth and progression, something a story arc needs anyways.

Then there are two contemporaries I really want to write: Love Thy Neighbor and Lessons From The Love Machine. LTN is more of a suspense with some quirky humor along the way. Very much a stalker story. LFTLM is another one with a blend of humor and suspense. Haven't really figured out exactly why the heroine is in danger in that one, only that she is. - However, I promised myself I would finish at least five other novels before I write LFTLM. I've already started LTN and have the outline complete, so if I slip it in there before some of the others, no big deal.

And here I sit, writing on my blog when I could have a file open, working on something that will pay me, or sleeping since I have to work tonight.

Ahhhh, the writing life. Never a dull moment. And so like Lady Godiva pictured above, I trudged nakedly through the mire of prose hoping I'll write something in the next few days that will actually be worthy enough to have someone look at it.

-Kat

It Don't Mean a Thing If it Ain't Got that Swing...

Well, I don't know if this means anything or not, but it is a pretty cool story, so I'm going to share it anyways.

Gail N. the executive editor at Triskelion saw in an email that I write for erotic romances for Red Sage and asked me if I'd like to write something for Trisk's Fever line. They are short erotic stories that are published monthly. I said, yeah sure. At 10K I can bang one out in no time...(no pun intended). Anyhoo, I went to Trisk's website yesterday to look at the submission section so I know exactly what the expectation of stories are and while there I skipped on over to the booksstore page. There is a spot that says, "Most recently purchased item." And there in a big bold picture is the cover for Immorati. Whoooo Hooooooo.... I had logged on right after someone bought my book. I was very excited. I was even more excited when I looked up at the "Top Ten Sales" and Immorati came in at a solid 5. Even more dancing and squealing insued. I know it may not mean much to the outside world. Heck it may not mean much to my publisher, but it still means something to me. The top five for a new release and a debut it probably pretty darn good.

Let's hear it for being number 5!!!

-Kat

Beware of Dragons

Or in this case, hold them to your bosom and give 'em dragon noogies.

I was notified last night that my novella, Dragon Tamer, was selected for Samhain's I Dream of Dragons anthology. You can't imagine how excited I am by this. When I went to Samhain's website to check out if they had any special projects I could write for and saw this one, I thought...I've never done a dragon story, but I love reading them, so why not. In honor of this, this picture at the right is titled, Dragon Dreams. I searched for the name of the artist to give him/her props, but came up empty. So, I apologize if I'm posting it without proper plug.

Now, you have to understand, since I never do anything in my writing that even closely resemebles towing the line, I had to put my dragons is an ultra-modern (damn right futuristic world), just because when most people think of dragons it's more of a fantasy or urban fantasy/shape shifter motif. Not me. I go the other spectrum and find a marriage that can work with the elements of dragon lore and their particular fantasy aspects with a sci-fi edge. Take that and add elements of CSI and you have Dragon Tamer. My most awesome critique partner Jen said it's Pern meets CSI and I thought that was absolutely a perfect picture of my world.

Here's a blurb: (keep in mind it's a blurb in progress)

On the tropical island paradise of Cambry, the dragons are dying. A flesh and scale eating blight has ravaged the females and threatened the dragon population. Calusia settlement hatching ground director, Darion Archer, calls on the International Field Marshalls to investigate the outbreak. The dragons are his life, and he’ll do anything to protect them and see an end to the blight. He isn’t prepared, however, for the beautiful agent who comes to investigate, or his reaction to her.

IFM agent, Serrah Gayle has no idea what her assignment entails. The only thing she knows is that she’s been sent to Cambry, a land that holds the majority of the dragon population. When she meets the sexy settlement director and learns her case will bring her close to the legendary creatures, Agent Gayle must overcome a lifelong fear of the dragons to help solve the mystery of the blight, as she falls into a deep emotional bond with the director.

Now, I have to go and start work on another project. Remember, the more mud you throw at a wall the more will stick. Or.... the more you write and submit, the more you can sell.

-Kat

SOLD ANOTHER ONE!!!

About 7 years ago, I had the idea for a graphic novel about a vampire-esque hitman who executes his contracts by drinking their blood. The vampire wouldn't be your garden variety type, as he has a symbiot attached to his soul that came across a deminsional gateway when an alchemical experiment went afoul. As a result, my "host" as I call him can eat, drink and enjoy sunlight. The Host: Shadows is a darker book than what I usually write, and I have to say I enjoyed getting into not only Tristain St. Blaise's psyche, but also that of the heroine, Angelia Lightheart and villain, Benito Achilles.

My totally awesome and always encouraging editor at Samhain Publishing, Immi, was very supportive and complimentary when she read this project. It looks like a tentative publication date of January 08 for ebook, and hopefully the print run will come out by the time RT conference in Pittsburgh next year. I would really love to have that one in hand by the booksigning.

This has been a long labour of love for me. When I first conceived the idea, I wanted to present it in graphic novel form, but could never find an artist that drew in the style I wanted it to be that would actually be available for the project, or wouldn't charge me for the work. I wanted a partnership and ended up with a novel that is all mine. Not bad at all. I much prefer this, especially when Immi already asked if there is a sequel in the works.

In other good news, an editor from Red Sage, my erotic romance publisher, asked to see the full on my sequel to Fatal Error, titled Mind Games. This takes place 30 years after FE and tells the tale of Jesse and Soran's son, Damien and his psychic link with a woman named, Jade. Hopefully, MG will live up to the expectations of FE. I have to admit that when I'm writing novellas, I have a tendency to "pants" the story. I know the basic layout, but I don't make an outline like I do for novels, so they may take a little longer to craft since I go back and do a lot more rereading as I proceed. So, cross your fingers on this one and I'll keep you posted.

-Kat