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Wednesday 24 June 2020

Your Mid-Week Update for 06/24/20

I want to tell you about one of my favourite murders.

I was in my twenties which was a very weird time in my life to begin with. I was only a few years into killing and still finding myself. But also I had even fewer inhibitions than I have now and felt like I had nothing to lose. Which I kind of didn’t. I didn’t have the kids, I didn’t have my husband. It was just me and a butcher knife making my way in the world. It was also a great time to experiment with different murder techniques.

Come on, everyone experiments in their twenties.

Like any good college girl, I met a boy at a bar. He was already too inebriated to make any real decisions and was way too handsy for his own good. So I left. And I waited until he left an hour later. He was alone – I think I remember him saying something about a bad breakup and drinking his sorrows away. Could have been a pickup line but I don’t know. Whatever, he was alone. And it really wasn’t difficult to get his attention down the street and offer to drive him home.

Or wait, no. I offered to take him back to my place. Something about a warm place to spend the night. I flirted with him is the point and because he was drunk and I had breasts, he hopped in the car without even asking my name.

You can guess what happened next. I didn’t drive him home. I drove him to the middle of the woods and told him were gonna play a game of hide and seek. I made it sound sexy (I can be sexy, you guys) and he went stumbling off into the dark forest.

I mean, seriously, the boy was asking for it. Made it way too easy.

I didn’t wait for him to hide, of course, I immediately started following, only half-disguising it. To his credit, it only took him a few minutes to realize that this was less of a game and more of a pursuit so he took off running. I mean, it was noble of him to think he could outrun me in the middle of pitch-black woods while he was three sheets to the wind (side note: where did that phrase come from? Does anyone know?) but I caught up to him easily enough and tied him to a tree.

Do you remember the kill kits I used to burry in the woods around my old town? Came in very handy for times like this. Just had to find one and I set about preparing my scene. I made a big show of setting out stone and sticks to make it look like some crazy ritual. Blair Witch Project had only come out a few years earlier and I was banking on Drunk Boy not realizing until it was too late. But the police would absolutely think it was just some nut copying the movie (which it kind of us but, you know what I mean). I spent the entire time talking to him about how I would gut him and eat his entrails to appease the gods and his death would mark the coming of the apocalypse and other shit like that. P.S. I want to apologize to the Pagan community for my past self. I played into a stereotype for personal gain and that shit’s not okay.

But at the time it did work. Just as the boy was about to wet himself from fear, I just started laughing. Like hysterically laughing in the middle of the woods with him tied to a tree. I then assured him that I was not about to kill him for some ritual. Just as he took that big sigh of relief, thinking it was all some awful prank, I stabbed in the stomach. I got right up to his ear and told him that I was killing him for the fun of it.

The look in his eyes kept me going for months, even as I killed others. Fear, relief, betrayal, shock, confusion, and maybe a little impressed (though I may have been projecting).

I discovered that the old joke about how playing with your food makes it taste sweeter is absolutely a thing. Knowing I could pull all those emotions from him, how powerful it made me feel, it was a little intoxicating. It also kind of led to my addiction that almost destroyed my 30s but at the time, it just felt amazing.

I’ve always liked – needed – control. Being able to control the narrative. Control who dies and how. Control someone else’s emotions. Murder is just a delicious extension of need and desire wrapped into one.

And right now, I could do with a little control.

As always, dear readers,

Stay Safe

Thursday 18 June 2020

Cover Reveal for Bait by Kasi Blake



Today Kasi Blake and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the NEW cover and an exclusive content for BAIT, her YA Urban Fantasy Book which release April 25, 2013! Check out the awesome cover and enter the giveaway!

On to the reveal! 


Title: BAIT (Order of the Spirit Realm #1)
Author: Kasi Blake
Pub. Date: April 25, 2013
Publisher: Kasi Blake
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 387

Welcome to Van Helsing Academy where dreams become nightmares, survival gets in the way of homework, and monsters secretly mingle with mortals.

If you like boring plots, annoying characters and a book you have to make yourself read-- this is NOT the book for you. Enough said.- Quinn Loftis, USA Today Bestselling Author

As the only living child of the great Van Helsing, you would think Bay-Lee has an extra advantage when joining her father's school. Wrong! The other students resent her; an angry young hunter with the most amazing green eyes refuses to mentor her; and someone or some 'thing' is killing students on their birthdays.

She knows her life is about to change in a big way when a dead rock star shows up in her room in the middle of the night. Then a reaper comes flying out of her closet to issue a warning. Something is happening in the Spirit Realm, something bad.   

Bay-Lee teams up with the gorgeous hunter and a mean-girl with a deadly secret to solve this mystery before they all die. Her birthday is coming up fast. Will her first year at Van Helsing Academy be her last?

Join us at Van Helsing Academy... if you dare.

Action-packed with unexpected twists, romance, and magic.

Bait is the first book in the series. The language is mild, violence between monsters and hunters is satisfying, and the romance is more sweet than graphic. Hunter is the next book in the series.

Bait by Kasi Blake was a great read! It's full of twists and turns, secrets and betrayals, everything you could possibly want in a book that is quite simply unputadownable.- Readers Favorite

Holy Fricken Moly!! From the very first page I was swept away, with surprises around every corner, kick-ass action, addictive characters and a love story for the ages, this story will have you hooked too. -Sassy Book Lovers

Exclusive Excerpt!

Bay-Lee stepped forward to lay a red rose on the coffin lid.  
“I’m right here,” Nick said.
His presence gave her a burst of strength. She straightened her back, standing tall, and turned to face him. He looked incredible. Her fingernails dug into the flesh of her palms. Pain helped. It kept her from losing her mind and throwing her arms around his ghostly form. She couldn’t touch him. Wraith or ghost, he wasn’t a solid mass anymore. Her hand passed through him whenever she forgot and reached out. 
“This is my second funeral,” he said.
She winced. “Please don’t.”
“I wish I could hold you.”
“Don’t.” She repeated the word, louder this time.
“You look absolutely incredible, so beautiful. You’re even beautiful when you cry. Did I ever tell you that?” 
Her life was weird. She was in the cemetery with her dead boyfriend. Not only could she see him, she could hear him. The only thing she couldn’t do was touch him. Being with him and not being able to do something as simple as kiss his cheek was pure torture.
“I can’t believe you’re gone,” she said to the coffin.
“I’m not gone,” he said, his impatience showing. “I’m right here.”
Before she could argue the point, Alec returned. “You did this,” he said. “You killed my brother.”
She gasped.
“Was Van in on it with you?”
Nick stood between them.  
“Everyone was so afraid Nick would become evil. You and Van did this to him.” Alec shouted, “Admit it!”
A vicious growl startled her. Werewolf? No. It was Nick. “She didn’t kill me, you idiot! Leave her alone!”
Alec got in her face. “You don’t belong here! Go home.”
Van and Bruce appeared in a flash. They each took an arm and walked him to his car. Bay-Lee watched, her entire body trembling with rage and grief. Keisha put an arm around her shoulders. Together, they left the cemetery. Bay-Lee refused to look back to see if Nick was following them. She told herself she didn’t care.
Bay-Lee spoke quietly. “Tyler Beck got a nationwide memorial service. He was mourned by millions, and he was only a musician. Nick is worth a hundred Tyler Becks, but no one cares he’s gone.”
“I care.” Keisha gestured to Mike who was waiting at the car for them, sunglasses hiding his swollen eyes from view. “He cares.”
“Nick deserved better than this.” She glanced back at the grave. “He was a hero, but people have no idea. They don’t care he’s dead.”
She started crying again. It was impossible to hold back the flood of tears. Feeling humiliated, she climbed into the backseat of the limo. Keisha got in after her. The girl pulled Bay-Lee into a tight embrace. “I’m sorry,” Keisha said, and this time she sounded like she meant it.
That made Bay-Lee cry harder.

About Kasi:
Born and raised in California, I fell in love with writing while reading The Outsiders. Then I fell in love with Stephen King's writing style. I enjoy reading many types of books, but YA Paranormal is my favorite. I used to write for Harlequin under a different name. So that's my background. Exciting, no?

I have several books out now including Vampires Rule, Werewolves Rule, Crushed, Witch Hunt, Bait, and 4-Ever Hunted along with the others in the series.

Giveaway Details:
One lucky winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card, International.



Wednesday 10 June 2020

Your Mid-Week Update for 06/10/20


Man, I miss people. I see my husband and my…Casey all the time. And obviously I see the people I kill. But I haven’t had a conversation with someone in so long. Having Heather here has turned out to be good for both of us, as predicted. I feel less lonely and I think she feels less alone. She is far from okay but she’s not alone.

That’s what 2020 has done to all of us: we accept the bare minimum because we have to. And how fucking depressing is that?

On top of that, it doesn’t feel right to kill at the moment. I could go out at night and slash the throats of people I believe deserve it. But it would feel empty.

I am quickly growing tired of the constant back and forth between angry and sad. I hate feeling powerless and that’s where I am.

The only think I know I can do is be there for my friends and family. So I am going to take care of Heather, and I’m going to teach Casey, and I’m going to kiss my husband every time he walks out that door.

Heather and Casey still haven’t quite warmed up to each other. It’s like they don’t know what to think of each other. I’ve told them about the other – as much as I thought appropriate – so they knew where the other was coming from. But they don’t talk to each other when I’m not in the room. And I realize I’m talking about a fifteen-year-old and thirty-something woman, but I want my best friend and the closest thing I have left to a daughter to get along. That’s not a hard ask, is it?

And I feel like I’m trying to do it alone because James is gone. I don’t blame him at all, I just miss him. Especially because these days at home are so long, it feels like forever. He always comes home with interesting stories, though. There’s a woman who chopped up her husband and stuffed him in the freezer 10 years ago and they only just recently found his remains when a neighbour went to help put away groceries.

Gotta admire her. There is a lot of stamina involved in dismemberment. It’s very rarely a clean first cut type of job. Takes time and muscle to get through that much bone and tissue. If anything, that woman is ripped.

Stories like that are keeping me afloat. A little. But being with him is better. I think it’s been weeks of him crawling into bed at all kinds of late hours, passing out before his head hits the pillow. I never thought I’d be glad that my husband left the police force but I’m strangely glad that he’s working overtime as a guard. I will put up with missing him if it means he’s safe.

I just wish he was safe at home and I didn’t feel like I was dealing with Heather and Casey all by myself.

Maybe he’ll have a good story for me when he gets home.

As always, dear readers,

Stay Safe

Wednesday 3 June 2020

Your Mid-Week Update for 06/03/20


Last Wednesday was hella long. As I said, I went to pick up Heather from her house after she called me (drunk) at 5am. The things I do for my friends. When I got there, she was sobering up but she didn’t look well. She had clearly been crying and throwing things and maybe hadn’t slept in a while. I didn’t know what was going on with her but I got her in the car, we grabbed some very disgusting chicken burgers from a drive-thru and I drove her home. I don’t think she said more than “sorry” and “thank you” over and over the entire ride.

And that was a five-hour drive of near silence. I was ready to pull my own hair out. But I didn’t push her to talk even though I desperately wanted to know what happened.

I got her inside, I sent her to shower and borrow one of my dresses (because neither of us were smart enough to pack a bag for her) while I made her dinner. As she was getting changed, Casey came out of her room and I realized I’d left a fifteen-year-old alone without an explanation. Kind of. I called James while I was on the road and explained the situation. He was more than happy to talk to Casey and make sure she was safe before heading to work.

Still felt a little guilty. But she said she understood and was excited to meet a “friend of the family” who knew a little of what life was like for us.

I hadn’t really thought about it much, but Casey’s lonely. She has friends at school – for the short period of time she was there at least – but she doesn’t have anyone to share things with that aren’t her legal guardians. And I am well aware that there are some things a girl can’t share with an authority figure in their life (no matter how awesome).

But first, I had to check on Heather and make sure she was okay before I introduced her to the girl who’s slowly becoming like a daughter to me.

Heather was not okay.

In the wake of my sudden disappearance, she was fired from her job and quickly became isolated. Apparently, they’d found remains over the summer that matched her husband’s and she was questioned by police some time after I left. The whole experience brought back painful memories and sent her spiraling downwards until she eventually called me.

I think I was the first person she’d talked to in months.

I didn’t know any of this was going on.

So Heather is staying with me for a while. She sleeps the couch and we spend time together. She didn’t come down to dinner that first night but the next day, she met Casey and the two of them have formed this wary bond. They’re not all chummy, but they can stand each other and seem content to just sit and play board games or watch tv together.

I made Heather join us for our daily “attempt at cooking” class yesterday and it helped. The three of us got to just spend time together and it’s been great. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed her – or other people for that matter – until I got her call.

I can’t believe I didn’t know any of this was going on. I wish she’d called sooner but I’m glad she called me at all. I don’t how long she’ll be staying so I’m thinking about doing some online shopping for her (getting her clothes and other things we kind of abandoned at her place). I want her to know that she’s not alone.

And I hope having her around will help both of us.

As always, dear readers,

Stay Safe (Seriously)