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nancy holder

Ghost Cams!

When I’m writing the Possessions series, I work very hard to put myself into the fear zone. I usually watch a scary movie every morning (never at night, because that’s too scary!) and listen to horror movie soundtracks. I also watch ghost cams. Ghost cams are live webcams that take real time footage of places that are said to be haunted. There are ghost cams inside abandoned buildings, in hospital basements, libraries, castles, ships’ docks—if there’s been a ghost story told about it, there’s a good chance there’s a ghost cam taping it. I think they’re especially eerie because they’re silent. They remind me of shipwrecks, also a subject with a creep factor for me. Adding to my unease, ghost cams tend to refresh at fairly long intervals—sometimes as long as five minutes or more—so there’s a possibility that I’ll see something scary that’s already happened, and for some reason, I find that even more frightening. I had a bad scare one Halloween when a friend sent me an email of one of those trick landscapes… you know the kind, where you’re supposed to focus on an element in the distance, and then once your guard is down, the head of a hideous demon fills the screen? I fell for it, and when the demon’s face appeared, I was so frightened I got a headache on the spot. I’m always afraid a ghost cam is going to turn out to be one of those practical jokes, with some awful face staring out at me; and or that someone will saunter into frame pretending to be a ghost. And I won’t know the difference. I think it would be more unnerving to see that a piece of furniture had been moved, seemingly by itself, or to spot a shadow on a wall, or a face in a mirror. Some of the cams provide a means for you to do close ups on different parts of the room, and to submit a sighting. WillardGhost.com’s submission button says, “I SEE A GHOST!” Newstead Abbey has a “Ghost Grabber,” complete with a list of ghosts who have been previously sighted. Just writing about it makes the hair rise on the back of my neck. This is why I still haven’t seen Paranormal Activity. I just don’t think I could make it all the way through… even in broad daylight! Here’s a link to a website that lists a lot of ghost-cam sites. http://www.paranormalknowledge.com/ghost-cams. Enjoy… if you dare! And Happy Halloween!
--Nancy Holder

Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié Publisher: Simon Pulse (September 7th, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Hardcover: 480 pages
The ultimate battle. The ultimate love.For the past two years, Janen has lived and trained at Spain’s Sacred Heart Academy Against the Cursed Ones. She is among the few who have pledged to defend humanity or die trying. But the vampires are gaining power, and the battle has only just begun.
Forced to return home after death takes a member of her family, Janen discovers that San Francisco is now a vampire strong-hold. As a lone hunter apart from her team, Janen is isolated—and at risk. She craves the company of her fighting partner, Antonio: his protection, his reassurance, his touch. But a relationship with Antonio comes with its own dangers, and the more they share of themselves, the more Janen stands to lose.
Then Janen is betrayed by one who was once bound to protect her, causing her to doubt all she had held as true. To survive, Janen must find the courage to trust herself—and her heart.

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Book Trailer

Possessions and The Evil Within

Prize:

• 1 winner will receive a copy of BOTH Possessions and The Evil Within by Nancy Holder.

• You must be at least 13 to enter.
• Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is International and ends October 18th.
• Once contacted the winner will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.
• The form must be filled out to enter.

*Check out Lisa's Haunted Halloween post with Kathy Charles and a chance to win a copy of John Belushi is Dead.

*Reminder: If you are interested in the COMMENT CONTEST, remember to include your email address with your comment for an extra entry! Please read full entry rules here.

I am honored to kick off the tour for Damned, the second book in the Crusade series. I have an interview with both authors, Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié and an amazing ARC giveaway listed below. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour. You can see the stops on Nancy Holder's blog.

1. What is it like working with another person on a book? Do you two have a certain system for writing?

Debbie: It’s amazing and fun. What’s great about our relationship is that her strengths are my weaknesses and vice versa. We are able to rely on eachother. Also, the ideas are exciting because with the two of us working on a book it morphs into something awesome that isn’t necessarily what either of us would have done if working solo. Being a co-author means you have to put your ego aside and decide together what’s best for the story. Nancy and I have had no problems doing this with each other and the results have been remarkable! We usually trade off writing chapters and then we swap and edit until by the end we can’t even tell who wrotewhat originally!

Nancy: The real question is, What is it like to working with DEBBIE on a book? It’s no wonder we write about magic. Not only do we complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but we often independently come up with the same edits and fixes. We’re about to celebrate a decade of partnership and it’s flown by.

2. This question is for both of you. Who is your favorite character to write about? Do you tend to focus on certain characters over others while writing?

Debbie: I love writing for Jamie. He isn’t my favorite character, but writing him is just fun. We try really hard to give all the characters a lot of time to have their story unfold. We try to make sure we have several point of view scenes for each main character.

Nancy: Antonio. I love him. I admire him and I would tell you that I pity him, but if he found out he’d be very cross with me.

3. How did you develop the world we see in CRUSADE and DAMNED?

Debbie: We thought about what it would be like if WWIII happened with vampires as the enemies. We tried to craft a world that we thought was a realistic depiction of how people and nations react in times of great despair and how they try to fight foes that seem unbeatable.

Nancy: Our vampire hunters are like the Resistance in World War II. They’re outnumbered and outgunned, but they have stealth and courage on their side. There were so many unsung heroes in WWII. This is our tribute to them, and to soldiers in the trenches today.

4. If each of you could describe your main characters in one word each, what would they be?

Debbie:
Jenn heroic
Antonio devoted
Skye conflicted
Jamie explosive
Eriko tormented
Holgar compassionate
Father Juan enigmatic

Nancy:
Jenn couragous
Antonio idealistic
Skye awakened
Jamie bitter
Eriko suffering
Holgar warm
Father Juan mysterious



5. What was your reaction to the new covers for the series?

Debbie: I love, love, love the cover of Damned. I think it’s vibrant and exciting and the fact that Antonio has his sleeves rolled up in a snowstorm shows you just how different he is from humans.

Nancy: I also love the cover of Damned. The name of our cover model is Sterling and he’s been in Los Angeles auditioning for pilot season. Good luck, Sterling!

6. If you could both pick to be a vampire, werewolf, witch, or hunter, which would you pick and why?

Debbie: Werewolf. You get to live a normal life except for one night a month at which point you get to unleash your inner animal. It sounds very cathartic. (Frightening and horrific too, but not as life altering ultimately as the others.)

Nancy: Witch Definitely. You have powers to change the fabric of the universe based in a tradition of goodness and mercy.

Damned by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (August 30th, 2011)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardback: 384 pages
Series: Crusade #2
There is a fine line between love and sacrifice… Antonio would do anything for his beloved fighting partner Janen. He protects her, even suppresses his vampire cravings to be with her. Together, they defend humanity against the Cursed Ones. But tensions threaten to fracture their hunting team and his loyalty—his love—is called into question.
Jenn, the newly appointed Hunter, aches for revenge against the Cursed One who converted her sister. And with an even more sinister power on the rise, she must overcome her personal vendettas to lead her team into battle.
Antonio and Janen need each other to survive, but evil lurks at every turn. With humanity’s fate hanging in the balance, they must face down the darkness… or die trying.

Prize:

• 1 winner will receive an ARC of Damned by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié and a SIGNED bookplate for your book (signed by both authors!).

Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié
Publisher: Simon Pulse (September 7th, 2010)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardback: 470 pages
Source: Publisher
Series: Crusade #1
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
For the past two years, Janen has lived and trained at Spain’s Sacred Heart Academy Against the Cursed Ones. She is among the few who have pledged to defend humanity or die trying. But the vampires are gaining power, and the battle has only just begun.
Forced to return home after death takes a member of her family, Janen discovers that San Francisco is now a vampire strong-hold. As a lone hunter apart from her team, Janen is isolated — and at risk. She craves the company of her fighting partner, Antonio: his protection, his reassurance, his touch. But a relationship with Antonio comes with its own dangers, and the more they share of themselves, the more Janen stands to lose.
Then Janen is betrayed by one who was once bound to protect her, causing her to doubt all she had held as true. To survive, Janen must find the courage to trust herself — and her heart.
Review: Crusade is a fabulous start to this series involving so many kick-butt paranormal beings. I would describe it as"an adult book, in a YA package", which means that it is set up like an adult series (with lots of action, characters, details) but made for YA readers.

Crusade doesn't just follow one character. We get to look at each one as we go throughout the story. It jumps from Janen, to Antonio, to the others in their group. Janen is the main focus in the book and she is such a strong character! Janen has been in training to fight The Cursed Ones, vampires who are beginning to take over the world. Many people believed they were harmless but now things are changing and hunters are needed to kill the vampires. Janen has been in Spain but after a family loss, she returns to San Francisco to see her family.

San Francisco isn't what Janen remembers and she is faced with several obstacles along the way. She is alone to fight her own battles and, although she doesn't see herself as a strong member of her group, she proves exactly what she can do.

Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié have created a frightening, dangerous world where vampires rule and humans are too scared to fight. The new group of hunters may be young but their diversity and skills make them a powerful force.

Jenn does have someone in the group she cares deeply about, Antonio. But their relationship comes with it's very own obstacles and dangers. This was an exciting twist for the story and it was interesting to see how Janen felt about Antonio, and how he felt about her. Crusade is full of action-packed adventures and heart-pounding moments! There was never a dull moment. The range of characters we meet in this book constantly amazed me. Each person had their own past that brought them on their journey to Spain and their only common element seemed to be a hatred for The Cursed Ones.

Crusade takes readers on a treacherous journey through locations where vampires hold the power and hunters are the only things keeping them at bay. Full of detailed settings and scary paranormals, Crusade will have readers at the edge of their seats!

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