Recommended Reads: Death Wish by Angela Roquet

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As any other voracious reader, I have favorite series and authors. Angela Roquet is one of them, and her urban fantasy series Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. is one I consider an instant classic in its genre. Imagine a whole society populating the after life with its own angsts and day to day struggles. Add a few super villains along the way, an intrepid although unwilling heroine, a few angels and demons vying for her attention, and you got the idea. Death Wish  is the fifth installment, and there were so many things I loved about the story, but without spoiling it for everybody else, I’ll only say that all the characters have grown a lot. The atmosphere is getting darker and darker, and I love it. If you haven’t given this series a try yet, I would recommend that you get a copy of the first book, Graveyard Shift, which is free. You’ll be hooked in no time, I guarantee it!

Recommended Reads: Death Wish by Angela Roquet

Badass and the Beast Anthology: Ten Authors. One Great Cause. Support Animal Welfare Institute

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Some of you know of my love for animals in general and dogs in particular. Some of you also know of my Immortals series and the shifters who populate my stories. Put the two things together and it was only natural that I would participate in the beast-themed anthology, Badass and the Beast: 10 “Tails” about Kickass Heroines and the Beasts Who Love Them. Plus, I know and highly respect a few of the fellow anthologists who donated their novelettes to this charity project. The ones I hadn’t met before, they’ve become favorites of mine after reading their stories.

And if you need another reason to buy the anthology,  know that all the proceeds from the sales will go to Animal Welfare Institute, a A+ organization rated by Charity Watch.

My contribution, Shifting Loyalties, is from The Immortal Youth world, a YA spinoff from the adult Immortals series. Laura, a runaway were-panther, lives a lonely life, stealing food when she isn’t scavenging dumpsters to survive. Constantly on the run, terrified that not only humans and paranormals predators, but also the Controller will catch up with her some day. Then she meets a huge Newfoundland dog and everything changes for Laura.

I have read all the stories in the anthology and as I mentioned earlier they are all exceptional. Fantasy, sci-fi, steampunk, some old good paranormal, a tad of horror, and some underworld action, every genre is represented to please anyone’s taste. If  you want to know more about the talented authors who’ve contributed to the project, follow the links below. Before me, the lovely Kathrine Pendleton posted on her blog. Next in the blog tour will be Mikel Andrews on May, 11th.

 Kory M. Shrum

 Angela Roquet

 Kathrine Pendleton

Mikel Andrews

Shelly M. Burrows

Liz Schulte

 Jason T. Graves

Jasie Gale

And finally, for a chance to win signed books, assorted swag, and a $50 Amazon gift card enter the rafflecopter!

ebook covera Rafflecopter giveaway

Badass and the Beast Anthology: Ten Authors. One Great Cause. Support Animal Welfare Institute

Behind the Scenes of Angela Roquet’s Covers

I’m always impressed by the amount of work that goes into creating a successful cover. Angela Roquet is here today to talk about the making of her covers. For a chance to win her urban fantasy novel Graveyard Shift  enter the great Indie Giveaway.

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I still have a day job as a graphic designer, so that experience came in handy when I designed my covers. Of course, the covers I usually design are for real estate guide books. I used photoshop for all of them, and I decided from the beginning that I wanted to use really vibrant, bright colors to draw the eye. The first cover is green, and the image is one that I drew by hand and scanned in. It’s a picture of Lana, my main character, from the backside, holding her scythe over her shoulder. I sharpened the image in photoshop and injected some color. Then I used a few fun yet legible fonts to add the title and my name. I used cover2minibsome beveling and shadowing features to enhance the text. I used a more basic font for the cover blurb and subtext. The cover for book two is purple. I took a photo of a boot and applied some artist brush effects to make it look more like a cartoon, and I used the same special brush tool to add the red blood splotches that I used on the scythe for the first book cover. I threw a few daisies in the background to tie-in with the title. The third book cover is a sky blue. I used the silhouette of a crow and added the red blood splotches again. I really like how it turned out. I think keeping it bold and simple is key when it comes to covers.

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 About Angela

Urban Fantasy Author Angela Roquet is a great big weirdo. She collects Danger Girl comic books, owls, skulls, and random craft supplies. She no longer collects paperback books, because she can’t fit any more in her office, however she does collect ebooks. She has an unhealthy obsession with television shows created by Joss Whedon and fantasizes about him directing television or film versions of her novels. Angela’s favorite book/movie is The Wizard of Oz. She likes a little coffee in her cream, and her favorite food is sushi, even though it’s takes her FOREVER to make. Angela is a peace loving, tree hugging hippy who tries to buy organic and local as often as possible. She’s a fan of renewable energy sources, marriage equality, and religious tolerance. As long as whatever you’re doing isn’t hurting anyone, she’s a fan of you, too. Angela lives in Sedalia, Missouri with her husband and son. When she’s not swearing at the keyboard, she enjoys painting, goofing off with her family and friends, and reading books that raise eyebrows. You can find Angela online at http://www.angelaroquet.com

Angela’s first two novels GRAVEYARD SHIFT & POCKET FULL OF POSIES are now available in select stores and on Amazon.com in print and for the Kindle!

http://www.angelaroquet.com
http://www.facebook.com/adroquet
http://www.twitter.com/angelaroquet
http://www.amazon.com/Angela-Roquet/e/B0030CVZ72
http://www.goodreads.com/AngelaRoquet
http://www.youtube.com/angelaroquet

Behind the Scenes of Angela Roquet’s Covers

Angela Roquet

Urban fantasy author Angela Roquet has stopped by my blog to answer a few questions. Her Graveyard Shift is a darkly comic and imaginative read. Enter the Indie Giveaway to win a copy.

  1. When you were a kid you wanted to be…?

I wanted to be an animation artist for Disney or Cartoon Network. I doodled little picture stories all the time.

  1. The first book you read was…?

The first book I remember reading was “The Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree.” It was one of my favorites as a child. I still have it, although the spine is duct-taped together now.

  1. You discovered you were quite good at writing when…?

When I was in grade school, a lot of my friends enjoyed my illustrated stories. In high school, an English teacher saw a script I was writing for an animated show and suggested that I write it as a novel instead. So I did, and I’ve never looked back.

  1. As a reader, your favorite genre is…?

I really enjoy a lot of different flavors of literature, but my favorite is Urban Fantasy. I can’t get enough of MaryJanice Davidson, Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, Laurell K. Hamilton, and those like them.

  1. No, really, what’s that title you’re hiding in your kindle…?

Umm, I intentionally read books that raise eyebrows, so I can’t say that any of my books are hiding. I’d say that the book in my library that freaks people out the most is “The History of Hell.” My “Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc.” series is set in the afterlife, so that was a good research book.

  1. You write…?

GSnewcoverUrban Fantasy. I have an overactive imagination and a scientific nature about me that enjoys making fiction as believable as possible.

  1. The praise about your writing you like the most is…?

Well, I did receive a great cover blurb from MaryJanice Davidson, my favorite best-seller. I’m pretty sure I will squee about that until my dying day. Other than that, I once received a constructive critique from a competition judge that was full of praise, which thrilled me to no end, especially considering the judge was anonymous. One of the things the judge suggested that really made me smile was that I should omit my disclosure page. The page insisted my writing was not meant to offend, that it was merely entertainment. The judge said that I should never apologize for my work. That really stuck with me, and I did omit it from later versions of the book.

  1. What’s next…?

Oh boy, so much! I’m working on book three of my Lana series, due out in April, and I hope to complete the fourth by the end of the year as well. I’m also working on a standalone YA novel, and I have another adult series in the works too. I can hardly keep up will my imagination, but I try.

About Angela

Urban Fantasy Author Angela Roquet is a great big weirdo. She collects Danger Girl comic books, owls, skulls, and random craft supplies. She no longer collects paperback books, because she can’t fit any more in her office, however she does collect ebooks. She has an unhealthy obsession with television shows created by Joss Whedon and fantasizes about him directing television or film versions of her novels. Angela’s favorite book/movie is The Wizard of Oz. She likes a little coffee in her cream, and her favorite food is sushi, even though it’s takes her FOREVER to make. Angela is a peace loving, tree hugging hippy who tries to buy organic and local as often as possible. She’s a fan of renewable energy sources, marriage equality, and religious tolerance. As long as whatever you’re doing isn’t hurting anyone, she’s a fan of you, too. Angela lives in Sedalia, Missouri with her husband and son. When she’s not swearing at the keyboard, she enjoys painting, goofing off with her family and friends, and reading books that raise eyebrows. You can find Angela online at http://www.angelaroquet.com

Angela’s first two novels GRAVEYARD SHIFT & POCKET FULL OF POSIES are now available in select stores and on Amazon.com in print and for the Kindle!

http://www.angelaroquet.com
http://www.facebook.com/adroquet
http://www.twitter.com/angelaroquet
http://www.amazon.com/Angela-Roquet/e/B0030CVZ72
http://www.goodreads.com/AngelaRoquet
www.youtube.com/angelaroquet

Angela Roquet