Ghoulia

I'm an animal lover, that's for sure. I guess I'm technically a dog guy more than anything but I really do love all animals. When you don't have one, they always seem like such a huge thing to take on but when you get one, you realize that they really do fill a part of you that was previously missing.

Such is the case with a certain tortoise shell cat we just got about a month or so ago that we named, "Ghoulia". We named her after the comic book loving, nearly mute and smartest goul in school, zombie character "Ghoulia Yelps" from Monster High. (See pic below) Liz found her on Craigslist (I got it on Craigslist!) and swore that tortoise shell cats while often ignored by a lot of cat people are often some of the best behaved cats in the kingdom.

This particular feline was rescued from a real life hoarder's house and that's all we really know about her other than she's six months to a year old. Liz went, checked her out and picked her up after the kitten seemed most overjoyed to be in her arms.

It didn't take long for Miss Ghoulia to assimilate. (Although she is often fearful of the kids) I have to say, that she's a wonderful little cat full of love, playfulness and tolerance. (She's never hissed at all or scratched in anger.)

It's so nice having a happy little creature back in our lives and it's so cool to have a loving writing buddy that curls up in your lap when you're finishing a book. She's actually under the table as I write this licking my sock right now.

So with all smiles, I wanted to fill you in on a little slice of joy that Liz and I have named Ghoulia.

Ghoulia hanging with me as I wrote the end of Thomas Riley 2

I'm Married!!

Yesterday, May 27th 2012 I woke up to a vase of freshly picked flowers and a note from Liz. I was groggy and hardly awake as it was 6AM. I opened the note and it said, "If you would like, I would like to marry you today at 1PM." There were check boxes for Yes Maybe and No. I checked yes and handed it back to her.

Originally, we were going to have a semi grandiose wedding in Nashville where everything went down at one place. Then we thought we'd get married here in Washington at a resort then have a party in Nashville. With life being as crazy as it is, we went and had an elopement ceremony with a Liz's mom and step dad as witnesses. I'll tell you what... it was such an amazing day!

Just so you know, we are still planning on having our reception in Nashville in several months at The Flying Saucer Beer Emporium and we'll still have a ceremony there where everyone can be involved and have a great time.

So yesterday was totally our style. We went to Goodwill where Liz got a dress for $8.00. Then we picked up some campaign, $8.95 at Riteaid. We came home, got dressed and thought, "Oh man! We don't have rings!" So on the way to the officiant's house, we stopped at the dollar store and picked up some plastic rings from the front vending machine. Well, mine is plastic, Liz's is aluminum. That ran us fifty cents each!

Off to the officiant's house where we were married in a quick and perfect ceremony in his garden. It was seriously awesome in every way. We went to our favorite hangout Spiro's here in Gig Harbor for a drink and cheese bread then to Massage Envy where we both got hour long massages. (It was really nice). From there we were hungry and couldn't decide where to eat. we had several options but we're super indecisive. So we went to Anthony's which is a pretty renowned sea food place here on the water. After checking out the menu, we had to go in. Seated with a perfect view of the harbor, we had an amazing meal with Shrimp cocktail, muscles, clams, and medium rare Yellow Tail Ahi Tuna.

From there Liz's mom and step dad lent us their place for the night and again, things couldn't have been more perfect. They have a dynamite house with a deck and hot tub overlooking the bay with a font and center view of Mount Rainier.

The best way to sum this up is that this was one of the most perfect days of my life and it all happened starting at 6AM as a total surprise to me. I'm the happiest guy in the world and I can;t tell you how overjoyed I am to be married to the perfect girl in the world.

NOW for pictures!

Here we are in the garden with the officiant "JP". How awesome is it that he looks like Adam Savage from Mythbusters?

The kiss that seals the deal.

The kiss continued.

Our rings in all of their vending machine glory!

Me with the love of my life.

View from the hot tub sipping campaign.

The next morning we headed home but not without a stop at "Smokin' Hot Espresso" a Bikini Barista establishment.

The Games We Play

I don't recall meeting Sean Hayden in person but we've been connected online for quite some time now. He's been a really cool friend and I really hope to meet him in person one day. Sean and I are also in the international steampunk anthology Her Majesty's Mysterious Conveyance.

So, my main point of writing this blog is to spread the word about Sean's new paranormal romance e-short out on Untold Press. It's kind of rare that a guy writes paranormal romance and I think it's really cool that Sean is not constrained by the mainstream stereotypes. It's awesome when a guy can write a romance from a female's perspective and be successful!

So, he wrote this really great book called The Games We Play which is a paranormal romance that judging from the reviews will leave you "hot and bothered". Yep, for my YA fans, this is a spicy story and may not be the book for you... but for everyone else... you have to give this a whirl. For 99 cents this is an absolute steal!

To jump start your inner temperature, here's the description:
"A smoky bar, a few too many drinks, it had all the makings of a perfect night. It looked even brighter when he walked in. "Tall, dark, and delicious," she thought. Too bad Veronica didn't realize he was having the same thoughts about her. She looked very delicious...to the predator. A shot with a chaser quickly turns into just a chase. Running for her life was not how she thought the night would end. Veronica had always had a thing for games. She could only pray she would win this one."

For some added incentive, check out the reviews that nabbed my attention:
"Hot, sexy and twisted. Just like the author." - Jen Wylie, Author of Sweet Light

"Sexy, sassy and served up with a twist, Sean Hayden's 'The Games We Play' will leave you hot, bothered and lusting for one more bite." - Katy O'Dowd, Author of The Lady Astronomer

"Dark and dangerous, suspenseful and sexy, this short story is a well-written, engaging tale of greed, lust and love." - Jenny Hilborne, Author of Madness and Murder

Get Sean Hayden's latest book, The Games We Play. You'll love that you did!

Storiad

We need another social network like we need a hole in the head. Well, I tend to join a bunch of these to give them a test run and see how they pan out. That's what everyone does right? (See Google+)

I got an email from my publisher, ZOVA Books the other day asking if I'd be interested in joining a nifty little social networking/promotion site called Storiad. I'm still feeling my way through it but it seems like a cool intimate group of authors, writers, promoters and publishers that are interested in doing some creative things with everyone's work around them. So I joined yesterday and I'm enjoying what I'm seeing. There are a lot of features that are not included in other sites like this. (Like I said, I'm pretty new at this site) but they offer a neat projects section where you can list the things you're working on with descriptions and samples if you like. The idea is that other people will see and become interested in your work.

So far I'm digging it. If you're a writer, book promoter, publisher, or just a book fan, check out Storiad. Here's my profile:

http://storiad.com/community/members/nickvalentino/profile

                                                   
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In other news, ZOVA is working on Thomas Riley 2 edits. I'm super stoked to see what they look like and how much crazy awesome work I'll have to do. Don;t read that wrong, I really am excited. It's going to feel great smoothing that story out and making it even better.

An upper cut for cancer

Dear friends,
I wanted you all to be aware of something very important to me. A friend of mine Anne-Marie Edens De Witt (from Fireside Games) is fighting cancer and she's doing amazing! My forever-sisters, the Frenzy Gals, (Frenzy Universe) are heading up a campaign to help Anne-Marie raise money to pay for the out of pocket expenses which is up past the $10,000 range.

Originally, the campaign was to pay for an expensive treatment that is possibly more effective and as I understand it more comfortable. So basically it's worth every penny. Now, Anne-Marie is doing super well with the current treatment and she posted a few days ago that half the tumor is gone! Amazing news!

Still, there are massive out of pocket expenses that go along with cancer and the campaign rolls on at full steam ahead. So, with that, if you could find it in your hearts to donate anything at all, here is the giveforward website where you can help Anne-Marie out. They're at 75% of their goal and just need a little more to get there!

Want to buy something original and amazing that will go toward helping Anne-Marie? Check out the shockingly cool etsy site where a huge group of artists and craftspeople are donating their goods to help the cause.

Also, find and like the campaign on Facebook here. You'll get all the latest updates there.
Thank you all for reading this!
~Nick

Clockwork Spells and Magical Bells

I have the honor of being in a new steampunk anthology called Clockwork Spells and Magical Bells published by Kerlak Publishing. This is a super fun and once again super different anthology where the writers mix magic and steampunk or in many cases, magic vs. steampunk in their stories. So you get a wonderful mix of technology against mystisism.

My story is called "The Black Dress" and follows a Victorian paranormal investigator and her assistant as they chase down a spellbinding mesmerist in New England.

So go get your copy. It's available in all formats. Print, Kindle, Nook

There are tons of amazing writers in this one. Check out the list here:

Ironwork Falcon - Jackie Gamber
Discombobulation - Robert J. Krog
Moved To Action - Angelia Sparrow
The Taste Of Treasure - Kathryn Sullivan
Quest For The Dragon's Scale - M. R. Williamson
A Bit Of A Bind - CRS Bailey
The Leprechaun's Story - J. L. Mulvihill
The Witch Of Midnight Hollow - Alexander S. Brown
When The Heart Lies Open To Steam And Star - Anne E. Barringer
Wax Seal - Mandi M. Lynch
Survival - S. P. Dorning
The Black Dress - Nick Valentino
Words in Eden - Lewis Sanders
Time - Windsong Levitch
A Series of Steampunk Haiku - Michael Greenway
Flying Machine I (CAM) - Michael Bielaczyc
Flying Machine II (WASP) - Michael Bielaczyc
Dragon Chase – Emily Mottesheard
Apotheosis Jones – Nigel Sade

Angelkiller by H. David Blalock

H. David Blalock. I'm a huge fan of this amazing writer for a whole truckload of reasons. I first met David at Shadowcon in Memphis, TN a few years back and I've been overwhelmed by his awesomeness ever since.

He has a new book out on Seventh Star Press called Angelkiller (which is a favorite subject of mine by the way) and guess what? For a very limited time, it's FREE on your kindle! This is your chance to get a really cool story for free by a really cool writer.

Here's a little blurb from Amazon to wet your further appetite.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Simple. In the ancient war between the Angels of Light and Darkness, the Dark won. Now it is the job of an undercover force simply known as The Army to rectify that.

Using every tool available, The Army has worked to liberate our world from The Enemy for thousands of years, slowly and painfully lifting Mankind out of the dark. On the front of the great Conflict are the Angelkillers, veterans of the fight with centuries of experience.

Jonah Mason is an Angelkiller, and his cell is targeted as part of plot to unseat a very powerful Minion of The Enemy. Mason and his troop are drawn into a battle that stretches from real-time to virtual reality and back. The Conflict is about to expand into cyberspace, and if Mason is unable to stop it, The Enemy will have gained dominion over yet another realm.

Here's the link to the Amazon Kindle page where you can get this for free.

Also, check out David's Facebook Page HERE

What are you waiting for?