Casting Call For Wicked Dogs!

I write novels: humorous chick-lit, supernatural thrillers, and young adult urban fantasy. Whenever possible, I include colorful animal characters, and in conjunction with my projects I support animal rescue.

GLORY, Book One of my Legend of Glory urban fantasy series, features an intrepid demon-fighting Australian Shepherd named Hallelujah (Hallie to her friends). Hallie’s job is to protect the teenage heroine, Glory. Hallie doesn't like vampires, is partial to angels, and enjoys talking with witches. She'll tolerate being dressed up in silly costumes in the fight against evil, but after multiple baths to remove blood and dangerous scents, she elevates deep, sorrowful sighs to an art form. Her loathing of vampires puts a serious cramp in Glory’s love life, but she will brave a room full of vampires for a raspberry-filled, super-thick, triple-glazed doughnut.

She is a dog with clear priorities.

Hallie can dance, and she sings her own special version of "The Hallelujah Chorus," but her greatest talent of all is extraordinary courage. She is the Wonder Woman of the canine crowd!

I am now writing the second book in the series, which has a working title of TIMELESS, and I am looking for the perfect canine foil for Hallelujah. I need an evil dog.

So, I am putting out a casting call to all dog owners to send me information about their own demonic dogs. Tell me in what way they are wicked and send me photos to show me how evil they look. (Seriously, I need inspiration here.) If I use the likeness of your dog in TIMELESS, he or she will be immortalized forever in literature. Think about the possibilities!

My casting call is being held on my Facebook page. So friend me and post away!

Of course, you and I will know that your dog isn’t really evil. Between us, we will agree that he or she is merely mischievous. However, because I’m a writer, I can exaggerate. It’s what I get paid for.

Besides, that’s what the voices are telling me to do...

www.GloryLegend.com

http://www.facebook.com/devin.obranagan

The Hawthorne Book of Shadows

With his eyes fixed on Paradise,
   the haunted Christian
blames the shadow. Plagued

by his own demons,
   soul bitten and loveless,
he is bound in the sackcloth of pride,

in cobwebs and ashes.
   While there, thrilled to the wild,
dizzying ride of the flesh,

of phallus and womb, the fresh
   dew of this world, the red,
simple wing of original joy,

like the berrying spring of a child's
   renewal, the Witch slips out
of the black diaphanous robe

of our common sleep. Behind
   that half-curtain, lives with the sharp
knowledge of danger (Do not, whatever

else you may do, be discovered!).
   Out of that horn of magic, desire,
flesh at once richer and paler than ivory

is bathed—Look!—in original light!
   ...Or are those only the elegant
ivory bars of the cage

in which both have been trapped:
   Earth-delighted no less than he
with his cross-obsessed pain?

While She-Without-Form,
   resurrected again and again,
cries out from the nailed thirst of this world

to our own resurrection, that single
   commandment: Love!—O heart's simple name!
O first and final salvation!

www.NewWitchHunt.com

Are Werewolves or Dogs More Desirable?

In my young adult novel GLORY, seventeen-year-old Glory Templeton’s blood holds the cure for a pandemic plague, and a vampire, a witch, and an angel are assigned to be her bodyguards. Her intrepid demon-fighting Australian Shepherd, Hallelujah, rounds out the team. 

TWILIGHT is also about a seventeen-year-old girl, named Bella, and her romantic triangle with a vampire and a werewolf.

So, let’s compare canines here.

Jacob, Twilight’s werewolf, is a hunka hunka burning love, with a body ripped to perfection and a face so handsome women of all ages swoon at his smile. He is as devoted to Bella as, well, a puppy dog. He will fight vampires to the death to protect her.

Hallelujah is brave and beautiful, totally devoted to Glory, and will also fight vampires to the death to protect Glory.

Of course, in both novels neither Glory nor Bella want to be saved from all of the vampires, which presents its own set of unique problems for the respective heroines.

Hallelujah can be a bit, um, bitchy, and gives Glory the silent treatment after she falls asleep in the arms of the enemy.

Jacob can be a bit surly, and he gives Bella the silent treatment when she announces she wants to sleep with the enemy.

Hallelujah saves Glory’s life by defending her from demon-possessed mountain lions and bears. And when Glory is knocked unconscious in a car accident Hallelujah plops down on Glory’s nearly-severed arm and keeps her from bleeding to death.

Jacob protects Bella from various evil vampires and werewolves with bad attitudes. And when she jumps off a cliff into the ocean, Jacob saves her from drowning.

Both Jacob and Hallelujah are good at rationalizing their own inconsistent behavior. For instance, Jacob ends up choosing Bella’s daughter over Bella as a romantic partner because of something to do with werewolf soul mate imprinting. (Really.) And Hallelujah will brave a roomful of vampires to retrieve a triple-glazed, super-thick, raspberry-filled donut. (She is a dog with very clear priorities.)

A plus on Hallelujah’s tally sheet is that she sings "The Hallelujah Chorus," and I don’t recall gorgeous Jacob ever entertaining Bella in such a delightful manner.

However, did I mention that Jacob is unbelievably sexy?  And when he transforms into a werewolf, all his clothes are shredded and he is buck naked.

(Excuse me while I pause to splash cold water on my face.)

Oh, and by the way, Hallelujah saves the world.

So, there you have it readers.  I know whom I find more desirable.  Do you?

For more information about GLORY, visit the website: www.GloryLegend.com

WITCH HUNT And GLORY Hit The Bestseller's List!

In the past two weeks, both of my novels WITCH HUNT and GLORY hit Amazon's Metaphysical Fiction Bestseller's List!  WITCH HUNT made it into the top 20, and at one point they were both on the list at the same time.  I am over the moon!

There were a number of wonderful things that happened all around the same time that created the "tipping point" about which all authors dream.

First, GLORY received a 5-Star review from the prestigious Midwest Book Review that stated, "A fantasy on the shoulders of a strong willed girl, GLORY is not to be missed. And it was nominated for the 2011 Best Popular Paperback for Young Adults List, sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association.

Then WITCH HUNT received a 5-Star review from Midwest Book Review that stated, "A riveting story of magic and morality, WITCH HUNT will prove very hard to put down."  The leading New Age publisher Llewellyn posted a wonderful review of it on their website, and then renowned pagan artist Sabrina "The Ink Witch" gave it a glowing endorsement.

Finally, readers of one book were anxious to read the other and excitement grew, quickly reaching critical mass.

Did I mention that I'm over the moon?

To learn more about both of these bestselling novels, please visit my author's website: http://www.devinwrites.com

In Memoriam: "Kolbe" the Awesome Australian Shepherd

Eight years ago today, my dog Kolbe left this world. She died in my arms, and the last thing I said to her was, "You changed the world." And she did.

Kolbe (pronounced "Colby") was my first dog, a beautiful bitch with attitude who was a prissy, pampered show dog.  Everyone who met her was taken by both her beauty and the force of her personality. She had charisma.  Over the years she developed a fan base, regularly received fan mail, and I had many requests from people for her photograph. She gave birth to four puppies, and those puppies changed the lives of the families who adopted them in magnificent ways.

Yes, Kolbe changed the world.

Kolbe was my heart dog, and when she left, the grief threatened to drown me. So, I did what most writers do when trying to process their emotions...I wrote about her. Since I'm a novelist, I created a character in my comic RED HOT series of novels that I based on her. I named the character Talisman and introduced her in RED HOT PROPERTY. It wasn't a huge role, but it was memorable, and it created a whole new fan base for Kolbe/aka/Talisman. Talisman now receives piles of fan mail and many requests for her pawtograph, but little do the fans know that it really is all for Kolbe, for her spirit is the soul of Talisman.

I never expected Talisman to become so popular. To meet reader demand, I have greatly expanded her role in the upcoming novel RED HOT LIBERTY. And I am working on a novella entirely from her perspective called SHOW DOG SINGS THE BLUES. The beauty of all this is that Kolbe is now immortal, and she continues to change the world.

"Kolbe" 4/18/91-12/27/02

"To everything there is a season. He has made everything beautiful in its time, and He has put eternity in their hearts." - Ecclesiastes

You changed my world, Kolbe.  I'll always love you.  xox

GLORY Receives Prestigious Nomination

My urban fantasy, GLORY, has been nominated for the 2011 Popular Paperback for Young Adults List, sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association, in the "Zombies, Werewolves & Things With Wings" category!

YALSA publishes selected booklists each year which recommend great books for teens. Parents and caregivers can use these lists to find good books for their teens, and librarians and educators may find them useful for collection development. While these books have been selected for teens from 12 to 18 years of age, the titles on YALSA's selected lists span a broad range of reading and maturity levels.

In GLORY, seventeen-year-old Glory Templeton's blood holds the cure for a deadly pandemic-plague and she embarks on a quest to save humanity. When evil forces conspire to stop her, three supernatural beings are assigned to be her guardians. Forbidden love, ancient secret societies, mysterious astronomical monuments, vampires, witches, angels and demons all contribute to the high adventure that tests the character of this remarkable young woman.

A dystopian YA fantasy, GLORY has been labeled "Twilight meets The DaVinci Code." It is the first in a planned series about the adventures of Glory Templeton and her unique band of teenage rebels who fight the good fight against evil. It is now available in both print and eBook editions.

For more information please visit http://www.glorylegend.com/

"A fantasy on the shoulders of a strong willed girl, Glory is not to be missed."

- Midwest Book Review

 

Midnight's Halloween

   My name is Midnight. Of course it is...I'm a black cat. Could my captors have any less imagination? Besides being dull and unimaginative people, they're cruel; I'm sure they were trained by the CIA - the Cat Intimidation Association.
   It is day 946 of my captivity.
   These humans castrated me. Then they imprisoned me in their home. They feed me the same thing every day; it is some form of hard kibble that tastes like flavored cardboard. They torture me by eating fresh fish and meat right in front me, but then get mad when I raid the goldfish bowl. What do they expect, for crissakes?
   My only pleasure comes from a catnip mouse that I'm certain they gave me by accident. At night, when they're asleep, I cavort with it and enjoy the buzz. This is what I'm doing when I hear a noise coming from the chimney. The sound isn't loud, but given the boring nature of my pitiful existence, it immediately captures my attention.
   Using my superpower of stealth, I pad to the far side of the room to investigate.
   That's when I see her - a beautiful platinum blond with bright blue eyes. When she sees me, she strikes a pose like those jazz dancers on TV. She flashes her jazz paws, and she's a singular Siamese sensation!
   Is it possible I'm feeling a tingle in my former tomcat parts?
   Brazenly, she struts up to me and rubs her scent all over my body. I'm too stunned to object.
   "I'm Jezebel, what's your name?"
   I've never had a cat chat, but our mental conversation seems as natural as could be. "Midnight."
   She bats her eyelashes. "I hope you don't mind me dropping in."
   I notice a smudge of black on her cheek. "Did you come down the chimney?"
   "A little trick my person taught me."
   I can't help myself; in a bold move I lick her cheek clean, my tongue rough and masculine. Purring, she presses herself into me, and I notice the smell of fresh, wonderful blood on her breath.
   Obviously, her person lets her eat real food.
   "Tell me about your person." I wonder if he might want another cat.
   "His name is Damien. He's a vampire and I'm his familiar."
   I've watched enough TV to understand, and my fur fluffs up with concern. "What do you want here?"
   "I've come for Anna."
   Little Anna? I hiss and leap backwards. Anna is the five-year-old human my captors also hold prisoner. I can't let this vixen hurt my innocent little cellmate.
   Jezebel gives me a crazy beautiful smile. "If you help me, I'll teach you how to escape."
   My bleak existence has never had much meaning, but now I must decide whether I'm selfish or noble. I think of sweet Anna, and the decision is easy.
   I arch my back and slash out with wicked claws. "Get out of here as fast as your pretty little paws can carry you, sister."
   Her gorgeous blue eyes widen, their pupils dilate, and I think we're about to begin rolling on the floor - and not in a good way - but she surprises me by backing off. With an exaggerated wiggle in her walk, she turns away and saunters to the fireplace. Before leaping up the chimney, she looks back over her shoulder and gives me a sassy wink.
   I grin at my victory. I am a tomcat after all; my captors might have stolen my balls, but they haven't captured my spirit.
   Satisfied, I celebrate my triumph by reclaiming my mouse and inhaling some catnip fumes. Eventually, I drift into a giddy slumber and dream about what might have been with Jezebel.

* * *

   When my captors awaken me, I stretch, clean my face, and wonder if my encounter with Jezebel was just a drug-induced dream. I leap from the couch and meander over to the fireplace. On the hearth, written in cleverly arranged bloody mouse tails, are the words, I'LL BE BACK.

Copyright © 2010 by Devin O'Branagan

http://www.devinwrites.com/