Cover Reveal: Life Sentence by Lily Luchesi

July 5, 2016July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 2 Comments

Life Sentence (Paranormal Detectives Book Three) By Lily Luchesi

Genre: Paranormal, horror, mystery

Release Date: August 2nd, 2016

She can fight evil, but can she fight the darkness in her own blood?

After the disastrous events with Miranda have subsided, Danny and Angelica have to adjust to a new kind of life at the Paranormal Investigative Division.

Fiona is still on the loose, and she has all of Hell on her side. Danny begins to enhance his psychic abilities with the help of a soul just like his. Angelica is caught between a rock and a very dark place.

Can their love survive these new trials, or will the past tear them apart?

Read Stake-Out and Miranda’s Rights by clicking HERE.

Watch the official trailer featuring the song “Together” by Matt Lande.

Join the release day event for fun, games, and prizes!

BOOK ONE: Detective Danny Mancini is on a case, following a murder suspect. When he catches him, he finds out that the perp isn’t even human: he’s a 200 year old rogue vampire!

The department doesn’t believe him, and puts him on early retirement, despite his many years of service to the Chicago Police Department, which sends him into a downward spiral.

Two years later, Danny gets an invitation from the beautiful, young and very attractive Detective Angelica Cross to join a secret branch of the FBI to help her track down Vincent, the wayward vamp.

But renegade werewolves, meddling immortal witches and Danny’s strange visions of a life lived a century ago with Angelica make things more difficult than it should be. My Review.

BOOK TWO: The dead don’t always rest easy…
Retired detective, Danny Mancini, is haunted by nightmares after he found out that paranormal creatures exist. All he wants is to forget them…especially a certain half-vampire. When cursed werewolves show up trying to kill him, he is forced to go back to the Paranormal Investigative Division for help against a powerful old enemy. What he was not expecting was a dead ex showing back up after twenty-six years.

My Review.

Freebie: Stake-Out by Lily Luchesi

May 19, 2016July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / Leave a comment

For the one year anniversary of her debut novel, Lily Luchesi has made the international bestseller STAKEOUT completely FREE for one day only! See what readers are calling “exciting”, “thrilling”, and “action packed” for yourself!

In a city overrun with the undead, an ex-cop is given a chance to get revenge… Danny Mancini is on a case, following a murder suspect. When he
catches him, he finds out that the perp isn’t even human: he’s a 200 year old rogue vampire!

The department doesn’t believe him, and puts him on early retirement, despite his many years of service to the Chicago Police Department, which sends him into a downward spiral. Two years later, Danny gets an invitation from the beautiful, young and very attractive Detective Angelica Cross to join a secret branch of the FBI to help her track down Vincent, the wayward vamp.

But renegade werewolves, meddling immortal witches and Danny’s strange visions of a life lived a century ago with Angelica make things more difficult than it should be.

Read FREE today on your
Kindle!

Click for my review of Stake-Out and the second book in the series Miranda Rights.

Lil bit ’bout Lily: Lily Luchesi is a young author/poet born in Chicago, Illinois, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Ever since she was a toddler her mother noticed her tendency for being interested in all things “dark”. At two she became infatuated with vampires and ghosts, and that infatuation turned into a lifestyle by the time she was twelve, and, as her family has always been what they now call “Gothic”, she doesn’t believe she shall ever change. She is also a hopeless romantic and avid music-love who will always associate vampires with love, blood, and rock and roll.

Prologue: Discovering Home

January 22, 2016July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 2 Comments

So my attempt at NaNoWriMo 2015 was a bit on the Go Slow. Life got in the way. But I intend to finish the story I started. So far I’m calling it, Discovering Home, but that’s its working title and may change.

The longest continuous piece I had written before NANoWriMo was only 1200 words and I beat that on my first NaNo day with 1696 words. But I hadn’t actually expected to hit the 50,000-word mark on my first attempt. I feel like I’m ok with beginning and ends, but struggle with the middles. It’s probably why I love writing the Friday Fictioneers 100 word stories, there isn’t room for middle fluff. Next year I will definitely try to plan for my book, rather then just seeing what happens like this year.

I decided to get myself motivated again I’d share a little bit of my work in progress.

Blurb (thus far): Joe is a young woman trying to decipher the secrets of her family history after her grandmother mysteriously disappears.

A fictional story about family with a romantic (maybe) and paranormal (definitely) twist.

* * * Prologue * * *

My Grandmother’s house only had two bedrooms, but those two bed rooms held a lot of secrets. So many secrets that I believe that still don’t know them all. But I’m getting there. For the past six months I’ve been reading through my grandmother’s diaries. She wrote in a diary every day. There is a half-finished entry from the day she disappeared. It reads “the trees are quiet and look still, but I can feel something moving, hiding in their branches. I think it’s about time I told Josephine about th…” and that’s where it finishes.

Finding the diary open and my Grammy Mac missing has prompted me to sift through her private diaries. A part of me keeps expecting her to walk into the bedroom and scold me like when I was five and caught going through her things. But she never does. And the longer she’s gone, the more I wish she would.

I always thought my grandmother and I were close, she practically raised me. But in reading her Diaries I realise there was so much more to her. So much more I wish she had shared. My dad went AWOL when he found out my mother was pregnant with me and my mother chose the voices in her head over me the day she drove of off the Newton Street jetty.

My grandmother was born Martha Josephine Fionnula Mac a’Bhaird, yeah it’s a mouthful. She was born in 1938 in Glasgow, Scotland. But grew up in the small town a Cranford away up in the snowy mountains of New South wales, Australia. She was raised by three aunts, they brought her over from Scotland when she was only seven years old. I’d never heard her speak of her mother or father. I wished I’d asked more, but I always felt uncomfortable bringing it up.

I am lost. I am struggling without her here. Even with the age difference between us she was always my best friend. I stare out of her window and glare at those trees. Oh how I wish they could tell me something, anything, about where my Grammy has gone.

Today is the 25th of December 2005, Christmas Day and it’s my 18th birthday. Six months Grammy’s been gone. Six months since I’ve slept or eaten properly. Endless reading of yellowed pages and elegant handwritten script. I can’t even remember the last time I left the house or showered. I don’t smell too bad, so I’m guessing it’s only a few days. I know this isn’t how she’d want me to live.

I’ve made the decision to move all the furniture and Grammy’s personal items into a storage unit. I intend on selling Grammy’s house. My boss at the local newsagents was really kind and understanding, it took her two months of me not showing up to work to fire me. There really isn’t anything left for me here.

I can’t really explain how I feel; I know it’s not natural. I understand grief and depression, but this is something more, it’s like I can’t physically do anything but obsessively read through the diary’s. Sometimes I think I can feel a presence in the trees, but then I realise I haven’t slept for thirty plus hours and I am just sleep deprived.

© Sarah Fairbairn

For your reading pleasure

January 8, 2016July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / Leave a comment

For your reading pleasure here is a guest post from the lovely Lily Luchesi and a sneak peek at her new book Miranda’s Rights which is released today!

Why I Use Music In My Writing by Lily Luchesi

Art saves. It’s not just a slogan. It’s true. Even before I could read, I was always surrounded by music and I loved it. Music was happiness in my childish mind.

As I got older, immersed myself in books, fandom, and other things, music was always there. Sure, I had broadened my tastes dramatically, but music was the only constant in my life. I was the emo teen in 2006 who ringed her eyes in black mascara and blasted The Black Parade in her bedroom. I grew up, but I am still that girl inside (and outside: I still love my black mascara).

When I started writing professionally, I found concentrating to be very difficult, so I had it suggested to me to put in my headphones and leave music on in the background. I went from barely 600 words written per day to over two thousand.

Music is many things, enjoyment being the main one. But it is so much more. It is the expression of emotions that many of us cannot convey. It is life, love, grief, pain, anger, politics, and so much more. Music is everything.

I listened to so much music while writing both books in my Paranormal Detectives Series, that I made a playlist for it on YouTube, because everyone should be able to feel what I felt as I wrote about Danny and Angelica’s heartbreak and struggles while listening to these same songs.

So, if you’re in love with music like I am, be proud and own it. Whether you fall asleep with “Clair De Lune” on repeat, jam to Rascal Flatts, rock out to 80’s hair metal, twerk to Beyonce, dance with Demi Lovato, or get emo with Fall Out Boy and Twenty One Pilots, own it. Enjoy it. Know that these people are shaping your life without ever realizing it.

Music is the most primal form of art, it is love and light as well as hate and darkness, and everything in between. It helped make Stake-Out and Miranda’s Rights happen.

Please enjoy listening to this playlist as you read the Paranormal Detectives Series. I hope it enhances your reading experience just as it enhanced my writing experience.

* Youtube Playlist *

The dead don’t always rest easy…

Retired detective, Danny Mancini, is haunted by nightmares after he found out that paranormal creatures exist. All he wants is to forget them…especially a certain half-vampire. When cursed werewolves show up trying to kill him, he is forced to go back to the Paranormal Investigative Division for help against a powerful old enemy. What he was not expecting was a dead ex showing back up after twenty-six years.

* Add to Goodreads *

* Watch the trailer *

Danny and Miranda sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments, processing everything they had heard and what Danny had seen, thanks to those damned powers of his.

“Was it hard for you? Seeing it all firsthand?” Miranda asked.

He nodded. “It was intense. It was brutal and pitiful. If I had a choice, I would give up these powers forever. Angelica says they’re a blessing, but I say they’re a curse. You can’t possibly know what it’s like to have these visions. To be there, in the thick of it, watching it as it happens, knowing every evil thing said and thought. It’s like living a nightmare. Only one of my visions has ever been good.”

Miranda went and stood behind her former fiancé, placing her cold hands on his shoulders and giving him a light squeeze. “If I could take your pain away, I would.”

“If you could, I’d pay you all the money Dad left me,” he replied.

Miranda was silent, contemplating. “I could do it, you know.”

“Do what?” he asked, turning around in the chair to face her.

“Make the powers go away. Make you not feel any of these pesky fears.” Her voice was nonchalant, but her eyes were sharp. He could see that this had been a planned confrontation somehow, and he was wary. For wanting to be a lawyer, she could never hold her cards very close to her chest. That was why he’d never taught her to play poker.

“How?” He was a former cop. He could get anyone to admit anything and he planned to make Miranda spill her guts. He knew it would be easy. She had that smug look on her face he remembered from their dating years. That look meant she was ready to brag.

Her cool fingers traced along his throat, leaving behind an uncomfortable sensation.

“Let me turn you. You’ll lose your powers and fears, and then we could be together…forever. Just you and me, like it was always meant to be.”

Check out book one in the series, * Stake-Out *

About Lily

Her interest in poetry came around the same time as when she was given a book of Edgar Allan Poe’s complete work. She then realized that she had been writing her own poetry since she could hold a pen, and just had not known the correct terms. She finished her first manuscript at the age of fourteen, and now, at twenty-one, has two contributing credits in anthologies and her debut novel, Stake-Out (Paranormal Detectives Series Book One), was published by Vamptasy Publishing on May 19th, 2015. Book two, Miranda’s Rights, will be released on January 8th, 2016.

She has a short story, “Undead Ever After” in the Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly anthology Love Sucks (released on June 13th, 2015). Her first erotic short story, “Have No Fears”, was published in the Hot Ink Press anthology Naughty Bedtime Stories: In Three Words on October 10th. She will also have a short erotic horror story, “The Devil’s Dozen”, in the upcoming Hot Ink Press anthology Death, Love, Lust, which will be released in February of 2016.

Lily’s Links * Website – Amazon – Twitter – Facebook – Instagram – Goodreads *

* * *

Miranda’s Rights by Lily Luchesi

December 18, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 1 Comment

Miranda’s Rights (Paranormal Detectives Book Two) by Lily Luchesi

The dead don’t always rest easy…

Retired detective Danny Mancini is haunted by nightmares after he found out that paranormal creatures exist. All he wants is to forget them…especially a certain half-vampire. When cursed werewolves show up trying to kill him, he is forced to go back to the Paranormal Investigative Division for help against a powerful old enemy. What he was not expecting was a dead ex showing back up after twenty-six years.

Click HERE to watch the BOOK TRAILER!

Coming on January 8th, 2016 from Vamptasy Publishing

Cover art by Rue Volley

~*~*~

Catch up on the first book in the Paranormal Detectives Series, Stake-Out.

In a city overrun with the undead, an ex-cop is given a chance to get revenge…

Danny Mancini is on a case, following a murder suspect. When he catches him, he finds out that the perp isn’t even human: he’s a 200 year old rogue vampire!

The department doesn’t believe him, and puts him on early retirement, despite his many years of service to the Chicago Police Department, which sends him into a downward spiral.

Two years later, Danny gets an invitation from the beautiful, young and very attractive Detective Angelica Cross to join a secret branch of the FBI to help her track down Vincent, the wayward vamp.

But renegade werewolves, meddling immortal witches and Danny’s strange visions of a life lived a century ago with Angelica make things more difficult than it should be.

~*~*~

> My Review of Stake Out <

About Lily:

Her interest in poetry came around the same time as when she was given a book of Edgar Allan Poe’s complete work. She then realized that she had been writing her own poetry since she could hold a pen, and just had not known the correct terms. She finished her first manuscript at the age of fourteen, and now, at twenty-one, has two contributing credits in anthologies and her debut novel, Stake-Out (Paranormal Detectives Series Book One), was published by Vamptasy Publishing on May 19th, 2015. Book two, Miranda’s Rights, will be released on January 8th, 2016.

She has a short story, “Undead Ever After” in the Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly anthology Love Sucks (released on June 13th, 2015). Her first erotic short story, “Have No Fears”, was published in the Hot Ink Press anthology Naughty Bedtime Stories: In Three Words on October 10th. She will also have a short erotic horror story, “The Devil’s Dozen”, in the upcoming Hot Ink Press anthology Death, Love, Lust, which will be released in February of 2016.

Lily on writing Stake Out

* * * * * * My Thoughts * * * * * *

Just like the 1^st installment, Stake-Out, Miranda’s Rights is a quick and entertaining read. It was a really nice break between some rather longwinded books I’ve been reading lately.

As in the first book Luchesi has put quotes from song lyrics with each chapter heading – I loved this in the first book and was really glad she kept it up. She managed to find a lyric to suit each chapter beautifully.

I also really liked the flash backs Daniel witnesses, I feel that they add some real depth to the story. I obviously already had an affinity to the main characters of Daniel and Angelica from reading the first book. But I think you could read this as a standalone and still enjoy it.

In this book we see Daniel struggle to come to grips with what Angelica is and the fact that he still loves her never the less. We see the PID tackle evil yet again, but this time they lose one of their own in the process. As in the first book there are two bad guys, one defeated and one slipping out of their grasp to wreak havoc in the next book.

I really enjoyed Miranda’s Rights 🙂 The whole ex-fiance drama, the Leander bomb dropped right at the end, the flash back werewolf love and as in the first book the on point song quotes, fantastic. I am looking forward to the third installment; seeing how Daniel and Angelica cope with her new “condition”, seeing what Fiona’s next move is, the bomb drop that is Leander and how much more he will come into the story.

Unfortunately, due to possible issues with copyright Lily has had to remove the song quote chapter markers she had in the ARC 😦 but never fear, she has instead put in a Playlist for the book 🙂

Lily Luchesi’s Links: Website | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Twitter

Facebook Page & Profile | Instagram | Goodreads

Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Down Town

September 29, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / Leave a comment

Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Down Town

Written by: Jim Butcher, Mark Powers

Illustrated by: Carlos E. Gomez

Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

Release Date: October 7, 2015

I received an eBook copy from NetGalley and Dynamite Entertainment in exchange for an honest review, so thank you.

Chicago wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden and his new apprentice, Molly Carpenter, intend to end the havoc caused by a mad sorcerer – one whose ambitions would have the Windy City streets carved out as his own private kingdom. But when the magical upstart enters into an alliance with the notorious mob boss “Gentleman Johnnie” Marcone, will the fast-and-loose Dresden and his young charge survive unscathed?

“The perfect mix of mystery, thrills, humor, and magic. Highest possible recommendation.” – SciFiPulse

“A great blend of CSI and the supernatural.” – Big Glasgow Comic Page

Amazon Pre-order & Jim’s Website / Twitter / Goodreads

I had never heard of Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files until Down Town came up on NetGalley, so I had to do some research. The Dresden Files is an urban fantasy series telling the story of Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only Wizard P.I. The files currently comprise of 15 novels (books), each book being a standalone story and 6 graphic novels (comics), two of which are graphic versions of first two novels and the rest being standalone stories.

Down Town is a standalone graphic novel set after White Night, book 9. Some people have said that the series should be read in order, as each story has references to the previous. I could still follow the story and understand what was going on without having read any of the others.

I liked the artwork and was entertained by the story line. The golem was interesting, as was the whole “under town” concept. If I had read some of the earlier books I may have had more of a connection to the characters and enjoyed this story even more.

So while I wasn’t blown away with Down Town I did enjoy reading it and am going to give Storm Front the first in the series a go. Three “I liked it” Stars – Worth a look at if you’re a paranormal vigilante lover.

Stake-Out (Paranormal Detectives Book One) by Lily Luchesi

April 27, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 5 Comments

Detective Danny Mancini is on a case, following a murder suspect. When he catches him, he finds out that the perp isn’t even human: he’s a 200 year old rogue vampire!

The department doesn’t believe him, and puts him on early retirement, despite his many years of service to the Chicago Police Department, which sends him into a downward spiral.

Two years later, Danny gets an invitation from the beautiful, young and very attractive Detective Angelica Cross to join a secret branch of the FBI to help her track down Vincent, the wayward vamp.

But renegade werewolves, meddling immortal witches and Danny’s strange visions of a life lived a century ago with Angelica make things more difficult than it should be.From the beginning it is easy to care about Danny – A detective doing his job and doing it well, who witnesses’ something unbelievable. And of course no one believes him; he is pushed out of the CPD, labelled as crazy and unfit for work. Danny is barely surviving, living on bottle after bottle of booze when along comes Angelica Cross and the PID (The secret paranormal investigation department of the FBI). A Vamplet, Angelica is the daughter of a human male and a vampire female. Angelica is sexy, strong and determined to catch the bad guys. Though the whole book Danny struggles, he’s had so much thrown at him and never really recovers. I hope that in the next or third book his life can come together for him. At the very end of the epilogue, I felt like there was hope of that, as he’d realised his mistakes.

Even though it was easy to guess Angelica Cross’s big secret early on, I loved that Danny didn’t. There are all sorts’ twists and turns along the way, some expected, some not. The story was fast paced, action packed, entertaining and emotional. I was swept up in Danny and Angelica’s world.

In this the first book, we meet two villains, but only one of them dealt with, leaving what could be an epic show down between Angelica and the powerful and malicious witch Fiona Gullifoyle.

I am really looking forward to the next installment. Bring It On.

My favourite parts:

The flash backs to Danny’s previous life, I loved the whole epilogue (even read it twice).

The vampiric history lesson Angelica gives Danny – Fascinating.

All the little snippets of song lyrics that accompany each chapter break – It is a really lovely, quirky touch. The emotion in the song lyrics matched the chapters perfectly each time.

Lily Luchesi is a young author/poet born in Chicago, Illinois, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Ever since she was a toddler her mother noticed her tendency for being interested in all things “dark”. At two she became infatuated with vampires and ghosts, and that infatuation turned into a lifestyle by the time she was twelve, and, as her family has always been what they now call “Gothic”, she doesn’t believe she shall ever change. She is also a hopeless romantic and avid music-lover, and will always associate vampires with love, blood and rock and roll. Her interest in poetry came around the same time as when she was given a book of Edgar Allan Poe’s complete work. She then realized that she had been writing her own poetry since she could hold a pen, and just had not known the correct terms. She finished her first manuscript at the age of fourteen, and now, at twenty-one, has two contributing credits in anthologies and the debut novel, Stake-Out.

Twitter – www.twitter.com/LilyLuchesi

Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/LilyLuchesi

Facebook Profile – www.facebook.com/lilyluchesibooks

Instagram – www.instagram.com/lilyluchesi

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7369101.Lily_Luchesi

Prev post with Lily discussing the writing off Stake-Out http://wp.me/p431Gp-my

Stake-Out by Lily Luchesi

April 24, 2015July 14, 2019 / Absidity Art / 1 Comment

Stake-Out (Paranormal Detectives Book One) by Lily Luchesi

I always, ALWAYS, made up stories in my head. Ever since I could remember. It started with Sailor Moon fanfiction, believe it or not. But when I was in second grade, I had an amazing teacher who encouraged my writing, even when I cried as my hand cramped. She refused to let me quit, and here I am now, thirteen years later. A published author.

My books never start out with outlines, like most authors. In fact, I never write outlines. If I can’t remember it, then it wasn’t worth putting into my story. Stake-Out, in particular, started with an idea. I was watching a crime show last summer, and thought, “What would happen if a cop’s perp turned out to be a vampire?” (Because I love vampires; they’re a lifelong obsession of mine.) So I wrote the prologue, where my protagonist, Danny Mancini, was facing off against Vincent, a murderous vampire who was wanted for rape and murder. I wrote the book between July and August of 2014, adding in characters and scenes as they came to me. Eventually, as I neared the end, I got more and more ideas that couldn’t possibly fit into a single book. So I decided to make Stake-Out part one of the Paranormal Detectives Trilogy.

Vampires are romantic creatures to me, but they’re also dangerous predators you don’t want to cross. I wanted to write a paranormal story where the romance was in the background. It’s there, but it takes a backseat to the violence and criminal psychology of evil witches and renegade werewolves. So while you have Danny and Angelica dancing around their feelings and their shared past, you also have them slicing throats and stabbing hearts.

My two favorite authors are Stephen King and Charlotte Bronte, so you can imagine how I decided to write the story in this manner. My sincerest hope is to receive a note from a reader thanking me for giving them a story that made them forget reality for a few hours. Books are my escape, and I am grateful and blessed to be able to contribute to literature.

Detective Danny Mancini is on a case, following a murder suspect. When he catches him, he finds out that the perp isn’t even human: he’s a 200 year old rogue vampire!

The department doesn’t believe him, and puts him on early retirement, despite his many years of service to the Chicago Police Department, which sends him into a downward spiral.

Two years later, Danny gets an invitation from the beautiful, young and very attractive Detective Angelica Cross to join a secret branch of the FBI to help her track down Vincent, the wayward vamp.

But renegade werewolves, meddling immortal witches and Danny’s strange visions of a life lived a century ago with Angelica make things more difficult than it should be.

Purchase the Wishful Thinking anthology, featuring Lily’s short horror/sci-fi story, “Kill ‘Em With Kindness”: http://www.amazon.com/Wishful-Thinking-Wishes-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00P0L0JCI/ref=asap_B00GBFAE0E_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417128797&sr=1-1

Lily is a published poet in the anthology The Struggle with my poem “Aftermath”: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G95Y0A6

Read her FREE debut short story “The Ghost’s Guitar” on: http://peoplewritethings.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/the-ghosts-guitar/

Twitter – www.twitter.com/LilyLuchesi

Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/LilyLuchesi

Facebook Profile – www.facebook.com/lilyluchesibooks

Instagram – www.instagram.com/lilyluchesi

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7369101.Lily_Luchesi