The Belle Stalker Book Tour: Author guest post & giveaway

THE BELLE STALKER

An Urban Fantasy Thriller

by Minnette Meador

Book blurb: The police have done all they can, but it isn’t enough. When Belle finds the mutilated body of her lover strewn across the furniture she knows only her ex-husband, Homicide Detective Mike Cranston can stop the maniac who has been dogging her steps for over a year. The only problem is the man who stalks her...is not a man at all. Belle plays a dangerous game and only hopes that Cranston can stop the monster before it’s too late.

Guest Post: GENRE BENDING

When they opened the double swinging doors, the victim’s body lay there in all its sterile glory, opened like a grisly butterfly on a cold stainless steel table. Doc Thurman, immaculate as ever in a pristine white coat, spared them one quick eye then went back to her recorder to dictate in a few more words.

“Detectives,” she said coolly.

The body appeared pretty much as it did in the apartment, with two notable exceptions: His chest lay open to expose a stark white ribcage and brightly colored yellow, white, red and brown organs, and the victim’s eyes were an unusual shade of pale blue Cranston had never seen on another human being. He frowned at Tami.

“His eyes were brown on the scene.”

Tami nodded. “Contacts. I removed them.”

“This guy isn’t right, is he?”

Tami raised one narrow brow and put on the glasses hanging around her neck. With a delighted glint in her eye that only a coroner could get from a dead body, her lips squirmed maniacally. “You have no idea.”

THE BELLE STALKER – CHAPTER EIGHT

TODAY’S PRIZE: RECIPE BOX WITH MY FAVORITE RECIPES
(Don’t forget: If you send your name and address to Minnette, she will send you a stack of signed swag. Just drop a note at mmeador@minnettemeador.com)

I get asked a lot about why I like to mix genres and bend, if not break some of the traditional rules about writing genre romance. The simple answer is this: it’s like gourmet cooking. It’s not the ingredients it’s the combination of ingredients that makes the difference. I took a clue from a couple of guys who are very good a mixing genres; George Lucas and Josh Whedan. George’s Star Wars was a mix of western, space opera, the hero’s journey, sci-fi, romance, swashbuckler and fantasy. If you doubt that, watch it again; it has every one of those genres in it and then some. Whedan’s Firefly is a beautiful example of sci-fi, western, pioneer, suspense, pirate, and psychological thriller. There’s even sex, deception, and herding cows! Again, they both hit that perfect balance of ingredients with just the right spice, like a gourmet cook.

The Belle Stalker is no different, though whether I hit the right ingredients with the right balance would be for you to decide. It is murder mystery, thriller, paranormal, romance, police drama, urban fantasy, and even a little travelogue! You will meet homicide detectives, dwarves, the homeless, professors, huntsmen, Napoleon, city workers, soldiers, pilots, Romans, and the Irish, not necessarily in that order. I’ve always loved books and stories that have wonderful twists and turns you never see coming; some of my favorites are Sixth Sense, Momento, Identity and Source Code. If you haven’t seen these wonderful movies, I highly recommend them. I love a good twist and I try to do that in my own stories. There is nothing so thrilling as reading a story you are certain you already figured out and didn’t see coming!

So what are some of your favorite mixed genre books? What genres do you like to read together? Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance at today’s prize and the grand prizes at the end of the tour. Minnette :o)

Audio Excerpt / Written Excerpt

Purchase links: 

RESPLENDENCE PUBLISHING (all eFormats except Kindle & Nook):
AMAZON / Kindle / Nook
All Romance eBooks 

Website / Blog

About the author: Somewhere between thirty and dust...red hair, blue eyes...six kids, one slightly used husband, and any number of pets from time to time... wanttabe hippy... wanttheirmoney yuppie... pro musician and actress for 20 years...native Oregonian... lover of music, beauty and all things green. Willing slave to the venerable muse.  

Give Away: Minnette Meador will be giving away a small Kindle ($79) plus a Portland Tote filled with goodies to one randomly drawn commenter, along with daily prizes. She will do the drawing herself for the daily winners. The Kindle and tote bag are limited to US and Canada only; if an international winner, an Amazon GC will be substituted. 

Remember: Any reader who sends their name and address to Minnette will be sent a stack of signed swag. Just drop her a note at :mmeador@minnettemeador.com.

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. 

Tour dates can be found here