The exciting third installment in the Cin Craven series begins with the four members of the Righteous (Cin, Michael, Justine and Devlin) in France, 1862. Cin finds herself being strangely compelled to go to a particular location. Though fairly certain a spell is being used to call her, Cin does not know why or the person behind it. The four all make their way to Ravenworth, Cin’s family estate in England, where they learn of the death, from old age, of Cin’s longtime friend, Fiona. They also meet Cin’s cousin, Raina, the witch who summoned them via the spell.

It seems that Raina’s daughter, Claire, has been kidnapped by a man, Boucher, who wants an urn she was entrusted with and refused to relinquish. A locator spell performed by Cin and Raina together indicates that Claire is being held on an island off the coast of Georgia, which unfortunately is currently embroiled in the Civil War. Despite the difficulties this situation presents, Cin and the others agree to go and rescue Claire. Upon their arrival at the aptly-named Devil’s Island, the four cohorts manage to wrest control of Boucher’s plantation home away from him, legally, and are surprised to learn the contents of the urn that Claire so carefully guards, and what Boucher’s intentions are. Aside from ensuring that Boucher does not succeed, Cin must also contend with inheriting slaves and thereby participating in an institution she abhors.

Maclaine’s plot and words flow effortlessly across the page, which, combined with the suspense level being ratcheted up even higher this time, ensures that the reader will stay glued to the page. Cin and Michael are terrific protagonists, and as the author excels at characterization, all of the secondary players come to life to join them in their adventures. As before, Maclaine’s historical knowledge shines through, and setting much of the action against the background of a war enables her to both explore a particular time period and location, as well as the characters’ reactions to the events surrounding them.

Cin continues to learn about and adapt to both her limitations and her capabilities, and when she worries that she may turn into someone or something she does not wish to become, Michael tells her, “Our experiences lead us to where we are, they don’t make us who we are. Only you can decide who it you want to be” (51). Losing people she loves causes Cin to reflect upon her purpose and her choices, adding depth to the narrative. This excellent book earns a well-deserved spot on the must-read list in the historical urban fantasy field, and this reviewer will enthusiastically follow Cin and company into their next adventure.

Book Stats:

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks; Original edition (December 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031294618X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312946180

To purchase a print copy of Bound by Sin from Amazon click here.

To purchase a print copy of Bound by Sin from Barnes & Noble click here.

To purchase an eBook copy of Bound by Sin from OmniLit click here.

Books in the Cin Craven series in the order they should be read:
Wages of Sin
Grave Sins
Bound By Sin

(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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PLEASE NOTE: The contest portion of this event is now over. The winners will be chosen at a later date and contacted via email.

A big welcome to our readers today! Be sure to read to the end of the interview to find out how to WIN the fabulous prizes being offered up.

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a fixed time event, the post just goes live at 12:30 pm Central. You can stop by any time during the day or evening and leave your questions and chat.

PLEASE KEEP SPOILERS TO A MINIMUM. Not all of the readers today have read Jenna’s books.

Interview:

Hi Jenna!

Welcome to Bitten by Books, we are excited to have you here today!

I would like to thank you taking the time to join us for the question and answer session with our readers. It has been very interesting to get to know more about you and what makes you tick as a writer! Readers, if you haven’t done so already please stop by and get your copy of Jenna’s latest release Bound By Sin.

BBB: What are the most challenging and the most rewarding aspects of writing?

JM: For me the most challenging aspect of writing is just getting the time to sit down and write. I live on a family farm and stalls need to be cleaned and animals need to be taken care of. That’s not something you can just blow off or postpone because you need to work. So especially during the winter it’s really hard for me to get the time to write. Spring, summer, and fall are much easier. The most rewarding aspect is getting the stories that float around in my head out on paper. There’s such a sense of satisfaction in that… for about a week until the next book starts talking to me! And my readers are so wonderful. I’m still new enough at this that it continues to amaze me that anyone wants to read what I write!

BBB: If you could have the Cin Craven series made into a TV series, who would your dream cast be?
JM: Oh, wow, wouldn’t it be nice to have to make that decision? Cin would be the hardest for me to cast because I don’t see a particular actress in my head when I think of her. I do that sometimes with the secondary characters because I don’t “know” them as well as I know my primaries and it helps me to see them better in my head. After I create a secondary character sometimes I’ll sit there and try to think of who would play them in a movie and it sort of cements them for me. I could see Alan Rickman as Edmund Gage, Alexis Dziena as Belladonna, Gerard Butler as Drummond, Robert Knepper as Jacques Aubert, Angelina Jolie as Morrigan, to name a few. Of my four main characters though the only actor I’ve run across that I think would be a spectacular fit for one of them would be Justin Hartley for Michael.

BBB: What are your top 3 favorite paranormal books and movies?

JM: Oh gosh, only 3? I’ve had so little time to read lately. I have a huge stack of wonderful-looking books in my TBR pile that I just can’t seem to get to. However, Seize the Night and Fantasy Love by Sherrilyn Kenyon are particular favorites of mine as well as the early Anita Blake books. As far as movies go, some of my favorites are Blithe Spirit; Bell, Book, and Candle; The Watcher in the Woods. Pretty tame stuff. I’m not a big fan of horror movies or anything that’s too gory or scary. I prefer suspense over giving myself nightmares!

BBB: What character (s) in any of your books is most like you?

JM: I will admit that Cin has my smart mouth but, honestly, I’m probably more like Devlin. He’s cautious and responsible and doesn’t run headlong into danger but he’ll fight to the death for those he loves—and be scary as hell while doing it! I think there’s a little of me in all my characters, though, even the villains. As a writer I don’t think that’s something you can help.

BBB: What is the most ridiculous thing that you have thought about doing to any of your characters but never did?

JM: Nothing comes to mind on my current series. However, I will say to any aspiring writers out there- never model your hero after anyone you know. I have a partially finished historical romance in my desk that I wrote in college and I modeled the hero after the really hot guy I was dating. As soon as you do that, though, you will break up and then you’re stuck with this guy in your book. Halfway through it I was severely tempted to drown him in the English Channel and save the heroine the trouble!

BBB: How do you keep track of your world building?

JM: On my first book it was post it notes. With the second and third books I graduated to jotting things down in notebooks or making Word files of genealogical charts. Now I’m faced with having to collate all that into something workable and easily referenced. It’s not the plots or the major things that give me trouble, it’s the little things like dates or the eye color on some of my secondary characters that I find myself having to go back to the original manuscript and look up.

BBB: What do you feel are the benefits of the new electronic readers such as Kindle 2 or Sony Digital Book Reader to the environment?

JM: Well, I’m a tree-hugger so I do understand the environmental issues (though I think you can probably weigh that against plastic and batteries filling up landfills). I also think there’s a lot of waste that could be eliminated just by changing how the publishing industry operates in regards to things like returns. But in the end, I am a book lover. I like the smell of them, the feel of them, the look of them on my bookshelves. I can’t imagine that I would ever find myself curled up in bed with a Kindle, but I can see how e-readers would be fabulous for people who commute long distances or who don’t necessarily want anyone seeing the cover of whatever guilty-pleasure book they’re reading. They’re not for me but I can certainly understand their popularity now and in the years to come.

BBB: What impact do electronic readers create on the bottom line for authors in the end? Do you feel they have a negative impact or positive, or no impact at all that you can see?

JM: The big drawback of ebooks is that they’re so easily pirated. While that sucks for those of us trying to earn a living, it’s something that the music and entertainment industries have been dealing with for a long time, so I guess it’s our turn now. I think at the moment their impact on the publishing industry’s bottom line is still relatively small but (as much as it pains me to say it since I do love paper books) I think they’re the way the future is headed. That’s hard to deny when Amazon sold more Kindle books than print books on Christmas Day 2009 and print book sales only rose a couple percent in 2009 while ebook sales rose a couple hundred percent (depending on what data you look at).

BBB: Can you give us a more in depth look at Bound by Sin and the storyline that drives it and what can we expect from you next in this series?

JM: Cin has to deal with some hard issues in this book. In the beginning she has to come to terms with losing some of the people she loves, because that’s what happens when you’re an immortal with ties to the human world. Family and loyalty have always been what drives Cin so when her cousin Raina asks her to go to America to retrieve Raina’s kidnapped daughter, of course The Righteous agree. In the course of doing so, though, Cin is forced to finally face the dark magic that has haunted her for decades. This is my favorite book of the three and Morrigan and I both think that the events in Bound By Sin go a long way toward making Cin into the warrior she is destined to become. I hope to continue to build on that in the coming books as Cin and The Righteous explore new frontiers, make new friends, and fight some old enemies throughout the 20th century and on to present day.

BBB: Your background in history is evident in the Cin Craven series. Was choosing a historical setting a conscious decision on your part, or did it happen as the story began to flow?

JM: No, I always knew this series would start out as a historical. I come from a historical romance background and before I found the paranormal genre all I read were historicals. After a while, though, it sort of felt like I was reading the same story over and over again. Then a friend of mine turned me on to Xena, Buffy, and Anita Blake and I found that I really liked a heroine that kicked ass and (for the most part) didn’t need anyone else to save her. After that I wanted my books a little grittier than what I’d been used to reading. At the same time, I missed the historical setting and thought what a shame it was that all these wonderful modern-day vampires that I’d been reading had centuries of stories behind them that we never get to hear. I really wanted to read a series that started at the beginning of a vampire’s “afterlife” and worked its way up to the present day, but I couldn’t find one. So I wrote one. The decision to set the first book in 1815, however, was entirely based on the fact that I like that period’s dresses the best.

BBB: Which of your characters presents the biggest challenge to write about? Which one comes most easily?

JM: Cin and Michael come very easily to me. I know them well. The biggest challenge is writing Devlin and Justine. It’s not that I don’t know them as well, it’s that I have to tread that fine line between making them enough a part of the story that they’re “real” and not letting them completely take over Cin and Michael. I feel like I’ve done pretty well with Justine, especially in Bound By Sin, but I look forward to fleshing Devlin’s character out a bit more in the coming books.

BBB: You have also contributed a series novella and two short stories to anthologies. Did you enjoy using the shorter form as a change of pace?

JM: I really like using the short stories to fill in the gaps between the novels. Often several decades pass for the characters between books and the anthologies are a great way to briefly tell what’s happening during that time. I do prefer the longer novellas, though, because the higher word count provides more room to tell the story and makes a better plot for the readers.

BBB: What other jobs have you had besides being an author?

JM: I’ve worked in a grocery store, a western clothing store, as a bank teller and as a bookkeeper. I must say I much prefer writing and working on my farm to any of those!

BBB: Which authors works do you enjoy reading and do you have any other authors that you bounce ideas off of?

JM: I enjoy a lot of paranormal authors but I think my all-time favorites are still Jude Devereaux, Judith McNaught, and Catherine Coulter. I don’t have other authors that I work with. I’m a very private writer and I don’t want anyone reading what I’ve got until it’s finished and I’m happy with it.

BBB: Where do you see the paranormal/urban fantasy genre headed? Can you see it slowing down in the near future, or do you think that the immediate future is pretty bright for it?

JM: I think there’s always an ebb and flow. Eventually the PNR/UF genre will wane a bit and I believe historicals will probably make a comeback. But I think the vamps and weres will continue to rule the roost for a few more years.

BBB: Do you have any plans for book signings/ readings anytime soon? If so, where can our readers find you?

JM: I don’t have anything coming up in the near future, but if readers will check my Facebook and Myspace pages I post all that information there!

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Learn more about Jenna Maclaine below:
To read reviews of this author’s work go here.
To visit the author’s website go here.

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CONTEST: PLEASE NOTE THE NEW CONTEST EMAIL ADDRESS TO SEND YOUR ENTRIES TO BELOW. There are also revisions to the rules for this contest, please read them all carefully. Also, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR FIRST AND THE INITIAL OF YOUR LAST NAME in your comment/post so we can give you the proper credit for your entries.

Readers, here’s how to enter the contest. You can do just ONE or ALL of these things, and each thing you do will give you additional entries at a chance to WIN. REMEMBER you have Until 1/30/10 at 11:59 pm Central to do the different things that YOU choose to do. It is NOT mandatory you make a purchase to enter the contest. There are plenty of free ways to get entries as well.

She will be giving away a copy of her book to FIVE lucky readers. Readers choice of the following!

Wages of Sin
Grave Sins
Bound By Sin
The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance
Strange Brew
The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance
Huntress

Open to readers worldwide.

1. Purchase copies of Jenna’s books from Amazon
Click here

Purchase copies of Jenna’s books from Barnes & Noble
Click here

Good for 300 entries per book you purchase by using the links above. Email your receipt to the prize Goddess here bittenbybooks.contests @ gmail.com (no spaces). Not valid on past purchases.

OR you can use the Barnes & Noble link HERE to make your purchase of ANY kind of merchandise during the contest. You can also use the Amazon link HERE to shop as well. Good for 100 entries to the contest for EACH item you purchase. Not valid on past purchases.

2. Leave question for her below good for 10 entries. (max 2 questions for entries)

3. Be friends with Jenna by joining her here:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1371558716
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/jennamaclaine

Good for 25 entries per place you friend or follow. Be sure to send your confirmation emails to bittenbybooks.contests @ gmail.com (no spaces).

4. Join us at our daily book chat here: http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=18952 RSVP for Monday’s event here: http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=18947 enter the free book contest here: http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=18941 good for 25 entries for each one you do.

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The contest ends on 1/30/10 at 11:59 pm Central and the winners will be contacted via email. You will receive your prize directly from the author. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR FIRST AND THE INITIAL OF YOUR LAST NAME as well as a valid email where we can contact you. REMEMBER the more things you do, the more entries, the greater the chances of winning. PLEASE ALLOW THIRTY DAYS to receive your prize BEFORE EMAILING US.

1. Please note, the prize stated IS the prize you will receive, there will be absolutely no substitutions or changes the prize is non-transferable. If you don’t want the prize being offered, please don’t enter the contest. If you ever win an electronic copy of a book, please note that it is ILLEGAL to forward, give away or copy it in anyway once you receive it. Doing so violates copyright. If we find out that it has been done, you will no longer be eligible to win any of our contests.

2. You have FIVE days from the day the we contact you to claim your prize by sending your name/mailing address to me. Failure to contact me will forfeit your prize. BBB can at that time, choose either to re-award the prize to another entrant or not.

3. The prize stated IS the prize you will receive, there will be no substitutions, trades or changes. No exceptions. Please do not ask. If for some reason you do not wish to claim your prize, please let me know as soon as possible. Bitten by Books has the option to re-award it or not.

4. Contest is open to readers in the USA except where noted. The prizes are shipped directly from the author unless otherwise noted.

5. Bitten by Books is in NO way responsible for the prizes being offered in any of the contests. If for some reason a contributor does not honor their prize, there is nothing we can or will do about it. We are not worried that this will happen, but we want to be very clear that WE are not offering these prizes, the contributor is and it is their responsibility to fulfill their prize obligations.

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8. By entering this contest you are agreeing to our terms of entry

(3 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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This second installment in the exciting Cin Craven series begins thirteen years after the first, Wages of Sin, leaves off. Fiona, Cin’s close friend, is now married and has three children. During their yearly two-week visit to Ravenwood, Cin’s ancestral home she deeded to Fiona, Michael breaks the news that they have an assignment. The Righteous, the group of vampire enforcers formed of Cin, Michael, Devlin, and Justine, must appear in Edinburgh to investigate charges against the vampire queen of the West, Marrakesh. Humans are being murdered, and one of the court vampires reports seeing the queen with one of the bodies. Since these incidents coincide with Marrakesh exhibiting very odd behavior, suspicion easily falls upon her.

Upon the group’s arrival, Cin immediately suspects that something else is going on as she detects traces of magic, though she is unable to ascertain the source or what type it is. The presence of Drake, the high king’s sentinel, complicates matters as he and Michael have an uneasy past that neither has quite forgotten, due to Drake taking an interest in Cin. At the same time they are attempting to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the queen and the murders, Cin and Michael are also navigating a rough patch in their relationship.

At first, the romantic issues between Cin and Michael seem distracting, but after finishing the book, it becomes obvious that the author is actually addressing the intriguing question of what does eternal love really mean to someone who can, at least in theory, live forever. One of Maclaine’s greatest strengths is her facility in melding the historical period of the nineteenth century she so tactilely portrays with the detailed vampire world she has created. This book explores further the vampire hierarchy and politics with which Cin and the others must contend while also co-existing in the human world. The success with which this goal is accomplished demonstrates how this series earns a distinguished spot in the historical urban fantasy category. This reviewer anxiously awaits Cin’s next adventure.

Book Stats:

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks; Original edition (February 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312946171
• ISBN-13: 978-0312946173

To purchase a print copy of Grave Sins from Amazon click here.

To purchase a print copy of Grave Sins from Barnes & Noble click here.
To purchase an eBook copy of Grave Sins from Barnes & Noble click here.

Books in the Cin Craven series in the order they should be read:
Wages of Sin
Grave Sins
Bound By Sin

(4 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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This compelling first novel in the Cin Craven series grabs the reader on the very first page and does not let go. Descending from the line of powerful Macgregor witches in early nineteenth-century England, Dulcinea Craven awaits the full blossoming of her powers. At the age of twenty-two, she expects this event to occur at any time. Unfortunately, the accidental death of her parents serves as the impetus as Dulcinea’s mother unexpectedly passes on her own magic to Dulcinea when she dies. As if her grief were not enough to contend with, she also discovers that her unwanted suitor, Sebastian, a man she has known since childhood, is now a vampire. When he attacks Dulcinea, she turns him into a weasel by merely thinking he is one, demonstrating to her that she needs to get a handle on her powers.

Realizing that she needs to seek outside advice and help regarding both vampires and methods to control her magic, Dulcinea travels to London to see Mr. Pendergrass, an apothecary friend and confidante of her mother’s. After being bitten by Sebastian, Dulcinea feels his call to go to him and wishes to sever the link. Mr. Pendergrass tells Dulcinea of three vampires known as The Righteous who protect humans from abuse (killing and terrorizing) by vampires and suggests that she attempt to use her magic to call them to her. When her effort meets with success, Michael, Justine, and Devlin arrive, and Dulcinea learns from them that Sebastian is not strong enough to call her himself, meaning he must be controlled by someone very powerful. When the four discover who that entity is, Dulcinea feels she has a difficult choice to make to ensure the safety of everyone she loves.

Combining horror, humor, and a bit of romance, Maclaine hits the right notes in every aspect of the story. The significant thread of humor lacing the narrative does not in the least diminish the seriousness of the choices Dulcinea faces. Devlin explains to her: “To become a vampire you must have strength, Dulcinea. You will know much more sorrow as a vampire than you ever would as a human. It is tempting to be young and beautiful forever, to be strong and flush with power, but you must understand what you sacrifice” (137). The author’s background in and love of history shines through in the narrative, adding to the reading experience, as do the skillfully-drawn characters. Fans of both paranormal romance and urban fantasy will enjoy  Wages of Sin. This reviewer looks forward to reading the second installment in the series.

Book Stats:

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks (July 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312946163
• ISBN-13: 978-0312946166

To purchase a print copy of Wages of Sin from Amazon click here.

To purchase a print copy of Wages of Sin from Barnes & Noble click here.

Books in the Cin Craven series in the order they should be read:
Wages of Sin
Grave Sins
Bound By Sin

(4 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

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I have to admit, I’m not much of an anthology reader. But I had to read Strange Brew because it had some authors that I have not had a chance to read yet, and I figured even reading a short story was better than not getting to read them at all.

In “Vegas Odds” by Karen Chance, Accalia de Croissets is a teacher in The Corps. When her students turn on her, she tries to get down to the bottom of what is going on.

In “Signatures of the Dead” by Faith Hunter, Molly needs to use her powers as a witch to find out what is happening to local families. She enlists the help of Jane Yellowrock to get to the bottom of the murders.

In “Ginger” by Caitlin Kittredge, the reader gets a look at things from Luna’s cousin Sunny’s perspective. When Sunny is contacted by a mysterious party, she gets dragged into one of Luna’s cases yet again.

There are many other great stories in the anthology, all told, nine in all. Other authors include Rachel Caine, Charlaine Harris and P.N. Elrod. I really enjoyed reading Strange Brew, since its actually based primarily on witches and magic, something that is not a primary focus in most of the books I read for review. Each author has picked an interesting character from their series to base the short story on. In some stories, such as Ms. Kittredge’s, it might be a secondary character. In other ones, such as Jim Butcher’s, it is based around Harry Dresden the main character in the Dresden Files series. As I said earlier, I rarely read anthologies, but I am glad I picked this one up, because it introduced me to many great authors that I will definitely have to add to my TBR pile. If you enjoy anthologies, or just want an introduction to these nine different authors, then pick up Strange Brew today.

Book Excerpt: “Today’s hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic!

In Charlaine Harris’ “Bacon,” a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In “Seeing Eye” by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother—and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher’s “Last Call,” wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers—the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer.

For anyone who’s ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who’s imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!”

Book Stats:

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin; 1 edition (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312383363
• ISBN-13: 978-0312383367

To purchase a print copy of Strange Brew from Amazon click here.

To purchase a print copy of Strange Brew from Barnes & Noble click here.
To purchase an eBook copy of Strange Brew from Barnes & Noble click here.

(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)

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