My Deadtown urban fantasy series features Victory Vaughn, a shapeshifter who kills other people’s personal demons for a living—while fighting bigger, nastier, more dangerous demons of her own. Vicky lives in Deadtown, Boston’s paranormal-only district. One of her favorite haunts (so to speak haha) is Creature Comforts, a bar where humans and paranormals meet and mingle. Creature Comforts is owned and managed by Axel, a bartender of few words but giant stature—and attitude. Here, Axel takes over to share his thoughts on running a monster bar in Boston’s New Combat Zone.

You can learn a lot about people in a bar.

Of course, if you happen to wander into my bar and spend some time there, you’ll learn a lot about a lot more than just people. That’s because humans make up maybe a quarter of my customers. The rest are vampires, werewolves—you know, so-called creatures of the night. Creature Comforts (that’s my bar) also gets quite a few zombies, when the cops let them past the Deadtown barriers.

My name is Axel, and I’m a jötunn. You’d probably say “troll.” Either one works. I’ll admit I look like something out one of those fairy tales meant to scare children into behaving—I’m seven feet tall (plus or minus a couple of centimeters), with a hookish nose, small dark eyes, and a long beard that tends toward shagginess. You might expect to find me living under a bridge, demanding money to let travelers cross—and threatening to eat anyone who won’t pay up. Not much call for that line of work anymore. The government’s taken over. Take the Tobin Bridge, for example. Seventy-five thousand cars drive across it from Chelsea into Boston every day, and the state collects three dollars from each of them. How am I supposed to compete with that?

So if you look under bridges, you won’t find me there. I live in an apartment in the basement under my bar. Behind a triple-locked door. It’s my realm, and no one gets in without my say-so.

Anyway, that whole pay-up-or-get-eaten thing is a lousy deal. For me, I mean. Look around at the characters in this place—that table of business-suited werewolves sharing a bottle of Scotch; the three vampires sitting at the bar, pretending they’re not eyeing the nervous-looking human college girls sitting in the booth by the door. And let’s not even mention the zombies. Anything in here look like dinner to you? Me, neither. Don’t get me wrong; I like money. But I prefer to get mine by selling good beer and spirits at a fair price.

I opened this place three years ago, just a couple of days after the plague hit. Like other paranormals, I was immune to the virus that was fatal (or so we thought at first) to every human it touched. And the way all kinds of creatures came out of the woodwork to help, it was downright touching. I saw feared monsters who’d done their share of dark-alley hunting weep with grief at the scale of the carnage. I saw vampires who’d never in their undeath spared a thought for anyone else roll up their sleeves and pitch in to help. Later, after the zombies rose, I saw too many powerful creatures crammed in too close together try to figure out how to get along without tearing each other to pieces. One way they did

that was coming to my place. Still do, too.

Now, monster bars like mine provide neutral ground for humans and paranormals to mingle—or just to eye each other warily. Creature Comforts is one of a handful of such bars in the New Combat Zone, the unregulated no-man’s land between the checkpoints into Deadtown at one end and human-controlled Boston at the other. For humans, coming here is sort of like sticking your big toe into a shark tank so you can run home and tell your friends how brave you were to go swimming with the sharks. For paranormals, it’s a place where you can relax—go on the prowl or out for a howl and not worry what anyone
else thinks of you.

That’s where I come in. I keep order—silver stakes behind the bar help keep both vampires and werewolves in line—but more than that I make Creature Comforts a place where anyone can come in, get comfortable, and knock back a few cold ones. Sure, I might have to break up a couple of werewolf brawls each month when the moon is waxing. And I have to toss the vampire junkies out onto the pavement when they’ve donated blood past the legal limit. And sometimes I have to step in and save some dumb norm who drinks enough to get brave and mouth off to the monsters. But mostly, this is a live-and-let-live kind of place.

So don’t be shy. Come on in and take a seat at the bar. Let me pour you a pint. Tell me your story. I might not say much, but that doesn’t mean I’m not listening. After all, you can learn a lot about people—and others—in a bar.

Books in the Deadtown series in the order they should be read:
Deadtown
Hellforged
Bloodstone
Darklands

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Learn more about Nancy Holzner below:
To read reviews of this author’s work go here.
To visit the author’s website go here.
To visit the author’s blog go here.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/NancyHolzner
Facebook Fan: http://www.facebook.com/NancyHolznerBooks

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Darklands, the gripping fourth book in the Deadtown series, picks up just a few weeks after the events of book three. Vicky Vaughn, against her better judgment and inclination, finds herself at the zombie school in Deadtown, about to give a presentation for career night to a class (thanks to Tina, her former apprentice) about her job as an exterminator of personal demons. Unfortunately for Vicky and her audience, the class gets treated to an actual demonstration when a harpy suddenly attacks. Unarmed, due to the school policy banning weapons, Vicky’s disadvantage turns when she discovers that Tina does not always follow school rules, and she manages to kill the attacking demon. Since the harpy clearly had been sent after her, Vicky puzzles over why and by whom.

After she arrives home, Vicky picks up the bound-in-human-skin Book of Utter Darkness as instructed by Mab, and gets a vision of her former demi-demon cousin Pryce, who mysteriously disappeared after their last run-in. Mulling over her experience with the book, as well as the newest shapeshifter symptom exhibited by her niece, Maria, and its resultant drama, Vicky heads over to her one remaining client who has not cancelled on her recently. Once inside the woman’s dreamscape, where she must go to exterminate demons that cause nightmares, Vicky sees Pryce, who appears to be collecting demons, and barely survives an attack from the man. After finishing the job, Vicky, with the assistance of her Aunt Mab, begins piecing together the clues of what Pryce may be planning – something so horrific that she must put aside her concerns over the female werewolf who seems to have designs on Kane, as well as all other personal matters.

With each installment, the reader gets treated to a wild ride of exploration as Holzner depicts another alternate plane within her intricate universe. As each of its predecessors in the Deadtown series does, the terrific Darklands strikes an ideal balance between action, introspection, world-building, and character development. Vicky’s family dynamics, despite the paranormal aspects, feel realistic and genuine, and along with new developments in relationships keep the reader invested in how things play out. In each outing, layers of the mythology underpinning the story get revealed, adding richness to the tale. As always, the author’s deft use of humor hits just the right notes, comfortably sharing space with the emotional moments. All urban fantasy lovers should be reading this superb series, and this reviewer will be first in line for book five.

Book Stats:

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ace (July 31, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1937007707
• ISBN-13: 978-1937007706

Purchase a print copy of Darklands from Amazon
Purchase a Kindle copy of Darklands from Amazon

Books in the Deadtown series in the order they should be read:
Deadtown
Hellforged
Bloodstone
Darklands

Bloodstone, the thrilling third installment in the terrific Deadtown series, begins a month after the point at which its predecessor left off with shapeshifting demon-hunter Vicky Vaughn ridding a health club of a pesky demon causing gluttony and sloth amongst the customers and staff. Despite the unpleasantness of the task, Vicky feels as though taking her werewolf boyfriend, Kane, to her sister Gwen’s house for dinner may prove even more of a challenge.

Things go well at dinner until Kane mentions Mab, the sisters’ aunt, not realizing that Gwen and Mab have been estranged for over twenty years–even Vicky does not know why–and get complicated further when Gwen’s eleven-year old daughter, Maria, sneaks back downstairs to catch her Aunt Vicky in private to tell her she has been having unusual dreams. Gwen, who gave up her ability to shift when she decided to give birth, fears that Maria may be indeed showing signs of the abilities of the Cerddorion race, despite having a human father. Vicky attempts to allay Gwen’s fears but without much luck.

As if the evening had not been strained enough, on their way back to Boston, Kane receives a call that Vicky’s vampire roommate, Juliet, who has been missing, has turned herself in to Goon Squad (the police force consisting of both human and paranormal beings that monitors Deadtown) custody, asking for Kane, a lawyer. Due to both him and Juliet having been implicated in the death of a Supreme Court Justice, Kane calls another attorney to take Juliet’s case. Vicky decides to go visit Juliet in jail and ends up fending off an attack from a group of Old Ones, ancient vampires who in their efforts to take Juliet end up injuring her. Vicky manages to get Juliet out of the jail in spite of her injury and subsequent illness, but her attempts to track down the Old Ones leads to both the discovery of connections with a serial killer case and a demi-demon.

As before, Holzner seamlessly weaves a thread of humor throughout a narrative often fraught with danger, which aids in not only providing readers with a breather from the attendant chaos but also adds breadth to the characters. This reviewer’s favorite amusing scene involves Kane watching television news at Vicky’s apartment–a section that readers will have to read for themselves in order to completely understand the wit. The author also demonstrates her knowledge of and love for medieval literature and lore in addition to Welsh mythology, enhancing and enriching the story of Vicky and her family.

The contemporary Boston setting with its added paranormal aspects adds to the immense appeal and vivid realism of this terrific series, as readers may indeed be looking for some supernatural beings to stroll past them on walks across Boston Common. The suspense never flags, resulting in rapid page-turning, and the author skillfully weaves together the multiple story threads into a satisfying whole. This reviewer highly recommends the fantastic Deadtown series and its intriguing denizens to all urban fantasy readers and will be first in line for book four.

Book Stats:

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ace (September 27, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044102100X
• ISBN-13: 978-0441021000

Purchase a print copy ofBloodstone from Amazon
Purchase a Kindle copy of Bloodstone from Amazon

Books in the Deadtown series in the order they should be read:
Deadtown
Hellforged
Bloodstone

Gripping the reader from its highly entertaining opening scene, the terrific Hellforged, the second installment in the Deadtown series, maintains that hold until the very end. Exterminating MIT’s computer glitch demon proves pesky for shapeshifting demon-slayer Vicky Vaughn, but she succeeds, and after dropping her apprentice-in-training, Tina, off at her group home for zombie teens, she heads home to the apartment she shares with her Shakespeare-obsessed vampire roommate, Juliet (yes, that Juliet). A less-than-satisfying phone conversation with her on-again/off-again boyfriend, werewolf lawyer Kane, currently lobbying for paranormal rights in D.C., leads Vicky to decide to visit Creature Comforts, a bar frequented by paranorms and humans alike.

When a vindictive man from whom Juliet refused to feed accuses her of attacking him, the ensuing investigation by a unit of the Goon squad, comprised of one zombie and one very arrogant human, results in the bar closing early. After she arrives home, Vicky realizes she left her watch at the bar, which she verifies with T.J., one of the new workers. When she goes to bed, Vicky dreams of the Hellion demon she has bound to her and cannot go back to sleep. Deciding she will go pick up her watch at Creature Comforts, she discovers the obliterated remains of the cheerful T.J. Later that night while on a drude (dream-invading) demon extermination, the Hellion appears in her client’s dreamscape. When another zombie death occurs, Vicky fears she must be somehow connected to the events. Seeking the counsel of her aunt Mab, the latter insists Vicky must leave immediately for Wales to continue her training.

Holzner’s expertise as a mystery author shines brightly throughout the narrative as she flawlessly connects threads of both the tale told in Hellforged and the overall story arc of the Deadtown series. This fabulous novel skillfully combines several distinct elements into a highly-satisfying whole: action, adventure, suspense, Welsh mythology, humor, and pitch-perfect characters that live and breathe on the page. Though she engages in a bit more self-reflection than she did in book one, Vicky continues to forge ahead on her mission despite her misgivings about her abilities, as she realizes that her duty requires her best effort regardless of any insecurities or self- doubt she may harbor.

With its vivid open paranormal world’s uneasy co-existence with “normal” human society lending an authentic feel to the novel, Hellforged invites parallels to aspects of our own contemporary society. This excellent series belongs in the collection of all urban fantasy fans, and this reviewer plans to be first in line for book three, willing to go along with Vicky on whatever adventures her creator has in store.

Book Stats:

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Ace; Original edition (December 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441019803
• ISBN-13: 978-0441019809

To purchase a print copy of Hellforged from Amazon click here.
To purchase a Kindle copy of Hellforged from Amazon click here.

To purchase a print copy of Hellforged from Barnes & Noble click here.
To purchase an Nook copy of Hellforged from Barnes & Noble click here.

Books in the Deadtown series in the order they should be read:
Deadtown
Hellforged

PLEASE NOTE: The contest portion of Nancy Holzner’s event is now closed. The winner will be chosen at a later date and contacted via email.

Got Demons? Take This Quiz to Find Out

Victory Vaughn, the main character of my Deadtown series, is a shapeshifter who kills other people’s personal demons for a living. Before Vicky can exterminate a client’s demons, she needs to know what kind of demon infestation she’s dealing with. So she gives potential clients a questionnaire, similar to the one below, to help them identify the type of personal demon that’s troubling them. To find out if Vicky’s services could help you, take the quiz.

1. At night, when you turn out the light and you’re ready to sleep, what typically happens?

(a) I toss and turn, thoughts of something I’ve done (or haven’t done) gnawing at me.

(b) I stare into the darkness, trying not to fall asleep because I’m afraid of what my dreams might hold.

(c) I worry that my computer, car, phone, or some other damn piece of technology is going to let me down. Again.

(d) Hideous bird-women burst through the wall and tear out my guts. Or that’s what it feels like, anyway. In the morning, everything looks normal.

(e) What’s the big deal? I close my eyes and fall into a deep, peaceful sleep.

2. Which of the following best describes your biggest fear?

(a) I’ll never be able to set things right—and it’s all my fault.

(b) My second biggest fear (monsters, evil clowns, spiders, my in-laws, my boss) will chase and torment me all night through my dreams.

(c) Some piece of equipment I depend on will fail me at a crucial time: my computer will get a virus or suffer a fatal crash, my car will break down on a busy highway, the autostart on my coffeemaker will leave me coffeeless in the morning, etc.

(d) My enemies will triumph.

(e) Um . . . there’s not really all that much I’m afraid of.

3. Assuming you can afford one, which of the following professionals would you hire to solve your problems?

(a) A hypnotherapist to help me relax.

(b) A psychotherapist to help me deal with my fears.

(c) A repairman (or -woman).

(d) A hit man (or woman).

(e) I don’t know. Maybe an interior decorator? I’ve been thinking of redoing the family room.

4. People who know you would most likely describe you as:

(a) A worrier. You take on too much blame when things go wrong.

(b) Timid. Although you could accomplish a lot, your fears hold you back.

(c) A Luddite. It’s not that you hate technology; it’s just that machines always seem to self-destruct in your presence.

(d) Controversial. You may have lots of friends, but you make enemies just as easily.

(e) Nice, normal, and completely sane.

5. Your favorite way to unwind is:

(a) Reading or watching a movie. I need to lose myself and forget my worries in order to relax.

(b) Playing video games where I can shoot the things that come after me.

(c) Going for a long walk—without my cell phone.

(d) Getting on the Internet and leaving super-snarky comments on other people’s sites. It’s fun being a troll.

(e) I never get all that stressed out, but I do enjoy relaxing: I’ll take a scented bath or sip a glass of wine, for example.

Results

Mostly (a) answers: You’re probably dealing with an Eidolon, a guilt demon. In the demon plane, an Eidolon looks like a giant maggot; in the human plane, it can take on many forms, although it may or may not materialize during an attack. Eidolons gnaw at their victims’ guts, sorting through negative emotions to root out and magnify feelings of guilt. Then the Eidolon feasts on those feelings—the more intense, the more delicious. An Eidolon extermination can be tricky, because the demon entwines itself so thoroughly with the victim’s emotions. Vicky has to tease it out gently, and then strike quickly before it burrows in even deeper.

Mostly (b) answers: Your dreamscape appears to be infested with Drudes. These dream demons, which feed on fear, are a major cause of nightmares. A Drude takes the shape of whatever you fear most and gorges on the fear that results. To fight Drudes, Vicky uses a dream portal to enter the victim’s dreamscape and an InDetect to determine which dream figures are legit and which are Drudes. Most clients love seeing Vicky blast away their fears as they dream.

Mostly (c) answers: Looks like you’ve got a Glitch on your hands. Glitches are anti-technology demons that have battled humans since the Bronze Age. When humans invented bronze, which is lethal to demons, Glitches declared war, doing whatever they could to slow down other technological advances. Modern Glitches can be in either of two forms: their physical form and pure energy. In its energetic form, a Glitch enters a machine and feeds off its energy, causing the machine to malfunction. To exterminate a Glitch, Vicky has to draw it out of the infested machine and fight it in its physical form.

Mostly (d) answers: Watch out for Harpies! Harpies are revenge demons, so people who have a lot of enemies are most likely to have a problem with this kind of demon. Harpies have vulture bodies, snakes for hair, and a beak for a mouth. They smell like rotting garbage and screech worse than banshees. People pay unscrupulous sorcerers a hefty fee to conjure Harpies and send them against their enemies. Night after night, Harpies burst into the bedroom and feed on the victim’s guts. After a night of agony, the Harpies—and the injuries—disappear with the dawn. Vicky kills Harpies by opening her senses to the demon plane and ambushing them there when they attack.

Mostly (e) answers: You’re not currently bothered by any personal demons. You’re psychologically balanced and you haven’t annoyed any enemies lately. (As for the technology, you’ve been lucky there.) Keep living a clean life: get plenty of exercise, eat right, be ethical, be good to your friends and loved ones—and you just might keep the demons at bay. You’ve got no need to hire Vicky, but you might enjoy hanging out with her at Creature Comforts, a monster bar in Boston’s New Combat Zone.

There are currently two books in Nancy Holzner’s Deadtown series. You can read the first chapter of Deadtown here, and the first chapter of Hellforged here.

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Learn more about Nancy Holzner below:
To read reviews of this author’s work go here.
To visit the author’s website go here.
To visit the author’s blog go here.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/NancyHolzner
Facebook Friend: http://www.facebook.com/nancy.holzner
Facebook Fan: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=163746834500

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CONTEST INFO: Open to Readers WORLDWIDE. The contest portion of the event runs until 11:59 pm Central on 1/7.

PRIZES: 1 – $75.00 Electronic Amazon gift card

The Contest Entry rules have changed so read them carefully

These are the ways you can enter to gain points towards winning the prize offered here today. The only one that is mandatory is #1. The rest are optional. The more you do, the more points you gain, the better your odds at winning the prize. Prizes are chosen using the random.org number generator. Making a purchase is NOT mandatory, it is only one way to gain additional points. There are free ways to get points. Remember to add in your RSVP points if you RSVP’d.

1. LEAVE YOUR FIRST NAME AND THE INITIAL OF YOUR LAST NAME AND YOUR COUNTRY in your comment/post so we can give you the proper credit for your entries. Mandatory, if you don’t leave this,  your entries will NOT count. It is NOT mandatory to make a purchase to be entered into the contest.

2. Tell us what YOUR DEMON is and ask some questions please make sure they aren’t duplicates. Good for 5 + points per question. (Max 4 good towards 20 points)

3. Order copies of her newly released book Hellforged by using the links below.

From Amazon click here.

From Barnes & Noble click here.

Good for 500 + points 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.

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4. RSVP for the Linda Robertson event here: http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=34705 +15 points

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Exterminating demons proves a risky profession with the added downside of a limited social life, but shapeshifter Vicky Vaughn makes the best of her situation. Five years earlier, paranormal beings began emerging from behind the veil of secrecy they had always used to conceal their existence. At that time, a movement was underway led by werewolf lawyer Alexander Kane, Vicky’s sort-of boyfriend, to gain rights for PAs (Paranormal Americans). Two years later, a plague hit Boston that turned many of its citizens into zombies. Calling upon the PAs for assistance as they are immune to the virus, the authorities set up a quarantined zone within the city, dubbed Deadtown, where all of Boston’s vampires, werewolves, and zombies are required to reside and are only allowed to leave with a permit.

Vicky’s unique position as Boston’s only active shapeshifter gains her some notoriety and the unwanted attention of a medical researcher wishing to “study” her. A member of the Cerddorion race, Vicky may change into any sentient being she wishes three times each lunar cycle. These abilities are only passed down through women, and if they choose to bear children, they no longer possess the capability to shift and move to inactive status, the path chosen by Vicky’s sister, Gwen. While ridding clients of their demons and avoiding the annoying doctor, Vicky also has to contend with the reappearance of the demon, a Hellion, who killed her father ten years earlier and left her with a mark that becomes inflamed when she is agitated.

Beginning with its first page, this exciting, gripping novel sustains its high-octane suspense throughout the narrative, keeping the reader guessing until the end. With a protagonist easy to root for and a wide range of interesting, well-defined secondary characters and authentic relationships, the author creates a world with eerie parallels to our own.

Though feeling guilt over her father’s death, Vicky never questions her purpose or the methods she typically uses to accomplish her objectives, resulting in a less-conflicted nature from a psychological standpoint than often appears in urban fantasy. Vicky’s struggles within herself stem from the demon mark and its effect upon her physically and emotionally. Holzner applies humor with a deft hand, enhancing the reading experience of this superb addition to the urban fantasy genre. This reviewer will be first in line for Deadtown’s sequel.

Book Stats:

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ace; Original edition (December 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441018130
• ISBN-13: 978-0441018130

To purchase a print copy of Deadtown from Amazon click here.

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