Guest Post with Author Cate Dean and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome to the blog author Cate Dean. Cate is currently on tour promoting her book Rest For The Wicked and has stopped by today to chat. Before I give the floor to Cate, let us get to know her a bit.

Cate Dean has been writing for, well, ever. She grew up losing herself in the wilds of fantasy worlds, and has had some of her own adventures while tromping through the UK, and a few other parts of the world. A lover of all things supernatural, she infuses that love into her stories, giving them a unique edge. When she’s not writing, she loves cooking, scaring herself silly in the local cemeteries, and reading pretty much anything she can get her hands on.

Places to find Cate:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

Tarot – not always for divination

When I was researching the tarot – which is only mentioned in Rest For The Wicked, but will take a more front and center role in a future book – I learned about its surprising, mundane history.

Tarot was originally a card game, played in Italy from the mid-fifteenth century. It quickly gained popularity, and spread to France, Germany and Switzerland. Like a modern day deck, it has four suits, plus an augmented fifth suit of permanent trumps, creating a 78 card deck.

It was only later that tarot became a source for divination and readings. The occult deck is different. It consists of the major arcana – 22 cards with no suits, and the minor arcana – 56 cards broken into four suits.

There are as many different tarot decks as there are people who read them. They run the gamut from Celtic to the Mythic Tarot, to the Crowley Thoth Tarot. Each deck reflects the beliefs of its creator. You will even find tarot decks in popular culture, from the Vertigo Deck by Vertigo Comics, featuring John Constantine of Hellraiser, to a French deck with characters from Disney. Yep, something for every taste.

I love being completely surprised when I research – there is nothing more fun.

And to spread that fun, I am giving away a tarot deck to one lucky reader. Simply leave a comment here, and you will have a chance to win. Thanks for hanging out with me today, and until next time – read on.

~Cate

Book One The Claire Wiche Chronicles

Claire Wiche – an ordinary woman, running her Wicca shop in an ordinary California beach town.

But Claire wasn’t always ordinary, and she isn’t quite human. She hides a secret, and a past that she desperately wants to put behind her.

When that past explodes into her present, threatening the people she loves, and the community that has offered her a place to finally belong, Claire must become what she left behind in order to save them.

Places to Purchase:

| Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | 

Jack watched, helpless, as the beautiful creature tortured his sister.

Not a woman—power coiled around her, dark and ugly. It held him against the wall with invisible chains, locked his voice in his throat. He tried to scream as she dragged the knife across Katelyn’s bare stomach.

“She will feel that, and not know why.” The creature trailed one hand across the shallow wound, studying the blood that tipped her fingers. “You are so delicate, so easily broken. Why would she chose such a life, when immortality is hers?”

Katelyn no longer tugged at the ropes that tied her down to their heavy farmhouse table. She stared up at the creature bent over her, the bright light of the chandelier washing out her pale skin, moaning deep in her throat every time those narrow hands touched her. Wearing only her faded jeans, she looked fragile, defenseless.

Fight her, Kate—damn it, you have to fight her until I can free—

“You would do best to save your strength, Jack. I have an important task for you.”

He would kill himself before he agreed to any bloody deed she had for him.

Katelyn recoiled, gasping as the tip of the blade moved up her torso, stopping just below her ribcage. Jack fought against the invisible restraints, his heart pounding so hard he could barely hear the silken voice over it.

“Your life, your soul will help me crack open a door. Soon I will be able to return home, in triumph, with the most coveted prize in my grasp. Sweet Katelyn—I will owe you all that I become.” The creature leaned in, pressed her lips to Katelyn’s cheek. “Thank you. Now I will send her a message she will not soon forget.

Close your eyes, my innocent girl, and there will be no more pain.”

Jack’s scream echoed in his head as the creature shoved the knife into Katelyn.

She arched off the table, then collapsed, blood spilling down her skin, pooling on the scarred wood. Jack slumped against the wall. He didn’t care what the devil did to him now. He had just watched her kill the only important part of his life, and now he wanted her to end him, before the pain kicked in. Before he started to feel again.

She glided over to him, a beautiful, deadly predator.

“Now, my darling Jack.” He tried to jerk away from the hand caressing him. She simply smiled, and the restraints tightened until he fought to breathe. After an endless minute they loosened, just enough for him to take in a ragged breath. “I will not tolerate defiance. Do we have an understanding?”

“I won’t—obey you, bitch.” He sucked in another breath, bracing himself for the final blow. “So just kill me.”

“Ah, Jack—your bravado is refreshing. Most of your kind simply cower, or grovel. I do abhor the groveling.”

She sounded like someone out of an old novel. He searched for the term—then forgot everything when she kissed him.

Heat scorched him. He gasped against her lips, agony following the trail of fire straight to the center of him.
“There.” She whispered into his mouth, the hand on his chest like a branding iron. He moaned, and she took it in, her lips claiming him. When she finally tore away, he felt like part of him had been torn away with her.

“You will find her for me, Jack, and bring her to me. Hurt her if you must, and you most likely will need to, in order to subdue her.”

He stared into the jade green eyes, watched in wonder as they changed to a silvery blue. Color bled out of her black hair, replaced by a rich brown. It grew, long and waving, until it reached her waist. He followed the progress, the part of his mind not trapped by her screaming in horror. Her touch silenced it.

Looking up, he met the soft, silver blue eyes, the sculpted face framed by masses of hair that seemed to engulf her delicate figure.

“Find me, Jack. It is time for me to go home.”

Fingers slid over his face, burning the image of her into his mind. He sank into the waiting darkness, followed by a single word. A name.

Claire.

Want to win some goodies from Cate? 1 lucky commenter (US ONLY) will win a deck of tarot cards.

To Enter:

• Leave a comment answering the question:  Have you ever had your cards read? What do you think about tarot cards?
• Fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Please answer the question below or leave a meaningful comment. 

Good Luck =)

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