Vivian Arend, Interview
Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com

Paranormal Author, Vivian Arend has hiked, biked, skied and paddled her way around most of North America and parts of Europe. Throughout all the wandering in the wilderness, stories have been planted and they are bursting out in vivid colour. Paranormal, twisted fairytales, red-hot contemporaries—the genres are all over. Between times of living with no running water, she tries to keep up with her husband—the instigator of most of the wilderness adventures.

Vivian’s newest shapeshifter book Wolf Line: Granite Lake Wolves #5, releases in ebook June 13, 2012. It can be purchased at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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Q: In your series, Granite Lake Wolves, you delve into the world of shapeshifters and you place them in an extreme northern setting. What inspired you to write this?

Vivian: In 2005 my family moved to Whitehorse, Yukon. Over the next two years I had the opportunity to travel throughout the territory and adventure into neighboring Alaska. The places are remote, lonely and yet the people who live there are there out of choice—they love it. The north truly calls to them. When I decided to try my hand at writing a story, it was natural to pick a location that had really captured my imagination—yes, there really is a Granite Lake, set off by itself in the bush of the Yukon wilderness. It’s the perfect place for a couple of wolf-shifters to go for a quiet get-away.

As the series progressed I found more locations popping up in the books—sections of the Chilkoot Tail used during the hey-days of the Gold Rush, the bays and harbours of Alaska, and even the far far north where there are current oil development and wild resource debates occurring. It’s a huge land, and yet the people who live there are so laid-back about existing on the edge of potential disaster. One-step from the grave for some of the old-timers who still trap and live alone in the bush—it was impossible to leave them out of the stories.

Q: When world building, did you base your story off of known myths throughout history?

Vivian: The Granite Lake and Takhini Wolves books are a blend of different folk lore, and also a bit of that ‘Northern Attitude’. The one that pretty much takes anything in stride. While the shifters live in secret, there are humans that know they exist. And when the occasion intermingling occurs, there’s a bit more laid-back approach.

The First Nations of Northern Canada had a lot of beliefs about the local animals and the good that they brought to the humans in their territory. It’s not that far a step to have the shapeshifters as a part of that reasoning for the good will between races.

Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal?

Vivian: I think in terms of especially the big shapeshifters like wolves, bears, etc, there are traits in the animal nature that people would love to experience in their human lives. Some of the nature is truth, some is legend and folklore all in itself.

For example, the idea of mating for life creates powerful emotional imagery. Recognizing your mate and knowing you belong together is a step beyond love at first sight because in the tradition of the shapeshifter, you know it’s a forever thing.

Q: If given the chance, would you become a shifter?

Vivian: Wow- I totally would, but picking what kind would be nearly impossible. Yes, I love wolves. But the water is an incredible place, and being able to travel through the oceans easily would make my scuba loving self very happy. Same thing with avian forms—flying and using the air swells to get from place to place? What would make me possibly give up that possibility?

So I’d be greedy. I want to be like this Mary Sue of the shifter world. I want it ALL- the ability to shift into any of the forms. And I get to keep my hubby of 25 years, okay? Then we totally have a deal.

Q: How would you react if you came face to face with a ghost or a vampire?

Vivian: O_o

That would be my face. And then you’d see my footprints on the ground, and I’d be out of there so fast you’d be spinning. See, I’m a wimp. Which is why even my shifters are nice guys. And…well, okay, maybe I should slow down. Because SINCE I’m a wimp, I’m going to assume these are nice ghosts and vampires. That’s it.

So I’d have them in, we’d play a little cards. Chat for a while and maybe watch House or something. They can bunk in the barn if the ghost promises not to scare the hens into stopping laying. It would be just fine. Right?

Q: What does the future hold for the Granite Lake Wolves and the Takhini Wolves?

Vivian: There is a brand new novella coming to the Granite Lake world- the first since 2010. Wolf Line is Jared’s story, and June 13 you can find out what this Romeo of the wolfies does when trapped on a cruise ship.

Book 2 in the Takhini Wolves, Silver Mine, is coming September 11. The follow up to last year’s Black Gold continues the adventures of the group of shifters living in Whitehorse, Yukon. This time we follow a lone wolf into even more remote territory in the northern bush. Duct tape, moonshine, sarcasm—the usual when you get the wolfies together. Along with some scorching hot shifter sex. You’ve been warned!

There will be at least one more Granite Lake novella, and two more novels to complete the Takhini storyline. And then…we see!

To learn more about Vivian and her books visit www.vivianarend.com

Interview by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com

Kristen Painter, Author Interview
By Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com

When the characters in Kristen Painter’s head started to take over, there was only one cure. She had to exorcise them onto paper and share her stories with the world. Though she’s worked writing paranormal and steampunk romances, her latest love is urban fantasy. “I love world building and few genres give you the kind of license urban fantasy does,” said Kristen. Her newest urban fantasy series, Blood Rights, released October 2011 and is available in both ebook and print.

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Q: In your book, Blood Rights, you delve into the world of vampires and the comarré, a breed of humans who serve them. What inspired you to write about this?

Kristen: I’ve actually had the idea of Chrysabelle’s character since college, but she was just an idea, just a girl with killer instincts and a gold tattoo. There wasn’t enough there to make her into a whole book. Once I really got to thinking about the idea of a race of humans bred to serve vampires, it morphed into an entire world. How would these humans think? How would they react to their place in the world? What would happen if one was accused of murdering their vampire patron? The rest, as they say, is history.

Q: When world building, did you base your story off of known myths throughout history?

Kristen: I did use some of the generally held beliefs about vampires (no sunlight, silver is bad, etc.) but then tried to enrich some of those beliefs with deeper meanings.

Q: What myths or legends inspired you?

Kristen: Mythology in general and from any culture is always inspiring. Doesn’t mean I always use it, but I love reading about it.

Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal?

Kristen: What’s not to be fascinated by when anything can happen? The potential for experiences is unlimited!

Q: What are your favorite paranormal shows, movies and books?

Kristen: I used to love Moonlight (the vampire series, not to be confused with the Bruce Willis vehicle, Moonlighting – did I just date myself?) but like most shows I enjoy, it got canceled. I’m a big fan of Doctor Who, Warehouse 13 and Eureka currently. When it comes to movies, I love the Underworld series. If it’s on tv, I’ll usually start watching no matter what part of the movie comes on. For books, that’s a tough one because I read so much. As a kid, I devoured Scifi. Asimov, Piers Anthony, Marion Zimmer Bradley. And I was a comic book geek – I say that proudly. Comics rule!

Q: Do you believe in the supernatural? Or are you a skeptic?

Kristen: I do believe in the supernatural, to the point that I really have no desire to mess with it in real life. Ouija boards and stuff like that spook me. Yes, I am a giant chicken. I freely admit that.

Q: What kind of paranormal creatures do you wish you could meet?

Kristen: I’d love to meet a mermaid or a flying horse. Wow, what am I, twelve? Seriously, I’m sure you’re all picturing me drawing rainbows and unicorns in my notebook now, but who hasn’t been stuck in traffic and wished they’d had a flying horse? Don’t tell me I’m alone on this.

Q: If given the chance, would you become a vampire?

Kristen: I’d have to say no. It’s not worth giving up my soul for. Plus, I really like laying by the pool on lazy afternoons. Kinda hard to do if the sun turns you into charcoal. I do dig the pointy teeth, though. Those are hot.

Q: How would you react if you came face to face with a shifter?

Kristen: If they were a leopard shifter like my character Doc, I’d ask him or her to shift to their animal state so I could pet them. I’ve always wanted to pet a big cat. (Again, I sound twelve, don’t I?)

Q: What does the future hold for the House of Comarré series?

Kristen: There will be five books in total and I’m currently writing book 4 so the most I can tell you is…more people die.

Q: Have you ever been abducted by aliens?

Kristen: Not that I’m aware of, but then, I sleep like a rock. I do think we’re not alone in this universe, though. It’s too big a joint for Earth to be the only planet with life on it.

To learn more about Kristen Painter or her series, Blood Rights, visit her on the web at www.kristenpainter.com.

Interview by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com

Johanna Garth, Interview
Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com

Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy author Johanna Garth is a lawyer turned writer, lover of social media and chief boo-boo kisser to Child 1 and 2 who make regular appearances on her blog, Losing Sanity. She lives in Portland, Oregon and can assure you that every episode of Portlandia is based on fact. Her first novel Losing Beauty released May 2011, and the second Losing Hope released May 2012. Both are in ebook and print at Amazon, Barnes & Noble.

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Q: In your book, Losing Beauty, you delve into the world of Greek Mythology. Persephone compels everyone she meets to confess their darkest secrets. What inspired you to create such a character?

Johanna: As a lawyer, I’ve always found the concept of confession fascinating. What compels people to set aside self-interest and admit to something like murder or robbery?

Of course, not everyone admits to their darkest deeds. This made me wonder what it would be like to meet a person who could extract the kinds of secrets people don’t usually volunteer, a sort of human truth serum. In the context of my heroine, Persephone, I wondered how she would interact with Haden, who is the lord of the Underworld and, as such, has many dark secrets.

Q: When world building, did you base your story off of known myths throughout history?

Johanna: Losing Beauty is set in present day and is a modern take on the myth of Hades and Persephone, written from Persephone’s perspective. I wanted Persey to be relatable, the kind of heroine who experiences great emotional growth throughout the series.

Her world starts out the same as yours and mine. It isn’t until late in the book that she visits the Underworld. Her struggle is to find the right balance between the two worlds. She desperately wants to stay in the world of the living with the man she loves but she’s terrified of what might happen to her loved ones in the Underworld if she doesn’t succumb to Haden’s demands.

Q: What myths or legends inspire you?

Johanna: I love Greek mythology and it gave me a jumping off point for Losing Beauty. In general, the myths and legends that hold the most fascination for me are ones with strong characters and personal conflicts.

The character piece, what makes people (or creatures) tick is almost, if not more interesting than their individual skills. I think most of us are fascinated by inner conflict. When a human turns into a vampire, do they mourn their loss of humanity? When Persephone discovers what she must do, will she accept her responsibilities or reject them?

Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal?

Johanna: In a world where any sports score, song lyric, movie title or quote can be fact-checked with a few clicks of a mouse, paranormal offers up something unique.

We can debate it, think about it and are drawn to it because paranormal elements and creatures aren’t cold hard facts. They live at the edges of every culture and call to our imagination and curiosity.

Q: What are your favorite paranormal movies and books?

Johanna: This is one of those questions that I’ll answer and then, as soon as I do, I’ll remember my all-time favorite that was inevitably omitted. Instead of giving you my favorites, I’ll give you my recents.

The last paranormal book I read was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I love, love, loved it!

The last paranormal movie I saw was Ghostbusters with my kids. Good times with the Keymaster and Pillsbury Dough Boy.

Q: Do you believe in the supernatural?

Johanna: I believe inexplicable things happen. Maybe the explanations for why those things happen are scientific and we don’t know enough to understand what we see. Or maybe the explanations are supernatural and we refuse to believe what the hairs on the back of our neck tell us.

Until someone proves the truth of one explanation over the other, I’ll keep an open mind.

Q: Have you ever had a paranormal experience?

Johanna: Just once, and it was when I was a baby. My mother’s favorite aunt died three days before I was born. After my mother took me home from the hospital she felt compelled, almost called, to return to the old farm house where my aunt lived.

One afternoon my mother drove out to the house, which was situated by itself in the country. When she pulled up in the driveway she could see lights on upstairs. She assumed children were playing inside and went in to investigate.

At this point in the story I always used to ask her, “But weren’t you scared? And why did you leave me alone in the car?”

She always said it never occurred to her to be frightened and I was asleep so what would be the point of waking me up.

Inside the house she could hear noises upstairs. But when she went upstairs, the noises sounded like they were coming from the basement. She went to the basement and the noises sounded like they were coming from somewhere else. Eventually, she remembered she’d left her infant (me) alone in the car and ran back outside.

I was still asleep when she found me, except someone had pulled away the swaddling blankets so my entire face and body were visible. My mother said she felt a presence nearby, as though someone was watching her. She believes the spirit of my great-aunt called her back to the house. My great-aunt loved babies. Maybe she needed to meet the newest addition to the family before she could be at peace. Or maybe, I just wriggled my way out of the tightly wrapped blankets.

It’s hard to know for sure. The one thing we do know is that after that day, my mother never felt the need to return to the old farm house again.

Q: What kind of paranormal creatures do you wish you could meet?

Johanna: I’m too superstitious to put something like that in writing. What if they do exist? And what if one of them read this article and decides to grant my wish? I think this is exactly the kind of information I need to keep to myself. *smile*

Q: If given the chance, would you become a mythological figure?

Johanna: I think I’d be Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Not because I love to hunt but because she has a bow and arrow. I’ve never been a natural athlete but when it comes to archery, I can almost always hit a bull’s eye. And, if you’re going to be a mythological figure, you should probably focus on your strengths! Those gods can play rough!!

Q: How would you react if you came face to face with the lord of the Underworld?

Johanna: In Losing Beauty, Haden is more than just the lord of the Underworld. He tells Persey that every culture, every time, every religion has its name for him—Satan, Lucifer, the Devil, the Dark Lord, the Grim Reaper. He walks through our world and most people never know his true identity.

The point is, maybe I’ve already come face to face with the lord of the Underworld and I just didn’t know it. Maybe, you have too.

Q: What does the future hold for Persephone?

Johanna: One of my beta readers compares the Persephone Campbell series to Star Wars. She says that the next book, Losing Hope is the Empire Strikes Back of the series. That means Persey is going to come to terms with who she is and what is expected of her. She will have to make choices and those choices will become increasingly difficult.

The good news is Persey is quietly discovering her inner strength. Even though the second book takes her to a very dark place, it also gives her the depth of character she will need to find her way in the final book.

The overwhelming feedback I receive from readers of Losing Beauty is they relate to Persey. I think this is because Persey is all alone and searching for her place in the world. At its core, Losing Beauty is a coming of age story. We all know what it feels like to search for our place in the world and the difficulties that journey can present.

Q: Have you ever been to a psychic and/or a past life regression? What did they predict for you?

Johanna: I have a friend who does tarot card readings. She refuses to read my cards because she worries about seeing something bad. She doesn’t want to have to deliver bad news to a good friend. I take my cues from her. If I’m going to be hit by a bus tomorrow, I’d prefer not to know about it today.

Q: Have you ever been abducted by aliens?

Johanna: If I have, they’ve completely erased my memory of the experience.

Q: Why do you write paranormal romance?

Johanna: I write for the same reason I breathe. It’s not a choice, it’s a physical need.

There may come a time when I feel like I’ve said everything I have to say about paranormal and move on to another genre. Although, given the breadth of material and my ongoing fascination with the subject, I’d say the chances of that happening are slim.

To read more about Johanna Garth and her books, visit www.johannagarth.com

Interview by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com

Paranormal fiction author Caridad Pineiro, Interview
By Michelle M. Pillow, www.MichellePillow.com

Caridad Pineiro is the NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of over 27 paranormal and romantic suspense novels and novellas. In 2007, Caridad was chosen as the New York City RWA Chapter’s Author of the Year. She was won numerous other awards and accolades for her writing and has been featured in various television shows, magazines and newspapers.

Her newest release, THE LOST, is currently in bookstores.

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Q: In your book, THE LOST you delve into the world of an ancient race capable of gathering energy. What inspired you to write about this?

Caridad: A couple of years ago my family and I were lucky enough to be in Rome for Holy Week. When we landed too early to check in, we dropped off our bags and walked to St. Peter’s Square. It was Palm Sunday and mass was being held and as we walked closer and closer to the square where thousands were gathered, you could feel the energy. It was hard to deny that so many people gathered together was producing something different. Since so many cultures believe in things like life forces and auras, I started playing around with the idea of what would happen if there was a race of people who had learned to hunt such energies and use them for various things, like shapeshifting, healing or even killing their enemies. That’s how the Sin Hunter mythology was born for THE LOST. The hero in the book, Adam Bruno, is an heir to this ancient race, but doesn’t know it and doesn’t understand his powers since he was taken from them at an early age. THE LOST is about Adam’s struggle to understand what he is and the battle to keep himself and a very special woman safe as they find themselves drawn into an ages old conflict between two factions of the Hunters.

Q: When world building, did you base your story off of known myths throughout history?

Caridad: I did not base the Hunters on any real people, although I did rely on the history of the Americas in order to craft the civil war going on between various Hunter clans. In my mythology, the Hunters are at war because of the Conquistadors’ arrival in the New World. The Conquistadors brought various illnesses which contaminated the indigenous people, including the Hunters whose energy gathering abilities were affected by the introduction of smallpox. That has created Hunters who have varying abilities to gather energy – the Light Hunters – as well as Hunters who are permanently affected by the illness and forced to constantly gather energy to live – the Shadow Hunters. In addition, I did research both into life forces, auras and also, physics to craft what the Hunters could do with their energies and how they would appear to other Hunters, hybrids and humans.

Q: What myths or legends inspired you?

Caridad: The stories revolving around the conquest of the New World inspired me as well as Eastern influences about chi. Also, a friend recommended some discussions on morphic fields and zero point energies which are really cool concepts about the energy fields that humans possess and the energies in empty spaces, respectively. So the entire mythology is based on a blend of spiritual and scientific principles.

Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal?

Caridad: I think people are always interested in imagining what would be possible if such unusual things really did exist and how we would handle such things. I also think that people like to entertained by being taken away to unique places and things and what could be more unique than a paranormal world where people possess all kinds of weird and possibly dangerous powers?

Q: Do you have any paranormal pet projects?

Caridad: I have a blog at my website as well as a Facebook Fan Page where we discuss a number of things, oftentimes including all kinds of weird happenings as well as the kinds of energies that are explored in THE LOST.

Q: What are your favorite paranormal shows, movies and books?

Caridad: My favorite paranormal shows are Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, Warehouse 13, Fringe and the X-Files. As for movies, I loved the first two Underworld movies, Van Helsing and a whole host of the superhero movies, like X-Men, Fantastic Four, Batman, etc. I’m a comic book geek at heart.

Q: Do you believe in the supernatural? Or are you a skeptic?

Caridad: I totally believe in the supernatural. I’ve had one or two experiences in my life and because of that, I can’t deny that there are places where spirits remain, but can reach out and communicate with us. As for vampires, I am a skeptic. When it comes to the possibility of a race like the Hunters, I so totally believe that there are people who can tap into such life forces.

Q: Have you ever had a paranormal experience?

Caridad: Many many years ago my husband and I stayed at a “quaint” set of cabins outside of Mystic, CT. In the middle of the night I was woken by the sound of chanting and looked up to find myself staring at a man in Puritan garb hanging from the rafters. I thought I was dreaming at first, but realized quickly that I was not. When the man disappeared, the chanting continued and I was filled with the feeling that if we remained in that place we would die. I dragged my husband out of bed and forced him to leave in the middle of the night. As we drove away from the cabin, I felt as if something was chasing us until at one point, the feeling kind of just popped, almost as if we had gone beyond the reach of whatever it was. Hubby wanted to investigate if I had actually tapped into something from the past, but I wanted nothing to do with that idea or that place.

Q: What kind of paranormal creatures do you wish you could meet?

Caridad: I think it would be interesting to meet a shapeshifter of some kind or possibly a vampire (if I had a wooden stake, cross, garlic and lots of other protection!)

Q: If given the chance, would you become a shapeshifter?

Caridad: I think that as a shapeshifter you could explore the world from many different perspectives which would be really interesting.

Q: How would you react if you came face to face with a ghost?

Caridad: LOL! See above. While I didn’t go screaming or pee my pants, I was definitely too scared to confront it or find out more about why they were there.

Q: What does the future hold for the Sin Hunter series?

Caridad: After THE LOST, the next book in the series is THE CLAIMED, which will be released in May 2012. In THE CLAIMED, readers will find out a great deal more about the powers of both factions of Hunters and be drawn into the war between them. THE CLAIMED has a Romeo and Juliet kind of concept as warriors from the different Hunter factions are drawn together by love. Readers will also find out about the different affinities that each Hunter has as well as the powers of some really nasty bad guys. I’m already working on the proposal for a third book in the series as well as the concept for the fourth book.

Q: Have you ever been to a psychic and/or a past life regression? What did they predict for you?

Caridad: Nope, I have not done this and am not sure I would like to do this. I have had two Tarot card readings, one of which was remarkably accurate of who I was and what I wanted. The second was a total bust as the person claimed I had too many guardian spirits who were keeping me from being read. Oh well. I am thankful for those guardians if they really do exist.

Q: Have you ever been abducted by aliens?

Caridad: Not that I know of, although I do believe in extra-terrestrial life.

Q: You’ve set THE LOST along the Jersey Shore which is not so scary a place? Why did you do that?

Caridad: I think that the possibility of dangerous things existing a real life place that you visit all the time is much scarier than if the story is set in a fictional place. I think it connects people much more tightly to the story and also has them having that AHA! Moment when they recognize a location they may have visited.

Thank you for joining us, Caridad!

THE LOST is currently in bookstores, Wal-Mart, Target and online retailers. To learn more about Caridad and her other titles, please visit her at http://www.caridad.com.

Interview by Michelle M. Pillow, www.MichellePillow.com

Memento Mori: Photographing the Dead
by Michelle M. Pillow

Dalton Gang 1892.jpg

These days when you talk about photographing the dead most people think about capturing apparitions or orbs, but in the early stages of photography the concept had an entirely different meaning. With the affordability of new photographic techniques came the practice of memento mori, “remember death”, or post-mortem photography, in which people hired photographers to photograph the corpses of their loved ones before burial. This sometimes included the remains of deceased pets. Though now seen as a macabre practice and used as otherworldly movie props in such films as The Others to build supernatural suspense, in the mid-1800’s photographing the deceased became a culturally accepted practice to help memorialize the dead and to help with the grieving process.

In 1839 portraiture became commonplace, as inventions like the daguerreotype, an early kind of photograph, made it possible for the masses to afford to have their pictures taken. The shorter exposure times made sitting for a portrait not only feasible but more practical than it had been in previous years. Hitting the height of its popularity in the mid-19th century and dwindling toward the late 1800’s, post-mortem photography persisted well into the 20th century in some Eastern European cultures. What, by today’s standards, may seem morbid was in fact a reflection of the average 19th century person’s ability to understand and deal with death. These pictures were often included on mantle places, mingled with pictures of the living, or sent to distant relatives who could not make the trip to pay their respects.

High mortality rates meant many people didn’t always have the opportunity to get their picture taken when they were alive. Every household was touched by death. According to Ancestry.com, “in the United States in 1850, the average life expectancy at birth was 38.9 years” and the “infant mortality rate in 1850 was 217.4 per 1,000 births”. It is this high mortality rate in children that accounts for the numerous post-mortem images of Victorian children. With so much death, the Victorians were more adept at dealing with the grieving process than we are today and these photographs were an important step in their process.

Mother and Child

Earlier photographs were often close-ups of the adult’s face or full body shots of a child. Loved ones were rarely posed in a coffin. Before the advent of the funeral home, bodies were laid out in at home in a parlor, kept cool by a block of ice. It’s not so unusual then that people would want to remember their loved one in a natural setting. Often, they were laid out on a bed or couch to look as if they slept, or arranged in poses meant to mimic the living. Props, such as toys, religious items, or flowers, were added to the scene. In some cases eyes were left open or the photographs were later doctored to paint pupils over the closed eye lids and to add a rosy flush to the cheeks.

Sometimes even the living relatives were included in the photograph, posing with or, in the case of a young child, holding the deceased. Children normally were posed on a couch or crib. When they were held by a living parent, they were posed with their eyes closed. Adults were more commonly pictured sitting up in chairs, braced into place by special frames. It wasn’t until embalming practices improved after the Civil War that people could be preserved long enough to be photographed inside their coffins, which were made to order and not readily available the day of death. By the time corpses were photographed in coffins, less effort was made to make them appear more lifelike.

Other variations of the post-mortem included mourners holding a photo of the deceased, family members photographed by a shrine dedicated to the passed loved one including a photo from the deceased’s life, or the funeral goers surrounding the open coffin. Today, the post-mortem photograph is more of a strange curiosity to be wondered at and collected. One of the largest collections in the United States is kept by the Burns Archive at www.burnsarchive.com. Other web sources include Paul Frecker at www.paulfrecker.com and at The Thanatos http://thanatos.net. All three of these sites show a tasteful representation of the subject and are not gory.

Michelle M. Pillow is an award winning author writing in many romance fiction genre, including futuristic and paranormal. She can be found at www.michellepillow.com.