We've had a blog makeover!

I have not been on here blogging recently, partly due to a crazy schedule, but also due to the fact that I've not been connecting with the blog so much. It's something I've been wanting to remedy, and what better remedy is there, sometimes, than a complete makeover? :D

Not Just A Stiff Upper Lip was set up because Elizabeth and I wanted to bring a bit of Britain to you, namely, the passionate, sensual Britain - yes, it exists - and also "paranormal Britain" because we both write paranormal elements within our stories, which are almost all set in the UK.

I've been hearing this around the internet quite a lot the past year: Brits? Passionate? Not.

Whenever I post up a promo for my werewolf series, with the strapline "Lusty, British werewolves live in the Surrey Hills", some smartarse likes to make some quip about how "Lusty" and "British" don't go together.

Well, maybe I've just led a very ... er ... fun life then! Throughout my late teens and twenties I was introduced to a lot of lust and that was right here in Albion. I don't think I've ever had a boyfriend who didn't feel things on some deep level; who wasn't sensual...

My point is, I have never seen Britain or its people as dispassionate, and it's a damn shame if the rest of the world does, because it's simply not true - not by a long shot ;)

It was my idea for a blog makeover, and I wanted it to reflect fun and flirty; sensual, full of life and lots of things to tell.

And maybe I'll feel like blogging again now :)

Dianna xxx

Pimping of the British Paranormal Series Kind

Sunday night, I am sitting on the sofa with my television on waiting for my weekly programme, Being Human. I don't really watch television that much. I find I am attracted to certain shows, or naturally, once I hear a show I like is back on, such as Dr Who which will be starting again this March, yay! I will watch them.

Well, Being Human is a favourite of mine and last nights episode was amazing, but what got to me is that last nights episode was the second to last Being Human eppy ever. I am gutted. It is dark, realistic, funny, violent, all and all amazing. The Werewolves are awesome and how I imagine Were's to be. The Vampires are cool, and in the case of the two leading males of the series - Mitchell and Hal, two lots of yummy on legs. And the ghost are hilarious. It is such a top series, but what made it so fantastic was that it was British.

Many of you in the UK might watch this awesome paranormal series, and some of you might remember me mentioning it when Dianna and I started this blog: "A ghost, a vampire and a werewolf sharing a house?"

Being Human is the only British paranormal series there is at the moment. (If anyone wishes to state otherwise and point me in the direction of a show I am unaware of, please feel free.) And it saddens me knowing that. Why aren't there more paranormal series of such a nature over here? The UK has plenty to offer. So many Gothic/Horror stories take place here.

*Takes deep breath*

Needless to say, I was thinking about this sad fact after the episode finished. One of the reasons Dianna and I started this blog was because of that very fact, and I think Dianna's original post can sum up the reasons for that better than I can: The British Paranormal Romance.

We need more British Paranormal based stories/series. And we need to shine the light on all the books that fall under this genre.

I would just like to take this moment to point out that when I started writing this post it was indeed due to the fact that a) I'm totally bummed out that Being Human is ending, and b) I have just finished Beta reading the lovely Dianna's Hardy's "Cry of the Wolf: Book 2 in the Eye of the Storm series" - 'Tis amazing! -and I found myself nostalgic. 

You see, after a bit of a shake up with the Publishing company I lost a little interest in my own UK based paranormal series, because I was unsure about what to do. Even when I made my mind up I had over projects to preoccupy me, but after watching the show and reading Dianna's fab book, I kinda grew homesick.The Blood Series was the first series I ever created. Cranberry Blood was the first book I ever wrote, and Brendan and Heather were my first characters. Today I found myself opening up the series folder and looking over notes for the next book and I felt like I had come home, as crazy as that might sound.

I have not been quite about the fact that I sometimes struggle to write. I never see the point in pretending it doesn't happen because I feel that stating it out loud may help anyone else who finds themselves in a dry spot. Life has changed for me again, but these last two days I have had streams of conversations from a variety of characters who were all from different projects. All of the words pouring in to my mind including my moody Werewolf and insane Vampire Slayer. I feel excited. I feel like pieces are beginning to move in to place, and god, I hope they are, because the silence has been killing me.

Anyway, the point of this post is that, although I have never been the type or person, let alone writer, to compare myself or my work to anyone else's  I feel I need to do some major - British paranormal series - pimping today, and why the hell not? So, if you are a fan of Being Human, or if you are a fan of dark comedy, rough and ready characters, crazy story arcs, chemistry, passion, lots of sex, and romances that don't go smoothly; then you may want to check out our series.

The Eye of the Storm Series

By Dianna Hardy

Dark Paranormal Fantasy

For the call of the wild in us all.

(Set in the Surrey Hills, England.)

On Sale!

Releasing April 19th 2013

For more information on this series visit: http://www.diannahardy.com/eye-of-the-storm.html

And don't forget to check out Dianna's awesome "The Witching Pen Novellas" - http://www.diannahardy.com/the-witching-pen-novellas.html

~ * ~

The Blood Series
By Elizabeth Morgan

Scottish Werewolves: freaky Vampires and a Slayer with a bad addiction and an insane legacy. Add a big dose of sarcasm, sizzling chemistry; a lot of silver and a ton of blood and . . . .

Welcome to The Blood Series!

On Sale!

On Sale!

For more information on this series, and The Overseers Series, visit: www.e-morgan.com

So, are there any UK based paranormal/fantasy books you have really enjoyed and want to let more readers know about? Leave a comment and I will pimp them out on my facebook page. :-)

Feature: Cranberry Blood by Elizabeth Morgan

Cranberry Blood
(Book 1 in The Blood Series)
by Elizabeth Morgan

Cranberry Blood has been released! This is the first book in The Blood Series and the sequel to last year’s release, She-Wolf (The Blood Series Prequel.)

Now, for those of you who are new to the series, it doesn’t matter if you have read She-Wolf, you can read Cranberry Blood first. Yeah, I mean it, the events in She-Wolf are linked to Cranberry Blood, but book one isn’t dependant on its prequel.  

The order in which you read these two books is completely your choice, either way, welcome to the world of The Blood Series.

~ * ~

Blurb:

Killing Vampires? Easy. Tracking someone? Simple. Helping, and protecting a Vampire slayer... Bloody hard work!

Thirteen years ago, Brendan Daniels made a deal with a psychic. In exchange for information on the whereabouts of a Rogue Werewolf, he promised to help and protect Sofia's granddaughter. Unfortunately, he had no idea what he was getting himself, or his Pack, into.

Nothing about Heather is simple, from her weird dietary needs to her life’s mission. The girl can handle herself, but the promise to protect her soon becomes a need, and one that he can't fully understand.

Vampire Slayer. Born Infected. Blood addict... but not by choice.

Heather Ryan is the most recent slayer in a long family line. Like all before her, she has spent her life searching for her ancestor, Marko Pavel, the Vampire her family has sworn to kill. If that isn't complicated enough, Heather is also a born "Infected", and to keep her from becoming insane or giving in to her darker side, she is on a very strict diet.

Grandmother Sofia has passed, so now it is up to Heather to take the family legacy into her own hands, all alone: or at least, it would have been, if her Grandmother hadn't sent a Werewolf to help her.

What is the irritating Brendan supposed to help Heather with? Sofia never told either one of them. But it doesn't take long for Heather and Brendan to find out that the Vampires have big plans, and that the fiends have waited a long time for them both.

Buy Link: https://www.nobleromance.com/

~ * ~

Excerpt:

(Taken from Chapter One)

The sudden sound of rustling paper snapped me from my thoughts. I tensed, the awareness crackling sharply beneath the surface of my skin.

Someone is in my house.

I walked through the open living room door. A new scent invaded my nostrils. Tangy, manufactured, smelled like expensive cologne. An unfamiliar, black, travel bag sat tucked away between the red leather sofa and TV stand. The papers rustled again. I stepped lightly toward the archway that lead into the dining room, my sword still gripped comfortably in my right hand.

"Your breakfast is getting cold, Heather. I suggest you stop trying to sneak in here and just come in so that we can get this over and done with," said the deep male voice in my kitchen.

What the hell is going on? Who is he? Why is he in my house? How does he know my name? And why the hell has he cooked me breakfast?

I took a deep breath, then exhaled. I slowly walked through the archway into the empty dining room and turned my head to the left to see a strange man seated at my kitchen breakfast bar. He sat casually, in jeans and a forest green T-shirt that clung to his broad, sculptured back and defined biceps. The sun flooded into the kitchen through the side window and glinted off his copper-blond hair, which brushed his shoulders.

"Are you going to come in to the room or stand there drooling all day?" He turned a page of his newspaper.

I inhaled again; nothing new amongst the scent of dog, pine, bacon, and coffee, which meant he wasn't a Vampire. I knew because leeches smelled like mouldy, wet earth; not an overpowering smell, but hidden underneath the products they wore. A huge part of me felt relieved he wasn't a Vamp. A Vampire couldn’t get in here, anyway. They could only come in with a personal invite, and since they all wanted me dead . . . . No matter what state I'd been in last night, I wouldn't have invited one in. So, who the hell is this guy?

I walked toward him, my sword glinting in the sunlight as I gripped the hilt firmly in both hands.

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my house?" I stopped three feet behind him.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"Wrong answer." I pressed the tip of my sword into the firm space between his shoulder blades. "I said who the hell are you and what—"

"Killing me isn't going to help." He turned another page of his paper.

"I disagree. I think killing the stranger who broke into my house is a very good idea."

"I did not break in," he replied calmly. "My name is Brendan and I'm actually here to help you."

I snorted. "Like I believe that."

"It's the truth. Besides, if I really wanted to hurt you, I would have. I also wouldn't have left your weapons with you."

"Well, you're obviously an eejit."

He laughed. "You have serious trust issues."

"Trust issues? Says the complete stranger who broke into my house and—"

"I used your house keys. They were in your jacket pocket," he said. "And yes, trust issues, says the stranger. The stranger who promises he isn't here to hurt you."

"Just because you say you're not here to hurt me doesn't mean it's the truth."

"True. But why go to the trouble of killing you when I could have left you lying in the car park the other night and let the seven greedy leeches looking for you find you and bleed you dry."

~ * ~

Bio:

Elizabeth started life wanting to be an actress because she loved entertaining people. She enjoyed nothing more than being able to make people laugh and to help distract them from reality for a few hours.

She studied Musical Theatre in college, but during her second year, her mind started to overflow with story ideas, so she began writing plays. Slowly, over the following three years, she was writing more and more, channeling every ounce of her imagination into the written word.

Now here she is, years later, hiding away like a hermit in her little cottage in Cheshire, England, writing like crazy and loving every minute of it.

~ * ~

Elizabeth Online:

Blog: www.xxxxmyworldxxxx.blogspot.com
Joint Blog: www.notjustastiffupperlip.blogspot.co.uk
Facebook: Elizabeth Morgan
The Blood Series Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/TheBloodSeries
Twitter: @EMorgan2010
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/ElizabethMorgan
Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Morgan/e/B006WR1WLQ/ref=sr_tc_2_rm?qid=1339876094&sr=1-2-ent

Home: The Collector Prequel

I hope you have all had a lovely and relaxing Easter and that you're not feeling to sick after all that delicious chocolate. :-)

Today I thought I would share one of my free reads with you.

"Home" is the short prequel to my fallen angel novella, The Collector. It is set nineteen years before the novella and shows the moment that Kale and Samantha first meet.

~ * ~

Home

The Collector Prequel

By Elizabeth Morgan

(Home is a free read, offered unedited & as-is.)

~ * ~

Kale had already seen what was about to happen. He knew the driver of the black beetle would lose his grip on the wheel, due to the icy country road. And he knew that once it collided with the silver Ford, the man would be hurled through the window, killed instantly from the blow and that the car would tip. But all he could do was wait until it happened.

Kale was a hand, one of The Collectors. He was the one who came for a persons spirit when they died. It was his job to open the gateway of light and deliver the spirits into the afterlife. Without him, a persons spirit would be trapped between worlds, unable to cross.

He stood patiently underneath an old oak, unseen by all those who drove by. Just watching.

Waiting.

The country road glistened due to the thin winter ice that sat snugly upon the crumbling stone.

He could see that each blade of grass sparkled with dew as the morning light covered the landscape. He knew it was cold by the way the random passengers of individual cars sat in their thick hats and coats, their breath frosting the glass, but he couldn’t feel it. Even though he stood in nothing more than silk trousers, he couldn’t feel the bitter wind against his naked flesh.

He looked up at the naked branches above his head, he could clearly see the wind dancing through the bare branches of the oak, making them shake frantically. But he felt nothing.

He sometimes found himself wondering how something as simple as rain or a summer’s breeze would feel against his skin. But it was something he would never know. He shook the thought out of his mind and lifted his head as he sensed the faint dark fog of death invading the air. He looked to the right, to the distant hill that the road had climbed over….

It was time.

The British Paranormal Romance

There are a lot of paranormal romance / urban fantasy books based in the USA, and not so many based in Great Britain.

When I started writing The Witching Pen Novellas, I was adamant I wanted it based in the UK. We have so much history here that could be regarded as magical, and the roots of our Pagan ancestors really don't run that far beneath the surface -- it's all still quite fresh in our history and folklore, from the tales of Robin Hood, to the mighty battles of King Arthur.

I've made my own magical history, of course, with The Witching Pen, but book three (The Demon Bride) will see an introduction of (my own) angel lore, using some elements of London and British history, that will kick start the spin-off novel, The Last Angel -- I'm stupidly excited about this!

So, be aware that within my books, I will use words like "radiator" to mean what you might know as thermostat or heater; "tube" means metro, "jumper" is a pullover or jersey, etc, etc. My characters are British-based and think in British words (although I do add a few Americanisms in there from time to time, after all we live in the 21st Century and the language barrier is eroding with the technology that we have).

Please bear with me, my American readers :) I try to make it all make sense.

And look out for more British paranormal books from me. I love this country I live in. I don't want to say that it's going "downhill" (although with the economy the way it is.....), but it was once SO great. Our knights / vigilantes were courageous, the women who waited for them held hearts of steel, and it's all still here.

I think that when most people think of romances, they don't think of the Brits -- we've earnt a reputation of breeding stiff upper lip men that show no emotion, and women who are too hard to love wholly. Codswallop. It's not just our men's lips that are stiff (if you know what I mean) -- it only hides a passion too great to express, and our women can seem cold because they love too hard.

Love Actually is one of my favourite romantic comedies, and I think it beautifully expresses the above.

Writing the paranormal, my characters are a little more kick-arsey than that, but the core principal is still the same.

I'd like to flood the market with paranormal fantasies and romances based in the UK. This country "totally rocks" :D

Dianna x