Releasing The Wolf By Dianna Hardy (Review + Giveaway)

Hello and welcome to The Avid Reader. Please join me in welcoming Dianna Hardy to The Avid Reader today. Thanks for stopping by Dianna. Please be sure and check out Dianna's novel Releasing The Wolf book #1 in the Eye Of The Storm Series. Please check out my review of Releasing The Wolf. And because she is just a very sweet lady Dianna is letting me give away 1 E Book copy of Releasing The Wolf in any format the winner chooses. The giveaway is International and ends on Jan. 11.




Book Title: Releasing The Wolf
Author: Dianna Hardy
Series: Eye Of The Storm #1
Published: November 30th 2012
Publisher: Satin Smoke Press
Ebook




PURCHASE

Releasing The Wolf Amazon Kindle Amazon Paperback






BOOK DESCRIPTION Releasing The Wolf


Lydia Martin has always had dreams, the weirdest and hottest of them all involving a faceless, muscle-bound man that speaks like sin and smells like sex. Like any sane person, she always put the dreams down to an overactive imagination, coupled with a higher than average libido.
One night, however, instead of their usual, erotic encounters, she finds him in her dream, chained to a wall and screaming in pain. Not only that, but she thinks she recognises the building he's being held captive in as one that's just a few streets away.
Awaking with an irrepressible need to save her fantasy lover, Lydia decides to humour her dream self and head on over to where she thinks he's imprisoned.
What unfolds is beyond even her wildest imaginings, as she's sucked into a dangerous and deadly world she never knew existed ... and it turns out that the man who inhabits her darkest fantasies, isn't the only one that needs releasing.
Word count: over 34,000 words This is an adult paranormal fantasy novella containing scenes of explicit sexual content and some violence, entwined with romantic elements.






GUEST POST Why Paranormal?
by Dianna Hardy


Thank you, Nancy, for suggesting this as a topic for this blog post: what made me decide to write paranormal fiction?
The truth may be a little out there for most! The thing is, that the paranormal has always been more real for me than the "normal". Ever since I can remember, I've had dreams about totem animals and my spirit guides, one of my totems being a snake. Snakes always appeared to me in my dreams from the age of at least three, to protect me when I needed protecting … from entities that I call "the shadow men".
Are you weirded out yet? Lol.
I'm not going to go into too much detail here, but I grew up in a normal family, within a well adjusted childhood, going to a normal school with normal friends … but no, I never felt "normal" and I suppose most people don't - I don't think that's too unusual.
At the age of nineteen, I had my very first proper Tarot reading by a friend and a clairvoyant. It was a fine reading, but I didn't think it was amazing or ground-breaking and soon forgot about it … until the Tarot found me again a year later and wanted me to be the reader. It sounds bizarre, but that's what happened.
And so, I began a journey of self-discovery, magick, witchcraft, shamanism … I delved into any and every occult area I could find, being sceptical of some, not interested in many, intrigued by others, and blown away by some.
Seven years later, and I was seeing warrior angels, fairies, entities which I didn't know (and still don't know) the names of, dream-journeying, talking to those passed over occasionally (not my forte), and all sorts. My life was very not normal, but normal for me.
The paranormal was normal for me, and that is the key to why I write it.
When it came to writing and publishing, I had no intention of writing fiction. I thought I would go into poetry and I had begun to put together a couple of small, mind-body-spirit "how-to" guides in chapbook form (they're due a reprint, actually…). I thought that that was the way I was going with writing.
Completely unprecedented, I discovered and started to write erotica as a way to expand my knowledge of ePublishing, and also because I enjoyed the challenge of writing sex scenes - sex, as one of the most intense and direct forms of energy, has close ties to magick - and I actually found it quite therapeutic to write! But writing in that genre didn't fulfil me completely. I'm more about character interactions and the plot, and I found myself beginning a story with those elements behind it: The Witching Pen series.
I was astonished at how people took to it, and I haven't looked back. I found my niche and my passion in writing. Paranormal and Fantasy fiction (for adults!) felt the most natural way to express my thoughts and creative flair. I feel much more comfortable writing fiction, because, for me alone, it means that I can be more "real" - ironic, huh?
Nowadays, I talk less about my occult background. It's there, still embedded within my life - it still exists; it can never not exist - but it is not my career as I once thought it would be. What I give to you is my writing instead: fiction, with elements of truth for anyone who resonates with it, and simply an enjoyable read (hopefully) for anyone who doesn't resonate with it in that way :)

Dianna xxx

The Witching Pen Novellas are available in digital format, with the first trade paperback having been released in April. All info and buy links can be found on the series website The Witching Pen Novellas.
My latest series, Eye Of The Storm, is about werewolves! You can read all about that on my website.
And thanks so much to Nancy for taking the time to have me on her blog today.






MY REVIEW Releasing The Wolf


I received a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.
Lydia has been having these dreams and not just any ordinary dreams. These dreams are about a very hot, sexy and muscled hulk of a man. This dude is so hot he will make your tongue reach out and slap your brains out. Well actually all the guys in Releasing The Wolf are very attractive. Lydia had been having these dreams for a very long time.
Lydia is a very independent girl who works 3 jobs just so she can make it on her own and not have to depend on her mother. On occasion she will go out on a date with a man, a date that usually ends up with them in one of their beds. Lydia has a very strong libido. Lydia does care about the guys she goes out with but at the same time the reason she goes with them is because of her highly over active need to have sex.
The new twist that Dianna has put on the werewolf mating ritual is awesome! It is very unique and intriguing. Dianna knows how to tell a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, hanging on waiting to see what is going to happen next. Releasing The Wolf is one of those stories that will pull you into its world and make you feel like you are a part of Lydia's world.
I have never read erotica much but as long as it has a paranormal twist to it I will give it a try. I am so very glad that I decided to read Releasing The Wolf even with knowing it was erotica. I have now come to the conclusion that maybe everyone should mix things up once in a while and go out side their realm of things and add a little spice to their reading material. I can't wait to shake up my reading world a little more with Cry Of The Wolf the second book in the Eye Of The Storm Series. Expected to be released April 19, 2013.





About the Author



Dianna Hardy is a multi-genre author of paranormal things, dark things, poetic things, sexy things, taboo things, and sometimes funny things. She writes about witches, demons and angels. All info about her books can be found on her website Dianna Hardy












ONLINE LINKS
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GIVEAWAY


One eBook copy of Releasing The Wolf.
The giveaway is international.
The winner chooses format.
Giveaway ends on Jan. 11.



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