A story addict since an early exposure to Dr. Seuss, award-winning author of over 30 novels and novellas, Michelle Levigne has been creating her own stories, heroes and adventures since junior high. She ventures into many sub-genres of science fiction, paranormal, romance and fantasy, including Greek mythology, Narnia spin-offs and her futuristic universe, the Commonwealth.Michelle writes something for everyone! After all, since she likes to read all over the board, why not WRITE all over the board?
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DEATH BY CHOCOLATE by Michele L. Levigne
All's Fae In Love And Chocolate Book Four
The race is on to catch the Fae who poisoned the Queen's chocolate. For Epsi and Guber, the stakes are even higher and could lead to death, or love. What a choice!
Fae use dark chocolate as a cure-all, so how did the Queen die of eating too much? Epsi gave her former school chum a boatload (we're talking Cleopatra's barge here) of chocolate as a coronation present. Now she's a prime suspect. Where's a knight in shining armor when a Fae damsel in distress really needs one?
Enter Guber, Fae of royal blood, Human-phile and techno-geek. Mysteries and gizmos to test for substances harmful to Fae life and limb are right up his alley. Epsi is the prettiest damsel in distress that he's ever seen - and she doesn't think he's weird.
Guber has been living in the Human realms for decades to avoid both the Fae who want to reinstate the hereditary royalty and those who want to eradicate anyone with the slightest trace of royal purple blood. Both of them are on Guber's tail, and could focus on Epsi at any moment.
It's a good thing they have an entire warehouse of possibly poisoned chocolate to use as a weapon.
BUY THE eBOOK *** READ THE EXCERPT *** WATCH THE TRAILER
WIN - Today EVERY BODY WINS - Leave Michelle a question today at her Cyber Launch Party and she'll send you a cute little faerie bear and some promo goodies and, of course CHOCOLATE!!!! Then she'll drawn one reader to get a T-shirt!! Please leave your email address so Michelle can contact you for your mailing address.
DEATH BY CHOCOLATE by Michele L. Levigne
All's Fae In Love And Chocolate Book FourThe race is on to catch the Fae who poisoned the Queen's chocolate. For Epsi and Guber, the stakes are even higher and could lead to death, or love. What a choice!
Fae use dark chocolate as a cure-all, so how did the Queen die of eating too much? Epsi gave her former school chum a boatload (we're talking Cleopatra's barge here) of chocolate as a coronation present. Now she's a prime suspect. Where's a knight in shining armor when a Fae damsel in distress really needs one?
Enter Guber, Fae of royal blood, Human-phile and techno-geek. Mysteries and gizmos to test for substances harmful to Fae life and limb are right up his alley. Epsi is the prettiest damsel in distress that he's ever seen - and she doesn't think he's weird.
Guber has been living in the Human realms for decades to avoid both the Fae who want to reinstate the hereditary royalty and those who want to eradicate anyone with the slightest trace of royal purple blood. Both of them are on Guber's tail, and could focus on Epsi at any moment.
It's a good thing they have an entire warehouse of possibly poisoned chocolate to use as a weapon.
BUY THE eBOOK *** READ THE EXCERPT *** WATCH THE TRAILER
WIN - Today EVERY BODY WINS - Leave Michelle a question today at her Cyber Launch Party and she'll send you a cute little faerie bear and some promo goodies and, of course CHOCOLATE!!!! Then she'll drawn one reader to get a T-shirt!! Please leave your email address so Michelle can contact you for your mailing address.
***NOTE - if you're having trouble leaving a comment, try switching browsers....seems blogger isn't playing nice with certain ones :-( or feel free to leave your questions over on our event posting at FACEBOOK and we'll include your name in our drawing!
Hey Hey Hey - what a way to go - DEATH BY CHOCOLATE!! And thanks so much for the party favors for EVERYONE!!! You sure know how to rock a party!
ReplyDeleteGood morning Michelle and super congrats on your new release! This one is the 4th book and final book in your All's Fae In Love and Chocolate right?
For those not familiar with your series, can you tell us all about it and how the books fit together.
Tell us about this world of yours and if we'll ever see it again in future books.
What else are you working on?
Enjoy your special day - Hope the new book is a HUGE success for you! And thanks again for the fantastic giveaway!
Good morning, everybody
ReplyDeleteJust got back from errands -- the top one being to buy CHOCOLATE for party favors here.
Death by Chocolate is the 4th, but I'm not going to say the very last of the All's Fae stories. I might come up with ideas for a 5th story, featuring another sidekick Fae readers have run into.
Epsi, our damsel, is a friend to Lori, one of the main characters in last year's Christmas novel, "Have Yourself a Faerie Little Christmas."
Guber, our techno-knight in camouflage armor, is the buddy of Kevyn, the hero of "She Blinded Me with Science."
The All's Fae stories dovetail into my Neighborlee, Ohio universe. So far there are only 2 books: "Divine's Emporium" and "Have Yourself a Faerie Little Christmas," but I'm working on the 3rd book, "Divine Knight," where we learn some of the mysterious past of Angela, the proprietress of Divine's Emporium.
And I have a couple more stories planned that take place in Neighborlee. Some of them may have Fae main characters, or the Fae just show up and made snide comments from the sidelines ....
And of course, we can't forget our poor exiled friend, Maurice -- he of 5 inches tall, with shrunken magic and glittery, colorful wings even Tinkerbell wouldn't be caught dead in. We have to find a way to break his curse/punishment and make sure he can stay in Neighborlee with Holly, his true love librarian.
That happens in "Divine Knight," by the way ....
Tell you what -- anybody who has read any of the other stories, either All's Fae or Neighborlee, suggest some of the Fae you've see who YOU think should be the hero or damsel in the next short story. It'll get you extra points towards winning the T-shirt with the cover art.
And remember -- everybody who leaves a comment WITH their email address, gets party favors, including chocolate!
Big congrats Michelle! I've read and loved the previous books in your series, so I'm eagerly waiting to read this one. What can we expect after this book? Enjoy your day! My e-mail is tessa.bamberg@kolumbus.fi
ReplyDeleteGood Morning! Congrats on your release! :) How many books are you planning on writing in the series? Any plans to celebrate your new release? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteshadowluvs2read(at)aol(dot)com
Congrats on your release! Do you ever base your books on things that happen in real life? What a way to go Death by chocolate!
ReplyDeletelead[at]hotsheet[dot]com
Congratulations Michelle !!Death By Chocolate is a must read for me . I love magical romantic comedies .Thank you for sharing with us today have a great weekend
ReplyDeleteWanda
flanagan@mebtel.net
Well, the next Fae-related book is Divine Knight, which is part of the Neighborlee, Ohio series.
ReplyDeleteI'm planning one called London Holliday -- think Paris Hilton. Compare the names. London lives in Neighborlee, and she is the subject of a cyber experiment that suddenly makes her the most talked-about girl in the world -- but she's nothing like her cyber-personality.
After I reunite Angela with her long-lost love, and make sure Maurice and Holly can be together ... Hmm, I'm not sure. What do you think I should do?
The Neighborlee series kind of dovetails with another series called The Hunt, a YA/Fantasy series published through Writers Exchange. The kids are from another dimension, sent to Earth for safekeeping when an interstellar despot threatens their planet. They're gathering together now, trying to figure out how to go home, and of course, the safest place for them is Neighborlee. At least, until a malevolent force sleeping under the town decides to wake up ..... So I'm writing the 4th and 5th books of The Hunt, and wrapping it up to send the kids home.
Maurice and Angela and other Neighborlee friends, and some Fae, will show up in those stories.
I think ....
[G]
Well, in terms of celebrating, we're having this launch party!
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say none of my Fae ideas come from real life. Although sometimes I really do wish there was a place like Divine's Emporium, and someone like Angela around to talk to and provide little bits of help -- kind of like a Faerie godmother, y'know?
Who can say no to chocolate! How did you come up with the title?
ReplyDeleteelizabeth_14@hotmail.co.uk
Hi Michele! Congratulations on the release of your book! I'm planning to read it! Who is your illustrator?
ReplyDeletePenny Karrer
pennyk@sio.midco.net
Where have I been,I have not heard of this series before :)
ReplyDeleteThey sound awesome.
Congrats on the latest release.
Can the books be read as standalone?
elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net
Congrats on your release!I can't wait to read it. Anyway, do you ever base the scences in your books on something that happened in your life the day before or week? Just wondering. Love your writing.
ReplyDeletelillygassman@yahoo.com :)
Okay, let me try to get all the questions at once ....
ReplyDeleteYes, you can read the stories individually, but I recommend you read them in order, because they sort of build off each other -- even though none of the characters show up in any other stories until the 4th one.
Did that make any sense?
These are all short stories/novellas. They won't take a lot of time. At once time -- with another publisher -- the first three stories were all in one printed volume and it was kind of slim.
Nope, I can't really think of any scenes in the All's Fae stories that were based on anything that happened to me. This is all pure silliness and extrapolation and going over the edge.
And I guess you could blame overdoses of chocolate, or eating candy and/or pizza right before bed. You get the weirdest dreams, and some of my best "solutions" for plotting problems show up in the morning, from the fragments of dreams that survive to the light of day.
I think I got the title, "Death by Chocolate" before I had any idea of the story. Then the idea of poisoned chocolate came to me -- and I thought there could be nothing grosser than carob pretending to be chocolate, so I made carob the "poison."
Can't remember where I got the idea of the super-soaker filled with melted carob ..........
Well, for those who are just now discovering the series, WELCOME! It's been a lot of fun, kind of a vacation for me, making up the rules of Fae magic and just getting silly.
And I admit, I have been heavily influenced by Terry Pratchett's Discworld stories. Now that man is an insane genius when it comes to silliness and magic.
Okay, some missed questions:
ReplyDeleteWhere did I get the title?
Well, there was this party called Death by Chocolate at a writing conference.
And a scene in a Discworld story where a woman committed suicide by diving into a vat of chocolate.
And a dessert called Death by Chocolate.
It just seemed to "fit" the series, y'know?
As for my illustrator ... I have no idea who she is.
If you go to the Uncial Press site, you might find her name listed somewhere. Or you could ask Jude, the publisher. I don't think she ever told me who the illustrator is. Usually Jude does my cover art -- check out the Zygradon books! -- but this time it was someone new.
www.uncialpress.com
Good morning Ms. Levigne. Unfortunately I've never had the pleasure of reading any of the books in this series, but that will change. "Death By Chocolate" sounds like a must read. I have two questions, one of which I'm not sure if you answered already but I'm asking anyway.
ReplyDelete1. Can this book be read as a stand alone or do I need to read the first three to understand what's going on? Trust me I'm not complaining if that is the case. the more good books, the merrier.
2. Is your Fae series based on actual research about the Fae?
Thank you for your contribution to the literary universe with what is obviously a very popular series. Congratulations on your launch, and I hope you have time to answer my questions. :-)
Zuradia Worrell
Zady31@aol.ocm
The cover artist is Victoria Conrad, who is just beginning her career as am illustrator. She does great cartoons.
ReplyDeleteHi, Zuradia.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the party!
Yes, I believe the stories can be read as stand-alones -- but at the same time, there are things learned in each story that help you enjoy and understand a little better what's going on in the others.
For instance, in the first story, "Day and Knight," you learn that Fae use dark chocolate as a cure-all, and diet cherry cola makes them intoxicated. You also learn that they live a loooong time, that they live in Enclaves where time passes differently from ours, and that Fae women go through Need when they hit puberty -- which is something like Pon Farr, and when they catch their man during Need, the two of them are bonded for life. The men don't mind at all -- but the problem is CATCHING one. Some Fae men pass out in sheer terror when a woman in Need comes near. Don't know why ..... [G]
And other stilly things occur in the other stories.
But yes, they CAN stand alone.
As for research .... well, I've read lots of fantasy, and I've seen other people's interpretations of the Fae. Some are kind of scary. Read "Lords and Ladies" by Terry Pratchett. My Fae are more fun. Somewhat isolationist -- except for the ones who choose to live among Humans -- with a LOT of bureaucracy, different secretaries and ministries and councils and committees to handle just about everything. They have fun. They get in trouble. Some have trouble with magic. They want to fall in love.
Other than reading fantasy books and thinking about how I want my Fae to be, no, no quantifiable research. All this is strictly made up in my own warped little imagination. [G]
Hi, Jude!
ReplyDeleteThanks for speaking up about the cover art.
Everybody, meet Jude, my fearless publisher over at Uncial Press.
I love finding series that I haven't read, and I just saw this stand alone series. I've read all the burbs on them and want them very much so I've added them to my gotta have list. I can't wait to read them....*S*
ReplyDeleteChocolate? My downfall. I so love it. I did find out something interesting about my craving for it after the fact though. If you drink green tea, it stops the cravings for sweets. ...I love my green tea and drink about a gallon of it everyday...*S*
Thanks for the drawing...*S*
Darcy
pommawolf @hotmail.com
Congratulations on your new release! It sounds like a great story! After reading about this I think I need to head to the dollar store for chocolate. I can't keep it in the house because I don't have much will power.
ReplyDeleteCongrats again.
Please enter me in your contest, thanks.
Jackie
joyfuljel(at)gmail(dot)com
I haven't been much online since I went back to work a few years back and hadn't heard about this series. However, I have always been intrigued with the Fae and would love to see your take on them. By the way, what a dastardly thing to use poisoned chocolate to assassinate the Fae Queen. There must be quite the villain in your story. Yes, I know they use it as a cure all but I guess it is my emotional attachment to chocolate that makes me cringe so at the thought of its misuse.
ReplyDeletelittlelamblst@yahoo.com
I hope it won't spoil anything if I tell you it wasn't "real" chocolate.
ReplyDeleteIs that any comfort? [G]
Yep, the villain is dastardly, and certainly gets his just -- or unjust -- desserts!
Well, I'm going to call it a night.
ReplyDeleteThanks, everybody who stopped by.
I'll be emailing everybody who left an email address, to get your postal addresses so I can send your "party favors" out -- and figure out a way to choose the winner of the T-shirt!
Upcoming releases:
October 1 -- WHITE ROSES, the 10th Tabor Heights, Ohio romance, from Desert Breeze Publishing.
November 15 -- BLUE FIRE, a re-issue of a SF romance novel, also from Desert Breeze.
November 15 -- THAT SYNCHING FEELING, a novella in the Borealis universe created by Desert Breeze Publishing.
December 5 -- NEVER MOON A WEREWOLF, the 5th book in the humorous romantic suspense series I call "The Five Sisters." Sequel to "Liar, Liar. Hearts on Fire." From Amber Quill Press.
And ..... by the end of September: TRAITORS, the 3rd Faxinor Chronicles novel, by Hard Shell Word Factory. This novel is the prequel to "Heir of Faxinor," and my EPIC Award-winning romance/fantasy, "Lorien."
Stay tuned for more Cyber Launch parties in the near future! Check out my web site and blog for information: www.Mlevigne.com
www.MichelleLevigne.blogspot.com
Thanks for coming, everybody!
Reading the post I'm smiling the whole time. DEATH BY CHOCOLATE - sounds like a great way to go.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
conrats on the book, it sounds like a wonderful story. i can hardly wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteHow did you come up with the idea of a fae that was a techno geek and that? is it based on someone you know?
trvlagnt1t@yahoo.com
How can you go wrong with faeries and chocolate! I do like chocolate and I have found some pretty nice faeries in the books I have read. How do you keep your series straight?
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
Michelle, what an original story! Death by chocolate...we could only be so lucky...LOL!
ReplyDeletebooks4me67 at ymail.com
Did you get the idea for Fae using dark chocolate as a cure-all because so many people like chocolate as a pick-me-up?
ReplyDeletelenikaye@yahoo.com
congrats on another release!
ReplyDeletemy question is what would be an alternative pick me up if there was no chocolate in the world the second go to pick me up?
mortalsinn@yahoo.com
Hi Michelle !
ReplyDeleteAwesome post and such a very cool giveaway the little bear sounds so cure and the promo goodies will be somthing I can definitelu use to spread the word on your work !
My question is where does your inspiration come from ?
Desere
desere_steenberg@yahoo.com