PSB: Guest Post & Giveaway with Regan Hastings

Regan Hastings launched the Awakening series with VISIONS OF MAGIC. In the Awakening, a coven of witches called evil upon the world 800 years ago. Filled with remorse, they created a spell that would force them to live as humans for centuries. Through these lifetimes, they are protected by Eternals, their warrior-mates who must wait until the Awakening is complete to claim their women. As Maureen Child, the USA TODAY bestselling author has been nominated six times for the prestigious RITA award from the Romance Writers of America. Read the first chapter of VISIONS OF MAGIC at www.reganhastings.com.

Picture this: It’s 1903. We’re in a gentleman’s club in San Francisco. In this smoky room, a group of overstuffed, rich industrialists play cards. Heavy draperies block out most of the noise from outside, but no curtain is heavy enough to block out the backfire of an automobile as it rumbles past the window.

“Harumph!” one man says as he slaps down his next card. “I wish youngsters would stop wasting their money on those newfangled contraptions. Frivolity!”

The agreement around the table is unanimous and heated. The automobile will never replace the horse.

A young doctor from back East who’s sitting at the next table can’t stand it. In a rush of passion, Horatio Nelson Jackson approaches their table to argue that the automobile is the way of the future. Before the end of the evening, he has bet that he can drive a car from San Francisco to New York in less than three months.

Along with his faithful mechanic, he made it. He won 50 bucks. Of course, he spent $8,000… Men make stupid bets. We all know that, but that’s not the point.

The point is that we humans have always been afraid of change. There are those among us who embrace new technologies, but many people drag their heels until the change reaches critical mass and there’s nothing left to do but shrug their shoulders and admit that “the way of the world” is different now.

Does this sound familiar: “I would never want a mobile phone! I don’t want people to be able to reach me at any time, anywhere. I want to be able to get away!” And yet, most people now feel lost without their cell. Rather than tying us down, cell phones liberate us.

I’ve always been fascinated by this knee-jerk reaction. The fear is less about technology itself than about how it will change society. Many people want the world to stay as it was when they were kids. What was is “right,” and everything else is “wrong.”

Of course, it’s often the case that these people have an idealized view of what the world was like when they were children. They long for the innocent world of days gone by, but in fact, the innocence was within them. The world has had its failures and corruptions in every age.

Ten years before the start of VISIONS OF MAGIC, the first book of my Awakening series, humans discovered that witches are real. Not only that, but a woman you’d known for years could suddenly become a witch as her powers awakened. Witches are dangerous, a threat to everything people hold dear. What will become of the world they know and love, if witches are allowed to run loose, unfettered, performing spells and incantations?

In this dark world, fear of “the other” manifests itself as violence, as it so often does. Money is poured into research on how to inhibit witches’ powers so they can be captured, contained, or even killed. The first witch to be burned at the stake in the 21st Century was the aunt of my heroine, Shea Jameson. Like everyone else, Shea longs for the innocent days of her youth, the time before witchcraft. With everything in her, she fights the realization that her own powers are awakening. But fear of change isn’t enough to stop change from coming. It never is.

(By the way, for another laugh… did you know that Pennsylvania legislators unanimously voted to create a law requiring motorists to take apart their car and hide the parts if they happened upon livestock? The governor vetoed it before it could become law.)

Do you fight change or embrace it? What is a change you were slow to accept, but that you now welcome? In addition to the “horseless carriage,” what are some other new technologies that seem commonplace now but were protested when they first came along?

To celebrate Paranormal Spring Break, I’m giving away three of the paranormal romances I wrote under my other name, Maureen Child. The winner or winners will be chosen at random from among all the commenters and can choose from the following titles: Vanished, Eternally, Bedeviled, Beguiled. The contest is open to fans around the world!

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Wow Regan you did all the hard work for me! lol

Here’s a quick recap:

three (3) winners will each pick one book out of the following: Vanished, Eternally, Bedeviled, Beguiled.

• This giveaway is open Internationally

• To enter, just leave a comment answering Regan’s questions^^

• Don’t forget to include a way to contact you!

If you want to earn an extra entry, spread the word and provide a link in a different comment =)

Tweet: Guest Post & Giveaway (INT) with Regan Hastings http://bit.ly/dSnvaE hosted by @Tynga & @parajunkee #ParanormalSpringBreak #Giveaway pls RT

Ends April 6th, 2011.

Also interested in Visions of Magic?

Books Stats:

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Signet (MM) (Feb 1 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451232461
• ISBN-13: 978-0451232465

Description:

In the ten years since magic has reemerged in the world, witches have become feared and hunted. For weeks Shea Jameson has been haunted by visions of fire. When she unintentionally performs a spell in public, she becomes one of the hunted. Her only hope is Torin, a dangerously sensual man who claims to be her eternal mate.

Posted by Tynga at 01:33

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Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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