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Sunday, April 14, 2013

Guest Author Jean Murray with Giveaway

Our guest today is Jean Murray who is celebrating her latest release Soul Awakened. Join us as she talks about nicknames, entertains us with an excerpt of her book, and even offers a giveaway.  Enjoy!

Sweetie, Darling, Snookum, Honey--  The power of pet names….
I love pet/nicknames—you know, those special terms of endearment we use to identify someone special or the ones we love, whether husband, wife, sister, brother, boyfriend or girlfriend.

When I was in high school, our inner circle had names for each other.  Only those in the group used them.  It was an expression of friendship and the bond we had growing up.  Even within my family, my sisters and I had “pet names.”  Each had their own origin, whether a funny story, memory, or quality of an individual.  The meaning often is only significant to those who are close to the individual.  We used to call my younger sister, Susabelle.  My older sister was called Bird (my mother’s reference for Lady Bird Johnson).  I was Jeannie Bean that got shortened to just Bean in high school.  I don’t get to talk to my high school friends as much I like, but my best friend still calls me by my nickname.  I smile now when I hear her say it.  It brings back wonderful memories.  

Pet names have always been part of my personal relationships.  One boyfriend always called me “pumpkin.”  Why, I’m not sure, but I know I didn’t look like one.  Regardless of the reason, the name always made me feel special.  Pet names are selected by those around us.  It just happens – it gets used once and then sticks, often for a lifetime.  Now whether the person likes it or not is irrelevant – LOL.

In my latest novel, Soul Awakened, my hero, Bakari, calls Kendra “Parvana.”  It is the Egyptian word for butterfly.  Kendra has a small birthmark on her hip that vaguely looks like a butterfly, but the word Parvana has deeper meaning for the hero.  After being imprisoned for five long years in darkness, Kendra is Bakari’s first vision of freedom.  She offers him a life free of pain and suffering, not to mention her potential to become something so much more.

So, in honor of pet/nicknames names around the world, I will give one lucky commenter an e-copy of Soul Awakened.  

To enter, please share your pet name or a pet name you use/used for someone else.  If you care, please share the origin of the nickname (for anonymity purposes, please do not use full names).  Leave your email address in the post.

Book Blurb:
LOVE FOR BLOOD OR HONOR
Kendra, an Egyptologist and demi-god in waiting, is the key to unlocking Bakari, the Egyptian God of Death, from his cursed slumber. Desperate to free him, she inadvertently binds herself to the god with a spell that only death will undo. To save Bakari from himself, she may have to sacrifice her innocence, and possibly her soul, before he becomes his family’s worst enemy.

HAUNTED BY SINS OF THE PAST
Bakari awakens to a world at war and a beautiful woman who has tethered his soul to hers. In the wake of his self-destruction Kendra is his only hope of salvation, but another has vowed to keep Bakari from the one thing he craves most-- his Parvana. His butterfly.

EXCERPT from Soul Awakened, Chapter 15

Can you die twice? Fractured in a multitude of pieces, his soul had been thrown across the room and crushed. If he physically could not pull himself together, what made him think he could ever pull his mind to where it belonged? He had truly found Duat. Hell.
            Why was he so surprised to wake up here? He deserved it, did he not? The pain and agony were his only friends, settling into the hole that once was inhabited by his spirit. A spirit that would ignite his chest no more. Whatever fight he had left with his last hope. His butterfly. Gone.
            He should have retreated back to the cell of his captivity. He had taken a few steps in the darkness, but then it hit him. Why bother? A death would be kinder. Turn his power inward and exhaust his own light.
            A good plan up to the point his butterfly materialized nearby, a hallucination certainly manifested by his insanity. Her beautiful naked form hovered and bounced with the beat of her wings. A part of him grieved that he would never be able to hold her or touch her soft curly hair. Or taste the sweet nectar of her blood. His body numbed the hunger and pain. He knew death well and welcomed it. But, his butterfly had other plans.
            His Parvana landed with feathery lightness onto his chest and spilled her hair over the vestige of his withered muscle and bone. The shock of heat hit him like a blast of super-heated air from an explosion. His chest burned with a rekindled fire. His hallucination took physical form. Kendra had come to save him after all. 

Purchase Links: 

Amazon:

Bio: In her pursuit of a nursing degree, Jean Murray aspired to see the world and joined the Navy. At the end of 2011 she said a heart-breaking goodbye to her Navy family and retired after twenty years of military service. Although her dreams of writing full time have yet to come true, she continues her writing journey and draws inspiration from her travels abroad. She enjoys spending time with her family and of course, writing about the “Carrigan sisters and their mates, Gods of the Underworld,” to bring you the next installment of the Key to the Cursed series.

Author Jean Murray brings a wonderful new spin to the paranormal world with her Egyptian Underworld gods.  She broke ground in the paranormal romance genre with Soul Reborn and now continues the Key to the Cursed journey with Soul Awakened.  See what readers and reviewers are saying about her new book ~ http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16484518-soul-awakened?auto_login_attempted=true

For more information about Jean Murray:

Web Address: www.jean-murray.com ; www.keytothecursed.com

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win!

17 comments:

  1. Hi Jean, thank you for coming to Happily Ever After Thoughts. When I was growing up my last name was Brous, so the kids on the bus called me brussel sprout. It was all in fun and I didn't mind, but what was really funny was when my little sister, 7 years younger, went to first grade. She was petite and had bright blonde hair. The kids on the bus decided she had to be Little Corn :-) Poor girl. What they didn't know was at home we called her Janine the string bean :-}

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  2. Thanks for joining us on Happily Ever After Thoughts, Jean! It's lovely to have you here.....

    I've been called a few things (some not so good) but my father called me 'Mouse' for many years and my husband still calls me Babe.

    Marie

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  3. Hi Alexis and Marie.

    Thank you so much for having me. You have a beautiful site.

    Love your stories.

    Jean

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  4. I'm often referred to as "Mess" by my wife for a variety of reasons... often with the possessive (as in 'my mess'). I make them, I am one, I can make her one emotionally (in good ways she assures me), and so on along similar lines. It fits.

    She's 'Fates'... master of all, whimsical, in control but not over bearing... which fits her as well.

    I also occasionally use Darlin'. I keep that one in reserve for special occasions though because for whatever reason it never fails to make her smile and giggle and swoon a little, and I don't want to lose that effect through over use.

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    1. Hi Anthony.

      I love that you and your wife have a sense of humor. I think you have to have that in a marriage. What great nicknames!

      Jean

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  5. Nice excerpt. Don't use/have a pet name

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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    1. Hi BN100.

      No worries, always nice to see you :-)

      Jean

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  6. I used to be called Pumpkin in high school - often shortened to Punkie. It was meant in a fun way. I kind of liked it.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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    1. Hi Mary!

      I love when they shorten nicknames. Some of my military co-workers used to call me Ski. Short for a long polish last name. They were happy when I married a Murray. LOL

      Jean

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  7. I did not have a nickname in school, but my best friend was called Bluky because of her beautiful blue eyes.
    bhometchko(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. Hi BookLady.

      Nicknames are often highlight a quality we or others have. When you see her do you still use her nickname?

      Jean

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  8. I didn't realize that I call my grandson a nickname until he announced during dinner one day that "Grammy says I'm a sweet pea." Apparently sweeter than the peas on his dinner plate, because he refused to eat them. Lol.
    Great cover on the new book, Jean. Looks like Tut in all his glory. Have you ever been to Egypt? What got you interested in this topic?

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    1. Lyndee,

      That is such a great story. We call all our boys Bub or Boo all the time. It comes naturally. My sister's in-laws when their daughter was young could not say Grandma, but would call her Gogger instead. It stuck, now the entire family calls her Gogger.

      No sadly, I have not been to Egypt, closest I came was Bahrain. I would still love to visit, but for now I get my Egyptian fix at the museum. I've always had a love for the ancient Egyptian culture. It was one of the exhibits I could spend hours in. When I was looking for a series idea, I naturally gravitated to it. I'm so glad I did :-)

      Jean

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  9. Hi Jean,
    when i was very little my grandma called me violet eyes because they were so blue they looked purple,now they are just a dark blue.
    everyone else calls me by name or sometimes they call me ,sister or sis.(oldest girl so i got alot of things like:"sister,keep an eye on the little kids and/or tammy i'm cold,he took my --- , make him give it back sissy! LOL!
    about a thousand variety of that.

    tammy ramey
    trvlagnt1t@yahoo.com

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    1. Hi Tammy!

      Grandma's a great for nicknames. What a wonderful memory!

      I've heard others use sissy quite a bit. Thank you for sharing.

      Jean

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  10. I don't have a nickname but my kids in school are called little wood or little timber because of their last name (Smallwood). My youngest I nicknamed minnie me (she acts like me) my son is (Spanky-when he was a baby he looked like Spanky off the Little Rascals) and my oldest is sissy.

    bmack31919 (at) yahoo (dot) com

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    1. Nightowl,

      Love it. My oldest son who is now 7 used to call his brother's name twice, Liam was always Liam Liam.

      We still use it sometimes, and get a great laugh out of it.

      Thanks For sharing.

      Jean

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