Oh, and if you were wondering, the tour info is here. ;)

Kelly McGinnis has her hands full as the mother of twins and the wife of a man suffering from multiple sclerosis, but when she interrupts a scene of police brutality and thwarts an actual demon, her penchant for righting wrongs rises to new, supernatural levels.

She manages to kill the demon through instinct alone; then is approached by a secret group of demon hunters who solicit her talents in their ongoing quest for justice.

Kelly joins their battle – only to confront a powerful demon who presents her with a compelling story with a different angle on matters. Now she’s uncertain about which side really holds truth and justice – and about her own alliances in an evolving battle between magical forces overlying reality itself.

Any reader of urban fantasy and P.I. investigations will find No Good Deed a powerful story of magic and survival which opens with a ‘bang’ right from the first paragraphs of the Epilogue: “I can barely shove one foot in front of the other and I have no idea which way I’m going, but I can’t stop.  Down every hall is a gruesome tangle of impossible creatures, and every one of them is split open or strung with barbs or dragging their insides after them, flailing along on shattered limbs or shredded wings or blasted stumps.  I’ve got the pistol, half a can of spray and a handful of useless shotgun slugs.  I’m dead.”

Over a two-week period Kelly’s life changes drastically and Kelly’s first person account of her transformation holds vivid action, reflection, and enough twists and turns of plot to keep readers guessing as to the nature of evil and the outcome of her mission.

Kelly’s confrontations with creatures from hell bring new perspectives on the nature of belief and the human condition itself: “Telling someone like my mother that Hell is a real, physical place, somewhere you can travel to and from, would be like spray-painting the statue of Jesus hanging over the pulpit during mass. Better off telling her the Pope is gay.  That’s what I really learned from CCD. Faith is based on the intangible, the un-provable. If you take something from behind the curtain and hold it up to the light, you’re going to find problems with it, so keep it hidden and you can always pretend it’s perfect.”

Slowly Kelly comes to realize truths about herself, Umber, and the demons – and most of all, about her true nature if she becomes involved in killing them off. She finds it’s not always about ‘smart’ choices, but about right ones. And she comes to a diverging road that will determine not only her own future, but that of the world.

No Good Deed is a powerful story of demons without and those within the human psyche. It’s a fine story highly recommended for any who want a more literary and thoughtful read than is offered by the usual tale of magical encounters.

Okay, yes, I’m pretty chuffed.

Disclaimer: We’ve never read the Pooh stories before. I know, sacrilege, but it’s true. Someday I will write a far better appreciation for them, but for now, I can only say that reading the chapters to Lillian has been a touching, heartfelt, amusing, wonderful experience. How many stories do that?

She also asked me to write about inspirational literary mothers, which was way harder than I expected, but the that one will be up on her site tomorrow. Know any good literary mothers? Besides Mrs. Weasely? Stop by The Land of Oz tomorrow and share.

* as in Australia, for anyone as thick as I was and didn’t get it

I’ve been making a bit of headway on the short story revisions, but really, the extra time is going to more sleep (okay, and some TV, though we ended up watching the documentary Babies, so I don’t know that that counts as something different).

I’m on Twitter. Crazy.

* She can be like that :)

So I’ve been quite busy with writing stuff for the last couple months (review requests for NGD, site updates, blog tour posts and interviews for HHNF reveal, revision and submission of several short stories) which has produced some wonderful results which I really could not have anticipated and which I’m very excited about.

Except . . .

Well, the thing is, today we dropped our baby girl off at day care for the first time. Mary was stronger than she thinks she was, right through the expected tears, before heading back to work for the first time in two months. I thought I felt okay, no real tears or pangs, but that’s because the significance didn’t really hit me until later.

Two months.

Our little girl is already nearly two months old. Where did that time go? Yes, there’s been crying, and yes there’s been little sleep, and yes there have been doubts, but these were nothing to the sudden realization and terror that I’ve been letting these precious moments just slip away, hyper-focused as I’ve been on my writing in the hours between the day job and sleep.

Do I mean to say that the writing is bad or wrong? Obviously not. Mary is 300% behind me, and my sincere hope is that these efforts will pay off some day to actually become a livelihood that will allow me to spend more time with my wife and my little girl.

Do I mean that I’ve been a terrible father leaving all the child-rearing to my wife while I play in my own little worlds? Also not true. Mary works all day taking care of our girl, but I take over in the evenings to give her a well-earned break and Mary is very clear that this is helpful.

So what I mean, I suppose, is that though I am not the worst of fathers and though my writing efforts are also done with my family in mind, recognizing that two months have passed already made me realize that I have not been fully appreciating Lillian and Mary and the wonders that are in these times.

For there are wonders in plenty here. The joy to be found in a baby’s smiles, when her eyes are focused on yours, is more powerful than any drug. The weight of her head on your bare chest as she sleeps, the beauty of your partner singing softly to your miraculous newborn child as she drifts off to sleep, the grip of those tiny fingers on your pinkie, even the sudden blank and adorable look she gets when she’s working on going pee…

Okay, maybe TMI there, but I suppose I’ve just learned something else: I guess I’m not as terrible or distracted a father as I thought. This doesn’t mean I’m off the hook, though. I’ve been pushing the limits lately, and I have to be diligent about remembering what’s really important, and being there, in the moment, at all times.

So I guess no smack necessary this time, love ;)

I almost forgot! Lucy is having a giveaway of a signed copy of No Good Deed, so be sure to put your name in (scroll to the bottom of the guest post to see the entry form) to get your personalized copy of the start of the story!

so check out  Illuminated Tours for the latest dates and locations!

As mentioned, the HHNF Cover Reveal blog tour begins tomorrow (Monday) and runs for the next two weeks (see listing below) – organized by indie champion extraordinarie, Annabell Cadiz of Illuminated Tours.

There will be interviews, guest posts and signed giveaways (oh my!) along the way, so come on along and check them out!

* Note: Sarah will also be reviewing No Good Deed, in addition to the HHNF reveal

And now, back to the baby :)

Those who know me know this isn’t something I do lightly, but in light of the unexpectedly great activity these last few weeks, I think it’s time. I’m still working out the kinks and all, so I’ll post the link as soon as it’s ready, but it needs to be done this weekend because I have a Cover Reveal blog tour coming up, for Hell Hath No Fury, thanks to the incredible, persistent, passionate Annabell Cadiz of Illuminated Tours and Open Book Society, and that starts next week!

Check out the Blog Tour listing here!

Okay, the baby’s waking (does time go by this fast for anyone else?), but this is very exciting stuff. I’ll post more links soon.