Bitter Bite by Erin M. Leaf

Blurb

Alaric Normand is a solitary predator, so when he meets a man who kindles long-dormant emotions, he dismisses the attraction. What does he need with a lover? A consort bond spells nothing but vulnerability for a vampire who’s been alone for five centuries.

Ex-priest Gideon Keegan has lost his faith, so when he witnesses a supernatural killing, how does he accept the reality of evil? And why does he feel attraction for such a violent individual, especially when he’s already in love with someone else?

Everyone thinks Hannah Ward is an innocent, but she knows the truth: she’s done terrible things, and so she hides her affection for Gideon. She isn’t worthy of love, yet when a handsome stranger kisses her she falls hard, despite her sense that something is wrong. How can she have feelings for two men at once? Must she choose between the dark and the light?


Story Excerpt:

Alaric shook his head. “You’re not a priest. I would’ve sensed it.”

“I’m not a priest anymore,” Gideon said softly, suppressing the familiar stab of anger. Leaving the priesthood had been the toughest thing he’d ever done.

“But you used to be.” Alaric half-smiled. “Well, well. How interesting.”

“It’s only interesting to me. Now get out of my way,” Gideon said, trying to shoulder past.

Alaric grabbed him again, this time shoving him up against the wall. “Not so fast, my dear. I’m not done with you yet.”

Gideon flushed at the words, feeling more turned on than threatened, though why, he didn’t know. This man had, after all, attacked two people that he knew of, and possibly more. Alaric was dangerous. Of course, you’re not an old man like that poor sucker outside was. You can take Alaric down any time you want. Strength doesn’t trump balance, he reasoned, breathing deeply to center himself. He glanced at Hannah again, needing to know if she could see him stuck in the corner with Alaric, and found her watching them.

When their eyes locked, surprise chased across her face, probably because he and Alaric looked like they were embracing. She had no idea he liked men, too. As his former student, it wasn’t any of her business, dammit, but it looked like all his secrets were about to be exposed whether he liked it or not.

“I’ve seen you looking at the pretty bartender,” Alaric murmured softly, leaning in as if he was about to kiss Gideon, or possibly bite him. “She seems young for the job, and oh so sweetly innocent, especially for this place. Those gorgeous brown eyes are staring at us, you know. She looks shocked. Do you think she likes watching us together? Is that why she’s working in a gay bar?”

“Leave her out of this.” Gideon put his hands on Alaric’s wrists and squeezed, but he couldn’t break the vampire’s grip. “And let me go. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Alaric chuckled. “You couldn’t hurt me if you tried.” He leaned in closer. “I bet she’d enjoy watching us kiss.”

The image Alaric painted aroused Gideon more than he wanted to admit. Angry now, he tried again to escape, squeezing harder. When that did nothing, he kicked out with a foot.

Alaric pushed up against him roughly, using his body to hold Gideon immobile against the wood paneling. “None of that, Gideon. Let me have my say.”

Gideon gritted his teeth when he felt Alaric’s cock pressing into his hip, thick and hard. God, it felt good. “Fuck you,” he said, slightly breathless. Shame washed through him. He hadn’t tried very hard to get away, and the truth was, he liked being manhandled like this.

“Perhaps I will let you someday. I’d enjoy that very much,” Alaric said, smiling slightly. “But what of the girl?” He cocked his head slightly, blue eyes luminous. “She likes you, my dear. I can sense it.”

Gideon swallowed an angry retort. The creature was playing with him. “She’s innocent. Leave her alone.”

“If you tell anyone what you saw outside, I’ll have to take steps,” Alaric whispered threateningly.

Gideon flinched when Alaric’s lips touched his temple. His cock was hard now, too, and aching. He resisted the urge to rub himself against Alaric’s strength. “What kind of steps?” he asked instead, like a fool.

Alaric inhaled. “God, you smell good.”

Gideon’s breath hitched.

“Did you know I like both men and women?”

Gideon honestly wasn’t surprised, not after the way Alaric had noticed Hannah. “What kind of steps?” he asked again, more forcefully.

“Perhaps I’ll ask your girl out. Take her dancing.” Alaric touched his mouth to Gideon’s lips and kissed him softly. “I’m sure I’d enjoy tasting her like this.” He kissed Gideon more aggressively, licking inside and taunting with his tongue.

Gideon choked on a moan as Alaric held him against the wall and ravished his mouth. He felt himself weakening and bit Alaric’s lip, warning him he wasn’t some damsel in distress. He couldn’t let his guard down, no matter how desperately aroused he felt being constrained like this.

Alaric chuckled. “Mmmm. I like that. Bite me again.” He rubbed his cheek against Gideon’s. “Or perhaps I’ll bite you. I bet your blood tastes sweet as candy.”

“What are you?” Gideon asked, breathing harshly as another pang of heat shot through him. God help him, but he wanted to drag Alaric into the darkness and fuck him until he couldn’t think straight anymore.

Alaric leaned back. His blue eyes had bled to midnight again. “I’m exactly what you think I am, my dear.”

Gideon’s heart knocked against his ribs, hard enough to hurt. “Don’t touch her, or I swear—”

“I won’t, as long as you keep this delicious mouth shut,” Alaric said, kissing him again.

------

Buy Links- 

Evernight Publishing-  http://www.evernightpublishing.com/bitter-bite-by-erin-m-leaf/


Amazon- http://www.amazon.com/Bitter-Bite-Erin-M-Leaf-ebook/dp/B010L8SLMO/

------

Author Details:

Erin M. Leaf is a romance novel devotee, the steamier the better, with a specialty in edgy erotic tension. She also writes romance as Marie E. Blossom.

website: http://erinmleaf.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Erin-M-Leaf/410019209059510

Twitter: @erinmleaf

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4355929.Erin_M_Leaf

Evernight: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/erin-m-leaf/

A Riveting Paranormal Erotic Romance "Eternal Darkness" by Natalie Hancock

Natalie Hancock is an author of Paranormal Romance/ Erotic.  Her newest work Eternal Darkness is available from eXtasy books. 

What is the name of your latest book?  And how did you come up with the title?

Eternal Darkness is my first and only release. I’m a new author *smiles widely*
I found it hard to name this book. When I was planning it, I named it Changed because it was a convenient because of what the book was about.

When I wrote the entire book, it didn’t sound right, so I began thinking of another name.
My vampires live in a hundred acres of land with no sunlight what-so-ever for their protection from the sun itself, and from attacks from their enemies. The name Eternal Darkness came into mind because they literally are living in eternal darkness.

What is this book about?  And what genre is this book in?

My book’s genre is vampire paranormal romance/erotic.

It’s about a half vampire, half human who is sent to live in the hundred acres of land full of vampires for her own safety. The only problem is she hungers for the vampires blood, so when she has lessons with them, not only does she struggle with the hunger raging inside of her, but she has to learn to trust those around her, something she can’t do because she has a dark past, and because of it, she has trouble trusting anyone.

She knows she’s in as much danger inside the land as she was when she was outside the land, and she can’t shake off the feeling that something, or someone is watching her, waiting to attack her, despite the guards watching her every move.

When she meets one of the tutors, she feels things towards him and wants both his blood and his body, but it’s forbidden to feel the way they do and Layla must fight her feelings otherwise the secrets she desperately wants to remain a secret will get out, and put her in more danger than she already is.

Who is/are the main characters?  And why did you choose them?

Layla and Shade are my main characters.

The story is based entirely around Layla. She’s a beautiful, fearless and deadly dhampir living in a world full of vampires. She has a past that haunts her, and secrets just waiting to be exposed. Though out the stories you learn more about Layla and everything she doesn’t want anyone to know.

Shade is an impossibly handsome vampire that can make Layla shiver with pleasure with just a look. Layla is the fearless and deadly dhampir, and the fact that he can make her feel things she never knew she desired, I thought this would make an interesting relationship because he’s a vampire, and she can drain him dry without a second thought.

What is the coolest or best part about your book?  (Any Favorite scenes, the world-building etc..

I like my entire story, but the best part about my book, to me, is how I’ve written Layla’s life, past and present. When you read about how she lived in the past, and then read the present, you get a better understanding of why she does things the way she does, why she speaks and acts the way she does.

Do you have a favorite character in the book?  If so, why?

My favourite character I’ve created would obviously be Layla, because she is my main character. She’s my favourite because she's strong, incredibly fast, beautiful and deadly. But she isn’t perfect. She’s far from it actually and she knows it. She doesn’t make out she is either. She’s just herself and would rather take a bullet to save those around her than let someone take the shot for her.

Is this book part of a series?  If so? What can we expect in future books?  

Yes, the Cursed in Darkness Series. There are going to be seven books in this series and you can expect more action—of both kinds—secrets to be told and unexpected twists!

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

I would only change one thing, and that’s probably adding more to the story.

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

Yes, not being embarrassed when writing a sex scene. My partner always has the habit of ‘knowing’ when I was writing one, and I used to get so embarrassed. I think it was because Eternal Darkness was the first book I had written with detailed sex in it.  I let him read what I had written, and just eventually just got used to it.

Do you have a publisher?  And if so, why did you choose them? 

eXtasy books. When I first found them, their website caught my attention instantly. I liked the fact that they had their releases on their home page. I also didn’t need an agent or previous published books to be accepted. So I sent my work to them and just kept my fingers crossed.

By then, I had around seven or eight emails from other publishers telling me the exact same thing, “your work is not right for us at this time.” I didn’t exactly have high hopes of being accepted by eX, so when Tina emailed me, I was shocked really. She didn’t tell me what others had. She said she saw the potential I had as a writer, and if I made the changes (first person present to first person past) then she would look at my work again.

I got straight to work, and when I emailed her, she told me she was swamped with manuscripts and new releases, but told me to send her my work anyway. Within two hours, I had a contract and joined the family. 

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

I didn’t exactly have a mentor when I was writing my first three books, but the first writer that pops to mind is Robin Badillo. She is amazing. She’s made me feel so welcome since joining eXtasy books. She’s made me laugh and cry with laughter. I know she’s the one person I can go to if I have a question, and I know she’s the one person I can count on to be the first to comment on any posts I’ve made. No matter what they’re about. And I’m never disappointed! She’s always calms me down when I’m stressed and gives me her opinion on what I should do with some things and has always been there for me. She’s an inspiration and she’s definitely made my welcome feel more… Well… Welcome.

What books are you reading now?

I’m reading whatever I’m writing at the minute. I have so many ideas, I just have to write them all down and end up writing a book!  

What are the current writing projects that you are working on?

I’m writing the sixth book in the Cursed in Darkness Series some days, and other days, I’m writing a new vampire book called Untouched.

Do you write full time?  If not, do you hope to do so one day?

Yes, I write full time. Writing is my life and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Except reading maybe.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter books. I was obsessed with them, literally to the point where I was reading them over and over again. She’s such a talented writer, that I wanted to write my own books. It’s hard work! Luckily my imagination kicked in once I had calmed down (not so much) with the Harry Potter books and I wrote my first witch story within a month and nearly an entire series within a year. I do hope to have my witch series published one day. They were my first books and I would hate to see them go to waste.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

My writer’s block. When I get it, I can have all the idea’s in my head, but when it comes to writing them down, I can’t. It’s like I don’t know how. It’s so frustrating! Sometimes I would have to wait a week without writing because I can open my work and have the idea’s come to me, as though they were waiting the entire time for me to write them down.

Do you have any advice for other writers seeking to get published for the first time?

Don’t give up. If you believe your work is good enough, and have worked your butt off writing it, keep searching for the right publisher to publish your work. If they ask you to make changes, most definitely accept them because most of the time when publishers ask you to make changes, they see potential in your work.

Natalie, Thank You So Much For Stopping By!

You Can Buy Her Book Here!

Here is my website link: http://www.cursedindarkness.com
Buy links:  http://www.extasybooks.com/Eternal-Darkness/
                    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0076U1UT2/

                    http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0076U1UT2/

Shadowphoenix Requiem by J. S. Wayne-- A Quick Taste!

Welcome J. S. Wayne!

What is the name of your novel?


Shadowphoenix: Requiem


What first attracted you to writing vampire fiction?


I’ve always been fascinated by the versatility of vampire fiction, and the seemingly endless ways in which the genre has been imagined and reimagined.


Who is/are your main character(s) and is he/she a vampire?


Markus Latimore is a vampire in a very *snicker* different vein than most. His human wife, Robyn, is the great passion of his life and the person around whom his entire existence revolves. And as a magician, he also has some very nasty powers which he can call upon.  


How would you describe your vampire character?  Is he/she a lover or fighter?  Is the beast within held at bay?  Or does he/she go with her passions?


Honestly, Mark is both. He loves fully, gives of himself completely, and doesn’t hold back. But when someone arouses his rage, he is a deadly, calculating, remorseless predator who is utterly ruthless in achieving his goals. 


What are your thoughts on some of the traditional weaknesses of vampires?  Sunlight, crosses, wooden stakes etc.  Did you incorporate any of that into your fiction?  If not what were some of the weaknesses that your character must avoid?


Excuse me while I snicker into my sleeve.
Vampirism in Mark Latimore’s world is very different from the Stoker formula; it is a genetic condition which can be passed on to others under very rare circumstances. (Most of the time, the person undergoing the change dies because their bodies simply cannot tolerate the immense number of changes which the vampire virus wreaks on their system. 


Only ¼ of 1% of all people subjected to the vampire virus survive the change, which makes the vampire genotype self-limiting.) Vampires have to be extremely careful when having sex with humans; condoms are essential because of the dangerously high risk of passing on the virus. Only one blood type, B+, is resistant to the effects of the vampire virus. Vampires’ systems are also surprisingly delicate. If a vampire is allergic to seafood or peanuts, for example, exposure that would land a human in the hospital will kill them. But garlic will only hurt a vampire if they started out allergic to it, and vampires don’t exist solely or even mostly on blood. 


The only reason they have to ingest blood at all is because their bodies do not produce hemoglobin (the oxygen-bearing component in whole blood) naturally.
Sunlight affects each vampire differently. These effects range from none whatsoever to a lingering and painful death, depending on the vampire. Vampires cannot turn themselves into different things, grow wings, or vanish. They do, however, have the requisite supernatural speed and strength.


Crosses and other symbols of faith affect vampires much the same way they do humans; but they’re all but useless for stopping one. If a marauding vampire is after you, it doesn’t matter how many trinkets of faith you’re carrying; they might as well be so much tissue paper for all the good they’ll do to stop the vampire.


As far as fire, beheading, and wooden stakes? Well, do any or all of those to a human and see what happens. The same thing happens to a vampire? Say it ain’t so!!


A well-placed bullet will kill a vampire just the same as a human. So will a knife, a properly employed baseball bat, or any number of other implements of destruction; it may take a little more effort to really make it stick, though.


Go crazy and tell us about your book!  Include an excerpt if you like!


Blurb


Markus Latimore is not your usual vampire. Living in San Antonio with his human wife, he had perfected the masquerade he had been trained to live since birth. As a practicing occultist, he dedicated his days and nights to helping others and loving his wife. One favor for a friend changed all that. 


Within hours, his wife had been attacked, and his carefully orchestrated world began to crumble around him. Now, he must navigate a murky labyrinth of deception, duplicity, and death. Innocent lives hang in the balance, and he quickly learns that the stakes he's playing for couldn't be higher. To survive, he will have to do the unthinkable. 


For the first time in his life, he will have to fully embrace his nature. If he fails, there will be hell to pay. If he succeeds, the shadow world in which he moves will demand his death. 


Either way, he'll have to give the devil his due...


Excerpt Explanation: 


This is close to the end of the book, and Robyn’s well out of the picture. The devil worshipers have chosen a new target, Michelle Delacroix, and Mark has agreed to let her stay at his place for safety. The two have recently come to grips with their mutual attraction, but the eve of an impending war is no time for thoughts of romance. Or to reveal to your lover that you have a few . . . unusual attributes.


Chapter Thirty-One


Michelle was settled in the living room, happily watching Titanic; I could hear a wailing
pipe from the soundtrack, and shook my head to try to block out the distraction. I was studying aerial maps and copied blueprints of the factory, courtesy of Josh. He’d come through, in a big
way. Neatly clipped to the pictures was a tactical assessment concerning best points of entry,
known sentry posts, rotations of guards as best they could determine, and the armaments of
same.


It was pretty dismaying. I had to find a way to get in, when they had every entrance onto
the grounds and into the factory proper guarded by private, armed security that I had to bypass, find where the {devil worshipers} were assembling—too bad there were only half a dozen spaces that could fit that many people, I thought sourly—make pickup on Amanda McEvoy, and get back out again without getting us both killed.


It would only be the two of us against an army of them, and since Amanda would most
likely be in shock and/or drugged, that made it my individual ass against, best case, one hundred fifty of them. I only prayed that the DWs themselves wouldn’t be armed, or I was in heap deep shit.


I’d studied the surveillance on the factory. The security guards staggered their patrols to
be completely random. They might not pass one area for fifteen minutes, but then they could go through it three times in as many minutes. So best case scenario, I had fifteen minutes to get in
and out. Worst case, about the time I found the DWs, I’d have security nipping at my heels.
Either way, the odds were definitely not in my favor.


I had been staring at the factory data for so long I’d begun to slip into a trance state.
There was something obvious that I was overlooking here, and I was damned if I could think
what it was. I closed my eyes and considered what the report had to say about the security of the factory.


They had every entrance guarded about equally; so that meant two stationary men and
two rovers at each door who’d have to be neutralized, either wounded and incommunicado or dead. Then I had to get over the fence, which was crowned with razor wire and I was pretty sure would be rigged with motion detectors if I was lucky. If I was unlucky, they’d also have heat and pressure sensors on the fence, which would make it much worse, never mind that I didn’t think
they had the resources or the technical know-how to set it up. Of course, one of the benefits of being a vampire was that I didn’t have to actually touch the fence; it was only twelve feet high.


With a good enough running start, I could clear the fence and come down ten yards inside the perimeter off one jump. The only problem was that if I miscalculated my leap, the razor wire coiled across the top of the fence would cut me in half, from balls to eyebrows. That sounded
sufficiently unpleasant that I decided I’d see if I could find a better way.


Going in through the main entrance was too risky; that was where the latecomers would
be, and I would be too evident. If anyone challenged me, and I failed to say the right thing at the right time, Amanda McEvoy would never be seen again. At least, not alive.


I was driving myself slowly batshit, and I knew it. Somewhere along the line, I had
decided to shoulder the full weight of the blame for anything that happened as a result of the
DWs’ actions. Although common sense said to knock it off, I just kept right on, and now the
consequence was that when I needed to be sharp and paying attention, I was distracted by
thoughts of what would happen if I failed, rather than refusing to even consider the possibility of failure. It didn’t help matters that I was giving myself an acid stomach, which was gurgling and grumbling at my ill-treatment of it.


I slumped over the desk, feeling completely overwhelmed. This wasn’t like a week
where four people needed four different rituals for four different reasons and needed them all ASAP. If I couldn’t do it immediately, generally no harm would be done by waiting. This was as life-and-death serious as it got, and the immediacy of it was only too apparent.


I don’t know how long I sat there with my head sitting in the basket of my hands, willing
my brain to settle down so I could get a better view of what was what. But what brought me out of it was a pair of warm hands pressing into my shoulders. I didn’t open my eyes, but asked, “Is the movie over?”


“No, I had to switch tapes,” she said. “You look beat.”


“I feel it. There were six of them, with hockey sticks,” I groaned.


She began to rub at the junction of my neck and shoulders. “You’re all knots,” she
observed as she pushed in with her thumbs. “How long since you had a neck rub?”


“Not…”


“Since Robyn,” we chorused. “I knew that was coming,” she continued. “Well, relax,
because you’re not getting out of that chair until I’m done with you.”


“You’re the boss,” I muttered. I had to admit, it did feel good. Maybe when I woke up
tomorrow, my neck wouldn’t be so damned stiff.


“You like that?” she asked as she dug her fingers into a particularly stiff spot and got it to
unwind.


“Mmm,” I said. “I‘ll give you the rest of your life to stop that.”


She chuckled. “When I get done, you should take a hot bath.”


“Think I will,” I said drowsily. She was lulling me to sleep with her expert ministrations,
which had now gone beyond my shoulders and down my back, finding spots that I wasn’t even aware were tense until she encouraged them to relax. The feeling was absolute bliss, and I hung on the cusp of sleep for I didn’t know how long, until I heard the whisper of cloth hitting the
floor and noticed dimly that her hands were no longer working magic on my abused muscles.


“Mark?”


I opened my eyes to see Michelle standing in front of my desk, naked as the day she was
born. Her hands were positioned modestly over the essentials, her face was flushed, and she
looked breathtakingly, heartbreakingly beautiful.


“I want you, Mark. If you have to do this tomorrow night, I want you now. I want you to
make love to me tonight. I want one night with you as my lover.”


I rubbed my eyes. “Michelle, the other night was wonderful,” I said honestly. “But like I
told you, there are things you don’t know about me.”


“It doesn’t matter,” she said breathily. “I want you. I want all of you. Everything that you
are, good or bad.”


“You don’t know what you’re asking,” I said, dry-mouthed.


“Oh, but I do,” she said, coming around the desk and taking my wrists. Then she leaned
down and laid another one of those ten-on-the-Richter-scale, someone-in-Peking-is-saying-“What-the-hell-is-that?” kisses on me. Kisses like that shouldn’t be legal, I thought. The
FDA should make them illegal, because they’re more addictive than heroin and harder to give up than nicotine. And being a smoker, I was in a position to know about that.


Common sense went right out the window at that point, along with the urgent need I had
to figure out ingress and egress at the factory. Other concerns had just taken top billing.


She undressed me hungrily, biting at my flesh like she was planning to tenderize me and
then devour me slowly. When I was as naked as she was, she crawled atop me and guided me into her warm softness, bypassing the preliminaries and going right for the prize, coaxing my tongue into her mouth and sucking it avidly.


“Mmph,” I grunted. Then, more urgently, “Mmph-er!”


“What’s the matter?” she gasped, bucking against me as though she was determined to
break through the floor.


“I’m not wearing a condom!” I protested.


“It doesn’t matter,” she cooed. “Just enjoy it.”


“Michelle, goddammit, you have GOT to listen to me!” I bellowed at full vampire volume.


She stopped, clapping her hands over her ears in evident pain, and looked at me as if I’d
hit her. She climbed off my lap and drew on her robe. “Fine,” she said frostily, “I’ll try to listen, considering the ringing in my ears.”


“Michelle, God help me, I didn’t want to stop you, but I didn’t have a choice,” I said
miserably, pulling on my jeans. “Let me explain why I stopped you, and then you can make your decision, okay?”


She nodded. “Okay,” she said unconvincingly.


“Here’s the deal,” I sighed. I had dreaded this moment my whole life, and now that it was
here, I felt like I’d just swallowed molten lead. Lighting a cigarette, I tried to figure out how best to approach the subject. Finally, I blurted it out.


“Michelle, I’m a vampire.”


She stared at me like I’d told her I was the bastard child of a squid and a duck-billed
platypus. “A vampire,” she repeated dully.


“Yes. A vampire.”


“And I’m supposed to believe this?” she asked incredulously, scrambling to her feet, her
lithe body tense. “You’ve thrown up every barrier that you could think of, they didn’t work, so now you decide to try an out-and-out lie?” she demanded.

“I’m not lying,” I said defeatedly. “I’ll prove it to you.”


“How?” she asked.


Before she could do more than blink, I had gone from sitting at the desk with my
cigarette to right behind her.


“Nice trick,” she said, her voice quivering just a little, “but I’ve seen David Copperfield
do the same thing.”


“Fine,” I said. “Hit me.”


“What?” she squeaked in disbelief.


“Hit me. Hard as you can, much as you want,” I said.


Lips trembling, she followed my instructions. Her first slap wasn’t much more than a pat,
and I told her so.


“I just denied you what you wanted so badly and that’s the best you can do?” I mocked.


“Try again.”


The next one was a vicious whip across my face, followed by a brutal backhand. The next
time she kicked me right in the groin, driving the wind out of me and my mouth open. My fangs began to extend, and I made no effort to stop them, making certain that Michelle could see them.


Her hand flew to her mouth, and she looked ill.


“Okay…” she whispered. “Do you…use those?” she asked.


I seized her by the hand, in the grip of that unique rage known only to vampires, and all
but dragged her downstairs and into the back room, where I kept my python and the rats. 


Picking up one of the rats, I deftly snapped its neck and drained it right in front of her.
Michelle’s flush of anger abruptly drained to the pallor of a ghost. She gasped as I
finished my drinking and disposed of the tiny corpse. Then I marched into the bathroom and
brushed my teeth with furious vigor while Michelle vomited into the toilet bowl.


“You really are a vampire, aren’t you?” she asked weakly when she had voided the
contents of her stomach.


I turned and looked at her, mouth open, my fangs still extended, and retracted them as she
watched. “Yes, I really am a vampire,” I told her.


“Oh my God,” she said weakly.


“It gets worse,” I told her matter-of-factly. “Let’s go upstairs.”


She was still very pale when we got into the living room, and I poured her a generous
jigger of brandy. She slugged it back and spent the next minute and a half gasping and heaving.


When she finally settled down, I went into the office and grabbed the file on vampirism that I had kept for just such an occasion, hoping I‘d never actually need it. I handed it to her without
comment and waited patiently for her to read it.


“Now do you understand?” I asked, when she looked up, her eyes brimming with tears
and comprehension. “I can’t take that kind of chance with you. An hour’s worth of pleasure
could kill you a lot faster and a lot more painfully than AIDS. That’s why we have to use a
condom if we’re going to do it at all.”


“Did Robyn know about this?” she asked, slamming the file closed.


“No,” I said heavily. “I thought I could keep it from her. What I didn’t think about was
the fact that our child would probably be a vampire too, and I would have to explain how that came to be.”


“But it didn’t make her into a vampire, right? I mean, you two were holding hands for a
long time before that ever came up.”


“No, it didn’t. What’s your blood type?” I asked.


“A negative, I think,” she replied. “Why?”


“Because people with B positive, like Robyn, seem to be much more resistant to the
retrovirus that I carry in my body fluids.”


“Can you get it from a kiss?” she asked, looking green again.


“No,” I said. “You couldn’t get it from saliva unless I deposited a lot of it in a major,
open blood vessel. But vampirism has to be treated like any other STD, Michelle. I didn’t know this either, until recently. Most vampires only breed with other vampires, so it’s not an issue. I’m pure-born, and didn’t know until recently that there was any other way.”


“You can go out during the day,” she said accusingly. “I thought vampires couldn’t do
that.”


“I’m a porphyriac,” I told her. “I can go out during the day as long as I put on sun block
with an SPF of 36 or better. I usually use SPF 50 just to be on the safe side. I also have to wear sunglasses, because I’m more accustomed to darkness than light.”


“What about garlic?” she asked.


“Love it,” I said. “I’m not allergic to it. But seafood, or any kind of fish, for that matter,
could kill me.”


“Crosses?”


“Myth. Christian hysteria about something they couldn’t understand,” I said dismissively.


“Running water?” she asked, looking a little desperate.


“Makes for a pretty stinky vampire if I can’t bathe,” I told her. “And as you’ve seen, I do
cast a reflection in a mirror.”


“What else can you do?” she asked.


I stood up, walked over to her, and picked her up over my head, while she shrilled her
head off. When I put her down, she was breathing hard from the exertion of making that much fuss, but I hadn’t put that much into it: I could lift about five of her, seven or eight if I strained, and that assumed that I wasn’t angry or scared at the time.


“I can move faster than the average human, I can smell more than you do, and I can see
almost as clearly in the darkest night as you can on an average sunlit day,” I told her. “Also, right now…” and here I did my Flash impersonation, leaning up against the doorframe in the kitchen, so I had the entire width of the room between us, “I can hear your heartbeat from here.”


“Oh, my God,” she wailed, and crumpled to the floor. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my
God,” she muttered over and over, hugging her knees and rocking.


“Michelle!” I barked. When she looked up, I said, “Snap out of it.”


I knelt beside her and put my index finger under her chin. “Look at me, okay?”


She focused on me, eyes wide with fear. It hurt, but I knew it was coming.


“I’m still me,” I assured her. “The man you know hasn’t changed any, he just…he just
has another level that you didn’t know about.”


She stared at me for a minute, then blinked rapidly and stood up. “Well, that explains that
comment you made about not belonging here,” she said briskly.


I looked her up and down, feeling lost and hopelessly alone. “I’ll understand,” I said
tonelessly, “if you’ve changed your mind about wanting me tonight.”


She met my eyes for a moment, and then turned away.


“I’ll have to think about it,” she said numbly. “Go do your thing. I need to be alone for a
while,” she said, before turning and walking into her room. I watched her go with a horrible
sinking feeling of loss, and damned myself to a hell I didn’t even believe in for having ethics that were better developed than my overwrought hormones.


You can purchase Shadowphoenix: Requiem at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/70675 , 


and check me out on the Web at http://www.jswayne.wordpress.com, 


http://www.wix.com/jswaynesite/herebemonsters, 


on Facebook (Author.JSWayne) 


and on Twitter (@jswayne702)!










Thank you so much for having me here today!


Thanks for Dropping by!  - Clare

Robin Badillo is My Very Special Guest! She Talks About Her Killer Book "The Blood Hunter Trilogy: The Return"

What is the name of your novel?

My newest release is book #3 in my Blood Hunter trilogy, The Return

What first attracted you to writing vampire fiction?

Actually, my first attraction to writing about vampires came from a character I liked, whom we’ll just refer to as “Eddy”.

He had such potential and his story intrigued me. However, after finishing the series, I was left feeling a bit empty, so I said what I’m sure many people have said after reading a book, ‘I can do that, too.” Yeah, right.

Turns out, I could. Though, I’ll never go so far as to say I do it better than anyone else. I’m too much of a cynic to be so arrogant. I do give it all I have, though.

Who is/are your main character(s) and is he/she a vampire?

In this edition of the trilogy, I have merged the first two book’s storylines and characters into one grand finale. Thereby giving, The Return, two heroes, Thorne Abbott and Jason Craft. Naturally, neither of these two guys would be complete without their two leading ladies, Raven Prince and Jazmine Fabré.

How would you describe your vampire character? Is he/she a lover or fighter? Is the beast within held at bay? Or does he/she go with her passions?

Jason had always been a bit of a playboy, and in his early days, relished the thrill of the seduction and hunt. Although unmatched in the skills of a hunter of his own kind, when it came to feeding, he was a lover not a fighter. That was, until Jazmine Fabré came along, enticing his lust for a new passion, and stifling his need for beautiful, human snacks.

Raven Prince, quite the seductress herself, also enjoyed a good hard hunt and her seductive abilities usually lead her straight into trouble. Enter, Thorne Abbott, the human who broke her down and changed her eating habits forever…not to mention fulfilling every other need she had. He was one heck of a human.

What are your thoughts on some of the traditional weaknesses of vampires? Sunlight, crosses, wooden stakes etc. Did you incorporate any of that into your fiction? If not what were some of the weaknesses that your character must avoid?

With science fiction and paranormal stories pushing the envelope in recent years, imagination is a writer’s best friend. These days, sticking strictly to old stereotypes limits boundaries and prevents the unveiling of so many new traits just waiting to be discovered.

I, personally, mix it up.

Though all of my book’s vampires have some aversions to sunlight, the degrees vary. In the “Blood Hunter” trilogy, sunlight can ruin a perfectly good day’s sleep, so you won’t find them at the beach on a sunny afternoon. At least, not by choice.

Wooden stakes hurt like hell, but to kill vamps in my stories, you better take his head with you before you go.

Food isn’t necessary, but wine and hard liquor are always on the menu. Of, course nothing beats blood, whether synthetic, human, wild animal or other vampires, it’s all lip smacking good.

Go crazy and tell us about your book! Include an excerpt if you like!

First of all, I want to say how much fun it was bringing together two books for a great conclusion. Tying up loose ends and healing old wounds isn’t easy, but when you’re dealing with such loveable characters in the first place, it made it much easier.

Here’s what you can expect inside the pages of, The Return…

Raven Prince, a vampire, and Thorne Abbott, her human lover, have endured secrets, lies and even murder. The only task remaining is for Thorne to become a vampire as well. Eternity never looked so good.

Haunted by the shame of deserting his first true love, Jason Craft, became a hunter of his own kind. Brought together on a mission of revenge, he found sanctuary in the arms of Jazmine Fabré and together they uncovered a startling truth.

Jason, now an enemy of the Vampire Lord for whom he’d been employed, sets out to save the coven he’s been commissioned to eradicate, which leads straight to the woman he left behind thirty years before, Raven Prince.

Will fate lead them to where they were meant to be? Or will evil forces destroy them all?

Sometimes the only way to get something right is to go back to where it all went wrong.

Excerpt:

Thorne and Raven

Her stomach fluttered, hearing the sound of his car engine rev as he pulled up the long drive to their family’s estate. He was home.

Raven dabbed a bit of tuberose scented perfume on her neck, then dipped down between her breasts and made a quick swipe across her wrists, hitting all the pulse points as though she were still human. Some habits were hard to break.

She glanced down and smiled as the sheer fabric skimmed across her breast, prompting her nipples to ball into tight, sensitive buds. Thorne’s warm tongue lapping at her hardened peaks would have them softened and wet in no time.

“Raven,” Thorne called out as he neared their bedroom door.

Raven bit back a giggle, dove onto the bed and stretched across it on her side, making sure she bent one knee ever so slightly to force her rounded hip to rise up from the indention of her narrow waist. The negligée clung tightly to her shapely form and the split up the side revealed enough flesh to get a rise out of him the instant he walked through the door. What little skin the slit didn’t show off, the sheer fabric would surely expose.

“Raven? Why aren’t you downstairs?” Thorne froze, wide eyed, as he rounded the corner of the entryway leading into the bedroom of their private suite.

Raven ran her tongue over her lips and eyed him up and down. “Would you prefer I be down there with the entire family, or up here waiting for you?”

His heart pounded so loud she heard it from across the room. “Well that depends,” he said as he inched toward her.

“On?”

“On whether or not you want me to take that off of you.”

Raven rose up on her elbow and glided her fingers up her thigh. “Oh, this better come off.” She giggled.

He came to her and stood next to the bed. “What’s gotten into you?” The left side of his lip curled as his hooded gaze took her in.

“You, if you hurry.”

Jason and Jazmine

Jason stared at her as she returned her attention to the road. How had a guy like him managed to find the only two women on the planet who could get through to his tough, loner ways and dig their nails in so deep he couldn’t stand the thought of being away from them, not once, but twice in his life?

He had, in fact, let Raven go, but Jazmine? That was a different story. He wouldn’t make the mistake again of bowing down to anyone, not even his creator, Mena, and certainly not her ruthless sire, Bruin Duerr. Jazmine, he would die for.

He scanned her body, taking note of the way her thigh high leather boots hugged her legs and how soft ivory flesh peeked out from under the hem of her short, black skirt. She rarely wore skirts, but when she did, every ounce of her sensual femininity seeped from her every pore. “If you don’t get to the hotel in the next five minutes, I just may have to force you to pull over.”

Jazmine’s attention snapped back to him. “Why? What’s wrong?” Her brow pinched with worry.

“I need to see you in those boots and nothing else, Kitten.” He offered a cocky grin as his jeans tightened from his uncontrollable desires.

Jazmine arched her left brow, the corner of her mouth tugged tight and a devious grin followed suite. Tires skidded across gravel as she slammed on the brakes, pulling over to the side of the road.

“You’ll have to catch me first.”

Before Jason could unfasten his seatbelt, the driver’s side door slammed shut. She was gone.

“I love it when she plays dirty,” he growled as he exited the SUV and bounded toward the forest just beyond the road’s shoulder.

Playful laughter echoed through the night, bouncing from one redwood tree to another as he hurried through the woods in search of Jazmine.

“You’re getting warmer,” she sang out from the dark.

Jason slowed his pace. “When I find you, and trust me, I will find you, you’re gonna be in real trouble, Kitten.”

“What’s the matter? Is the big, bad vampire hunter feeling frustrated?” She continued to tease.

Jason’s chest rumbled with a hungry growl as he skulked through the underbrush, her sensual scent, burning in his nostrils. The delicate skin around his eyes tightened and his fangs slipped down into a predatory position. If it was a vampire hunter she wanted, that was exactly what she would get.

Links:

Website: http://robinbadillo.com/

Blog, Sealed with a Kiss: http://robinbadillo.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robin.badillo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Robin_Badillo

Publisher- eXtasy Books: http://www.extasybooks.com/

The Return Buy Link: http://www.extasybooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=3270

Amazon Buy link: http://tinyurl.com/4xc2hmc