Indie-kissing Blogfest & Vampire Bite Blog Hop

For Valentine's Day, I was torn between two great blog hops. So, I decided to do both. 

 The first is the Indie-kissing blogfest hosted by the Indelibles.   The excerpt I chose is from my newest WIP, The Wish. This scene is all about the kiss, so I will not bother you with any backstory. Hope you enjoy.

           In Nate’s eyes, Amanda sees her future. He is like a pair of blue jeans in a world full of suits, a comfortableness that she hasn’t felt before. It has been years since she has been ignited with passion.

            The night wind dances in her hair. The moon glistens off the pavement. Her mind runs through every reason why she shouldn’t be with him, but his chocolate eyes are melting her resolve. His luscious, pink lips look like a perfect landing pad if she would allow herself to fall.

             He eases towards her, as if he heard her thoughts.

             She slides her bottom lip between her teeth, biting down, making sure that her mouth is awake. Her body is tingling, a deep burn.

             “I shouldn’t,” he exhales with a trail of breath that tickles her cheek.

             “We really shouldn’t,” she whispers back.

             He pauses.

             She leans in closer.

             He closes his eyes, and then the gap between them.

             His lips are as soft as she’d imagined. The kiss starts gentle, slow, as if he is afraid he will break her. Her face is a porcelain egg that he cradles between his hands. He pulls back, looks into her eyes, and then leans into her once more. The kiss catches fire. 

The next blog hop is very different. So, maybe you should get a drink of water and cleanse your palet before continuing to read. Precious Monsters is hosting a Vampire Bite blog hop. Given that my first novel, Iron Thirst, is all about vampires -- it was a given that I would participate. The excerpt is actually the prologue. Adam Bristow sets the scene...

***

The night has just begun when I spot Gabriel locking his sights on his first victim. His trance-inducing stare caught her the moment she stepped into the bar. If he has his way, the curvaceous blonde will be in his bed in under an hour, and shortly after her blood will be staining his lips. 

Thursday night at DragonCon is when most of the guests check into their hotels and start the weekend with a drink in hand. For me, the first night of Con is when I begin my patrol while the out-of-towners descend upon our city. I’m not worried about the geeks, the costumed fans, or the party animals. My concern is very specific--those who are removing their disguises. Vampires get this weekend to be themselves, but there are rules, and this bloodsucker is dangerously close to breaking the first one--aggravating me.

His fangs are protruding, turned on by the blue-eyed soon-to-be donor. She doesn’t blink as she gravitates towards him. What irks me is that she’s an unwilling snack. There will be plenty of those, but I ain’t going to stand by and watch. She may be walking to him on her own two feet, but the brain in her head belongs to him.

What a lovely time to buy my dear old pal a drink.

“Hello, Gabriel.” I step between them, breaking their eye contact and the hold he has over her. The bastard snarls at me. “Run along, love,” I tell the blonde over my shoulder. 

She blinks a few times, lets out a heavy sigh, then scurries along to look for her friends. 

When I glance back, Gabriel has painted a smile on his face. “Bristow, if you continue to chase off my dinner then I will be forced to believe you are volunteering.” He leans in close. “Although, you’re not my taste. Your blood is much too bitter.”

No one likes a clever vampire. I pull the unlit pipe from my lips, and raise an eyebrow at him. “You’re not threatening me now, are ya?”

His smile vanishes. “I was not harming anyone, nor am I breaking any of your precious rules.” 

“That’s debatable, and I’m not really up to the debate. So, just behave yourself and you’ll live, well--exist, to see your two hundredth birthday.”

“Ahh, you flatter me, but I am not nearly that old.” His eyes flicker to a spot over my shoulder.

“Why, I recall my two hundredth birthday. So long ago,” I hear from behind me. The smooth Egyptian voice climbs up my spine like a spider. “I was a proud fighter alongside Sultan Al-Kamil the night we sustained Cairo. Those Christian boys looked just as surprised then as you do now.”

My fingers instinctively dance towards the butt of the gun holstered under my jacket, but Zamir’s hand is on my wrist before I can blink. “And Adam, what are you? A whole thirty-five? And heart still beating? Such a shame. We could help with that risky little problem.”

I jerk my hand free from his grasp. “I’ll keep my ticker tocking, thank you.”

I’m a rather smart bloke. I wouldn’t still be alive if I wasn’t. So allowing a thousand-year-old vamp to sneak up on me is just piss poor form. I turn to see the dark-skinned vampire, fangs extended, staring back at me. I haven’t seen Zamir in nearly ten years, and if I’m being honest, I ain’t thrilled at seeing him now. I take a step back so they are both in my sight. A vampire in periphery is an open invitation to empty veins.

“What brings you to Atlanta?” I ask Zamir, rubbing my palm over the prickly stubble that is my hair.  

“You a Stargate fan, or is Buffy more your style?”

 “Ah, my dearest Bristow, you do not seem happy to see me. No matter. Many of my progeny look expectantly upon this weekend, and I find myself wondering what all the chatter is about. Thought I would come and see for myself.”

Rubbish, I’m sure. “I’m on my early rounds making sure everyone keeps it copasetic. We want all the humans’ hearts beating and the secret safe. We got rules in this area. So, keep it peaceful.”

As I turn to walk away, Zamir says, “Adam, we are aware of your so-called rules, but I have my own laws that govern my actions and the actions of my people that take precedence over the lawyer’s little treaty. Maybe you should run along and check the more recent additions to our world.”

I hate the way his words crawl over my skin. I glance at Gabriel’s smug face, grinning as if he’s getting away with something. I didn’t work so hard on my reputation to allow a measly hundred-fifty-year-old vamp to get the better of me. I’d love nothing more than to knock him arse over elbow, but starting a fight on the first night over something as silly as pride would not be my best bet. Not without back up. Currently, the rest of my team is patrolling the other three hotels.

If the humans knew what was swarming DragonCon, they might have just stayed home behind locked doors. Not that a flimsy door would keep the monsters out.

For more excerpts from Iron Thirst, please click here. 

Randomly Delicious & Blogfest: First Pages

Tomorrow is the last day for the The Keep It Going Contest. Post a comment tallying your entries. Add to the story if you have time. There are multiple ways to win. Don't miss out. Act now. Supplies are limited. Wait,what were we talking about? Oh, yea - sorry, I was momentarily possessed by an infomercial. I'm better now.

BLOGFEST!! Yay!!  Kelly over at Kelly's Compositions has come up with a wonderful idea for a blogfest. As she says, in most blogfests we post excerpts from the middle of our novels. This is a great opportunity to start in the beginning.

This is perfect timing, because I've been thinking about beginnings. This week I started a new WIP, a YA paranormal. And as I tweeted last night (FOLLOW ME), I've had to remind myself not to stress about the beginning in the beginning, because I write a better beginning in the end. That's the only nugget of wisdom that I can share today. Beginning a new WIP, always leaves me feeling quite humbled and terrified. It's like a first date. Is this the one? Do I want to spend all my free time with these characters, this plotline? Is there a better one out there for me? Is this the best for me now? But the answer is quite simply, you'll never know unless you try. Tell the voice of doubt to shut the hell up, and write your heart out.

Back to blogfest. I'm pulling this from my finished WIP, Iron Thirst. The novel has two beginnings: prologue and chapter 1. This excerpt is from chapter 1 where we meet Felicity Johnson. Hope you enjoy.

***

-->

Who knew two tiny fangs could be so hard to find? I bought the pair nearly five months ago, and I specifically remember thinking to put them somewhere that I could find them. My room is a complete and utter disaster. I have been through every drawer, emptying the contents onto my bed in search for the last thing needed to complete my costume. I can’t be a vampire without fangs.

            I plop down on the bed, and close my eyes. Where did I put them?

            “Bathroom, second drawer, along with the red contacts,” I say aloud to the ceiling.

             I leap from the bed. Christian will be here any minute, and I want him to see the complete look. I slide open the drawer, and there they sit. I can’t believe I forgot the contacts too. They set me back nearly a hundred bucks.

            I insert the teeth, and begin trying to attach the colored plastic to my eyeballs. I should’ve waited on the eye makeup. I run back to my closet to grab shoes.

Zipping up the knee-high leather boots, I stop by the mirror for one last look. The struggle was well worth it. My eyes glow a bright crimson with black around the edges, as if the fire inside has burnt the curved periphery. I bounce my palm off the spikes of my black pixie wig. The menacing grin is complete with two sharp fangs over my scarlet red lips that look poised to wreak havoc amongst the unsuspecting city of Atlanta.

            Well, the town won’t be that unsuspecting, considering the rest of the people at DragonCon will also be dressed in costumes ranging from Star Trek to Night of the Living Dead.

As I darken the shadows under my eyes to give myself the true undead look, the doorbell rings. I slide down the banister to get to the door--safer than taking the stairs in these boots.

I fling the door open, and there he stands. We both let out a scream and begin cackling at each other. Christian is a yicky-ucky zombie, complete with a tattered, stained, once-white shirt, suspenders, and pants that look as if they had been buried. His normally perfect hair is dirty and a total mess. His skin is painted a weird grayish green, and his mouth is bloodstained. No one would recognize this scary critter as my clean-cut best buddy.

 “Felicity Johnson, you look a-freakin-mazing. I would have never thought that you, of all people, could pull this off.”

I should be offended, but he is quite right. Everyday “me” is not sexy, not scary, and definitely not a vampire.

*Oh, Want You Be My Beta*

Look at all those new bright shiny faces. It’s so good to see all of you. There’s one more day for the CONTEST. And don’t forget to come back by on Monday for the results show. Kris Allen will be singing. Oh wait, that’s not here; that’s Idol. It’ll just be me, but I’ve got presents.

***

 

**This is the faux cover I created, instead of working on revisions**

I am nearing the end of my revisions and will be placing the manuscript in hibernation for a month. While I am not touching it, I wanted to see if anyone would be interested in reading it.

Ideally, I would like two people that have not read previous copies to please read it. Critiques can be as detailed as you want or just broad reviews, and I promise not to cry if you tell me, “Wow, this was complete crap. Were you high when you wrote it?” And in case you were wondering,  No – I was not. My first (original) chapter has been critiqued by about ten people, the second by about six, but the rest by only one other person, but she read it twice. (Love ya Beej!) Adding the new chapters changed the story, and I need some fresh eyes on it.

I prefer someone that enjoys urban fantasy. I’d give it a rating of somewhere in between PG-13 and R, maybe if there was a PG-16, but it is definitely an adult read due to violence, language, and sexual content. But not horror. Readers of Charlainne Harris, Laurel K. Hamilton, and Jeri Smith Ready would probably appreciate it most.

If you’d be interested in reading or have questions, shoot me an email (click on the envelope to the right) or respond in the comments. In return, I’d be more than happy to return the favor. I am a fan of just about anything except for literary fiction (mostly because I don't think I would be able to offer a helpful critique), and prefer not to read stories that end where everybody you made me love dies. One of them, two of them, but not every-freakin-body. (Stupid, beautiful, Atonement!)

Tasty Vamp Blood

When I began this novel, I knew that there would be research. I just never realized how involved it could get. I’ve done crime scene investigation, area research, MIA protocol, wild game in particular area, house and land hunting, flight information. Mmm… Oh yeah, how much blood loss a person could sustain, what does chloroform smell like, how does it feel, how to do a make shift blood transfusion. Bet your wondering what in the world I write about huh? She must be twisted. MWA-HA-HA!!

I have taken future readers intelligence into consideration. I’m not saying that I was right 100% of the time, but I made a very conscious effort to be realistic. I like a little reality in my fantasy, so that’s how I wrote the book.

If by now you are not aware, there a few vampires in my story. They are a key part of the novel even though they remain in the shadow for a large portion of the book. It’s the knowledge of their existence that adds fear into Felicity’s life (among other things). But unlike some novels, their existence is to be kept secret.

But it was a simple question that led me to the most involved research. I had no idea that I would become a freaking chemist. Because all of the details will not be revealed in the book, I thought it would be cool to talk about it here.

GEEK ALERT! (You have been warned)

Towards the end of the novel, I had to answer the question of what vampire blood would taste like. I knew that I wanted it to be different from human blood. As it should be, or why would vamps not feed on other vamps. So first, I had to look at human blood. Its metallic scent comes from the large quantity of Iron in our hemoglobin. Let’s pause for a second…Now, do you get the title? Iron Obsession – vampires, blood, iron? Anyway.

So, I wanted to look at what metal or element would work well with Iron. Something that would transform it, possibly make it stronger. It took a while, but zinc came to mind. Zinc is an illustrious metal that is a very pale blue, almost white. Ahh, that works. Keep the vamps pale. It is already found in plants and animals. In fact, animals that are zinc deficient require 50% more sustenance than those that have adequate amounts. So that works with a very strict diet. Plating thin layers of zinc onto iron is known as galvanizing and helps protect iron from corrosion. My logic is blood is drained, and then the victim drinks the vamp blood. It makes the remaining iron in the victim’s blood stronger and protects it. Also drinking blood makes them stronger. Zinc plays a key role in sexual maturation. Vampires are sexy devils so they should be full of zinc and really sexually mature. Translation = HOT!

So, I decided to use zinc as the key element in vampire blood. I like the idea of having traces of mercury to help explain the decreased body temperature. Its poisonous nature was also key. Then, I started to look at what would be in their blood to cause the weakness in sunlight. I started playing with silver oxide and then thought of increasing the amount of collagen. Collagen works because it is what keeps your skin looking all young and sexy. Again = HOT!

After I had nearly had the composition makeup of vampire plasma, I remembered that my original question was- what does it taste like? Back to zinc. Smelled it, tasted it, and researched it more on the internet and came up with that it is very sour.

Then I needed to know what ingesting high quantities of vamp blood would do. You know like if one wanted to bring a human over. Well based on my made up version of vamp blood, I needed to know what a zinc overdose would feel like. And more research is born. The answer to that IS in the book.

And so on and so on. Any of you guys actual chemists? If so, I’d be interested in hearing any ideas and thoughts. I tried to read a peer reviewed paper on the reaction between mercury and zinc. It could have been in Swahili and made more sense.

Now, I am off to find a tiny body of water in the middle of nowhere. The answer to that… will also be in the book. J

You're writing a what, about a who?

Well, let me start at the beginning...

On December 31, 2008, I sat up in the bed and looked at my doting husband and said, "Wouldn't it be cool if someone wrote a story about DragonCon? You know, playing on the idea that some of the fantasy exists there was actually real?" And instead of saying - "Woman, you're nuts!” he said, "That is a pretty cool idea."

I continued getting dressed and let the idea dance around a little more inside my head. By the time I arrived at the office, I had pretty much laid out the outline for the first chapter minus character names. When I arrived home that afternoon, I read him chapter one. And so the journey began.

While working full time, going to school full time, and still being a pretty decent mother (who am I kidding, I rock!), I wrote the bulk of the novel in about 4 months. The idea became much more than a book about DragonCon and more a love story that was plagued with obstacles while maintaining a humorous tone. My logic - laugh or the world will kill you. And in this story, oh does it try.

I had heard of this horrible thing called, shudder, writer's block, and I knew it was coming. I feared it for the beast it was and was terrified that it would come and rob me of my story. The story that I desperately wanted to share with others. At the end of the four months, the ideas began to slow and then trickle, and then be tiny little thoughts rather than what was once mind-blasting, must get to keyboard, pull the car over or I will write with my teeth balancing the notebook on the steering wheel, breakthroughs. It had arrived. Or so I thought.

Let me back up. I write mosaic style. Although I started at the beginning, I didn't write chronologically. I start with an outline, and I then write what I feel. Put the scenes on the page as they come to me. I think I finished the ending before I wrote chapter 4. When the ideas stopped coming, what I thought was that horrible creature that I dreaded was actually a mostly complete story.

A month later I decided to start at the beginning, begin my first read through, and connect the scenes. When I finished three chapters, I then inflicted them on three people who so lovingly volunteered to read and critique what I had wrote. This has kept me on track by holding me accountable. This brings me to where I am now....

I can see the end of the book on the horizon. It is within my grasp. I have seven more chapters to clean up and send out. Step 2: Actually correct my horrible grammar and punctuation. Once that is complete, then it is time to dive into the deep end of the agent pool hoping to find my mythical creature to swim along side of me as we deliver Iron Obsession to the world.

But first, finish the next seven chapters! Hope you join me on this journey.