Teaseday – A Promise of Passion – vampire romance short story

Posted on 1st November 2011 by Felicity Heaton

This week my Teaseday is brought to you by A Promise of Passion, a short vampire romance story that is on sale as an ebook for just $0.99. A bargain at under a dollar and available on Amazon Kindle, Apple iPad and iPhone through the iBookstore, and Barnes and Noble Nook.

Here’s the blurb and this week’s tease…

Felicity Heaton
A dark, sensual and action packed story of two hearts, united in their passion and desire, but divided by their blood, A Promise of Passion is guaranteed to get your heart racing.

Alicia is a vampire hunter, unable to find a man strong enough to love and accept her for who she is. When Kassian, a tall and seductively handsome vampire walks into her life and vows to protect her, she doesn’t know what to think or feel. His eyes make promises that his searing touch backs up, but she can’t get past the fact that he’s a vampire and the fact that he thinks she’s someone else.

Kassian is certain from the moment he sets eyes on Alicia that she’s the reincarnation of his lost love and sire, and he’ll stop at nothing to convince her and make her his again. A taste of her blood makes him realise his mistake but doesn’t change his feelings or his resolve to have her.

Their mutual attraction is impossible to resist but a moment of passion places Alicia in the path of danger when Seth, the vampire responsible for murdering Kassian’s sire, sets his sights on her. When Alicia is dragged into a game of human sport, how far will Kassian go to protect his love? Can he save her or will history repeat itself?

ebook price: $0.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 15091 words
rating: sultry
released: October 2008

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=A%20Promise%20of%20Passion
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036FU1BE/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0036FU1BE/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Promise-of-Passion/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000802694/
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-apromiseofpassion-601074-139.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/felicity-heaton/a-promise-of-passion/_/R-400000000000000242325
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/A-Promise-Of-Passion/mix-8tfJoF2dME-QoRlvaLzVag/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/8014
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0036FU1BE/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0036FU1BE/

EXCERPT

Kassian surveyed the busy room with a lazy smile. The dance floor was crowded, full of hot bodies grinding against each other to the loud beat of the music. A switch in his focus and the tempting sweet melody of one hundred pounding hearts replaced that beat. His eyes moved to single one out amongst them, his hunger rising by the second, driven by the swirling fragrance of blood in the air and the rush of it through their veins.

So many beautiful women here, but for some reason none of them appealed tonight. Usually he could come here and find one to lure away within seconds. Something was different. The delicate features of the vampire hunter, Alicia, rose to the front of his mind. A taste of her sweet cherry lips had sent desire surging through him in a way he hadn’t felt in centuries. The smell of her blood, the beat of her heart and the fragrance of her skin had only heightened their effect. It seemed that no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t erase the sensations she’d stirred.

He stretched his arms out along the back of the curved red velvet covered couch and leaned back. When the bar tender looked his way, he raised a hand. The man nodded. It was a matter of seconds before another drink was in front of him, the empty glass whisked away. The vampire who ran the club knew him and knew he’d conduct his business quietly, unlike some of the younger vampires that frequented it. Discretion was something a lot of the new generation lacked. Their frivolous behaviour had made the humans notice his species. Right now it was only a small percentage of the population and they had taken up arms against his kind. If the youth continued to flout the rules, it was only a matter of time before more learned of vampires and then they’d have a war to contend with.

A tall blond man leaned against the wide entrance to the curtained booth, his smile broad and charming.

“Ashton,” Kassian said, saluting him by raising his glass. “It has been a while since I saw your face. There are many gathered tonight that have been away.”

“It is for Seth’s party tomorrow,” Ashton said and slid his slim frame into the seat opposite Kassian.

Kassian raised a brow. “A party, tomorrow?”

“You hadn’t heard?” There was a laugh to Ashton’s voice. It had been a long time since Kassian and Seth had been on good terms. “I am sure he meant to inform you. You are, after all, the second eldest resident vampire in this city. Second only to him.”

There was malice in those words. He hadn’t been second to Seth at everything. Alice had been his, even though Seth had wanted her for himself.

“I hear he even has a guest planned… some human sport. It sounds delightful.”

Kassian’s frown deepened. Human sport. He’d seen firsthand what those words meant. Some unfortunate girl was about to live a nightmare, chased by vampires in a sick and twisted game. By the end of the night, she’d be dead, drained by multiple vampires, drugged to comply.

“I will expect to see you there,” Ashton said with another charming smile and slid out of the seat, easing his way across the room. Kassian watched him until he disappeared from view.

He hated the idea of attending Seth’s party, but to be here tonight and then not attend would only increase the tension between himself and the elder vampire. He had to go, whether he liked it or not. He would keep to himself. Perhaps he’d stay long enough to show his face and then leave to find Alicia.

Alicia. She had been beautiful tonight, the moonlight playing gently on her delicate features. It had made her chocolate brown eyes darker and set them sparkling like black diamonds. He ran a hand over his shoulder length dark hair, smoothing it back into the neat ponytail, and imagined the feel of her hair beneath his fingers. Always so soft. Everything about her was soft and warm, enticing him to touch and taste.

Shunning thoughts of Alicia and forcing her to the back of his mind, he focused on the matter at hand. Feeding. It had been weeks since his last feed. Since the night he’d met Alicia, in fact. He frowned at the way she’d crept back into his thoughts and pushed her out again.

His gaze moved around the room, slow and steady, assessing everyone. It stopped when it fell on a woman at the bar. Short cropped chestnut hair, slim figure with all the right curves, and an empty cocktail glass in front of her.

Alicia.

Either he had driven her to drink or she was a figment of his overwrought imagination.

It had been wrong of him to control her tonight. He’d overstepped the mark. It was a mind control of sorts, an ability to slip into your target’s head and take over. Many vampires never spent the required time perfecting it and barged their way in, damaging the delicate human mind beyond repair. Done properly, it was a handy defence against humans and vampires alike.

Regardless of how desperate he’d been for her to listen to him, he still shouldn’t have used it on her.

It had betrayed what little trust she had in him.

Curiosity got the better of him and he reached across the room to her mind as he sipped his martini. It was easy to slip in unnoticed this time. The resonance of his mind was still within hers. Each time a vampire controlled another’s mind, they left behind a trace of their own, a gateway back in that would disappear over a matter of hours. It made things easier if you were forced out and had to re-enter. Breaking into someone’s mind took a lot of effort. He made no attempt to control her this time and left again, as quietly as he’d entered.

A man tapped her shoulder and motioned to the empty barstool beside her. Kassian leaned forwards and lowered his glass to the table. Alicia nodded and smiled politely. No, more than polite. It was verging on congenial. She’d never smiled at him like that. How could she smile at this new vampire that way? His own smile rose to his lips. She hadn’t realised that the man wasn’t a man at all. She leaned back on her stool, revealing a row of empty glasses. Too many. With that much alcohol inside her, she wouldn’t notice the man was a vampire until it was too late.

He’d risen to his feet before he’d even thought about what he was doing and was crossing the room. The vampire laughed at something she’d said and hailed the bartender. Kassian growled. There was no way he was going to sit by and let some other man buy her drinks.

The crowd parted before him and he slid through without touching anyone, intent on his destination. Alicia. Now that he was closer, he could smell her delicate fragrance of lilies. It caressed his senses, sending warmth through him and bringing back the taste of the stolen kiss.

Her shoulders tensed when he was within a few feet, betraying the fact she’d sensed his approach. His hand came to rest lightly on her bare shoulder. She turned slowly and looked up at him with wide eyes.

“There you are, Alicia, I have been searching for you everywhere,” he said with a broad smile and then looked at the man. His smile widened until he exposed the tips of his half-extended canines. “It was kind of you to keep my Alicia company. Come along now.”
One hand was against her back before she could regain her senses and protest. His other took hold of hers, forcing her to turn and slip from the stool, barely giving her time to grab her jacket from the bar. The man regarded him coolly. Their eyes remained locked for a moment, a silent challenge and battle passing between them. The man looked away. Kassian’s smile broadened. Alicia was his and his alone. He’d never let another man touch her.

He led her across the room and into his booth, drawing the curtain with one hand while he guided her into the seat with his other.

The small oil lamp on the middle of the table struggled to light the booth. The black curtains stole the light. It only remained on Alicia, warming her skin and adding to her beauty. He slid into the couch opposite her, staying close to the exit in case she tried to escape him. The curtain opened a moment, long enough for one of the waitresses to deposit Alicia’s drink, and then closed.

He held her gaze across the table. Her blood reeked of alcohol. What had she been thinking? Coming here was dangerous enough, but drinking was just suicide. Surely she knew that vampires used this place as a hunting ground?

Her eyes held a silent accusation. It told him that she was angry with him for his abuse of her trust earlier this evening and she wasn’t impressed with what he’d just done. At least on that front he could defend himself.

“He would have killed you,” he said and leaned back into his side of the couch. He pressed the tip of his index and middle finger against the base of his glass, one either side of the stem, and drew it across the table to him. He raised it and then frowned at her. “Is that what you want?”

She blinked slowly and looked at him as though she didn’t understand a word he’d said. Either that or she didn’t care.

He shot forwards, his hand grabbing hers and holding it tight enough that her face screwed up in pain. It was a rough tactic, but one almost guaranteed to make her come to her senses. Nothing cleared the human mind like panic.

“Is that what you want!” There was a growl to his words that made her flinch. When she opened her eyes again, they were brighter and there was fear in them at last. He lowered his voice so as not to startle her. “I cannot let that happen, even if it is what you want.”

She snatched her hand back. “It’s not what I want.”

Her hand went to her head, fingers raking shakily through her hair, clawing it from her face. She rubbed her eyes and face. Had she only just realised the danger she’d placed herself in?

“You’ve had too much to drink,” he said and stood, extending his hand to her. “Come along.”

She stared at it and then up into his eyes.

When she showed no sign of taking his hand, he took hers and hauled her onto her feet.

“Get off me,” she muttered and shoved against his chest. He caught her other hand. She struggled. “What do you want?”

“I am going to take you home,” he whispered and pulled her close. Before he could restrain her hands, she’d twisted free of his grasp and pushed him backwards. His backside hit the edge of the seat.

“You’ll do no such thing. I’m not twelve. I don’t need a babysitter.” She scooted around the table, placing it between them.

A sigh escaped him. She was difficult enough when sober. Now she was bordering on impossible.

“Would you rather I’d left you out there with that vampire?”

The penny dropped.

Her mouth formed a pretty O at the same time as her eyebrows rose.

There was a soft thud and she was sitting on the couch, her hands planted firmly into it beside her knees. Her eyes never left his. Taking her silence as a sign that she wasn’t going to fight him, he sat down again and waited. She grabbed her drink. He took it from her.

“I don’t think you need any more of that,” he whispered.

She swallowed hard.

“Vampire?” she said in a quiet, strained voice.

“It takes one to know one, clearly.” He leaned back into the couch again and stretched his legs out, resting his feet on the opposite side of the horseshoe shape and barricading the exit. Her head hit the table and she groaned.

So she’d made a fool of herself. He’d been here to see her safe. There was no harm done and no need for being overly dramatic. She’d learn her lesson and he’d step up his watch over her. Ensuring her safety was paramount. He wouldn’t lose her again.

Her head turned to the side so her cheek was pressed against the dirty sticky black table top. Dark chocolate eyes looked up at him. She looked positively miserable.

Without thinking, he reached across the table to her and pushed her hair behind her ear so he could see her face better. She surprised him by closing her eyes when his fingertips accidentally brushed her cheek. A sigh broke free of her lips, drawing his attention there. Brave fingers danced lower, trembling with anticipation and the feeling of her soft skin and her warmth, until his thumb swept along her lower lip. His insides lightened but became heavy at the same time, his mind dizzy with the feel of her and the growing tightness coiling inside him. He opened his hand and covered her cheek with his palm, his fingers resting along the line of her jaw. His thumb continued to caress her sweet lips. They parted slightly, enough for him to feel her hot breath against his skin.

His heart whispered that any moment now she’d come to her senses and realise what he was doing, and then she’d be fighting him again.

“I died… I mean… she died in your arms,” she whispered against his thumb.

His hand left her and curled into a fist against the onslaught of the memory her words had released. A frown knit his dark eyebrows and his eyes narrowed on her.

Her eyes opened, full of questions and fear when they met his. “She did, didn’t she?”

His mouth felt horribly dry. The glass was at his lips and drained before she could blink. He closed his eyes against the images of her, her whispered pleas and dying words. So much blood. There hadn’t been a damn thing he could do to save her. He’d failed.

“Didn’t she?” Her voice was probing, unrelenting. She wanted an answer.

He managed a nod. It was more like a hanging of his head but he knew she’d read it as the answer because she sat up.

“Does that mean I’m really her?” Her voice trembled now, fear lacing it.

When he opened his eyes and met hers, she looked as frightened as she’d sounded.

“No,” he whispered, too afraid of stirring his memories and in too much pain to raise his voice any louder. “It is purely resonance of my memories from my earlier attempt to make you listen to me.”

“Oh.” Her gaze fell to the table. Delicate fingers traced patterns on the dark top. “So I’m not her?”

There was hope in her voice. It cut him deeper than any stake could. She didn’t want to be Alice.

Her hand reached for her drink again. He pulled it towards him. “I meant what I said.”

He couldn’t let her continue drinking. He had to protect her, just as he’d promised.

He’d protect her from anything and with his life if it came to that.

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=A%20Promise%20of%20Passion
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036FU1BE/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0036FU1BE/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Promise-of-Passion/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000802694/
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-apromiseofpassion-601074-139.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/felicity-heaton/a-promise-of-passion/_/R-400000000000000242325
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/A-Promise-Of-Passion/mix-8tfJoF2dME-QoRlvaLzVag/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/8014
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0036FU1BE/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0036FU1BE/

Posted in paranormal romance, Teaseday, vampire romance | Comments Off on Teaseday – A Promise of Passion – vampire romance short story

Interview with a vampire – Venturi

Posted on 31st October 2011 by Felicity Heaton

It’s time to welcome the slightly-dark lord of the Tenebrae vampires in my Vampires Realm series, Venturi, into my interview room.

Venturi first appeared in Prophecy: Child of Light, which is book one in the Prophecy Trilogy, and was one of the lead vampires in book two and three of the trilogy. He has also made appearances in other Vampires Realm stories, such as Seventh Circle and Spellbound, together with Prophecy and Valentine. More recently, he showed up in Masquerade, which is due out in January 2012.

I caught up with Venturi in my rather lovely interview room… picture dark red walls, wooden floor, crackling log fire with an ornate marble surround, and two very comfy black velvet armchairs and that’s my interview room. The best place to lure my paranormal people into.

If you want to get a feel for Venturi, then you can read more about him at the Vampires Realm website: http://www.vampiresrealm.com/vampire_venturi.php

(Venturi stalks into the room, a sour look on his face. As he enters the sphere of light emanating from the fireplace beside me, I notice the cuts and bruises on his handsome face. He slumps into the black velvet armchair opposite me and frowns in my direction.)

FH: It’s good to see you again, Venturi. I can see that things have been just as busy as Prophecy and Valentine said they have been for you. Did you pick up those wounds defending the gate?

Venturi: The gate is a pain in my backside. (he scowls) I am tired of having the wretched thing in my home. Each night and day we are fighting to contain the creatures trying to come through the breach. It is draining. I rarely get a chance to leave the castle. They need me there. Whenever I am lucky enough to be able to get away, it is never long before I am called back. (his look brightens) You mentioned Prophecy. She is here then?

FH: (smiles at him) Yes, I’ve already interviewed her. You must miss her when you’re stuck in Romania?

Venturi: I do, deeply, but my role there is an important one, not only for vampirekind. It is your people I am protecting with my life too.

FH: I could remind you that you were once one of us.

Venturi: (laughs) Many long centuries ago. I have forgotten my life as a human with good reason. When I was human, the world was a dark place even if you were lucky enough to be rich. There were so many diseases and plagues. Even the slightest scratch could end your life. Modern humans do not know how lucky they are.

FH: Not quite as fortunate as vampires. You enjoy invulnerability that we could never even dream of achieving. I can’t think of a disease that can infect you.

Venturi: Only Nox Noctis. (his look darkens and he combs the tangled threads of his overlong dirty blond hair from his face) That is a plague that we could live without. It is possible for us to contract that devastating sickness and there is little chance of coming back from it if it seizes hold of us.

(Nox Noctis is a terrible disease that can turn vampires and werewolves into mindless demons who are not only a danger to others but also to themselves. They’re just as likely to shed their own blood because of the madness that grasps them)

FH: Perhaps we should move onto a brighter subject. You were able to attend the recent centenary masquerade at the Venia mansion. That must have been nice considering that you’ve been stuck at your castle in Romania. Were you able to see Prophecy there?


Venturi: Yes, we met there. I came straight from a battle and she was kind enough to tend to my wounds for me. I do not think Valentine appreciated my presence. Prophecy had not seen me in many long months and she slipped up, forgetting her place. Valentine made his anger known and I cannot blame him. If Prophecy were mine and she danced with Valentine without my permission, I would have reacted the same way. We deserved to be punished for our actions. I am only glad that he did not take things further than merely reprimanding us before the gathered bloodlines.

FH: It must be very difficult for you to hold back when you’re around her these days because you’ve been intimate with each other in the past, but I understand why you don’t want to push Valentine too far.

Venturi: It is better to allow him to set the boundaries and seek his permission and have what little I can of Prophecy than to cross the line and have Valentine take away his approval. As her mate, Valentine is perfectly entitled to revoke the rights he has granted to me and Prophecy. I do not want that to happen. I do not want my touch to cause her pain or to suffer seeing her and knowing I can never kiss her or be near to her again.

FH: You make me want to come over there and give you a big old hug when you look so solemn and as though your heart would break if that ever happened.

Venturi: (smiles to reveal sharp fangs) I would not say no to a little comfort.

FH: (holds my hands up and shakes my head) Not that sort of comfort. We’ve been through this before. I’m not on the menu. (searches for a way of changing the subject) Prophecy and Valentine mentioned that they might come to help you with the gate problem. The three of you working together again. That should be fun, right?

Venturi: I am certain it will be interesting. I would not call it fun though. The gate is very dangerous and both Valentine and I do not want Prophecy anywhere near it, but she has been having visions about it and it is impossible to keep her away from something like this when she has set her mind on it.

FH: I’m sure that between you and Valentine you can keep Prophecy safe. You managed it at the centenary masquerade.

Venturi: I would give my life to keep her safe. (he glances towards the door)

FH: I can see that now you know that Prophecy is around you want to get away from me and see her. I’ll finish up on a few fun questions. What’s your favourite colour?

Venturi: Black.

FH: And your favourite smell?

Venturi: The woods near my castle in autumn when the leaves are falling and the first frosts come.

FH: Your favourite possession?

Venturi: I cannot think of anything I truly possess as mine alone. Actually, I have a sword that Prophecy gave to me. I sometimes think it is enchanted.

FH: It wouldn’t surprise me. Favourite thing to do?

Venturi: After we have subdued the gate and locked it down so the castle is secure, I like to return to my room and telephone Prophecy. Hearing her voice is comforting in the aftermath of a battle. It takes away the pain.

FH: And finally, what’s your favourite time of year?

Venturi: Autumn. The air is full of new smells and the nights draw in, and there’s often frosts that make the castle grounds sparkle like diamonds. It is a beautiful time of year.

FH: Thank you for coming to talk with me today. I’ll let you get on now. Prophecy is just through that door.

(He grins, rises from the seat and is gone in a flash. With a sigh, I look at my notes.)

FH: Who’s next?

If you would like to learn more about Venturi and his story with Valentine and Prophecy, then the first book in the Prophecy Trilogy is available in ebook for just $0.99!

F E Heaton
A vampire unlike any other, Prophecy lives life in the dark until the night she encounters Valentine, a gorgeous vampire who is both her enemy and the man who will change her life forever.

Convinced that the prophecy about her is wrong and unable to ignore the vision of them that he saw in her blood, Valentine goes against his orders to execute Prophecy and kidnaps her instead. The attraction between them grows as they search for the truth behind the prophecy, battle a dark evil that threatens to destroy the world, and attempt to evade their families and the Law Keepers.

When the truth about her is revealed, will Prophecy be strong enough to face it? Will they discover a way to save the world from Hell? And will they finally see past the hatred bred into them by their families and surrender to their love?

The first novel in the Vampires Realm series, Prophecy: Child of Light, is part one in an epic tale of love and war that is sure to capture your heart and leave you craving more.

ebook price: $0.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 135000 words
rating: sultry
released: March 2007
Book 1 in the Vampires Realm series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Prophecy:%20Child%20of%20Light%20[book%201]
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035LDNV4/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035LDNV4/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Prophecy/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000801048/
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-prophecychildoflight-601470-139.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/prophecy/_/R-400000000000000248920
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Prophecy-Child-Of-Light/mix-rDOnD6cECkGermYtAHD9Dw/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7757
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0035LDNV4/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0035LDNV4/

Posted in character interviews | Comments Off on Interview with a vampire – Venturi

Author and Character Q&A Session

Posted on 31st October 2011 by Felicity Heaton

Well, my ask a question giveaway was a success and I received some awesome questions for myself and my characters to answer tonight! I’ve gathered all the required heroes and heroines into my interview room so it’s a little cramped now, but everyone seems to be getting along. There are a lot of questions for my heroes so I’m surrounded by a lot of very handsome men right now. Life is hard. 😀

I’ll start off by answer the questions posed to me as a writer as that means I can keep my heroes hanging around me for longer, and then move on to the questions you’ve asked my characters.

Questions Posed to Felicity Heaton

Alainala and Katrina W asked me: how many books do you have planned in the angel series?

FH: I get asked this question a lot. The only answer I can give at the moment is that there will definitely be one more novel, Her Demonic Angel, and that will come out in 2012. There is a potential hero for another novel, but I need to see how things pan out with Her Demonic Angel first. If I do write another novel after that one, it will probably come out in 2013.

Shae asked me: I know you have a couple of series, so do you write one book at a time or finish one before you start on another?

FH: I have a lot of series. I always write one book at a time but that doesn’t mean I’m not planning multiple books at the same time as I’m writing or editing that one book. I find that it’s not too difficult for me to retain my focus on writing or editing if I’m scribbling notes down for another book at the same time. I never write more than one book at a time though. That’s a recipe for disaster.

Miki asked me: I would like to know the time (general) between the publication of your ebook and the print book?

FH: At the moment, with my new releases, it’s very short. I just released Heart of Darkness on October 22nd and the paperback was available by October 29th, so that’s a very small window of time between the two. I try to keep them close together if I can. For my older books, I don’t have a schedule. It depends on whether I feel it’s worth putting the book into print or whether I’m happy enough with it to put it into print. Some of my books are almost five years old now and if I were to put them into print, I would probably want to polish them beforehand.

Madame D asked me: Are you ever going to write a gay couple to awe us with?

FH: I can honestly say that I don’t think I’ll ever write a M/M romance. There’s a chance of a minor character being gay but I’m not really into writing that genre and prefer to write straight M/F romances, with the occasional love triangle. I don’t have anything against the genre or those that write it, but it’s just not for me.

Madame D and Brandy B asked me: Where do you get your ideas for these amazing stories, and how do you find the time to write them all down?

FH: Ask the muse where they come from. Lol. They come from anywhere. A song, a passing moment out somewhere, a holiday, a movie, absolutely anywhere. I have a very easily inspired muse, which I am deeply thankful for. My mind is constantly on the lookout for new ideas. If inspiration strikes, I pretty much have to drop everything to write down the idea in my notebook or on my phone. I carry my notebook everywhere with me, even on holiday, and if I don’t have it on hand, my phone suffices. It’s a bit of a slower method but it still gets the idea locked away in the vault for musing later. If I’m actively working on planning a book, then I can spend hours writing down notes for it. I love to plan my books thoroughly.

Azahlia asked me: What made you start to write and what advice can you give to people who want to become authors?

FH: I first started out in fanfiction, where I read someone’s work and thought – I can do that. So I did. I learned as I wrote and improved over time to the point where a fellow author and my husband encouraged me to write something original, with my own characters. I was nervous about it but took the leap and I loved it. My advice to any aspiring author is to write several stories AND learn your craft through courses and books before taking the leap and putting anything out into the world. I was lucky enough to cut my teeth in fanfic where people were doing it for fun, not as a business, so it didn’t matter how dire my original few stories were. Out in the big wide world where people are paying, you’ve got to be sure what you’re putting out there is really good or you’re damaging your own career before you’ve got it off the ground. I think a lot of new authors rush into things and throw their first novel out there, and that’s just dangerous in my opinion. Every author in the business knows you never release your first few novels. You might think they’re great right now, but you’ll regret your decision five years down the line when you look back. Readers are quick to put you on your never-buy list. You want to be on their auto-buy list, not the never-buy one, and that means critique groups, honest opinions from friends on your book, and writing a few novels to really get the best out of the third or fourth, which is the one you release if it’s good enough.

Michelle, LuAnn and Tonya asked me: What made you decide to write paranormal romances?

FH: I was a great fan of the paranormal from a very young age. I have book reports from when I was six or seven where all the books I was reading were labelled as ‘boring’ unless they featured vampires, werewolves, monsters, witches and other creatures of the night. That love of the paranormal never left me and it’s probably stronger now than ever. If you handed me a contemporary romance I would probably call it boring. Hand me something with a vampire in it, or a shape-shifter, or demon, or a god and then you’ve got me hooked! Even better, give me a laptop and a couple of weeks away from the world and I’ll hand you a vampire, shape-shifter or demon god at the end of it. I really love the paranormal genre. I can’t think of anything else I would rather be doing than writing books for it.

Michelle asked me: Do you have a favorite type of paranormal character you like to write about more?

FH: I try my hand at various paranormal species but I always come back to my vampires. I play with their myth though so I produce interesting variants in each stand alone novel or series I write. I find that the vampire myth is so flexible and there’s such beautiful scope for darkness in it, and I love to write things dark. I’d like to write more about demon gods or humans with supernatural powers though.

Claire asked me: How do you decide on the names of your characters?

FH: With great deliberation and care. I have a list of names that I add to whenever I come across an interesting one. I hate using names that are common because I find they don’t suit my characters. A lot of the time, the names mean something too. With my vampires, I tend to go with names that are local to where the vampire was originally from as a human. It might not be their real name, but it’s one that suits them because it matches the accent, the looks, and everything else about them. I think it’s very important that a name really suits a character, and also a time period. If a vampire or demon or whatever creature is from 3000 years ago and you’ve called him something that the celebrities are naming their kids this year, then it’s not going to work, not unless you mention that he’s changed his name for some reason or his identity to stop people from realising he doesn’t age, etc. Because I write books mostly set in Europe, I get a whole variety of beautiful names at my disposal. It’s just a case of finding the right one.

Claire asked me: Are you ever tempted to go with one of the big publishing houses or do you like your independence?

FH: If Random House or another big publishing house came along and offered me a book deal, I wouldn’t turn them down if the price and deal was right for me. I am happy being an indie author and I love the statement it makes and everything it entails, but I won’t hide the fact that I would love to land a major book deal. Would it stop me from being an indie? No, not likely. I would still release books as an indie as well as a published author. I would take the best of both worlds.

Katy Grace asked me: which books and Authors are you a fan of and do you still have time to do some reading even though you are busy writing?

FH: In the paranormal genre, I absolutely adore Lara Adrian, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter, and also like Christine Feehan and J R Ward (I went off her series at Vs book), and also sometimes enjoy Lynsay Sands and other paranormal romance authors. I still have time to read but it’s normally when I’m on holiday. I don’t read when I’m writing or editing any of my own books as I find it influences my writing too much. Because I don’t get much time to read, I’m very selective about what I read and tend to stick with authors I know will provide the best read for my valuable time. That tends to be the first three I mentioned above as they write books much like I write, and those as the books I love to read.

VampireGoddess asked me: If you could be one of your characters for a day who would you choose?

FH: That’s a tricky one. I would love to be Prophecy from my Prophecy Trilogy for a day as Valentine is my number 1 hero, but then I wouldn’t say no to being Elise from Heart of Darkness as I also adore Aleksandr, or Lauren from Love Immortal because Julian is a total hottie, erm, I mean, he’s rather lovely.

Brandy B asked me: Do you have a genre you would like to try but haven’t yet?

FH: It’s not a genre I haven’t tried, but I would love to be able to write more fantasy romances. I don’t have time at the moment, but if I did, I would write more books in my Tri-Kingdom series, which is unavailable at the moment, but I was offering The Night which is part of it as a freebie during this event.

Sam Moden asked me: Will there be any more stories involving Prophecy?

FH: Well, Sam, you’ll be glad to hear that Prophecy, Valentine and Venturi all feature quite heavily in Masquerade, which is the next book in the Vampires Realm series and I’ll be releasing it in January 2012. I’m not sure yet whether there will be another novel with Prophecy as the heroine, and Valentine and Venturi as the heroes, but I would love the opportunity to write about them again in that capacity. It would be awesome.

Jessica asked me: Have you ever thought about writing a book that had other shifters apart from werewolves?

FH: I have written about shape-shifters in the past. The In Heat series features a black panther shape-shifter hero, as well as puma shifters and white tiger shifters.

Andie asked me: What are the best and worst parts of writing for you?

FH: I love to plan books and write the first draft as that’s the most exciting part for me. I don’t mind editing as I know good editing is essential and I put a lot of effort into that part of the writing experience. I think the worst part is when I’ve read something on paper and scribbled comments and changes on 400+ pages and then I have to type all those into my word document! I hate that part.

Andie, Beverly and Stephanie asked me: Are any of your characters based on people in your own life? If so, do you try to stay true to the personality traits of that person? Which one do you feel is the most like you?

FH: I think I draw bits from everyone I know and everyone I have ever read in a book or seen on TV/movies. Writers are like sponges. We’re constantly absorbing and when we then come to create something, we draw on everything we’ve sucked in whether we realise it or not. There is a lot of my husband in Valentine (not the killer part, but the more human side to him) and other heroes of mine. As for my heroines, I’m not sure who is the most like me. It’s probably Lauren from Love Immortal. I actually think there’s more of me in my heroes. Lol. Where do you think Lincoln got that fear of death from? I think I draw more on my own emotions than anyone else’s. I’ve always said that I’m a method writer. I feel everything that my characters do, even when it means I end up crying in cafes as I write! Experiencing the emotions my characters are, tapping into that, makes for a better read in my opinion.

Mae asked me: What’s your favourite ice cream flavour or sweet treat of choice?

FH: I absolutely love dorayaki made with a custard cream (for those of you who don’t know, that’s a sort of sandwich of two sweet pancakes with a filling squished between them)! I also love those sweet bean filled pressed dough shapes they do at certain times of year in Japan.

Kristina asked me: I want to know what is your favorite book or series?

FH: My favourite to read? My favourite series is Midnight Breed by Lara Adrian, but my favourite book is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte or perhaps North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.

Katrina W asked me: When are you coming to see us in the land of Australia?

FH: Kat, I would love to come back to Cairns! We might be doing something terrible next year and going to New Zealand for three weeks. Forgive me!

Txgrll asked me: Is Hyperion going to have his own book?

FH: Yes, he does have his own story to tell. I have a couple of books in the Vampires Realm series to write first (Ineru’s story and Eve’s story) and then I’m going to work on Hyperion’s.

Txgrll asked me: Out of all your characters/books, which one is your favorites?

FH: My favourite books are Love Immortal, Forbidden Blood, Prophecy Trilogy and Heart of Darkness at the moment. My favourite characters are Valentine from the Prophecy Trilogy / Vampires Realm series, Aleksandr from Heart of Darkness, and Julian from Love Immortal. I also adore Marcus and Veiron from the Her Angel series… and then there’s a character or seven in my future series Hades’ Boys. My favourite hero in that yet-to-be-written series is brother #3, who I will only refer to by his initial, E, but I absolutely love him and there’s a chance he’s going to knock Valentine off my top spot!

CrazyAmmoB asked me: If Hyperion and Zsadist would get into a fight, Who would win?

FH: I have to side with Hyperion. Not because he’s my own character but because he is over 3000 years old and can probably kill most vampires with a single blow. Zsadist would put up a good fight, but Hyperion is extremely powerful.

Barbara asked me: If you weren’t a writer what would you do?

FH: I would be a web developer, which is what I used to do before turning full time author this year.

Anne asked me: Why do you write with 2 Author names (Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton) Are there differences in the type of books that go with each author names?

FH: I write most of my stories as Felicity Heaton but write my Vampires Realm series as F E Heaton. I was also going to write my Tri-Kingdom series under that name too. The only real difference is the series thing. F E Heaton was the name I decided to use for my Vampires Realm series as I had wanted to keep them together and that name linked and recognisable as the author of the series and a darker type of romance. I was writing a lot of stand alone novels as Felicity Heaton, and non-paranormals too. I’ve done some author housekeeping since then and done away with my historical and contemporary romances, and focused myself on just my sci-fi and paranormal romances.

Laura H asked me: which of your books would be your first choice to have made into a movie? And which actor would you want to play the lead role?

FH: Love Immortal without a doubt. A lot of people who have read that book have come back saying that it could be a movie and that would be awesome. I’m not sure who would play the lead role. There was a discussion on my facebook recently about giving the part to Ian Somerhalder from The Vampire Diaries. It’s a possibility. I think there’s a chance that someone like Bradley Cooper would be great at playing Julian too. Although, if I had my way, I would find some amazing unknown actors to play the parts. I’d really want them to resemble the characters!

Jkrowyn asked me: What are your thoughts on audio-books? Do you listen to them? Ever want to hear yours available?

FH: It would be amazing to see my books as audio-books. It’s so costly to produce them though. I like to have my Kindle read my own books to me when I’m proofing them. Does that count as hearing them? 😉

AmourousVixen asked me: How long did you have your story lines before you started writing them? Did you have any say on book covers? Do the cover models look like what you had in mind for each character?

FH: The length of time my story ideas sit around before I write them varies greatly. I have ideas from around five years ago still waiting to be written. My Hades series which I’m hoping to start writing next year has been with me since 2008. It really does vary. Sometimes I have an idea and write it straight away, sometimes it goes in the vault until I have time or feel inspired by that particular story. I make my own book covers, so I have plenty of say about them and can often choose models that really represent my characters in my mind. It’s part of being an indie author that I love!

Questions Posed to my Heroes and Heroines

Ashley asked Hyperion from my Vampires Realm series: you have your crow it shows when you aren’t around so I am just wondering can you see what the crow sees even if you are at a far distance from each other?

Hyperion: Well, my little Ashley, my ravens are very dear to me. You are right to assume that I possess the power to see through their eyes. Distance does diminish the strength of the connection between myself and the raven, but I can send them as far as the werewolf bastion without losing contact. As I age, my power grows and so does the distance our connection can span.

Madame D asked Winter from Winter’s Kiss: what was it about Nika that drew you to her, and how do you occupy yourself when not with her? When are you coming to visit me?

Winter: (smiles) Nika is beautiful and pure, and brave. Whenever she would pass me, she would single me out and even face me at times. It took courage to stand before a Watchman with a steady heart and question them. I could not answer her, but I admired her bravery and wished I could speak with her and reveal myself and what I was. It was not possible though. Now, because of my own foolishness, I have lost her to the werewolves. It is difficult to be apart from her. My duty occupies me most nights, but there are times when the longing to see her is too strong to ignore and it consumes me. At times like those, I hold the cross she has entrusted me with and look to the distance, to where my little wolf is waiting for me. As for when I can visit you, I am afraid you will have to ask my lord for permission. Perhaps you could visit us? Lord Hyperion does enjoy company.

Madame D asked Lilith from Seventh Circle: how have you been coping as a vampire, and do you feel strong enough to take over the Bloodline yet?

Lilith: I’m not going to lie and say it’s been a breeze. Lincoln has made the transition as easy as possible for me. He’s so attentive and considerate. I’ve taken over the bloodline now but most of the time I’m just repeating what Lincoln has said to me when addressing anyone within the bloodline. I’m getting there though. It’s easier now that Eve is back with us. She and Lincoln give me the strength I need to be who the bloodline expects me to be.

Madame D asked Valentine from the Prophecy Trilogy: tell us the truth – how do you really feel about sharing Prophecy with Venturi?

Valentine: (growls) As long as he remains within the boundaries I have set out, I have no reason to take his head. If he were to dare break the rules, I would make sure that he suffered the consequences and did not survive to make the same mistake.

Madame D asked Alicia from A Promise of Passion: when is the wedding, and are we all invited?

Alicia: Wedding? Well, it’s a little difficult. Technically Kassian can’t marry me but I guess we could have a sort of ceremony. I’d really like that and I think I would definitely invite the world when it happened. In fact, I’m off to ask him about it right now. It’s a great idea!

Madame D asked Tatyana from Hunter’s Moon: how has life been with your gorgeous werewolf?

Tatyana: Exhausting (smiles) I am only joking. Living with Nicolae on the mountain is wonderful but I do still think about my bloodline and the Law Keepers. There is always a chance of them finding us or hearing about us. I have been trying to fit in more with the werewolf pack. Nicolae tells me not to try so hard to get along with them but I know they are important to him, so I try regardless. They can be difficult at times. I think I have more success with the local timber wolves. The humans are also difficult to socialise with. Not because I am often tempted to bite one. It seems there are human females who had an eye on Nicolae and they hold some sort of grudge against me now because he is mine. Life with Nicolae is definitely interesting. Between the timber wolves, the werewolves and the humans, there is never a dull moment on the mountain.

Katy Grace asked Andrej from Heart of Darkness: Would you have ever made a move on Elise if Aleksandr has not arrived?

Andrej: I would like to believe I would have. It was my own sense of foolish pride holding me back, masked by the belief that Elise would only desire a male from her own bloodline. I love Elise, but what Aleksandr said to me is right. If I felt true love for her, the sort that lasts forever, I would not have held back. I would have told her. I love her but it was only once Aleksandr entered our lives and threatened to take her away from me that I felt a desire to fight for her. I do not think what I feel for her is true love. Perhaps one day I will find someone I want to fight for.

Mae asked the Her Angel boys, Julian from Love Immortal, Taig from Ascension and Kearn from Forbidden Blood: What’s your favourite ice cream flavour or sweet treat of choice?

Marcus: I shall start. Having experienced many flavours of ice cream, I would have to go with mint choc chip.

Apollyon: (claps a hand down on Marcus’s shoulder) Wrong as usual. It has to be chocolate of some variety.

Lukas: (shakes head) Vanilla.

Marcus: Rookie, that is just…

Einar: Boring? I think that’s the word you’re looking for there. I think strawberry shortcake. Taylor loves that flavour.

Lukas: There is nothing wrong with vanilla. Good vanilla ice cream–

Veiron: No one wants to hear about your boring flavour. Ice cream… well… it doesn’t exactly travel well to Hell. I have experienced chocolate though, so I’ll second the gloomy dark angel’s vote. What about you lot?

Kearn: Lot? Is that any way to speak to your superiors?

Veiron: (scoffs) I don’t see anyone superior to me around here.

Kearn: I do not have to listen to this. Angels should remain in the demon dimension where they belong. I have a blood only diet. Amber has the sweetest blood I have ever tasted.

Veiron: That’s disgusting.

Taig: (slaps his hand down on Veiron’s red hair and ruffles it) Let the adults talk for a while, kiddo, and quit shooting your mouth off before it gets you killed. I like any flavour of ice cream where I’m licking it off Lealandra. (grins)

Julian: I am beginning to wonder whether the definition of adult has changed in my lifetime. I am with the silver-haired vampire. I exist on a blood only diet and there is no blood sweeter than that of my love.

Casorb asked Veiron from the Her Angel series: Who do you imagine your ideal woman to be?

Veiron: Curvy, ample and sexy as sin (winks). I used to think Taylor was my ideal woman but things have changed recently. There’s a certain woman in my life now who is my whole world and she’s the opposite of what I used to think was my type. She’s petite, sweet, warm and hasn’t got an evil bone in her body.

Did you all enjoy this post? It was great receiving so many questions and a lot of fun answering them for you all!

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Interview with a vampire – Lincoln

Posted on 31st October 2011 by Felicity Heaton

We heard from his heroine, Lilith, back on Saturday. Now it’s time to sit down with Lincoln, the hero of my vampire romance book, Seventh Circle, and see what he has to say for himself.

(Lincoln strides in, confident as always, and settles himself in the black velvet armchair opposite me. He’s a study in darkness with his tailored black shirt and trousers, and his dark hair and eyes a contrast to his pale skin.)

FH: So, Lincoln, you’ve been busy since we last saw you at the end of your story, Seventh Circle.

LINCOLN: A lot has happened since then. I spent a few restful months with Lilith at the cabin while she acclimatised to being a vampire and became accustomed to the thought of running a bloodline, and then we finally moved to the family mansion in Oslo. We have not had a moment’s peace since then. Lilith is slowly coming to terms with her role within the bloodline but I am still handling most of the business for her. I do not think she is ready to take on the full burden of running a bloodline. We did have some time away from the mansion recently though, to attend Lilith’s first Creator Day masquerade. It was quite the event. In the end, I am glad that Eve could not attend. I think Lilith might have felt more on edge than she had and Eve would have again come face to face with Section Seven. It was hard enough for Lilith to see them and see familiar faces amongst their ranks.

FH: It must have been very difficult for her. Was it the first time she’s come across her old employers and friends?

LINCOLN: (nods solemnly) Yes, it was. I do not think she was prepared for it even though she had said that she was when we were travelling down to Saint Petersburg for the ball. Seeing people she knew, fighting them, disturbed her greatly. When Eve returns to us again, we are all going to head out to the lake where it is peaceful. I wish to take my mate’s mind off what happened and I know that she feels relaxed there, away from the bloodline and all it entails.

FH: Isn’t it a risk to leave the bloodline unattended?


LINCOLN: It is. I will only be able to leave them for a short period at a time, no more than a day. I will miss Lilith but she will understand, and I know she will appreciate the break and what I am doing for her.

FH: Lilith and Eve will be safe at the cabin though. I’m sure there’ll be a certain male vampire there who is more than capable of handling a couple of females and protecting them.

LINCOLN: (smiles but it’s strained) I only wish I could remain there with my love like he can. Sometimes being a Chosen Son is nothing short of torture. It keeps me away from Lilith so much when she needs to escape to the cabin. I have to ensure the bloodline is safe.

FH: Your romance certainly doesn’t seem to be suffering from any time apart though. You two seem more inseparable than ever.

LINCOLN: I suppose we are. Perhaps it is the time apart that brings us closer. I can sense her through our bond, long to go to her and find it hard to sleep without her at my side. Our bond drives me to return to her and see that she is safe with my own eyes not just my feelings. One day Lilith will finally be comfortable with being the lady of Vehemens and Eve will be comfortable with her new role and life as a vampire, and then perhaps I can take Lilith away to the cabin and leave the bloodline in Eve’s hands for a while.

FH: I think you would like that, and I know that Lilith would like it. I think she misses you just as much as you do her when you’re apart. It’s great to hear that you’re getting along though and that Lilith is slowly becoming more comfortable with her new life as your mate, a vampire, and a lady in charge. I have a few silly questions that I like to ask the people I’m interviewing. Firstly, what’s your favourite colour?

LINCOLN: Deep red. I never realised that until I gave Lilith a garnet choker and it looked stunning on her.

FH: Perhaps it’s just the colour red on your mate’s neck you like? (smiles at him) And your favourite smell?

LINCOLN: The scent of the pines and the lake. The smell of nature. It stirs my senses.

FH: Lilith likes the smell of the area around the cabin too, but she added the scent of your aftershave to it. Apparently you give her cuddles by the lake. Very sweet (he scowls at me). Your favourite possession?

LINCOLN: The cabin. It is not technically mine. It belongs to the bloodline but is only used by the ranked members, as in myself, Lilith and now Eve. Lilith says that it is ours. I like it because it is the only place I can truly be alone with her.

FH: Favourite thing to do?

LINCOLN: Would it surprise you if I say that it is visiting the cabin with Lilith?

FH: Not really. I had a suspicion you would say that. And finally, what’s your favourite time of year?

LINCOLN: Winter. I like the stillness of it and the long nights.

FH: Lilith said the opposite. She loves summer. I guess opposites attract though. Thank you for letting me interview you. It was great to catch up with you.

LINCOLN: Thank you. I shall see myself out.

(He rises and leaves me alone in the room to study my notes on my next guest)

Did you all enjoy this catch up with Lincoln?

If you’re not familiar with Lincoln and his vampire love story, you can read more about it below…

F E Heaton
Born with powers similar to a vampire’s, Lilith has spent her life hunting demons for Section Seven. On the same night as she watches a vampire kill her best friend, she is faced with her worst nightmare—a client who is not only attractive but a vampire.

Lincoln is a powerful pureblood with a problem. He’s caught up in a prophecy and has little time left to unravel the mystery of the contract between his lord and the Devil before he dies. When witches foretell that a vampire hunter will save his life, he’s prepared to work with his most hated enemy, but he isn’t prepared for the forbidden desire he feels when he meets her.

Their mutual attraction becomes difficult to deny as they work together but when Lincoln reveals the truth about her powers, will Lilith find the strength to embrace a side of herself that she wished didn’t exist? And when they discover Lilith’s role in the prophecy, how far will Lincoln go to save her?

Dark, sensual and fast-paced, Seventh Circle is a story of forbidden love so strong that it will save the world.

ebook price: $2.99
paperback price: $9.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 106112 words
rating: sultry
released: November 2008
Book 7 in the Vampires Realm series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Seventh%20Circle
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035LDO68/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035LDO68/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Seventh-Circle/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000800973/
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-seventhcircle-620973-139.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/seventh-circle/_/R-400000000000000249275
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Seventh-Circle/mix-ZGYNJZH8-kmDBm5GV0YlJg/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7734
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0035LDO68/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0035LDO68/

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1460978579/
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1460978579/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seventh-circle-f-e-heaton/1021362622

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Fantastic Halloween Spooktacular Giveaway #4

Posted on 31st October 2011 by Felicity Heaton

It’s time for the fourth and final of my fantastic Halloween Spooktacular daily giveaways! Remember, even if you won a giveaway already, you can still enter this giveaway! We’re sticking with angels for the bookmark thong…

Enter Giveaway #4 To Win:

This giveaway runs until 00:01 EST on 2nd November 2011.

If the GFC box isn’t showing on the left side bar of the blog, hit refresh until it appears. It should be above the NetworkedBlogs box but it’s very temperamental.

Remember to click the instructions links so you know exactly what to do to make your entries count!

Enter Now:

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Interview with a Source Blood – Amber

Posted on 31st October 2011 by Felicity Heaton

The first of today’s interviews is with the lovely Amber from my vampire romance book, Forbidden Blood. I’ve already spoken to her vampire lover Kearn in a preview interview during my Halloween Spooktacular.

(The door to my interview room opens slowly and a head pops around it. Amber smiles at me, looking surprisingly bright and healthy considering everything she’s going through, and then steps into the room. Her hazel eyes sparkle as she approaches and then settles in the black velvet armchair opposite me. Like Lady Lilith of my Vampires Realm series, she toes off her sneakers and settles her feet on the cushion, tucking them close to her bottom. She’s wearing a deep red hoodie and jeans today, and it’s strange to see her so casually dressed considering she’s currently staying at Kearn’s family mansion. Her long brown hair is up and she’s sporting a rather new looking set of bite marks on her throat.)

FH: It’s wonderful to see you again, Amber. You’re looking well and those bite marks suit you. (she blushes) It’s alright. I’m just a little jealous. You’ve landed yourself quite the vampire. Let’s kick off with a little about you.

AMBER: I’m not sure where to start. I’m human, for now, and I was just going through life like everyone else, not a clue about the fact that vampires are real… and that they aren’t the only supernatural species out there walking amongst us. I thought my life was going to be normal. I had a job, and was on the verge of moving to Paris to pursue my career when I met Kearn. I’m not saying that I prefer that life to the one I have now, just that I hadn’t expected to meet a vampire that night or to discover that I’m a Source Blood. That might sound crazy to people who don’t know what a Source Blood is. I’m human… but my lineage dates back thousands of years to a time when vampires were evolving. My ancestors broke away from them and remained human, but I share a gene with them. Because my bloodline didn’t evolve, that gene has remained pure. Now, if a vampire drinks my blood, they can gain anything between a nice buzz if they only take a little… and if they drink a lot… well, I’ve seen what happens, and it scares me. My blood can restore the same deteriorating gene in theirs, reawakening their godlike powers. It’s a frightening thing… both to know I carry the power to unleash the true powers of a vampire, and to know there are other women and men out there who share my blood… my family included. I want to warn them, but I’m not sure I can do it without sounding as though I’ve lost my mind. Kearn tells me that they’ll be monitored and the Venators and the Sovereignty will keep them safe, but I still worry about them, and the others like me out there.

FH: Can you tell us about what happened in your story?

AMBER: I was attacked in an alley because I had witnessed something I shouldn’t have. All I had done was see inside a factory courtyard where men were carrying heavy black sacks, and suddenly life as I knew it was over. Men attacked me, and a vampire fed me his blood… I thought I was going crazy but once you see fangs and you’ve tasted their blood… and can feel it inside you, controlling you against your will, then it’s hard to deny they exist. Kearn rescued me. Every day I thank God that Kearn was prowling the area in search of the very man who attacked me. When he took me back to his apartment and explained some things, and asked me to assist him, I couldn’t exactly say no. I knew the safest place for me was with him, and he was my only means of survival. The man wanted to taste my blood to discern whether I was a Source Blood and valuable to him as a blood slave, so he could harvest it and sell it to other vampires… he wasn’t going to stop until he had me, and I wasn’t about to leave Kearn’s side until Kearn had him instead. Everything turned mad after that… I found out what Kearn was… and the man upped his game, and I still have to live with the memories of what happened. Sometimes I still have nightmares.

FH: It must have been hard to deal with everything, especially discovering the existence of vampires and other demons, and also the discovery about your blood.


AMBER: It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with. Being told that I was different, and that the man after me wouldn’t stop until he had me… I still get shivers now. I was lucky that Kearn was there. I know he’s a vampire, but he’s so different to how I pictured them. He’s strong and steadfast, and he did everything to protect me. He sacrificed so much to keep me safe, and I love him all the more because of it. Vampires are as different to each other as humans are. Some of them, like Kearn, are good inside, even if they don’t realise it. Kearn helped me through everything. He supported me and I couldn’t have done it without him. I’m a strong woman, but there’s only so much I can deal with… and being told vampires exist, that Venators are there to hunt those who harm Source Bloods, and that I’m one of those special humans… it’s a lot to take in. I think I would have fallen apart without Kearn there to keep me together and give me something to focus on. It’s far easier to deal with something when your mind is on something far nicer… like making a vampire with a closed-off-heart open up and fall in love with you.

FH: Your relationship with Kearn is very complicated because your blood is forbidden and he’s not supposed to taste it. It must have been difficult for both of you at first, and not just because of the blood. There’s the vampire thing too.

AMBER: Yeah, the vampire thing and the blood thing were hard to work out at first. When I confronted him about the fact he was a vampire, not just a Venator, and I saw the effect my blood had on him, I wasn’t sure how to react. It’s like a drug to them. It unleashed a different side to him, released his inhibitions and his passion. It’s hard to be afraid of the fact a man, a vampire, has just tasted your blood when he’s pinning you to the side of his car and kissing the breath from you in the most delicious way. He was still the man I knew, the one who would do anything to protect me… but all the emotions he usually kept locked away were unleashed and there was actually a small part of me that really wanted him to take more blood from me. Not just that night either. I wanted him so much, against my better judgement, and every time he tasted my blood, we grew a little closer. He finds it hard to keep things hidden from me when my blood is inside him. I can feel his emotions, so I could sense his pain and turmoil, all the dark things he wanted to hide from me. Kearn has been through so much. It was impossible not to fall for him, especially when I found out the things he had endured with his family and his exile. When I learned about his past, I also realised why he kept his emotions on such a tight leash, and why there were times when he refused my blood… like when we were making love.

FH: How has life been since the events that happened and brought you together?

AMBER: It’s been so much quieter since then, but I know that Kearn still feels a lot of pain over the events that happened in our story, and in his past. I think he has a long way to go before he can move past it all and let it go. He’s been even more attentive than usual, and I’m not going to say that I don’t enjoy it. When he’s not off on missions and we’re together, he scores top marks in the romance stakes… actually, he scores high when he’s away from me too. He calls me whenever he can to check in on me. I think he’s worried that his family aren’t treating me well when he’s not around, but they’re nice to me. He takes me with him on missions whenever he can, and says that it’s because he can’t bear to be apart from me, but I’m convinced it’s because he doesn’t want to leave me with his family. I’ve been working with some of the vampires to promote better treatment of humans amongst the species. It’s amazing the work you can do, and the attention you get from even the darkest of vampires when you have Archduke Pendragon on your side. He oversees all the vampires in Britain, and since he introduced me into society, everyone has been very pleasant to me, even at the balls when Kearn and I break the rules by dancing together.

FH: Your story, FORBIDDEN BLOOD, is a book in a series. Can you tell us a little about the series and can we expect see more of you in other stories in this series?

AMBER: Yes, it is part of a series, and I believe you’re writing about Kearn’s cousin Traegard Montagu next. I would love to read that book because in the few times I’ve met Traegard, he’s been colder than the Antarctic around me. I don’t think it’s a human thing either. I think it’s a woman thing. I’ve wanted to ask him about it so many times, but he’s so quick to make an exit if we’re left alone together. Traegard is a Venator too. Kearn says that he didn’t know that his cousin had been chosen until they met again at the Savernake mansion the night that Kearn defeated the man who was after me. I believe the series focuses on the Venators, doesn’t it, and in particular the vampires? Kearn has told me about Venators, and how they work for the Sovereignty and basically dish out punishment to every vampire who breaks the laws regarding Source Blood. He won’t tell me much about the place they call the “endless dark” which is where the souls of those sentenced by the power given to the Venators by the Sovereignty go. He closes up if I try to get him to talk about it, and says that I don’t want to know. I generally take that as a sign that I really don’t want to know. The vampires aren’t the only demon species that the Sovereignty governs. I’ve heard that there are angels, witches, werewolves and cat-shifters, and things called therianthropes… and even fairies! I haven’t met any of them yet, and Kearn says that I probably won’t as vampires don’t tend to associate with other species, but I overheard someone talking about cat-shifters at a ball recently, and apparently a pride of them has moved to the countryside near the Savernake and Montagu mansions, so I might get to meet some after all.

FH: Describe yourself in one word?

AMBER: Strong. I think it’s a requirement when dealing with a vampire fiancé and the whole crazy world they live in.

FH: Thank you for meeting with me today and chatting. Is there anything else that you’d like to add?

AMBER: Thank you for having me here today and letting me ramble about Kearn. It feels good to talk to someone about everything and not have to worry that they’ll think I’ve gone round the bend. I can’t wait to catch up with everyone in other stories in the series. I’m sure any who read my story will be as interested in finding out how I turn out as the vampires I live with are!

FH: I’m sure they will. I can’t wait to sit down with Traegard and have him tell me his story. I’ll probably see you then!

AMBER: No doubt about that. Take care until we meet again then! I’m surprised you’ve lasted until this point in your event without receiving a set of bite marks from one of your guests. (she laughs)

FH: Well, there is still Venturi to come but I don’t think he’ll bite me. He wouldn’t dare.

(Amber smiles and rises from her seat, slips her shoes back on and then leaves with a little wave and a big smile. It must be nice to be engaged to such a handsome vampire)

Did you all enjoy this interview with Amber? If you would like to know more about her and her love story, then here’s some more information for you…

Forbidden Blood
Felicity Heaton
In a dark world where vampires exist and where Source Blood, a rare human blood type, can bestow godlike powers upon them, the vampire Venators of the Sovereignty fight to protect the humans by banishing those who drink it to the endless dark.

Exiled from his family and with only his duty to sustain him, Kearn has been on the trail of an elusive Source Blood abuser for three years. When he saves a beautiful human female from the vampire’s grasp, it turns out she’s the lead he’s been waiting for. Amber is a Source Blood and the perfect bait, but for who?

As they race to catch the vampire and survive the cruel games he plays, Amber is pulled deeper into Kearn’s world and discovers the painful secrets he hides behind his handsome but emotionless exterior—hurt that she has the power to heal if she is brave enough.

Forbidden Blood is book one in the Vampire Venators series and a dark, sensual tale of betrayal, revenge and a love that knows no bounds.

ebook price: $3.99
paperback price: $10.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 126000 words
rating: sultry
released: June 2011
Book 1 in the Vampire Venators series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Forbidden%20Blood
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055I1LNW/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0055I1LNW/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forbidden-blood-felicity-heaton/1103572024
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-forbiddenblood-613573-139.html/
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/felicity-heaton/forbidden-blood/_/R-400000000000000406450
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Forbidden-Blood-Vampire-Venators-Romance/book-mWkS9umUmkmp2XI4cX_woA/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66030
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0055I1LNW/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0055I1LNW/

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1461132193/
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1461132193/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forbidden-blood-felicity-heaton/1031509117

Posted in character interviews | Comments Off on Interview with a Source Blood – Amber

vampire romance book – Forbidden Blood – extended excerpt

Posted on 31st October 2011 by Felicity Heaton

I’m moving away from my Vampires Realm series now to talk about another vampire romance book. This time I’m offering a chance to download an extended excerpt from Forbidden Blood, a very fast-paced, twisting, emotionally charged vampire romance novel.

You’ve met Kearn, the hero of the book in a character interview during this event and I’ll be speaking to his heroine, Amber soon, but here’s your chance to meet her!

Forbidden Blood has a 4.1 / 5 star rating on Amazon.com and a 4.15 / 5 star rating on Goodreads from 27 ratings. It was also awarded a Top Pick at Night Owl Reviews.

Felicity Heaton
In a dark world where vampires exist and where Source Blood, a rare human blood type, can bestow godlike powers upon them, the vampire Venators of the Sovereignty fight to protect the humans by banishing those who drink it to the endless dark.

Exiled from his family and with only his duty to sustain him, Kearn has been on the trail of an elusive Source Blood abuser for three years. When he saves a beautiful human female from the vampire’s grasp, it turns out she’s the lead he’s been waiting for. Amber is a Source Blood and the perfect bait, but for who?

As they race to catch the vampire and survive the cruel games he plays, Amber is pulled deeper into Kearn’s world and discovers the painful secrets he hides behind his handsome but emotionless exterior—hurt that she has the power to heal if she is brave enough.

Forbidden Blood is book one in the Vampire Venators series and a dark, sensual tale of betrayal, revenge and a love that knows no bounds.


» DOWNLOAD EXTENDED EXCERPT PDF

ebook price: $3.99
paperback price: $10.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance
length: 126000 words
rating: sultry
released: June 2011
Book 1 in the Vampire Venators series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Forbidden%20Blood
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055I1LNW/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0055I1LNW/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forbidden-blood-felicity-heaton/1103572024
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-forbiddenblood-613573-139.html/
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/felicity-heaton/forbidden-blood/_/R-400000000000000406450
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Forbidden-Blood-Vampire-Venators-Romance/book-mWkS9umUmkmp2XI4cX_woA/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66030
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0055I1LNW/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0055I1LNW/

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1461132193/
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1461132193/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forbidden-blood-felicity-heaton/1031509117

EXCERPT
She shouldn’t have looked.

Amber hurried through the dark side streets of central London, heading for the nearest Underground station. She glanced back over her shoulder. The man from the courtyard of the redbrick factory building stood on the other side of a busy road. The hood of his black coat obscured his face but Amber could feel his eyes on her—intent and cold.

She turned away, huddled up into her thin black suit jacket, and carried on walking. She could feel the man still staring at her.

The courtyard flashed across her mind. Two men with sacks and another sweeping disinfectant out into the street. She had never seen the wooden gates open before, but there was always a puddle of disinfectant outside in the mornings. What did they have in those bags? What were they trying to wash away?

Car headlights snapped her out of her thoughts. A white Audi sports car purred past her, rear lights flashing bright crimson in the darkness as it stopped at the junction ahead and then turned and roared away.

Amber undid the button on her jacket and one on her white shirt, hot from her leaving party and panic. She had to get a grip. She glanced back again, shifting her handbag on her shoulder. No one was there save a few Londoners making their way home from the pubs or going to nightclubs. She hated walking around the city so late at night. It always got her jittery and the few drinks she’d had with her work colleagues at the pub weren’t helping.

It wasn’t far to the Underground station. If she focused on thinking about good things, she would be there before she knew it and then she would feel foolish for being so nervous. She smiled when she thought about her leaving party. She had worked for the company for years, but it was time for a change and she couldn’t wait to start her new life. In only a few weeks, she would be working in Paris. She would be able to see her brother more often and would be able to soak up a different culture. It seemed like a dream and she was so caught up in it that she didn’t care about all the work she still had to do—the crash course in French, even though it was a British firm she was going to work for and there would be English speakers there, all the packing and things she had to arrange.

Amber turned down a narrow one-way street. A light on the wall of a building above her blinked on and off. Footsteps rang out behind her, echoing along the road. Pleasant daydreams about her future life in Paris disappeared. She walked faster, her heart beating quicker now as fearful thoughts crowded her mind.

She had almost reached the other end of the road when two men appeared, walking towards her. She went to cross the road to avoid them but they split up and motioned to each other. Her hazel eyes shot wide when she recognised them from the courtyard. She turned to go back the other way.

The hooded man stood at the other end of the street.

Amber searched for a way to get past him. Why had he followed her? Her heart beat harder. Long heavy black sacks. Pink disinfectant.

Bodies?

Blood?

A hand around her wrist sent a jolt through her and she tried to pull free. One man twisted her right arm behind her back and the other grabbed her left wrist. They pulled her backwards into the shadows.

Amber kicked her legs and opened her mouth to scream. A heavy gloved hand covered it. The smell of leather filled her nostrils and she breathed hard through her nose, staring wild-eyed at the man in front of her. The hood obscured his face but she could see his jaw, see the hint of a smile on his lips.

He nodded to the two men behind her and their grip increased. Amber flailed, desperate to escape. It was impossible. She stamped on their feet, kicked their legs, wriggled with all of her strength, but they wouldn’t let her go.

The man motioned to one of the others holding her. The moment he removed his hand from her mouth, another covered it, keeping her silent. She tried to call out anyway, her eyes darting between her attackers and the street. The hooded man smiled at her, as though amused by the muffled sound and her panic.

Amber stilled when he reached inside his long black coat and pulled out a knife. Her eyes went round and her heart raced, fear thundering in her veins.

He was going to kill her.

She shook her head and didn’t stop, not when the man took another step back and not even when he raised his left hand and drew the knife down the palm of his leather glove, cutting into his flesh beneath. Not a trace of pain showed on what she could see of his face. Was he trying to frighten her by showing how strong he was? She was already petrified. He stepped towards her and she redoubled her fight against the men, kicking with all of her might.

“Hurry,” the man to her right said in a low voice as her heel connected with his shin. “Get to it already.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks and a chill swept in constant waves over her skin, stealing her strength. She shook her head again and begged the man not to hurt her, but the other man’s hand over her mouth turned her words into nothing more than a frightened murmur. Futile.

The hooded man stepped up to her, balled his cut hand into a fist, and raised it towards her face. What was he going to do? She kept her eyes fixed on the knife in his other hand, afraid that he would stab her if she dared to look away from it.

She gasped when the man holding her mouth released it but didn’t have time to call out for help. He pressed his fingers into her cheeks, forced her mouth open and tilted her head back. Her gaze snapped to the hooded man’s hand. He held it above her and drops of blood trembled on the edge of his black glove.

He was going to make her drink his blood.

She tried to move but couldn’t. The men’s grip on her increased again, fingers pressing hard into her arms, bruising her. The drop fell, landing on her tongue, and another quickly followed it. The hooded man tightened his fist and more dripped into her mouth. She tried not to swallow, didn’t want to taste his blood. It slid down her throat, one drop after another, until she wanted to be sick.

And then she felt strange.

A hollow feeling opened inside her and her mind emptied.

His hand hovered above her, feeding her blood, and it no longer felt repulsive or frightening. It tasted good. Thick, heavy fog rolled into her mind, weighing her head down. She closed her eyes and then struggled to open them again.

The men behind her released her arms.

Amber stood there facing the hooded man, her shoulders relaxed and her head tilted to one side. He wavered in her vision as he raised the knife and licked the blade. It didn’t scare her. Her handbag slid down her right arm to the crook of her elbow as she raised her hand. She held it out to him, palm up, and blinked languidly.

He took it in his, so gently that she smiled, and ran the knife over her palm. The sting of pain was pleasurable, flooding her with hazy warmth from head to toe, awakening blissful awareness of his touch and his hungry intent.

The man lifted her hand towards his mouth and dipped his head. Was he going to kiss it better? She continued to smile, amused by his chivalry.

What a nice man.

His tongue came out. White lights flashed across him.

They blinded her and she flinched away, afraid of the bright light that drowned out the world. The man released her hand and was behind her in an instant. Her handbag dropped to the floor and she tried to blink away the white spots in her vision and they multiplied.

The sound of footsteps echoed in her mind and she cursed the other men for fleeing. They would pay for leaving her here to deal with this Venator.

Her hands tightened into fists.

She couldn’t risk fighting the Venator but she had to taste the blood. She raised her hand towards her mouth. This was an unexpected twist but she could work it in her favour. First, she had to be sure she was a Source, and then she would take care of the Venator.

What was a Source?

She stopped with her hand mid-way to her mouth. Blood pooled on her palm, black in the low light.

What was she doing?

The door of the white car opened and Amber looked at it. It was the Audi. A man stepped out and she moved back. Damn interfering Venator.

Amber frowned at her thoughts. What was a Venator? What was going on? She tried to remember but her thoughts became tangled with others, ones she didn’t understand. They didn’t feel as though they were her own.

She turned towards the hooded man. The car lights shone on the lower half of his face, highlighting his jaw and mouth. A tilt of a smile touched his lips. She needed to taste the blood.

“Get in the car,” a male voice said behind her, deep and intense.

She refused. She had to taste the blood and then leave. She raised her hand and poked her tongue out. A taste was all it would take. Then she would know.

“Now!”

Amber jumped, startled by the volume of that word. She looked at her palm, horrified by what she had been about to do, and then at the hooded man. He continued to smile at her and she felt compelled to do as he silently wished.

“Car, now!” the man behind her said. He was right. She had to get away from the man who had cut her but she couldn’t move.

Her thoughts became strange and distant again, and no matter how many times she told herself to run, her feet wouldn’t cooperate. She wanted to go with the hooded man, even though she knew he would kill her.

Her head spun.

She took a step towards him, her mind heavy and thick again.

Someone grabbed her arm from behind and then a bright blue flash burst out of the corner of her eye. She stared at the silver handgun beside her head and the strange blue marks on the man’s hand. They glowed. Shiny. Amber reached out to touch them.

The new man moved his arm away from her and pulled her back, so she was almost behind him. She tried to focus on his arm and the gun. The fog descended on her mind again, swamping everything, turning her numb and empty. Her gaze moved of its own accord, shifting to the man’s face. Silver hair. Green eyes. Damned Venator.

She struggled against his grip, clawing at his hand.

“Calm down.” He glanced at her and then back at the hooded man. “Lower the knife and come peacefully.”

“Peacefully?” She yanked on her arm in an attempt to free herself, twisting her wrist in his tight grip and not caring that it hurt. She had to get away from him. The silver-haired man turned her way, his vivid green eyes bright in the car headlights and boring into hers. She sneered. “I will never come peacefully, Venator.”

“Let her go,” he said and she shook her head.

Amber kept shaking it, trying to clear the weird dull feeling and get her mind into order. How did she know this man? The knowledge she sought shifted and evaded her grasp, as though it was a living thing and could anticipate her. The haze in her head lifted long enough that she saw the silver-haired man clearly at last. His eyes were cold as he stared into hers, pupils narrowed and an edge of darkness about his handsome face.

“I said, let her go.” He turned to the hooded man.

Amber looked there too. She couldn’t see them, but she could feel his eyes on her, and could feel him inside her head and her body. She scrubbed her throat with her hand, her mouth, trying to get him out of her. The silver-haired man held her tighter. What was he waiting for? Shoot him. He had tried to kill her. He had put something inside her and now she felt strange.

The silver-haired man started to pull the trigger.

“No!” she screamed and knocked his hand away. She stared at his raised gun and her outstretched hand. What the hell was she doing? She wanted the man dead, so why had she stopped him?

The man holding her shoved her backwards and then ducked away from her. A silver streak shot past her wide eyes. The knife clattered to the floor a short distance behind her and a thin dark line flowed down the man’s neck from his ear, soaking into his white shirt. He raised his gun again but she grabbed it and pulled it around to point at her.

He froze.

The hooded man laughed.

Amber’s gaze shot from the barrel of the gun to him. She stared at his mouth.

Fangs.

He grinned and it felt as though he was looking straight through her. Whispered voices filled her head, clashing with each other so she couldn’t make out what they were saying. She tried to focus on one of them but couldn’t. The clamour in her mind rose and a deep sense that she wasn’t alone washed through her. Someone else was in her head with her. The hooded man’s smile widened. Him. How? One of the voices rang out above the rest and her questions fell away, leaving her docile again. He knew something about her that she didn’t. Something important. She had to know too.

She took a step towards him and he was gone, leaving the street empty in front of her. Why? She went to walk after him and frowned when her arm lagged behind her, held fast by something. Her eyes drifted to her wrist and the hand tightly grasping it.

“Are you all right?” the silver-haired man said and her head suddenly felt lighter.

Her gaze ran up his left arm to his shoulder. A trail of blood stained his white shirt and she followed the drips and dashes downwards to the black holster around his shoulders. His gun was in it but not secured. If she made a lunge for it, would he reach it before her? Amber shook that thought away. This man had saved her. Why would she do such a thing to him? Because he was dangerous. She didn’t want to go with him. She wanted to find the man. The feeling ran deep in her blood, flowing through her veins, compelling her. She needed to find the man.

This Venator would be her downfall.

Amber shook her head again and the haze in her mind dissipated for long enough that she felt her normal self again. Her panic and fear returned full force, crashing over her. What was happening to her? She kept thinking about things she wasn’t familiar with, like Venators and Sources, and wanted to do things that went against her nature, like injuring someone.

The man held his bleeding ear with his right hand. There were pale tribal markings on it. They wove down over his wrist and under his white shirtsleeve. Those markings had glowed ethereally earlier. She couldn’t have imagined it.

“You need to come with me,” he said, and before she could take in what was happening, he dragged her to the white Audi R8 and pushed her into it on the passenger side.

He closed the door, picked up the knife and her handbag from the pavement, and rounded the car. Amber sat there, thoughtless and empty, her eyes fixed on the spot where the hooded man had been. She should have gone with him.

No. She shouldn’t have. She didn’t know what she was thinking anymore.

The car moved and she became gradually aware of the man next to her. Her gaze slid to him. He was handsome, his green eyes fixed on the road now, shadowed by a frown of concentration, and the messy finger-length strands of his silver hair brushed back out of his face. He didn’t look old enough to have such white hair. He seemed barely five years her senior.

Venator.

It echoed in her head, as though something inside her knew it applied to him even when she had never heard the word before tonight.

“What is your name?” His deep voice soothed her, easing away some of her tension even when she felt she should be on alert, or escaping.

Amber didn’t reply. Her eyes dropped to the gun tucked under his left arm when he clipped the leather strap over it, securing it in place. It unnerved her but not as much as the fact that she wanted to use it against him, or the fact that his arm had glowed blue and the other man had fangs. None of that made sense, even when she felt it did.

The man looked at her and she glanced up, meeting his gaze. The streetlights flashed on his face, stealing all colour and warmth from his eyes. They were so cold that she couldn’t tear hers away. She stared into them, chilled by the detached air that he emanated but fascinated by him at the same time. Was he as empty inside as his eyes? She had never met anyone who looked as hollow and emotionless as this man did. Something terrible must have happened to him to make him look this way.

She remembered the way his arm had glowed.

Inhuman.

Her head spun.

Venator.

She wanted to get away from him. Her priority was to escape, not fall under a spell.

They pulled to a halt at a set of traffic lights and her hand went straight for the door. She shoved it open and the man grabbed her, pulling her back against him. The door slammed shut without her touching it and the locks clunked into place. She elbowed the man in the ribs, struggled out of his grip and lunged for the door again, frantically tugging on the handle. It wouldn’t open. Her eyes darted over the moulded leather of the door. No way of unlocking it. The Venator would stop her before she could find the button on the dashboard that would unlock the doors. She spat out a curse. Never mind. If she couldn’t escape, she could at least taste her blood.

“You cannot leave. You are in too much danger out there.”

Amber stared down at the cut on her right palm. It had bled all over her trousers.

She had to lick the blood and taste it.

She raised her hand but the man caught her wrist.

“What happened?” He frowned at the cut.

Amber tried to get her hand back but his grip was vice tight. Interfering Venator. She gritted her teeth and twisted her arm. He didn’t let go. Her stomach turned when she saw the blood on her palm and her vision distorted. She stopped struggling and looked at the man. His expression was soft, silently reassuring, and the longer she stared at him, the calmer she felt, until the sense that she wasn’t in control of herself disappeared again.

Amber tried to remember what had happened to her hand but it slipped through her fingers every time she came close, as though she didn’t really want to recall it.

“He gave you his blood, didn’t he?”

That memory popped to the forefront of her mind and she nodded. The man had made her drink his blood. It had been disgusting and she could feel it inside her.

“Hold on.” He released her hand, put the car into gear and roared off the white line.

Amber did. She grabbed the edge of the seat with her left hand as they raced through the streets of London so fast they were a blur. She couldn’t take her eyes off the road and the cars as they swerved around them, barely missing each one. Her heart lodged in her throat, her right hand trembling where she held it out in front of her. What was happening? It felt as though she had slipped into some dreadful fantasy world and she wanted out.

He turned the car around a corner so sharply that the tyres screeched and she slammed against the door, and then they were going down a slope towards an underground garage. The car spun around in the brightly lit space, coming to a halt facing the exit, and the engine cut out. A grey shutter slowly rolled down, eclipsing the world outside.

Amber stared at it, still trying to catch up.

The man had given her blood, and then he had cut her. She needed to taste her blood before the Venator stopped her. She was about to lick her palm when the door beside her opened and he pulled her out of the car.

“Damned Venator!” She kneed him in the groin and ran for the garage door.

He reached it before her and stood in her path, his eyes darker and colder than ever. He glared at her and drew his gun.

“Let her go,” he whispered, voice strained.

She grinned, satisfied by the pain in his voice.

“No.” Amber tried to pass him.

“You do not want to leave, woman. You do not want to do as he bids.”

Amber stopped. “As who bids?”

The strange feeling inside her grew worse, something telling her to keep going and not listen to him. She had to get past the man and drink her blood. That was all that mattered now.

“Listen to my voice.” He put the gun away and stepped up to her.

The moment his hands touched her shoulders, Amber felt different. She stared into his eyes and her thoughts fell into better order, enough that she could recall things clearly again.

Her heart pounded.

“The man made me drink his blood… I saw him in that place with the gates and the disinfectant and then they were after me. He cut me.” She held her hand out and it trembled between them, fluttering in time with her heart. “I just want to go home. I want this nightmare to end. Please? I can’t take this. Please?”

The man stepped back, his eyes still fixed intently on her face, the frown not leaving his.

“The man will come for you.”

“Fangs,” she whispered and her eyes widened. Her heart missed a beat and then slammed painfully against her ribs. “He had fangs. He was going to drink my blood.”

“I will not hurt you. You must ignore your instincts and listen to me. I will not allow him to harm you. You will be safe here,” he said, so calmly and softly that the deep waves of fear surging through her eased to gentle ripples. “He will find you if you leave. I can protect you. I will not allow the man to harm you.”

Amber looked at the closed garage door and then back at him.

There was honesty in his green eyes and her options were limited. Either she stayed here with him, or she ventured outside where there were monsters. If she did that, and the man found her, she wouldn’t escape him a second time. He had fangs. He had been about to drink her blood.

Something inside her said that she would be fine outside, and that she wanted to find the hooded man again. She wanted him to taste her blood. Desired it more than anything. This man was lying to her.

No. Amber closed her eyes, battling the compulsion to leave, and then looked back into the silver-haired man’s eyes.

The other man had wanted to kill her and drink her blood. This man had saved her. He said he could protect her.

“I will bandage your hand and make you feel better if you come upstairs,” he said in a low voice, one that soothed her ears and quelled her fear. The desire to escape him drifted away, replaced by a need to remain.

“Will you tell me what’s happening to me? I feel strange.”

He held his hand out, pointing to his left. “If you come with me.”

Amber looked at the dark grey metal door far to her right across the empty garage and then back at the man. His gaze held hers, cold but honest, and she ignored the voice inside her that was screaming for her to leave and taste her blood.

She nodded and went with him.

» DOWNLOAD EXTENDED EXCERPT PDF

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Forbidden%20Blood
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055I1LNW/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0055I1LNW/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forbidden-blood-felicity-heaton/1103572024
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-forbiddenblood-613573-139.html/
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/felicity-heaton/forbidden-blood/_/R-400000000000000406450
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Forbidden-Blood-Vampire-Venators-Romance/book-mWkS9umUmkmp2XI4cX_woA/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66030
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0055I1LNW/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0055I1LNW/

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1461132193/
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1461132193/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forbidden-blood-felicity-heaton/1031509117

Posted in extended excerpts | Comments Off on vampire romance book – Forbidden Blood – extended excerpt

Introducing the Vampires Realm romance series

Posted on 31st October 2011 by Felicity Heaton

Vampires make an ideal Halloween read so I thought I would spend some time this morning introducing you all to the Vampires Realm romance series. I have an entire site dedicated to my Vampires Realm series, so don’t forget to head on over there and check it out: http://www.vampiresrealm.com

A few of you, okay, a lot of you have been brave enough to confess that you’re new to my vampires but that you would like to know more about them. Hopefully, you’ll decide to give them a try. I’m sure there are readers among you who will vouch for the vampire romances I write, and I know I have a few hardcore fans of my particular brand of vampire. If you’ve found me through my angel romance books, then you’ll find that my vampire romances are just as emotionally intense, action-packed, and passionate. I would say they’re a little darker than my angel romance books, but since writing Her Guardian Angel, I can’t really say that anymore. lol.

So, here’s a little about each book in the series, in the series order. There are two free reads among them — the Eternity story and Reunion.

Prophecy: Child of Light, which is the very first book in the series, is available in ebook for just $0.99 and is a great introduction to the series, but you don’t have to start there. The Vampires Realm series, with the exception of the Prophecy Trilogy and Spellbound, can be read in any order. It’s more a world than a series.

Here’s more about the books, including links to where you can read reviews and excerpts from them and find out where to buy:

Prophecy: Child of Light [book 1] - Paranormal Vampire Romance Ebook

Prophecy: Child of Light [book 1]

A vampire unlike any other, Prophecy lives life in the dark until the night she encounters Valentine, a gorgeous vampire who is both her enemy and the man who will change her life forever. Convinced that the prophecy about her is wrong and unable…

paranormal vampire romance book
135000 words
released: March 2007
Prophecy: Caelestis and Aurorea [book 2] - Paranormal Vampire Romance Book

Prophecy: Caelestis and Aurorea [book 2]

The final battle draws closer. Prophecy’s world becomes darker and more dangerous, pushing her to the limit and testing her strength and her heart, almost breaking her. Old friends turn their backs, leaving her to fight with the help of an…

paranormal vampire romance book
109500 words
released: April 2007

Prophecy: Dark Moon Rising [book 3] - Paranormal Vampire Romance Book

Prophecy: Dark Moon Rising [book 3]

An enemy with unimaginable power and bloodlines with centuries of hatred bred into them, two things that threaten to tear Prophecy and Valentine apart as they fight for their lives and their future together. Their vain attempt to join their houses…

paranormal vampire romance book
116000 words
released: May 2007

Vampire Fiction - Eternity: The Beginning

Eternity: The Beginning

Every vampire has a beginning, a turning point, a moment of being born into the dark world of their species. In 986bc, Hyperion, current lord of the mighty Validus bloodline, discovered the afterlife wasn’t as he’d expected. Condemned to a life…

paranormal vampire romance book
9000 words
released: July 2007
Spellbound - Erotic Paranormal Vampire Romance Book

Spellbound

What’s a girl to do when the two men she loves are suddenly her love slaves? A vampire and leader of her bloodline, Prophecy celebrates her Death Day in style with a two night ball. Everyone is there, but all she can think about is getting her mate..

paranormal vampire romance book
17550 words
released: October 2007

Reunion - Paranormal Romance Ebook

Reunion

The Law Keeper for the Venia bloodline, Marise doesn’t want to return home but duty dictates that she must investigate the attempt on her lord’s life by another vampire. When she sets eyes on her lord, Marise realises that she might have been…

paranormal vampire romance book
27100 words
released: January 2008
Seventh Circle - Paranormal Vampire Romance Book

Seventh Circle

Born with powers similar to a vampire’s, Lilith has spent her life hunting demons for Section Seven. On the same night as she watches a vampire kill her best friend, she is faced with her worst nightmare—a client who is not only attractive but a…

paranormal vampire romance book
106112 words
released: November 2008

Winter's Kiss - Paranormal Vampire / Werewolf Romance Book

Winter’s Kiss

Their lord drinks blood and they are dead men walking. The tales of the mansion don’t stop Nika from falling for one of the guards, but when wolves attack her and he rides to her rescue, she discovers that her knight is anything but saintly. He is…

paranormal werewolf romance book
78000 words
released: June 2009

Hunter's Moon - Vampire / Werewolf Romance Novel

Hunter’s Moon

The horror of the night he failed to save his werewolf pack from the cruelty of their vampire masters has haunted Nicolae for one hundred years, driving him deep into the Canadian wilderness in search of peace. That peace is threatened when…

paranormal werewolf romance book
65000 words
released: February 2011

I hope that you’ll take a moment to read about the Vampires Realm series now that you know a little more about the books.

For those of you already in love with the series, are you all looking forward to Masquerade? It will come out in January 2012 and I’ll be working on editing it soon.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Introducing the Vampires Realm romance series

angel romance book – Her Guardian Angel – extended excerpt

Posted on 31st October 2011 by Felicity Heaton

It’s time to shake things up again and step away from the vampires and werewolves for a moment to take a look at an equally mysteriously and sexy species, angels.

Anyone who has read any book in my Her Angel romance series knows that I write passionate angels who are quite likely to steal your heart in one way or another. The sexy heroes of my Her Angel romance series all came together in Her Guardian Angel (which is the first novel, but the fourth book in the best selling series and features Marcus as the hero) to kick some serious ass.

Her Guardian Angel can be read out of order with the others in the series. I’ve had lots of readers use this book as their introduction to the series and not have any problem…

Her Guardian Angel has a 4.9 / 5 star rating on Amazon.com from 7 reviews, and a 4.2 / 5 star rating on Goodreads from 35 ratings.

Here’s a little more about it, a teaser excerpt, and the link to the downloadable PDF

Felicity Heaton
A simple mission becomes a fight for survival in this fantastic instalment in the Her Angel series.

A guardian angel dedicated to his duty, Marcus will do whatever Heaven asks of him, but even his loyalty has its limits. When his superior orders him to gain Amelia’s trust through seduction, Marcus starts to question his mission and his feelings for the beautiful woman he has watched over since her birth.

Amelia has gone from one bad relationship to another, so when a gorgeous guy moves in next door looking like Mr Right, she hopes he doesn’t turn out to be another black knight in disguise. But there’s more to Marcus than meets the eye, and when he rescues her from three demonic men, Amelia is thrust into his nightmarish world—a world where God and the Devil exist, and only one angel can save her from death—Marcus, the angel she’s falling in love with.

On the run from demonic angels and the Devil himself, aided by Marcus’s angel friends and their amazing women, fighting for survival against the odds, Marcus and Amelia discover a love that will last forever.

A love so strong it will shake Heaven and Hell.

DOWNLOAD EXTENDED EXCERPT PDF

ebook price: $3.99
paperback price: $9.99
genre: paranormal angel romance
length: 110000 words
rating: sultry
released: July 2011
Book 4 in the Her Angel series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Guardian%20Angel
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-guardian-angel-felicity-heaton/1104775871
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-herguardianangel-607692-140.html
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Her-Guardian-Angel-Her-Angel/book-lVb0k7lC80OOiMBAOa-Ldg/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/77776
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B005EUJIG8/

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1463788363/
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1463788363/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-guardian-angel-felicity-heaton/1032773836

EXCERPT

Marcus stretched his left arm out above his head on the pillows of his double bed, buried the fingers of his right hand into his overlong black hair and stared into the inky dark of his bedroom. The open window to his left allowed pale light to filter in from the street far below but it barely cut through the gloom and it wasn’t the reason he had lifted the sash around midnight. The stifling summer’s day had given way to a humid night that showed no sign of cooling down before dawn broke and heralded the next unbearably hot day. A light breeze washed in through the open window, refreshing him as it caressed the left side of his bare body. The heat wasn’t the only thing robbing him of sleep.

The banging came again, more persistent this time, and Marcus clenched his teeth to contain his growing irritation, his focus wholly on the hall outside his apartment. The man had been attacking the door of his neighbour for almost twenty minutes now, rousing Marcus from sleep and throwing him straight into a bad mood that had gradually deteriorated into a desire to beat some sense into the mortal.

He drew in a long breath, held it a moment in a vain attempt to regain control of his temper, and then exhaled slowly. The man hurled another string of impotent threats at his neighbour’s door and Marcus’s anger spiked right back up. His silver-blue eyes slid towards the digital clock on his bedside table. The display mocked him with the ungodly hour this man had chosen to air his bitter disappointment to not only the female but the entire apartment block. Three in the morning.

Because of the humidity that showed no sign of abating and had made it impossible to get comfortable, Marcus had only been asleep for a scant few hours. He hated waking early, especially when he was stuck in the hell known as the mortal realm.

The man banged again, rattling the wall with a tremor that reached Marcus. He was no threat to the woman because she wasn’t foolish enough to answer her door, but it grated on Marcus’s nerves nonetheless.

His temper frayed when the man shouted foul accusations at her.

All of them false.

Marcus had known Amelia all of her life, although she had only known him this past month. He had watched over her and she was a pure soul with terrible luck when it came to men, and the man knocking down her door didn’t deserve her.

Unable to bear another second and sensing Amelia’s increasing fear through the wall that joined their apartments, Marcus rose from the bed and slung on a pair of dark grey jogging bottoms. He walked through his unlit apartment with ease, not bothering with the lights as he could easily map a safe path around the furniture without seeing it, and unlocked his front door. He yanked it open and stepped out into the dull cream hallway on the other side, his gaze immediately fixing on the mortal that was daring to break his sleep and threaten Amelia.

The dark haired man looked at him.

Marcus coolly stared back.

“What’s your problem, mate?” The man’s fingers curled into fists at his sides. Marcus noted everything about him in under a second.

He was drunk. He was itching for a fight. And he was a fool who thought this sort of abuse would win Amelia back. On the surface, the man wanted to upset her and hurt her, but Marcus could see beyond the façade to the pale hope in this man’s heart that Amelia would be his again.

That was something Marcus would never allow.

“You.” Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbed sleep from his eyes, and then leaned back against the doorjamb, folding his arms across his bare chest and crossing his legs at his ankles.

The man regarded him for a moment and then turned back to Amelia’s door.

“I think you should leave now.” Marcus stepped forwards, bringing the man’s attention back to him so he wouldn’t bang on the door again and cause Amelia’s fear to increase. “Before things get out of hand.”

The man smiled, amusement touching his dark brown eyes. “What you gonna do about it? She’s my girlfriend… not yours. Piss off back inside and get your nose out of my bloody business before I break it.”

Marcus sighed. He had warned the man. He had done everything by the book. His patience wearing thin, he looked the man over again, taking in his dark jeans and the loose t-shirt that covered a physique half his own and the way his fists shook as he shouted at Amelia’s door. Without resorting to violence, Marcus wasn’t sure how to convince the man to leave. He could compel him, but using his powers on such a base creature was beneath him and would do nothing to teach the man a lesson in manners towards women.

The man banged on the door again before Marcus could stop him, hard enough this time that the white painted wood creaked under the attack, and he heard Amelia gasp.

“That is it.” Marcus took another step forwards and the man swung at him. Marcus dodged his fist, clamped his left hand down on the man’s wrist, and twisted his arm behind his back. The man bent forwards to stop his shoulder from popping out of its socket, facing away from Marcus, and grunted in pain. Marcus glared at the back of his head. “I said to leave.”

The man struggled in his grip but stilled when Amelia’s apartment door eased open a few inches and she peered around it. Marcus stared at her, frowning at the tears that streaked her flushed cheeks and the fear in her grey eyes, and tightened his grip on the man’s arm until he let out another deeply satisfying grunt.

“What do you want?” she whispered, voice hoarse and trembling.

It wasn’t like Amelia to look afraid of anything. Marcus had seen her fight it out face-to-face with her exes without showing a trace of fear but this one had rattled her. Weariness shone in her grey eyes, lending them a cold edge he hadn’t seen before. Her gaze tracked up Marcus’s arm, lingering a moment on his bare torso, and then reached his face.

“I’m sorry if he woke you.” Her gentle tone dissolved some of his anger.

Marcus loosened his grip on the man’s wrist but held on to him. “It’s not a problem. I couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”

The man twisted enough to look back at Marcus over his shoulder and then turned his head towards Amelia.

“Oh, I see how it is. Dump me and then move on to the next bloke, right? You’ve probably been fucking him from the moment he moved in. Well, I’m sure Mr Muscle is a great catch…” The man wrenched free of Marcus’s grip and stumbled forwards a few steps before righting himself. “But I’m gonna have to fuck up that pretty face of his.”

Marcus reacted on instinct and launched his left fist at the man to counter his attack. The moment he did, he felt the strength drain from his arm and pushed harder. He had been holding back to avoid seriously injuring the mortal but now that Heaven had stripped him of his immortal strength he needed to do the opposite and give it everything he had.

He leaned back to avoid the man’s punch while still pushing forwards with his own and slammed his fist hard into the man’s jaw, cracking his head to one side and sending him crashing into the cream wall. The man bounced off it, hit the dark banister opposite and then collapsed into an ungainly heap on the wooden floor of the hallway.

“Shit.” Pain shot along every bone in Marcus’s hand and up his arm to his elbow. It had actually hurt.

The man groaned and dragged himself to his feet and Amelia hesitated in the doorway of her apartment, looking as though she couldn’t decide whether to assist him or keep back. Marcus shook his hand and waited for something to happen. Instead of the instant punishment he had expected, there was only silence as the man stared hard at both him and Amelia, and then stumbled down the stairs to the next floor.

Marcus still waited.

Part of him couldn’t believe that he had struck a mortal and the rest couldn’t believe that he wasn’t being punished.

Heaven had limited his power the moment he had subconsciously decided to hit the man, leaving him with only the strength of a mortal and therefore open to attack himself. The punch had hurt him. Perhaps that was punishment enough. Perhaps all of this was punishment for his misdeeds.

Marcus sagged against the wall and blew out a sigh, clutching his injured hand to his chest, convinced that Heaven would call him in to reprimand him soon enough. He had committed an act of violence against what could be considered an innocent human. Marcus couldn’t think of the man that way. He was vile and cruel, seeking to scare Amelia and hurt her. Marcus had only done his duty by protecting her.

He opened his eyes and looked across at her where she stood at the banister peering down into the stairwell, her hands clutching the wooden railing.

His gaze drifted down over her shoulder-length straight dark hair to the plum-coloured slip that only emphasised her sensual curves, to the lean lengths of her legs. She was so soft and pure. Delicate yet strong of heart. Her fear was gone now, leaving behind the confident woman he was used to seeing in her.

She looked across at him and his eyes dropped to her bare feet. He frowned at the tattoo on her left ankle. A cherub? The plump winged babe sat just above her ankle bone, staring back at him. He smiled. Is that what she thought his kind looked like? The image humans had of angels couldn’t have been more wrong. It amused him, stealing away his pain and pushing it to the back of his mind.

His strength returned and the pain dulled further, leaving only a gentle throbbing and bruised knuckles behind as a reminder of what he had done.

“I really am sorry about that.” Amelia’s soft voice stole into his thoughts and he glanced up at her. She crossed the hall to him and peered at his left hand. “You should put some ice on that.”

Marcus studied his red knuckles. Is that what humans did in this sort of situation? In his world, they had angels with the ability to heal others. Such an angel could easily fix this issue for him. Even if he couldn’t find one, the red marks would be gone in less than a day, his body’s superior healing ability quickly erasing them.

“Would you like to come in for some coffee or a drink? It’s the least I can do as payment for being my hero.”

Marcus stared at her. Coffee was payment for being a hero? He hadn’t indulged in such drugs in a long time and while he knew about the sexually stimulating effects that caffeine had on his kind, he had no interest in drinking coffee with Amelia. If he did that, he wasn’t sure what would happen between them, but it would certainly be embarrassing for him.

“No, thank you,” he said and when she looked as though she needed a reason for his refusal, he added, “It will keep me awake.”

She still didn’t seem satisfied. She shifted foot to foot, her gaze darting down to her hands in front of her, and then looked right into his eyes again.

“How about I ice those knuckles instead then?”

Marcus glanced into her low-lit apartment and then back at her, and caught the fear in her eyes as she looked down at the stairwell. She was afraid that the man would return and begin harassing her again. He would accept her offer but not because he needed her to assist him with his healing. He would go with her because he could see that the man had won and had shaken her up, and that she was asking him to stay with her a while because she was scared.

It was his duty to protect her. Tonight, that duty could extend to guarding her a little more closely than usual. Once she had settled and was comfortable with the idea of being alone again, he would take his leave.

He nodded when her attention returned to him.

Amelia led the way into the apartment, leaving him to muse what he had done tonight and his duty.

She deserved better.

A better life.

That was the reason he was here—to keep her safe and watch over her. To protect her from the creeps and from something else.

To give her that better life.

He was sure of it.

Marcus followed her towards the kitchen, noting that the layout of her apartment differed slightly to his as he passed through the pale square lounge. There were no windows in it, just like his one, because the bedroom and bathroom lined the exterior wall opposite him. Their positions in the apartment were reversed in his. He stared through the open door of the room to the right. Her bedroom was next to his and the head of her bed rested against his wall. She slept so close to him, yet he couldn’t feel her when he was in bed, couldn’t sense her on the other side. At such proximity, he should have been able to even when her signature was dulled by her sleeping. His gaze fell to rest on the long cream couch angled towards the television set to his right in the corner of the lounge. A pillow occupied one arm of the sofa and a scrunched up dark blue blanket sat at the other end.

Did she sleep on the couch?

He looked through into the bedroom again, frowning at the smooth covers on the double bed.

Was that why he couldn’t feel her when he was in his bedroom?

Back when he had been watching over her from Heaven, she had always slept in her bed. Had something happened recently to change that? If it had, it must have occurred in the past month when he had been in the mortal realm. When he was here, he couldn’t watch over her as he had in Heaven, able to view her through buildings using the power granted to the angels of his division. He had to physically see her.

Amelia came back out of the room to his left. He dragged his gaze away from the bedroom and the bathroom next to it, and finished crossing the room to the open double doors that led into the kitchen. Her small kitchen was brighter than his, the cupboards a pale type of wood, with stainless steel appliances.

Some former owner of his apartment had deemed it stylish to have a dark kitchen. Marcus deemed it impractical. It was a nightmare to keep clean so he had given up feeding himself shortly after moving in and had resorted to eating take away food, instant meals or eating out.

Marcus leaned against the kitchen counter, his hand throbbing. It had been a while since he had felt physical pain. He couldn’t remember the last time it had hurt to punch something.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had fought someone.

Amelia placed a red and white chequered tea-towel down on the side and emptied out several trays of ice cubes into it. She gathered the ends and twisted the bulk of the cloth around to keep the ice in, and then came over to him. He started when she took hold of his hand, gently slipping her fingers under it so they brushed his palm, and raised it. Heat travelled up his arm and it had nothing to do with pain this time.

She rested the ice pack on his knuckles and he didn’t feel the cold at all. He stared at their joined hands, urgently trying to decipher how she had warmed him with only a light touch and alarmed by the hard beat of his heart against his chest. She looked up into his eyes, her grey ones full of warmth again, softening her delicate features and holding his attention.

“Thank you.” She glanced away again, her gaze briefly dropping to their hands and the ice pack, and then met his eyes. His pain faded in an instant, driven away by the heat of her touch and her concerned expression, and he marvelled at the effect she had on him. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. She was his duty and that was all she could ever be. Once he had fulfilled his mission, he would finally request his transfer and would never see her again. Her thumb brushed his and fire shimmered over his skin. “I really am sorry that he woke you and that you had to hit him.”

“I said it was nothing.” Marcus hadn’t needed to hit the man. He could have compelled him to stop but he had reacted on instinct, and for some reason that instinct had been to punch him. He could think of a million situations with mortals when he had been in danger and had compelled them. Why not this time?

Had Amelia’s presence as a witness deterred him?

Or was she the reason he had struck the man?

He had been consumed by anger, enraged by what the man had said about himself and Amelia, driven to violence by a handful of words.

He was Amelia’s protector. Her guardian.

He was not her lover.

Her fingertips grazed his palm as she removed the ice pack and inspected his left hand. A shiver tripped up his arm and down his spine, and his shoulder blades itched. He took his hand away from her and rolled his shoulders, trying to relieve the tension building there.

His wings wanted out.

“How are they feeling?”

Marcus’s head snapped up, his eyes immediately locking on Amelia. His wings? She nodded towards his knuckles and relief swept through him.

“Fine,” he said absently and breathed slowly to steady his racing heart.

There was no way she could know about his wings but, for a moment, it had felt as though she had been reading his mind. It had been a while since his wings had wanted to come out. After five centuries of living with them sealed away, he had grown used to them not being there. It had been strange becoming accustomed to them again when the binding curse had started to lose effect over thirty years ago. Most of the time, he was content to physically put them away as he was now. It took concentration to maintain their disappearance but it used less energy than hiding them from human eyes with a glamour, and it was far easier to move around in the mortal realm without worrying about accidentally knocking things over with them.

“Are you alright?” Amelia ducked towards him, interrupting his view of his knuckles and replacing it with an altogether more pleasant one of her face and her cleavage.

Marcus stared at her plump full breasts, his pulse picking up again, and then averted his eyes. Women had no shame. It was little wonder his master had decided that they should not serve him. They were wily, manipulative, a distraction, and considered by most as the source of all sin.

“Fine,” Marcus repeated and took the ice pack from her, ramming it onto the back of his hand when all he wanted to do was stick it down his jogging bottoms to bring his libido under control.

His fellow warriors had warned him about women, especially ones as beautiful as Amelia, and he wholeheartedly believed every word that they said. Women were dangerous. He would not falter though. Amelia was his mission and his allegiance was to his master, his loyalty to his duty, and nothing would change that.

Once this irksome mission had ended, he would return to Heaven and request his transferral as originally planned, and would join the ranks of the soldiers who protected the realm of Heaven from intruders and wars. He would defend that which he believed in. Not this mortal world, but his world.

He had never physically guarded a human before but was certain that his assignment to act as her next door neighbour was a sign that his mission was progressing and soon he would be free of it.

He couldn’t wait to return home.

“How are you feeling?” Marcus took the ice pack away from his hand and set it down in the stainless steel sink beside him.

Amelia shrugged. “Better, I guess.”

She didn’t look better. The weary edge was back in her eyes, draining them of warmth, and he found himself desiring to comfort her.

“He won’t come back.” His words had the desired effect and she brightened for a brief moment and then it faded again.

“You don’t know that.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I do pick them.”

Marcus turned and ran his hand under the cold water, letting it wash away the trace of blood on his knuckles. When he reached for the tap to shut it off again, he felt Amelia’s eyes on his bare back, boring into his shoulders, and lingered a moment. Would she mention the marks he had revealed by carelessly turning his back on her?

“It won’t be long before I drive you away too.”

Those words, softly spoken, caused him to look over his shoulder at her, a frown drawing his dark eyebrows tightly together. She dropped her gaze and then met his with resolution that didn’t surprise him. This was the Amelia he had come to know these past three decades. Strong, able to face anything head on, unflinching.

“What makes you say that?” Marcus turned back to face her, aware now that he was bare from the waist up and was probably only encouraging any attraction she might feel towards him. He should have put on a t-shirt before leaving his apartment but he’d had one thing on his mind—getting the irritating bastard in the hallway to shut up so he could sleep.

Or was it purely so he could sleep?

He stared at Amelia, taking in the way her cheeks coloured as he did so and how she couldn’t hold his gaze.

He had thought only of protecting her.

Defending her.

“The last bloke who lived alone next door to me left only a couple of months after moving in.”

Marcus knew for a fact that the man had been forcibly evicted due to a minor error in payments caused by Heaven’s intervention but had later won money on the lottery that had allowed him to place a down payment on the house of his dreams. The young man had been the easiest target to remove in order to place Marcus close to Amelia. The old lady who lived in the apartment on the other side of Amelia was frail and had lived in the building for over twenty years and relied on those around her to assist her. She also slept heavily, meaning that Amelia’s ex-boyfriends didn’t wake her when they came to knock down her door. Marcus would have had a contender in the guardian stakes if the young man had remained living next to her and they had moved the old lady.

“You do live alone, don’t you?” There was a tremble to that question.

Marcus nodded without thinking and then considered the implications of his answer when Amelia’s grey eyes warmed again. A loaded question. She had cleverly used it to discern his availability.

He briefly considered making up a girlfriend in order to obliterate any attraction she might feel towards him so he could continue his mission in peace but couldn’t get the words out when he looked into her eyes again.

The space between them shrank until it felt as though she was barely inches from him. Her soft breathing filled his ears, drawing his attention down to the sensual bow of her dusky pink lips. The tip of her tongue swept across them, leaving moisture in its wake, luring him in.

How long had it been since he had kissed a woman?

Not in this lifetime, that was for sure.

Marcus dragged his eyes away from her, shutting down his emotions at the same time. Amelia was a mission. He couldn’t allow things to become complicated. Not when he wasn’t even sure why he had to protect her.

He couldn’t get involved with her.

He had to maintain his distance.

No matter how impossible that seemed now.

No matter how much he wanted her.

DOWNLOAD EXTENDED EXCERPT PDF

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Guardian%20Angel
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-guardian-angel-felicity-heaton/1104775871
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Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B005EUJIG8/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B005EUJIG8/

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1463788363/
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1463788363/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-guardian-angel-felicity-heaton/1032773836

Posted in extended excerpts | Comments Off on angel romance book – Her Guardian Angel – extended excerpt

vampire werewolf romance book – Winter’s Kiss – extended excerpt

Posted on 31st October 2011 by Felicity Heaton

I’m sticking with my Vampires Realm series for my next extended excerpt. This time I’m offering a chance to read a long excerpt from my vampire werewolf romance book Winter’s Kiss.

You’ve met the hero of Winter’s Kiss in a character interview and also in the flash fic I posted on Sunday. You’ve also met his heroine in her character interview in my previous post. Here’s your chance to learn more about this vampire and werewolf and their forbidden love story!

As usual, here’s some information about the book plus a teaser chapter to get you all started and the link to the PDF download.

F E Heaton
Their lord drinks blood and they are dead men walking. The tales of the mansion don’t stop Nika from falling for one of the guards, but when wolves attack her and he rides to her rescue, she discovers that her knight is anything but saintly. He is a vampire and she is becoming a werewolf, and love between their species is forbidden—the penalty death.

Winter’s world is shaken beyond salvation and his allegiance to his bloodline tested as he watches the woman he’s fallen for turn into a werewolf. His heart demands vengeance and that he protects her, both from the werewolf now hunting for her and from himself, but she tempts him more than he can bear and it isn’t long into their journey before he’s torn between upholding the law and succumbing to desire.

Will Nika be able to convince Winter to leave his world and stay with her or will she spend eternity dreaming of Winter’s kiss?


» DOWNLOAD EXTENDED EXCERPT PDF

ebook price: $2.99
paperback price: $7.99
genre: paranormal werewolf romance
length: 78000 words
rating: sultry
released: June 2009
Book 8 in the Vampires Realm series

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Winter’s%20Kiss
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000802090/
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-winter039skiss-620974-139.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/winters-kiss/_/R-400000000000000254325
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Winters-Kiss/mix-SbRY0TdPE0-Zl8QkcSDTzA/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7932
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0035LDN4Q/

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456489895/
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1456489895/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/F-Heaton/e/9781456489892/

EXCERPT

A scream rent the still night air.

Winter raised his head. The brush in his right hand paused against his horse’s sleek black flank. He frowned, calculating the distance from where he stood in the stable courtyard to the person who had shrieked. The human female voice could carry for miles on nights as calm as tonight. If she screamed again, he would be able to pinpoint her location to within one hundred metres.

A Watchman of the Validus bloodline, Winter had spent years honing his skills in tracking, hunting and killing to the highest echelon of perfection. They gave him the ability to ascertain that whoever the victim was, she was over three miles away.

He returned to his work, lovingly stroking the huge beast’s glossy coat and murmuring soothing words to him. It had been too long since he’d had the chance to ride. The rotation of duties within the household and Hyperion’s plan to spread their empire wider across Europe had left him with longer shifts at the gate. It was an honour to protect his lord, but long nights spent braced against the freezing winds that scathed the landscape in this part of Russia were tiring and left him little time before dawn to ride. His eyes closed. Honour wasn’t the only good thing to come of standing guard from sunset to sunrise.

He saw her more often.

An image of her flashed across Winter’s mind. Pale blonde hair hanging in waves down her back. Sparkling green eyes that glittered under the moonlight. A cherub’s rosy lips that promised sweet kisses and an imp’s smile that spoke of mischief. That image had branded itself on his mind the first night he had seen her as an adult. Every night that she passed and looked at him out of the corner of her eye, she burned her face a little deeper into his heart.

His horse kicked impatiently at the floor, scratching the scattered hay away from the dirt and leaving a long groove.

Winter patted Midnight tenderly on the neck and placed the brush down. Gathering the large black saddle, he positioned it on the horse’s high back and let his thoughts wander while he buckled the straps.

They instantly roamed back to her. Many years had passed since Winter had first seen her. She had been a little girl then. Now she had become a beautiful woman. Perhaps soon she would find the courage to speak to him for longer. She had stopped a few times, always singling him out even though his black armour covered him from head to toe, leaving only the section across his eyes exposed. She had spoken to him tonight, asking him why he wore armour and guarded the mansion. He hadn’t answered her. He had no place talking to humans when he was on duty.

There had been a beautiful lack of fear about her. Not even the sight of the naginata that he and the other Watchman held bothered her. Perhaps one day he could turn her. He cursed under his breath and tightened the last strap on the saddle. Those were not thoughts that he should be entertaining. His loyalty was to his lord and his bloodline first and foremost. He had a debt to repay. Once he felt as though he was worthy of asking his lord for permission to court the girl, he would, but until then he had a duty to do.

And that duty came first.

No matter what his feelings for her were.

A ride would clear his head.

A wolf howl sliced through the night.

Winter tensed and instinctively brushed his long heavy black cloak aside and reached for the sword hanging at his side. His fingers closed around the hilt as he calculated the distance to the howl.

Three miles.

Was the wolf after the woman?

Another scream shattered the returning silence. This time, it was a word.

“Niet!”

Winter’s eyes shot wide, an emotion rushing into his heart that he hadn’t felt in long years. Fear. The girl. He would know her voice anywhere.

With the preternatural speed and grace of his kind, Winter mounted the horse and bolted straight for the stable entrance. Midnight thundered forward, hooves pounding the dirt in a sure confident gallop. The gates barely had time to open as they approached. Winter tucked into the horse, bringing his feet up behind him along with the stirrups. The half-open wrought iron gates brushed his knees as they raced through, almost knocking the guards over.

Someone shouted something abusive in his direction.

He didn’t have time to slow down. The moment they had turned onto the road, he urged Midnight on, lowering his feet again but leaning forwards against its neck. It stretched forwards too, mimicking his move and galloping harder as though it had sensed his desperation.

The bottom of Winter’s chest armour dug into his hips as he rode. His long cloak streamed out behind him. The light flurry of snow became bitter darts of ice that cut into his eyes, forcing him to squint. He changed, his eyes turning purple to reveal his bloodline as his senses sharpened. The thundering hooves of his horse were the only sound in an otherwise still world. Winter snapped the reins. Midnight snorted and galloped faster, heading directly for the woods with no sign of slowing.

Winter willed the woman to make another noise, or the wolves to break their silence. He needed to get a fix on their location but it wasn’t only that driving him to beg the woman to shout or scream. He needed to know that she was still alive.

He hunkered down against his horse’s neck when they entered the thick forest of pines. Snow exploded from the branches as they crashed through them, heedless of the pain it caused them both. His armour would protect him from the whip-like branches of the trees, and his horse, Midnight, would go wherever he bid him to, regardless of whether it hurt.

A branch hit Winter directly across the black leather and metal mask covering his nose and mouth. It smacked the armour against his nose and forced a flinch from him as pain shot out in warm waves across his skull. He turned Midnight to his right and towards a more open area of forest. While the pain didn’t bother him, it would dampen his senses and he needed those as sharp as possible.

He pulled Midnight to a halt in a clearing and scanned the darkness, stretching out with his senses and searching for her. The wintry weather hadn’t managed to penetrate the dense trees and the ground was clear of snow, leaving him without a visible trail to follow. He breathed deep, catching a faint hint of her scent on the breeze. She had been here. He cursed. Where was she now?

Was she dead?

Had the wolves killed her already?

That thought made a dull ache settle in his chest. Winter refused to believe it. He wouldn’t believe it until he saw her body for himself. Another deep breath caught a stronger scent. A growl rumbled up through his chest.

Not wolves.

Werewolves.

His eyes narrowed into dark slits between his black helmet and facemask. He stared into the distance as one hand left the reins and closed around the hilt of his sword. Blood would spill tonight. Not only because werewolves had dared to enter Validus territory. If they had killed her, no, if they had even touched her, they would die by his hand.

A distant scream reached his ears.

He pulled on Midnight’s reins.

Midnight reared onto his hind legs, whinnied and then broke into a gallop. Winter sneered behind his facemask, his blood calling for violence.

* * * *

Nika walked the quiet winding path through the woods, wishing she had chosen to wear her thicker coat. Thick fake fur lined the long black coat she wore and it would have been warm enough under normal circumstances in late spring, but tonight was bitterly cold and the icy wind was searching, discovering cracks and places it could sneak into the coat and chill her to the bone. It was strange to have such wintry weather this side of spring. When she had left, the weather had been pleasant enough, and the snow had melted. Now it had come back with a vengeance. She had hoped the weather would be warm and sunny by the time she had returned from the city.

She folded her arms across her chest, trying to keep a little heat in. Her coat and dress reached the floor, both grazing the leaf litter and twigs that covered the path. The wind found its way into there too and blew upwards, snaking around her legs and sending her shivering. Her honey hair blew across her face as she turned and she clawed it away, thankful she’d had the good sense to take two long strands from beside her temples and plait them before tying them at the back of her head. It kept the bulk of her hair in place but left the long strands from that point downwards to dance in the breeze.

At least the snow couldn’t make it through the trees.

Nika hummed quietly to herself while she walked, thinking about how nice it would be to arrive home and sit down in front of the fire. The thought of that warm blaze made the cold feel distant. She wasn’t far from the village now. Soon she would be safe in her family’s home, out of the frigid night and bleak woods. It felt like months rather than weeks since she had gone away to St. Petersburg. A smile touched her lips when she recalled walking past the mansion. He had been on guard duty again, silent and sentinel outside the gate with another man. She knew it was him. Those beautiful dark eyes had spoken to her as they always did, telling her words that her heart loved to listen to. He never looked at her, but there was always a strange emotion in his eyes when she stopped in front of him. The cold emptiness that used to fill them disappeared, leaving what her heart interpreted as warmth behind.

She didn’t know who he was, or even what he looked like beneath his armour, but she knew one thing. She wanted no other man in this world.

Her heart lightened as memories of him came back, always protecting the gates of the large mansion. On the few occasions that she had plucked up the courage to speak to him, he had never uttered a word back at her. He hadn’t even spoken tonight when she had mentioned the tales about the man he guarded. Terrible tales they were. Stories of demons and death, of bloodshed and violence. Her whole village whispered of them. They were right in a way. There was something different about the men there. In all the years that she had passed those gates, that man had never changed. Not when she was a child and not now that she was an adult. It was the same man. He hadn’t aged one year in the twenty she had seen him. She was sure of it.

Through the trees, pinpricks of light flickered in the darkness. The village. She doubled her pace, thinking only of the warm fire and seeing her father again.

A howl sliced the night in two.

Nika froze to the spot, ears pricked and heart thundering.

Perhaps it had been the wind.

Low growls made her head snap around. Seven large dark shapes slinked out of the shadows. Their fur spiked in a line down their backs, wriggling like a snake when they shook themselves and growled at her. They stepped onto the path between her and the village. These were no ordinary wolves. She remembered them from her childhood. They had killed half of the village.

The one in front lowered its head and stared at her with bright amber eyes that promised a painful death. It snarled to reveal huge canines.

Nika screamed.

Before it could attack, she turned, dropped her bag and ran. She grabbed the front of her coat and skirt, lifting them so she could sprint unhindered, and headed through the woods in the direction of the mansion.

It wasn’t long before her legs were beginning to tire. Their muscles strained under the pressure of running over the uneven ground and seized up as the fear broke into her mind, sending panicked thoughts pounding through her skull.

She was going to die.

The voice at the back of her mind told her to give up, but she wouldn’t. She wasn’t ready to die. It was something that happened to someone else, not to her or the people she loved. If she could make it to the mansion, she would be safe. The men there would fend off the wolves. The man would protect her.

Nika shrieked again as she tripped on a branch hidden beneath the frozen leaf litter and hit the ground hard. She immediately scrabbled to her feet and ran blindly into the forest, desperate to escape the wolves. Behind her came their thundering feet and heavy panting. They were closing in.

In the blink of an eye, it was over. The full weight of one of the wolves hit her in the back, sending her tumbling to the floor. Another howled. She turned and wrestled the wolf off her, scrambling across the dirt away from it. One of them grabbed her ankle, the thick leather of her boot the only thing protecting the delicate joint. It growled. Nika screwed her eyes shut and brought her hands up in front of her face as the others leapt at her.

“Niet!”

Nika kicked the wolf off her ankle, eliciting a whimper from it, and pushed against the others. Breaking free, she got to her feet and ran again. Moonlight broke through a gap in the trees some distance ahead of her, illuminating a small shack.

Her heart willed her to make it there. It was her only chance.

She screamed again when one of the wolves snapped at her, trying to grab her arm. She punched it across the face and kept running, desperate to survive.

A thundering sound joined the cacophony of wolf growls and snarls and her rough breathing. Nika looked ahead of her to see the shack and then a large black horse with rider. She reached out to him, a silent plea for him to help her, and then fell when the wolves pounced on her. Pain erupted in her leg. Her heart missed beats as claws and teeth tore through her clothes.

Her last hope left her when she found herself face to face with the largest wolf. Hot breath washed her face, stealing her own. She sent a prayer to God and stared into the wolf’s yellow eyes, into the eyes of death.

The thundering hooves stopped. Above her the horse’s legs appeared, kicking out as the huge black beast whinnied and snorted. The wolves scattered, leaving her pressed into the dirt and frozen leaf litter, petrified and in too much pain to move.

The horse snorted again as it came down onto all four feet beside her and the rider appeared in her tear-blurred view.

“Hand,” he said in a muffled Russian voice and extended his towards her.

Nika feebly raised hers towards him. She wanted to take hold of that black gloved hand and escape this nightmare. He shook his impatiently. She struggled to move faster, weak from the white-hot pain burning inside every inch of her body. He bent forward on the saddle, caught her hand, and pulled her up into the air as though she weighed nothing. He settled her on the saddle in front of him. Pain shot up her leg and lanced her stomach. It stole her senses, filling them until she knew nothing but the warm pulsing throb. She was vaguely aware of his arm against her back and his hand on her waist, and the wolves closing in.

He turned the horse. Nika gritted her teeth and leaned into him. Each step of the horse’s gallop jostled her on the saddle. The pain was unbearable, wracking her to the depths of her bones with each movement, but the alternative made her cling to consciousness and life. The wolves growled, closer now. The horse suddenly stopped and the man lowered her to the ground. Her legs buckled beneath her. He caught her before she could collapse and held her close to his hard chest.

“Run!” he said and she hazily wondered if he was talking to her. She didn’t think that she could run. The pain in her leg was too intense, blinding. The horse whinnied. Was he talking to it?

Her heart beat faster, each pulse sending stabbing needles sweeping around her body. Darkness encroached at the edges of her mind, sending her thoughts fuzzy and her body numb. The man carried her into somewhere and set her down on something soft but lumpy. The sound of wood scraping and heavy objects slamming made her open her eyes. She frowned, vaguely aware that they were in the small shack she had seen and that he was barricading the door.

A wolf howl sounded just outside.

She flinched in pain when she curled up, the wounds on her body stinging. Her left leg burned as though it was on fire. She couldn’t move it. She left it lying limp in front of her. The man looked at her and then around the small hut.

“Do not be frightened,” he said, as though those four words could erase all her fear.

It crushed her chest and stole her breath. She struggled to suck in air, panic closing her throat and pain making the slightest thing too hard. Her leg was wet. She could feel the steady slide of blood down her arms. Oh God. She was going to die.

Her panic only increased when the dreadful sound of claws against wood filled the small shack. Snarls came in under the door and growls made her skin crawl. She tried to back away but the sound surrounded her, leaving her nowhere to go. The man stood at the door, his tall figure a black shadow in the low light. He didn’t move. He stood sentinel with his hand on the hilt of the sword at his side.

The blade of which gleamed when he began to draw it.

The wolves scrabbled faster at the door and walls, as though they were trying to dig their way through. Nika reached out to the man, numb and petrified. He stepped towards the door and her heart slammed against her chest.

The two small windows on either side of the door exploded, showering her and the man in glass. The wolves leapt high, paws scrambling for purchase on the windowsill. They disappeared again only to attempt another go at getting into the building.

The man fully drew his sword.

She extended her hand further towards him. “You can’t fight. There’s too many!”

A terrible scream made them both jump. She had never heard such a horrifying and inhuman sound. A chill swept over her back and down her arms. The scream came again amidst a discordant symphony of growls and snarls. She closed her eyes and used the last of her strength to cover her ears, not wanting to hear the horse as it died.

Dreadful silence fell.

» DOWNLOAD EXTENDED EXCERPT PDF

Available in e-book from:
Author’s website: http://www.felicityheaton.com/ebooks.php?title=Winter’s%20Kiss
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/Felicity-Heaton/e/2940000802090/
All Romance eBooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-winter039skiss-620974-139.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/winters-kiss/_/R-400000000000000254325
Kobo Books: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Winters-Kiss/mix-SbRY0TdPE0-Zl8QkcSDTzA/page1.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7932
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle France: http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0035LDN4Q/

Available in paperback from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456489895/
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1456489895/
Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Winters-Kiss/F-Heaton/e/9781456489892/

Posted in extended excerpts | Comments Off on vampire werewolf romance book – Winter’s Kiss – extended excerpt