Pages

Saturday, June 29, 2013

RELEASE DAY BLITZ - ROXANNE DESIRED (BOOK 2 in the Prime Wolf Series) by Gena D. Lutz




Title: Roxanne Desired (Book 2 in the Prime Wolf Series)
Author: Gena D Lutz 
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
Blitz Host: Lady Amber's Tours




Synopsis:
Waking up fur covered and fanged isn't the easiest thing for a girl to deal with. Unfortunately, for Roxanne Delaney, that is her new reality. The only upside is finding herself the bondmate to one hot and sexy werewolf, Nathan Hayes. The downside; learning to adapt to a primal element that craves the rending of flesh and the oh-so-sweet taste of blood. Will this shy waitress-turned-wolf rise to the challenges of this new life—one that is now littered with otherworldly creatures hell-bent on destroying her and the people she cares for? Or will the pressures of a new-found love and difficult battles prove too much for Roxanne to handle?

Author Bio:


Gena D. Lutz lives in the blistering heat of Arizona with her husband and four kids and two very high maintenance dogs, a Chihuahua and Australian Shepard. When she is not busy writing, Lutz can be found watching the classics, like Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, marathon style. Lutz enjoys reading, riding horses, playing poker and looks forward to the day she can travel the world.

Links: 






Tuesday, June 25, 2013

COVER REVEAL & GIVEAWAY - THE SUGAR TICKET by Susan Ricci



COVER REVEAL:  SUGAR TICKET BY SUSAN JEAN RICCI
&
$20 AMAZON GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY!
OPEN TO READERS AND BLOGGERS


Title: The Sugar Ticket
Author: Susan Ricci
Publisher: Jumping Jersey Jenkins Books
Genre: Humorous Romance

Release Date: July 2013

ABOUTSugar Ticket

Only a few months into their marriage and everything seems grand.  Learning to survive her marriage to Jay without the snarkiness Cindy has come to rely on is daunting to say the least.

The Sugar Ticket chronicles the marital journey of two twice-divorced adults learning to accept and embrace the sweetness of their present. When the inevitable complications arise, will the DeMatteo’s gently overcome their obstacles by alleviating the sour taste of the past? Will their third attempt at matrimony flourish? Or will they sweep their issues under the proverbial taboo-topic carpet?

Find out how these two mid-life adolescents meet their daily tribulations head on, as they conquer their fears, retirement woes, secrets revealed, and the most fundamental challenge of all: remaining in love forever.

ABOUTSusan Jean Riccci

I've been writing since I was a wee child and discovered crayons weren't part of a food   group. My sometimes controversial rants have appeared in my local newspaper, the Asbury Park Press, and I've won several awards via the Writer's Digest 78th Annual Writer's Contest and the Philadelphia Writer's Conference.

Over the years, I've been fortunate enough to publish in Parenting Teens Magazine, Good Dog Magazine, and Aim Intercultural Magazine. I'm currently concluding the sequel to Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems, The Sugar Ticket. Then I will move on to revising a contemporary novel called, Slick Trespass

My current release, Dinosaurs & Cherry Stems, is a humorous, contemporary romance about achieving mid-life adolescence, in spite of the baggage incurred with one's history. My eBook, Heart Marks the Spot: Three Short Stories can also be found on Amazon for Kindle as well.

My husband, Joseph, and I live in a lovely town in New Jersey near the sea. Together we have seven children and nine grandchildren.

LINKS:




Monday, June 24, 2013

E-Book Returns and Freebies

Warning! This blog post is a rant!

Which I don't do very often, just sayin'.

But is it just me or do any other authors out there feel like a doormat? 

I’m talking about Amazon’s e-book return policy. It is seven freaking days long! 

Most people can read a book in seven days and that’s exactly what they do. They buy the book, read it, and return it. And then don’t even say thank you or leave a review about it. I’m sure there are a few people who accidentally click the buy button when they meant to click the sample button, and those are legitimate returns and usually happen within minutes of the purchase. But why do we need seven days to return a digital book?


I’ve heard about people even bragging about doing this. They’ve admitted it on blogs and claim that it is the only way they get to read so many books that they wouldn’t necessarily get to read. People, believe it or not this is just another form of stealing. You talk about all the pirate sites offering e-books for free without the author’s consent and here we have a legitimate site that we all trust and use practically doing the same thing.

This goes along with the current trend of FREE E-BOOKS. Another fellow author friend of mine has an awesome post about this and I’m going to direct you there in a minute, but before you go, I just want to put in my two cents here for it seems they may be worth more than my books. It seems like people just wait for books to become free so they don’t have to purchase them. Am I guilty of downloading a free book offered by an author? Yes. But to tell you the truth, I think I’d feel better about them if I had actually paid at least .99 cents for them. In fact, I have recently changed my opinion on this whole free e-book idea. BTW – If you’re waiting for mine to be free again, you can stop right now because I won’t be offering my books for free anymore. I did in the past, thinking it was helping my book’s ranking but it didn’t because the minute the free promo was over, my ranking went right back where it started. I think I must have had about 30,000 free downloads of my book when I offered one for free way back in December 2012 or there about. That’s a lot of readers who should have put some sort of review up on Amazon by now. But unfortunately, I do not have 30,000 reviews. Not even close. Which tells me, not many of those downloads resulted in someone actually reading my book.

I do offer some for .99 cents though, this does count toward the ranking. In fact, some are only .99 cents right now, can't say for how long though. And KDP has the borrow program for prime members which amounts to more $$ per borrow than an actual sale does, so there is an up side to the KDP select program.

But getting back to Amazon’s return policy, allowing readers to read an entire book and return it, essentially means that they are getting our books for free that way too. It seems like the publishing world has a way of sticking it to the “off list” authors one way or another. Before we had a difficult time finding agents and publishers unless we had an in or a super book, which I'm sure a lot were and overlooked. Now we can’t make a dime whether we are published or not. Oh sure, there are tons of success stories out there, but still this current trend of free e-books and Amazon’s return policy worries me and in all honesty is it really that good of a thing? You tell me and if you have a success story because of offering your book for free or you have thoughts about return policies, I'd love to hear them.

Here is the link to that other awesome blog post I mentioned about free books.

Just to clear the air a bit, I love Amazon and the KDP program, and this little rant of mine is in no way meant to slander Amazon or insult any of my fellow author friends who continue to offer their books for free.


Thanks for reading.

The Playlist for Breathe Me by Alexia Purdy


Title: Breathe Me
Author: Alexia Purdy
Genre: Contemporary Romance/New Adult
Publisher: Lyrical Lit. Press
Release Date: May 31
Synopsis: 


Synopsis:

Sometimes the one who broke your heart, needs the most saving.
Piper Sandervale never thought she’d see Sasha Koval ever again. Not since he took her heart, ripped it out and obliterated it from existence. Now, six years have passed and she has run into him once more at the local fairgrounds in Las Vegas. He desperately wants another chance, and he’d do anything to get her back. She’s willing to give him a taste of his own medicine, if this is her chance for payback. But, will she find herself way in over her head?
Something has changed with Sasha and Piper struggles to justify the worth of past hurts to continue her quest for atonement.
Who needs saving now?

Book Links


Alexia currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada–Sin City! She loves to spend every free moment writing or playing with her four rambunctious kids. Writing has always been her dream and she has been writing ever since she can remember. She loves writing paranormal fantasy and poetry and devours books daily. Alexia also enjoys watching movies, dancing, singing loudly in the car and Italian food.

Author Links

                                                        

The Playlist...

Music and writing go hand in hand. It’s the perfect partnership between two amazingly imaginative entities which can fuse into one epic product. I use playlists heavily in my writing and I’d love to share with you my playlist for Breathe Me, my new Contemporary Romance novel about second Chances, love, family and realizing your dreams.
Music helps me focus and gives me so much inspiration on how a novel should feel. When writing action scenes, I listen to fast paced, beat rich music such as R&B, Techno and Dance songs such as Don’t let Me Be Misunderstood by Santa Esmeralda, First of the Year by Skrillex, and music by Daft Funk . If I need a more romantic atmosphere, I switch it to more soft, low and sensual music such as: Stay by Rihanna and Forever Love by Anna Nalick. No song is perfect for every scene and my list is super long. I even have songs for the melancholy moments of life where characters need that broken and devastated feeling to convey them. For that, I use songs such as Breathe Me by Sia, Lies by Mariana and The Diamonds and Let it Go by Fauxliage.
I can’t write without music and I hope the emotional power of each song and tune comes out in my writing as much as I’d love it to.
Here is the playlist I used while writing Breathe Me, I hope you love it as much as I did.

Link to Playlist:
BREATHE Me

Excerpt

 My heart sped up thinking of the nights we’d spent together. Alone with him, I’d been in heaven, utterly lost to the world. Loving the way his fingertips had softly slid down my skin and sent goose bumps flaring throughout my body, it was searing and his scent, intoxicating. How do you get over someone like that? Especially after the day he turned me into a shadow in his midst, left in the cold, alone. It was no different than throwing me under the bus. At the time, it had left me empty, a hollowed mess that I had been left to clear away, bit by painful bit.

But I wasn’t eighteen anymore and definitely not that fragile, naïve and trusting girl I’d once been.


Saturday, June 22, 2013

COVER REVEAL - PERFECTING PATIENCE by Tabatha Varges



Title: Perfecting Patience
Author: Tabatha Vargo
Release Date: July 22, 2013
Genre: New Adult / Contemporary Romance
Presented by: As You Wish Tours


BLURB

Sometimes happy endings are just the beginning of an even harder road.

Although her aunt and sister believe she should get help to deal with her past demons, Patience believes the only thing she needs is Zeke. When he comes back into her world, her life couldn’t be more perfect. Except old demons pick the worst time to surface, and once again their happiness is threatened. Help was never a necessity, but Patience finds out that love isn’t always all you need.

Zeke’s dealt with a lot in his life, but nothing could prepare him for watching the person he loves fall apart. Patience is different, she’s not the girl he came to love. He's willing to do whatever it takes to get her back, but a budding music career and his own demons seem to keep getting in the way. How can you help someone else when you can barely help yourself? Once again Zeke is faced with deciding between his future and the future of Patience.

 
EXCERPT

Turning in his arms to face him, I took in his softly sleeping face. His mouth was slightly open and his long dark lashes relaxed against his high cheekbones. Running a finger down the side of his face earned me a deep husky moan. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever heard. His facial hair felt like warm velvet against my cheek as I leaned in and pressed a tiny kiss on the corner of his mouth.

I backed away, expecting to continue to watch him sleep, but he followed me up with his eyes still closed and started to kiss me. Again he moaned when I allowed him access and he slipped his tongue into my mouth. Flipping me onto my back, his naked body covered mine. The white sheet tangled around our bodies as he pressed himself to mine.

His hand worked its way up my side brushing against my breast and I released a tiny sound into his mouth. His hand continued its journey until he rested it against the side of my neck. Tattooed fingers dug into the hairs on the back of my neck as he invaded my mouth with Zeke sweetness.

Pulling away, he gazed down at me with sleepy eyes and a lazy grin.

“You woke us up.” His voice was rough with sleep.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, “Us?”

Looking down between our bodies, he looked back up at me with a smile as he pressed his hips into mine. Hard heat that pushed into my thigh and I lifted my hips for more. He smiled down at me and shifted the hair out of his eyes.

“Yes… us. I’m okay in the morning, but the prick downstairs will take a jab at you if you wake him up.


AUTHOR BIO
Tabatha's been writing since she could pick up a pencil. Her first publication was a little poem in her elementary school paper, from that point on she was hooked. When she was a teenager, she traded in her girly magazines for personalized writing notebooks.

At nineteen, she met her own personal prince charming and writing took a back burner for a while. She's now married to that prince and the mother of a beautiful seven-year-old princess/rock star. Once her daughter was born, writing came back into her life, and she finished her very first novel, Wicked Fate, in May of 2009.

She's now pursuing her English degree and she hopes to one day teach while continuing to write.




Thursday, June 20, 2013

BROKEN STRING by Nancy Means Wright


Book Title:  Broken Strings
Author:  Nancy Means Wright
Release Date:  May 7th 2013
Genre:  Mystery
Publisher:  GMTA PublishingLLC
Presented by:  As You Wish Tours







 BRIEF SYNOPSIS


When puppeteer Marion collapses during a performance of Sleeping Beauty, her friend Fay Hubbard promises to carry on. But Fay already has her hands full with three demanding foster children, Apple and Beets, who have a fractious jailbird father—and sixteen-year-old Chance, who has a crush on a much older guy in a band called Ghouls. And now Marion’s husband Cedric seems more interested in a drop-dead-gorgeous French teacher than in any string puppets. And who is the mysterious Skull-man who warns of death if the show goes on with one of Marion’s offbeat endings? When an autopsy reveals that Marion had swallowed a dose of deadly crushed yew—and a friend finds her sister dangling from a rod like a marionette, a shocked Fay goes after the killer.

BURIED UNDER BOOKS


             My 6’2” spouse is strong and able but he’s diabetic. He’s not crazy about shoveling snow or mowing two acres of grass. And I was growing tired of paying $500 each time the fuel truck came to our 1835 home—a charming house, yes, but full of holes. So we decided to downsize. To simplify our lives, as Thoreau advised back in the 19th-century
       I was busy promoting my 18th-century novels—a mystery series featuring fiery Mary Wollstonecraft, and then a “tween” novel, Walking into the Wild, set during the end of the American Revolution. A new mystery, Broken Strings, about a madcap puppeteer, was in progress. More disturbing still was a languid economy. Was this the right time to downsize, with its exhausting weeks of sorting, packing, organizing, finding the right place and, worse, finding a buyer for the current home?
    We did it anyway. In April, just as my weeping cherry tree was putting out its fragrant pink blossoms, we succumbed to a moment of madness and listed the old house with a hot shot out-of-town Realtor. “He’ll sell you to a lovely new family,” we told the house. 
     Instead, he sold us on a condo in the next town of Middlebury. We thrilled at the thought of no more shovelling, mowing, dragging out trash in sealed cans to keep away the wildebeests. We downsized with passion. We filled a dumpster the size of a Mack Truck with broken tools, boxes of memorabilia, all sacrificed to the cause of simplicity. “Less is more,” I told my skeptical family as I gave away hundreds of books, and packed thousands more. 
     We now owned two houses, two sets of taxes, and the threat of more snow to shovel if no one made an offer by late fall. But autumn came and went, with only one anonymous looker. I thought of my first published mystery, out from St Martin’s Press with a lovely review—and then thundering silence.
     We moved in a thunderstorm on July 18. Three men got the furniture out in a single
wet hour—the sofa eventually dried out. A grandson helped lug myriad boxes of books I
knew I’d have no room for but “couldn’t do without.” Our Maine Coon cats went
catatonic as their favorite haunts disappeared, bed by lounge chair. The movers made
muddy gashes in the lawn as they struggled up the condo hill with bed, dressers, hutch. I
thought of Mary Wollstonecraft moving beyond the Paris gates during the bloodiest part
of the French Revolution. From her hired carriage where she sat buried under books, she
could see the tumbrils rattling toward the guillotine with their cargo of heartsick victims.
     Did Mary ever wish she’d never left her home in London?  Often, I bet—especially after her lover got her pregnant and then abandoned her!  I still mourn my old house. My weeping cherry, the gingko tree, the view of Bread Loaf Mountain. And the books I had to give away.
     But finally the house sold. And my novel found a delightful new publisher. The spring bulbs we planted in last December’s frozen ground are about to blossom, along with the new mystery. The marionettes are dancing on their strings in my livingroom, ready to perform a short play I’ve written to help launch Broken Strings. 
     …With the fervent prayer, of course, that no one will break the strings of these precious marionettes—or all is lost!
                                                                                                      
Nancy Means Wright
  


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nancy Means Wright has published 17 books, including 6 contemporary mysteries from St Martin’s Press and two historical novels featuring 18th-century Mary Wollstonecraft (Perseverance Press). Her two most recent books are the mystery Broken Strings (GMTA publishing) and Walking into the Wild, an historical novel for tweens (LLDreamspell). Her children’s mysteries have received an Agatha Award and Agatha nomination. Nancy lives in Middlebury with her spouse and two Maine Coon cats.

AUTHOR LINKS

BOOK LINKS
  

  

Monday, June 17, 2013

SPOTLIGHT - FINDING LOVE'S WINGS by Zoey Ferrick



Title: Finding Love’s Wings
Author: Zoey Derrick
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: May 15 2013
Word Count: 102,000
Approximate Pages: 262
Formats: EBook & Print 


Blurb:

CAMERON ENDERS seems to have it all: a brand new condo in a city she loves, a top executive position at an international entertainment firm, an insane amount of money, and a gorgeous boyfriend. But when Cami catches the boyfriend in the act with another woman, it triggers all the anguish from years of neglect by her parents, and she realizes she never learned how to love or be loved. Cami flees to the remote tropical island of Tarah, but she can't avoid facing her problems any longer when she meets the man of her fantasies...

TRISTAN MICHAELS, one of Hollywood's hottest new stars, has come to Tarah to ride out a storm. His girlfriend of five years has been caught on camera cheating, and she's determined to make Tristan stop the story from breaking. But Tristan's done cleaning up her messes. He needs to escape all things Hollywood for a while--and especially the firm that represents him--until the whole thing blows over. What he doesn't count on is meeting an irresistibly beautiful woman, a woman who just so happens to be the CEO of the firm he's trying to avoid.

Can Tristan and Cami help each other learn to trust and love again, or will their histories of betrayal tear them apart?


Book Links



Something about


It is from Glendale, Arizona that Zoey Derrick, a mortgage underwriter by day and romance and erotica novelist by night, writes stories as hot as the desert sun itself. It is this passion that drips off of her work, bringing excitement to anyone who enjoys a good and sensual love story.
Not only does she aim to take her readers on an erotic dance that lasts the night, it allows her to empty her mind of stories we all wish were true.Her stories are hopeful yet true to life, skillfully avoiding melodrama and the unrealistic, bringing her gripping Erotica only closer to the heart of those that dare dipping into it.
The intimacy of her fantasies that she shares with her readers is thrilling and encouraging, climactic yet full of suspense. She is a loving mistress, up for anything, of which any reader is doomed to return to again and again.

Author Media Links

 Blog

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Interview, Excerpt and Giveaway with J.L. McCoy, author of Legacy of Blood


 Today, join me as I welcome J.L. McCoy and her new release,
 Legacy of Blood 
Interview, Excerpt, and Giveaway!

Title: Legacy of BloodAuthor: J.L. McCoySeries: Skye Morrison Vampire Series (#4)Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal RomancePublisher: Self PublishedRelease Date: Feb 16 2013Edition/Formats Available In: E~Book & PrintSynopsis:

"Skye Morrison begged for death.  Fortunately, someone didn't listen.
Skye awakens to discover she has been irrevocably changed and the unprecedented circumstances of her rebirth have now created a new threat to her very existence. Sired by both the monster Amun and the vampire Archer Rhys, Skye must prove to the army of An Dilis (The Faithful) whose essence is most dominant within her and that she is not a danger to them or society.  The Faithful soon discover that she is unlike any vampire ever created before as she struggles to adjust to her new life and the changes that come with it.
Her recent brush with death has made Skye realize that life is precious and she wastes no time telling the one she loves how she feels about him.
But, Amun finds out that someone interfered with Skye's transformation and the intrusion makes him livid.  He gives Skye 7 days to come to him or he threatens to begin killing the ones she loves most. 

Will Skye be able to survive long enough to enjoy her new life now that Amun is hunting her and everyone she loves?

Book Links



About J.L. McCoy 



J. L. McCoy resides in the beautifully weird city of Austin, Texas with her opinionated Pekiweenie Isabel and handsome husband Kenny.  She has always been a passionate reader and enjoys watching movies, traveling, listening to heavy metal/classic rock/80s music, getting mani/pedis with her girls, and singing karaoke.  She loves body art and is hopelessly addicted to Sonic’s ice and Route 44 un-sweet raspberry iced tea. 

The Interview

Hi, J.L. I’m so glad you could join me today. I know your fans are eager to learn a little bit about you. For starters, can you share with us what the J and the L stand for?

            Thank you so much for having me!  I’m really excited to be here.  The J and L are the initials of my first and middle name.  Everyone just calls me Jenn.

1. How did you decide what genre you wanted to write?

            Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy was just a natural choice for me.  It’s my favorite genre to read so I knew I’d enjoy writing it.

2.  Is there anything unique about the setting for your new book?

            Well, the story takes place in Austin, Texas and anyone who has been to Austin knows it’s a pretty unique city (not to mention the Live Music Capital of the world).  We pride ourselves on our weirdness.

3. Speaking of weirdness, and many people who don’t write sometimes think we are weird about this but do your characters seem real to you? Can you relate to their story in any way that you would like to share with your fans?

            My characters are very real to me.  Skye Morrison is a part of me and I think that’s why her story is so easy to write.  I think the thing I relate most with is Skye’s constant struggle to please everyone in her life.  Skye tries her hardest to be the person each of her friends need and sometimes it just leads to disappointment.  We are perfectly imperfect creatures.

4. Do your characters remind you of any one in particular?

            I can’t say that they do.  My characters are unique to themselves. 

5. Does you heroine have any of yourself in her? If so, what features are those?

            There is quite a bit of my personality in Skye’s character.  We are both fiercely loyal and protective of those we love, sassy, and we have the mouth of a sailor when we are angry.

6. I’ll try to remember not to make you mad. J Do your characters change throughout the course of the story?

            Yes.  My main character Skye grows and evolves as her story continues.  She learns a lot about herself and how to deal with the issues she’s struggled with for most of her human life.

7.  Was any part of the book difficult to write or make you feel uncomfortable?

            I am not great at writing sex scenes.  I blush every time.

8.  Understandable. Was there any particular song or song track that inspired Legacy of Blood?

            There were a few songs that were instrumental in Legacy of Blood’s creation.  (Never Gonna Give You Up and These Days by The Black Keys, Fade Into You by Mazzy Star, plus many more)  I discuss it in the back of the book and also provide a full track list.

9. Legacy of Blood has a gorgeous cover. Can you share your designer with us and how you chose the picture?

            Thank you!  I’m totally in love with the cover myself and couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.  The photo was quite easy to pick.  Of all the shots we took of the model in that position, that one was the best.  The look on her face really says it all.  The cover was designed by Omar Rodriguez V. Digital Art.  Omar does phenomenal work and has done covers 2-4 of the SMVS.  Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/OmarRodriguezV.Art?fref=ts

10.  When you write, are you a plotter or a panster?

            I’m a bit of both actually.  I plot the big events of a book but let the story flow naturally in between.

11.  How long did it take you to write Legacy of Blood?

            About 2 months.

12.  What’s in store for the future? Any other books in the works?

            I’m currently working on the 5th book in the Skye Morrison Vampire Series and I also have a side book I’m working on.  It’s a contemporary romance novel.

13.  Can you describe your writing workspace?

            Colorful and a bit cluttered.  ;)

Fun Stuff

White or Red Wine?

            Totally depends on my mood, but mostly white or blushes.

Favorite Ice Cream?

            Cherry Garcia

Favorite Food?

            Sushi

Favorite place to read?

            Curled up in bed

Thank you, Jenn, for sharing about your book and sharing some of your secrets with us today. It was a pleasure to have you here today.

            It was fun!  Thanks again!

J.L.'s Social Media Links

 Blog

Other Books in the Skye Morrison Series



Praise for Legacy of Blood


"[Legacy of Blood] left me breathless and wanting more."  -NarlyNut's Book Lovers and Reviews
"J.L. McCoy takes us on a continued ride of intense, enthralling, page turning fascination."(praise for The Original Sin) -NarlyNut's Book Lovers and Reviews
"And I can't wait to sink my fangs into the next book, to see what the hell is going on with Skye. Once again I give this book Five GOTHIC stars!!!" (praise for The Original Sin) -CYNTHIA SHEPP BOOK REVIEWS & EDITING
"This series floored me! I was sucked in (pun intended) from the very beginning." -Bex 'N' Books

For your pleasure, an Excerpt of Legacy of Blood

As soon as my head hit my pillow, and I fully relaxed, my eyes began to grow heavy.   All of the excitement I had been through today had taken its toll on me mentally.  I desperately needed to sleep and recharge.  Before I knew it, I was out cold.
Images flashed behind my eyes, interrupting hours of deep, sound sleep as I softly heard someone whispering my name.  Something was pulling at my psyche, demanding entrance, and I finally gave in to the request. 
Amun was standing by large body of water with his back to me.  As soon as I took a step toward him, he whirled around looking surprised but relieved.
“What took you so long?” he demanded, his black eyes taking on anger.  “I’ve been reaching out to you all day.  I could feel you but I didn’t have access to you…I couldn’t access your mind.  Something is interfering.  HOW are you keeping me out?”
“Ha!” I laughed and sneered at the small victory.  “You mean to tell me you can’t just come into my dreams whenever you want to?”
He flashed to me and grabbed me by my throat.  “You drank their blood?!” he raged in my face as he glared back and forth between my now colorless eyes.  “But you are mine!”
“I am no one’s!” I yelled back as I ripped his hand from my neck and pushed him away from me; the action utterly shocking Amun.  “No one owns me!  No one will EVER own me!”
“A piece of my very soul is inside of you,” he growled, quickly recovering.  “You are mine and you will do as I say.  You will come to me this night!  I DEMAND IT!”
I put my hands on my hips and smirked at him.  “Demand away, Amun.  I don’t know what you’re expecting, but I’m not going to just come crawling to whatever hole you’re off hiding in.  You have no control over me.  Get used to it!”
“Oh, I have plenty of control over you,” he sneered evilly as he took another step toward me.  “All those disgusting feelings of love and desire you felt for that Day Walker…Archer?  I put them there.  I made you dream of him, want him, make love to him…  I made you want to stay with him when you were so set on leaving.  I couldn’t very well allow you to leave and ruin all my plans!  But in the end, you betrayed me, Damu.  There will be a heavy price to pay for that.  You were supposed to stay, complete your change and then kill him and all his children.  Instead you drink his blood and pollute yourself?!  You could have been something great, something beautifully fierce and exquisitely savage, but now you are just another common, pathetic Day Walker!”
I felt my eyes flicker black as anger consumed me.  “I’m not your fucking toy, Amun!  If you think you can force me to feel things and do things for you, you have another thing coming.  I’m going to kill you for what you’ve done to me!  As God is my witness, you will DIE by MY hand!”
Amun chuckled as he looked me up and down and then tsked.  “Oh, my sweet Nisiqtu…you are still so headstrong.  I believe I was wrong about you.  You carry my mark in your eyes.  We are not so different after all, you and I.  You may be a Day Walker now, but the potential for greatness is still there.  The possibilities are endless now.  There is so much we can do to them now that you are one of them.  They will never suspect-”
“Fuck you!” I spat as I turned and walked away.  I didn’t have to listen to his bullshit.  He may have pulled me into this dream but, come hell or high water, I was going to walk out of it.
“You have one week to come to me, Skye,” Amun yelled at my back.  “If you do not obey me, I will start killing your friends and family one by one and I’ll start with that fiery girl who shares your home.  I believe I’ll sew her colorful skin into a new hat.”
I whirled around, my eyes wide and fearful.  “You lay one finger on her and I’ll-”
“Silence!” Amun roared angrily, his voice echoing loudly all around me.  “Seven days, Skye.  And you had better be wearing the presents I left for you when you come to me.”

a Rafflecopter giveaway