Behind the scenes, I’m working on the next Dreamwalker novel with Lexa, have been since February. That was another unplanned project—honestly, I fully intended to get back to the Elemental Magic series! But I was watching Season 3 of The Voice and Amanda Brown’s rendition of “Stars” blew the top off my muse and it hasn’t simmered down since.

The third book in the Dreamwalker series was to complete the trilogy. But then something else unexpected happened (shouldn’t there be a limit to how many surprises per book?)—the story kept getting longer and longer…and now it’s two books. Yay, right? But boy do I have my work cut out for me.

I can’t give too much away, but I will say it takes place five years after Dreamstealer. I know, a bit of a time jump, but a big part of the story is Taryn (now 18) growing into her own dreamwalker warrior. Some signature elements of the series have also found their way in—Lexa will have another dress fiasco. And the great thing about the dreamscape is it’s always evolving…and so are the Nightmares. <insert manic giggle>

No, really, I’m very excited. I can’t give an estimate on a publishing date, as I promised my editor I wouldn’t give her a coronary by doing so, plus she hasn’t even seen it yet. In the meantime, you can snuggle up with our favorite rogue assassin, and catch up on the series if you need to. And Elemental Magic 4 is next in line on the queue! As long as inspiration doesn’t strike me like lightning and refuse to let go.

Speaking of which, here’s that song I mentioned. If you’re a fan of Elemental Magic, this is what you can blame for having to wait a little longer for the next book.

~~~

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 Part Two

“You’ll be heading to the morgue?” Paige asked.

Sean nodded. “Need to get a look at the types of wounds, maybe also figure out why this guy was killed when the others weren’t.”

Paige pursed her lips. She wasn’t a fan of the morgue. The vampire that monitored corpses for newly-made vampires creeped her out.

“Thanks, but I need to look into these missing dogs.” She turned and walked back to her laptop. She flipped the top open and watched the webpage reload the comments. As far as she could tell, no one was taking this mystery seriously. Which meant she had to.

“Missing dogs?” Sean repeated.

“Yeah, my blog followers brought it to my attention.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “So, you’d rather chase down pound puppies than investigate a potential murder?”

“These are people’s beloved pets.” She tossed him a scathing look over her shoulder. Grabbing a pen, she finished writing down the information.

“You’re right. How about when I finish at the morgue, I meet you?”

Paige didn’t plan to go to the neighborhood in question until the morning. Vampires could handle daylight, as long as they didn’t get too much exposure and become sun sick.

“I don’t want to take you away from your case.”

“Yeah, but, are you sure you should go off by yourself?”

She swiveled around to face him. “Excuse me?”

“I just meant that’s why we’re partners, so we can watch each other’s backs.”

Paige narrowed her eyes. “I doubt I’ll get in much trouble with this one.”

He snorted.

“Throwing past events in my face is not going to earn you any points,” she said, and turned back to the computer screen.

“I just electrocuted myself for you.”

“That subtracts points.”

“So, now I’m in the dog house?”

Paige twisted around and caught his cheeky grin. Her lips twitched. “Affirmative. Now go.” She flicked her fingers at him. “I’ll text you later.”

He moved toward her with vampiric speed and gave her a peck on the cheek. Then he zipped back across the room and out the door before she could throw him a mock scowl in return. At least he was gone and she no longer had to hide her amusement. She shut the computer down and switched the lamp off.

~~~

The next morning, Paige packed her backpack, grabbed her bike off the patio, and headed toward Magnolia. She’d looked up the specific cross streets mentioned in the blog comments, though it wasn’t hard to tell which neighborhood was the right one—Lost Dog fliers plastered fences and telephone poles. She skidded her bike to a stop and gaped at the number, counting at least seven different posters begging for information on missing pups.

Who would steal a bunch of dogs? Mad scientists running experiments? The local quiet guy practicing to become a serial killer?

Paige leaned her bike against the pole and looped her chain around and through the wheel before locking it. Then she dug around in her backpack for a pen, notepad, and voice recorder. She didn’t look like a real reporter since she didn’t wear a dress suit or walk around with a cameraman, but she was pretty good at getting people to open up. She tucked the recorder in her pocket but kept the pad and pen in hand.

Plucking one of the fliers off the pole, she scanned the houses for the corresponding address. 351 Crescent Lane had lost a little black Pomeranian. It was an off-white two-story residence with bright teal trim. Six-foot rose bushes lined the walls under the windows and along the sides of a white-picket fence enclosing the yard. Ice plant with pink blooms swelled along the front edge of the fence and poked through the slats, spilling onto the sidewalk.

Paige walked up and unlatched the gate. Two cats stared out the front window as she walked up the cement path to the door. She rang the bell. After a minute, she pressed the button again.

Shuffling footsteps came from the other side, and a moment later the door swung open. An elderly woman with frizzy gray hair huffed and braced herself against the frame.

“I ain’t that fast, you know.” She shook herself as though forgetting her manners. “May I help you?”

Paige held out the flier. “Is this your dog?”

“Did you find Cece?” she exclaimed.

“No ma’am,” Paige said with a grimace. “My name is Paige Benson and I’m an investigative journalist. I heard what was happening down here and was wondering if I could have a moment of your time.”

The woman’s face fell. “Oh…”

“Perhaps if more attention is brought to what’s going on, someone will figure it out,” Paige offered. Meaning her.

“Well, all right. Come in.” The woman stepped aside.

Paige took a step over the threshold just as a blur of fur whizzed past her feet and almost knocked her off balance. She squealed and clutched her pad and pen to her chest.

“I’m so sorry,” the woman gushed. “Nero! Bad cat. Honestly, I don’t know what’s gotten into them.”

Paige stepped inside and started at the half dozen cats sitting in the woman’s living room. Some lounged on the back of the couch; others sat on the floor, tails swishing. All of them trained wide, intense orbs on her.

She had to admit, that was a little creepy. Paige normally didn’t have a problem with pets of any kind, but she suddenly felt as though this house didn’t belong to the old woman, and Paige had just entered the lions’ den.

“I don’t usually let them in the house,” the woman prattled on. “Not with Cece here. But several days ago they just started barging their way in and I can’t get them to leave.”

Paige roved her gaze around cautiously. No way was she going to sit and risk being pounced on with those retractable claws. And those cats looked like they would do it too.

“They’re, um, all yours?”

The woman waved her hand. “They’re from the neighborhood, but you know, I look after them.”

Right. The crazy old lady with nine cats. Who also had a Pomeranian.

Paige tapped her pen against her notepad. “So, um, when did your Cece go missing, Miss—?”

“Just call me Elaine.” The woman sighed and sank onto the couch. Paige’s muscles tightened as she waited for the felines to descend.

“Three nights ago. I let her out around nine.” Elaine rubbed her wrinkled hands together. “I always let her back in when the commercials come on. Gotta get my CSI fix.” She gave a guilty grin. “But it was a long intro and by the time I got up to call her, she was gone.”

“From the front yard?”

Elaine sniffled and nodded.

Paige scribbled on her notepad. “Is Cece friendly? Would she go off with a stranger?”

“Not without yapping first. And I didn’t hear anything.”

If it weren’t for the other missing dogs, Paige would’ve thought the thing a conspiracy on behalf of these cats. “Did all the dogs go missing at night?”

“As far as I know. We’ve tried getting the police involved, but they said they didn’t have the resources to go chasing pets. Can you believe that?”

Paige flipped her notebook closed. “That’s why I’m here, to get to the bottom of this.” Now she needed to decide on the best approach to the problem. Tapping her pen against her chin, an idea started to form.

What should Paige do?

A. Borrow a small dog to use as bait

B. Borrow a Blood Hound to track the missing Pomeranian

Voting is now ended

Sophie

Sophie is a hat maker. She’s 18, but has taken over her father’s shop so her younger sister can be free to do what she wants. Sophie is responsible, hard working, and plucky when she has a mind to be. She also has very low self-esteem. In fact, she thinks she’s so ugly, that not even the dreaded wizard Howl would deign to eat her heart.

At this point you might be exchanging wary glances with each other. Sophie is our heroine? This mouse of a girl who lives a boring life while her sister goes out and has all the fun? Well now, the story gets better. Or worse, for Sophie.

The wicked Witch of the Waste comes to visit Sophie’s shop, and in a rare moment of Sophie showing some of that pluck, she shows the sleazy witch the door. Oops, don’t piss off a mean old witch. Sophie is then cursed and transformed into an old woman. Horrified, she quickly leaves town and heads into the wild. It’s a slow journey, as her bones creak and she gets tired easily.

You’re still wondering why I picked her as our monthly heroine? Okay, here’s the deal. Sophie may not be a vampire or demon slaying chick who wields swords or guns, but she’s got brains. She finds the wizard Howl’s castle and makes a pact with the fire demon inside to help break each other’s curses. And when Howl shows up wanting to know who she is, she claims she’s the new cleaning lady.

Even in an old woman’s body, Sophie still battles traps by the Witch of the Waste, evil sorcerers, and encroaching war. But here’s what I think truly makes her a heroine worthy of our feature—sometimes the hardest obstacle to overcome is ourselves. Sophie may not think she has much to offer the world or anyone, but in the end, she doesn’t need to be saved by a dashing hero. She can save herself. And him.

~~~

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Part One

The clacking of keystrokes pattered out a rhythmic, almost tribal dance as Paige’s fingers deftly swept over her keyboard. Letters spilled across her computer screen, some followed by a red squiggly underline; she was on a roll, which meant grammar and spelling could take a momentary backseat. The clock hand crept toward 11pm. The self-imposed deadline for posting the story on her news blog was midnight.

She didn’t always procrastinate like this, but she’d been hoping for a breaking story, something new and exciting to blog about. But the city of Seattle decided to have a quiet night, so she was writing a follow-up feature to a young woman who’d been rescued from a vampire’s blood slave ring a year ago. Not that Paige included the vampire bit in her article; she was trying to be a respectable journalist. It didn’t matter that vampires were real—she should know, she was dating one—should she start singing that tune, she’d be brushed off as a tabloid writer.

So maybe in her search for the truth, Paige had to muddy it…a paradox she was still wrestling with. But keeping her boyfriend’s secret was more important. Besides, the stories were still being told. The “facts” may be altered, but Paige still highlighted the torturous struggle these girls faced at the hands of ruthless captors, and how they were gradually piecing their lives back together.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard, typing out the last sentence. She leaned back in her chair and re-read the last line. With a nod of satisfaction, she ran a spell check on the article, cleaned up the speedy mistakes, and hit publish. The browser directed her to her blog’s homepage, Seattleite Sleuth, and she clicked on the last article she’d posted to read the new comments.

bbtunes88
“Love your blog, Paige. Btw, I think there’s a mystery in my neighborhood you should check out. Dogs are disappearing. Weird.”

Debra Dunning
“My friend’s dog went missing! You’re talking about Magnolia, right? I heard five dogs were snatched on separate occasions during the night.”

Paige scrolled through the growing conversation about these missing dogs. She often got tips from her readers about potential stories; it was one way she managed to stay in the loop, or even ahead, of local media outlets. Occasionally she got the random, paranoid recluse claiming government conspiracies, aliens, or Bigfoot, but when a group of people started talking about something, it was probably worth a look.

She grabbed a pad and pen and started copying down the information.

Something thumped on the patio outside her window. Paige stilled. Her apartment unit was on the second floor, but there were plenty of superhuman…beings that could jump that high. Her desk sat tucked into the corner, with the back edge of her chair lined up with the frame of the glass patio door. The only light glowed from her laptop’s LED screen, and she slammed it shut, immersing the living room in darkness. She slowly swiveled around in her chair.

A hooded figure stood outside on her patio, crammed between her bicycle and a hanging basket of pink geranium silk. Paige’s pulse jumped in her throat. Her fingers gripped the armrests so hard her knuckles turned white. Her stake was in the bedroom…

The figure lifted an arm and reached for the glass. Paige lunged for a baseball bat leaning against the opposite corner of the room. The intruder’s hand grabbed the door handle, and a brilliant flash of purple exploded at the touch. Paige threw her arms over her head and dropped to her knees on the floor. The air sizzled and crackled behind her. As the light faded, she twisted around.

A lavender film shimmered across her entire back wall. Little snakes of white lightning wriggled up and down as the wards reset themselves. Paige let out the breath she’d been holding. Sometimes she forgot they were there, having been installed by a witch friend several months ago. The intruder was gone, probably not vaporized, just thrown from the building. Paige hoped no one saw that.

She slowly got to her feet and waited, staring out the window. Just when she was feeling confident again, a knock at the front door made her peep. She grabbed the bat and held it at the ready as she crept toward the door. Did evil dudes knock after trying to break in and getting electrocuted?

“Paige?” a soft voice called through the wood. “Let me in.”

She straightened, but didn’t drop the bat. She flipped the lock and stepped back as the door swayed open, revealing an average looking, twenty-something guy with black hair that looked more mussy than usual. Sean, Paige’s vampiric boyfriend, stood on the threshold, rubbing his wrist.

Paige narrowed her eyes at his long trench coat and the hood hanging down his back. “That was you?” she squealed.

Sean stepped inside and shut the door. “Shh.”

She smacked his arm. “Don’t shush me when you just tried to break in and scare me half to death! What the hell were you doing?”

“Testing the wards.” He winced. “They work.”

Paige raised the bat above her shoulder. “Don’t you ever do that again.” She held it suspended for a moment before letting it drop and setting it on the floor to lean against a bookshelf. Books were stacked in a haphazard mess, vertically and horizontally crammed into every inch of space.

“Sorry.” He reached his arm out to her.

Paige spun on her heel and walked back to her desk to turn her computer back on. Sorry. As though he’d bought the wrong flavor of ice cream at the grocery store, and not just given her a heart attack. Not to mention using himself as a lightning rod.

Sean clapped his hands together. “I, uh, have a case you might be interested in.”

She threw him an unappeased look over her shoulder.

“Several homeless men have been attacked by a strange animal. No one’s been able to see exactly what it is, but last night the man it attacked died.” He paused and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Care to join me?”

Paige turned around and crossed her arms. She was vexed at him for pulling that stunt just now, but she did love a good mystery. However, there was also the case of the missing dogs…

What should Paige do?

A. Go with Sean to investigate these attacks

B. Go off on her own to investigate the missing dogs

Voting is now ended.

 Ponies of the Caribbean

Captain Applejack (the worst pirate you’ve ever heard of) arrives in Port Royal hoping to find a new ship. He sets his sights on a mighty fine vessel…unfortunately guarded by the royal army. No matter, Applejack can talk his way into anything. While trying to distract the guards with tales of the dreaded pony pirate ship, the Black Pearl, he sees young Elizabeth Swan fall into the bay.

Applejack dives into the water to save her. Elizabeth ends up being quite heavy in the hideous dress she’s wearing. Applejack begs the sea ponies to help him, but they swim off in a rush. Whatever happened to “Call upon the sea ponies, simply signal SOS?” Jerks.

Applejack gets Elizabeth to shore, but alas, no good deed goes unpunished, and Clydesdale Norrington has him arrested. Captain Applejack makes a daring escape with a few cartwheels, and using a pulley system, flies into the air away from the soldiers. He tries to hide in a blacksmith’s shop where he encounters young Willy Turner.

Willy is abhorred. “Pirate!” He tries to horseshoe Applejack. The two duel, and Applejack loses. He’s arrested, jailed, and sentenced to be sent over the rainbow in the morn.

That night, after hearing from the sea ponies what Miss Swan had around her pretty neck, the pirate ship the Black Pearl sails into Port Royal. Elizabeth is kidnapped and taken aboard to Captain Berrybosa. Knowing the pirates want her gold medallion, she pleads for the safety of the town in exchange for the gold. Berrybosa calls off the attack, but keeps Elizabeth and the medallion.

You see, the crew of the Pearl are under a terrible curse. When the moon comes out, they break out in song and dance as though life were a musical. That is no way for hardcore pirates to behave. Since Elizabeth is a filly, she must have an angelic voice that will be sacrificed to break the curse.

Willy, of course, is in love with Elizabeth and will do anything to rescue her, including making a deal with Captain Applejack. Applejack agrees to help Willy find and save Elizabeth in exchange for breaking him out of jail. Though, Applejack’s true interest is in stealing the Pearl back from his mutinous first mate, Berrybosa.

Captain Applejack

On the island where the cursed Aztec gold is kept, Captain Berrybosa forces Elizabeth to sing and drop the coin into the chest. She’s quite nervous, and starts with a stutter. This is worse than when she auditioned for American Idol. The pirates snarl and shout obscenities at her—nope, Simon Cowell was worse—and she manages to get out a few notes. The pirates cover their ears and writhe on the ground. She can’t sing on key and her pitch sounds like a freight train’s screeching wheels.

The pirates scream and sob; they’re still cursed to sing and dance. Willy arrives and whisks Elizabeth away, but leaves Applejack behind. Never trust a pirate and all, though in this case it seems never trust Willy.

When Applejack learns of the curse, he makes a deal with Berrybosa. As it turns out, Willy has an amazing singing voice. Applejack heard it one night while Willy whistled while he worked. The pirates pursue them, catch them, and sink their ship.

Berrybosa, of course, isn’t going to keep his deal with Applejack, and maroons him on an island. He sends Elizabeth along as well, hoping her banshee singing will drive the pony crazy. Then Berrybosa takes Willy back to the island to break the curse.

Elizabeth starts singing a sad, sad song, and Applejack quickly goes for a hidden cache used by rum runners to drink himself tone deaf. After he passes out, Elizabeth uses all the rum to light a bonfire that any ship within miles will see. Sure enough, Clydesdale Norrington sees the flames and rescues them.

Captain Berrybosa

Elizabeth agrees to marry Norrington only if he will consent to rescue Willy. They arrive at the island, and Applejack convinces the royal navy to let him go in first. Alone. Elizabeth thinks this is a terrible idea, but she’s just a filly, so they lock her up instead. <sigh> Men. She sneaks off the ship and over to the Pearl where she rescues Applejack’s crew, but they take off, leaving her to rescue Willy alone. What about the power of friendship, guys?!

Meanwhile, Applejack tricks Berrybosa into sending the crew out to battle the royal navy. It’s a cloudy night, so no big deal. But what’s this? Applejack’s “special compass” actually holds the Rainbow of Light, which he releases, and it swoops into the night to carry the clouds away. The moon shines down on the pirates and they break out into song and dance. The royal navy is flabbergasted at first, but the pirates have had some practice choreographing their fight moves for this kind of situation, and the battle rages on.

Applejack turns on Berrybosa and they battle it out while Elizabeth sneaks in to rescue Willy. Berrybosa tries to shoot Elizabeth, but then Applejack surprises everyone by opening his mouth and belting out in a crystal clear opera voice. Willy drops the last coin into the chest, and the curse is broken! All the pirates singing and dancing on the ship suddenly stop. They’re so surprised by the loss of rhythm—and how uncoordinated they are—they surrender.

Everyone is safe, and now Captain Applejack is not only a hero, but is being bombarded with calls from agents. Even Simon Cowell wants to sign a record deal with him. But Applejack’s heart is with the Pearl, who sails in to save him at the last moment from the crowds of fawning teenage girls.

Elizabeth, who is a little miffed that she didn’t get called back to American Idol, nevertheless is allowed to marry Willy.
“Don’t worry,” he tells her. “Love is all the music we need.”

~~~

Now be sure to head over to Jen’s blog for Escape from the Black Pearl!

~~~

I hope you enjoyed your visit and come back for more!  You can subscribe using RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.  And if you want to ensure you don’t miss any new releases, you can sign up for the newsletter!

Two years. It feels so short and yet so long. Two years ago I started this blog because I’d just published my first novel, and well, that was the “thing to do”. On the exact same day that first book came out, I graduated from my interpreting training program. (Apparently I’m an overachiever; just ask my former classmates about my homework.) I’ve been immersed in both worlds since, and have loved every minute of it. You see, this anniversary doesn’t just mark a life change for me, or the beginning of a new chapter. It marks the moment I jumped into the world with both feet saying, “I’m ready. This is what I want.”

There have been some rough patches, as all roads have. There have been moments of great success, and times where that little voice inside suggested I give up. But I pressed on. Because being here, more than just a career choice, has given me something I’ve longed for my entire life—a place where I belong. The kinship I have found and developed with so many wonderful people since that graduation/book birthday have made this journey more than a road, more than an experiment. It’s my life. And I’m in love with it.

Stay tuned, I will have another, regular post for you later, a nice little parody I hope you find amusing.

Darkness Taunts by Susan Illene

Book two of The Sensor Series

Cover Design: Phat Puppy Art w/typography by Bookish Brunette

Expected Release Date: June 30^th, 2013

Add the book to your To-Read list on Goodreads.

BLURB:

Melena Sanders has managed to avoid all things inhuman for most of her life, but after coming to Fairbanks, Alaska to rescue her best friend from supernaturals she hasn’t been allowed to leave. That is, until her long-time nemesis comes to collect a favor she owes him. Lucas might be half angel, but he’s all bad as far as she’s concerned.

Paying him back might get her out of town for a while, but her new destination will be anything but enjoyable. Mel’s got to help the nephilim take care of a demon possession outbreak in Juneau. Although something like this hasn’t happened for thousands of years, Lucas is certain Melena’s rare abilities are the key to solving the problem.

With violence in the capital city growing, she’s going to have to figure out how to stop it fast before the trouble spreads to other places. Not only that, but working closely with Lucas is changing the dynamics of their hate-hate relationship—worrying her even more than the demons. Getting back to her captivity in Fairbanks never looked so good.

EXCERPT:

Lucas climbed into the passenger seat. Though his large frame took up a lot of space, he still looked comfortable, in control. There were no delays leaving the airport. The whole thing had been arranged for a quick and smooth pick-up. I wasn’t used to Lucas being so accommodating.

“Did you eat?” he asked.

“Yeah, Emily and I went out to a restaurant earlier.”

He glanced over at me. “You didn’t feel like poisoning her with your cooking before you left?”

I fiddled with his navigation system—might as well get the lay of the land. “That joke got old a long time ago.”

“I wasn’t joking,” he said. “Leave the GPS alone.”

I switched to scanning the radio stations. “Where are we going?”

He nudged my hand away from the controls and shut it off. “To my cabin. We made some progress during your absence. I want you rested and ready to help interrogate a demon first thing in the morning.”

A thrill went through me. My job in the military had been as an interrogator and I was damned good at it with my lie detecting abilities. Plus I’d gained a lot of experience during my combat tours. “You got one?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “I’ve worked on him already, but he hasn’t revealed anything of value…yet.”

I shot him a disgruntled look. “You should have waited for me.”

“Time was of the essence, sensor. You’ll get your chance.”

“Then why not go talk to him tonight?” I asked.

“Demons are at their strongest during the hours of darkness. You’ll have better luck after dawn.”

“Fine.” I sat back and tried to admire the snow covered mountains. They would be easier to see during the day, but the moon lit them up enough for me to catch brief glimpses as we drove.

“Sensor,” Lucas broke the silence. “The next time I call…pick up the damned phone. Do not make me come in person to speak with you.”

“That’ll give me incentive,” I said. The pompous ass. He wouldn’t threaten me and get away with it. I let a couple of minutes go by.

“Do you know why I’m glad you never call me by my real name?” I asked.

We were stopped at a traffic light. I’d waited for that. He turned to look at me and raised a blond brow. “I suppose you’re going to tell me.”

I studied my fingernails. “Yesterday, when I heard you say Melena for the first time it gave me chills. It was like the devil himself had walked over my grave and spit on it. I’d rather you not say it again.”

The light turned to green. He jerked his attention back to the road. Lucas was a master at keeping his emotions in check, but he still gripped the wheel a little tighter than before.

 Pick up the first book in the series, Darkness Haunts, at Amazon, B&N, and Kobo.

ABOUT SUSAN:

Instead of making the traditional post high school move and attending college, Susan joined the U.S. Army. She spent her eighteenth birthday in the gas chamber…an experience she is sure is best left for criminals. For eleven years she served first as a human resources specialist and later as an Arabic linguist (mostly in Airborne units). Though all her duty assignments were stateside, she did make two deployments to Iraq where her language skills were put to regular use.

After leaving the service in 2009, Susan returned to school to study history with a focus on the Middle East. She no longer finds many opportunities to test her fighting abilities in real life, unless her husband is demanding she cook him a real meal, but she’s found a new outlet in writing urban fantasy heroines who can.

CONNECT WITH SUSAN ONLINE:

Website- www.darknesshaunts.com

Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/SusanIllene1

Goodreads- http://www.goodreads.com/Susan_Illene

Twitter- https://twitter.com/@susan_illene

Cover Design by Erin Lark

Teaser:

As Dirk stepped into the dreamscape, he froze at a soft snuffing sound. Foul breath puffed over the back of his neck and he slowly turned. A large round glob of black floated six feet behind him. The width was the size of a man’s torso. It had no limbs, no eyes, no other features aside from a perfectly round, inky surface—except for a ragged crater gouged down one side in a scar. Tints of red lined the stretched skin like tendrils.

A Nightmare. Not just any Nightmare, but one that had been hunting Dirk for close to a year. These beings lived in the dreamscape, glutting themselves on the terror of bad dreams. He had tangled with this particular one a while ago. He’d gotten away, but not before it’d taken a piece of him. And it seemed to have developed a taste since it’d been harrowing him ever since.

It opened a mouth in the center of its mass, revealing rows of jagged teeth. The creature appeared to grin as it snuffed out another wave of putrid breath.

Dirk envisioned a sword in his hand and smoke burst up in a column before solidifying into steel. The Nightmare made a gurgling sound, and a drop of viscous black goop dribbled down its mouth to bubble like acid on the ground.

“Want another scar?” Dirk growled.

~~~

Dirk’s story will be coming out soon, but to ensure you don’t miss it, sign up for the newsletter.

 Cat Crawfield

Due to her mother being raped by a vampire and getting pregnant, Cat is both half-human and half-vampire, which gives her the unique strength to combat these evil undead creatures. Every night she goes out hunting, hoping to find her father and kill him so maybe her mother can stop living in fear.

One night, she tries to lure and kill Bones, a vampiric bounty hunter that’s on to her. He imprisons her in a cave for days until he convinces her that the two of them would make a pretty good team. Of course, romance isn’t far off.

Cat is very young in the first book, so it’s no surprise that she can be immature. Throughout the series she does grow up some. She serves on a secret military team hunting vampires for a while, and delves deeper into the vampire world with Bones (I’m not going to go into detail and give anything away, but it’s a wild ride). Cat is stubborn, tough, and not afraid to take risks—she’s basically been using herself as vampire bait since she was sixteen.

She also has a hot temper, as does her lover, Bones, which makes for some very fiery spats—and fiery make-up sessions. Caution to those who may not like the racy so much: Frost is very graphic in her descriptions. But if you’re comfortable skipping over the sex scenes, the rest of the story is a lot of fun and very imaginative.

Cat is a badass girl we can all admire. Be it monstrous vampires, ghouls, or ghosts, she’ll take them all on. She is, after all, half dead herself.

~~~

I hope you enjoyed your visit and come back for more!  You can subscribe using RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.  And if you want to ensure you don’t miss any new releases, sign up for the newsletter!

~~~

Neil gestured to the gray-toned, crackle-textured trunk. “Mathias left this for you, but he insisted you not open it until the day before our arrival. So, here it is.”

Lexa could tell she was not going to like this. She strode forward, flipped the latch, and swung the lid up. The trunk was full of clothes, it seemed, and dresses at that. She stared at the fitted, maroon velvet gown with a cross-laced bodice on top.

“Hell no.” She slammed the lid down again.

Neil cleared his throat. “I believe his words were something about you being a lady and needing to dress to fit the part.”

No wonder Mathias hadn’t wanted her opening it until the last minute…or while he was still around. She would have strangled him. Yes, she understood the importance of playing the role of diplomat, but did he have to choose such…opulent clothes? If he had given her more time, she would have done her own shopping—which had probably been his plan all along.

Lexa threw the lid open again; the hinges rattled as they quaked under her wrath. She grabbed the maroon dress and lifted it up. It was even worse in full form: puffed sleeves at the shoulder, which tapered down into a tightly fitted cuff at the wrist. Her arms would look like mutton legs in it. She tossed it on the bed. The next dress on the pile was an aquamarine with wide, billowy sleeves and lace around the neck meant to imitate sea spray. Underneath that lay a dark green gown with a loose skirt that Lexa thought she could tolerate, but for the most part, she discarded the various dresses on the bed, her lip curling in even more disgust with each one.

“I’m going to throttle him.”

Neil arched a brow at the mess. “So you two hadn’t discussed this?”

Lexa glowered at him. “Don’t pretend that comes as a surprise. He did tell you to keep this until the last minute.”

Neil rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not sure I see the problem.”

Lexa gestured to her plain shirt and pants, then at the dresses. “Seriously?”

He quirked a smile. “They would look stunning on you.”

“They’re ridiculous.”

“Perhaps you should try one on first.” He dug under the pile, pulled out the maroon one, and held it out to Lexa. Her fingers twitched, unwilling to even touch the extravagant fabric. But with Neil watching her closely, she swallowed her discomfort and snatched it from his hand.

“You’re forgetting a piece.” He reached into the trunk and pulled out a corset.

Lexa gave it a blank stare.

“It’s all the fashion in Teltania right now.”

“You wear it.”

~~~

I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek. I was also on Mistress of the Dark Path’s blog this weekend for an interview. Curious if I have a naughty side? …

Dreamstealer is available on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and iTunes.

When her kingdom’s former enemy suspects their princess is a budding dreamwalker, Lexa is drafted out of retirement and sent to Teltania to train the twelve-year-old girl. But hidden agendas complicate her mission, and Lexa doesn’t know whom to trust. Meanwhile, her own dreamwalking powers are waning when she needs them most. Can Lexa decipher the mysteries at every turn, or will the dreamscape claim yet another dreamwalker?

~~~

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