Cover Reveal: Darkness Taunts

It’s a celebration of cover reveals on the blog this week! Darkness Taunts is the sequel to Darkness Haunts, a kick-ass urban fantasy featuring a heroine who is in most ways, plain human. Except for the fact she’s a sensor, able to detect magic and neutralize it. Melena isn’t a damsel in distress, however. This ex-military chick knows enough moves to give you a good beating…or just shoot you. Anyway, on to the cover, which is GORGEOUS, and a sneak peek excerpt.

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

Heroines of Fantasy: Miss May

May is such a sweet sounding month, but I do not have a sweet heroine for you today. For this month’s Heroine of Fantasy feature, we’re heading back into the book world to meet Jeaniene Frost’s Cat of the Night Huntress series.

 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.

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Heroines of Fantasy: Miss February

This is the second post for our brand new series on this blog called Heroines of Fantasy. Every month we’ll feature a strong, kick-ass heroine from books, movies, or television series. Today we’re tipping our hat to YA book lovers with Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series.

Rose Hathaway

Seventeen-year-old Rose Hathaway is a dhampir—half human, half vampire. Dhampirs/Guardians have one purpose: protect Moroi (good, mortal vampires) from Strigoi (very evil, immortal vampires). Her best friend, Lissa, is a Moroi princess, and the two share a unique psychic bond that allows Rose to mentally eavesdrop on Lissa’s thoughts, feelings, and whereabouts. That would make Rose an excellent guardian for Lissa–if only the dhampir would stop breaking the rules. Even though she’s a student, she can’t help falling for her guardian combat mentor, Dimitri. (And let’s face it, who can blame her? He’s tall, roguishly handsome, a skilled fighter, and has a sexy Russian accent.)

Rose has a bit of a temper, especially when it comes to protecting her best friend. Don’t insult Lissa, or you will likely end up with a broken nose. Try to kill her, get a stake through the heart. Rose is sarcastic and quick-thinking (my kind of girl). With super human strength and speed, she is one bad-ass chick.

Rose isn’t just tough physically. Because of her psychic connection to Lissa, Rose absorbs the dark side effects of Lissa’s Spirit gift. They call it “shadow-kissed.” Rose’s soul walks a fine line between life and death, but her love for her friends keeps her going. And she’ll do anything for them, including cross an ocean when her beloved Dimitri is taken by Strigoi. She has no respect for orders or rules when they go against her instinct to protect those she cares about. But in a life or death fight with undead, blood sucking monsters, or a cat fight in the halls of high school, there’s no one better to have on your side.

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Heroines of Fantasy: Miss January

Ah, the first post of 2013. Er, second, since there was that special cover reveal I did last week. ;p  Anyway, I’ve decided to start the new year with a new series: Heroines of Fantasy. Every month I’ll be featuring a character from a book, movie, or possibly television series. Because if there’s one thing I love, it’s strong, kick-ass characters. And to start us off, I’d like to introduce you to Mercy Thompson.

Mercedes Thompson

“Mercy’s life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf, her former boss is a gremlin, and she’s fixing a Volkswagen bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy isn’t exactly normal herself.”

She’s a walker, capable of shifting into coyote shape at will, with a sharp nose for detecting supernatural creatures and an ability to sense magic at work. Mercy is the daughter of a Blackfeet Indian and a white teenage mother. When her mother found Mercy in her crib one day changed into a coyote pup, she was afraid and didn’t know how to raise such a unique child, so she took her to a family friend to be raised by a werewolf pack.

Mercy is independent and stubborn. She loves irritating her werewolf neighbor, Adam, by leaving decrepit junk cars in her yard, right in his rich, finely landscaped view. She’s a hardworking mechanic and runs her own repair shop. As a walker, she has keen senses and a resistance to some forms of magic. She can also see ghosts, which is why vampires have hunted her kind to almost extinction. (Vampires’ homes have a cloud of ghosts like flies. I’m sure you can guess why.)

And of course someone with her unusual abilities cannot stay out of trouble. She takes on lab goons experimenting on werewolves, a vampire sorcerer igniting blood lust in almost every supernatural creature, solving Fae murders, and trying to survive the volatile inner politics of vampires and Fae.

Mercy is one tough chick, but she’s also compassionate and caring. Really, the only reason she gets caught up in these troubles is by trying to help out her friends. I highly recommend you check out this heroine of fantasy in her first adventure, Moon Called.

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Dating A Vampire: The Holiday Dinner

So you’ve been dating a vampire for several months now and you’re ready to introduce him to your family. It’s the holiday season and everyone will be gathering at your parents’ house; what better time and place to introduce them to the love of your life? Now, while you’re obsessing over how your family will react when they meet your darling love, try to remember to be sensitive to his circumstance as well.

The hallmark of Thanksgiving and Christmas is the big family dinner. You’ll sit down at the table with your vamp boyfriend by your side. Everyone else will be exchanging nervous glances as they pass the yams and the dinner rolls. But your sweetheart won’t be able to partake of any of it. Maybe he’ll be polite and fill his plate, but he won’t actually eat any of it. (Word of advice, don’t let that become a topic of discussion at the table; someone’s likely to faint.)

What’s a decent fellow to do when he’s literally allergic to everything on the dinner menu except the guests? Well, if you’re a sensitive girlfriend, you’ll plan ahead with a special treat just for him.

Bloody Mary

Photo by Gina Collecchia under Creative Commons license

This tantalizing drink will blend in a little in front of the other guests. Top with a slice of veal or other juicy raw meat. Don’t forget to label the mixture in the fridge so someone else doesn’t decide to try it.

Food allergies can really dampen the holidays. They create a barrier that prevents a person from fully participating in the festivities, which are usually centered around food. Even though I would sit at the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner table with a scoop of mashed potatoes on my plate, I always felt like I was really standing outside with my face pressed against the window as everyone else “mmmed” and “ahhed” over the other delicacies. If you’re going to have a holiday guest with food restrictions, try to make something special for them. Or better yet, try to adapt the whole meal with substitutes. There are some great and tasty alternatives out there. Besides, the holidays aren’t about the food, but about the people you share it with.

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Meet Buffy

This girl’s got spunk. She can tussle with the best of ‘em and still manage to look stylish doing so. She’s got an outfit for every occasion—vampire slayings, demon vanquishing, averting the apocalypse. Though, these activities have been known to get messy. Being a vampire slayer is not easy on the wardrobe. There was this one chiffon blouse, a gorgeous cream with frills at the neck…anyway, Buffy tangled with a big, badass vamp from a biker gang. We’re talking the complete black leather get-up, hulking shoulders stretching the seams, and sunglasses (yes, at night <eyeroll>). Not to worry, Buffy did a few back flips, a few kicks, gave him a lesson in fashion, and finally staked him through the heart. Except he sort of burst like a popped balloon, raining down bits of vampire dust on her clothes and hair. Tragically, the chiffon didn’t make it. That’s the sacrifice a heroine must make, however. So vamps beware, this girl’s got a horn and hairspray, and she’s not afraid to use them.

Now you tell me, what are some other fashion faux pas Buffy’s had to slay?  I look forward to reading your comments!

*This pony was made with General Zoi’s Pony Creator.

Want to read about another kickass heroine?  Don’t miss the excitement in Dreamwalker, now available on Amazon and B&N!  Two dreamwalkers: one a devout soldier, the other a rogue assassin. Last one standing wins.

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Why Vampires Don’t Make Good Dance Partners

Ladies Beware: Vampires do not make good dance partners.

One of these deliciously dark, sexy creatures of the night will try to dazzle you with his skilled ballroom moves.  After all, he’s been around for centuries; he was there when the Waltz was considered a scandalous dance.  He’ll walk up to you, flash a gleaming smile, maybe cock his head, and invite you onto the dance floor.  At first, you’ll think you’re lucky—”He’s dancing with me!”—and you’ll feel self-conscious about your poor dance skills in comparison but he’ll make you look good.  He’ll twirl you out into a spin you can’t quite keep up with, and he’ll tell you not to mess up the purity of the dance, but he’ll do it with that dashing smile.

Do not fall for it, ladies!

You see, with the age that hones his dance moves, the vampire gentleman develops this sense of superiority and chauvinistic attitude.  He thinks it’s sexy the way he leers at you during the Merengue, and he’ll tell you it’s one of the sensual dances as he roves his hands over your body.  Really, though, he only sees a piece of flesh.  You don’t even need to talk because that’s not important.

Besides, any talk will come from him.  He will love to regale you with stories of his dancing journey, and of course, kindly try to teach the poor, stumbling human.  He will attempt to compliment you, but the vampire’s ego cannot stand to truly praise another being, so he will wrap his accolades in smiles and giggles, while simultaneously pointing out how lowly and pathetic you are.

“Women are so smart.  They can predict what the male lead is going to do.  But see, that gets them into trouble, because then they anticipate the lead’s directions before he gives them, and they screw up the dance.”

Sounds like women are poodles performing tricks.

Okay, back to the piece of flesh.  Ladies, some of these ballroom dances get quite up close and personal.  The Tango, for instance, involves pressing your bodies right up against each other.  And when the gentleman pulls you into a corte, you’re giving him the perfect view—and striking pose—for the artery in your neck.

You can spot these vampires rather easily.  Aside from the pasty complexion and the penchant for all black, they ooze self-aggrandizement.  They will attempt to sweep you off your feet, but when you fail to come back down and pick up the proper steps, they blame you, perhaps mock you in a boyish way they think is clever, or they simply move on without trying to improve the communication.  You see, a failed dance is always the man’s fault.  A true gentleman will acknowledge he is the responsible party for keeping the dance going.  If the lady fails, it is because he did not signal clearly enough.

Ladies, do not get swept away by the charms of these vampires.  Dance wisely.

Dancing with assassins in black is also dangerous.  Don’t miss the excitement in Dreamwalker, now available on Amazon and B&N!  Two dreamwalkers: one a devout soldier, the other a rogue assassin. Last one standing wins.

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Meet Vlad

Vlad

Yup, the Impaler. Oh, he’s smiling just thinking about it. He used to do it himself, until the incident when he tried to impale a werewolf. Since his horn wasn’t made of silver, it didn’t work quite the way he wanted, and that blasted werewolf snapped it right off. Ran away with the tip still embedded in his chest. Vlad dreams of the day he finds that filthy dog again and finishes the job. And modern medicine nowadays can do a lot with reattachment. In the meantime, don’t comment on it. Even the broken edges are sharp.

*This pony was made with General Zoi’s Pony Creator.

Now you tell me, since Vlad no longer has the use of his horn, what’s his favorite tool for impaling enemies?  I look forward to reading your comments!

Watch for Dreamwalker, out June 30th.  Two dreamwalkers: one a devout soldier, the other a rogue assassin. Last one standing wins.

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Setting Boundaries When Dating a Human

We covered some ground rules for if a human wants to date a vampire, but what about the other way around?  Suppose we’ve got a decent, heroic guy who just happens to be one of the undead?  Just because he drinks blood doesn’t mean he can’t have standards.

1. Don’t ask me to bite you.  I know you’ve read all those paranormal romance books where biting and sex equals the greatest experience on the planet, but trust me, it can get messy.

2. No role-playing.  You’re not Buffy, and I don’t want to see a stake hidden under your pillow.

3. Don’t try to have important conversations or talk me into stuff around dawn when I’m too tried to properly listen.

4. If you’re mad at me, don’t throw my bags of blood down the sink.  That stuff is hard to come by!

5.  I can’t introduce you to Edward, so don’t ask.

What would you add to the list?

Setting Boundaries When Dating a Vampire

In Dry Spell, Aileen and Colin get a huge surprise when they find out Colin’s sister, Paige, is dating a vampire.  What would a vampire want dating a human anyway?  Frequent flyer meals?

But hey, not all vampires are vicious and evil.  This one’s a private investigator determined to make the world a better place.  He doesn’t sound so bad, except for the liquid diet.  Still, if you’re going to date a vampire, some ground rules should be set in place from the get-go.

1. No biting without express permission.

2. No dropping by before dawn and intentionally getting “stuck” and having to stay until nightfall.

3. Baggies of blood must be kept in a separate, small cooler, not my refrigerator next to the vegetables.

4. Use the front door.  No swinging through my window like you’re Tarzan.  (Or a sparkly, moodier version.)

5. If you’re going to be a hero and go after evil dudes, calling to tell me you haven’t been turned to a pile of ash would be greatly appreciated!

What boundaries would you set with your undead boyfriend?