She Kissed a Vampire
Werewolves of the West
Book 2
Carol Van Atta
Print Length: 278
pages
Publisher:
Cambridge Press US
December 16, 2013
ASIN: B00HG7GHY8
Best selling author
Melanie Larson’s relationship with her friend, Chloe Carpenter, is bleak. Falsely
accused of murder, Chloe’s future rests in the hands of her mate, Zane
Marshall, and the Pacific Pack’s purebred werewolves. In an effort to help,
Melanie joins forces with the pack and soon discovers the monsters she writes
about in her paranormal novels really do go bump in the night.
As Chloe struggles
with legal troubles, an unwanted blood bond with a master vampire, and a
reunion with her mate, Melanie untangles the attention of multiple supernatural
suitors determined to claim her as their own. Strangely attracted to a brazen
vampire, she must decide if the blurred line between passion and pain is worth
crossing.
Werewolves,
vampires, and fae royalty race to unearth an ancient artifact with the power to
extend their existence. Can Chloe and Melanie restore their friendship in time
to stop magical mayhem from ruining everything they’ve worked so hard to
redeem?
Amazon Kobo
Nook
Excerpt:
Chapter 11
Chloe Carpenter-Marshall
“Awaken, mortal!”
Unable to resist the command, my mind obeyed and turned on like a switch
had been flipped. I made every effort to preserve my calm facade while
consciousness replaced nothingness, invading darkness with light. Dreading the
scene waiting to unfold, I kept my eyes closed a few seconds longer and
conducted a quick scan of my body.
Wiggling my toes and fingers confirmed what I felt. I was all woman, and
mortal, according to my latest captor. Part of me was pleased by the
realization; in this limiting form I wouldn’t have access to my power of
invisibility or any telekinetic abilities, but there were other alternatives. I
reached with my mind hoping to determine the number and nature of supernatural
creatures in the vicinity.
A knifing spike hammered into my mind putting an abrupt halt to my
probing. “You will keep any special skills you wish to wield to yourself. Is
that understood?”
Still on my back, scared to sit up, I settled for nodding and forced a
mental barrier in place over my thoughts. If they, whoever they were,
had any clue about my little mind protecting trick, they didn’t acknowledge it.
Somehow I had a feeling they were strong enough to know, but didn’t care.
Anything I might conjure would be small potatoes compared to whatever they had
in their stockpile of paranormal party favors.
“You will rise,” my captor chimed with cruel intent that was unmasked by
the musical quality of his voice.
Firm hands propelled me into an upright position. I was sitting on a
grassy knoll inside a perfect circle of flowers. The alien flora bore no
resemblance to anything I’d seen. Though a beautiful shade of purple with blood
red petals, they weren’t something to pick for your favorite vase. Instead they
stood more like sentinels guarding whatever or whoever was unlucky enough to be
inside their colorful ring.
For the moment, that would be me.
“Though only a human, you are indeed pleasing to look at,” my captor said
while his eyes glided over me, soaking in every detail.
Considering I was still without clothing, he was getting the complete
Chloe picture. I quickly crossed my legs and covered my breasts. The
no-clothing situation was something I hoped to rectify soon, if I survived long
enough.
At first glance I believed he was somehow related to the fae prince I’d
seen in the police station parking lot. I guessed they might even be brothers.
As much as I wanted to ask, I refrained. Between the menacing flowers that
reminded me of blood stained talons, and his personal guards glaring down at
me, the atmosphere remained toxic. The wrong word would be more than enough
reason to end my existence despite my so-called pleasing appearance. The
creatures around me were no strangers to beauty. My own was diminished in comparison
and wasn’t going to win me any favors in this place where colors were so
shocking I wanted to shield my eyes.
“Now, if you’d be so kind as to return the ring.”
How I’d overlooked the glimmering band of gold, still snug on my finger,
was more than strange, given my otherwise lack of accessories. Naked me
sporting stolen magical ring was not an easy image to miss—especially now that
the ring was singing.
My limited vocabulary couldn’t begin to articulate what I was hearing.
The sound it emitted was utterly foreign and wholly divine, caressing my soul
with the purest of harmonies. Song, music … none of the usual words came close
to describing its unparalleled enchantment. No one moved or dared to interrupt
its mystifying symphony.
The ring had captivated us all.
My ring.
Again my mind flashed to Tolkien’s fantastical tale. Instead of the
hideous beast Gollum facing off with Frodo the Hobbit, it was me against a fair
fae prince and his army. Given my powers, I could have taken Gollum in a fight,
the prince, not a chance. Unless …
Why was he asking for the ring if he had the power to take
it?
I Kissed a Dog
The Werewolves of the West Series
Book One
Carol Van Atta
Genre: Paranormal
Romance/Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Charles
River Press
ISBN: 1936185725
ISBN13: 9781936185726
ASIN: B009SV179U
Number of pages:
446
Cover Artist: Ann
Falcone
Book Description:
Chloe Carpenter isn't like other women. She can communicate
with animals. A gift she unwrapped following one of her frequent dances with
death.
In her otherwise wacky
life, she's finally found a semblance of sanity working at the Plum Beach Wildlife
Park, where her unique talents can make life or death differences for the
animals in her care. That semblance is shattered when a new veterinarian roars
into the park in his spiffed up sports car and sets his golden gaze on her. If
she had her way, he'd roar right back out.
Problem: He's her new coworker and he's saved her life twice
- in the past twenty-four hours.
Zane Marshall, Enforcer for the Pacific Pack of purebred
werewolves, has a job to do - figure out who or what is mutilating the young
men of Plum Beach.
With orders to find the woman who talks to animals, he
accepts a position working alongside the fiery Chloe Carpenter, a female who
ignites his interest far more than he ever expected. Remarkably, she's the one
elusive female with potential to bring meaning and passion to his empty
existence.
Problem: She despises him.
Together, they're forced to unravel a mystery of supernatural
proportions, a murderous mystery with eternal implications for everyone. In the
process, they discover opposites really do attract.
Major Problem: Zane is pledged to another woman, and she'll
do anything to keep him from Chloe.
Buy the book Author Blog Book
Depository Indie Bound
About the Author:
Like most authors, Carol Van Atta is no stranger
to the written word. She penned a short novel at age 12 (somewhat frightening
illustrations included, and lots of bunnies were involved), and had a creative
writing piece published in her high school newspaper (about David Bowie's
Diamond Dogs LP). Yes, she's an ex-80's chick.
Devouring books from numerous genres, Carol
developed a deep thirst/hunger for more reading material, and could almost
always be found with her nose in a book.
She has contributed to several popular
inspirational anthologies and devotional books, and lives in the rainy wetland
of Oregon with a terrifying teen (another in college) and a small zoo of
animals. She is taking an undetermined hiatus away from inspirational writing
to delve into her darker side. (Though you can check out her latest spiritual
suspense novel, Soul Defenders). It is rumored that this genre-jumping occurred
after Carol discovered too suspicious red marks on her neck, and experienced an
unquenchable urge to howl at the moon.
Interview:
How long did it take you to write I
Kissed a Dog and/or She Kissed a Vampire?
I wish I could write
faster! With a fulltime ‘day job,’ single parenthood, and caring for a mom with
dementia, until just recently, I have had to work really hard to focus on
writing. Many times I am up until 2:00 AM hunched over my laptop with my
regular work day just a few hours away. For these reasons, and a slight
addiction to hidden object games, both I
Kissed a Dog and She Kissed a Vampire
took me about a year each to complete from rough draft until final proof.
If you were stranded on a desert island which
of your characters do you want by your side?
Oh my! Difficult
decision. I think I’ll take the sexy vampire behind door number three, Alcuin. Yep,
he’s the man (vampire) for me. He is sexy (always important when you’re
stranded on an island), a fantastic and creative lover (need something to do
during those long tropical nights, right?), is loyal (won’t leave me behind
when the rescuers arrive), and most importantly, we don’t actually need to wait
around for someone to save us. We can leave whenever we want, because he has
the power to teleport! Need I say more?
If you could be best friends with one of your
characters, who would it be?
If I could be BFF’s
with one of my characters, it would be Melanie Larson, one of the heroines in She Kissed a Vampire. To start with,
Melanie is an author―an author making a significant salary. I would hopefully
learn some tantalizing tips for success from her wealth of experiences and
generous advice. Maybe she’d even be willing to share all her incredible
writing contacts. That would be fine with me. I am her BFF, after all. She
would want to support my career, right? Just as important, she’s not a
bombshell when it comes to appearance. Attractive, yes, but unlike Chloe
Carpenter, she’s not all curvy and exotic, but more of a ‘girl next store’
type. I can relate! She’s also been furious with the male species. Once again,
I can relate―a lot. And to top things off, she’s been tossed into a chaotic
adventure overflowing with alpha males seeking her attention. There would
surely be some extras for me…? Uh oh…I’m realizing this relationship is a bit
one sided. Me taking what I want from her. Not true, though. I’d be able to
provide wise council, sisterly support, and unlimited encouragement as she
navigates the world of paranormal passions. I would do my good listening thing
and help her with all the questions and concerns she’d surely have. Together
we’d be a dynamic duo. Melanie, where are you? Let’s chat. Don’t I wish?
Can you share a little of your current work
with us?
I’d love to! I write
like I read, in several genres and more than one book at a time. I always have
several stories in progress with a primary book I’m focusing on first. I’m
finishing up book two in my Soul Defenders series and Bottle Banished: Dreaming of Genie, a new and exciting brand of
paranormal romance featuring genies. And, of course, book three in the
Werewolves of the West series, She Kissed
a Prince, is on the table.
What book are you reading now?
The question should
ask: What books (as in plural) are you reading now? Because I tend to read
several books at once, well, not all in the same ‘reading session,’ but you
know what I mean! One afternoon at lunch I’m reading a hot biker romance, and
then that evening I’m reading a fantasy adventure, an hour later I have a taste
for a dystopian young adult read. I just finished Six Brothers, Lili St Germain (can hardly wait for book three, Five Miles) I also completed Winter, Nikita Rae (Loved it!), and am
now reading Unravel, Calia Read and The Bloodletter’s Daughter, Linda
Lafferty; two totally different genres, but equally good. Lastly, I’ve been
enjoying an eighties horror thriller featuring vicious, hungry werewolves by
Ronald Kelly, Undertaker’s Moon. How
is that for variety?
What do you prefer paperback, hardcover, or
ebooks?
This probably won’t
come as a surprise, but I ‘prefer’ all three! If it’s nonfiction I prefer
paperback or hardcover, if it’s fiction Kindle is great, though the other
formats work too. I love the smell of new books and can’t imagine not having
the option to read book books even
though I frequently depend on my Kindle. I truly appreciate having the various
options. Now if a book has an awesome cover like Karen Moning’s Shadow Fever, hardback it is! Have you
seen that cover? The hardback has this awesome translucent cover designed to
add to the beauty of the actual hard cover. Gorgeous! Had to have that one on
my shelf not in my Kindle library!
Do you have anything specific that you want to
say to your readers?
Thank you everyone for
taking time to read my interview. I’d like to invite you into a world of
werewolves, vampires, faeries, and other bump-in-the-night creatures lurking on
the pages of the Werewolves of the West series. If you enjoy fast-paced,
supernatural thrill rides with risky (and risqué) romance, you just might enjoy
my books. I hope you’ll take a taste and savor the story. Happy reading!
Giveaway:
I wish I could talk to animals like Chloe! Loved the excerpt and interview.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Colleen. I wish I could talk to them too! Sometimes I think my dog truly does understand what I'm saying. I want to believe I'm 'reading' all his signals right, but, well, I get it wrong as much as I do right. Chloe definitely has a gift, though a gift that gets her in some serious trouble. Hope you get a chance to read the books.
ReplyDelete