Diane’s Book Blog: Of Love and Darkness by Tami Lund: Interview & Giveaway

Of Love and Darkness

Twisted Fate, Book One

Tami Lund

Genre: Paranormal, Shifters

Publisher: Soul Mates Publishing

Date of Publication: June 24, 2015

ASIN: B00ZJ7SRB8

Number of pages: 181

Word Count: 60k

Cover Artist: Syneca Featherstone

Book Description:

OF LOVE AND DARKNESS kicks off the new Twisted Fate shape-shifter series. There are two kinds of shifters: Rakshasa and Light Ones. Rakshasa want to snack on human bones. Light Ones want to protect the humans.

Unfortunately, the Rakshasa are currently winning the battle, as the Light Ones are not fertile. Only one type of Light One, exceedingly rare females called Chala, are able to produce offspring. The Rakshasa know this, and have managed to nearly decimate the population.

Enter Gavin Rowan, a cursed Rakshasa who believes he is a Light One. He feels all his Rakshasa urges to kill, but has been cursed to protect the Light Ones instead.

Throw Sydney Amataya into the mix. She is a Chala– except she doesn't know it. At least not until Gavin saves her from a Rakshasa attack and then declares her as his mate.

But that’s not how Sydney operates. Encouraged by her cross-dressing Fate, William, she refuses Gavin’s claim. If he wants to mate with her–once she gets over the shock of discovering this supernatural world, that is–he's going to have to woo her, impress her, wine and dine her. Romance her. She deserves no less, end of the world be damned.

Available at Amazon

Excerpt

“Lost little girls can get eaten in this area, you know.”

An image of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf leaped into her head, and she firmly shook it to dislodge the unsettling picture. She was not helpless, she told herself. And this guy certainly wasn’t a wolf.

Although he’s way too sexy to be human.

Where in the hell did that thought come from? “I told you, I’m on my way to the convention center. I’m not lost.”

The man lifted a sleek black brow in obvious disbelief. “The convention center is four blocks that way.” He shoved his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the other end of the narrow alley Sydney had inadvertently walked into.

Well, at least she was headed in the right direction now.

She nearly groaned. Instead, she huffed out a sigh. “Okay, maybe I am a little lost. Thank you for pointing out the way. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

The man glanced up at the sky. “It’s dark.”

“I can see that,” Sydney replied tartly.

With a frustrated noise, he said, “Come on. I’ll give you a lift. Is your car parked at the convention center or are you meeting someone there?”

Sydney considered lying and telling him she was meeting someone. Someone with really big muscles. A hockey player. With a black belt. Just in case.

“I’m fine. I can get there on my own.”

“No you can’t,” he said flatly. He took a step and as fast as Sydney could blink, he was at her side, his hand clamped around her elbow. And then he guided her toward the street. “We’ll drive. It’ll be safer.”

“I realize Detroit has a poor reputation,” Sydney complained. “But don’t you think you’re being a tad over the top? I mean, I managed to make it this far by myself. I’m sure I can walk four blocks back to the convention center.”

She found herself standing next to a shiny, new, black Camaro. The man bent at the waist and opened the passenger-side door.

“That was sheer luck. And a human’s luck quickly deteriorates when the sun sets. Get in.”

“I’m not getting into a car with a perfect stranger.” She crossed her arms and gave him an indignant glare.

The man thrust out his hand, inviting Sydney to shake it. “Gavin Rowan. Now get in.”

He didn’t wait for another argument. He shoved her into the car, slammed the door, and hurried around to the other side. He slid into the driver’s seat, grabbed her arm as she started to open the door, and then pressed the locks. Sydney immediately aborted her attempt to climb out of the car and began earnestly digging around in her purse.

“What are you looking for?” Gavin asked as he cranked the engine and pressed the gas. The car slid away from the curb and the wheels spun urgently for a moment before finding their grip and rolling down the street.

“My phone. Here it is. Damn it, I forgot the battery’s dead.”

Sydney dropped the phone back into her purse and turned to face the man who was apparently kidnapping her. “I know karate. And I’ve taken a women’s self-defense course.”

“Good to know. Which garage?”

Sydney turned back to the window. True to his word, Gavin Rowan had driven her back to the convention center.

“Er . . . I didn’t park in the garage. I parked on the street. It was cheaper,” she said defensively when he slid her a look indicating he clearly questioned her intelligence.

He made a slow circuit of the convention center, as Sydney tried to find her car instead of stare at him. It was difficult to do. The man was damn hot. Stripper hot. She wondered if that was what he did for a living.

“I’m pretty sure the car’s going to be out there somewhere,” Gavin commented as he nodded at the passenger-side window.

Embarrassed that she’d been caught staring, Sydney abruptly turned and forced herself to watch out the window instead. “There it is.”

Relief washed over her when he pulled up to the curb behind her sensible gold sedan. This strange sensation of being on fire was getting to her. She felt flushed and her breathing had become something more akin to panting. What the hell was wrong with her? She’d been in the vicinity of good-looking guys before—although admittedly not often—so why was she acting like a groupie who had been given the privilege of meeting her favorite rock star face to face?

She fumbled for the door handle, desperate to get out of the car. Gavin reached over and clamped his hand onto her arm. She could feel the strength in his touch, even through the heavy layers of her coat and the sweater underneath.

“In case you haven’t noticed, it’s pitch black outside now.”

“You sure are obsessed with the dark.”

“You have no idea.”

“Something wrong?” She realized she could feel the tension, radiating off him like a living thing.

Gavin rolled his shoulders as his gaze scanned the nearly deserted street. A traffic signal flashed yellow at the next block, a steady, pulsing rhythm, over and over again. “Just a feeling, that’s all.” He gave her a stern look. “I want you to get into your car, lock the doors, and immediately start the engine. Drive out of Detroit as quickly as you can. Do not stop for any reason until you are in your own driveway.” His voice was like steel.

Sydney lifted her eyebrows. “I’m fine now, thank you. I’m not going to get molested in my car.”

“Not if you get the hell out of here in a hurry. You’re from the burbs, aren’t you?”

“If you’re implying that I have a little more faith in humanity than you do, yes, I am,” Sydney said stiffly. “Thank you for the ride. Have a nice life.” She pushed open the door and slid out, tucking her coat around her so it did not drag on the slushy, oily ground.

She slid one last glance back at Gavin, but he was too busy scanning the surrounding area for rapists and murderers, apparently. He was certainly nice to look at, but his paranoia was over the top. Sydney told herself the renewed surge of tingles in her nerve endings when she stepped out of the car was relief to be done with the good-looking wack-job.

She slammed the car door and walked around the front end toward her own, far-less-flashy Impala. She felt another shiver of awareness, much less potent than the one that hit her just before she met Gavin, but it was enough to cause her to curse him under her breath. His stupid paranoia was starting to affect her. She was five paces from her car. Nothing bad was going to happen.

She finished that thought just as the animal attacked.

Author Bio

Tami Lund likes to live, love, and laugh, and does her best to ensure the characters in her books do the same. After they've overcome a few seemingly insurmountable obstacles first, of course.

Tami is multi-published, both self and with a few publishers, including Crimson Romance, Liquid Silver Books, and Soul Mates Publishing. Chances are, there is a new book coming out soon. Be sure to stalk her on social media, so you know when.

And most important, if you enjoyed one of Tami's books, please let other readers know by leaving a review on the site from which you bought it, or on Goodreads. Otherwise, how will they know which book to read next?

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Interview

Please welcome Of Love and Darkness author Tami Lund to Diane’s Book Blog.

What is your favorite part of the story, Of Love and Darkness?

I love the way Gavin gradually comes to respect and appreciate Sydney, without realizing it’s happening. Since he’s cursed to believe he’s a Light One, he’s naturally thrilled to have (as he thinks) inadvertently mated with the last Chala on earth. But when Sydney refuses to accept his claim and insists he court her instead, we get to watch Gavin gradually fall for her, despite himself. I loved writing that aspect of the book.

How long did it take you to write Of Love and Darkness?

The first draft only took a month or so, back in 2010. Then I kept going back to it, editing, tweaking. Entered it in a couple of contests, received good feedback. Actually wrote all three books in the series (rough drafts). Sent it to a few publishers. Then I moved on and started working on the Lightbearer Series and basically forgot about this one. I contracted the first Lightbearer book with Liquid Silver Books, and shortly thereafter, Soul Mates offered a contract for that same book. I told them I had already sold it to someone else, but I had this one, if they were interested? They were, and here we are today!

What is your favorite book that you wrote?

Actually, Of Love and Darkness is my current favorite. I love the world I’ve built, I love the characters I’ve introduced so far, and since I happen to know where the series is going, I’m excited to see what readers think about what’s in store next.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

I’m not sure if Nora Roberts is my favorite author, but her book, Birthright, is my all time favorite book. I love the characters, how real they are. I love the second chance at love trope. It’s my favorite. I love the mystery and suspense built into the book, and the secondary storylines, and how there were actually quite a few happily ever afters by the end. It’s really a magnificent book, and I strive to write like that, every single day.

What is your typical day like?

Insane. I work a day job, write books, edit books, and take care of two kids, a dog, and occasionally pay attention to my husband. I rarely sit down to watch movies or television. If I am sitting, the laptop is almost always in front of me, and I’m doing something writing-related. I even use my lunch hours at the day job to write.

How do you overcome writer’s block?

I usually have multiple works in progress going at the same time, so if I hit a wall with one, I switch to another. I also write multiple genres, so usually switching to a totally different genre will do it. If none of this works, I read. Reading a quality book by another author always inspires me to get back to work writing my own.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

I just finished the first draft of the fourth Lightbearer book, which is called Change in the Light. If you’ve read this series, you know it’s about magical beings called Lightbearers and the shifters who hate to love them. This book actually takes the reader to a new shifter pack, where the pack master ends up falling for a human, which is a big no-no. I hope readers like Josh and his pack, because they will take over several upcoming books in the series.

What do you prefer paperback, hardcover, or ebooks?

No real preference between paperback and hardcover, but “real” books and ebooks both have their positive traits. I love reading paperbacks or hardcovers because you can see how far you are in the book, and whether or not you will be able to go to sleep soon or pull an all-nighter, because the book is that good. I also love to look at book covers while reading, and paperbacks/hardcovers allow me to do that easily. On the other hand, ebooks are easy to transport anywhere and everywhere. I have gotten stuck in traffic and pulled up my latest read on my phone before.