Dead
Awakenings
Rebekah
R. Ganiere
Genre: Urban Fantasy Paranormal
Romance
Publisher: Etopia Press
Date of Publication: 1/3/2014
ISBN: 978-1-940223-74-2
ASIN: B00HMUQWQ2
Number of pages: 269
Word Count: 96K
Book Description:
Evaine, a struggling New York
theater student, enters an unsanctioned drug trial in an effort to pay
bills. She awakens in a derelict
hospital, chained to a bed with no memory of who she is, or how she got
there. A band of pale skinned men, led
by the gorgeous Luca, burst in, whisking her away to safety.
Once at Haven House, Evaine is
introduced to The Family. Like them, she has become A Deader, a reanimated
Undead.
Luca is hell-bent on stopping the
experimentations, and killing those responsible. He has no time for a Newborn
who is struggling to control her rages, hunger, and powers. Nor does he have
the desire to deal with the feelings she's awakening within him.
Despite their best efforts,
Evaine and Luca find their connection intensifying when suddenly, she remembers
not only who she is, but also her fiancé, Tristan; who is still looking for
her.
Torn between her first love and
her new heart’s desire, Evaine runs back to Tristan putting everyone in danger.
When a rogue faction of Deaders, called Feeders, attempts to kidnap her, Luca
suspects Evaine is the key to the experiments.
Can everyone band together to
keep Evaine off the cutting table of those she escaped from? Or will second
death tear her away from everyone, for good?
Excerpt:
Chapter One
Warm, thick air
filled Evaine’s lungs; it was going to rain. She gazed up at the clouds rolling
in. They blanketed the sky like waves of dirty cotton. Stormy weather, her
favorite, but she didn’t want to get caught in the rain today. The laundromat
was a luxury she could not afford right now.
Picking up her
pace she headed toward the office of Mac, her fine arts adviser. The wind
picked up as she crossed the quad, and the first droplet of water hit her
cheek. She pulled down the long sleeves of her worn-out shirt. The thin hoodie
was about as good at keeping out the chill as paper would be keeping out a
charging bull.
Evaine’s mind
began to drift as she fought through students rushing to get out of the
drizzle. Without permission, her brain turned to her overdue bills. Trying to
live on meager grants and student loans was harder than she would have thought,
considering how she’d grown up. Her rent had been due a week ago, and she
wondered why her pitbull of a landlord hadn’t been banging down her door like
the last million times her rent had been twenty minutes late. Not that the very
small studio—hole—was worth what she paid. Maybe she would be better living on
the street. She needed to come up with some cash, fast.
The voice of her
mother, Phyllis, chimed in. Life would be easier if you’d let Tristan help out.
Sigh…Tristan.
She absently rubbed her finger where the huge diamond ring he had gotten her
rarely sat. She refused to wear it for the sheer size, not to mention that she
didn’t want to let anyone know she was engaged at the age of twenty. Some
people would think she was marrying Tristan Atwater for his money. Her mother
had tried to teach her for years how to use her body to catch a man of means.
But Evaine couldn’t stand for anyone to find out she shared even one shred of
DNA with the woman who had birthed her. Phyllis had used every man she’d ever
known. No way was Evaine going to take a penny of Tristan’s money to pay for
anything until they married; and she didn’t think she would ever get used to
it, really. She’d always prided herself for being able to stand on her own.
She refused to
rush into marriage. Not in her second year of college, not even to a guy as
wonderful as Tristan. The only man she’d ever loved; the only good thing to
ever happen to her. He was her security blanket. The only person she had ever
relied on and trusted. But she’d never let his money be her security. Between
his trust fund and the money he made at his job he could more than pay for five
penthouse apartments on Park Avenue. She may have been a foster system reject
brought up in a trailer park, but that didn’t mean she had to act like one.
Couldn’t hurt to
ask for a few dollars. Phyllis’s voice was again in her head.
“Hey, Evaine!”
The wind whipped
her hair into her face as she lifted her head. “Hey, Jeff.”
“Where you off
to?” He fell into step beside her.
“I need to see
Mac.” She continued toward Mac’s office building.
Jeff was a sweet
guy, not bad looking either, in a sort of geeky way. He had kind eyes and
shaggy, curly surfer blond hair. His tall, lean frame had a nice build. For the
second time since getting engaged she was reminded that she’d never even dated
another man beside Tristan.
Last year when
they'd done a rendition of Taming of the Shrew together, Jeff had been
especially nice to her. He’d asked her out a couple of times. Every time she’d
made up excuses about schoolwork or her job—anything. She hadn’t been sure what
to say. No one knew about Tristan, and she wanted to keep it that way. She
wasn’t ashamed of Tristan, by any means. She just didn’t like all the attention
that came from dating him.
Most girls would
brag about a rich VP of marketing boyfriend and a gigantic, five-carat diamond
ring. But she was still wondering what Tristan had been thinking when he’d
bought that lighthouse beacon for her to wear on her hand.
About
the Author:
Rebekah grew up on both the east
and west coasts and currently lives in the Los Angeles area. From the Giving
Tree by Shel Silverstein to The Stand by Stephen King, Rebekah immersed herself
in other people's made up worlds. She began writing in junior high and then
found she liked pretending to be other people's characters in high school.
Lettering in drama she went on to study theater in college as well. After
college she continued acting till becoming a mom. Ultimately, she ended up
going back to writing her characters down instead of acting them out, so she
could stay at home with her kids.
Rebekah is a member of Romance
Writers of America and is a board member of both the Fantasy, Futuristic, &
Paranormal and her local Los Angeles chapters.
When she isn't spending time telling the lives of the characters
constantly chattering inside her head, you can find her with her husband and
four children; reading comic books, gaming, at the movies or taking care of the
menagerie of pets. A dog, a rabbit, two bearded dragons, and three tortoises.
Wonder woman, the escaped snake, has yet to be located.
Twitter: @VampWereZombie
Youtube: http://youtu.be/YiCqYd9UBMk
Interview:
Diane's Book Blog would like to welcome Rebekah R. Ganiere and thank her for taking the time for an interview.
What is your favorite part of the story, Dark Awakenings?
My characters. I
love my characters, they are very dear to me. Most of them were based off
people I know and so I feel like they are my family.
How long did it take you to write Dark Awakenings?
It took me 30 days to write it. It was 150,000
words. It then took me 4 years to edit it and get it ready to publish at 96,000
words.
If you were stranded on a desert island which
of your characters do you want by your side?
Luca and Ronan.
Possibly Nate, but Mostly Luca. The man is hot and he's efficient. I'd survive
with him around!
If you could be best friends with one of your
characters, who would it be?
Abbey. Abbey is sweet, smart and fun. She actually is a lot like one of my best
friends in real life.
What is your favorite book that you wrote?
That's hard! I love all my books. My favorite
changes depending on what point I am at on working on it. For instance right
now my book The Society isn't my new
baby dragon that I am so happy to play with. It's in the middle of heavy edits
and so it's my Gigantic dragon that I am trying to pull into his cage for the
night without getting burned. LOL! I still love it, but it's not quite as fun
as it will be when I'm done. So I don't have a favorite. But my Farielle Series that is about to be
published is my favorite series of books. I really love them. Red the Were Hunter is the first and
will be out in April.
Who or what inspired you to be a writer?
I've always loved stories and poetry. I used
to act in high school and college. After college I did theater for a while but
then realized it was too hard to do and to try and have a family, so I started
writing again. It's a way for me to act out plays in my head with characters
that I would want to meet or be.
What books have most
influenced your life?
Who is your favorite
author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
What is your typical
day
like?
How do you overcome writer’s block?
Well, first I deny that I have writer's
block. I work and work and become more and more frustrated. Then I get pissed
and I pick up my laptop in an effort to toss it out the window. Then I set it
back down and start messaging my friends asking for help. Finally, I take a
break and either work on a different MS or stop writing all together and work
on other stuff to calm myself down. After that I go back and figure out what my
real problem is with the book and eventually I figure out a where to go. But
the process is super painful and luckily I've only experienced it a few times.
Can you share a little of your current work
with us?
I am currently
finishing up my novel Red the Were Hunter.
It is the first in my Fairelle Series.
A series of Fantasy Romances Fairytale Retellings. The nine book series weaves
characters and their stories together in the land of Farielle.
Red the Were Hunter will be out the
end of April beginning of May 2014. The second book in the series, Snow the Vampire Slayer, will be out in
the Summer of 2014 and a third book will be out at Thanksgiving. I've always
loved fairytales so these have been a lot of fun to twist and make my own. J
Promised at the Moon by Rebekah R. Ganiere
