Felicity Heaton's Blog, page 124
February 1, 2011
Kicking off Vampires for Valentine's month
Well, it's Feb 1st, so I'm kicking off a month-long celebration of my Vampires Realm series over at the VR blog! If you want to know more about the series, or you looooove vampires that bite and don't apologise for it, then nip on over and join in the festivities at the Vampires Realm blog!
The first post is an introduction to my Vampires Realm series, written as F E Heaton, and the books so far.
http://vampiresrealm.blogspot.com/2011/02/welcome-to-vampires-for-valentines.html
Read more about the series at the website too: http://www.vampiresrealm.com/
The first post is an introduction to my Vampires Realm series, written as F E Heaton, and the books so far.
http://vampiresrealm.blogspot.com/2011/02/welcome-to-vampires-for-valentines.html
Read more about the series at the website too: http://www.vampiresrealm.com/
January Giveaway winners
It's February1st, which means that my January Giveaway is now closed and the winners have been chosen by using the fantastic random.org number generator.
The lucky winners of the January Giveaway are:
Marcelle Cole won First Prize: A copy of Hunter's Moon by F E Heaton and 2 ebooks of winner's choice from my back catalogue.
Audra Holtwick won Second Prize: A copy of Hunter's Moon by F E Heaton and 1 ebook of winner's choice from my back catalogue.
Crystal King won Third Prize: 1 ebook of winner's choice from my back catalogue.
I'll be contacting all the winners via email this weekend to let them know. Hunter's Moon copies will be sent out on the day of the novel's release - February 26th.
Congratulations everyone who won, and thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. I'll be hosting another one this year, so keep your eyes open for it!
The lucky winners of the January Giveaway are:
Marcelle Cole won First Prize: A copy of Hunter's Moon by F E Heaton and 2 ebooks of winner's choice from my back catalogue.
Audra Holtwick won Second Prize: A copy of Hunter's Moon by F E Heaton and 1 ebook of winner's choice from my back catalogue.
Crystal King won Third Prize: 1 ebook of winner's choice from my back catalogue.
I'll be contacting all the winners via email this weekend to let them know. Hunter's Moon copies will be sent out on the day of the novel's release - February 26th.
Congratulations everyone who won, and thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. I'll be hosting another one this year, so keep your eyes open for it!
January 31, 2011
Editing Forbidden Blood - Vampire Romance Novel
Last week I was mostly editing Forbidden Blood, an upcoming vampire romance novel that should be out around the end of April 2011. Originally, I had intended it to be a light edit, more like a polish than anything else, but it has turned out to be more like a full edit. There's quite a bit I want to add to the story, layering in more description and information so readers will get more out of the story, and intensifying certain scenes between the vampire hero and human heroine. Because I'm doing a full edit on the story, I was behind schedule at the end of the week. It's difficult to measure how long edits take, but usually a full edit takes me around the same amount of time as it took to write the first draft, or maybe just a little less.
On Friday, I had reached page 74 out of around 270, and had added around 6000 words into the story. On Saturday, I had an ear appointment in the city, so I went to the area where my husband works (he works on Saturdays) afterwards and went to Starbucks there. I spent 8 hours in Starbucks and managed to get 56 more pages edited, reaching my page 130 goal. It doesn't sound like much progress, but I actually edited 25000 words of the story, and the amount of words added reached 10000, so the story was then at around 118000 words long.
Sometimes editing is slower than we like it to be, but I guess it's the price we pay for being thorough. Adding in extra details and information, or improving characters, always takes time, and when I see how many words I've added to the story (considering that I'm also taking words away too), I don't feel as though I'm on a go-slow.
Saturday was an interesting test though. I had wanted to see how many pages / words I could comfortably edit in a full working day ahead of my turning full time author at the end of February. It was good to see that when I'm editing quite harshly, really taking time to craft the words and sharpen the story, that I could get through that many pages. I don't intend to edit for 8 hours a day though. It was more like seeing what I could accomplish with 4 or 5, as I knew that eight hours would be extremely tiring, and it was. At the end of the evening, I was completely bushed, not fit for anything other than laying on the couch staring at the TV. That's not how I want to feel at the end of the work day when I'm writing, so I'll cap my editing at around 4 or 5 hours a day, dependent on how much work I have to do. If I'm pushed for time and desperately need to get an edit turned around quickly, I now know that I could spend a week in Starbucks doing 8 hours a day and get it done (most of my novels are around 80000 to 125000 words).
Unfortunately, it means I'm miles behind on my other work--interviews, articles, guest blogging, sending books out for review, and building my author platform, amongst other things. I have a lot to do between now and Feb 10th when I have my ear op, including preparing content for my Vampires for Valentines month over at the Vampires Realm blog - http://vampiresrealm.blogspot.com - that will see a daily post of goodies for everyone to read in the lead up to the release of Hunter's Moon.
I'd better get my head down today and crack on with these edits then!
On Friday, I had reached page 74 out of around 270, and had added around 6000 words into the story. On Saturday, I had an ear appointment in the city, so I went to the area where my husband works (he works on Saturdays) afterwards and went to Starbucks there. I spent 8 hours in Starbucks and managed to get 56 more pages edited, reaching my page 130 goal. It doesn't sound like much progress, but I actually edited 25000 words of the story, and the amount of words added reached 10000, so the story was then at around 118000 words long.
Sometimes editing is slower than we like it to be, but I guess it's the price we pay for being thorough. Adding in extra details and information, or improving characters, always takes time, and when I see how many words I've added to the story (considering that I'm also taking words away too), I don't feel as though I'm on a go-slow.
Saturday was an interesting test though. I had wanted to see how many pages / words I could comfortably edit in a full working day ahead of my turning full time author at the end of February. It was good to see that when I'm editing quite harshly, really taking time to craft the words and sharpen the story, that I could get through that many pages. I don't intend to edit for 8 hours a day though. It was more like seeing what I could accomplish with 4 or 5, as I knew that eight hours would be extremely tiring, and it was. At the end of the evening, I was completely bushed, not fit for anything other than laying on the couch staring at the TV. That's not how I want to feel at the end of the work day when I'm writing, so I'll cap my editing at around 4 or 5 hours a day, dependent on how much work I have to do. If I'm pushed for time and desperately need to get an edit turned around quickly, I now know that I could spend a week in Starbucks doing 8 hours a day and get it done (most of my novels are around 80000 to 125000 words).
Unfortunately, it means I'm miles behind on my other work--interviews, articles, guest blogging, sending books out for review, and building my author platform, amongst other things. I have a lot to do between now and Feb 10th when I have my ear op, including preparing content for my Vampires for Valentines month over at the Vampires Realm blog - http://vampiresrealm.blogspot.com - that will see a daily post of goodies for everyone to read in the lead up to the release of Hunter's Moon.
I'd better get my head down today and crack on with these edits then!
January 27, 2011
Ascension Cover - Urban Fantasy Romance Novel
I was feeling that creative itch at the weekend and had an idea for the cover of Ascension. It's an urban fantasy romance book that will be out in a few months, around June. The story follows a witch as she battles to stay alive, and her half-demon ex-lover as he fights to protect her. It's an exciting novel, packed with passion and magic, and lots of action!
Here's my shiny cover for it... I think I keep raising the bar with them, and I'm wondering if I'll manage to top this one.
Ascension by Felicity Heaton
What do you think of it?
Here's my shiny cover for it... I think I keep raising the bar with them, and I'm wondering if I'll manage to top this one.
Ascension by Felicity HeatonWhat do you think of it?
January 21, 2011
Plans for 2011 writing and Forbidden Blood
I'm listing to Pete Murray... he makes me think of beautiful Australia... and sunny Cairns... and steals me away from the frosty chill of London.
Well, having finished the read through of Forbidden Blood, it's fairly clear that it's going to be the next book I'll release after Hunter's Moon. Forbidden Blood is in good shape, with only minor things to address, so I'll be able to get the polish edit done on it by the date of my ear operation (February 10th). It's a novel length vampire romance book, currently around 110,000 words. I'm quite excited about releasing it and I keep thinking about writing another book set in the world I've created for it. I think readers will enjoy the story though and I can't wait to release it.
My never ending schedule change is still in progress too. Now that Forbidden Blood is set as the March 26th release, I have to think about the next one. I have a slot on May 7th that I want to use for a pay-for book rather than a freebie. At the moment, I'm set to release Ascension then, which is a witch / demon paranormal romance book, sort of urban fantasy romance.
I'm still planning to release 11 stories in 2011. 8 of those will be pay-for stories and 3 of them will be free ebooks. I'm going to write two stories for my A Day in the Life series, and another story in my Eternity series (Hyperion's history - sub-series of the Vampires Realm series). I'm also going to polish up the Eternity covers to have them match the other Vampires Realm ones.
At the moment, we're looking at this sort of ordering for the pay-for stories, with the release dates flexible:
February 26th 2011 - Hunter's Moon
The next story in the Vampires Realm series, Hunter's Moon takes us away from Europe to the wilderness of Canada, where Tatyana, a vampire of the Nocens bloodline of Budapest, finds herself at the mercy of an ex-alpha and ex-compound werewolf, Nicolae. And the guy has a serious chip on his shoulder. Sparks will fly!
March 26th 2011 - Forbidden Blood
A dark vampire romance novel, Forbidden Blood is set in London and follows the vampire hero, Kearn, as he fights to catch a man he's been after for three years. His elusive opponent appears before him in a London back street but a young beautiful woman named Amber hinders Kearn and the man escapes. But all is not lost. The enemy has given Amber a taste of his blood in order to control her and if Kearn's suspicions are correct, he'll come after her again. A decision to use her as bait turns into a struggle against a dangerous attraction as they fight to defeat the enemy and protect her life.
May 7th 2011 - Ascension
Ascension is an urban fantasy romance novel, mixing one stubborn half-demon hero, Taig, with his ex-lover and just as stubborn witch heroine, Lealandra. When her life is threatened and her Counter-Balance is killed, Lealandra turns to Taig for protection, but 6 years has done nothing to heal the hurt she caused by leaving him for another man and the coven, and he's not about to help her without her paying a high price! Lealandra understands why Taig is acting up, but she hasn't touched another man in all the years they've been apart. Her heart has remained constant, and only Taig has been in it. Seeing the pain she caused, Lealandra works to soothe it and hopes to finally help Taig face the issues he has about his demonic heritage and open his heart to her.
July 30th 2011 - Her Guardian Angel
The only novel in the Her Angel series, Her Guardian Angel promises to be a thrill ride from page one. Bringing back all of the angels from the first three novellas, this story is packed full of danger and intrigue, and a hero who will steal your heart. Marcus isn't interested in his new role of protecting Amelia and posing as her neighbour, but when the two start to grow closer and Marcus discovers that Amelia is about to die, it becomes a race against time to save her life. But will he be successful? Can he stop something that has been foretold?
September 10th 2011 - Heart of Darkness
Set in the beautiful city of Prague in the dead of winter, Heart of Darkness is a novel of passion and possession. Aleksandr, once a prince of his vampire kind, has spent four centuries relentlessly pursuing the relatives of the man who murdered his sister and the constant bloodshed is taking its toll on him, turning him towards the darkness and into the beast all vampires once were. Battling the darkness after killing another hunter, Aleksandr meets Elise, a guard of the Cerny bloodline, and she instantly drives the black from his heart and his mind, restoring his balance. Curiosity about the effect she has on him, and her beauty, drive him to pursue her, but the charm that had once helped him have any woman he wanted fails to have an effect on Elise. If he wants to win her, he will have to change his ways and learn how modern men pursue the women they are falling in love with, but it's a race against time as the darkness threatens to take control. Only Elise's love can save him, but even then will it be enough when he faces the last hunter and the end of his vendetta?
October 22nd 2011 - Masquerade
The second story being released in the Vampires Realm series in 2011, Masquerade follows two elite guards as they battle both the threat of vampire hunters and their apparent hatred for each other to protect the lords and ladies of all the pure bloodlines of Europe at the Creator Day masquerade ball! But hate is so close to love, and a dance whilst hidden behind a mask can lead from one thing to another...
December 3rd 2011 - Hellcat
A hunter by trade, he can't resist the lure of a rare species, but is it wise to fall for a Hellcat? This shape-shifting kitty isn't about to be caught, certainly not by a hunter, and definitely not by the alpha cat pursuing her across the globe, but the two men might just cancel each other out. It takes little more than a flicker of charm and a sultry smile to win the hunter over, but will he be able to keep her rightful mate off her tail long enough for her to escape? And why the heck is she feeling guilty about using the guy for protection?
There'll be the three free ebooks in there somewhere too.
I'll also be squeezing in time this year to write a new Vampires Realm novel for release in early 2012 and the first couple of stories in my Hades' Boys series... which isn't the real title. lol. It's a series of 7 books about some seriously sexy alpha gods (all brothers - their mamma is very proud of her strapping lads) intent on stopping our world and theirs from colliding! I'll be releasing all 7 novels over 2012, 2013 and 2014. Expect to be blown away.
Well, having finished the read through of Forbidden Blood, it's fairly clear that it's going to be the next book I'll release after Hunter's Moon. Forbidden Blood is in good shape, with only minor things to address, so I'll be able to get the polish edit done on it by the date of my ear operation (February 10th). It's a novel length vampire romance book, currently around 110,000 words. I'm quite excited about releasing it and I keep thinking about writing another book set in the world I've created for it. I think readers will enjoy the story though and I can't wait to release it.
My never ending schedule change is still in progress too. Now that Forbidden Blood is set as the March 26th release, I have to think about the next one. I have a slot on May 7th that I want to use for a pay-for book rather than a freebie. At the moment, I'm set to release Ascension then, which is a witch / demon paranormal romance book, sort of urban fantasy romance.
I'm still planning to release 11 stories in 2011. 8 of those will be pay-for stories and 3 of them will be free ebooks. I'm going to write two stories for my A Day in the Life series, and another story in my Eternity series (Hyperion's history - sub-series of the Vampires Realm series). I'm also going to polish up the Eternity covers to have them match the other Vampires Realm ones.
At the moment, we're looking at this sort of ordering for the pay-for stories, with the release dates flexible:
February 26th 2011 - Hunter's Moon
The next story in the Vampires Realm series, Hunter's Moon takes us away from Europe to the wilderness of Canada, where Tatyana, a vampire of the Nocens bloodline of Budapest, finds herself at the mercy of an ex-alpha and ex-compound werewolf, Nicolae. And the guy has a serious chip on his shoulder. Sparks will fly!
March 26th 2011 - Forbidden Blood
A dark vampire romance novel, Forbidden Blood is set in London and follows the vampire hero, Kearn, as he fights to catch a man he's been after for three years. His elusive opponent appears before him in a London back street but a young beautiful woman named Amber hinders Kearn and the man escapes. But all is not lost. The enemy has given Amber a taste of his blood in order to control her and if Kearn's suspicions are correct, he'll come after her again. A decision to use her as bait turns into a struggle against a dangerous attraction as they fight to defeat the enemy and protect her life.
May 7th 2011 - Ascension
Ascension is an urban fantasy romance novel, mixing one stubborn half-demon hero, Taig, with his ex-lover and just as stubborn witch heroine, Lealandra. When her life is threatened and her Counter-Balance is killed, Lealandra turns to Taig for protection, but 6 years has done nothing to heal the hurt she caused by leaving him for another man and the coven, and he's not about to help her without her paying a high price! Lealandra understands why Taig is acting up, but she hasn't touched another man in all the years they've been apart. Her heart has remained constant, and only Taig has been in it. Seeing the pain she caused, Lealandra works to soothe it and hopes to finally help Taig face the issues he has about his demonic heritage and open his heart to her.
July 30th 2011 - Her Guardian Angel
The only novel in the Her Angel series, Her Guardian Angel promises to be a thrill ride from page one. Bringing back all of the angels from the first three novellas, this story is packed full of danger and intrigue, and a hero who will steal your heart. Marcus isn't interested in his new role of protecting Amelia and posing as her neighbour, but when the two start to grow closer and Marcus discovers that Amelia is about to die, it becomes a race against time to save her life. But will he be successful? Can he stop something that has been foretold?
September 10th 2011 - Heart of Darkness
Set in the beautiful city of Prague in the dead of winter, Heart of Darkness is a novel of passion and possession. Aleksandr, once a prince of his vampire kind, has spent four centuries relentlessly pursuing the relatives of the man who murdered his sister and the constant bloodshed is taking its toll on him, turning him towards the darkness and into the beast all vampires once were. Battling the darkness after killing another hunter, Aleksandr meets Elise, a guard of the Cerny bloodline, and she instantly drives the black from his heart and his mind, restoring his balance. Curiosity about the effect she has on him, and her beauty, drive him to pursue her, but the charm that had once helped him have any woman he wanted fails to have an effect on Elise. If he wants to win her, he will have to change his ways and learn how modern men pursue the women they are falling in love with, but it's a race against time as the darkness threatens to take control. Only Elise's love can save him, but even then will it be enough when he faces the last hunter and the end of his vendetta?
October 22nd 2011 - Masquerade
The second story being released in the Vampires Realm series in 2011, Masquerade follows two elite guards as they battle both the threat of vampire hunters and their apparent hatred for each other to protect the lords and ladies of all the pure bloodlines of Europe at the Creator Day masquerade ball! But hate is so close to love, and a dance whilst hidden behind a mask can lead from one thing to another...
December 3rd 2011 - Hellcat
A hunter by trade, he can't resist the lure of a rare species, but is it wise to fall for a Hellcat? This shape-shifting kitty isn't about to be caught, certainly not by a hunter, and definitely not by the alpha cat pursuing her across the globe, but the two men might just cancel each other out. It takes little more than a flicker of charm and a sultry smile to win the hunter over, but will he be able to keep her rightful mate off her tail long enough for her to escape? And why the heck is she feeling guilty about using the guy for protection?
There'll be the three free ebooks in there somewhere too.
I'll also be squeezing in time this year to write a new Vampires Realm novel for release in early 2012 and the first couple of stories in my Hades' Boys series... which isn't the real title. lol. It's a series of 7 books about some seriously sexy alpha gods (all brothers - their mamma is very proud of her strapping lads) intent on stopping our world and theirs from colliding! I'll be releasing all 7 novels over 2012, 2013 and 2014. Expect to be blown away.
January 19, 2011
My next romance novel...
Well, I finished the polish phase of Hunter's Moon, the next Vampires Realm novel, at the weekend and sent it off to a few kind readers who offered to run their eyes over it and offer me feedback. I have a few questions about it and just want to make sure that it's perfect before unleashing it on the world.
This week I've been doing two things: Reading and getting sick.
I started the week with the intention of doing a read through of Ascension and then starting the polish edit on it. Unfortunately, it's just not sitting well with me. I feel there are quite a few things that need addressing and the writing needs a good buffing up session throughout the book. The trouble with Ascension is, I started it as a short story intended for the Nocturne Bites line by Harlequin. They rejected two of my stories, and I felt this one really had a novel feel about it, and I wanted to extend it. I gave it out to around 30 readers, who mostly came back with the same feeling--it should be a novel not a short story. I never sent it to Harlequin, and instead extended it. I think in the extension process, I flipped back from trying to write for Harly to writing like my normal self. This means that the two styles don't quite mesh. So, Ascension needs another draft before it can be polished.
Which is why I'm now reading Forbidden Blood.
Forbidden Blood is a vampire romance with a twist. Not quite traditional, but nothing I write ever really is. It also has a nicely tortured hero. I have a thing for writing those too. I'm banking on it being in better shape than Ascension, as I wrote it more recently, and therefore it will only need a polish as opposed to another draft. I've already done a second draft of the novel, and afterward I thought of a few things I could do to improve it. I have to add those into the story, but I don't think it will be difficult to work them in. I've only read around 20 pages of it so far. It reads well, with the odd thing I want to smooth out or improve.
Of course, I'm also touting a beautifully ugly cold right now, so chances are nothing I read is going to feel amazing because I'm so under the weather and just feeling vaguely cruel towards my stories because of it. I want to be able to sit down and just spend the whole day working on the stories and getting them into top shape, but that'll take weeks and I want to get the story out at the end of March.
At this rate, I'll be moving another release date. I'll have to do it if I don't feel I have enough time. There's only 3 weeks until my ear operation now, which probably isn't enough time to do another copy edit on a book and then have time to proof it. We'll see! I do love a challenge.
This week I've been doing two things: Reading and getting sick.
I started the week with the intention of doing a read through of Ascension and then starting the polish edit on it. Unfortunately, it's just not sitting well with me. I feel there are quite a few things that need addressing and the writing needs a good buffing up session throughout the book. The trouble with Ascension is, I started it as a short story intended for the Nocturne Bites line by Harlequin. They rejected two of my stories, and I felt this one really had a novel feel about it, and I wanted to extend it. I gave it out to around 30 readers, who mostly came back with the same feeling--it should be a novel not a short story. I never sent it to Harlequin, and instead extended it. I think in the extension process, I flipped back from trying to write for Harly to writing like my normal self. This means that the two styles don't quite mesh. So, Ascension needs another draft before it can be polished.
Which is why I'm now reading Forbidden Blood.
Forbidden Blood is a vampire romance with a twist. Not quite traditional, but nothing I write ever really is. It also has a nicely tortured hero. I have a thing for writing those too. I'm banking on it being in better shape than Ascension, as I wrote it more recently, and therefore it will only need a polish as opposed to another draft. I've already done a second draft of the novel, and afterward I thought of a few things I could do to improve it. I have to add those into the story, but I don't think it will be difficult to work them in. I've only read around 20 pages of it so far. It reads well, with the odd thing I want to smooth out or improve.
Of course, I'm also touting a beautifully ugly cold right now, so chances are nothing I read is going to feel amazing because I'm so under the weather and just feeling vaguely cruel towards my stories because of it. I want to be able to sit down and just spend the whole day working on the stories and getting them into top shape, but that'll take weeks and I want to get the story out at the end of March.
At this rate, I'll be moving another release date. I'll have to do it if I don't feel I have enough time. There's only 3 weeks until my ear operation now, which probably isn't enough time to do another copy edit on a book and then have time to proof it. We'll see! I do love a challenge.
January 16, 2011
Winter's Kiss - vampire / werewolf romance book available in paperback!
Winter's Kiss, part of my Vampires Realm series, is now available in paperback on Amazon.com. You can get your hands on this vampire / werewolf romance book for only $7.99! At the moment, it's only available on Amazon.com, but it will go global within the next 6 weeks. I'll keep you all posted.
Winter's Kiss
F E Heaton
The tales of the mansion near Nika's remote Russian village say that its lord drinks blood to live and that the guards are dead men walking, but that doesn't stop Nika from falling for one of them—a man who seemingly hasn't changed in twenty years, a man she wishes would be hers. One snowy spring night, her world and his collide when she is attacked by wolves and he rides in on a black horse to rescue her. But her knight in shining armour is far from saintly. He is a vampire, and she is becoming a werewolf, and love between such species is forbidden—the penalty death.
Winter is a commander of the Validus, the most powerful vampire bloodline in Europe. Faithful to his family and his lord since his turning one thousand years ago, he follows the law to the letter and places duty above all else, but his resolve is about to be tested in the most painful way and his world shaken beyond salvation. The girl he watched grow into a woman, a woman who has stolen his heart, is now a werewolf and his dream of making her his has been shattered. Only vengeance can be his now or the Law Keepers will hunt him down and kill both him and Nika.
But Winter's plan to take Nika home to her family fails and his heart demands that he protects her, both from the werewolf who bit her and from himself. She tempts him more than he can bear and it isn't long before he finds himself treading the knife's edge between upholding the law and succumbing to desire.
Nika does everything in her power to convince Winter to stay with her, to go against the laws and risk death, but in the end will she have done enough? Will the nights they spend together change his heart and his mind, or will she spend eternity dreaming of Winter's kiss?
ebook price: $3.99
paperback price: $7.99
genre: paranormal vampire / werewolf romance
length: 78000 words
paperback purchase link:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456489895/
e-book purchase links:
My website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Winter's%20Kiss
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Winters-Kiss-Vampires-Realm-ebook/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Winters-Kiss-Vampires-Realm/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Winters-Kiss/mix-SbRY0TdPE0-Zl8QkcSDTzA/page1.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/winters-kiss/_/R-400000000000000254325
Also available at iBookstore
Winter's KissF E Heaton
The tales of the mansion near Nika's remote Russian village say that its lord drinks blood to live and that the guards are dead men walking, but that doesn't stop Nika from falling for one of them—a man who seemingly hasn't changed in twenty years, a man she wishes would be hers. One snowy spring night, her world and his collide when she is attacked by wolves and he rides in on a black horse to rescue her. But her knight in shining armour is far from saintly. He is a vampire, and she is becoming a werewolf, and love between such species is forbidden—the penalty death.
Winter is a commander of the Validus, the most powerful vampire bloodline in Europe. Faithful to his family and his lord since his turning one thousand years ago, he follows the law to the letter and places duty above all else, but his resolve is about to be tested in the most painful way and his world shaken beyond salvation. The girl he watched grow into a woman, a woman who has stolen his heart, is now a werewolf and his dream of making her his has been shattered. Only vengeance can be his now or the Law Keepers will hunt him down and kill both him and Nika.
But Winter's plan to take Nika home to her family fails and his heart demands that he protects her, both from the werewolf who bit her and from himself. She tempts him more than he can bear and it isn't long before he finds himself treading the knife's edge between upholding the law and succumbing to desire.
Nika does everything in her power to convince Winter to stay with her, to go against the laws and risk death, but in the end will she have done enough? Will the nights they spend together change his heart and his mind, or will she spend eternity dreaming of Winter's kiss?
ebook price: $3.99
paperback price: $7.99
genre: paranormal vampire / werewolf romance
length: 78000 words
paperback purchase link:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456489895/
e-book purchase links:
My website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Winter's%20Kiss
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Winters-Kiss-Vampires-Realm-ebook/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Winters-Kiss-Vampires-Realm/dp/B0035LDN4Q/
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Winters-Kiss/mix-SbRY0TdPE0-Zl8QkcSDTzA/page1.html
Sony Reader Store: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/f-e-heaton/winters-kiss/_/R-400000000000000254325
Also available at iBookstore
Free chapters of vampire romance book Love Immortal
We're up to chapter 7 of the 10 free chapters of my new vampire romance book, Love Immortal now, so I thought I would post a list of them all, including the PDF downloads.
So, if you're interested in reading my new novel, by sure to read the FREE chapters!
Chapters at the Love Immortal romance novel blog:
Chapter 1: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2010/12/love-immortal-chapter-1.html
Chapter 2: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2010/12/love-immortal-chapter-2.html
Chapter 3: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2010/12/love-immortal-chapter-3.html
Chapter 4: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2011/01/love-immortal-chapter-4.html
Chapter 5: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2011/01/love-immortal-chapter-5.html
Chapter 6: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2011/01/love-immortal-chapter-6.html
Chapter 7: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2011/01/love-immortal-chapter-7.html
Download chapters as PDF:
Chapter 1: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch1.pdf
Chapter 2: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch2.pdf
Chapter 3: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch3.pdf
Chapter 4: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch4.pdf
Chapter 5: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch5.pdf
Chapter 6: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch6.pdf
Chapter 7: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch7.pdf
This vampire romance book has been getting a lot of praise from readers and review sites, so be sure to check out those free chapters!
Felicity
So, if you're interested in reading my new novel, by sure to read the FREE chapters!
Chapters at the Love Immortal romance novel blog:
Chapter 1: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2010/12/love-immortal-chapter-1.html
Chapter 2: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2010/12/love-immortal-chapter-2.html
Chapter 3: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2010/12/love-immortal-chapter-3.html
Chapter 4: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2011/01/love-immortal-chapter-4.html
Chapter 5: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2011/01/love-immortal-chapter-5.html
Chapter 6: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2011/01/love-immortal-chapter-6.html
Chapter 7: http://loveimmortalromancenovel.blogspot.com/2011/01/love-immortal-chapter-7.html
Download chapters as PDF:
Chapter 1: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch1.pdf
Chapter 2: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch2.pdf
Chapter 3: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch3.pdf
Chapter 4: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch4.pdf
Chapter 5: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch5.pdf
Chapter 6: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch6.pdf
Chapter 7: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/loveimmortal/love-immortal-felicity-heaton-ch7.pdf
This vampire romance book has been getting a lot of praise from readers and review sites, so be sure to check out those free chapters!
Felicity
January 15, 2011
Love Immortal - Vampire Romance book is out today!
My new vampire romance book is out today. Love Immortal is a passionate, action-packed, heart-wrenching and dramatic novel that you won't be able to put down and will never forget. Trust me. Just check out the reviews I posted before. Here's an excerpt to get you all hooked!
Love Immortal
Felicity Heaton
When you're searching for your purpose, the last thing you expect to discover is that you're the latest reincarnation of a goddess on a three thousand year old mission to defeat the original werewolf, Lycaon, before he can gain revenge on Zeus and Olympus.
Rescued from the claws of werewolves by Julian, a handsome and mysterious immortal, Lauren is pulled into a dark and frightening new world full of monsters out to kill her and an organisation of people with phenomenal abilities who want to protect her—Ghost. But the most frightening thing of all is that soon Lauren will need to drink Julian's blood in order to reawaken and regain her immortal powers.
Or she will die.
Julian isn't about to let that happen. He's never met anyone like Lauren and he's determined not to lose her. She's the perfect copy of Illia but is nothing like her or any of the incarnations. She is light to their darkness, and she breathes life back into him, but can he trust her with his heart and bring himself to believe that the feelings she shows him are real after everything he has been through?
Can Lauren succeed in defeating Lycaon when all of her predecessors have failed? Will she be able to crack the armour around Julian's heart and seize her happily forever after with him?
ebook price: $4.99
paperback price: $12.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance book
length: 157000 words
e-book purchase links:
My website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Love%20Immortal
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Immortal-ebook/dp/B004HYHHME/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Immortal/dp/B004HYHHME/
paperback purchase links:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Immortal-Felicity-Heaton/dp/1456487884/
Excerpt
Monsters existed.
Lauren had always suspected it to be true, and now she had all the evidence she needed.
One was standing twenty feet in front of her.
It towered over her, yellow eyes glowing in the dim alley between the old redbrick houses of her neighbourhood. Tufted black wiry fur covered it from tail to pointed ears, from the long claws on its colossal paw-like hands to the thick trunks of its hind legs. Her fevered mind said that it was only an escaped wolf from London Zoo, but Lauren couldn't bring herself to believe it. She'd seen the wolves once. This creature was nothing like them. This was something else.
Its mouth opened to reveal jagged teeth, each the size of her thumb.
Why Grandma, what big teeth you have.
All the better to eat you with.
Icy fingers clutched her heart and Lauren trembled, cold sweat trickling down her back beneath the skinny-fit brown t-shirt. The mad rush of her pulse made her dizzy and unexpended adrenaline stole her strength. Whoever had said that adrenaline made you invincible was a liar. Her legs were shaking so much that they were close to buckling, the gym bag on her shoulder was too heavy, and her thick black winter jacket felt impossibly tight, as though it was squeezing the air from her lungs.
Instinct told her to run.
If only her feet would cooperate.
Her shoulders slumped when the monster took a step towards her and her kit bag dropped to the ground. The shinai case slid down her other arm but she caught it at the last second. The feel of the bamboo sword through the black canvas bag was reassuring and instilled a strange sense of calm in her. Lauren tried to remember her kendo training and everything she had just practiced in class but nothing came to her. She stared at the monster, still trying to comprehend what was happening.
Instinct changed its mind.
Her other hand automatically reached across and undid the ties on the shinai bag. Lauren swallowed and kept her movements slow, not wanting to startle the beast into reacting. The end of the bag flapped open and she reached inside, locking her right hand tightly around the white leather hilt of the bamboo sword. She drew it and let the carry-case fall to the ground.
This was insane.
Her shinai would last five seconds against such a huge creature.
It didn't matter. Her only chance of escape was to stun it with a direct hit and run for her life. Her knees wobbled. That was, if she could run.
Taking deep breaths, Lauren shuffled backwards as the beast advanced and moved into a fighting stance. She brought her shinai around in front of her, clutching it so tightly with both hands that her knuckles turned white.
One breath. Two. Three.
With a loud cry, she launched herself at the creature. It reacted slowly, glowing yellow eyes widening. Lauren struck it between its ears and it yelped. The sound brought a smile to her face.
It was a short-lived smile.
The monster lashed out, flinging a heavy paw into her stomach and sending her flying into the wall of the alley. Her breath left her on impact and pain blasted through every inch of her. She grunted and fell onto the hard tarmac. Another huge paw flew at her and she rolled forwards to avoid being pulverised. She turned at the last moment and grabbed her shinai, desperate to protect herself. She was too damn young to die.
A low snarl sent a shudder down her spine and fear stole her breath away. Lauren scrambled to her feet and backed off, her bamboo sword trembling in front of her. The moon peeked out from behind a cloud and lit the world. Her heart stopped.
Holy God, the monster was more frightening in the light than it had ever been in the darkness. Long strings of saliva rolled down its fangs and dark fur tufted down its spine, raised like hackles. It wasn't a wolf, but it wasn't a man either. It was somewhere in between. An abomination. Something straight out of her dreams.
She'd dreamt of wolves and monsters before, and each time she had ended up fighting for her life.
It lowered its head and snarled again, hunkering down. It was going to attack.
This wasn't a dream. It was a living nightmare.
Lauren's fight left her and she moved backwards, faster now. Her heart started at a pace, thumping erratically in her throat. She clutched her shinai and glanced around. It was only just gone ten at night. Someone would pass by. Her neighbourhood wasn't normally this quiet. Any moment now, someone would come and help her. She'd only left her kendo class fifteen minutes ago and she'd been first out of the door. A couple of the men in her class lived near her. One of them would come. Someone would. Anyone? Thirty-four was definitely too young to die. She didn't want to be killed in the night as her parents had been.
She opened her mouth to call out for help but no sound left her lips. Her voice had died the moment her eyes had locked with the monster's ones. She saw her death reflected in them, saw how easily it would tear her to shreds and how she wasn't going to make it out of this alive. Emptiness settled in her mind, ringing in her ears.
Cold stillness shrouded the world.
The beast leapt.
Her heart leapt too.
Shrieking, Lauren raised the bamboo sword to defend herself and flinched away, screwing her eyes shut. Only sound came to her.
The sing of metal cutting through air, an ear-splitting howl of pain, and then a wet slapping noise.
Silence followed.
Lauren breathed hard, hunched up with her bamboo sword still held in front of her face. Her rough gulps of air filled the night. When everything had been quiet for a minute, she realised that something had happened to the monster and that she wasn't dead. She cracked an eye open.
The first thing she saw made her retch.
Spread across the alley were guts, blood and the two halves of a naked man. Her stomach rolled in response to the gruesome sight and she took a step backwards. It hadn't been a man a moment ago. Her eyes hadn't been lying to her even though her mind had. It had been a monster—a wolf that could stand on its hind legs, over six feet tall, and had tried to kill her. She looked at her bamboo sword. Splatters of blood covered the length of it, soaking into the white leather cap at the end. She couldn't have killed him with it. It wasn't possible.
The sound of steel sliding against something made her look up.
Her eyes widened and she dropped her weapon.
A tall man stood opposite her on the other side of the dead person. His long black coat fitted snugly to his slim frame and the stand up collar rose so high that it created a funnel that masked the lower half of his face, held closed by two thick bands of bright gleaming metal across the front. The wind tousled the finger-length spiked strands of his dark hair, shifting them across his pale forehead.
Shimmering silver eyes stared at her, pupils wide in the low light.
Her heart thudded in response to the jolt she felt when her eyes met his.
How many times had she looked at someone and not felt anything? Every day she met the eye of people on the Tube or at work, or even her opponent in kendo, but she'd never experienced a jolt that shook her to her core.
Never had she been so aware of making eye contact.
The longer she looked into his eyes, the calmer and warmer she felt, until she wanted to stare into them for forever. Something about those eyes, about this man, was so familiar. She was sure that she didn't know him, but at the same time, she was certain she did.
He stood unmoving, a sense of resolve about him. Everything suddenly felt like nothing but a nightmare, a vivid dream that this man had roused her from. His eyes narrowed. Invisible arms wrapped around her, holding her as soothing whispered words filled her mind. She was safe now.
Instinctively, she took a step towards him.
He lowered his head, giving Lauren the impression that he was bowing to her, awaiting a command or perhaps something else.
The man raised his head a fraction, so his eyes met hers again.
She snapped out of her trance when, without any sign of emotion, and with precise and practiced grace, he slid the long curved katana he held into the sheath hanging at his waist. The blade was clean but blood splattered his hands.
Lauren swallowed her heart and the fear that rushed through her again. Lost in his eyes, she'd forgotten what had happened. Everything had seemed so normal and the monster hadn't existed. Now she was back in reality, standing in an alley with a dead man at her feet and the man who had killed him opposite her.
His silver eyes flashed in the moonlight.
Another monster?
She made no move to run, or to look away, not when he approached her and not even when he stopped two feet away, towering over her. She couldn't move. His eyes had mesmerised her again. They melted from brightest silver to ice blue and she didn't even try to convince herself that she'd imagined it. They had changed. Ribbons of black hair caressed his forehead and her fingers itched to brush them away, to stroke his skin in their place and sweep them from his eyes so she could see them more clearly. A strange wave of calm washed over her again, only this time the feeling went deeper. She felt at peace with the world.
Because no matter what happened, this man would protect her.
He extended his hand to her. Before she could consider what she was doing, she was reaching for him.
"We must leave." His voice was smooth and sensual, deep and accented in a way she couldn't place but she knew that she liked it because the sound of it added to her boneless feeling.
Without hesitation or fear, Lauren placed her hand into his. His fingers closed over hers.
A sense of connection filled her.
"It is not safe here," he said and, without thinking, she nodded.
His hand left hers and claimed her upper arm. He strode at a pace so quick that she was almost jogging. Lauren gazed at the back of his head, catching glimpses of his profile.
It seemed right to go with him. Something inside her said that she knew him and she knew he would never hurt her. He had saved her from the monster.
She didn't care where they were going. She ran with him, empty and unable to think clearly. Her mind raced over everything that had happened, darting back and forth through her encounter with the monster. The man was right. It wasn't safe. A monster had attacked her and she had a feeling that more were coming, some sense of imminent danger that she couldn't ignore. She had to run and she had to stay with the swordsman. Only he could keep her safe.
"What was that thing?" she said between breaths and tried to look over her shoulder towards the dead man. The world wobbled so much she couldn't focus.
"They are after us."
Her stomach fluttered and she looked at the swordsman. It was worth asking, even if it would only confirm that she'd gone insane.
"Who are they?" Her voice trembled enough that she was certain he would know that she was frightened of asking that question.
He stopped and looked at her, his pale blue eyes narrowing with his frown. Lauren wished she could see the rest of his face, could open the collar that obscured the lower half of it. She hadn't realised until now just how much of what a person was thinking showed in their expression. His eyes betrayed nothing.
"The monsters?" he said and her heart skipped a beat. "I almost lost you in the alley. I was foolish but I will not allow it to happen again. We must hurry."
When he looked past her, she glanced over her shoulder. Two men were coming down the street. She stepped towards them, convinced that they were from her kendo class, but the man held on to her arm, stopping her. She looked at him and then back at the two men. The streetlights highlighted their faces and she realised that she didn't know them. The sense of danger inside her worsened and the voice at the back of her mind told her to keep running. They were coming for her.
Before she could speak, the swordsman was running with her again. His grip on her arm was unrelenting, his pace so fast that she struggled not to trip.
Lauren looked over her shoulder. The men were following them. She rushed on, her thoughts running at a million miles per hour now. Was she really safe with the swordsman? She wasn't so sure, but he did seem to be the lesser of two evils. If the two men that were following them were actually monsters then she'd probably chosen the right side.
A flash of silver eyes crossed her turbulent mind.
Perhaps she hadn't. The swordsman was possibly as much a monster as the wolf-man had been. She glanced at the man's hand and then at his face. He had his eyes fixed on the distance, his jetty eyebrows knitted tight. She had to get away before something happened. The man had said they were after them, but she couldn't believe that. What reason would they have to be after her? She hadn't done anything in her life to enrage monsters or make a single enemy. It had been quiet and safe. Now she felt as though she'd fallen into someone else's life and she wanted her own boring one back. She had to get away.
It wasn't far to her house now.
The man turned down a side road between two houses, heading towards her street. He knew where she lived? Sodium lights flickered on the walls high above. The heavy stomp of boots echoed in her stomach and she turned as the swordsman stopped. The men had caught up with them. They came to a halt a short distance away and the swordsman moved to stand in front of her. Lauren had the terrible feeling she was about to witness a showdown.
"Stay close," the swordsman said.
He threw his arm out, sending his long coat swirling from the waist down and revealing his katana. In one swift, graceful move, he drew it and was in a fighting stance. Lauren backed into the wall, fascinated but frightened.
A low growl caught her attention. Her knees threatened to give out when the men tore their t-shirts off and dark fur erupted in waves across their skin. Their bodies twisted and distorted, limbs elongating as their noses and chins pushed outwards and became muzzles. Ears sprouted from the top of their heads and their eyes changed to yellow. They snarled in unison and she pressed hard into the wall.
It was real.
The swordsman changed position, raising his katana. He looked over his shoulder at her. His silver eyes gleamed as brightly as his blade in the streetlight.
Oh God, it was real.
The swordsman disappeared. A loud cry split the silence a moment later. No, he hadn't disappeared. The monsters and the man were both moving so fast that it was hard for her to keep track of them. They were a blur in her eyes, shifting violent shapes as they passed her. Turning, she clung to the wall and watched the fight. She had never seen a man move with such agility or fight with such astounding grace. Each attack was beautiful and polished. Each counter by the monsters just as fluid. A deadly ballet.
A perfect chance.
He couldn't stop her and the monsters at the same time. They wanted him, not her. She hadn't done anything to upset them. If she just left quietly, perhaps they would leave her alone. She could go the long way round to her house, get some things and then leave before the swordsman could find her. She could go to her friends' house and hide until everything was sane again.
Backing away into the shadows, Lauren breathed slow and shallow, afraid that even that sound could alert either the man or the monsters to the fact that she was leaving. Her hands trailed along the brick wall, rough under her fingertips, a feeling that grounded her and kept her going. The darkness engulfed her but she didn't take her eyes away from the blur of the fight, not until the very last second when her hand finally ran out of wall.
With a sigh, she turned away and then froze.
Black tufted fur filled her vision. Her gaze rose to take in the massive bulk of the wolf-like monster and stopped when it reached its jaw. Sharp teeth greeted her as its jowls peeled back in a snarl.
She began to shake her head.
The monster backhanded her, sending her crashing into the wall. Pain erupted across her skull as her head hit the pavement and a trembling sickness passed over her. She pushed herself up on unsteady arms and looked towards the man where he fought the other monster, keeping it at the other end of the alley, and then behind her at the one that had hit her.
It was coming.
Vivid yellow eyes filled the darkness. She couldn't look away. The sound of fighting swam in her ears and then drifted into the distance, replaced by the noise of heavy feet pounding the tarmac. She threw a glance back towards the man to see the other monster coming for her. Her stomach heaved. She had been wrong. The monsters weren't after the man at all.
Lauren froze right down to the marrow of her bones.
They were after her.
Turning back to face the one nearest her, she screamed when she saw that it was almost on her. Its sharp jaws opened.
Blood exploded up the wall and the monster tumbled to the ground. Lauren shuffled backwards, away from it, not even thinking about the other monster that had been coming at her from behind.
Her hand hit a puddle.
Only it hadn't been raining.
And puddles weren't warm.
Sick to her stomach, she snatched her hand back and retched when she saw the blood covering it. She frantically wiped it on her jeans, her heart fluttering against her ribcage. Both men were dead, cleaved cleanly in two. Her stomach heaved but nothing came up. Bending over, she grasped the pavement with both hands and tried to be sick again. Nothing.
The swordsman grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. The motion jarred her vision and made her headache worsen.
"Are you hurt?" he said, voice soothing. Lauren looked up at him, instantly lost in his silver eyes.
He frowned when she didn't respond and then touched her forehead above her right eyebrow. It stung and Lauren flinched away. His touch lightened, becoming so tender that it felt like a lover's caress rather than a simple concerned touch. She stared into his eyes as he inspected what she presumed was a cut. The pain seemed so distant. Everything did. His eyes gradually changed from stunning silver to icy blue again and she found herself wondering why he worried so much about her safety.
And why she felt as though she knew him.
His hand caught her wrist and they were moving again. She almost tripped when they passed one of the bodies and it began to disintegrate before her eyes.
"Stay close," the swordsman said.
Lauren glanced at him and then down at his hand on her wrist. She didn't think that she had much choice. The strength in his grip was incredible.
Why was he protecting her? What did he want from her? Why were monsters after her?
She had to be insane to be running around London with a man she didn't know and fighting monsters that were after her for some reason.
The man turned down another street. Lauren yanked her hand free and started back in the opposite direction. This had gone on long enough. She wasn't sure where she intended to go but she had to get away before it all got crazier. She didn't think it could, but something deep inside said that it was going to if she kept letting the madman drag her around.
He grabbed her wrist again.
Lauren tried to tug it free but his grip tightened. When she hit his hand, he let go and backed away a step. Was he trying to calm her down?
Finding her courage, she avoided looking him in the eye and put her hands on her hips.
"I'm leaving and you'd better not try to stop me," she said and it sounded quite convincing to her own ears.
The man stepped back again. His coat fell open to reveal the hilt of his sword.
"There is no going back," he said. "They will find you again."
Her head was splitting now that she'd stopped moving and threatening a man with a sword suddenly didn't seem so clever.
She edged backwards.
"There is no going back," he repeated, his tone as calm as a millpond, instilling a sense of peace in her. He was right. She told herself that he wasn't. He was wrong and he could do strange things to her with his voice and his eyes. She had to escape. "If you do, you will die."
Lauren's head snapped up, her eyes locking with his. She wasn't sure whether he was threatening her or insinuating that the monsters would kill her.
"But my bag," she whispered, desperate for a reason to get away.
"Is there anything in it that could link you to tonight?" he said and she thought for a moment. She touched her jeans pockets and then her jacket pockets. Her purse, keys and mobile phone were all with her. The only thing in her bag was her kendo armour.
She shook her head.
"Forget it then." With a move so fast that she didn't even see it happen, he snatched her wrist and began walking. She stumbled along behind him, trying to prise his fingers off her. As a last resort, she slapped his hand again but this time he didn't let go. "My duty is to protect you. We must leave before others come."
Great, now she had her own Terminator and she wasn't even sure how she'd come to have him. Was she someone important?
Important enough to protect?
The swordsman had fought to defend her. He'd killed three monsters for her sake and she got the feeling that he would kill more if he had to. Her gaze roamed over the strong line of his shoulders and up the funnel neck of his coat to his face. His eyes remained fixed on the distance. She had an overwhelming urge to pull down the collar of his coat so she could see what he looked like. His eyes were incredible but something told her that collar hid a face that was more than that.
"Where are we going?" she said, her voice weak.
No answer.
Lauren was about to ask again when the redbrick Victorian houses of her street came into view. She'd never been so glad to see her home with its bay sash-windows and red door. Memories of her childhood and her parents came flooding back, filling her with a strange mixture of warmth and cold, and reminding her that no comforting arms waited for her in the house, not anymore. Her parents were gone and the pain of losing them hadn't faded in the months since their deaths. At the door, Lauren fumbled with her keys and then breathed a sigh of relief when she finally managed to slot the key in and turn it.
The slam of her house door behind her was comforting and she leaned back against it. The house was quiet and cold, but it still made her feel safe. She glanced at the man where he stood to her right, looking around her messy living room. When his gaze came back to meet hers, her heart began to slow and her breathing came normally. He'd saved her and for some reason she didn't feel threatened by him. She felt safe. A dry laugh pushed past her lips. She was definitely going crazy.
Or was she?
Everything that had happened seemed so incredible and impossible, yet she knew that it was real. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back into the door, sighing on an exhale.
The alley flashed across her closed eyes, the scene playing out again in the darkness of her mind. She'd never seen anything so horrible.
Her eyes shot open when she remembered all the blood. She raised her hands and stared at the crimson stains, her breathing laboured and throat dry. Her fingers shook, wavering so much that she couldn't focus on them. If the blood was on her hands. She looked down at her chest. Black lines criss-crossed her brown t-shirt. Where else had it hit her? With trembling fingers, she touched her face and felt sick when she found wet patches.
Lauren raced up the stairs in front of her, following them around the corner, and ran into the small peach coloured bathroom at the top. She slammed into the sink and grasped it with both hands.
Her dark brown eyes widened when she saw her reflection in the cabinet mirror.
Red streaks marked her face, matching the colour of her hair.
The monsters flashed before her eyes, followed by the swordsman.
Her gaze fell to her hands and she raised them palm upwards. The blood had seeped into the cracks of her skin, leaving dark jagged lines. Her fingers trembled and her stomach twisted. She turned on the tap and tried scrub the marks away with a nailbrush, rubbing her skin raw. A tight swirling feeling mounted inside her. The blood wouldn't go away. Each glance at her hands revealed it was still there, coating them as it had in the street. It wasn't going away. She wanted it to go away.
She didn't want monsters to be real. They weren't real. She clawed at the blood. It wouldn't come off. A noise from downstairs made her tense and she stared wide-eyed into the mirror. The man was coming. He was a murderer. Any feeling of safety he'd given her was just an illusion. It was her mind playing tricks, just as the monsters had been.
Monsters.
She saw them again, bisected and dead.
Why wouldn't the blood come off?
Lauren locked the bathroom door, yanked the shower curtain aside, turned the shower on, and stepped under the warm jet. It soaked her clothes through but the blood on her hands still wouldn't go away. She sank to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest, burying her face in them as she sobbed, weak and tired. The water bounced off her back and trickled over her scalp. It dripped from the ends of her near-shoulder length red hair and masked her tears as she rocked back and forth.
Was it real or was she going insane?
Why was the swordsman so familiar and why did she want him to come to her, need him close by?
Her eyes widened and she stared at the water running down the plughole.
She had a horrible feeling that he was right.
The monsters were after her.
And only he could protect her.
ebook price: $4.99
paperback price: $12.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance book
length: 157000 words
e-book purchase links:
My website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Love%20Immortal
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Immortal-ebook/dp/B004HYHHME/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Immortal/dp/B004HYHHME/
paperback purchase links:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Immortal-Felicity-Heaton/dp/1456487884/
Happy reading!
Love Immortal
Felicity Heaton
When you're searching for your purpose, the last thing you expect to discover is that you're the latest reincarnation of a goddess on a three thousand year old mission to defeat the original werewolf, Lycaon, before he can gain revenge on Zeus and Olympus.
Rescued from the claws of werewolves by Julian, a handsome and mysterious immortal, Lauren is pulled into a dark and frightening new world full of monsters out to kill her and an organisation of people with phenomenal abilities who want to protect her—Ghost. But the most frightening thing of all is that soon Lauren will need to drink Julian's blood in order to reawaken and regain her immortal powers.
Or she will die.
Julian isn't about to let that happen. He's never met anyone like Lauren and he's determined not to lose her. She's the perfect copy of Illia but is nothing like her or any of the incarnations. She is light to their darkness, and she breathes life back into him, but can he trust her with his heart and bring himself to believe that the feelings she shows him are real after everything he has been through?
Can Lauren succeed in defeating Lycaon when all of her predecessors have failed? Will she be able to crack the armour around Julian's heart and seize her happily forever after with him?
ebook price: $4.99
paperback price: $12.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance book
length: 157000 words
e-book purchase links:
My website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Love%20Immortal
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Immortal-ebook/dp/B004HYHHME/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Immortal/dp/B004HYHHME/
paperback purchase links:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Immortal-Felicity-Heaton/dp/1456487884/
Excerpt
Monsters existed.
Lauren had always suspected it to be true, and now she had all the evidence she needed.
One was standing twenty feet in front of her.
It towered over her, yellow eyes glowing in the dim alley between the old redbrick houses of her neighbourhood. Tufted black wiry fur covered it from tail to pointed ears, from the long claws on its colossal paw-like hands to the thick trunks of its hind legs. Her fevered mind said that it was only an escaped wolf from London Zoo, but Lauren couldn't bring herself to believe it. She'd seen the wolves once. This creature was nothing like them. This was something else.
Its mouth opened to reveal jagged teeth, each the size of her thumb.
Why Grandma, what big teeth you have.
All the better to eat you with.
Icy fingers clutched her heart and Lauren trembled, cold sweat trickling down her back beneath the skinny-fit brown t-shirt. The mad rush of her pulse made her dizzy and unexpended adrenaline stole her strength. Whoever had said that adrenaline made you invincible was a liar. Her legs were shaking so much that they were close to buckling, the gym bag on her shoulder was too heavy, and her thick black winter jacket felt impossibly tight, as though it was squeezing the air from her lungs.
Instinct told her to run.
If only her feet would cooperate.
Her shoulders slumped when the monster took a step towards her and her kit bag dropped to the ground. The shinai case slid down her other arm but she caught it at the last second. The feel of the bamboo sword through the black canvas bag was reassuring and instilled a strange sense of calm in her. Lauren tried to remember her kendo training and everything she had just practiced in class but nothing came to her. She stared at the monster, still trying to comprehend what was happening.
Instinct changed its mind.
Her other hand automatically reached across and undid the ties on the shinai bag. Lauren swallowed and kept her movements slow, not wanting to startle the beast into reacting. The end of the bag flapped open and she reached inside, locking her right hand tightly around the white leather hilt of the bamboo sword. She drew it and let the carry-case fall to the ground.
This was insane.
Her shinai would last five seconds against such a huge creature.
It didn't matter. Her only chance of escape was to stun it with a direct hit and run for her life. Her knees wobbled. That was, if she could run.
Taking deep breaths, Lauren shuffled backwards as the beast advanced and moved into a fighting stance. She brought her shinai around in front of her, clutching it so tightly with both hands that her knuckles turned white.
One breath. Two. Three.
With a loud cry, she launched herself at the creature. It reacted slowly, glowing yellow eyes widening. Lauren struck it between its ears and it yelped. The sound brought a smile to her face.
It was a short-lived smile.
The monster lashed out, flinging a heavy paw into her stomach and sending her flying into the wall of the alley. Her breath left her on impact and pain blasted through every inch of her. She grunted and fell onto the hard tarmac. Another huge paw flew at her and she rolled forwards to avoid being pulverised. She turned at the last moment and grabbed her shinai, desperate to protect herself. She was too damn young to die.
A low snarl sent a shudder down her spine and fear stole her breath away. Lauren scrambled to her feet and backed off, her bamboo sword trembling in front of her. The moon peeked out from behind a cloud and lit the world. Her heart stopped.
Holy God, the monster was more frightening in the light than it had ever been in the darkness. Long strings of saliva rolled down its fangs and dark fur tufted down its spine, raised like hackles. It wasn't a wolf, but it wasn't a man either. It was somewhere in between. An abomination. Something straight out of her dreams.
She'd dreamt of wolves and monsters before, and each time she had ended up fighting for her life.
It lowered its head and snarled again, hunkering down. It was going to attack.
This wasn't a dream. It was a living nightmare.
Lauren's fight left her and she moved backwards, faster now. Her heart started at a pace, thumping erratically in her throat. She clutched her shinai and glanced around. It was only just gone ten at night. Someone would pass by. Her neighbourhood wasn't normally this quiet. Any moment now, someone would come and help her. She'd only left her kendo class fifteen minutes ago and she'd been first out of the door. A couple of the men in her class lived near her. One of them would come. Someone would. Anyone? Thirty-four was definitely too young to die. She didn't want to be killed in the night as her parents had been.
She opened her mouth to call out for help but no sound left her lips. Her voice had died the moment her eyes had locked with the monster's ones. She saw her death reflected in them, saw how easily it would tear her to shreds and how she wasn't going to make it out of this alive. Emptiness settled in her mind, ringing in her ears.
Cold stillness shrouded the world.
The beast leapt.
Her heart leapt too.
Shrieking, Lauren raised the bamboo sword to defend herself and flinched away, screwing her eyes shut. Only sound came to her.
The sing of metal cutting through air, an ear-splitting howl of pain, and then a wet slapping noise.
Silence followed.
Lauren breathed hard, hunched up with her bamboo sword still held in front of her face. Her rough gulps of air filled the night. When everything had been quiet for a minute, she realised that something had happened to the monster and that she wasn't dead. She cracked an eye open.
The first thing she saw made her retch.
Spread across the alley were guts, blood and the two halves of a naked man. Her stomach rolled in response to the gruesome sight and she took a step backwards. It hadn't been a man a moment ago. Her eyes hadn't been lying to her even though her mind had. It had been a monster—a wolf that could stand on its hind legs, over six feet tall, and had tried to kill her. She looked at her bamboo sword. Splatters of blood covered the length of it, soaking into the white leather cap at the end. She couldn't have killed him with it. It wasn't possible.
The sound of steel sliding against something made her look up.
Her eyes widened and she dropped her weapon.
A tall man stood opposite her on the other side of the dead person. His long black coat fitted snugly to his slim frame and the stand up collar rose so high that it created a funnel that masked the lower half of his face, held closed by two thick bands of bright gleaming metal across the front. The wind tousled the finger-length spiked strands of his dark hair, shifting them across his pale forehead.
Shimmering silver eyes stared at her, pupils wide in the low light.
Her heart thudded in response to the jolt she felt when her eyes met his.
How many times had she looked at someone and not felt anything? Every day she met the eye of people on the Tube or at work, or even her opponent in kendo, but she'd never experienced a jolt that shook her to her core.
Never had she been so aware of making eye contact.
The longer she looked into his eyes, the calmer and warmer she felt, until she wanted to stare into them for forever. Something about those eyes, about this man, was so familiar. She was sure that she didn't know him, but at the same time, she was certain she did.
He stood unmoving, a sense of resolve about him. Everything suddenly felt like nothing but a nightmare, a vivid dream that this man had roused her from. His eyes narrowed. Invisible arms wrapped around her, holding her as soothing whispered words filled her mind. She was safe now.
Instinctively, she took a step towards him.
He lowered his head, giving Lauren the impression that he was bowing to her, awaiting a command or perhaps something else.
The man raised his head a fraction, so his eyes met hers again.
She snapped out of her trance when, without any sign of emotion, and with precise and practiced grace, he slid the long curved katana he held into the sheath hanging at his waist. The blade was clean but blood splattered his hands.
Lauren swallowed her heart and the fear that rushed through her again. Lost in his eyes, she'd forgotten what had happened. Everything had seemed so normal and the monster hadn't existed. Now she was back in reality, standing in an alley with a dead man at her feet and the man who had killed him opposite her.
His silver eyes flashed in the moonlight.
Another monster?
She made no move to run, or to look away, not when he approached her and not even when he stopped two feet away, towering over her. She couldn't move. His eyes had mesmerised her again. They melted from brightest silver to ice blue and she didn't even try to convince herself that she'd imagined it. They had changed. Ribbons of black hair caressed his forehead and her fingers itched to brush them away, to stroke his skin in their place and sweep them from his eyes so she could see them more clearly. A strange wave of calm washed over her again, only this time the feeling went deeper. She felt at peace with the world.
Because no matter what happened, this man would protect her.
He extended his hand to her. Before she could consider what she was doing, she was reaching for him.
"We must leave." His voice was smooth and sensual, deep and accented in a way she couldn't place but she knew that she liked it because the sound of it added to her boneless feeling.
Without hesitation or fear, Lauren placed her hand into his. His fingers closed over hers.
A sense of connection filled her.
"It is not safe here," he said and, without thinking, she nodded.
His hand left hers and claimed her upper arm. He strode at a pace so quick that she was almost jogging. Lauren gazed at the back of his head, catching glimpses of his profile.
It seemed right to go with him. Something inside her said that she knew him and she knew he would never hurt her. He had saved her from the monster.
She didn't care where they were going. She ran with him, empty and unable to think clearly. Her mind raced over everything that had happened, darting back and forth through her encounter with the monster. The man was right. It wasn't safe. A monster had attacked her and she had a feeling that more were coming, some sense of imminent danger that she couldn't ignore. She had to run and she had to stay with the swordsman. Only he could keep her safe.
"What was that thing?" she said between breaths and tried to look over her shoulder towards the dead man. The world wobbled so much she couldn't focus.
"They are after us."
Her stomach fluttered and she looked at the swordsman. It was worth asking, even if it would only confirm that she'd gone insane.
"Who are they?" Her voice trembled enough that she was certain he would know that she was frightened of asking that question.
He stopped and looked at her, his pale blue eyes narrowing with his frown. Lauren wished she could see the rest of his face, could open the collar that obscured the lower half of it. She hadn't realised until now just how much of what a person was thinking showed in their expression. His eyes betrayed nothing.
"The monsters?" he said and her heart skipped a beat. "I almost lost you in the alley. I was foolish but I will not allow it to happen again. We must hurry."
When he looked past her, she glanced over her shoulder. Two men were coming down the street. She stepped towards them, convinced that they were from her kendo class, but the man held on to her arm, stopping her. She looked at him and then back at the two men. The streetlights highlighted their faces and she realised that she didn't know them. The sense of danger inside her worsened and the voice at the back of her mind told her to keep running. They were coming for her.
Before she could speak, the swordsman was running with her again. His grip on her arm was unrelenting, his pace so fast that she struggled not to trip.
Lauren looked over her shoulder. The men were following them. She rushed on, her thoughts running at a million miles per hour now. Was she really safe with the swordsman? She wasn't so sure, but he did seem to be the lesser of two evils. If the two men that were following them were actually monsters then she'd probably chosen the right side.
A flash of silver eyes crossed her turbulent mind.
Perhaps she hadn't. The swordsman was possibly as much a monster as the wolf-man had been. She glanced at the man's hand and then at his face. He had his eyes fixed on the distance, his jetty eyebrows knitted tight. She had to get away before something happened. The man had said they were after them, but she couldn't believe that. What reason would they have to be after her? She hadn't done anything in her life to enrage monsters or make a single enemy. It had been quiet and safe. Now she felt as though she'd fallen into someone else's life and she wanted her own boring one back. She had to get away.
It wasn't far to her house now.
The man turned down a side road between two houses, heading towards her street. He knew where she lived? Sodium lights flickered on the walls high above. The heavy stomp of boots echoed in her stomach and she turned as the swordsman stopped. The men had caught up with them. They came to a halt a short distance away and the swordsman moved to stand in front of her. Lauren had the terrible feeling she was about to witness a showdown.
"Stay close," the swordsman said.
He threw his arm out, sending his long coat swirling from the waist down and revealing his katana. In one swift, graceful move, he drew it and was in a fighting stance. Lauren backed into the wall, fascinated but frightened.
A low growl caught her attention. Her knees threatened to give out when the men tore their t-shirts off and dark fur erupted in waves across their skin. Their bodies twisted and distorted, limbs elongating as their noses and chins pushed outwards and became muzzles. Ears sprouted from the top of their heads and their eyes changed to yellow. They snarled in unison and she pressed hard into the wall.
It was real.
The swordsman changed position, raising his katana. He looked over his shoulder at her. His silver eyes gleamed as brightly as his blade in the streetlight.
Oh God, it was real.
The swordsman disappeared. A loud cry split the silence a moment later. No, he hadn't disappeared. The monsters and the man were both moving so fast that it was hard for her to keep track of them. They were a blur in her eyes, shifting violent shapes as they passed her. Turning, she clung to the wall and watched the fight. She had never seen a man move with such agility or fight with such astounding grace. Each attack was beautiful and polished. Each counter by the monsters just as fluid. A deadly ballet.
A perfect chance.
He couldn't stop her and the monsters at the same time. They wanted him, not her. She hadn't done anything to upset them. If she just left quietly, perhaps they would leave her alone. She could go the long way round to her house, get some things and then leave before the swordsman could find her. She could go to her friends' house and hide until everything was sane again.
Backing away into the shadows, Lauren breathed slow and shallow, afraid that even that sound could alert either the man or the monsters to the fact that she was leaving. Her hands trailed along the brick wall, rough under her fingertips, a feeling that grounded her and kept her going. The darkness engulfed her but she didn't take her eyes away from the blur of the fight, not until the very last second when her hand finally ran out of wall.
With a sigh, she turned away and then froze.
Black tufted fur filled her vision. Her gaze rose to take in the massive bulk of the wolf-like monster and stopped when it reached its jaw. Sharp teeth greeted her as its jowls peeled back in a snarl.
She began to shake her head.
The monster backhanded her, sending her crashing into the wall. Pain erupted across her skull as her head hit the pavement and a trembling sickness passed over her. She pushed herself up on unsteady arms and looked towards the man where he fought the other monster, keeping it at the other end of the alley, and then behind her at the one that had hit her.
It was coming.
Vivid yellow eyes filled the darkness. She couldn't look away. The sound of fighting swam in her ears and then drifted into the distance, replaced by the noise of heavy feet pounding the tarmac. She threw a glance back towards the man to see the other monster coming for her. Her stomach heaved. She had been wrong. The monsters weren't after the man at all.
Lauren froze right down to the marrow of her bones.
They were after her.
Turning back to face the one nearest her, she screamed when she saw that it was almost on her. Its sharp jaws opened.
Blood exploded up the wall and the monster tumbled to the ground. Lauren shuffled backwards, away from it, not even thinking about the other monster that had been coming at her from behind.
Her hand hit a puddle.
Only it hadn't been raining.
And puddles weren't warm.
Sick to her stomach, she snatched her hand back and retched when she saw the blood covering it. She frantically wiped it on her jeans, her heart fluttering against her ribcage. Both men were dead, cleaved cleanly in two. Her stomach heaved but nothing came up. Bending over, she grasped the pavement with both hands and tried to be sick again. Nothing.
The swordsman grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. The motion jarred her vision and made her headache worsen.
"Are you hurt?" he said, voice soothing. Lauren looked up at him, instantly lost in his silver eyes.
He frowned when she didn't respond and then touched her forehead above her right eyebrow. It stung and Lauren flinched away. His touch lightened, becoming so tender that it felt like a lover's caress rather than a simple concerned touch. She stared into his eyes as he inspected what she presumed was a cut. The pain seemed so distant. Everything did. His eyes gradually changed from stunning silver to icy blue again and she found herself wondering why he worried so much about her safety.
And why she felt as though she knew him.
His hand caught her wrist and they were moving again. She almost tripped when they passed one of the bodies and it began to disintegrate before her eyes.
"Stay close," the swordsman said.
Lauren glanced at him and then down at his hand on her wrist. She didn't think that she had much choice. The strength in his grip was incredible.
Why was he protecting her? What did he want from her? Why were monsters after her?
She had to be insane to be running around London with a man she didn't know and fighting monsters that were after her for some reason.
The man turned down another street. Lauren yanked her hand free and started back in the opposite direction. This had gone on long enough. She wasn't sure where she intended to go but she had to get away before it all got crazier. She didn't think it could, but something deep inside said that it was going to if she kept letting the madman drag her around.
He grabbed her wrist again.
Lauren tried to tug it free but his grip tightened. When she hit his hand, he let go and backed away a step. Was he trying to calm her down?
Finding her courage, she avoided looking him in the eye and put her hands on her hips.
"I'm leaving and you'd better not try to stop me," she said and it sounded quite convincing to her own ears.
The man stepped back again. His coat fell open to reveal the hilt of his sword.
"There is no going back," he said. "They will find you again."
Her head was splitting now that she'd stopped moving and threatening a man with a sword suddenly didn't seem so clever.
She edged backwards.
"There is no going back," he repeated, his tone as calm as a millpond, instilling a sense of peace in her. He was right. She told herself that he wasn't. He was wrong and he could do strange things to her with his voice and his eyes. She had to escape. "If you do, you will die."
Lauren's head snapped up, her eyes locking with his. She wasn't sure whether he was threatening her or insinuating that the monsters would kill her.
"But my bag," she whispered, desperate for a reason to get away.
"Is there anything in it that could link you to tonight?" he said and she thought for a moment. She touched her jeans pockets and then her jacket pockets. Her purse, keys and mobile phone were all with her. The only thing in her bag was her kendo armour.
She shook her head.
"Forget it then." With a move so fast that she didn't even see it happen, he snatched her wrist and began walking. She stumbled along behind him, trying to prise his fingers off her. As a last resort, she slapped his hand again but this time he didn't let go. "My duty is to protect you. We must leave before others come."
Great, now she had her own Terminator and she wasn't even sure how she'd come to have him. Was she someone important?
Important enough to protect?
The swordsman had fought to defend her. He'd killed three monsters for her sake and she got the feeling that he would kill more if he had to. Her gaze roamed over the strong line of his shoulders and up the funnel neck of his coat to his face. His eyes remained fixed on the distance. She had an overwhelming urge to pull down the collar of his coat so she could see what he looked like. His eyes were incredible but something told her that collar hid a face that was more than that.
"Where are we going?" she said, her voice weak.
No answer.
Lauren was about to ask again when the redbrick Victorian houses of her street came into view. She'd never been so glad to see her home with its bay sash-windows and red door. Memories of her childhood and her parents came flooding back, filling her with a strange mixture of warmth and cold, and reminding her that no comforting arms waited for her in the house, not anymore. Her parents were gone and the pain of losing them hadn't faded in the months since their deaths. At the door, Lauren fumbled with her keys and then breathed a sigh of relief when she finally managed to slot the key in and turn it.
The slam of her house door behind her was comforting and she leaned back against it. The house was quiet and cold, but it still made her feel safe. She glanced at the man where he stood to her right, looking around her messy living room. When his gaze came back to meet hers, her heart began to slow and her breathing came normally. He'd saved her and for some reason she didn't feel threatened by him. She felt safe. A dry laugh pushed past her lips. She was definitely going crazy.
Or was she?
Everything that had happened seemed so incredible and impossible, yet she knew that it was real. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back into the door, sighing on an exhale.
The alley flashed across her closed eyes, the scene playing out again in the darkness of her mind. She'd never seen anything so horrible.
Her eyes shot open when she remembered all the blood. She raised her hands and stared at the crimson stains, her breathing laboured and throat dry. Her fingers shook, wavering so much that she couldn't focus on them. If the blood was on her hands. She looked down at her chest. Black lines criss-crossed her brown t-shirt. Where else had it hit her? With trembling fingers, she touched her face and felt sick when she found wet patches.
Lauren raced up the stairs in front of her, following them around the corner, and ran into the small peach coloured bathroom at the top. She slammed into the sink and grasped it with both hands.
Her dark brown eyes widened when she saw her reflection in the cabinet mirror.
Red streaks marked her face, matching the colour of her hair.
The monsters flashed before her eyes, followed by the swordsman.
Her gaze fell to her hands and she raised them palm upwards. The blood had seeped into the cracks of her skin, leaving dark jagged lines. Her fingers trembled and her stomach twisted. She turned on the tap and tried scrub the marks away with a nailbrush, rubbing her skin raw. A tight swirling feeling mounted inside her. The blood wouldn't go away. Each glance at her hands revealed it was still there, coating them as it had in the street. It wasn't going away. She wanted it to go away.
She didn't want monsters to be real. They weren't real. She clawed at the blood. It wouldn't come off. A noise from downstairs made her tense and she stared wide-eyed into the mirror. The man was coming. He was a murderer. Any feeling of safety he'd given her was just an illusion. It was her mind playing tricks, just as the monsters had been.
Monsters.
She saw them again, bisected and dead.
Why wouldn't the blood come off?
Lauren locked the bathroom door, yanked the shower curtain aside, turned the shower on, and stepped under the warm jet. It soaked her clothes through but the blood on her hands still wouldn't go away. She sank to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest, burying her face in them as she sobbed, weak and tired. The water bounced off her back and trickled over her scalp. It dripped from the ends of her near-shoulder length red hair and masked her tears as she rocked back and forth.
Was it real or was she going insane?
Why was the swordsman so familiar and why did she want him to come to her, need him close by?
Her eyes widened and she stared at the water running down the plughole.
She had a horrible feeling that he was right.
The monsters were after her.
And only he could protect her.
ebook price: $4.99
paperback price: $12.99
genre: paranormal vampire romance book
length: 157000 words
e-book purchase links:
My website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Love%20Immortal
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Immortal-ebook/dp/B004HYHHME/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Immortal/dp/B004HYHHME/
paperback purchase links:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Immortal-Felicity-Heaton/dp/1456487884/
Happy reading!
January 10, 2011
Hunter's Moon release date change
The appointment for my ear operation is February 10th... the release date for Hunter's Moon was February 12th. See the problem here? I don't think I'm going to be up for much partying or work in the first few days after my ear operation, so I'm shifting the release date for Hunter's Moon to February 26th. Yes, you'll have to wait an extra two weeks for the book. Well, Vampires Realm series readers have been waiting for over a year for the next story in the series (non-free) so I guess two weeks more won't kill you, will it?
The good thing about this is that it also gives me an extra two weeks to work on the story. Nicolae and Tatyana, the hero and heroine, are doing a Winter and Nika (from Winter's Kiss) and being a pain at the start. There's a few emotional / response glitches to smooth out. I just feel that I need to get their reactions pinned down at the start, and work in the prospect of them coming to love each other. At the moment, they're quite set against each other, which makes it difficult to progress their relationship from hate to love in a believable way. Of course, I can't just do away with their issues about each other. They need them because of the things that have happened in their past / their upbringing. I just need to make sure that they're not dead set against each other, and there's leeway for a relationship and feelings to change.
I'm in the polish / third draft phase with the book at the moment. It's now novel length at almost 62000 words and I still have another fifty pages to edit. There's a chance that it will creep up to around 65000 words by the time that I'm done with it. I need to go back and re-read the first few chapters to polish them a bit better and get the characters ironed out.
I have to say that the extra two weeks breathing time with Hunter's Moon is the only good thing to come out of my ear operation. I'm not looking forward to it one bit. I've only been put under once before, when I was very young, and I don't remember it really, but I do know that I didn't like it. It gave me my phobia of needles because of the way I was handled, and I really don't want to be knocked out. I guess it's better than feeling all that pain though!
I'm also having to shift my release schedule for the rest of the year around too. Not the dates, but what books come out on them. I need a bit of breathing room if I'm going to reach my 11 releases in 2011! I'll post more about that another time.
Have a great week everyone!
The good thing about this is that it also gives me an extra two weeks to work on the story. Nicolae and Tatyana, the hero and heroine, are doing a Winter and Nika (from Winter's Kiss) and being a pain at the start. There's a few emotional / response glitches to smooth out. I just feel that I need to get their reactions pinned down at the start, and work in the prospect of them coming to love each other. At the moment, they're quite set against each other, which makes it difficult to progress their relationship from hate to love in a believable way. Of course, I can't just do away with their issues about each other. They need them because of the things that have happened in their past / their upbringing. I just need to make sure that they're not dead set against each other, and there's leeway for a relationship and feelings to change.
I'm in the polish / third draft phase with the book at the moment. It's now novel length at almost 62000 words and I still have another fifty pages to edit. There's a chance that it will creep up to around 65000 words by the time that I'm done with it. I need to go back and re-read the first few chapters to polish them a bit better and get the characters ironed out.
I have to say that the extra two weeks breathing time with Hunter's Moon is the only good thing to come out of my ear operation. I'm not looking forward to it one bit. I've only been put under once before, when I was very young, and I don't remember it really, but I do know that I didn't like it. It gave me my phobia of needles because of the way I was handled, and I really don't want to be knocked out. I guess it's better than feeling all that pain though!
I'm also having to shift my release schedule for the rest of the year around too. Not the dates, but what books come out on them. I need a bit of breathing room if I'm going to reach my 11 releases in 2011! I'll post more about that another time.
Have a great week everyone!
