Elizabeth Hunter's Blog, page 35
May 7, 2013
Teaser Tuesday: Blood and Sand “Better” and a book/series recommendation!
All right, you greedy little readers. I posted my roundup of RT over on ElizabethHunterWrites.com (please do read it if you like to read about me embarrassing myself), but you still want more! So here is a little bit of a teaser for you. It’s from Baojia’s point of view, so I hope you enjoy. I’m doing the second round of edits on this baby which will be delivered on May 28th, only a few weeks away!
BOOK REC!!!
AFTER I’m done with the edits for Blood and Sand, I’m treating myself to Heart of Iron, the second novel in the London Steampunk series by Bec McMaster. If you haven’t read the first one, Kiss of Steel, you’re MISSING OUT. This series is a great blend of paranormal and steampunk with one of the most unique mythologies I’ve read in a while. Even if you’re not a big steampunk fan, I’m betting you’ll like it. The writing is crisp, the characters are well-developed, and the dialogue is banter-tastic. (Kiss of Steel, the first book. And I just found out that McMaster published a novella for a couple of side characters from the first book! That’s available too, and it’s called Tarnished Knight, featuring a deliciously flawed hero. (You know I love those.) Oh, and I think the novella is on Amazon and Smashwords for free right now! Good time to pick it up.
Here’s your Blood and Sand teaser:
She was amusing. And she smelled wonderful. He was hungry. He hadn’t fed for days and he knew he was dancing on the fine edge of control, but he didn’t want to stay away from her. He dropped the curl he’d been playing with and picked up another, just as unruly. She was still rambling, but her pulse sped every time his fingers came close to her skin, so he knew his presence was affecting her. He smiled to himself when her nervous rambling continued. He could smell the flush on her skin.
“Are we leaving soon? If you’re awake, then it must be nighttime, right? I’m so completely turned around. You took my phone didn’t you? Dammit, George, I had stuff on that phone. Are the pictures even retrievable at this point or did your vampire magic fry it?”
“Natalie,” he whispered.
“What?” she asked in an irritated voice. “You took my phone, didn’t you? That was my phone, Baojia. Not yours. Have some respect for—”
He put his hand over her mouth and took a deep breath. “Better.”
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
Elizabeth
P.S. I just bought my tickets for Istanbul and I AM SO EXCITED!
May 6, 2013
Six—no FIVE things “To Do” at RT Convention 2014
April 22, 2013
Win a signed copy of Building From Ashes!
So sorry about the lateness of this post. If you didn’t see on Facebook, I was out of town last weekend and wasn’t able to announce the winner of the signed copy of A Fall of Water. The winner was Linda (frllarson in the comments). Congratulations, Linda! Please email me your info and I’ll get your book out to you.
Our next faaaabulous prize (please imagine Bob Barker’s voice there) is a signed copy of Building From Ashes! Please keep in mind, I have not redone the paperback cover yet, so this is the old cover, not the new one. Here is a picture of the actual, factual book:
A paperback! Signed! By me! (Sorry, if I could get Carwyn to sign it, I would.)
I will NOT be out of town this weekend, so the contest will run through Friday. I WILL be out of town next week for the RT convention where I’ll be listening to lots of smart people and signing books on Thursday at the Book Expo from noon to four pm. If you are in the Kansas City area, please consider coming out to RT! I’d love to meet you.
Rules for the contest are the same. Leave me a comment. Say hi. Tell me your favorite vampire or something. (Doesn’t have to be one of mine!) Contest will run till Friday and is open to international participants. Good luck!
Elizabeth
April 12, 2013
A winner for Shifting Dreams and a new give-away!
SUCH a great response to the give-away last week! I had so much fun reading through your comments. Thanks for all the kind words and some truly hilarious stories. I loved it. 
The winner of the signed paperback of Shifting Dreams is… Elaina Roberts!
Congratulations, Elaina. I’ll have your book to you in the mail on Monday. Please email me your address at ElizabethHunterWrites@gmail.com.
Now, the next fabulous prize up for grabs is a signed paperback of A Fall of Water, the last book in the Elemental Mysteries series. I cannot, sadly, send an actual Italian fire vampire with the book, so my signature will have to do. Same rules as last week, open to international readers, you have a week to enter, etc. Just leave me a comment and I’ll pick a winner next Friday.
Ooooh… ahhhh…
Have a marvelous weekend, everyone! And here’s a little teaser I posted on the Facebook page yesterday from Blood and Sand:
Natalie was trying to take her first tai chi lesson seriously. Really. She was. But the feel of Baojia moving her arms and legs into various positions, then standing really close to move her from form to form was more than a little distracting.
“You should really put on a shirt if you want me to concentrate.”
He moved in front of her and tilted her chin up as she stood with arms stretched out and legs half-bent. “I don’t have many clothes here, and I’m not going to ruin my nice shirts practicing. Now focus.”
She muttered, “Kind of hard to do after that thing you did an hour ago.”
A lift at the corner of his mouth was the only reaction she got.
Have I mentioned how much I love these two?
Elizabeth
April 9, 2013
Teaser Tuesday: Blood and Sand
As I mentioned last night on the Facebook page (which is an excellent way of keeping track of me if you like the Facebook thing) I am hitting the revisions and editing on Blood and Sand hard in the next couple of weeks to get things ready for my editor at the end of the month. I’m still loving this couple! In fact, I may like them even more on this read through than the last.
Anyway, I wanted to post a little of what I’ve been editing this morning. This passage gives you a peek into the mystery part of the story from Chapter Nine.
~~~
Baojia tried to ignore Natalie’s scent as they approached Tulio’s strange house. The blush made her cheeks heat and her blood-scent stronger. He couldn’t help wondering just how much of her body that blush would cover if properly encouraged. He was betting a lot. He took a deep breath and focused on the reason they had come to the hermit’s home.
“Tulio likes to be left alone, but in his own way, he considers this whole area his territory.” He grasped Natalie’s hand a little tighter and walked toward the low rise of hills behind the barn. “Not that he would ever challenge Ernesto—he has no interest in business or politics—but he doesn’t like strange people or vampires wandering around.”
“So he’d notice someone who was dumping bodies on his front lawn, is what you’re saying?”
The woman had the most amusing way of stating things at times. “Exactly.”
“So when he said, ‘There’s more.’ You think that’s what he was referring to? More bodies? If Tulio doesn’t like vampires wandering around and there are more bodies—maybe some that the police haven’t found but he has—why hasn’t he stopped them? It sounds like it would be characteristic of him, from what you’ve said.”
As if she wasn’t attractive enough… The human was becoming more distracting with every intelligent observation. “Yes, he would stop them. If he knew where they were. But I also noticed there was no strong vampire scent around the girl’s body.”
“I thought you said she was killed by a vampire.”
“She was.” He saw the entrance, standing back and letting their host become aware of them in his own time. Baojia glanced at the dark, empty horizon; he was beginning to worry about the sun.
“But you said—”
“There is vampire scent all over the girl.” Tulio’s voice broke through the night. Good, he wasn’t wasting time on power displays. He hardly needed to; they were on his turf. The man’s head popped up from the crease of hills where his home was buried. “But there’s no scent of our kind leading to or away from the bodies.”
“They were dumped during the day,” Baojia said, nodding at Tulio and still holding Natalie’s hand.
Natalie’s eyes widened in understanding. “Left by humans, not vampires.”
“Yes.” The big vampire waved them over. “Come on in. Bring your woman. Cirilda has some food made for her.”
He climbed up the hill and then over to see a small door, barely visible if you weren’t looking, tucked into the sandstone rocks and partially obscured by a convenient stand of mesquite bushes. Tulio was disappearing inside.
“Wow. It’s like a dug-out,” Natalie said.
“It is a dug-out. Earth vampires like to live underground.”
“Well, that makes sense… inasmuch as any of this makes sense.”
He smiled. “You’ll get used to it.”
~~~
Blood and Sand will release on May 28th! It is available for pre-order on Amazon HERE.
April 5, 2013
Free Friday Fiction: “Wind Speaks” and a book giveaway
So, it kinda got buried under all the pre-order news, but sometimes Tenzin talks to me, so I wrote a little something in her voice that you can read HERE. Enjoy, Tenzin lovers.
Also, for some reason, I ended up with a bunch of paperbacks that are sitting around my office lately.
AHHHHH! SO MANY BOOKS!!!
Seriously, I have a ton, so I’m going to do some giveaways here on the blog over the next month or so. ALSO, because I love my international readers as much as my domestic ones, I’m making all my giveaways in April open to international readers, too. YES, I will send it to you, even if you live in the backwoods of Icannotpronounceitstan. More power to you for finding my books in the first place! If you win, I’ll send you a signed paperback.
So, for today, I think I’m going to give away a copy of my newest book, Shifting Dreams. Have I mentioned the cover is gorgeous? IT’S GORGEOUS. Seriously, I’m considering having a poster blown up to hang on my wall. (But… it has my name on it, so that just seems kind of egotistical, you know?) But you should totally enter to win it. Because, it’s beautiful.
How to enter? It’s reeeeeeeeeally easy. Just write a comment here on the blog and make sure I have your e-mail. I’ll let the contest run until next Friday, so you have a week to enter. (Only one comment per person, please!) Next Friday, I’ll announce the winner and announce the next paperback giveaway.
That’s all! Have a great weekend,
Elizabeth
April 4, 2013
Yikes! It’s been a month…
April 3, 2013
Pre-order news and a new extra on the website.
Today, I have some very exciting news. For the first time, one of my books is available for pre-order over in the Kindle store. I’m so pleased to say that the KDP team worked with me to make Blood and Sand available now for pre-order. The book next book in the Elemental World series can be delivered to your Kindle on May 28th! You can pre-order it HERE.
This is something readers have asked for going on well over a year, so I have to hand it to the publishing team at Amazon. They listened to readers and authors on this issue and delivered. In my experience, Kindle Direct Publishing has always been a pleasure to work with, with good feedback and the amazing people over at Author Central who have personally answered so many questions for me when I needed help. I have a lot to thank them for. They were pioneers in letting an author reach out on an equal playing field, giving us the exact same virtual shelf space as the big publishers. Through Amazon, I have equal access to the biggest bookstore in the world.
Amazon has been getting a lot of flack lately. It’s always easy to pick on the most visible, right? But there’s a reason they’re so successful. Their search engine is phenomenal, and I’ve personally bought many of my favorite books on their recommendations. Their selection is massive. And especially for people who don’t live near a bookstore, Amazon and Kindle opened doors to book worlds they might never have seen before. (Speaking as someone from a small town, this cannot be dismissed. Many towns do NOT have book stores.)
It’s easy to pick on the biggest target, but today, I really want to give them a high five for their awesome customer service and author relations.
THANKS, KDP!
Also, because I just like giving you guys free stuff to read, I posted a little something that was roaming around in my head earlier today. For all you Tenzin fans…
Have a great week!
Elizabeth
April 2, 2013
Cover Reveal: Blood and Sand
Synopsis:
Dead women are showing up in the desert east of San Diego, and no one understands why. When the story comes to the attention of reporter Natalie Ellis, she can’t help but make comparisons to tragic deaths she’d investigated years ago. Are these women the victims of a serial killer, or something even more insidious?
Bodies may be piling up in his sire’s territory, but water vampire and feared enforcer Baojia is stuck entertaining the rich and clueless at a club in San Diego. He’s taken his exile with all the grace he could muster, but his patience is starting to thin.
Sparks fly when mortal and immortal are thrown together, and Natalie comes face to face with a reality that was lurking in the corners of her life. Pursuing the truth could cost Baojia everything, including the mortal woman who has earned his grudging respect.
Blood and Sand is the second novel in the expanded Elemental World series.
Add it on Goodreads HERE.
(I’m waiting to hear for sure, but I’m looking at a late May/early June release for this one.)
[image error]
March 19, 2013
Blood and Sand: News and a Teaser
Hey all. Long time, no post. So, the big news is (if you’re not following my Facebook page) that I finished the first draft of Blood and Sand on Friday! Whoohoo! Does that mean it’s going to be ready next week? Um, no. Still has to go through revisions and editing, but I’m guessing revisions are going to be pretty light. I’m very pleased with this book, which really FEELS like the first true novel in the Elemental World series. Building From Ashes was kind of a bridge book that introduced the series (if that makes sense) but you’ll see a new feel and a new subplot in Baojia and Natalie’s book that (I think) you’ll be very excited about.
For those of you who bought Shifting Dreams, you’ve probably already read the first chapter of Blood and Sand, but I’m going to go ahead and post it here on the website for all of you non-shapeshifter fans. Also, I’m posting a little teaser below the break. Hope you enjoy! And I’ll keep you updated on what’s happening, publication-wise.
From BLOOD AND SAND…
Baojia was practicing his forms to the melodious background noise of Natalie banging on the door to the guest suite, calling him every vile name she could think of. As suspected, she had a rather vivid imagination.
Cross. Thrust. Center. Draw back. Center. Sweep.
Center.
Center.
Center.
He took a deep, meditative breath, trying to still his mind from the flurries of information all begging for attention.
Rory had called at dusk.
Then Paula.
Then Ivan’s people.
Luis had called from the house phone to tell him that Natalie had spent all day inspecting windows and air conditioning vents for means of escape before she had taken to simply banging on the door incessantly until she was let out so she could go home. His assistant had also been subjected to a rather thorough interrogation about the vampire world.
“I thought she was going to waterboard me!”
He was insane. There was no way any of this was going to end well.
Cross. Draw. Center. Sweep.
Humans were dying in the desert and he had no idea who was behind it. His sire was still angry with him and wanted him cooped up in San Diego. A human reporter had discovered, not only that vampires existed, but that San Diego’s premier club was owned by them. The same reporter was locked in his guest suite, and the electronic lock system keeping her there was due to release in—he glanced at the clock—five, four, three, two…
He heard the click followed by the tumble, followed by the rush of feet that ran down the stairs to—
“Who the hell do you think you are?”
