Guest Blog and Giveaway with Raven Corinn Carluk

Hello everyone! I'm ecstatic to be here at Fang-tastic books, and owe Roxanne many many thanks. I'll do my best to entertain you all today.

These guest spots are normally supposed to start with something like, "I'm a great author, and I'd really love for you to read my book. I write about vampires with a unique take, and my heroine is the most kick-butt ever. I bring a breath of fresh air into the vampire romance, and can't wait for you to find out."

And while most of that is true (my heroine isn't the most kick-butt ever, just kinda tough), that's not what I want my post to be about. Instead of just telling you that I'm worth reading, I'll give you reasons.

There is, of course, my book All Hallows Blood. It's up on Kindle, and Barnes&Noble, and I've got an excerpt on my site. The same site where I've got short stories. I've also been writing a book on my blog. Just recently decided to turn that one to a book, and it's been an interesting seat-of-my-pants adventure.

Writing is what I love to do. Telling stories is the greatest thing ever. It's what I've wanted to do since I was barely a teen, when I finished my first manuscript. So I'm going to tell you one of my stories right now. Not from my published novel; I'm not here to hard sell you on that. This is from a work in progress, a fantasy romance.

The heroine Cyryna is a princess and a mage, sweet and innocent, trying to protect her country from an invasion of dark creatures. Sounds cliche, but keep reading. She's conflicted about the entire good versus evil philosophy, and takes an enemy prince hostage. Maksim is half-inkub (my own twist on incubus) and the enemy, but he keeps protecting Cyryna from his own people. Cyryna's advisors and bodyguard keep telling her to do away with him, but she can't do it. So, against a backdrop of war and monsters and white magic, my princess has to figure out if love-at-first-sight exists, and if being from the darkness means the man of her dreams deserves the death penalty.

The scene I'm sharing is their first kiss.

Plus, read to the end for some giveaways.

***

Stunned couldn't express what I felt. I didn't understand it, and stared mutely at the Valhamian. "Feeding?"

Maksim rolled to his knees, hands outstretched as if her would take mine again, but he didn't complete the motion. "Yes. I need the life force of others to survive."

I nodded. "Magic and psychic energy are composed of life force. And you gave it to me."

His sorrow turned to surprise, and his face lit up. "You have no idea the gift you've given me."The Valhamian was happy, yet he was still gaunt, eyes still shadowed.

"You're not healed yet."

He snorted, sinking to his heels. "I've taken a lot of wounds lately. And now that I've found you, I'm sure I'll take more."

"You still plan on protecting me?"

"Of course I do. Cyryna, I love you." He said the last vehemently, jaw clenched.

He meant it, believed it with his entire being. His declaration was overwhelming, made me tremble. I couldn't dissuade him, or question him. Instead, I rewarded him for his loyalty.

"Keep feeding," I told him, moving closer.

"What?" Maksim's eyes widened, mouth parting. The warmth of his presence pulled away, causing me to chiver.

"Don't stop. You need more. Every would you've taken is because of me." I reached for him, sure of my course.

One eyebrow rose, and Maksim pulled away. "You don't know what you're offering."

"Then show me," I replied, moving closer.

Maksim smirked, leaning forward. "You're silly, nomycha. Silly, but beautiful." His left hand rose, cupping my cheek. "This might feel strange."

"What are you going to do?" My insides crawled as the prince came closer to me, but I didn't pull away. I wasn't going to back down just because of the sudden gleam in his eyes.

"I can take through almost any skin-to-skin contact." His thumb stroked my cheek, moving to my mouth. A sigh escaped me, my lips parting. Maksim kept my gaze locked with his while he rose to his knees, looming over me. "But for you, a kiss."

The prince brought his other hand up, tipping my head. I shivered, lost in his eyes, my stomach warring with fire and ice. He was going to kiss me. I'd kissed family, and Larket when he was still young. There'd been kisses of state, and other friendly greetings.

But never something romantic. Never from someone who stole my breath, and made my heart skip a beat, and who caressed my skin with warm breath. I had no idea what to do.

Maksin did. He kept my head still, leaning forward with slowly closing eyes. His breath washed across my face, and every never in my body sparked. I sighed, my lips parted, and brought my hands to his chest. My heart raced, but his was steady. I focused on that heavy beat as the Valhamian closed the gap.

Our lips met, and the world came to a halt. Marksin's mouth was warm, tender, and possessive. He sucked my upper lip between his slowly, the tip of his tongue tracing my skin. I drew breath to sigh, and it caught in my throat as he applied teeth.

They didn't hurt. They were simply hard, and caught my attention. My heartbeat surged, and a tingling began, spreading through my face, across my scalp, and down my spin. I clutched at his chest, moaning faintly.

Maksim tipped his head, pressing my lips open. I relented to everything, letting him do what he wanted. I jumped as his tongue began to enter my mouth, and his hands tightened briefly. My tongue tentatively met his, encouraging him, showing him I didn't want him to stop.

It was Maksim's turn to moan. It was a light sound that raised goosebumps all over. He kissed me harder, his tongue pressing deeper into my mouth. One hand slipped to the back of my head, tangling in my hair.

Energy moved between us. Slowly at first, stirring along pathways, orienting toward my head. Maksim continued kissing, his tongue moving, teasing my mouth, and I leaned into it. My hands glided up his chest to his neck, my energy doing the same thing.

It was similar to the way magic built when I did a spell; heat and pressure followed my nerves, gathering where I focused. The focus was my mouth, and it made my lips tingle and head throb. Nails dug into the prince's neck, and he clutched me harder to him.

Energy burst from me, and Maksim groaned. Unlike a spell's gradual release, this was sudden, leaving me reeling. I moaned in response, clinging to him, my body rushing as he drained me.

It did feel strange, as he'd warned, but good as well. Like pressure being released, leaving emptiness and relief. Leaning into Maksim, I gave him everything I was. I trusted him to know my limits, to take only what he needed.

And it seemed like it would never end.

***
So, hope you enjoyed what you've read. I haven't finished writing it yet, so I couldn't tell you when it's coming out. Eventually, I'm sure. It's going to be pretty long, and I've got battle scenes to go through, and the big climax, then revisions.

But I love telling stories. I'm not an author to make money, but to entertain people. Sharing the strange little visions I have is what I live for.

Honestly, getting you to read my stories is why I'm here. To help get All Hallows Blood out to potential readers, I'm doing a couple of giveaways.

First, there's going to be one autographed copy to a commenter here on Fang-tastic.

Also, if you come by my blog by the 14th, and tell me about your first vampire experience, you have a chance at one of two autographed copies. And some other stuff.

Thank you for taking your time with me. I appreciate your interest, and I would love to hear from you.

If you would like to be entered to win a an autographed copy of All Hallows Blood

please leave a comment on this post along with your email contact info