Laura Kaye’s WEST OF WANT Preview and Prizes Event!

Happy WEST OF WANT Preview & Prizes Event, everyone! Today, April 10, was the original release date for Book 2 in my Hearts of the Anemoi series, West of Want. And then some really cool things happened: my publisher, Entangled Publishing, signed a huge deal with the nation’s biggest book distributor, which means for the first time ever, my books will be shelved in brick-and-mortar bookstores. And then, West of Want received a very nice pre-sales estimate by the booksellers and Barnes and Nobles bought it for all their stores nationwide (and it got bought for airports, too—squee!). The only bad news in this whole scenario was this: the release date got pushed back, by three LONG months! LOL So, I thought I’d celebrate the original release date with a preview of the book and a big contest, and give you a small taste to whet your appetite until the actual release date arrives.

"Laura Kaye’s captivating writing and vibrant world-building will have readers hooked on the gods of the Anemoi. WEST OF WANT is steamy, spellbinding, and a must-read for all romance fantasy fans."

~Elisabeth Naughton, author of the Eternal Guardians series

Forty sites are celebrating with me today, and there are different posts at those different sites. To see the whole list of participants, click here. Now, without further ado, here’s the book blurb and one of four different never-before-seen excerpts from the book available for you to enjoy:

WEST OF WANT BLURB:

Betrayal is all he's ever known, but in her, he'll find a love strong enough to be trusted...

When Marcella Raines' twin brother dies, she honors his request to be buried at sea, never expecting the violent storm that swamps her boat. Though she's gravely injured--and still emotionally damaged from her recent divorce--Ella fights to survive.

Zephyros Martius is the Supreme God of the West Wind and Spring, but being the strongest Anemoi hasn't protected him from betrayal and loss. Worse, he's sure his brother Eurus is behind it. When Zeph's heartbreak whips up a storm that shipwrecks a human, his guilt forces him to save her.

Ella is drawn to the vulnerability Zeph hides beneath his otherworldly masculinity and ancient blue eyes. And her honesty, empathy, and unique, calming influence leave Zeph wanting...everything. When Eurus threatens Ella, she and Zeph struggle to let go of the past, defend their future, and embrace what they most want--a love that can be trusted.

WEST OF WANT EXCERPT:

Zeph concentrated and allowed his mind to travel in search of his brother’s unique energy signature. As polar opposites, their energies were connected. Yin and yang. Life and death. West and East. So he found Eurus, easily. Within blocks of Ella’s house. Thunder rumbled around him as he flowed through the air in pursuit.

Corporeality returned in a blaze of light, his seething rage crackling around him.

“Ah, brother. I’ve been expecting you,” Eurus said. In the gloom of twilight, he lay prone on the dock in the middle of the marina where Ella’s boat had been taken that first day. Ankles crossed.

Fingers making lazy designs in the air as if he were conducting a symphony. Cold wind whipped up around them, turning the calm waters of the inlet choppy, jostling the sailboats in their slips.

His brother’s calm, casual repose was more disturbing than if Zeph had found him petulant and ranting. Because it meant he was planning. “What the fuck are you playing at, Eurus?”

He sprung to his feet and tugged the lapels of his leather coat. “You see? I offer civility, and what do I get in return?”

Zeph squared off and braced, ready for anything. “You don’t have a civil bone in your body.”

Eurus pinched the bridge of his nose, shifting the wraparounds up the smallest bit. Though not enough, Zeph was relieved to see, to reveal his dead black irises. “If what you say is true, brother, whose fault exactly would that be?”

“Not. Mine.” It was a fruitless conversation, but it was their little dance, and Zeph’s own special corner of hell.

“Of course not yours. Not perfect Zephyros. Not the god of life and renewal. Gods forbid.”

Zeph ignored the barb. Perfection was the last thing he believed of himself. Eurus was jealous of a figment of his imagination. “What do you want?” he finally bit out, hoping to defuse the other man, to delay the confrontation long brewing between them.

Eurus whipped off his glasses and drilled his disturbing, blank gaze into Zeph’s very soul. “Leave the woman alone.”

Pre-order West of Want on Amazon | B&N

So, what d’ya think? Want more Zephyros and Ella? Visit more participating sites to read all the excerpts, meet the characters, see the the West of Want romance trading cards, and enter to win! Thanks for reading! July 10 can’t get here soon enough for me! *grins*

~Laura Kaye

“Using ancient winter mythology as an allegory for grief, Kaye has written a sexy story that packs a powerful emotional punch. NORTH OF NEED is pure winter magic and Kaye’s sparkling talent warms the heart.”

~Stephanie Draven, author of the Mythica series about

multi-award-winning Book 1 in the Anemoi series, North of Need

WEST OF WANT PREVIEW CONTEST!

Seven participants who enter through the Rafflecopter form will win gift cards from winners’ choice of Amazon or B&N valued between $15 and $100! Those prize winners will be announced on West of Want’s release day, July 10, 2012. As a special thank you to those who have pre-ordered the print West of Want through Amazon or B&N, you'll receive extra entries - just enter your order confirmation number on the appropriate Rafflecopter line. Pre-orders are hugely important for an author because they determine how many books bookstores will actually stock and they count toward an author’s first-week sales which is when most authors have their best chance to hit the big bestseller lists. However, pre-orders/purchases are not required to enter. Commenting is the only required entry. Open to international..

About Laura Kaye:

Voted Breakout Author of the Year in the 2011 GraveTells Readers’ Choice Awards, Laura is a bestselling and award-winning author paranormal and contemporary romance. Hearts in Darkness is the EPIC eBook Award Winner for Best Novella, Forever Freed won the NJRW Golden Leaf Award for Best Paranormal of 2011, and North of Need, the first book in the Hearts of the Anemoi series, was named GraveTells’ Best Book of 2011 and won their 5-STAR Gold Heart Award, and won Sizzling Hot Read of the Year at Sizzling Hot Books. Laura lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

Buy Laura's Books

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Interview and Giveaway with Laura Kaye

Can you tell readers a little bit about yourself and what inspired to write in this particular genre?

Let me start by thanking you for having me here! I write paranormal, contemporary and erotic romance and had four books release in 2011. I’m also a wife, mom of two young girls, college history professor, and complete vampire addict! *grins* My latest book, NORTH OF NEED, is a contemporary fantasy romance. Paranormal stories have always been my first interest as both a reader and a writer, and the thing that most draws me to romance is the fantasy aspect of a great love story. So those are some of the things that drew me to write a story based on Greek mythology.

What is it about the paranormal, in particular Greek gods, that fascinates you so much?

I’ve always been fascinated by Greek mythology. It’s really the soap opera of the ancient world, full of illicit affairs, political intrigue, backstabbing, and secret babies! As a lover of the paranormal, Greek mythology intrigues me because it is totally full of cool monsters with awesome powers. And, because there are so many versions of some of the stories, it’s easy as an author to put your own spin on the mythology as I’m doing with the Anemoi, wind gods the Greeks associated with the seasons.

Please tell us about your latest release.

I’d love to! NORTH OF NEED tells the story of the snow god Owen, who is the adopted son and destined successor of the Supreme God of the North Wind and Winter, Boreas. Owen falls in love with Megan, a grieving widow spending Christmas alone in her family cabin. Here’s the blurb:

Her tears called a powerful snow god to life, but only her love can grant the humanity he craves...

Desperate to escape agonizing memories of Christmas past, twenty-nine-year-old widow Megan Snow builds a snow family outside the mountain cabin she once shared with her husband, realizing too late that she's recreated the very thing she'll never have.

Called to life by Megan's tears, snow god Owen Winters appears unconscious on her doorstep in the midst of a raging blizzard. As she nurses him to health, Owen finds unexpected solace in her company and unimagined pleasure in the warmth of her body, and vows to win her heart for a chance at humanity.

Megan is drawn to Owen's mismatched eyes, otherworldly masculinity, and enthusiasm for the littlest things. But this Christmas miracle comes with an expiration--before the snow melts and the temperature rises, Megan must let go of her widow's grief and learn to trust love again, or she'll lose Owen forever.

Is there a character that you enjoyed writing more than any of the others?

Heroes are always my favorite to read and to write. In this book, I absolutely loved writing Owen. I loved how everything was a new experience for him. He was playful and enthusiastic and appreciative, all inside an incredibly powerful, hot, masculine package. And what Megan meant to him…that was just great to write. I have to say, I also developed a real love for Boreas. I didn’t realize just how big of a role he would end up playing in the story, so he was a real pleasant surprise to write.

What is your favorite scene from the book? Could you share a little bit of it, without spoilers of course?

I have a lot of favorite scenes in this book. I adore the igloo scene. I love the ski resorts scene. But, even so, my absolute favorite is the book’s Black Moment. All I can say without giving it away is that Owen comes face to face with his greatest weakness. As I wrote it, the angst and pain and sadness of the scene totally gripped me, and I hope it will do the same to the readers, too.

Did you find anything really interesting while researching this or another book?

I researched a number of fun topics while writing this book. In addition to reading up on my Greek mythology, I researched a number of cultural traditions’ beliefs about the deities of winter and weather. I also did research on how to build a good snowman, how to build an igloo, and how to ski.

Can you tell readers a little bit about the world building in the book/series? How does this world differ from our normal world?

Based on Greek mythology, the world of the Hearts of the Anemoi series posits the existence of the Greek gods in the modern world. Sometimes they interact with people in the human realm, and sometimes they remain among their own kind in the Realm of the Gods. If you know anything about Greek gods, you know that almost ever natural event on earth had a god supposed responsible for it. So, in the series, all things wind, weather and season related are the purview of the four Anemoi gods. And, while the series focuses on these particular gods, other mythological figures you’ll recognize will appear from time to time.

Do you write in different genres?

I do! In 2011, I’ve published books in paranormal romance (FOREVER FREED, vampires), contemporary romance (HEARTS IN DARKNESS), erotic romance (JUST GOTTA SAY), and fantasy romance (NORTH OF NEED). In 2012, I’ll have two more vampire stories, and the final three Anemoi books releasing. I also have a completed women’s fiction novel I hope to start querying soon. I enjoy the varying challenges different romantic subgenres raise, and I think writing in more than one has strengthened my writing in them all.

When did you consider yourself a writer?

I’ve always considered myself a writer. As a teenager, when I wasn’t reading, I wrote stories. But as I went off to college, I became immersed in the academic discipline that would shape my professional life as an adult—history. Really, just another form of storytelling. It wasn’t until three years ago that I started writing romantic fiction for publication. And my first manuscript I wrote was also the first I sold, FOREVER FREED.

What was the last amazing book you read?

My absolute favorite books are J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I adore the characterizations, love the voice of the stories, and think they’re hot as hell. I’ve just reread up through Vishous’s book for maybe the fourth or fifth time, so that definitely counts as the last amazing gook I read. Among the brothers, Zsadist is my fave, and I’ll warn you in advance I’m a wee bit territorial about him, so back off. Haha. No, really, stay away from him. *grins* *Pointed stare*

What can readers expect next from you?

I have two books releasing in the first several months of 2012. The first book in my Vampire Warrior Kings series, IN THE SERVICE OF THE KING, releases February 1. And the second book in the Anemoi series, WEST OF WANT, will release in the spring. I have a lot of other things in the works that I can’t share just yet, but there are great things on the horizon! *grins*

Where can readers find you on the web?

Buy Laura's Books

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Would you like to leave readers with a little teaser or excerpt from the book?

I sure would! Here’s a bit that showcases one of Owen’s talents…

Owen’s flaring eyes stole Megan’s breath. Already, the air around them sizzled. Something was happening.

Did she trust him?

“Yes,” she heard herself say. Her answer was instinctual. She didn’t need to think about it to know.

His heated, brilliant smile eased the nervous energy rushing through her veins. This day with him at Wisp had been unequivocally the best she’d had in two years. She had loved every minute of it.

Her body felt awake and powerful. Her heart, full and warm. She was alive. He’d brought her back to life.

“I want to share myself with you, Megan. I want to share everything,” he whispered, his voice nearly that same reverent intonation as when he’d murmured those foreign words against her heart.

“Yes,” she said again.

“It’s going to feel odd to you, like a tingling weightlessness. But it won’t hurt and I’ll bring you back the very instant you desire. If you want to say something to me, just think it. And I promise I won’t let you go.” He bent down and scooped a handful of snow, packed it into a loose ball.

Owen’s words did little to staunch the anxious excitement bubbling up inside her. Every nerve and muscle on edge, she could barely stand still. But she yearned to know what he wanted to show her. Something told her she was about to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. “You lead, I’ll follow,” she said, echoing his earlier words.

The flare behind his eyes intensified. He dropped the snow into her bare palm. “Here, eat this, please.”

Megan brought the snow to her mouth with a shaking hand. The way he dragged his tongue back and forth against his bottom lip made what they were doing feel like foreplay. As soon as she’d closed her lips around the last bite, his mouth was on her, kissing, probing. Then, he pulled back, laced his hands around her neck and leaned his forehead against hers.

“Megan Snow, I love you.”

Megan gasped at his declaration. Her brain scrambled, tried to figure out how to respond.

Before she could, she ceased to be corporeal.

Owen! she screamed in her mind.

I’m here angel, and I’ve got you. Just feel. Take it all in.

I’m scared. Though she was no more than consciousness adrift, she would’ve sworn she felt his lips and hands caress her. The impossible sensation squelched the fear, left only a mystical thrill in its place.

I would never let anything happen to you, Megan. On my honor. On my life.

I believe you. What’s happening? The world glided under her, around her, like she was a bird soaring on the ebbs and flows of air currents.

We are the wind.

WANT TO WIN NORTH OF NEED?

The North of Need Book Launch Blog Tour runs through November 20.

Today I am giving away

1st Prize an ebook copy of North of Need

Open Internationally

2nd prize: A complete set of trading cards for all four of Laura's books open to US & Canadian residents.

Please follow Laura's social sites for extra entries

1 bonus entry for each follow

An Entangled Halloween Guest Blog and Giveaway with Laura Kaye

Which Ghost Story Really Happened?
By Laura Kaye

I love a good ghost story—don’t you? And what better time of the year to tell them! So, in the spirit of Halloween, turn off your lights and read this post in the dark. Here’s the Halloween trick part of my post: which story actually happened? See down below for the Halloween treats I’m offering. Now, read on, faithful reader…

1)
Something woke Annie up. She rubbed her eyes and looked to the right. Her cousin Christine’s wide brown eyes peered back at her, just visible in the darkness. They were enjoying a rare sleepover together, and sharing Christine’s narrow twin bed.

“It’s really cold in here,” she whispered.

“I know.”

Christine’s eyes bulged as she looked over Annie’s shoulder toward the open doorway to the hallway. “What’s that?”

Annie turned her head, the hair rising on her arms, and was sure her expression mirrored Christine’s. A faint blue light lingered just outside the door.

Chris grabbed Annie’s hand under the blanket. “Something’s coming,” she rasped.

Annie felt the truth of her words deep in her tummy.

And then the light entered the room. Dull at first, and shaped like a small ball, the bluish glow crossed the room. Slowly. Steadily. The shape changed as it floated mid-air, elongated until it appeared the height of a short grown-up. On the far side of the room, at a door that went up to the old farmhouse’s attic, the hovering light paused. Christine’s grip became painful, but Annie squeezed just as tightly. Whatever was in the light, it was looking at them. Aware.

The lower half of the light widened, took the shape of an old-timey floor-length skirt. Annie felt inexplicably sad inside as she watched, in wide-eyed wonder, as the light disappeared through the door.

2)
“I’m going to go to McDonald’s for lunch, Mom. Be right back,” Jenny called.

Without waiting for a response, Jenny went out the backdoor and down the porch steps into the narrow alley between her townhouse and the bigger townhouse on the corner. They lived on the main street of a two-stoplight town, and it was a short walk to the brand new McDonalds. The neighboring townhouse was a stately red brick Victorian. The women who lived there, Miss Betty and Miss Patty, had never married, that Jenny knew of, and had lived together their whole lives. Only, recently, Miss Betty had fallen ill and, for the past two weeks, she’d been in the ICU unit at the hospital. Jenny knew that because her mom had checked in on Miss Patty to make sure she was doing okay.

Jenny started down the back yard, and movement caught her eye. She looked up and couldn’t help her huge smile. Miss Betty was walking up the sidewalk in the neighboring yard, the picture of health.

“Hi, Miss Betty. Glad you’re feeling better,” Jenny said.

Miss Betty smiled and kept walking toward the house.

Jenny had a spring in her step as she walked the two blocks down to the McDonald’s. Bag of food in hand, she hurried back, eager to tell her mom. She pushed through the screen door into the kitchen and called, “Mom, I’m back,” as the door sprang shut behind her.

Her mom walked into the kitchen, laundry basket on her hip. She seemed distracted as she set the basket on the table.

“Hey, guess what?”

“Hmm?” she asked.

“I just saw Miss Betty! She’s home. She looked great.”

Her mom whirled. “What?”

“Yeah. On the way to McDonald’s.” Jenny stuffed three French fries in her mouth.

“Jenny, that can’t be.”

Jenny shrugged. “I’m telling you. Didn’t even look like she was sick.”

“But Jenny, I just got off the phone with Miss Patty. Miss Betty died at the hospital this morning.”

3)
Maura became aware of the knocking slowly. She’d been deep into a book, and was nearly finished. As always, she tended to block out the rest of the world when a book got its hooks into her.

Knock. Knock.

She looked up from her Kindle. Paused. Listened. It was 11:30 at night, and everyone else in the house was asleep. Now that she paid attention, she realized she’d been hearing those two knocks at perhaps ten minute intervals for a while. And they weren’t the usual noises she knew the house made. They seemed to be coming form the center of the kids’ playroom. She could see the darkened doorway from where she sat on the living room couch.

Thoughts of her mom flooded her mind. Just a jumble of disconnected images and memories. All of her mom. Who had died nearly six years before of a stroke.

Maura chuckled. Everyone in her family believed in the supernatural. It was just a part of their growing up. So, when her mom had died so unexpectedly, she hoped and prayed her mother would find a way to visit her, send her a sign she was okay wherever she was. There were two instances when she thought that might’ve actually happened, but both were in the days and months after she died. Years ago, now.

Her ears on the alert and her nerves piqued, Maura turned back to her book. Within fifteen minutes, she finished, but though the knock had never returned, she was now freaked out. Knowing she was acting ridiculous, she turned on lights every step of the way as she walked to her bedroom and got ready to sleep.

She chuckled as she mentally tried to calm herself down. She thought, You know, I should say, ‘Hey Mom, if that’s you, knock three times this time.’ Maura shook her head at her wishful thinking and eventually her mind drifted off to her long to-do list for the next day.

Finally, sleep began to lure her, and Maura closed her eyes.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Maura’s eyes flew open, and stared at the wall behind her headboard, the one that connected with the unused guest room. Adrenaline sent her heart into a sprint, but just as quickly, she calmed, because she’d gotten what she asked for.

“Good night, Mama,” she said.

HALLOWEEN TREAT GIVEAWAY

Anyone else get chills?

Bwuhaha! Okay, so the Halloween trick is: guess which story(s) is/are true and leave the number in your comment!

Also, feel free to share a ghost story of your own—I love ‘em!

The Halloween treats are as follows: one commenter will win a $10 Amazon gift card and a complete signed set of my Romance Trading Cards from all four of my books!

Open to international contestants.

Comments with email addresses left through midnight EST 10/22 will be entered to win!

Check back at the end of the Entangled Halloween Party to learn the correct answer and see who won!

Thanks for reading! Have a boooktacular Halloween!

~Laura Kaye

Buy Laura's Books

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And, just in time for Halloween…the gods are coming…

NORTH OF NEED – Book 1 in the Hearts of the Anemoi Series (releases 11/1)

Her tears called a powerful snow god to life, but only her love can grant the humanity he craves...

Desperate to escape agonizing memories of Christmas past, twenty-nine-year-old widow Megan Snow builds a snow family outside the mountain cabin she once shared with her husband, realizing too late that she's recreated the very thing she'll never have.

Called to life by Megan's tears, snow god Owen Winters appears unconscious on her doorstep in the midst of a raging blizzard. As she nurses him to health, Owen finds unexpected solace in her company and unimagined pleasure in the warmth of her body, and vows to win her heart for a chance at humanity.

Megan is drawn to Owen's mismatched eyes, otherworldly masculinity, and enthusiasm for the littlest things. But this Christmas miracle comes with an expiration--before the snow melts and the temperature rises, Megan must let go of her widow's grief and learn to trust love again, or she'll lose Owen forever.

How Lucien Demarco became a Vampire Guest Blog and Giveaway with Laura Kaye

A great big thanks to Roxanne for hosting me and Forever Freed here today! Forever Freed is the story of a reclusive empathic vampire who falls in love with a woman he planned to kill and her young daughter, who must overcome his bloodlust, ancient guilt, lie by omission, and an ancient vampire rival who threatens everything he holds dear. In celebration of the novel’s RELEASE YESTERDAY (w00t!), I wanted to offer a little peek into the backstory of the hero, Lucien Demarco.

Because, see, when I first drafted Forever Freed, it was 50,000 words longer than the published book. As I reworked the story for publication, I quickly realized that the first 60,000 words that took the reader from Lucien’s family’s arrival in New York City until the point where he meets Samantha and Olivia Sutton, at the beginning of Forever Freed, were things I as the writer needed to know about Lucien, but not necessarily things the reader needed to know—at least not in that book. So I now have the makings of a verra, verra nice prequel on my hands. It will be called Forever Damned and I will likely self publish it—stay tuned for details!

Lucien Demarco was born on a farm outside of Modena, Italy, on November 2, 1858. He, his wife Lena, and their 3-year-old daughter Isabetta arrived at New York City through Ellis Island on October 29, 1894. They were part of a massive wave of Italian immigrants who came to the United States in the decades around the turn of the century. The Demarcos shared a flat with Lucien’s cousins Lorenzo and Alberto so Lucien could make enough money to move further west and, as a family, they decided to move to move to Colorado before the next summer where Lucien would take a job with the railroad.

The following scene from the unpublished prequel occurred on May 13, 1895, just weeks before their intended move:

I came home after midnight from a double shift at the ice company—my third one in a row. The extra money would provide security for our move out to Colorado and, since the trip was in just two weeks, I intended to push as hard as I could. Still, my bones ached down to their marrow and my now bulkier muscles screamed from all the heavy lifting the job entailed.

Utter stillness gripped the heavy, dark air inside the tenement. My feet echoed loudly through the wooden stairwell, and I stopped at the top of the first flight of steps to pull my boots off, hoping to avoid disturbing anyone. I padded down the hall, passed the Grossis’ partly open door, then continued up the steps only half awake, struggling to focus my gaze.

THUD.

My eyes snapped opened and the fog flew from my brain. I looked around, trying to secure my bearings in the darkness when I sensed someone there. “Cousin?” I whispered loudly. No response.

I jogged up the remaining steps and rounded the rickety banister at the top. At my flat, I searched in the dark for the door, but instead of finding its flat, rough plane, I found a void where the door should’ve been. With my hand out in front of me, I moved into the room, intent on the table where one of the oil lanterns sat waiting.

I pitched forward, my foot catching on something unseen, and landed on a warm

firmness. I was so disoriented that I no longer knew which way to go to find the table. I cursed myself the noise I’d made—everyone was as tired as me from the long work week. I didn’t want to disturb them, but nothing about the layout of the things I found on the floor made sense. Perhaps I’d entered the wrong flat in my exhaustion.

I hit my head and bit back a curse. My hands told me I’d encountered the wooden leg of the table, and I felt my way into a standing position. Palming the surface of the table, I located the box of matches and the lantern. The match flared as I struck it. I lit the wick and turned.

A yowl worked its way up my throat, but a tightening there choked it off. Lorenzo and Alberto lay on the floor, their bodies bent at unnatural angles. Alberto lay face up, neck chewed into a grisly pulp, bulging eyes open but no longer seeing.

My heart slammed against my rib cage. My girls.

“Lena!” I bolted to the door, The Lord’s Prayer reciting in an automatic loop in the back of my mind.

The dark barrier flew open just as I reached for the handle.

An odd sensation gripped my body, commanded my muscles to freeze.

The man in the doorway was tall, his short black hair set off skin so pale it seemed translucent, and his face was distinguished by glowing red eyes and flushed wet, red lips. A shadow moved behind him on the very bed I shared with Lena, where she lay sleeping, waiting for me to come home to her.

Dread spilled down my spine like ice water. My sprinting heart jumped into my throat, further choking off my breathing. My muscles strained to go to her, but I was at a complete loss to control my mind or body. The man…creature…held me with his eyes. “Le . . . Le,” I attempted, my head shuddering back and forth in an effort to shake the daze.

A guttural growl rumbled from the bed, distracting the man in front of me, releasing me from his restraint. I charged forward, intent on knocking the crouching creature away from the bed, away from the center of my life.

“Lena!” I shouted as I breached the door. I ran headlong into what felt like a steel bar.

A stabbing, crushing pain stole the precious little air I had. Broken ribs. The bar smashed into my face then, unleashing a brilliant explosion of white-hot agony as I flew in a heap against the wall. Crumpled against the dirty wooden floor. My blurred gaze passed over Isabetta’s small cot. Empty. I groaned, used the last of my energy coughing up a stream of dark liquid. Lena’s and Isabetta’s names echoed in my dimming consciousness, but I had not enough strength to make my lips move.

Bone-crushing sorrow squeezed my chest, leaked down my face.

My only solace was that we would be together soon.

The lonely darkness closed in on me, but I welcomed it, welcomed what must surely await on the other side.

Then I was floating. A searing pain pierced my neck and radiated in all directions, lifting a bit of the black fog. I was aware of free falling and of the splintering crack of my head against the floor.

Snippets of conversation filtered through the blackness. An accented voice said, “We must go now, Lazar…” An outraged snarl rumbled over me.

Then thick rain was falling on my face, into my mouth. A spicy electric warmth exploded on my tongue. My whole being seized, every muscle contracted. Air fled my lungs. My heart tripped, then thundered.

“Very helpful,” an angered whisper rasped. “Come.” Footsteps thrummed against the wooden floorboards.

Wheezing, choking on my own blood, my body writhed and lurched.

And then I ceased to be.

So, now you know what happened the night Lucien Demarco died and turned.

What do you think? Would you want to know about the prior human life of a vampire hero? Would you want to see those messy first moments of vampiric life?

For more Lucien Demarco:

--Watch the trailer

--Read the reviews

--Buy the book (print & ebook)

Thanks for reading, and thanks to Roxanne and Fang-tastic Books!

Laura Kaye

Find Laura on the interwebz:

Website: http://www.LauraKayeAuthor.com

Blog: http://laurakayeauthor.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/laurakayeauthor

Twitter: @laurakayeauthor

Publisher Website: http://thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=800

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3703867

Be sure to take advantage of the 5th Anniversary discount from http://thewildrosepress.com through May 31!

25% off all titles - use code 18b632d0b0 - to get Hearts in Darkness & Forever Freed for 25% off

5 people who send Laura purchase receipts dated Saturday May 21 or Sunday May 22 for FOREVER FREED's ebook or paperback from any bookseller will receive a free copy of HEARTS IN DARKNESS ebook in pdf format and signed sets of her Romance Trading Cards for both books!

Winners to be announced Monday morning.

Send receipts to: laurakayepromotions@gmail.com