Hey everyone! Well, very good news...
Hart Attack is finished. As in the first draft is done and now comes the hard part. Proofing, making changes and then sending it off to the editor. Anyway, I thought I would share a part of it with you but it's not from the beginning...thought I would leave you guys with a little flavor with this new paranormal romance I have created. Yes, it's got a very heavy urban fantasy feel too so be prepared...
Hart Attack is a full length novel at 89k words (it might end up longer -- up to 95k -- or shorter -- down to 85k) at the moment and I really do hope these characters grow on you.
In the scene I am sharing with you, one of the main character's has been kidnapped and this is her in full panic mode. Enjoy!
Part of Lena’s brain had gone into shutdown
mode.
What could she remember she questioned herself
angrily as she awoke in a black hole? What was she doing and how long had she
been there?
For the first time since she could remember, she
hated she denied her mother the right to teach her how to shift. Why would she
want to become any kind of animal? She never understood how it would ever be
able to help her but locked in the dark with nothing but her own screams for
company was enough to change her mind.
She scraped against the walls and felt fingernails
break but she didn’t give a damn. If she could just get out of here, Andreas
would buy her anything she wanted.
Lena thought back on her sister’s smiling face
with their bright amber-tinged brown eyes and gorgeous features. She had been
angry with her because the way both Andreas and Sebastiaan were drooling over
her like she was their own personal bitch in heat. She’d taken a couple of
bathroom breaks and ran directly into Fitch.
Goddamn, it had been a long time since she’d
seen him. Andreas had banned him from Thirst for the longest time but someone
had let him in. No, not someone, he was with Kandace. They were doing Thirst in
the unisex bathroom and she joined them.
How many lines had she done? No more than a few.
She remembered laughing with them and then her head began to spin and she
blacked out.
Did they have anything to do with this? Were
they punishing her for Sebastiaan and his piss poor leadership abilities since
she’d broken up with him? No, he didn’t give two shits about her; he only
wanted that fucking kid because he or she would have been an heir he badly
needed to display.
Her mind seemed to fracture again and she
screamed again. “Please help me, I beg
you…”
No one came to her rescue but what ever she was
in—yes, it was the trunk of a vehicle—came to a stop. Her heart began to thump
in her chest with an intensity she despised. Fueled by too much Thirst and
Andreas’ own blood, she felt like she was on the verge of losing her mind.
Someone released the latch from inside the car
and she threw it open. It was pitch black and it took her a moment to realize
she was wearing a blindfold. She ripped it from her eyes, injuring her own
flesh in the process with her jagged nails but plastic surgery could take care
of that.
Without the blind fold, the situation wasn’t
much better. She was in the middle of the bayou and with a moon three quarters
full, plenty of weres would be out.
They didn’t need a full moon to shift but
anytime nearing a full moon, they possessed much greater powers than when the
moon was more subdued.
Lena didn’t give a damn, she struggled out of
the trunk and fell on her ass into a thread-bare patch of grass. Her whole body
ached but she got to her feet. She would never be able to run in the
ridiculously high heels she wore so she tore them away viciously, cutting her
ankles in the process but the pain barely registered.
She tossed the heels
and took off running.
The bayou was a scary place at night but she
avoided puddles and anywhere near the water. It didn’t stop her from running
into all sorts of bayou creatures but she was more afraid of the people who had
kidnapped her than she was a few water moccasins and lizards.
How long had she been running? Not long enough
but she stopped and tried to catch her breath while looking around.
She closed her eyes and tried to focus but all
the alcohol she’d consumed made her head spin.
Lena opened her eyes and listened with the
vampire blood coursing through her veins. The Thirst was interfering with her
abilities and she now regretted she had done any lines of it at all.
“Where are you going, sweetie?” a southern voice
inquired out loud.
She hid behind a tree but the voice seemed too
close and she hated the tears which belied her emotions and began to run. She
wiped them away and held her breath. If she could only discern what direction
the voice was coming from then she’d know which direction to run.
Fuck it, she thought and took off running. If they
wanted her then they would have to chase her with as much fervor as she had.
The sound of a wolf’s howl chilled her blood.
They’d shifted so they could capture her.
She rounded a corner and faced a whole pack but
only the leader turned human and walked toward her. He was nude as the day he
was born with an erection which looked dangerously large and frightening. She
began to back away but several wolves howled behind her and she knew she was
surrounded.
“What the hell do you want from me? I don’t have
anything!”
He walked toward her and revealed his face in
the moonlight.
Shit! It was him.
“Fuck me, you scared me. What are you doing? Are
you doing some kind of favor for Sebastiaan? I don’t think he would approve of
your methods,” she murmured in a confident voice.
His blue-green eyes glared at her with that
amber tint of a wolf’s. He could shift again any moment. “No, this isn’t a
favor for him but it’s a good theory. Unfortunately, my co-conspirators dragged
you out here for my benefit.”
I hope you enjoy the preview. The book's release date will be in either late July or early August, depending upon my editor and her summer schedule.
In the meantime, have a wonderful day and keep cool until I blog again... ;-)
