Fear of Darkness is out!

Buy on:
Kindle
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
iTunes

When vampire victims are left for the human authorities to find, their secret is out, and the King assigns Vahe the mission of tracking down an old enemy of his. However, Vahe will need help, or more accurately, bait. When he locates the killer’s next victim he doesn’t expect to find a brave, beautiful woman willing to assist him in taking out a rogue vampire.

Natalya Woods just wants to avoid her abusive husband and live a normal life, but lately the small town of Haven has been anything but safe. When she’s attacked on the street by the man of her dreams, she finds herself kidnapped and putting her weapon skills to use—only on a creature much more dangerous than her ex. But she’ll have to be careful, her husband is also on the loose, and he’ll do anything to make Nat pay for leaving him.

Will Natalya learn to get over her distrust of men? And when her life is in danger Vahe will choose the laws he’s chosen to enforce or woman whose courage and passion he’s come to crave?

Read the first two chapters

Fear of Darkness is on sale!

Breathless Press
Amazon
ARe
Bookstrand

Fear of Darkness is on sale for $0.99! But it will only be on sale until June  17th, so get your copy now! More buy links coming soon.

(And if you'd like to make me a happier author, you could also leave a review when you're done with the book!)

As a Watcher of the King’s Guard, Vahe Patten hunts rogue vampires, ones who break the only major vampire law. When dead bodies are left for the human authorities to find, their secret is out, and Vahe takes on the mission by seeking out the next victim before the killer does—only to find her blood tasted sweeter than any he’s ever had.

Natalya Woods just wants to avoid her abusive husband and live a normal life, but the small town of Haven has been anything but safe. When she’s attacked in the streets, literally, by the man of her dreams, she finds herself kidnapped and putting her weapon skills to use—surprisingly not on her husband. Attraction and desire throws Natalya and Vahe in a bind as they work together to fight the killer, but will Natalya overcome her distrust of men and allow herself to take the risk to love?

Read the first two chapters.

First Books and Dyslexia

Elle Fowler (a YouTube beauty guru for those of you who don't watch her videos) talked about her favorite childhood book in a recent post and, well this sparked an idea for a blog post, so I'm just gonna roll with it, cause I don't blog enough.

I didn't read a lot in my early childhood, so almost every book I enjoyed sticks out in my mind. I have dyslexia, so getting me to read was always a struggle. I'm over it now (with the exception of lowercase b's and d's. If they're in a word, okay, but on their own? I really can't tell which is which) but back then I was a very picky reader, and had to be forced to do any reading. I'm kinda really surprised I ever learned how.

As I said, every book sticks out in my mind, and as I look back on them, they all have something in common. They ALL had a paranormal element. I guess that's always been my thing. I know I liked everything paranormal even before I could read. Like Buffy. Which I think started when i was six.

The first books I ever read were scary short stories. I read them over and over again, because they were short, and could hold my attention.

The first Harry Potter book came out when I was in 4th grade...Well I think it did, that's when our teacher started reading it to us anyway. And while I liked the teacher reading it to us, the prospect of reading a book that thick was a little too much for me, so I didn't start reading them until a few years later.

The first books that change my WORLD were the Everworld series by K.A. Applegate. My mom bought it for me to take to camp in 5th grade, because we had to have an hour of rest/reading time a day. Ugh. I dreaded that. They were taking something that was supposed to be fun, and they were putting an hour long torture session in it every day. I could have napped, but I've never been capable of that either. No matter how tired I am. So it was either stare into space for an hour, or read that blasted book. So, grudgingly, I picked up the book. It was the 11th on in the series, so I was more than a little confused. But even with that confusion, the world was absolutely riveting.

As soon as I got home, I begged for the first book in the series. Well, actually, I sincerely doubt I had to beg, considering my mom was probably desperate for me to read something. I finished the whole series before the 12th and final book had even come out. This was the first time I had to drum my fingers, and wait (not so) patiently, for the release of the next book in a series. I hate the way it ended by the way (well...if I remember right. It's been a while).

After that I moved onto the Fingerprints series by Melinda Metz. After that I pretty much read every book with paranormal elements I could get my hands on. Eventually I stumbled into Shattered Mirror by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, which made me a writer, and then a friend's mom loaned me my first romance ever. But those are separate stories for another time. I'm pretty sure I've told everyone about Atwater-Rhodes anyway.

Okay, peoples. I'm done typing. Hope you enjoyed my long pointless post. I guess it kinda does have a point. I guess it tells parents not to give up if your kid is dyslexic. Just keep gun forcing them to read books from different genres, and hopefully they'll stumble into something they can't live without.

Ooh, ooh. I can add a little promo at the end:

Running from an abusive husband, Natalya encounters more than she can handle…especially when she becomes a vampire’s target. Buy Fear of Darkness here.

A Little Bit of Everything...

Oh, I’m such a dork! I almost forgot to add this! I decided to put it at the beginning because its big happy news: I got two new contracts this week. It’s been on twitter, but who knows if anyone who reads this blog (does anyone read this blog?) follows me on twitter. Breathless Press will be re-releasing Fear of Darkness, and releasing another book called The Devil’s Trap. I can wait (but am also dreading) edits. You know how it is. Fun, but lots of work, especially with the lengths of these particular books. And the fact that Fear of Darkness was the second story I ever finished, so its bound to have problems galore!

Okay so today I’m going to be pretty random. I’m going to talk about my day, and the stuff I bought so its like a haul video, without the video part because I have no camera. I’ll also do a writing update. There’s not much to tell, but I’ll tell everyone anyway.

I got my haircut today so I have bangs and more layers now. The woman who cut my hair was really nice. I love Regis, they always do a great job. A pretty good rule is to never get your hair cut at a place with “cuts” in the title. I’ve never been happy with a SuperCuts hair cut. It just never works out.

I also toured the Macy’s and Dillards makeup sections just to see what they have. It was fun. I always enjoy looking at the makeup. And then I saw something that terrified me…There were these kids at the mall for a field trip. They looked like middle school age I guess. They were wearing these big furry hats. They covered their whole heads. Almost like…I don’t know, anime hair I guess? There were like three of them…Seriously, is that in style now, because BOY does it look really really stupid. I had to keep myself from staring open mouthed in horror.

Anyway. Away from that topic. Far away. As far as I can get. .

So I bought quite a few beauty products today, and really shouldn’t have because now I have $30 left to my name. I’m supposed to get paid soon though . Hopefully its before Urban Decay goes on sale at Hautelook.

Okay, at the salon I got It’s a 10 Miracle Leave In Product. It’s a leave in conditioner that’s supposed to:



Repair damaged hair
Add shine
Detangle
Control Frizz
Protect hair color (which I don’t need because I don’t color my hair, but whatever)
Prevent split ends
Stop breakage
Create Silkiness
Enhance natural body
And has a heat protector

If its not the best thing I’ve ever tried I won’t get it again, because my tiny four ounce bottle was $17.79. But my hairdresser said it was their best seller. I can test it and see what I think.

Next I got Maybelline Falsies mascara. I accidentally got the washable one…I don’t know what my problem is! I need to look closer when I buy things. Hopefully it doesn’t do anything weird and melty. Why do they even make mascara that’s not waterproof? Blair Fowler says Falsies is the best, so I figured I’d try it out. Maybelline makes good products anyway. I have their Lash Stiletto right now.

I also go the Physicians Formula Happy Booster Blush, and the Cashmere Ultra Smoothing Bronzer in Light because I’m pale as hell. The brushes they come with are totally crap (especially that blush brush! I’ve never seen such a useless brush) but I have my own brush so its no big. Any of these cosmetics you can find at Ulta.com or probably most drugstores so I won’t include linkage.



And I didn’t get this today, but it’s become my most favorite product EVER. It’s the BH Cosmetics 120 Eyeshadow Palette in 1st edition. Every color under the sun. Any makeup look you want to do, you can pretty much do with this. It’s my baby, and I’ve been raving about it for a while now on Twitter.



Now on to what I should be talking about on this blog: Writing.

Lately in my writing I’m really trying to focus on internal conflicts and making them more concrete. I’m also trying to focus on the characters and their emotions. Now I have to be honest, lately I’ve gotten REALLY lazy with doing character charts and all the other groundwork I should do before starting to write a novel. And so I was wondering why I just wasn’t feeling these characters in the ménage I’m working on. Well, duh, I’ve done no character charts.

Since I’m focusing on internal conflicts and emotions I decided to dig even deeper with that, so I took a list of character questions from Leigh Michaels’ On Writing Romance and I’ve been doing that and I think its really helping, because I’ve been brainstorming some pretty good ideas that make the characters more alive in my head.

Another thing that helped today was this Lindsay’s Ramblings post on quirks. You might want to check it out of you want more insight into creating in depth characters.

So before I let you go, I want to ask, does anyone care if I tell you about the beauty products I’m buying? Should I do that somewhere else and reserve this blog strictly for writing related stuff? I feel like I have so little to talk about that I’d really just like to throw everything at one blog and see which writers I can drive insane with my cosmetics talks.

Also, does anyone out there have any questions they'd like to ask about writing or the acquisitions process? I am a published writer and an Acquisitions Manager so if you have questions, I'd like to try and help. It also might give me something to blog about so Naomi and I aren't just posting every six months.

Fear of Darkness by Honoria Ravena

I've had a lot of people on my blog recently promoting their own books. Today it's time to promote one of my own. Please enjoy this excerpt of Fear of Darkness.



Buy Link

Blurb:

Vahe Patten is a Watcher in the King's guard. The vampire king, that is. As a Watcher, Vahe executes vampires who break the only major vampire law: keep the secret. When Dylan Andrew starts leaving his murder victims for the human authorities to find, something must be done. While in Haven, Vahe enters the dreams of a woman plagued with nightmares of her past. When he sees Dylan flirting with her in a bar, he knows she'll be his next victim.

Natalya Woods just wants to avoid her ex-husband. The small town of Haven, Maine seems perfect until she's attacked in the street by, literally, the man of her dreams.

Excerpt:

"Need a hand, Natalya."

I spun around but before I could even get a word out I was pressed against the wall with a hand over my mouth. I realized I'd forgotten my gun. I hadn't thought to put a different one in my other purse and I should have. This vampire was the least of my problems. Okay, so maybe not the least, a vampire was a big problem, especially if he was the murder, but I did have other people I was worried about. A vampire… It was just unbelievable.

"I'm going to take my hand away and if you scream, I'll snap your neck. Understand?" I nodded. "Good."

He brushed the scarf away from my neck to reveal his marks. He ran his hand lightly over my throat. I flinched when he touched the bite. Even with such a light touch, it was painful.

He leaned his face in toward me, moved his hand, and then he was kissing me. I hesitated before I gave into him. The kiss was full of probing tongues. My tongue brushed his fangs and I broke the kiss.

He moved his mouth to my throat and I stood there dazed for a second before I jerked back. I would have hit my head on the wall but his hand was between the bricks and me. He tangled his hands in my hair. His tongue flicked out across the bite mark and then his mouth clamped down. He sucked hard, making the tiny holes bleed.

I gasped in pain and pushed at his chest. He moaned against my throat and sucked harder. His erection pressed against my stomach. Trembling, he drew back. His eyes were unfocused and his breathing labored. I was glad we were in the middle of the street and not somewhere private. I don't think anything would have kept him from fucking my brains out, and nothing could stop him from draining my blood.

He cleared his throat. "God, your blood is almost addictive." He shook himself. "Come on, I'll help you with all this food. I'm surprised you eat so much. You look so thin."

I narrowed my eyes at him and didn't respond. He picked up the food and carried it easily down the street, expecting me to follow.

I followed him without prompting. I watched my feet as I walked and tried to think of a good way to get away from him.

He didn't struggle to carry the food, but maybe it would take him a few seconds to realize I was gone and chase after me. Maybe a few vital seconds were all I needed. I doubted it.

He stopped abruptly and looked over his shoulder. He arched an eyebrow. "Go ahead. Try running for it. You won't make it three feet."

I had a childish second where I wanted to kick him in the shins and run. Instead, I waited for him to turn and then I took off down the street. I just had to reach a shop that was open, or a bar. I rounded a corner and then skidded to a halt. He stood in front of me, his arms crossed over his chest, one eyebrow arched mockingly.

"You see, last night I was injured and couldn't use my preternatural speed, but after I had a sip from you I found a nice willing donor. I don't feel like messing around. I just want you to come with me."

"If you think I'll go with you willingly, you're nuts. I seem to remember being told not to go with strangers. That the only reason they want to take you somewhere is to kill you. Hell, you're a vampire. I can't even believe I'm saying it. How am I supposed to trust you? And I got farther than three feet."

He tried to suppress a smile at the last part, but didn't quite manage. I hadn't meant it to be funny.

Read chapter one on my website or buy it here.