Aly's Miscellany: Guest Post: Heather Fleener(+Giveaway)

Aly's Miscellany: Guest Post: Heather Fleener(+Giveaway): Today, Heather has been nice enough and visited with me. She's talking about rediscovering one's self :) Thank you Heather. ...

The Big Book Binge: Top Ten New to Us Authors in 2013

The Big Book Binge: Top Ten New to Us Authors in 2013: This week's Top 10 Tuesday, which is hosted by The Broke & the Bookish . Tonight's topic, Top Ten New to Us Authors in 2013. ...

Aly's Miscellany: Review: Chosen by Heather Fleener(+giveaway)

I love that she loved Chosen, but the style of her review had me laughing out loud. How fun! Loved it,  her. 

XO

~Heather

Aly's Miscellany: Review: Chosen by Heather Fleener(+giveaway): Title: Chosen Series: Ancients of Light , #1 Author: Heather Fleener She is Chosen Kaitriana’s gift of magic is unrivaled....

WTF Are You Reading?: Paranormal Cravings Presents: Ancients of Light B...

Frishawn did an amazing review of the series.

WTF Are You Reading?: Paranormal Cravings Presents: Ancients of Light B...: Title:  Chosen Author:  HeatherFleener Format:  E-book Length:  314 pages Publisher:  CreateSpace Rating:  4.5 Stars In the beginning...

Tome Tender: Ancients of Light Series by Heather Fleener Review...

Dii featured the series today on her blog, and I must say, this is one of those features that moved me to tears...in a totally awesome way.

Tome Tender: Ancients of Light Series by Heather Fleener Review...: About the Ancients of Light series Chosen is the first in the thirteen books of the Ancients of Light series and is only the beg...

The Big Book Binge: Top Ten Books We'd Recommend to X Person

I love the duo at the Binge, and I am thankful they love the Ancients so much.

The Big Book Binge: Top Ten Books We'd Recommend to X Person: Top Ten Books We'd Recommend to X Person is this week's Top Ten Tuesday, which is hosted by The Broke & the Bookish . Recommend ...

Simply Ali: Giveaway! ANCIENTS OF LIGHT SERIES by Heather Fle...

Simply Ali featured the series today on her wonderful site...follow the link below to see the feature and enter her giveaway.

XO
~Heather

Simply Ali: Giveaway! ANCIENTS OF LIGHT SERIES by Heather Fle...

Realm Developments – 2014

2013 has been a whirlwind of a year, hasn't it? 

It is hard to believe I published the first Ancients book a little over a year ago – and the huge changes in my life as a result. I know you will eventually tell me to shut-it if I say it EVERY day, but truly – THANK YOU!!! – for coming along on this adventure and for sharing yourselves with me.  I am blessed by the experience of getting to know so many new people this past year.

Your contributions to my world – your comments, your interactions on the FB page, you joining me in my silliness on a regular basis, your reviews, and so much more – have brightened my world on a regular basis. You are not merely readers or reviewers - you are people in my personal realm and the gift of your time and your friendship is precious.  Thank you. XO

So, what kind of trouble can we get ourselves into at the start of 2014? 

New Books

First – Mistaken, Ancients of Light #4, will be released in the Spring of 2014.  I will firm up the exact release date once I see how the completion of the first draft progresses over the course of the next month.  I am working on the cover design and hope to do a reveal near the end of 2013 or very early in January. 

In addition to beginning work on #5 (Maeve’s book - yet to be titled), I am going to try to release one of the short stories that I mentioned earlier this year.  I cannot promise that it will be Dunkirk’s story – but he is one of the many possible ones that I am toying with now.  Do not worry – if he is not the first short that is released, his story will come.  We all need more Dunkirk to love.

Old Books

I am thrilled to announce that I have found a fabulous editor that I am now working with on the first three books in the series.  You have all been so wonderful with your reviews and your love of the series and the characters - you have really pushed the series into a successful place and it is time I take this step. Had I known what I was doing and had the contacts in the beginning of this adventure, the wisest thing would have been to have Kathy make them all shiny and pretty before my initial release.  I am learning as I go though, and it took time to find someone that I trust with Kat and crew.   

The content will not change, but when Kathy is finished, I will know that I have presented them in the most professional format possible.  I owe it to the stories, to those of you that continue to promote and recommend the books, and to those that will read them in the future.  I will let you know as each is re-released after Kathy completes her magic (I believe Amazon and B&N will let you download updated versions for free, and if not, you will just have to message me and let me know that they are being persnickety if you decide you want the newest release).

Realm of Possibilities – Ancients of Light street team

Near the end of 2013 I will finalize plans for the Street team.  So many of you have gone above and beyond in promoting the series and I appreciate those personal ongoing endeavors on your part. So, for those of you already doing it, and those of you that want to, I am putting together a team to help get the word out about giveaways, promotions, releases, and just about the series in general.  In appreciation of those efforts, you will get advance copies of the series books – pre-release- and other goodies.  I plan to solicit ideas from everyone regarding exactly what types of items would be the best to receive in appreciation for your awesomeness.  So, look for more posts related to that before the end of the year.

Series PR

In conjunction with the PR provided by the street team, I have also begun working with a fabulous person on PR for the series. Iris is helping me with the management of that side of my writing in general (because life is so crazy right now I cannot keep up on my own any longer).  The great thing is that there will be lots of reviews, feature guest posts, interviews, series features, etc. over the course of the coming months.

~~

That is just a quick preview of some of the things coming at the start of 2014. There will be lots more and I am excited to see where this next year takes us.  Thank you for being here with me! 

XOXO

~Heather

Katie's Corner: Tour Stop & Guet Post : Ancients of Light by Heath...

Katie's Corner: Tour Stop & Guet Post : Ancients of Light by Heath...: About the Ancients of Light series Chosen is the first in the thirteen books of the Ancients of Light series and is only the be...

Hot Halloween Heroes Giveaway Hop

The Hot Halloween Heroes Giveaway Hop is hosted by the fabulous Felicity Heaton and Indie Romance Books and will run from October 29th to November 3rd, 2013.  The Giveaway Hop celebrates the paranormal heroes - incubi, vampires, werewolves, angels, gods, sexy shifters...and all the other hot paranormal creatures you can imagine.

I simply refer to all the above as Yumtastic! It is getting close to Halloween...and who would not want to find themselves under the spell of one hot Witch or mesmerized by a delicious Vampire. In the Realm, either is possible.  

What makes supernatural heroes so much more appealing than the average male? In this Witch’s opinion, EVERYTHING, but if we have to name a few...

Immortality – who doesn’t want to live happily ever after…FOREVER…with a hot male that is never going to get old and paunchy.  No ear hair, no balding…think about it. 

Powerful  - better, stronger, faster  and there is nothing bionic about these men. Can you say stamina with a capital ‘S’, and what female doesn’t want a total badass to protect her (even if she is perfectly capable of protecting herself).

Intense, honorable, intelligent, loyal…and these guys love you with a fierceness that will steal your breath.

No further explanation needed, right?

Our giveaway here in the Realm includes a set of the first three books in the Ancients of Light series (Chosen, Forsaken & Broken) and a $10 giftcard for Amazon.com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to Felicity & Indie Romance Books for putting us all together with our favorite Halloween Hotties. 

Felicity Heaton

Indie Romance Books

Please scroll on down to the bottom of the post for links to all participating blogs.

Happy Haunting!! 

XOXO

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Witchspeak from the Realm, 1 Year Later (almost)

I began the Fangs & Broomsticks blog in February 2013 and honestly, it seems like forever ago.  I am thrilled to be doing another Q&A on the Realm as follow-up to the original Witchspeak 101 that kicked off the blog almost eight months ago.

I am going to jump into the questions because they are good ones (as a disclaimer – the main content of the questions is the same as submitted, I adjusted and/or truncated some of the text for clarification for the blog in some questions). 

From Rachel - 

Can you explain why and how Turloch became a Dark? Since he isn't an Ancient to my knowledge, who are his parents? Are you born darkness or does the environment you are raised in determine if you become a Dark? Where did your inspiration come from for him?

I can always count on Rachel to make me think.  The questions above were raised when I posted on the Ancients Facebook page a rather hot picture that made me think of Turloch along with the indication that in Alia's story, I would be going back to the beginning, and it would include the time before Turloch became Dark.

In Forsaken, I actually do make reference to the fact that Turloch is an Ancient and that he lived in the time of the Ancient Queens.  He is one of the original created Witch, so he has no parents. 

One of the premises behind the series is that the Ancients- both Witch and Vampire – were created with the same flaw (or not, depending on your perspective) as humans – free will.  While the Witch were created in the Light and the Vampire were conceived in the Darkness of Hell and their purposes were instilled in them at the time of creation, neither breed was restricted from choosing a different path.

In Chosen, Kaitriana makes reference to the fact that Turloch hated Brisen and all of the Queens. That idea is more fully explained in Mistaken and I do not want to dive into it too deeply, but the reasons for those feelings are revealed (whether justified or not.) I will say that there may be a couple of happenings in his life that push him into full Darkness – those \will be explored more in the 4^th book.

As far as inspiration for Turloch – I cannot think of one character in fiction or a single person in real-life that came into play when I created him in my head.  I needed a smart protagonist, an evil Witch that would be fierce enough to hold his own in a Realm of Dark Vampire and with Rhydach. Turloch came to life as that, and he has continued to evolve and develop in complexity (in my head) as he comes into more prominence in the series.  He is dynamic, and somewhat fascinating, and while I do not expect many will be wishing for him to have a change of heart by the end, he might have a few readers longing for him to reconsider his Dark ways.  He is intelligent and charming, but his soul is black and ultimately, his fate is already set…and it will be a great storyline for him by the time all is done. 

From Angel - 

Ok so I know Kat is the Queen of Queens and Ella is the Fire Queen but what is Kylie the Queen of?  Also since there are only 7 different Castes will the other Queens be Vampire? I mean there are supposed to be 13, correct? I’m sure that Kat is included in the 13 so that would leave 5 Queens that would not be Witch. Can you talk about these without giving anything away?

You are correct, there are 13 books already plotted for this series.  There are also a few novellas, so at first glance, the numbers do not add up if every book features a Queen.  There are only 7 Castes. The ‘Queen’ designation began in Ancient times as a title for the most powerful Witch in each Caste (which just happened to be a female – because women are awesome). Kat is the Queen of Queens, but again, that means the rise of 8 Queens total – so 8 books, series over. 

But…

Each book will not feature a newly risen Queen in a Caste.  Kylie was the first example of this – she is not a Queen, but she is very important to the Light’s purpose. In Broken, Kylie is given a very special designation of her own.  This will be a concept that you will see develop and grow over the remainder of the series…watch for it, it is key.

From Candy – 

We have the Queen of Queens aka The Chosen, a Fire Queen, and the Nature Queen. What are the other Castes the Queens come from?

There are seven Castes of magic in the Witch breed – Fire, Nature, Light, Seer, Spell Casters, Healers & Warrior. There is more information about the Castes on the Ancients website on the info page:  http://www.ancientsoflight.com/info.html; the powers are described a bit more there, as well as a bit more information about the Realm in general.

From Theresa –  

If the Realm is in Europe and modern Europe is heavily populated, what prevents humans from wandering through it? AFAIK, there are no vast tracts of unknown Europe.

In Broken, Kat explains to Kylie that …“Laverock and certain other structures in the Realm are so well protected by magic they could never be discovered by humans, but there are places where we co-mingle with the mortals and they are never the wiser. Other holdings are in plain sight, but are so magically enchanted that the ongoings of the Realm remain hidden. We clean up as best we can when the cloak of magic is breached, but no doubt much of the lore surrounding Witch and Vampire in human culture has been derived from encounters where we did not fix things quite as well as we believed.”

Based on my research, there are still vast areas in mainland Europe that are unpopulated, or sparsely populated. The areas are not necessarily undiscovered they are simply so well protected that access to them is restricted completely – humans would not be able to wander into them, (such as Laverock) -  or they are in plain sight, but supernatural happenings are cloaked by magical means.  Any human looking upon them would see nothing beyond the appearance of normalcy, whatever the Witch choose to project. 

It is part of the duty of the Witch to protect the humans from both the knowledge of the supernatural world and the Darks.

From Sharon - 

Over the years who would be the one person who had the greatest positive influence in Lorcan’s life? Was it a mortal? A great leader perhaps? Not necessarily family or close friends - excluding Kat. 

We all know that Lorcan had a strained relationship with his father. You will learn more about the dynamic between Brisen and her sons in Mistaken, but she was not the greatest positive influence in Lorcan’s life either.  Lorcan would tell you that Sayer remains the greatest positive influence in his life.  Lorcan is an incredible warlord with a Warrior’s mindset while his brother has always been more thoughtful, more deliberate, and less volatile. He is a great counter to Lorcan’s temper and unyielding persona. Before Kat, Sayer was the greatest voice of reason and is by far the most intellectual of the Elite.  Sayer is not only his brother, but his most trusted advisor, along with Colm.  Those are the two he most often seeks for counsel. 

Second to Sayer would be Maeve. I cannot tell you too much of the dynamic that exists between them without giving away more of Maeve’s story, but sufficed to say, she was the first female to show him that a female is fully capable of being a Warrior and having a generous spirit and giving heart.  He had a special fondness for Maeve when he was a child, and despite the overbearing, domineering lout he became over the centuries before Kat’s appearance in his life, he has always held admiration and love for Maeve.

From Sharon –   

I have another question. Kat lost her parents at a young age, and we know her father was a force to be reckoned with, and we know her mother was Brisen's BFF, but we really don't know much about them. So, with that intro.....what would be Kat's favorite memory of her parents?

Kat spent much of her youth and young adulthood training on Warrior skills with her father.  Her favorite memories of Elfred would be around those times. 

Since Vevila was a Healer, she was not often called to battle; she had a lot of time at home with Kaitriana when she was a child, while Elfred, Myrrdyn and the others were at war. Kaitriana learned her heritage, the lifestyle and culture of the Witch breed, and received basic instruction on healing and magic from her mother. Vevila, with her gentle spirit and kind heart was also a balance against the haughty arrogance that Kat was exposed to regularly with her powerful grandpapa. Her favorite memory of Vevila revolved around those times and would almost certainly have something to do with wrangling spiders. 

Kaitriana was close to her parents and had much affection for them, despite that they were not typical Witch and preferred to not associate with the faction regularly. She gained much of her free spirit and independence from them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you to everyone that posted questions on the Realm, and please continue to post your questions about the series and the books either here or on the Facebook page.  I love to talk about the characters and their stories.  Thank you also for your ongoing support of the series – I am having so much fun and am so happy to have found so many of you that are having fun in the Realm as well.

XOXO

~Heather

Me, Myself & the Realm...Defending Lorcan, Part II...More Thoughts on the Series

In March of this year I posted a blog about 'Defending Lorcan.' It explained a lot about Lorcan, what drives him, Kat, and the series specifically.

I believe there is little room in the middle of the continuum - the majority of readers love him or hate him.

The series has become much more popular in recent months (thanks to all of you that are fans!) and with that I have seen a rise in Lorcan-hate. I thought it might be a good idea to put a bit more information out in general about the series for those that have not discussed the-good-and-bad-of-Lorcan with me over on my Facebook page.

My favorite romance genre has always been historical - give me a hot Scottish Laird or a surly English Lord that meets his match in a sweet, sassy, smart female and I am over the moon.  Given that the 16th, 17th & 18th centuries were my favorite time periods (if you have read much historical romance around those eras), you probably have a good idea where I get the flavor for overbearing (at times to the point of appallingly dominant and chauvinistic) males.

While we women may have always been equals - it took some boys a bit to catch on to that - we were not always treated as equals, no matter how smart, adept, or utterly amazing we might be.  In the fiction that I love, the heroes ALWAYS end up being smarter than the general society of their time; no matter how powerful, strong, surly, egotistical, unyielding, etc. they might be in the beginning, they cannot help but come around from those ingrained misogynistic behaviors because the most incredible women happen to love them.

Can you see where I am going here?

Lorcan is over 2500 years old when Chosen begins.  He was born and raised in hulking-male-not-considerate-of-women era, and then lived through centuries of the same.

You will note, in Chosen, I mention that Vampire tend to get caught up in eras that had significant meaning to them. Lorcan's significant era was when Kaitriana died - 500 years ago. When Kaitriana comes back, he has been conducting his life with a mindset of a circa-1500 AD European male for @5 centuries. Men of that era were certainly not known for their enlightenment on the topic of women. On top of that, he is a hardened warlord...and an arrogant Vampire. As such, while Lorcan does not treat Kaitriana like property or beat her, he is not going to respond to her and her antics like we would expect a man to today.  

In that first 'Defending Lorcan' post, I mentioned that he and Kaitriana both needed time to grow into the roles that were destined to be theirs - he as mate to the prophesied Chosen and she as a mature ruler of the Realm.

For that reason, their story continues through the series.

I never expected Lorcan would resolve all his man-issues in the matter of months in which Chosen takes place, nor fully resolve them by the time Forsaken ends.  He is beginning to come around quite nicely by the time Broken concludes - but he still has his moments.

I also mentioned in that 'Defending' post, and again above, that Kaitriana also needed time to grow into her role.  I can hardly fathom that it would be great fiction for a mid-twentyish female that has been asleep for 500 years to wake up and in the matter of a few months be completely able to competently manage the entire workings of the Realm that has been at war for thousands of years.

Forget believability, where is the fun in that?  Kat needs to grow into the role and just because she has not done it by the end of Chosen does not mean that there is not more to come, or that the role that she purportedly was to play in the series was misconstrued.  I know where the series is headed - all 13 books are already plotted, so trust me - before the end, this series features a group of smart, strong, supernatural women...and the men they allow to tag along for the ride.

On my social media sites and all book pages, in order to try to clarify this at least a little, I have today added the following additional series information:

About the Ancients of Light series

Chosen is the first in the thirteen books of the Ancients of Light series and is only the beginning of a young Witch’s journey toward developing both the strength of character and magic that will be required to fulfill her prophesied role as leader of the Light faction.

Revelations of nuances in the Prophecy - facets that were never fully comprehended by the Ancients - will continue in successive stories. The culmination of its true meaning in the destiny of the supernatural world of the Realm will only be revealed when Kaitriana is adequately prepared to lead the Warriors now being called together to champion the Light’s purpose.

Familiar characters return for each storyline as the focus turns to a new key couple in every book - a pair that significantly factors into the purpose of Light – however, the story of the Chosen does not end with Book #1.  Kaitriana and Lorcan, their growth together as partners in leadership and in love as a couple, will thread through the series as Kaitriana assumes the role that was destined as hers since the beginning.

I hope that helps clarify a bit more where I intend to take the story of Kat and the series.  I noticed after the release of Forsaken that there was some initial disappointment from some fans that the entire 13 book series would not focus on Kat and Lorcan.  I always believe that more information is better and I have been remiss in releasing additional information about the direction of the series.  I felt, after seeing some of the feedback, that it was time I correct that situation.  

I am sure as I publish more books in the series, I will tweak information, and I will make a concerted effort moving forward to put more information about sooner than later, because I want to eliminate any confusion for readers. I definitely do not want people to buy my books if they are not what they are looking for in a new read.  There are just simply too many great new authors out there to spend time reading something that is exactly the opposite of what you enjoy.  

I am putting this out here only because I want people to understand the series, the dynamics and that there is much more to the Kat/Lorcan story than has yet been written.  I have 10 more books in the series...Kat cannot possibly refrain from inserting herself smack into the middle of each and every one.  

XOXO

Heather

Broken, Ancients of Light #3

Wow! What a journey Broken was!

This was a different experience from Chosen and Forsaken, as both of those were written during the time I was downsized and off work in 2012 over the course of 6 months. The editing on Forsaken was completed after I started working again, but the manuscript was finalized in very early 2012. With Broken I worked full-time while writing and editing the entire book.  For some reason I had this crazy idea that I needed to release three books my first year as an author and completed Broken from first word to publication in 6 months. My husband and children should rightfully disown me. 

At times I set unreasonable goals...oops.  Holy Cow - Insanity! Broken would NOT have been completed so quickly if not for my amazing Beta-readers (Bec, Debbie, Lorna, Laura). My amazing husband (D.A.), took one for all the Realmsters and spent the last three weekends before publication entering edits from my horrible-chicken-scratch-written-notes on the print version of the manuscript. He even breezed through the mushy scenes and the sex   (For some reason I feel the need to whisper that around him when it pertains to my books and I was mortified that he was editing those scenes - I am a total dork, yes.).

Broken is @129,000 words, while Chosen is @111,000 words, which translates into about @72 pages more in length (by the standard 250 page per word old-publishing guidelines). That was not planned either, When I began Broken I was hoping I could get it to @100,000 words. I never expected any book in the series would surpass Chosen in length.

The Beginning of the Beginning…

Kaitriana says this phrase in Broken, and that is truly how I feel about this particular addition to the Ancients of Light series. As Broken developed, there were so many key characters and events that were threaded through the telling of Kylie and Sayer’s story that the book developed into the platform for what I now call the “deep drive into the nitty-gritty of the Prophecy.”

I hope you enjoy reading Broken as much as I loved writing Kylie and Sayer’s story. Thank you all for sticking with me on this adventure.

- XOXOXO –

Heather

 

 

Fabulous Authors, Fabulously Priced…just for You!

I found this amazing group of Indie authors – Indie Romance Ink - through my good author friend, Genevieve Jourdin.  Their sole purpose – to support other Indies and help one another collectively.  In a highly competitive, flooded market, we have NYT Bestsellers, USA Today Bestsellers and award winning authors taking time to teach those of us that aspire to earn those same accolades. 

Good people doing good things to help mentor others along in their industry.  Shouldn’t there bit a little more of that in the world? 

So we are having a sale – together – to introduce our fans to other Indie authors and share the love. I have invited my friends from Indie Romance Ink to post comments below with blurbs about their books that are featured in the sale, so please browse through the comments and feel free to leave some as well if you would like.  You know I love to hear from you!

 

Go to Book Lovers' Buffet. There are category pages for various genres.  There is also a link to enter the contest (it is easy, just click click click) to win some EPIC gift card prizes – all brought to you by the fabulous authors at Indie Romance Ink – you love them already, right?

Besides the fact that this is a great opportunity to stock your eReader full of awesome books at amazing prices, I am personally asking you to take some of your time to support them – because they are good authors and good people.  It’s a  Win – Win!  Please support these Indies. 

The sale runs through tomorrow (May 3^rd). 

Thanks Peeps, for your ongoing support.  XO

Broken - Chapter 1 Preview

I am having such a wonderful time writing Sayer and Kylie's story that I wanted to share a bit with you. 

CHAPTER 1

He’d long grown bored watching the humans scurrying below – they were hapless little creatures.  Perched next to a gargoyle he named ‘Fred’ two hours past, Sayer tapped his fingers against the creature’s claws. He was impatient to be back in the Realm.  Hunger gnawed at him and the longer he stared at the dark-haired morsel through the sixth floor window, the more his fangs throbbed.  With a hand rubbing his brow, he wondered – not for the first time since the night began - how much longer those Dark minions could talk.  His surveillance had confirmed that whatever Rhydach was involved in here in New York, that hot little piece running the meeting was knees-deep in it. 

Rhydach had been reaching into the Outer Realm for a couple of centuries now, but the boom in technology the last few decades made it easier for him to insert himself into the midst of those that he would like to destroy most. The Dark leader was becoming bolder, not taking as many precautions to hide his involvement in the affairs of the humans. His investments were meant towards the same end as everything else he did – to bring pain, suffering and an ultimate end to mankind.

Grunting his relief, he jumped to his feet seconds later when the four in the building across the street did the same.  It took a few more minutes of shuffling and handshaking before the group headed towards the conference room door.  Sayer could not hear them – even his Vampiric senses could not penetrate the heavy glass – but he was able to track their progress through adjacent windows as they made their way towards the lobby of the office space.  Leaning over the edge from his perch to check out the scene on the walk below, a blink later Sayer shadowed down and took roost in a darkened corner of one of the buildings at ground level. 

The female accompanied the men out to a waiting town car, providing him the opportunity he needed once the Darks took their leave. Sayer eyed her while she offered a polite and reserved smile of farewell.  It was easier for him to see her more clearly in the dark of night, without the glare of fluorescent lights and distortion from the panes of glass. Standing attentively, she watched the car glide off into the late night traffic. After it disappeared around the corner, she lifted both hands and rubbed wearily at her eyes before combing the long strands of dark hair back from her face. Even with the street distance separating them, Sayer could make out the fatigue touching the corner of those magnificent blue eyes.  He caught her sigh when she turned and headed towards the doors of the building.

That sound was his cue.  Lorcan had sent him to find out what the Darks had going on in the Big Apple. Certain Light contacts had alerted Lorcan to the presence of too many Darks in the city - Darks from the Realm, connected directly to Rhydach.  Sayer had been selected to investigate, because of all the Elite, he was the most connected with the human world.  Having taken an interest in their business practices centuries ago, he was well versed in their culture and had substantial investments of his own. 

His knack for the machinations of American business practices had made Lorcan and his fellow Elite quite wealthy by human standards and Sayer prided himself on his intellect as much as he did his skill with weaponry. His corporate interests would come in useful on this assignment because as a business savvy executive he knew his target would not forgo the opportunity to spend time with him.

Sayer had earlier scoped out the lobby and identified the name of the business where the meeting with the Darks was taking place. Later, from his location across the street, he had also ascertained via the nameplate on her office door that the petite woman was none other than the ‘KJ’ in KJ Market Insights. Kylie Jadewell. Sayer guessed her to be in her early thirties. Her black hair was thick, full, and littered with hot pink steaks - not enough to be outrageous, just interesting. The look was in direct contrast to her conservative business attire. Even though the length of her skirt was appropriately to her knee, he had a hard time pulling his eyes away from her spiked heels and the length of leg that was within view. 

She was tiny in stature, even by human standards, but appeared muscular and fit. This one was not emaciated and overly thin like too many of the New York females he watched scurrying from the office buildings earlier in the night. The fact that she looked like a tiny warrior would have pushed all his buttons, even if her face hadn’t been gorgeous enough to rival the supernatural beauty of some of the Witch in the Realm. The whole package had him regretting her apparent association with the Darks and the fact that, as a human, she was off limits.

He shadowed again, close enough to her retreating form that his footsteps could not go unheard.  Walking at an unhurried pace, he closed the gap between himself and the building she was preparing to re-enter.  His footfalls echoed, causing her to react as anticipated, with a quick glance over her shoulder.  It took all of five seconds for her to give him a frank study from across the thirty feet of cement walk that separated them. Those cornflower blue eyes finished their appraisal and collided with the warm gray of his. He smiled and waited until her hand locked solid on the door handle to the entrance before purposefully breaking his gaze away to glance at the watch on his wrist. 

Kylie was relieved when the stranger looked away; she would have probably walked smack into the door if he had not.  The last thing she’d expected to encounter was an Adonis when she turned to see who was following her and she was certain her cheeks were flushed in reaction to him.  Holy cow! The man was several inches over six feet and handsome with his disheveled chestnut hair and smoky eyes. Dressed in a black suit, charcoal shirt and coordinating tie, his broad-shouldered, muscular build was obvious despite the business attire.  She drew in a deep breath. There had been something animalistic in that charming smile of his that raised her instantly to the level of hot and bothered. Kylie did not dare to look back again before entering the building.

Calling out a greeting to the night attendant at the desk, Kylie was halfway to the bank of elevators when the sound of the door wooshing open echoed in the lobby. There were a lot of notes she needed to finish regarding that night’s meeting and one look from that giant outside had addled her. She surmised that actual words from him might make her forget everything she needed to remember about the last three hours. For that reason she was tempted to quicken her pace to the elevator. On the other hand, if he had just entered her building, Kylie doubted she would be able to think of much else until she figured out why he was there. She shot a hurried look back over her shoulder.  

Mistake – this time she found his eyes assessing her with the same level of interest she had him outside. Kylie swallowed hard and had a mini-debate in her head. She never put her personal life ahead of her business, but she found herself pausing anyway. Kylie knew most of the occupants in this building; hers was not a downtown Manhattan towering scraper.  This man did not work here - there was no way she would have missed him. Even if she had, her secretary would have long ago tracked him down, found out the pertinent details and arranged a business meeting over cocktails. It was the only way Lydia could get Kylie to do anything remotely resembling a date - the older woman mothered her.  Deciding to make Lydia proud, she took the initiative for once and pivoted on her heel, a smile fixed firmly on her face. 

When her eyes met his, Sayer thought the girl looked like she was about to swallow her tongue. The little human was cute in her bravado. All the more so because the rampant blush on her cheeks belied the level of ease she was trying to project.  He took two more strides in her direction before she found her voice, “Is there something I can help you with? They will be locking up the building shortly and…”

Time for the ruse. Sayer interjected, “I will only be a few minutes.  I am scouting my meeting location for tomorrow.” 

When he grinned at her, Kylie experienced a rush of heat, wondering if he was scoping out more than just an office location. Grasping hold of her last ounce of professionalism before that deserted her - as the rest of her brain seemed to have done – she extended a hand with her introduction, “Kylie Jadewell. I work in the building.  Do you need assistance finding the office?” Because he looked so damned confident and pleased with himself, she could not resist throwing in, “Fred over there can direct you.” Her nod indicated the night security man stationed at the desk.

He noted the twinkle in her eyes – spunky lass. Sayer could not stop his smirk, thinking this ‘Fred’ looked a lot like the one he’d spent his past three hours chatting up on the rooftop across the street.  He also paid heed to the fact that Miss Jadewell had not introduced herself as the owner of one of the businesses in the building. Humility was a good trait.  He was not going to resist tormenting her though. When his eyes locked on hers, the message was clear.  He knew her game in offering up the burly security guard as his escort and he wasn’t letting her get away that easily.

Her cheeks grew pinker under his perusal; the art of flirtation was beyond her. Kylie gave a little tug to get her hand back, willing to admit defeat rather than continue on in a game she was so obviously going to lose. The non-verbal exchange with him was enough to prove to her that this one was leagues out of her comfort zone.    

Sayer did not relinquish her hand, but instead clasped it more tightly in response to her attempted withdrawal. He then stepped into her personal space. There was a telling hitch in her breathing, so he rubbed a thumb over the back of her hand and gave her his name, “I’m Sayer, and I know exactly where I need to be, Miss Jadewell.”

It was the way he said it, not his words, that flustered her.  How anyone could make that answer into a naughty innuendo was beyond her, but he accomplished it grandly. His eyes were heated and intent on devouring her, having the affect of pushing her further off balance.

The cocky grin of his that surfaced rubbed her just enough to cause her to renew her efforts to pull free. Kylie found a bit of self-respect and nodded – in farewell. It was her turn to be pleased when his eyes widened with disbelief. Stepping away, she pivoted towards the bank of elevators and did not bother to look when she called back, “Then I bid you good evening, Mr. Sayer.”

She thanked the Lord then for perfect timing as the doors quietly opened at her approach.  Kylie was already chewing at her lower lip, pulling at the tendrils of memory that were telling her she knew that name. Her distraction was the reason that the sound of his voice at her back startled her. Lost in thought, Kylie had not heard him move with her and the unexpected closeness of his voice caused her to jump.  She lost her footing in her extreme heels and would have pitched headlong into the back wall of the elevator if not for his quick, steadying grasp. 

Rather than comment on her lack of grace, he continued with the conversation as if she had not just brushed him off, “It’s just Sayer, no Mister.” 

Extracting herself from his hold, her face was fiery once more.  It was over her clumsiness rather than any heat for him this time.  When they both reached to press the button for the sixth floor, Kylie reacted strongly, retracting her hand as though his fingers had sprouted teeth.  Her marketing firm shared the floor with only one other occupant - a criminal law firm. Her opinion of the sex god changed in that instant.  She took two definite steps away from him, while the folding of her arms over her chest was a clear signal that she was distancing herself from him purposely. She tossed out, cool, “Westlake and Jones has a solid reputation.”

Sayer looked at her like she was full-on daft when he shifted his stance to face her.  The frown on his brow confirmed his confusion before his inquiry did, “Pardon?”

Her eyes swept him again, giving her damning evidence to confirm her suspicions. The perfectly tailored, inordinately expensive suit and all the coordinating over-the-top accessories spoke volumes…as in white collar bad boy in need of low-profile, highly successful law firm. Now she was downright disdainful, “The law firm - the only business on that floor besides mine- you are in capable hands.”

Sayer could tell in that instant that Kylie had squashed every single bit of attraction she’d held for him thirty seconds prior. He wasn’t having it. Scowling at her, he did not bother to hide his displeasure. It rankled to have the beauty so readily dismiss him - probably because she was the one associating with less than favorable associates, not him.  The decision was made to remind her of exactly how much she was attracted. He might be of the Light, but he was Vampire and that meant he was no saint.

When he moved forward, she had to tilt her head back to keep her eyes on his.  Stepping right in front of her, he did not stop, but kept moving until her retreating steps caused her back to come up against the wall. Kylie wasn’t afraid of him; she was more irked that her body was a thousand times more responsive in this close space than it had been in the lobby.

Her eyes narrowed on his, silently objecting to his encroachment. The shadowy lighting in the elevator caused his to look as though they were pits of black.  Lust warred with indignation, and Kylie failed to control the breathiness in her voice when she hissed out, “You are in my space!” When he merely quirked a brow, as if to say ‘So what?’ he looked so damned sexy she couldn’t stop the words from pouring out, “I am trying to decide if it would be more effective to punch or bite you.”

The flat of his palm found the cool wall next to her head and he leaned way down so that he could get close. His face was mere inches from hers when his other hand tweaked a hot pink strand of hair. The appreciation in his voice was nearly overtaken by the heat, “You are a little warrior, aren’t you?”

Kylie swallowed hard. If she raised up just an inch, she had no doubt he would meet her lips. She had to remind herself that she was principled, she had standards – her values were of a different variety than the uber-wealthy business executives that needed the services of the law firm on her floor. That meant that this one was off-limits.  “I have sharp teeth,” she raked her lower lip with them to give credence to her threat.

She thought he might have growled right before he obliterated her line in the sand by dropping closer still; his lips hovered right above hers. The breath from his mouth touched her lips when Sayer answered in a gravelly whisper, “I like to bite too, Kylie. I bet I could lose myself in the taste of you...” He didn’t let her widening eyes give him pause, but shifted around to whisper to her ear, letting his lips brush as he did, “If I ever bit you, Kylie, your body would do amazing things for me.” When he drew back, the certainty of that wicked promise in his gaze made her knees weak. Her eyes slipped shut to block him out, but there was the barest hint of a needy sound in the back of her throat while she warred with herself for control.

Releasing a slow breath, Sayer didn’t withdraw further. Much to his shock, the human was actually rousing him. He had the most vivid image running through his mind of exactly what he could be doing to her when he bit her the first time. The beauty in front of him with the hot blush and pulse beating crazily at her throat had him dying for a taste. 

Her tongue darted over her lips but she still had not opened her eyes. Sayer decided it was time to pay her back for dismissing him. He took another step so that the front of her arms, still crossed over her chest, now brushed against his abdomen…she was certainly tiny. Twirling the silken strand of pink around his fingers, he questioned without really questioning, “Ms. Jadewell, you are the KJ in KJ Marketing, yes?”

Her eyes shot wide open. Kylie had expected the next words from him to entail a proposition of some time spent naked and hot…together. She swallowed hard and gave him the slight nod of her head.  His question befuddled her; it was obvious by the crinkle on the bridge of her nose. It was also obvious that she did not have all her wits about her and couldn’t quite grasp why his question seemed odd. Her confusion turned to acute embarrassment with his next words.

Sayer threw in a bit of extra arrogance, just for effect, “Sayer, Ms. Jadewell, as in Sayer International.” He didn’t give her an inch more of room, not ready to break the physical connection between them. Waiting three seconds for those words to hit her consciousness, he continued, “My secretary scheduled a meeting this afternoon with the President of KJ for tomorrow evening.  My schedule will not permit me to make it until seven o’clock, but I was assured that would not be a problem.”

Sayer did not react when the ding of the elevator indicated they had reached their destination.  Kylie did not either, because she was mortified.  She had been in that three hour meeting from hell when her assistant left and had not had the opportunity to check her email. Damn him, she knew that name sounded familiar. She did not appreciate the humor she could see lingering in his gaze. The elevator began the slow trek back to the ground level when she finally found her voice, “You are the Sayer, in Sayer International?”

Her body was still responding to the nearness of his– he had yet to step back - despite the shock of learning the identity of the not-white-collar-criminal before her.  That thought had her cringing; she had pretty much accused him of being a degenerate. It was definitely not as humiliating as threatening to bite one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the past decade.  She had to dig her nails into her palms to keep from groaning her embarrassment.  Kylie could not imagine what a business man of his caliber could possibly want with her firm, and after this encounter, she was not certain that he still would.  She hedged, “I have been in meetings all afternoon, Mr. Sayer…I was unaware…” 

He was still so close that Kylie could see black flecks in the silver surrounding his pupils when he interrupted, “Sayer…just Sayer. I will be in meetings all day tomorrow, so have dinner brought in for ours.  Your assistant can coordinate with mine to handle the arrangements.” She was numbly nodding to acknowledge the instructions when the elevator signaled their return to the ground floor. 

Sayer hesitated, long enough to run the tip of his index finger down the full length of one of her pink streaks. He fingered the end of the strand a second longer before pulling his hand away. Winking, he stepped back, “I like the pink, Ms. Jadewell.  Makes you look like a fierce little fairy.”

He was gone before Kylie could move or even begin to come up with a suitable retort.  Fairy…bah.  At the moment, she was nothing more than a puddle of liquid heat.

Me, myself and the Realm…Ancients Revealed

Welcome back to my third (and final) installment of this Realm rambling series.

I am going to try very hard not to break any author rules.  Keep your fingers crossed for me please… J

Today I will explain the premise behind the ‘Ancients.’ If it prompts more questions for you – please jump onto the Ancients Facebook page to leave them for me or leave them in the comments below and I will do a follow-up session.  I know the Ancients so well that sometimes I fail to include pertinent facts that you would only know if you happen to take up residence in my brain. 

The term ‘Ancients,’ both Witch and Vampire, refers only to those immortals that were created supernaturally, not to any of their offspring that were birthed later by mated pairings. Few have survived the millennia of war and only a handful of true Ancients still occupy the Realm. Until recent history the Vampire and Witch have been primarily contained within the remote country sides of the area that the humans call Europe.  In the last few centuries though, Ancients and others have left the Realm for the OuterWorld …I am heading somewhere with that, which you will probably figure out after Book #8 (Grace and Alexandros...I have been talking about them some on the Ancients FB page lately). 

In the Beginning…there were Vampire. 

This tagline for the Chosen intro pretty much sums it up.  I was going to originally go with…“And on the 8^th Day God created the Witch.”  I scrapped that because when I meet my Maker, I probably would have to answer for it.

There is no chicken or the egg debate here though.  Vampire came first, after man’s fall from grace. As far as when that was exactly, there may have been any number of centuries where the human population grew larger in number and flourished as a species.  In my estimation (and in the timeline I constructed around the series) this makes the Ancients in the vicinity of 3600 years of age.

No longer God’s protected ones in the confines of Eden, mankind was now easy prey.  A nefarious force from the Underworld (yep, THAT guy) was bent on destroying man completely.  Obviously, there were limits to what exactly he and his demons could do on earth, so there needed to be something wicked and not bound by the rules of heavenly (and formerly heavenly) beings. Poof – here come the Vampire.

The Vampire breed was endowed with strength, speed, and immortality…and the need to chomp yummy little humans, of course.  These Ancients also possessed mental abilities that are not seen in their weaker offspring, such as telekinesis. As the Ancients aged, their abilities in all areas grew stronger. Sunlight was definitely a weakness, but the only other way to kill them (at least before the Witch arrived on scene) was beheading.   

Supernatural must be countered by supernatural.  Something of equal strength to oppose the Vampire was necessary.  The Witch were divinely created to counter the threat to mankind. The strongest of this breed are female and that is no accident.  In case you are wondering – yes, the Ancients of Light series is going to be riddled with a lot of FEMALE AWESOMENESS. 

The Witch are of seven castes of power. Those of Light, Fire and the Warrior castes were capable of bringing death to the Dark creatures from the onset.  The usefulness of the magic of the remaining Castes will be revealed in later books when those Queens rise. In the times of the Ancient Queens, the power of Caster, Healer, Nature and Seer Queens had not been fully realized before their demise, and therefore none in the Realm are really certain of the full extent of their abilities.  

There was one glitch in the creation of the supernatural beings, the very same factor that caused mankind’s fall from grace. Ancients were given free will, to choose good or evil, despite their origin. As a result, with the passage of time, members of each breed have found different callings.

That is a summary of who the Ancients are and why they were created. Book #4 in the series will reveal much of the history of the Ancients, including the identity of the person truly responsible for the betrayal at Laverock over 2000 years ago. 

Have a Happy Week, Peeps!

Me, Myself & the Realm...Defending Lorcan

Welcome back to my second installment of Realm discussion and author babbling.

You may have heard me mention in one forum or another that I am a writer by accident.  I never aspired to write - this was not some long-held dream of mine. I come from a line of very creative people – artists, sculptures, musicians – and always lacked either 1) the patience or 2) the talent to follow in family footsteps. My mother will fondly retell the story of me sobbing over my lack of artistic ability as a kindergartner because someone disliked the witch I had drawn on the Halloween wall mural and colored over it while I was out sick one day.  (Yes, a witch – even way back then).  One thing I did always have was an incredibly overactive imagination - I’ve been spinning elaborate tales in my head as long as I can remember.

The entire premise of the Realm had been taking shape in my brain for a long time.  When I run, that imagination kicks into overdrive, so every day on the treadmill, more stories, more plots, more detail, more conversations – all in my head. I decided to start writing them down in December 2011 because I liked them so much.  With more time and attention, this whole world of the Ancients and the Realm came to be. As fate would have it, I was downsized two months later and had the opportunity to devote six months to the development of the Realm and writing Chosen and Forsaken.

I am sharing this for two reasons –

First, I am not a writer/author by trade or design so while I am now trying to learn the world of publishing, etc., this was never a career plan. I still have my ‘real’ job because it pays the bills. I don’t follow the ‘author’ rules - I react too much to reviews and disclose too much about the series and interact too personally with my followers. However, for me, it is about these books that I love, and if you are a fan of the series, it is about you. If you take the time to come over to the Ancients Facebook page and interact with me, I positively adore you.  Seriously. This would not be fun if I did not get to enjoy my books through others’ experiences.  So if you love the books – thank you, I love them too.  If you come connect with me and want to chat, FABULOUS!! 

Second, these characters and storylines were never contrived with the thought of making them as appealing as possible to the masses in order to launch a writing career.  These are mini-movies in my brain that developed fully into a series of stories.  These characters have lived, grown, loved and gone through heartache and pain in vivid detail in my head.  When I wrote the scene in Chosen where Kaitriana nearly died, I cried. The pain that Lorcan was experiencing in that instant was overwhelming, and I lived it typing those words. When I went back and edited that scene, I cried again, because Kaitriana’s heartache and concern for him was agonizing. When I am in one of these books, the characters are that real to me - the scenes are that vivid.  As a consequence, I love these Vampire and Witch, each and every one of them. 

That being said, Lorcan has gotten a bad rap. He is strong, and honorable, fiercely loyal and capable of love to a depth that is mind-boggling. He is also horribly arrogant and overbearing. Being the best, unmatched, he is never questioned in his leadership or authority and answers to no one. It is outside his realm of experience to be countermanded, disrespected or disobeyed. He is Vampire and by instinct is naturally protective and dominant. Lorcan is a mighty warlord, and he is the very reason that the Light never fell when Kaitriana was getting her beauty sleep for five hundred years.

Lorcan was over twenty-five hundred years old when she finally woke up. That is a long time to become set in ones ways. He likes order and Kaitriana is a ball of chaos that came bouncing unexpectedly through his life – a defiant, impulsive, immature, humongous ball of chaos.

His struggle to accept her as his equal in strength, power and leadership in the Realm is true to life. Lorcan has more experience in everything – the Realm, the Light, war, and life. Had he just handed over reins and bowed down to her, I would have disliked him a thousand times more (wimp) than for him honestly struggling with being an overbearing jackass.  Perfection is boring, I would rather write flawed characters experiencing personal growth.

Chosen took place over a period less than a year (minus the big sleep) – Lorcan needs time. He will always be overprotective, and that may at times come out as gruff arrogance, but he loves Kaitriana beyond reason. There is a place for her in his life, and he wants her at his side, leading the Realm.  He sees her potential, he knows what Kat is capable of (probably more than she does), and he will get her there.  The lessons just won’t always be glitter and rainbows, and really, if they were, would they be believable?   

At the same time, give Kaitriana time to grow up and grow into her powers (there are 10 more books for her to become the kick-butt female we all want to see her be). Having the strength to rule does not necessarily mean one has the ability. Few of us at twenty-six are experts at managing our own lives; she needs time before she is adept at managing the affairs of the Realm.

Now that I have defended dear Lorcan and broken more ‘author’ rules, I am done for today.  Please come back next week when I wrap up the series and ramble on and on – ‘Me, Myself and The Realm – Ancients Revealed.’  Oh, and if you haven't come over to the Ancients of Light page on Facebook yet, please come join us.  :)

Have a Happy Week, Peeps!