J.K. Coi

GUEST AUTHOR: Shiela Stewart

Everyone please welcome Shiela Stewart to the blog. A fellow Linden Bay author and fellow Canadian, we have now entered phase two of our secret takeover of the romance world. (he he)

Thank you J.K. for having me on your blog today and allowing me to talk about my Darkness series.

What started out as a single book, Seducing the Darkness, has now spiraled out into a eight book series with the possibility of more. I never say I’m finished with a book when I write the final words because there is always the possibility of it coming back in some other form such as side-line characters demanding their own story. As is the case with the Darkness series.

Originally I had written the book so that the sun return at the end of Seducing, but when the idea for a second book came to mind, I decided to leave my characters in the dark…so to speak. So for the rest of the series with the exception of the last two, the sun is absent. Why is it absent, you may ask. Well let me explain.

A ritual was performed to bring back the basest of all bads, the king of vampires, Avadur. Without going into much detail and ruining book one I will tell you that sacrifices had to be made in order for Avadur to return and to have a cloak of darkness surrounding the city of Jacob’s Cove so the Vampires could rule.

Throughout the series, my heroes and heroines fight to protect the city from the vampires now attempting to take over the city and take out the last man standing who was involved in the ritual, Chaos.

The Darkness in my titles and the books have a few meanings. One is the most obvious. The sun has been blotted out and therefore the city is cast in darkness. The other is the epitome of what everyone thinks vampires stand for. Dark, dangerous blood thirsty night dwellers. The third is the darker side that is inside every human being, every creature. We all have dark thoughts sometimes, though we may not admit them or even act on them, they are there. The characters in my books deal with some of that as they fight to save their lives and their city.

The first two books have already been released, but instead of sharing them with you today, I thought I would share the latest release instead. Yes, maybe I’m a little cruel giving you a glimpse into the third book when you need to read the first two to truly understand the third book, but hey, life can be cruel sometimes.

I give you now, Embracing the Darkness, book three in the Darkness series:

Summary:

One upon a time Jonah Moore had it all. Then his wife and unborn child were taken from him, leaving his life darker than when Chaos and his evil vamps stole the sun. Now, Jonahs lost the will to face another day, which could be a problem, considering he’s just been turned into a vampire and is now destined to live for eternity.

As a nurse, Raven Moony was used to tending to the needs of others. Until an accident changes everything… When she is abducted and forced to tend to Chaos’ needs, she is more than ready to give in and willingly accepts her role as his slave.

Then Jonah enters the picture and she finds herself fighting for his safety and freedom as well as her own. Can she convince Jonah he should go on despite her own doubts? Can they open their hearts to love and learn that there is indeed life after death?

Shiela Stewart’s third novel in The Darkness series continues the heart stopping, action packed battle of light against dark. Enter a world where light shines from within and love always triumphs…even in the face of pure evil.

Excerpt:

There was blood, all around him, pools of it, teasing him, calling to him, and all he wanted was to drink it. Yet the closer he got to it, the further it was away. The scent of it, like strong copper, filled his nostrils and tantalized his taste buds.

He wanted it more than life itself.

Bolting awake, Jonah stared wide eyed into the room. Every part of him hurt.

“Jonah? Are you okay?”

He could smell her as if she were beside him. Her scent, her blood, called to him. “Stay away from me!” He felt his teeth ache and the urge to take grew tenfold.

“What’s the matter? Do you have another cramp?”

“No! Please, stay away from me.” Then she stepped up beside him and all he could think was take. He could hear her blood rushing through her veins, her heart as it pounded in her chest. With each whoosh, his body responded. “Please, just stay away from me.”

She clicked the light on over his bed and it was all he could take not to lunge at her and bite that supple vein at the side of her neck. “For God’s sake, Raven. Get lost!”

She stopped, tilted her head, then laid her hand on his head. “You need to feed.”

“Just leave me alone. Please. I beg of you.” If he could run away from her right now, he would.

“This won’t get any better unless you give your body what it wants. Here, drink.” She thrust her wrist out to him.

He slapped it away. “No!”

“What you’re feeling right now will only become more intense the longer you wait. Just take my vein and drink. I’ll be fine. I’ve done this before.”

He pushed her aside then rolled himself off the bed. He fell with a thud onto the cold tiled floor but the pain was nothing compared to what he felt inside. It was more intense than anything he’d ever felt before. It felt like fire ants were clawing through his veins, his mouth was so dry his lips stuck to his teeth and his head…all he heard in his head was the whooshing of her blood pumping through her veins.

It was going to drive him insane.

“Take it, Jonah,” she demanded, falling down beside him on the floor.

“I won’t drink from you.” He’d rather die.

“If you don’t drink now, Jonah, you’ll go insane and I refuse to let that happen.” She jumped up onto the bed and when she came back down, she had the knife in her hands. “Now, drink.” She slid it across her arm by her elbow then thrust it out at him.

“Stop it! What have you done?” But the blood, so red, so thick, so…juicy, called to him.

“I can stitch myself up after. Just drink.”

“Please don’t make me do this,” he pleaded.

“I have to.” She grabbed his head and thrust her arm to his mouth.

The instant the blood touched his lips he was compelled to take it in. He couldn’t help himself. She was delicious, so smooth, so gloriously sweet that he wanted to drink her up. And as he sucked on her arm, drawing in her blood, the ache began to subside.

“Good, that’s it, drink from me.”

Her voice was soft and soothing so similar to her blood. She was nectar and he was parched. Then he felt her go limp and when he looked up, he saw her beginning to sway.

Check out the entire Darkness series at: www.shielasbooks.ca or http://www.shielasbooks.ca/TheDarknessSeries.htm

Blogs: Dark Cravings
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