Day 14 Pre-Halloween Trick or Treat Contest!

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DAY 14 LETTER IS...

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Welcome author Brian McKinley on The Road to Hell

Please welcome Author Brian Patrick McKinley onto the Road to Hell. Brian is the author of ANCIENT BLOOD: A NOVEL OF THE HEGEMONY.

Now, it’s time to create a little hell and get to the good stuff by revealing all of Brian’s wicked secrets while on the Road to Hell. LOL  Yeah, you wish! ;-D 

Grab your favorite drink, sink your teeth into something decadent, sit back, relax and enjoy getting to know Brian…

~~~

GRACEN:  Tell me three things about yourself that we cannot find on the internet or in your bio?

BRIAN: I’m a role playing geek, I have acted in and directed community theater, and I compulsively watch HGTV and Food Network.

GRACEN: What hobbies and interests do you participate in when you’re not writing?

BRIAN: I have a regular Dungeons & Dragons game that I play on Fridays with friends. Other that that, sadly, most of my time is spent either working or doing writing-related things. Most of my hobbies work toward my writing in some way.

GRACEN: Do you have any writing quirks or certain things you MUST have or do before beginning the writing process?

BRIAN: I like to write to music in someplace that’s private, but that’s just my preferred method. I’ll sneak a few paragraphs while I’m at work if I can or anywhere else, so I don’t really have any rituals or special quirks. I do prefer privacy, though, because sometimes I’ll speak dialogue aloud while I’m working on a scene and act things out, so I get embarrassed if someone catches me doing it.

GRACEN: If you were plotting to take over the world, how would you do it?

BRIAN: My vampires already have. (laughs) But if I really wanted to take over the world, I’d support the Republican Party and get their help to use obscene amounts of money, blackmail, and influence to increase people’s dependence on corporations here and around the world. Eventually, when a few of the largest corporations have bought all the smaller ones, they merge, and you’ve got a tiny corporate board of directors essentially controlling everything. Everyone worries about the government becoming too powerful, but they forget that modern mega-corporations completely transcend world governments and some have more money than most governments!

GRACEN: If you could make one statement that the entire planet would hear and remember, what would it be?

BRIAN: Stop letting governments and corporations take more and more of our freedoms away from us. Fight back!

GRACEN:  What genre do you write and why that genre?

BRIAN: I’ve been told that what I write is Horror, but I’ve often had difficulty accepting that label because my goal isn’t to scare people. I like to make people think, but I suppose some of my ideas are frightening and the consequences they lead to are often horrible, so I guess it fits. I suppose I write the type of books that I like to read. I like stories that involve interesting characters confronting aspects of themselves. For me, writing is an intensive and difficult process, so I need to make it worthwhile. I want my stories to be entertaining, but I can’t write fluff. Others do that better than me, so I need to concentrate on giving voice to the characters in my head.

GRACEN: For those who are not yet familiar with Ancient Blood, can you please give us some details about the book and/or series?

BRIAN: Ancient Blood is intended to be the first book in a series featuring the Hegemony, which is what I call the council of vampires who secretly control the world. In the first book, we meet Avery Doyle who is a modern guy that is totally into the current trend of vampires. He reads vampire novels, watches shows like Buffy and Angel, loves vampire movies, and has researched the folklore. So, basically, he thinks he knows everything there is to know about vampires and, secretly, wishes that he could be one. He’s kind of a loser and vampires are the epitome of everything he thinks he’d like to be: mysterious, slightly tragic, seductive, beautiful, and powerful. As luck or irony would have it, he meets a real vampire named Caroline and falls hard for her. Eventually she makes him into a vampire, too, but they get captured by Caroline’s Creator Sebastian and taken back to his private island estate. This is where Avery discovers that being a vampire sucks. (laughs) Pun intended. The vampires of the Hegemony already have all the blood they need, so they worry about feeding as much as we worry about what we’re having for dinner. They’re rich, they have people to do the dirty work for them, so they spend their time building up and holding onto their political power because that’s what protects them from their fellow vampires. See, in my world, the biggest danger a vampire faces is their fellow vampire.

GRACEN:  Do you have any new stories in the works and can you tell us a bit about it/them?

BRIAN: I have three stories coming out in the Mystic Press anthology Misery Loves Company in December. Two are about a character named Faolan O’Connor, who is the protagonist of my next book, Drawing Dead, which I’m finishing up now. The other is a story called The Chermasu which features a new take on werewolves and is from a novel I intend to go back and finish soon. There will be a sequel to Chermasu called Monsters in another anthology from Mystic called In the Darkness … When the Light Fades.

GRACEN: If you could describe your writing with one word or brief phrase, what would it be? Please delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they’ve finished reading your story.

BRIAN:  I like the sound of “Paranormal Realism.”

GRACEN: What, in your opinion, makes your story unique and what makes it stand out from other stories in your genre? Think of this as a pitch to convince readers to pick up your books.

BRIAN: I’d like to think that a major aspect that separates my work from others in the same genre is the level of believability I strive to put in every story. I try to deal with the world as we know it, rather than create a fantastical setting that justifies my story. To me, a story with fantastical elements that is grounded in the reality that I see every day is more effective. I did scientific research to try to create a vampire that was as biologically plausible as I could; granted, a real scientist or doctor could probably poke holes in my concepts, but it was important to me that they hold up an intelligent reader. I don’t discount the possibility of the extraordinary, but it still has to be grounded in some kind of realism for me. I want readers to be able to believe that the events of my novel have actually happened.

GRACEN: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?

BRIAN: I wish I had a really cool story to share, but I don’t! I do most of my research through reading books or looking stuff up on the internet. I was going to say that I drank blood, but no, nothing bizarre. Sorry!

GRACEN: Of all your books, which character did you have the most fun creating and why?

BRIAN: Probably my current protagonist, Faolan O’Connor. I love that classic gangster period of the 20s and 30s, so the chance to create my own gangster was irresistible. He started off as a villain in another story, but he was so charismatic and funny and likeable that I couldn’t keep him contained to one story. I was also afraid that the reader would start to like him more than my heroes, so I created a series for him. There’s a little of my late father in his attitude, my grandfathers, and various other older people I’ve known and respected throughout my life.

GRACEN: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why?

BRIAN: It would probably have to be Avery from Ancient Blood. He’s a lot like me and we have a lot in common, so I know we could hang out and watch movies or talk and we’d have a great time!

GRACEN: Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?

BRIAN: (laughs) Probably any of the others! Most of my characters are manipulative assholes and sadistic, bloodthirsty psychopaths! They’d kill me or worse!

GRACEN:  If you were interviewing yourself, what is the one question you would ask yourself and please give us the answer to that question?

BRIAN: Wow, that’s probably the toughest question you’ve asked. There’s so many funny or silly questions I could use … I’m going to ask myself: What is my favorite novel? And my answer is: That’s a very tough choice, but I’m going to say Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. It’s a fantastic read and there’s not a wasted or uninteresting character in the entire novel. I found the main character fascinating and what can you say about a novel in which the author makes you cry for a man who murders whole families and wish he could have a happy ending? Not to mention that it’s Hannibal Lecter’s first ever appearance. It’s a brilliant work!

GRACEN:  Thanks so much for joining us, Brian!  It’s been a treat getting to know you better! 

BRIAN: Thank you. It’s been great!

Website:  http://brianpatrickmckinley.webs.com/

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Blood-Novel-The-Order/dp/1477535977

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/brian.mckinley.13

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ancient-Blood-A-Novel-of-The-Hegemony/393476997370425

BLURB: Avery Doyle loves vampires; when his first one-night-stand, Caroline, turns out to be a true vampire on the run, he jumps at the chance to leave his ordinary life and join her as a "child of the night." The honeymoon ends, however, when Caroline's brutal Creator Sebastian enslaves them on his island estate and Avery must confront the dehumanizing reality behind his dreams. 

In order to survive, Caroline and Avery take their place as servants in Sebastian's household during a gathering of the most powerful vampires on Earth, the Hegemony, and soon find themselves involved in the myriad schemes, plots, and revenges that form the night-to-night existence of The Order. Sebastian, however, has a plan that will change The Order forever and shatter human civilization. A fast-paced thriller that both re-imagines and pays tribute to the traditional vampire, Ancient Blood is a story of love, ambition, sacrifice, and betrayal that is frighteningly human. 

EXCERPT: (any heat level as this is an 18+ site)

Wilkes smiled and went to the cages, dragging a ten or eleven-year-old girl out and bringing her back. The girl squealed through her tape and squirmed in her bonds and I felt my heart sink as I noticed something else.

A sharp pang of hunger.

Wilkes snickered as he set the girl down in front of us. “Best watch yourself, boy, looks like this one’s a fighter!”

“Well, though one begins moderately, Major, one must still learn.” Sebastian smiled and Wilkes laughed like a good little flunky while he cut the bonds on the girl’s wrists and ankles. She scrambled away from him and into Caroline’s waiting arms.

I kept my eyes away from her as much as possible. When I used to see moments like this in vampire movies, they always seemed overdone and melodramatic, but this was the first time I understood what it meant to feel a deep, predatory hunger for another human being. The fact that she was a young, naked girl was the worst part; it made me feel like a child molester on top of everything else.

Sebastian closed the gate to the passage and then he, Wilkes, and the rest of the soldiers went back upstairs. Caroline made soft, reassuring sounds for the girl while she wept and I tried to look at other things or just closed my eyes and wished fervently that I couldn’t smell the girl so near, so clean and young and soft.

I could resist it, of course, and somehow that was the worst part. I think that if a Vampyr’s hunger for blood was the kind of irresistible supernatural compulsion you see so often in books and movies, it would be easier to live with. Something that’s honestly beyond your control doesn’t cause you as much shame as something that you know you can fight if you’re strong enough. Most modern Americans have never actually starved; we can be hungry at times, but food is usually easy to come by. So we eat, often to the point of excess. Like I did when I was human.

It’s a hard habit to break as a Vampyr.

I imagine that the hunger is similar to how addicts feel when confronted by their substance of choice. The more you try not to think about it, the more aware of it you are. You can have every good reason not to do it, but if you don’t have something physically keeping you from the object of your desire, then it all comes down to willpower. When was the last time you were so thirsty your throat burned and you didn’t take a drink from a glass of water sitting on the table in front of you?

“My insurance didn’t scare him,” Caroline said. “He’s planning something … something big.”

I just nodded. I didn’t trust myself to speak because I could feel my mouth watering and my canines pushing down again. As my injuries healed, my body cried out for fresh energy to feed it. Energy it knew was readily available.

“Avery, look at me.”

I didn’t want to; I knew it would make it worse to see the little girl lying there against Caroline’s chest, but after a deep breath, I turned and tried to stare into her eyes—only her eyes, because there was safety there.

Caroline looked worried, but with an underlying sadness that could only come from understanding. She nodded and said, “Give me your jacket.”

I slipped out of the denim jacket I’d been wearing and gave it to her, grateful for something else to think about. Caroline wrapped the little girl up in it and gently settled her sleeping form down onto the floor beside her. With the temptation removed from my view, it was a little easier to concentrate on what she was saying.

“Now do you understand that physical force and bold attempts aren’t going to be enough to get us out of here?”

As much as I still wanted to entertain fantasies of pumping Sebastian full of machine gun fire, I’d realized by that point that it wasn’t gonna happen. I nodded.

“Good,” she said. “Because I do have a few ideas about how we might, but they depend on both of us playing The Game, as they call it. We have to make Sebastian believe that we’re submitting to him. We have to be allowed to move around when the Gathering occurs. I can’t go into much detail now, but I need to know that I can count on you to follow my lead even if it’s difficult.”

I think I sensed, even then, that this wasn’t a small thing she was asking. So I didn’t just toss off the immediate “of course” that was my first reaction. Instead, I looked into her gorgeous green eyes for the love that I knew was there and, when I found it, I leaned forward and kissed her. “You can always count on me. I swear.”

Even concentrating on Caroline’s scent as we held each other, I still felt the smell of the girl’s skin tickling my nose and the throb of her tiny heart teasing its way into my ears. Caroline sensed this somehow and removed one of her earrings. Vampyrs should always carry multiple items that will allow them to draw blood if they don’t have their canines sharpened (as neither Caroline nor I do). You’d be surprised what you can use, if push comes to shove.

She gave me the earring and, as delicately as I could, I pierced one of the smaller arteries at the bottom of her neck. I handed the earring back to her and bent to drink. While I did, she punctured my neck in the same way and put her lips to the wound. This is probably the one major advantage a starving Vampyr has over a starving human, this mutual-cannibalism we can perform. I guess it’s a little like having sex while freezing just to generate bodily warmth, but among Vampyrs, this is considered the purest form of lovemaking. It didn’t have the climactic intensity of sex, but it was a warmer plateau, like riding that pre-orgasmic moment forever. Or, for those of a more gastronomic bent, imagine eating the best chocolate sundae you ever had and never reaching the bottom of the dish and never losing your appetite for it. It made me feel close to her in a way that was impossible with any other form of verbal or physical expression. At that moment, we were literally one being, one system circulating its life between our separate halves.

We fed and kissed and comforted each other for the rest of the night. When sunrise came, we fell into our daytime hibernation coma holding each other. We never touched the girl.

But I would have, except for Caroline. I know in my heart and in my soul that I would have broken sometime during those hours and torn into the flesh of that beautiful, innocent child to get at the blood I wanted. I’ve lived with that every night since.

I suppose that was Sebastian’s first lesson.

His second, I’m sorry to say, came the next night when we woke: the girl lay on the floor just as we’d left her, but the blood from her slit throat had soaked into the fabric of my jacket and pooled on the stones around her. Caroline wept with a visible fury. I was pissed off and sickened, of course, but I was also still hungry and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that a secret, cowardly part of me was relieved to have the option taken from me.

I try to live with that, too.

CONTEST

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Day 13 Pre-Halloween Trick or Treat Contest!

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Day 12 Pre-Halloween Trick or Treat Contest!

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Author Joanne Brothwell and Dark Mind Book Tours

Please welcome Author Joanne Brothwell onto the Road to Hell. Joanne is the author Stealing Breath. Joanne has also written Vicarious, a prequel novella to Stealing Breath.

Now, it’s time to create a little hell and get to the good stuff by revealing all of Joanne’s wicked secrets while on the Road to Hell. LOL  Yeah, you wish! ;-D 

Grab your favorite drink, sink your teeth into something decadent, sit back, relax and enjoy getting to know Joanne…

~~~ 

GRACEN:  Tell me three things about yourself that we cannot find on the internet or in your bio?

JOANNE:  The first thing is I hate cooking and baking with a passion. Like, I mean HATE. Unfortunately, my children suffer for it! When they go to their friends’ houses and eat cookies and fancy meals, they come home to plain and boring. I kinda feel sorry for them, actually!

The second is I am a huge caffeine addict.

The third thing is I’m completely scatter-brained. It’s really bad, to the point where my family thinks I’m losing my mind! I think the problem is I’m living in a fantasy world with my characters, trying to help them figure out how to get out of their catastrophic problems!

GRACEN: What hobbies and interests do you participate in when you’re not writing?

JOANNE: Reading, decorating, shopping. Mostly I work full-time during the day and am a soccer mom in the evenings, though.

GRACEN: Do you have any writing quirks or certain things you MUST have or do before beginning the writing process?

JOANNE: No, not really. I do need silence. If there’s any sound, it’s like my brain simply cannot engage. It’s very frustrating.

GRACEN: If you were plotting to take over the world, how would you do it?

JOANNE: Mind control, definitely. I would manipulate people’s thoughts so that they would fight tooth and nail to get me into office. Then, all hell would break loose!

GRACEN: If you could make one statement that the entire planet would hear and remember, what would it be?

JOANNE: Relax and take time to enjoy your life.

GRACEN:  What genre do you write and why that genre?

JOANNE: I’m not tied to a genre. My first series is Paranormal Romance, but I’ve recently finished writing a new book that is Science Fiction/Fantasy. The one similarity between them is the Supernatural.

GRACEN: For those who are not yet familiar with JOANNE, can you please give us some details about the book and/or series?

JOANNE: 

Stealing Breath is set deep in the backwoods of North Dakota. Sarah Ross is searching for a

missing child when she is attacked by a glowing-eyed, transparent

creature known to the Navajo as a Skinwalker. Using mysterious abilities,

Sarah escapes, only to run directly into Evan Valente, a handsome,

charismatic stranger who helps her back to safety. But why is Evan out in

the forest so early in the morning?

Sarah learns her eyes bear the mark of the Indigo Child, an evolved human

with the ability to feel the emotions of others; unfortunately, her indigo aura

is highly desirable to not only Skinwalkers, but others who wish to steal her

powerful essence.

Soon, Sarah falls deeply in love with Evan and wants nothing more than to

follow her heart, but she can't ignore the lingering feeling that Evan is hiding

a terrible secret. The deeper she digs, the more danger she faces, forcing

her to face the darkest, innermost parts of her soul.

Vicarious is a prequel novella, which goes back to a time before Sarah discovered she was an Indigo Child…

Silencing Breath is the second book in the series, slated for publication early 2013: Just as Sarah is learning everything she can about her new abilities as an Indigo Child and settling into a normal life with her beloved Evan, her entire world shatters when Evan disappears without a trace. 

Desperate to find him, Sarah’s attempts to uncover clues to his whereabouts end up leading her to a sadistic serial killer who confirms her worst fears are true: Evan has been kidnapped, and he is once again in the clutches of the Malandanti, his abusive family of Necromancers.

Sarah’s search leads her not only to Evan’s evil past he tried so desperately to protect her from, but also to The Key of Solomon, an ancient text on Necromancy.

Knowing her abilities are limited in the face of this ancient power, Sarah is forced to face the Malandanti in order to save him. However, one question remains: once he is found, will Evan be the same man she fell in love with?

GRACEN:  Do you have any new stories in the works and can you tell us a bit about it/them?

JOANNE: Yes, I have my Science Fiction/Fantasy novel, The Eve Genome: Adriana Sinclair is an evolutionary mystery. Her blood type matches nothing in modern medicine. When a failed blood transfusion kills her little sister, Adriana discovers she's a throwback to an original human scientists have coined the “Mitochondrial Eve.”

Adriana is shocked to learn her strange blood type is her family’s most protected secret. Her grandmother is the only key to learning the truth, but dementia has ravaged her memory. Working with spotty clues and partial facts, Adriana is determined to find the truth.

Still reeling from her sister's death and the subsequent realization of her family’s secret, Adriana struggles to put her life back in order and focus on her college studies. She finds comfort in Kalan, the new guy whose striking albino features and friendly manner keep her distracted from the wreck her life has become. Kalan is exactly what she needs right now, even if he does seem a bit too interested in Adriana's mysterious bloodline...

GRACEN: If you could describe your writing with one word or brief phrase, what would it be? Please delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they’ve finished reading your story.

JOANNE: Eerie, absorbing tales, edged in myth and lore… a fresh take on the Supernatural.

GRACEN: What, in your opinion, makes your story unique and what makes it stand out from other stories in your genre? Think of this as a pitch to convince readers to pick up your books.

JOANNE: Most people are saying they love how my story is based on real legends and lore, and that there are fresh supernatural elements they haven’t seen before. They also love the creepiness woven throughout the entire story.

GRACEN: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?

JOANNE:

Gone to a Psychic for a reading. Weird story, actually. I had already decided on the concept of the Indigo Child prior to the reading and was simply researching a scene (that later got cut). During my reading, I had to choose four “Angel” cards from a deck. I did so, and one of my Angel cards was the Indigo card! I literally had shivers run up and down my spine!

GRACEN: Of all your books, which character did you have the most fun creating and why?

JOANNE:

Stefano. He is a totally hot, crazy-as-hell, badass villain!

GRACEN: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why?

JOANNE:

The hero, Evan. He’s gorgeous in a Guess model kind of way. And he’s also funny, caring, loyal and super smart. He’s the perfect man!

GRACEN: Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?

JOANNE:

I would never, ever want to meet Evan and Stefano’s father, Alesandro. He puts Stefano’s bat-shit crazy to shame! I think the scariest thing about him is that he has absolutely no empathy. He’s the ultimate Psychopath.

GRACEN:  If you were interviewing yourself, what is the one question you would ask yourself and please give us the answer to that question?

JOANNE:

Q: Why in the hell do you bother writing, with it being so much damn work and so little reward?

A: Because it’s who I am.

GRACEN:  Thanks so much for joining us, JOANNE!  It’s been a treat getting to know you better! 

Blurb:

An ancient evil has resurfaced,
the soul of the Indigo Child is at stake. Beware those with the Stealing Breath...

Deep in the backwoods of North Dakota, Sarah Ross is searching for a missing child when she is attacked by a glowing-eyed, transparent creature known to the Navajo as a Skinwalker. Using mysterious abilities, Sarah escapes, only to run directly into Evan Valente, a handsome, charismatic stranger who helps her back to safety. But why is Evan out in the forest so early in the morning?

Sarah learns her eyes bear the mark of the Indigo Child, an evolved human with the ability to feel the emotions of others; unfortunately, her indigo aura is highly desirable to those who wish to steal her powerful essence.

Soon, Sarah falls deeply in love with Evan and wants nothing more than to follow her heart, but she can't ignore the lingering feeling that Evan is hiding a terrible secret. The deeper she digs, the more danger she faces, forcing her to face the darkest, innermost parts of her soul.

Stealing Breath is a darkly romantic tale of a young woman’s journey for love within the fearsome realm of the paranormal. It is a spellbinding read that mines the inner workings of the human character. Love, loss and the quest for redemption, these characters will echo in your mind long after you’ve put the book down.

Excerpt:

“You saw that Evan guy again?” Amber asked. She sucked the last of her frothy pink drink through a straw. The mischievous look on her face was mirrored in the giddy emotions she gave off, emotions that were always especially loud when she was drinking. They resonated within me like a bouncy ball flying around in my stomach.

I downed another shot of “Sex on the Beach”, hoping it would finally be enough to filter out the emotions of everyone here. Smooth at first, then tart, the booze finally burned its way down the back of my throat. The buzz-on was almost immediate, and the effect was wonderful, the way it almost obliterated all of the sex-obsessed feelings that seemed to roll off of nearly ever patron at the bar like a hot blanket being wound around me. Sick.

We sat at a booth right next to the bar. Amber held her glass up, signaling to the bartender who nodded and began to pour. He bobbed his head to the blaring country music from the loudspeaker.

Tables ringed the bar, booths along the wall and stools on the other side. Every few feet a brightly lit neon beer sign provided a dash of garish décor. Right in the middle was the dance floor, a little postage-stamp sized circle of parquet flooring that reminded me of an interlocking puzzle. Alongside it was a raised section with a few pool tables.

“Yeah, I saw him.” I proceeded to explain his land development business to Amber and Kate, who listened with rapt expressions.

“That’s amazing. Nobody ever comes to Slave Lake. People only leave,” Amber said. Our waitress, dressed in skin-tight jeans and a too-tight tank-top, brought us another

round. Behind her, the giant flat screen on the wall lit up with random explosions of fuchsia, neon yellow and acid green, perfectly paced with the lyrics of the canned music.

Kate sat across from me on the bench seating, her copper hair shimmering pink from the neon “Budweiser” sign and the black light hanging on the wall behind her. Her teeth were glowing an unnatural white in the light, and every piece of lint on her black shirt stood out like a 3D movie.

“How interesting that you both were out in the bush that morning,” Kate said.

I nodded. “I know. Quite a coincidence.”

Amber sat beside Kate in the bench seat, facing the bar. She leaned forward in one fluid motion, her black hair sweeping the table. “Sarah. Look who just walked in.” I turned in my seat. “And he’s coming right over—”

“Mind if I join you?” asked a familiar voice, before I’d even had a chance to look.

I turned and smiled at Evan. “Sure.”

He pulled a stool up to our table, his arms rippling with the movement. His very presence seemed to heat the air around me, his cologne eclipsing the bar smell of dirty jeans, stale beer and desperation.

I glanced at Kate and Amber, who both stared at him, bright-eyed. His dark fitted jeans hugged his legs, the denim slung low across narrow hips. A black t-shirt made of a material I couldn’t identify hinted of the peaks and valleys of muscle beneath and a single silver chain with a dog-tag hung at his neck, a crest emblem engraved on it with the name Valente. This guy would look good in a burlap sack. Or nothing.

“You remember Kate and Amber from the campground?” I asked. They nodded in acknowledgement and exchanged niceties. Then Amber and Kate excused themselves and hit the dance floor. They’d been dancing together since we’d become bar age, both of them with the attitude that they weren’t about to wait around for a guy to ask.

Evan and I watched as they twirled each other around, the only people dancing in the whole bar. Then they attempted to two-step, each of them fighting to lead. Goofballs.

I turned back to Evan. “How are you?”

He flashed that thousand-watt smile. “I’m great. You?” He inched closer and the atmosphere around my head seemed charged, like a swelling electrical storm. A shiver traveled through my body.

“Fine, thanks.” I smiled.

“You look great.” He gestured to my outfit.

I looked down at my jeans and a loose white shirt and glanced back up at him, cocking my eyebrow. “Thanks?”

“What? Not used to compliments?”

“Not when I’m dressed like a slob, no, not really.”

He rolled his eyes. “You look awesome. Seriously. Want to dance?”

I stared at him, half-expecting he was kidding. But his face showed no trace of a joke. I glanced at the dance floor where Kate and Amber had begun to dance hip hop to the country beat.

I turned back to him. He held out his hand, across the table. Reluctantly, I took it and he led me to the dance floor where Amber and Kate made room for us, their expressions barely-muted surprise. People rarely danced in Slave Lake. Except for Amber and Kate, of course.

Evan placed his palm in my right hand and set his other hand on my waist. I glanced up at a set of smoldering eyes and immediately looked away, his gaze too intense. Unfortunately, by looking away, I realized that every single person in the bar was staring at us. Some people, who should have had their backs to us, had actually turned around on their stool to gawk. I felt like a fish in a fishbowl.

Evan leaned down, his breath caressing my cheek. I caught a silky coil of his scent, a rich, musky fragrance of expensive cologne, soap and his own unique smell. It was addictive. The hand on my waist snaked around to my back, pulling me closer. Heat radiated over my entire body as we began to move in slow, gentle circles. When the song came to an end, my arm fell from his shoulder. His hands didn’t move.

“One more?” he asked as the music transitioned to a faster song, modern country with a dance beat. Kate and Amber were already dancing to it in a way that looked more fitting for a city club, Amber’s arms reaching up and over her head, hips swinging. Kate had her own little groove going alongside her.

“Sure,” I said.

He smiled and set his hand back on my waist, and suddenly we were in the fastest two-step I’d ever danced in my life. We moved around the dance floor at a dizzying pace, spinning circles around Kate and Amber who were laughing out loud watching us.

He twirled me several times, only to end up back in that break-neck, two-stepping pace once again. Now I was giggling to the point of breathlessness, my head spinning from the four shots I’d just downed and my racing pulse. He spun me three more times, and when the song ended, he lowered me into a long dip.

With his arm around my back, I was gently pulled up, our bodies touching from torso all the way down, so that even the tips of our shoes connected. I looked into his face, expecting to see a grin, but was met with a burning look that made my heart stutter and my breath catch. The whiskey on his breath was all I could think of, the heat of his mouth, so close to mine.

Then a sensation folded over me. A soft lethargy, like I was levitating, weightless. My eyes closed, and explosions of purple and blue light flashed behind my eyelids. I relaxed into the feeling.

“Are you okay?” Evan asked. I opened my eyes. He peered down at me, forehead wrinkled with concern. His skin was flushed bright pink.

My lungs began to re-inflate as my entire body tingled like I’d just had the best orgasm of my life.

Had he even kissed me? I licked my lips, but there was no taste of whiskey, no evidence of his mouth on mine. Obviously I’d had one too many shots. And yet, I felt perfectly lucid, his gorgeous face crystal clear before me.

“Uh…I’m fine,” I said, my voice breathy. There had to be an explanation. Like maybe I was losing my mind. Or maybe my fainting spells were starting to happen again, ever since the stressful Skinwalker incident. Whatever it was, right now I had to make sure this perfect specimen of a man in front of me did not think I was a raving lunatic. I forced myself to speak, my mind scrambling for small-talk. “I…I had no idea you could dance like that.”

The concerned look faded, and he flashed his perfect teeth. “Thanks. You’re not too bad, yourself.”

I dropped my hand from around his shoulder and backed up. He let go of me slowly, as if with reluctance.

“Come on. I need a drink,” I said, motioning back to the bar where Amber and Kate had just sat down. We veered toward them.

Evan made eye contact with the bartender who nodded at both of us. “Scotch, on the rocks, please. What are you drinking?”

“I’ll have a Long Island Iced T—”

“Who’s he?” A guy’s voice said, close enough that I cringed from the volume. I whipped around.

Jeff Hansen. Town drunk that never seemed to do much of anything, other than sit in the bar, hit on locals and look pissed off. And boy, did he look pissed off. Emotions rolled off him like jagged pieces of glass, hurt and anger all twisted up into one gigantic ball of irritation.

“He’s cool, Jeff. He’s with me,” I said. My heart started to pound as I remembered the last time Jeff had picked a fight. He’d bitten a guy’s ear and torn part of it right off.

Jeff stared at Evan, his teeth exposed like he was snarling.

“Is he treating you right, Sarah?”

“It’s all good, Jeff,” I said.

“You think you’re pretty tough?” Jeff said through gritted teeth. He stepped forward and poked Evan in the chest. Evan was pushed slightly off-balance, and he took a step backward.

My stomach clenched. “Jeff, I said it’s cool.”

Evan straightened up. He had at least four inches on Jeff and well over thirty pounds. Jeff stepped back, and the sickly-sweet smell of weed came wafting off of his ratty jean jacket.

Evan looked down his nose at Jeff. “Back off, man.” His jaw muscles popped in and out, and his hands balled up at his sides. The only thing Jeff had going for him was a bad attitude and liquid courage.

“Shut up, asshole!” Jeff slurred, a fine mist of spittle burst from his mouth and rained all over us. Jeff turned his head and flashed a snide grin, probably to impress his buddies who watched the spectacle along the sidelines of the bar.

“Jeff, stop it!” I said. Jeff ignored me completely, staring at Evan. I reached for Evan’s hand, wound my fingers through his and tugged. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

Evan nodded, and we strode toward the exterior door. I glanced back to see Jeff running. He ran straight into Evan, knocking him forward.

Evan hit the crash bar of the metal door, his body weight forcing it wide open so that it squeaked when the hinges were pushed to their limit. My heart jumped into my throat as he stumbled and fell onto the cement outside. Immediately, he righted himself and jumped back to his feet.

Jeff smiled, eyes flashing. “I bet that hurt, didn’t it, tough guy?”

I ran toward Jeff. “Stop it! Just leave him alone!”

Jeff smiled at me. “Aww, you’re getting your little bi-otch to fight for you.” Then he turned back to Evan. “Tell you’re ho to shut her pie-hole, or I’ll shut it for her.”

“You’re going to wish you’d never said that,” Evan said, his voice a low, warning growl.

Jeff snorted. “You’re in my town. You’re gonna regret having a mouth.” His arms rose above his head in some kind of attempt to look intimidating, but to me he looked like a bird about to take flight.

“Stop it, Jeff.”

Stepping forward, Jeff hurtled his fist toward Evan’s face but Evan snatched his clenched fist mid-air. I lunged toward them, placing one hand on Evan and the other hand on Jeff’s jacket.

Instantly, the atmosphere around my head changed, filling with static.

The lights above the entryway flickered, humming like dying bees before building into a sizzling pulse. With a bang, the lights exploded in a rainfall of glass shards. I ducked to shield my face.

I opened my eyes and gasped. Jeff lay crumpled on the ground, his torso folded inward, his limbs pulled into a fetal position, moaning as he clutched his stomach. Then his face went slack, and his eyes rolled back into his head. Why was he on the ground? And why did he look like he’d been knocked out cold?

I glanced around, but all I could hear was the retreating sound of footsteps running outside, the parking lot no longer lit up by the overhead light.

“Evan?” I called out.

Silence.

Praise for Stealing Breath

"STEALING BREATH stole mine! Compulsive, scary suspense balanced with a tender love story."

-Mary Balogh, New York Times Bestselling Author

About the Author

Joanne Brothwell lives in the country on the Canadian prairie with her family where her stories are inspired by the dead things that appear at her doorstep on a daily basis.

Find Joanne online at: www.joannebrothwell.com

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