Today, Alexis Woods is here to share an excerpt from her story, Lion’s Hero. Lion’s Hero was first published in 2014 but has now been revised and expanded.

Excerpt:

Ari peered past the guard as he made his way to the end of the line. Excitement filled him as he saw the area jammed with bodies, lights flickering, humans singing, and… is that dancing? The humans were pressed so close together, jumping and writhing, waving their arms, Ari wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at. On the far side of the room, a huge, pulsating sign caught his attention. Club Haven flashed in colors of purple and green. A club! He’d never been in one though he’d heard plenty of stories from some of the other angels. Finally, a chance to explore this realm like I always wanted.

Excited, he ran his hands down his body—his very human body—taking in his clothing, checking to see if he fit in with these other humans. He wore a black logo shirt that clung to his chest and dark jeans, along with a kick-ass pair of boots on his feet. Interestingly, there was a braided silver ring adorning his left thumb. Sliding his hands over his head and ears, he discovered a short, spiky hairstyle and pierced ears. Fingering the earrings, four on one side and four on the other, Ari mumbled, “Really, my Lord?”

A group of riotous young women rushed past him going in the opposite direction of those standing in line. One of them, a long-haired girl dressed in black and silver, spun and ogled him. A silver bar ran through one eyebrow and a ring through her lip.

“Nice shirt,” she threw his way, before twirling around and running to catch up to her friends.

“Thank you,” Ari replied to her retreating back before he slapped his hands to his face to check for further piercings. “Well, thank you for that, I guess.”

He pulled his shirt away from his body to see what was imprinted on it. Satan’s Thorn, the shirt proclaimed, complete with rampant lion brandishing a wicked-looking stake.

“Funny, my Lord,” Ari muttered with a laugh. An answering chuckle filled Ari’s mind followed by a reminder of Father. “Right. Father. So, my other half… Do I get a hint? It’d be nice to know who I’m looking for.” Instead of the woman he expected, the profile of a man filled his mind: dark hair, the ends curling at the collar of a white shirt with his sleeves rolled up displaying an array of colors on his skin. Club Haven’s neon sign flashed in the background.

Ari gasped and fell against the nearest wall, leaning hard on it for support. He palmed his face as Father’s oration came back to him: He’s a man of God. He finds faith in Me. He’ll be yours… He’s, he, he’ll. Ari breathed deeply, pressing his palm to his heart as he attempted to calm his racing heart.

My other half is a male like me. Shocked, and in awe of this strange turn, Ari slumped.

Father so rarely granted his devoted angels a chance to meet their mate on Earth—his mentor Leo, had been one of the few—but he’d heard through the angelic grapevine that the chosen were always women for the mates of male-presenting angels. Never had a man been chosen as an other half, except when the angel presented more as female.

“Hey, are you alright?” a deep voice asked, coming from Ari’s right.

Ari cautiously spread his fingers to see a white button-down shirt, the top two buttons undone in front of him. A thick gold chain bearing a Star of David sat atop golden skin. He dropped his hands to gaze slightly up at a smooth oval complete with a solid chin, straight nose, and warm brown eyes he immediately wanted to get lost in. Oh, Dear Lord!

I’m right here, Ari. No need to yell.

Those impressive eyes dipped and came closer. Ari jerked his head up, knocking it into the wall. “Ow!” He moaned as he rubbed the sore spot and, with his head down, Ari didn’t realize the newcomer—Your other half, Father kindly supplied—had stepped even closer until his shoes entered Ari’s line view. When the man tried to pull Ari’s hands away, Ari slid to the right, his military reflexes kicking in. The move put distance between him and his other half, and he immediately wanted to zip back into place, but he held still, unsure what the right move should be. His brain was in overdrive. Never had he been in figurative knots, tongue-tied and dizzy.

“Skittish,” the man mumbled, obviously mistaking Ari’s side-step. A woman shrieked and he glanced towards the club’s entrance, just long enough for Ari to see his profile and the bar in the background, confirming that this tall, handsome man was Father’s choice for him.

Blurb:

Eight nights to fall in love.

Ari’s mission: meet the man chosen for him by God. The catch: he only has eight nights to both fall in love and have his chosen fall in love with him—the eight nights of Chanukah.

Gabriel’s test of faith: in reaching out to a young man, he finds himself confronted with the unbelievable. Believe, and the Festival of Lights may herald a miracle leading to a lifetime of love.

http://getbook.at/LionsHero

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We have Anne Barwell on a visit, and if you remember some time back, Elizabeth Noble was here to talk about Electric Candle, book two in The Sleepless City series. Today, Anne is here to talk about Family and Reflection, the next story in the series. Welcome, Anne!

Thanks for hosting me today.

I’m Anne Barwell, a Kiwi MM writer living in Wellington, New Zealand. I write across a few genres, and love to read and write paranormal.

I wrote The Sleepless City series with Elizabeth Noble, but instead of co-writing the books, we planned out the series arc, characters, and world building, and wrote alternate books. I wrote books 1 (Shades of Sepia) & 3 (Family and Reflection), and she wrote 2 (Electric Candle) & 4 (Shifting Chaos).

We also wanted to write vampire and werewolf lore a little differently and that’s been a lot of the fun in writing these books.
You can read more about the series here, and on our website.

Family and Reflection is the third book of the series, and I had the balancing act of advancing the series plot while exploring more of the local werewolf community.

Lucas Coate is Boggslake’s medical examiner, and the son of the local pack alpha. Wolves in this world have been taught from a young age not to trust vampires, so Lucas is already breaking the rules by sharing a house with two vampires. There is a good reason why werewolves and vampires aren’t supposed to mix, and when Declan returns to Boggslake after a long absence (by human standards), and he and Lucas fall for each other, their soulmate bond brings with it a few added extras they didn’t expect.

I love Lucas. He gets all the best lines, and steals every scene he’s in. He’s a wonderful mix of happy go lucky, yet dedicated, science guy who is fiercely protective of the people he cares about. I loved being able to show more of his relationships with his father, Jacob, and sister, Anita, in this book, and have him trying to help a family who had turned their backs on him only to have him betrayed by someone he trusts.

Declan is always fun to write too. He’s a thief and con man and very good at what he does. And then there’s the awkward situation of his friend, and ex-lover Forge, now being soulbonded to Blair. Declan and Forge’s relationship has changed, although their friendship is still as strong, and Declan needs to build a new friendship with Blair.

I particularly enjoyed writing the found family feel of this series, and how their original family of Declan, Forge, and Simon grows and changes over time to include Mr Boggs, the resident ghost, Lucas, Ben (Simon’s human soulmate), and Blair.

The original series is finished, but vampire and werewolves have long lives, and Elizabeth and I are continuing to write in this world with these characters spinning off into new series.

Family and Reflection

The Sleepless City, Book 3

When a rebel werewolf and a vampire thief fall in love, only one thing is certain—trouble.

For as long as Lucas Coate can remember, werewolves have been taught to mistrust vampires. Lucas is an exception—he has close friends who are vampires. The werewolf pack in Boggslake—and their leader, Jacob Coate—have made it clear that Lucas’s association with vampires is barely tolerated, and another transgression will be his last. When Lucas finds out about the plague of werewolf deaths in the area, he wants to help even though his own life may already be in danger.

Declan has been away from Boggslake for ten years, but he isn’t surprised to learn that the internal politics of the Supernatural Council haven’t changed for the better. When a series of burglaries hit close to home soon after he arrives, Declan—a vampire and professional thief—is their prime suspect, although for once, he isn’t responsible. With the council keeping secrets, no one is safe. Time is running out, and for Lucas and Declan, everything is about to change.

Author’s Note: This story was originally released in 2015 by another publisher. This edition has been re-edited.

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GHFWSSJ/
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/FamilyandReflectionAB
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0473538261

Excerpt:

“If someone had told me twenty years ago I’d be having a conversation about something like this with a vampire, I’d have told them they were crazy.”

“You’re having this conversation with a friend,” Declan corrected him. “It doesn’t matter what we are, but who we are.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“I want to.” Declan thought for a moment, wanting the right words. Why was this so difficult? He’d given advice to Jonas and Simon many times without any trouble.

“We’re both as bad as each other, yeah?” Lucas seemed sad.

“Why do you say that, and about what?” Declan let go of Lucas.

“I’m a werewolf, and you’re a vampire—”

“You’ve only noticed that now?” Declan interrupted dryly. He walked back to his chair, adjusting it so he was opposite Lucas and could see his face.

Lucas laughed, but this time it sounded natural, not forced. “I’ve gotten used to living at the castle. I love it here, and the guys are my friends. Most of the time I forget we’re different. They’re family. I don’t care what they are. It’s like you said. The important thing is who they are.” He sobered. “Then crap like this goes down… Why do I suddenly feel as though I’m a part of the pack again and need to follow their stupid rules?”

“You’re a part of whatever family you want to be, Lucas.” Declan knew what he wanted—needed—to say now. “One thing I’ve learned with having a long life is that family is who you choose. I didn’t get on with mine that well. I had a father who had expectations too.” He pulled himself up sharply before he went anywhere near those memories. Very little of what he’d done had pleased his father. “We might be different, you and I, mon ami, but in many ways we’re the same.”

“I kind of get the expectation thing with you guys.” Lucas paused and looked apologetic before continuing. “Simon’s not said much about his past, but I get the impression his father expected him to do stuff he didn’t want to do as well.” He scowled. “Be a good son and carry on the family name and traditions. I’m guessing Forge went through the same thing, but he’s never said anything about it. At least not to me.”

“Why do you get it with us?” Declan figured he already knew the answer but wanted to be certain he and Lucas were talking about the same thing.

“You’re a lot older than I am. I can understand this stuff going on a hundred, or even two—”

“Closer to three hundred,” Declan said.

“Yeah, that. You’re old. No offense.” Lucas waved one hand.

“None taken.” Declan couldn’t help but smile. “I know I’m old. But you know what they say about fine wine?”

“Yeah, and, hey, I’m not complaining.” Lucas took a long drink of coffee. “You interrupted my flow. I was making a point here.”

“Sorry.”

“So you’re old, so I expect that kind of stuff from you guys. It was a long time ago.” Lucas growled low in his throat. “But us… the pack… we… they’re carrying on like we’re still living in that society. I’ve told my father that he needs to move with the times or the pack will be left behind. Sure, they use technology, but for the rest of it, you’d think we’d only just gotten off the Mayflower or something.”

“It takes a long time for some people to accept change.” Declan leaned over and brushed a lock of hair back from Lucas’s forehead. “Some never do.” He’d seen vampires who couldn’t move past what their lives had been like as humans. Most of them hadn’t survived.

“Yeah.” Lucas swallowed. He shook his head when Declan started to move his chair farther back and away from temptation. “I don’t mind you touching me like that,” he said softly.

“I should…” Declan hadn’t thought, just reacted. He’d meant what he’d said about flirting and had no intention of leading Lucas on. “We’re friends,” he said finally.

“I wouldn’t be talking to you about this stuff if we weren’t.” Lucas looked like he was about to say something but cleared his throat instead. “I know you’re kind of touchy-feely and all that. So am I. So—”

A loud knock sounded at the front door.

“Now what?” Lucas muttered.

Boggs materialized in front of them. He looked annoyed. “There are two gentlemen at the door,” he said. “I don’t know who exactly they are, but I heard them talking before they knocked. They’re from the council.”

“I already apologized about that weird stuff in the garbage,” Lucas said.

“Not that council.” Boggs rolled his eyes. “The other one.”

Bio/Links:

Anne Barwell lives in Wellington, New Zealand. She shares her home with a cat with “tortitude” who is convinced that the house is run to suit her; this is an ongoing “discussion,” and to date it appears as though Kaylee may be winning. Anne works in a library, is an avid reader and watcher of a wide range of genres, and is constantly on the look-out for more hours in her day. She likes to write in series and even so called one shots seem to breed more plot bunnies. Her writing is like her reading – across a range of genres, although her favourites are paranormal, fantasy, SF, and historical. Music often plays a part in her stories and/or her characters are musicians.

She also hosts and reviews for other authors, and writes monthly blog posts for Love Bytes. She is the co-founder of the New Zealand Rainbow Romance writers, and a member of RWNZ. Her books have received honourable mentions five times, reached the finals four times—one of which was for best gay book—and been a runner up in the Rainbow Awards.

Website & Blog—Drops of Ink: http://annebarwell.wordpress.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/anne.barwell.1
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