Guest Blog: Prince of Shadows by Nancy Gideon

UFI welcomes Nancy Gideon Author of The Moonlight Series. Thanks for Joining us!!

Location, Location, Location! By Nancy Gideon

Creating an eerie paranormal setting is easy when you base your shape-shifter clan in New Orleans.  Everything about that old, superstition-steeped city is thick with dark legends and shadows. You can expect to find Creatures of the Night lurking in a fog-filled alleyway if you take a wrong turn. Moss-draped bayous and deathly silent cemeteries are the perfect backdrop for supernatural doings. The city, itself, became a character filled with malevolence and mystery over the course of the first seven books of my “By Moonlight” series.

So how do you create that other-worldly atmosphere when you leave the Big Easy and move to a mountaintop in Nevada?

I love to write about places I’ve been. There’s something about soaking up the scents and sights and sounds in person that transcends to the words on the page. When I started thinking about where to base my rival shape-shifter clan, PRINCE OF SHADOWS’s fierce, materialistic Terriots, I first thought Las Vegas or Reno (which I also love!) but that seemed too glitzy and exposed for the secretive, feudal-like warriors.  At a writers’ conference in Reno some years back, I’d ventured out of the hotel and headed for the hills to explore some of those desert plains and rocky crags I’d described in my earlier western historicals.  I fell in LOVE with Lake Tahoe and used it for a setting for one of my series contemporary suspenses.  Hmmm . . . Could this be what I was looking for?  Time to do a paranormal assessment. What would an extended family of preternatural beings look for in a place to call home if they were consulting one of HGTVs house hunting shows? 

•   Isolation – A fabulously wealthy resort community with secluded properties and constantly revolving visitors, where year around income from even quirky patrons would be avidly courted.
•   Privacy – High security lakeside gated estate out of sight from passersby and impossible to penetrate where they can keep to themselves under the radar.
•   Family living – multiple separate accommodations for individual families with separate communal quarters for unmated males and females as well as a main self-sustaining gathering lodge.
•   Status – luxury living, rockstar-like reception when visiting local clubs where lavishly spending encourages no questions asked, and rugged, protect your own individualism is admired
•   Proximity to investments- A quick drive away from entertainment properties in Reno and air hop to Las Vegas, the perfect place to watch over their Southwest territories yet stay removed from threats.
•   Freedom- vast primal pine forests and trails to hunt, train, and run wild in Jeeps, on muscular off road bikes, and unnoticed in their natural state

Sounds like home, sweet home and a fun creative break from the Crescent City.  Breathe deep and enjoy the scent of crisp, invigorating mountain air as you visit PRINCE OF SHADOWS. And run wild with the Terriots.

__________________________________

Nancy Gideon is the author of over 54 novels ranging from historical and contemporary suspense to paranormal with a couple of horror screenplays thrown in.  When not at the keyboard or working full time as a legal assistant, she can be found feeding her addictions for Netflix and all things fur, feather and fin.

Find Nancy and her books

Website / Twitter / Facebook

__________________________________

Prince of Shadows
Moonlight #8

Book Trailers for the Series

Amazon   Barnes and Noble

 

A gentle lady held hostage in a deadly play for power, Kendra Terriot’s only means of survival for herself and her family is to play to a careful courtship game. The one she chooses from the dangerous Terriot heirs will inherit the coveted crown, but the one she longs to have rescue her belongs to another.

Favored son of their cruel Shifter leader, the only calm in Cale Terriot’s necessarily violent life is his childhood love for his delicate distant cousin whom he’s pledged to make his queen. With Kendra at his side, he knows he can become the kind of ruler his clan needs, but first he must learn how to become the kind of mate she desires.

In a treacherous race for control, where weakness means death, Cale must prove he’s not the beast his beauty fears and still protect her, especially once her chosen love returns to free her. The only way to win her respect could mean surrendering his throne. The only way to win her heart could mean letting her go

__________________________________

__________________________________

 

New Releases: 5/26-6/1

Tue May 27

Any Other Name (The Split Worlds #2) by Emma Newman

Avenging Angel (The Fallen, #4) by Cynthia Eden

A Witch’s Handbook of Kisses and Curses by Molly Harper

Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell, #3) by Jenn Bennett

The Blue Blazes (Mookie Pearl, #1) by Chuck Wendig

Darkness Avenged (Guardians of Eternity, #10) by Alexandra Ivy

Darkness Bred (Chimney Rock, #2) by Stella Cameron

The Eighth Court by Mike Shevdon

Fiery Edge of Steel by Jill Archer
Forever (The World of Nightwalkers, #2) by Jaquelyn Frank

The Girl with the Iron Touch (The Steampunk Chronicles, #3) by Kady Cross

Impostor (Variants, #1) by Susanne Winnacker

Leopard’s Prey (Leopard People, #6) by Christine Feehan

The Night Is Watching by Heather Graham

Of Triton (Of Poseidon, #2) by Anna Banks

Sky on Fire (Monument 14, #2) by Emmy Laybourne

South of Surrender by Laura Kaye

Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer

Tempest Reborn (Jane True, #6) by Nicole Peeler

 

Happy Reading

Guest Blog & Giveaway: Blood Hunters Series by Marie Treanor

UFI welcomes Marie Treanor Author of The Blood Hunters Series. Thanks for Joining us!!

My “Blood” World by Marie Treanor

Hi there! What a great place to start off my tour with the Blood Hunters series– thanks for having me back at UFI :).

Maybe because three always seems a bit of a magic number, the release of the third Blood Hunters book, BLOOD DESCENT feels like a milestone in the continuing tale.  Plus a few major story arcs reach a conclusion in this book. If you don’t know, the roots of this series lie in the earlier Awakened by Blood trilogy, which tells the story of the rise and rise of the Ancient vampire Saloman and his intense relationship with his accidental awakener, Elizabeth Silk. Although you don’t have to have read the earlier series to come to grips with this one, Blood Hunters does carry on where the final Awakened book, BLOOD ETERNAL left off; but it focuses on Elizabeth’s friends the vampire hunters. 

So, BLOOD DESCENT is the sixth book set in this world! And it’s got me thinking about how things have changed there since Elizabeth first stumbled into it in BLOOD ON SILK. My vampires then were old style bad ass blood drinkers – ruthless, murderous, powerful, callous and impenetrably alien to decent humans. Saloman was the same, only - being so much older and stronger, the last of the pure blooded Ancient race - more so!

Is Saloman still like that? Are the “lesser” vampires? Well, yes J. But they have developed, both in themselves and in the perception of the human characters, so they’re not quite so incomprehensible.

 Saloman is now undisputed ruler of the vampire world and has made some impact in human affairs too through wealth and political connections. There’s no let up to his ambition and he still wouldn’t bat an eyelid at killing anyone in his way. But under Elizabeth’s influence he’s chosen a softer route, using alliance rather than terror. And the rest of the undead are forced to take their lead from him. As a result, vampire murders are rare now, and in return the hunter organization has also changed. They don’t automatically kill vampires anymore; they’ve become more of a special police force.

Doesn’t mean vampires and hunters trust each other now - they don’t! Especially as vampires see no need to hide in the shadows and rumours of their existence continue to spread across the world. Everything’s about to change as a reputable television journalist begins to investigate the undead.

The uneasy peace also threatens to blow up around the “miracle” birth of Saloman’s daughter who’s prophesied to unite the two races. Some humans and vampires fear this birth as an intolerable increase in Saloman’s already excessive power, and both sets of opponents, vampire and human, threaten the child’s life.

Then, since Elizabeth first encountered Saloman, the hunters  have become aware that vampires actually have feelings, perhaps even stronger ones than humans, although they may not always be recognizable. However, this makes no difference whatsoever to the troubled Konrad, hero of BLOOD DESCENT, who’s left the hunters’ network in order to fight vampires on his own terms and bring down Saloman for good. He’s collected a following of renegade hunters to help. But before the end of the story, he’s forced to recognize that one vampiress at least behaves with more humanity than he does…

What do you think? Is there a place for humanity in vampires? :)

 

__________________________________

Award winning author Marie Treanor lives in Scotland with her eccentric husband and three much-too-smart children. Having grown bored with city life, she resides these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing sensual stories of paranormal romance and fantasy.

Marie has published nearly forty ebooks with small presses, (Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press and The Wild Rose Press), including a former Kindle bestseller, Killing Joe. Blood on Silk: an Awakened by Blood novel, was her New York debut with NAL. She is now self-publishing three new paranormal series.

Find Marie and her books

Blog / Twitter / Facebook

__________________________________

Blood Guilt
Blood Hunters #1

$2.99, Ebook

 

 Mihaela, a fearless vampire hunter secretly haunted by loneliness and childhood tragedy, finds it difficult to adjust to the new world order where vampires are not always the bad guys. She's taking a much needed vacation in Scotland when she sees a little boy being chased through the streets of Edinburgh. Rescuing him brings bigger problems - two vampires from her past: Gavril, who killed her family; and the reclusive and troubled Maximilian, gifted Renaissance artist and one-time overlord of the most powerful undead community in the world. Maximilian once saved her life and now needs that favor returned.

The earth moves for Mihaela in more ways than one. From Scotland to Budapest and Malta, she races against time to prevent a disastrous, vampire-induced earthquake and save an innocent yet powerful child – all while fighting a dreadful attraction to Maximilian, her only ally, whom she can’t afford to trust. For Maximilian, the hunter becomes a symbol of renewed existence, as he struggles to accept his past and rediscovers his appetite for blood and sex - and maybe even happiness.

Blood of Angels
Blood Hunters #2

Ebook $2.99

 

Obsession... a wounded hunter, a damaged vampire.

Six months ago, vampire hunter and inventive genius Istvan nearly died in the seminal battle that would change the relationship between humans and vampires forever.

A year before that, he first encountered sexy vampiress, Angyalka, owner of the Angel Club, favored haunt of the undead. Istvan won that round, but when he recklessly seeks her out again in search of the secret of angels, he's alone and so exhausted he can barely stand, let alone fight vampires. Plus Angyalka's out for revenge, and very happy to use his powerful sexual attraction to her…

But Angyalka has her own secret weaknesses as well as terrifying strengths even she doesn't understand. Their battle becomes one of wits and sex, but when someone bombs the club, they fight together to contain all the threats closing in on the Angel, from humans and vampires, including the sadistic killer who could just be dangerous enough to finally topple undead overlord Saloman.

As Istvan struggles to harness the mysterious power of angels, Angyalka needs a deeper strength to send away the fascinating hunter who delivers on all her deepest sensual desires and yet can't come to terms with her vampire nature.

Blood Descent
Blood Hunters #3

A child is born...into the final showdown of Vampire and Hunter

The face of a killer, the heart of a lost child… Konrad once led the legendary first team of Hungarian vampire hunters. Now, refusing to ally with the undead, he goes his own way, slaughtering vampires across the length and breadth of Europe.

The dying thoughts of one such vampire send Konrad to Britain in search of a dangerous instrument that might be just what he needs in his obsessive war with undead overlord Saloman – a war he’s determined to win at any cost. The only being who can lead him to the instrument and its current, evil possessor, is sexy, mysterious, young Glaswegian vampire Maggie, who holds herself aloof from her own kind.

Maggie sees much more than Konrad’s anger and cruelty. She makes it her mission to reach beyond the horrors of his past and find the man he should have been. Difficult, when he threatens her heart as well as everything she believes in; and when her whole being clamors for his body and his blood.

While journalists circle, about to break the news of vampire existence on mainstream television, Elizabeth Silk labors to give birth to Saloman’s daughter, and Maggie plays a dangerous game that risks everyone for her belief in one troubled man.

__________________________________

__________________________________

Tour Wide 

a Rafflecopter giveaway