Maryse's Book Blog

Blood Lust: Fated Mates Book 1 IS LIVE!!! THREE heroines are featured in this one. 😀

“Everyone is the hero of their own story… and the villain of someone else’s”

And to celebrate this re-release, the author is sponsoring today’s newsletter, plus she’s sent over fun facts (she made me laugh SO hard when she said “That did not just happen. Oh. MY. GOD. What’s going to happen next?“), an excerpt AND a giveaway open to International!!!

I’m a HUGE Kitty Thomas fan (she’s my queen of dark reads and my first and absolutely unforgettable one from her was Comfort Food!! Actually, it was my very first dark read and I had never read anything like that before and I was HOOKED). HOWEVER!! She describes today’s feature (and this series as a whole) as more…

“light and snarky” <— 😂😂

• Series title: Fated Mates
• Book description and buy links can be found here: https://kittythomas.com/book/blood-lust-fated-mates-1/
• Blood Lust: Fated Mates Book 1 By: Kitty Thomas and Zoe Winters <— LIVE!!!
• Book 2: Incubus Awakened: Fated Mates Book 2 <— UP FOR PREORDER & GOING LIVE SOON!
  release date: June 30th, 2021
• Fully complete 6 book series, releasing 2 weeks apart.

Five Fun Facts:

1. Zoe Winters and Kitty Thomas are actually the same person. I began publishing quirky PNR in 2008 as Zoe and then later started writing Dark Romance as Kitty. This re-release is a way to consolidate both names together and allow me to write some PNR again and also give readers an easy cue as to whether they are getting something light and snarky or dark and kidnappy. Actually there is kidnappy in the light and snarky stories, too, but… it’s more fun and less me locking you in a cell with me.

2. This series was an “Accidental Series”. I started with a cute quirky story about a cat shifter and a dangerous sorcerer she needed to seek shelter from to survive (I know, maybe that doesn’t sound super cute and quirky, but it’s all in the delivery!)

Then after I wrote that novella, I had an idea for another one in that world, and another one. So I had these three PNR stories with three different couples with storylines that overlapped a little bit and everything interconnected. At this point I thought I was done.

But I’d also written a book about an incubus before all this but got an idea of how that world linked to this world and so that became book 2. Book 3 tied all the characters together and then it ended up being 6 books.

3. I think writing is magic. Like literally. I’ve been writing since I was a pre-teen, and you just don’t write for that long in my opinion and NOT come to see writing as magic. It’s a mysterious process none of us understands. When someone asks me where I get my ideas I just stare at them blankly. I mean sure, sometimes I can point to part of the inspiration, but a lot of times weird stuff just basically downloads into my brain from who knows where. And plot twists? I do not plan those. I wish I could say I’m this super brilliant genius who comes up with twisty plot twists (especially on the Kitty name), but the truth is, generally I am clueless going in, and then I get to that part and I’m like Oh. My. God. NO NO. That did not just happen. Oh. MY. GOD. What’s going to happen next?

I’m very woo woo about this whole writing thing and think when one creates any kind of art, it’s a co-creative process between yourself and something magical/spiritual/divine. It’s not all you, which takes a lot of pressure off because if it’s not perfect and amazing you can just blame the muse.

4. Speaking of muses… I know they are classically ladies but mine is a dude. I have a theory about this that has to do with energy/polarity. We always hear about the muses being traditionally ladies but that’s because we are always hearing of the inspiring forces of men. I know I’m not the only female author whose muse is DEFINITELY a guy.

5. Sleeping with the lights on. My characters all feel very real to me and so when I was writing book 2 (Incubus Awakened), I was sleeping a lot with the lights on because I was a LITTLE scared of my own character. This is admittedly bizarre since my dark romance heroes on my other name don’t tend to scare me… I’m like… okay yes he’s a killer but he had this really bad childhood. But with Luc (the incubus), I didn’t really know what he was about. But once I found out he liked to cook and imagined himself to be the Emeril of the demon world, I was sleeping once again with the lights off. Crisis averted!

So what’s it about?

The blood is everything…

KEPT:

Cat shifter blood is sought after to enhance spells and potions, but due to a quirk of her birth, Greta’s blood is potent enough to kill for. When she learns she will be sacrificed, Greta is forced to ally herself with Dayne, the dangerous local sorcerer, and the only person strong enough to protect her.

CLAIMED:

Charlee wakes in a strange bed without any memory of who she is. All she knows is that a man who claims to be a doctor and is there to help her, doesn’t seem to want to let her go. And maybe this is just her imagination, but does he have fangs?

MATED:

Jane isn’t a vampire, but their blood runs through her veins, making her a target for those who resent a human being “kindred”. When she’s given to the leader of the werewolf pack to satisfy a gambling debt, she discovers her blood has a far greater impact on her destiny than she ever could have imagined.

EXCERPT FROM BLOOD LUST:

Ten fucking grand. What are you doing, man? Cole sat in his cherry red Mustang, his head on the steering wheel. He’d gone in with every intention of collecting his money or at least beating some sense into that insufferable little fledge of Anthony’s. Paul was right. Cole couldn’t kill him without starting a war, but not because he was the favored fledge of the vampire king. Interspecies killing among the preternaturals was a no-no.
And now he had this tiny human who thought God only knew what about what he was going to do with her. Good question, actually. What the hell was he going to do with her? And why had he taken her as payment? It wasn’t like he’d starve, but it wasn’t pocket change either.
The smell of her blood mixed with fear would have sent any other wolf into a frenzy, but he, of course, was the alpha and above such weakness. His claws lengthened as fur started to crop up on his hands. Shit. Go to the happy place, Cole. It wouldn’t be ideal to eat the payment. That’s one damn expensive meal.
He heard the click of the lock’s release as the woman––Jane was her name?––reached for the door.
“Now wouldn’t be the best time to do that,” he growled around elongated fangs. “It’s the blood and the fear.”
His voice softened. “Nothing to do about the blood just this second, but try to tone the panic down a notch.”
He watched her squeeze her eyes shut and intentionally slow her breathing. Smart girl. She knew she couldn’t outrun him and was intelligent enough to know not to lead a wolf into a chase. While she was engaged in deep meditative breathing, Cole matched the pace of her breath to calm himself and get the beast to go back and take a nap.
The claws receded, and the fur went back into its hiding spot. He lifted his hands to see the claw marks in the steering wheel. “Dammit. This is new leather interior.” Jane jumped in the corner of his peripheral vision. His voice was calm when he spoke again. “If I wanted you dead, little lamb, you’d be dead.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m Cole, and I’ll be your captor for the evening.” He watched her eyes grow large and her body tense further. He shook his head and sighed. “It’ll be funny later, I promise.”
The girl looked doubtful.
He didn’t blame her, but she unnerved him as much as he unnerved her. For one thing, there was the eerie silence. Maybe it was his experience with the pack, but he’d never seen a woman so quiet. Sure, he’d seen women afraid before. Being the alpha, he’d seen a lot, but he’d never seen one like this.
She looked out the window, away from him again. She’d buckled her seat belt and had curled her body into a tight ball like a porcupine. She was still breathing slowly, in and out, the effort to remain calm obviously taking all her concentration. This was some pickle she’d gotten herself into.
As he pulled onto the highway he said, “What did you expect being a vampire groupie? Vampires are not a friend to humans.”
“And werewolves are?” She kept the tears out of her voice. But he smelled the salt.
He’d wanted to piss her off, find some fire in there somewhere. Instead, he’d made her cry.
“I’m sorry. But you have to see my point. Hanging out with vamps. Dressed like a goth. Really, what did you expect would happen?”
Cole zipped through traffic like a lunatic, but Jane seemed too upset to notice. If it were possible, she was crying more now.
“You don’t know anything about me.” She flinched after she said it as if just remembering who or what she was talking to.
Fabulous. I’ve got a mental case on my hands. He growled.
Her fear escalated, and he flipped through his mind to find out why. Had he just growled? What the hell was he going to do with a human in the hive?
The hive was the term the wolves had affectionately given the network of interconnecting caves the pack lived in. The network of interconnecting caves that was absolutely off-limits to humans. Of course, he’d instituted that rule. Still.
The pack had been on him about finding a mate for the past five years when they decided as a group that, at thirty-three, his bachelorhood wasn’t cute anymore. Rhonda, the pack omega, had done her best to snag him herself. But they’d grown up together.
He swerved between then past two cars that were going a ridiculous 70 mph on the freeway and glanced at Jane. She had pink hair for god’s sake. The pack was going to love this.
Cole reached across her for the glove box. She jumped, and he put his hand back on the wheel. “Okay, I need you to do something for me. There is a thick, dark piece of cloth in there. I need you to cover your eyes with it.”
Her hand shook as she reached for the compartment.
“I can’t have you seeing where I’m taking you.”
Her heart rate skyrocketed. That sounded worse than he’d meant for it to sound.
The blood on her cheek had started to clot, making it possible for him to hold onto control. He was glad it wasn’t the full moon. “What do I have to do to convince you I have no intention of harming you?”
She was holding the cloth in her hands as if it were soaked in a deadly poison. “Let me go.” Then she added quietly, “Please.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“You’re worth ten thousand dollars to me right now. Letting you go isn’t an option.”
“What are you going to do with me?”
“I don’t know.” He eased the car to the shoulder and turned toward her. “I can’t go any further until you do as I asked.”
She stared at the offending object in her lap, running her fingers over the thick black wool, her hand still shaking.
“Listen, the safety of the pack is my responsibility. Vamps and werewolves aren’t exactly best friends. Bringing you with me is like bringing an enemy into the camp. I can’t put any of them at risk.”
She took a few shuddering breaths and looked out the window down the road, no doubt trying to measure her potential for success if she ran. Finally, she turned back to him with a pleading look in her eyes that caused his chest to tighten and made him want to reach out and comfort her.
The moment passed, and she put the blindfold on without further argument. She was silent the rest of the way.

Now for the giveaway!

The author says:

I’ll give away 3 signed paperback copies (1 copy per winner, so 3 winners) of Blood Lust (Open internationally)

How to enter for a chance to win it?

Just leave a comment below, (and better yet – tell me your favorite paranormal “fun and snarky” romance, or your favorite Kitty Thomas dark read) and by 10pm EST, Sunday July 11th 2021, I will randomly select three lucky commenters as the winners.

The winners will be contacted and will have 48hrs to respond confirming their mailing address, so if you are picked, do not delay or you will lose your chance. The books will be sent to the winners by the author.

OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL!! 🙂

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