Originally, I hadn’t planned as many books for my Children of Night series as I’m ending up with. I thought it was going to be a trilogy for awhile, then maybe four or five books. Right now, I’m looking at seven. And a lot of the reason for that is because of what happened when I started writing Now Comes the Night. It got long. Very long. so long that, eventually, I had no choice but to split it into two separate books.
Which is when I discovered a very interesting thing about publishing, something I should have realized before but somehow had forgotten. If you write more books, you get more covers. And if there’s anything in this world that I love, it’s covers!
I mean, I love my husband, my kids, my friends, my family, my dog–but do I get the same pleasure out of any of them as I do from covers?
Okay, okay, I’m just joking about that: of course I do. But you gotta admit, this was a damn nice perk:
Yeah, baby, that’s what I’m talking about!
Ashes of the Day
Children of Night, Book 4
Only blood can break your heart.
New Year’s Eve, 1999. The world is braced for Y2K, but that’s not the only ticking time bomb in Conrad’s life. Damian wouldn’t be the first vampire to find a way to die, but Conrad is determined he will not be one of them.
Present day. Damian struggles to trust that fate could possibly be kind enough to give him a love as perfect as Conrad’s. Conrad balances on the keen edge of his own fear that one more slip of his formidable control could drive his lover away—permanently.
Julie learns the hard way it’s not just interspecies relationships that seldom work out. Even between vampires, love is not a smooth course.
Meanwhile, intrigue and conflict within the nest continue to grow, fueled in no small part by Georgia’s slipping hold on a deadly secret. Marc works to consolidate his position as leader of the ferals—and discovers that being a walking anomaly has certain advantages. Including some that are totally unexpected.
Product Warnings
Contains more love triangles, more power struggles, more tears and teeth gnashing, and even more graphic scenes of manlove between moody, domestically inclined vampires than in previous editions. Definitely not recommended for anyone suffering from ALSSD (Auld Lang Syne Sensitivity Disorder) or with aversions to ballrooms, evening clothes, sarcasm, or close-quarter stiletto combat.
And now, of course, I have to post an unofficial excerpt…
“Damian!” Marc’s voice rang through the quiet house. He stalked down the hall, peering into empty rooms, dragging Julie along with him. “Damn it. Where the hell is he?”
“Let me go Marc,” Julie protested, trying to pry her arm loose. “You’re just being ridiculous now.”
Marc shook his head. He drew in another breath and Julie gritted her teeth in frustration. No doubt he was about to yell again—which was just what her poor ears didn’t need. Luckily for her, the door to Damian’s room opened before Marc had the chance to completely deafen her.
Damian leaned heavily against the doorframe and regarded them both with a weary expression. “Well, mis niños? What is it?”
Julie glanced away, heart twisting at the sight of him. He looked terrible, gaunt and heavy-eyed. Unhappy. They shouldn’t be bothering him at a time like this.
“It’s Julie,” Marc said, pushing her forward. “You have to do something with her.”
A sardonic smile curved Damian’s lips. “Is this so, chica? Is there something that must be done with you?”
Julie flushed angrily. “No.” Crossing her arms she glared at her brother. “Of course not. Marc’s just being stupid. Ignore him.”
“Bullshit,” Marc snapped. “Stop pretending. I’m not the one who’s been stupid tonight and you damn well know it. You need help.”
Damian sighed. “Must you resort to vulgarity, Marc? What help does she need? What is it you think I should be doing that I’m not?”
“I don’t know, how about go out hunting with her once in a while like you used to? Work with her on some advanced self-defense techniques? Pay attention? I can’t always be there when she gets in trouble, you know.”
“Stop it!” Julie snarled. “I’m right here, Marc. Don’t talk about me like I’m not. And I don’t need you to be anywhere. I’m fine, all right? You make it sound like this kind of stuff happens all the time!”
“What ‘stuff’ has happened now?” Damian asked.
Julie shrugged. “Nothing much. It was just…some guys were giving me a hard time tonight, that’s all. They were drunk and I…”
“They had her cornered,” Marc said, taking up the tale. “In an alley downtown. She freaked out and went all fangy on them and if I hadn’t been close by…well, it could have been a real mess.”
Damian straightened at once. “Juliet!” He stared at her, aghast. Was he worried for her safety? Or horrified that she’d broken one of his and Conrad’s cardinal rules?
Julie flushed and dropped her gaze. The orders had been drummed into their heads from the time they were children. They were never to reveal themselves to others, never to display their fangs to anyone outside the family, always to find some other means to deal with threats. “I panicked, okay? It’s just…there were a bunch of them and they…” She swallowed hard. They had no right touching her like that or saying what they did. “I got scared.”
*****
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I can’t wait to read this!
And a BTW I love the cover too
Aw, thanks so much Savannah.
You got me at Covers
Gotta confess,there have been times when I bought books just for the sake of drooling at the cover ! LOL
Ashes of the Day cover is scorching!!
Please tell me you are posting more excerpts
Thank you for sharing it.
Best Wishes,
Sydney W,
Bookaddict100(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Oh, now, how can I resist?