Home » Articles posted by natalienicolebates
Author Archives: natalienicolebates
SEE ME/Natalie-Nicole Bates + Giveaway
SEE ME is my paranormal romance novella released by and available from Leap of Faith Publishing and Amazon!
In celebration of this Staying Home Party from The Romance Studio, I am giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to one lucky person who comments on any of my posts this weekend!
Here is how you can find me. Feels free to comment and question away!
Social media links for Natalie-Nicole Bates
Twitter: BatesNatalie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/natalienicole.bates
Blog: www.natalienicolebates.com
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/natalienicolebates
Street Team Sign Up: https://www.facebook.com/groups/441841792565396/
SEE ME Blurb:
Carly Anders is hearing voices in her head. Another one of her kind is trying to contact her. She knows of the malevolent freaks—others who are eternal like her and seek out the weak to inflict pain upon. For years, Carly has held up huge protective walls to keep herself and her secrets safe. Now, physically and mentally exhausted, Carly needs protection and rest.
She accepts the invitation to visit an internet friend who needs help appraising a collection of antique photographs. The situation is not ideal, but Carly hopes a male presence in her life will deter the determined suitor who haunts her thoughts and dreams.
Daniel Tremont is not what Carly is expecting.
The former funeral director has a secret of his own. Not only is he eternal like Carly, he is her creation from all those years before—her abomination she thought she killed.
Daniel has been searching for Carly for years. He knows she is the piece of his life that he has been missing for so long. Now that he has found her, he has no intentions of letting her go.
Buy Links:
Excerpt:
He waved a hand in front of her face, but she didn’t blink. The lights are on, but no one’s home.
“Carly, my angel,” he whispered and cupped her cheek into his palm. He revealed in the silkiness and warmth of her skin. Still, she didn’t react. She was almost…a zombie.
His own body jerked in reaction to the fear she was emanating. She was clearly sleepwalking and in the throes of one hell of a nightmare, yet she didn’t cry out any longer. It was all now playing out inside her mind.
“Charlotte, see me,” he implored.
Her lips twitched at the mention of her real name.
“See me,” he repeated.
Suddenly, her body gave way and she collapsed. Catching her, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. As he laid her down, her breathing became ragged. He placed a hand over her heart as it raced, and passed healing calmness through his hand, feeling the energy pulsate against her skin. Beneath his hand, he would feel her heartbeat slow to a normal rhythm.
“Daniel?” Her voice was mere caress.
“I’m here, my angel. You’re having a nightmare. You’re frightened. It’s okay now, I’m here, and I will never leave you,” he promised.
“Everyone leaves, Daniel. You can’t understand, you can’t…” Her body started to tremble.
He climbed onto the bed and straddled her body. Leaning close to her face, he said, “Carly, let go of your fear. I can take it. Let go and see me,” he commanded.
Her breath came out in a whoosh, and a wall of fear and resistance hit him like a blow from above. It wasn’t exactly painful, more startling than anything else.
His vision flip-flopped, and he could see an image from inside her mind of two souls forever entwined as the result of one act. It made perfect sense. She was reliving the day their souls became one. The day of the fire.
He then saw black, suffocating water. She was reliving her own death, as well.
As the visions left him, he was consumed with the mishmash of fear, loneliness, and resistance within her.
He had to make her understand that it was over. “I will never leave you, Carly. That is my promise to you,” he insisted.
A flicker of life ignited in her eyes. Her hands came up to his face, and to Daniel’s surprise, tears bubbled from his own eyes. He was releasing the pain and fear he had absorbed from his beloved.
“I’m so sorry, Daniel, so sorry,” she murmured.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for, my love. It’s over. It’s time to move forward now.”
“You don’t understand what I am, Daniel.”
“I do understand, Carly. I am what you are. See me for what I am.”
In his mind, he could see the moving clockwork gears of her thoughts once again as she tried to process what he was telling her to be true.
“Just accept it, and let’s move forward.”
She drew his face to hers and her lips parted beneath his. Time blurred and he drank in the essence of his Carly. Her soft, barely covered curves molded themselves against his the hard planes of his body. Her hands were under his t-shirt, her fingers stroking him.
If he pressed on, he knew she wouldn’t refuse him. But in her vulnerable state, he wouldn’t let anything progress further that night. Carly needed time to process everything that happened. There was plenty of time to pursue a physical relationship. They weren’t going any where…he hoped.
Remember The Stars/Natalie-Nicole Bates + Giveaway
Remember The Stars is my 12,000 word horror-romance fusion novella currently available from Amazon through Books To Go Now Publishing.
To celebrate the Staying Home Party Here at The Romance Studio, I will be giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to one lucky commenter who posts a comment at any of my posts this weekend. So feel free to comment and question away!
First and foremost, here is where you can find me:
Social media links for Natalie-Nicole Bates
Twitter: BatesNatalie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/natalienicole.bates
Blog: www.natalienicolebates.com
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/natalienicolebates
Street Team Sign Up: https://www.facebook.com/groups/441841792565396/
Blurb for Remember The Stars
For Leah Rhodes, life as she knows it has just changed forever.
Waking in a gutter in the dark surroundings of her distant past, a familiar man stands out in her confusion.
But Remy Moreland has been dead for years.
It soon becomes apparent to Leah that both she and Remy are trapped in a hell of their own making.
Can one night together not only lead to the way out, but to love as well?
Buy Link:
Excerpt:
“Remy,” she said his name. Where did she know that name from? It wasn’t common. Think, Leah, think. Then it hit her—hard.
She remembered exactly who Remy Moreland was.
He was in the newspaper years earlier. Her mother had shown her a copy. Remy Moreland was involved in a fatal street race. His Porsche had been split in two, killing him and a young woman in another car.
Remy Moreland was dead.
But if he was dead, what was he doing here, alive, and with her?
Sweat broke out on the back of her neck and her vision clouded. This was someone’s idea of an evil, evil joke. She had to get out. She had to find her way home.
Standing, she grabbed the edge of the deck for support. “I have to get out of here,” she mumbled and stumbled her way around the desk.
He grabbed her around the waist. “You can’t go back out there. It’s dangerous.”
She sunk her open palms against his chest and struggled to get out of his grip. “Get off of me, you malevolent freak! You’re dead! You’ve been dead for years!” she blurted.
Immediately, he let go and jumped back from her as if he had been stung.
“What are you talking about? He demanded.
She backed away, ready to make a run for the front door. But the confused mix of anger and disbelief in his contorted expression stopped her.
How could he not know he was dead?
“It was years ago, Remy. You had an accident. It was in the newspaper.”
He tilted his head, his blue eyes huge. “Do I look dead to you?”
Well, he was pale, his blue eyes ethereal. She hesitated, and then spoke. “Now that you mention it…”
“You bitch!” he snapped.
The force of his voice caused her to flinch and she raised her fingers to her throbbing temples. All she wanted at that moment was to get out of this man’s sight and find her way home.
“I’m not dead,” he stated ominously.
“Okay, you’re not dead,” she conceded as she rubbed circles on her temples.
He took a step closer. “As a matter of fact, right now I am languishing across town in a nursing home. I eat through a tube in my belly and piss into a catheter bag. I remain nothing but an emaciated, contorted version of the man I once was.”
She closed her eyes. This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening. None of this was real.
When she opened her eyes, he was in front of her, a macabre grin creasing his handsome features. He lifted a brow. “So, what did you do?”
“Do? What are you talking about?”
“To get here. You know my situation, so what’s yours?”
He wasn’t making any sense. She turned away from him, left the office and began to walk the long hallway to the front door, but he followed her closely.
“Let me guess,” he provoked. “You look like a murder-suicide kind of girl. You’re not wearing a wedding ring, so I’m assuming you shot your boyfriend in the head and then offed yourself in some spectacular way—like jumping off a balcony and splattering on the ground. How could you have known you would wind up here?” he chuckled unpleasantly.
She stopped cold. How could he say such a horrible thing? She turned back to him only to find him mere inches from her. “You’re horrible. You don’t even know me, but you’ve resorted to participating in some sort of evil joke on me. I just want to go home…or wake up.”
“Your life as you know it is over, Leah.”
“What are saying, Remy? That I’m dead?”
“You’re not dead…not quite. This is limbo…purgatory…the first circle of Hell. The most wretched place on earth where you are sent to atone for your sins.”
Back To You/Natalie-Nicole Bates + giveaway!!
I’m thrilled to be here at the Staying Home Party here at TRS! I’ll be around this weekend to talk about my current releases.
While I’m here, I’ll be giving away to one lucky commenter a $10 Amazon gift card! So feel free to comment and question away!
My latest release is a contemporary romance called BACK TO YOU. Originally released in early 2012, its first publisher decided to leave the business. Books To Go Now saved the day and re-released Back To You last month. BACK TO YOU is a 2012 Festival of Romance Reader’s Award FINALIST for Best Short Romance.
Here is where you can find me!
Social media links for Natalie-Nicole Bates
Twitter: BatesNatalie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/natalienicole.bates
Blog: www.natalienicolebates.com
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/natalienicolebates
Street Team Sign Up: https://www.facebook.com/groups/441841792565396/
Blurb:
On the surface, Lynsey Reznor seems to have it all. She is beautiful, brilliant, and a successful true-crime writer who has been living the past decade in Miami. But what Lynsey lacks is what she needs the most—a family.
After the death of her mother, and yet another failed relationship, Lynsey makes an impulsive decision to return to her hometown of Unity. But Unity will present its own bittersweet memories, most notably, her first love, Nick Lincoln.
Twenty years ago, Nick broke teenager Lynsey’s heart when he decided to marry another. He had his own private reasons—reasons he never explained to Lynsey. Now she is back, along with a chance to reclaim her love. But Lynsey wants answers from him that he may never be able to give out of duty and guilt.
Buy Links:
Amazon (Back To You Collection-includes BONUS stories Remember The Stars and Antique Charming)
Amazon (Back To You-Single Release)
Excerpt:
When he heard her, he came to her, took her into his arms, and kissed her. It was a comfort that he wasn’t regretting their lovemaking. She didn’t think she could handle being rejected by him twice in her lifetime.
“Do you have to leave soon?” she asked.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to, but I have to.” He went to the stove and prepared her a cup of coffee. “I think we should start planning our wedding. We could be married at Christmas.”
She was taken aback. Is this his proposal ? This was supposed to be so romantic and memorable, not talk about planning a Christmas wedding while he stirred a cup of coffee.
“Do you even want to get married?” She took the coffee mug he offered. “I mean, it wasn’t that long ago that you told me you weren’t sure you ever wanted to be married again. You said you didn’t see fatherhood in your future, and Nick, I want a baby…more than one. I grew up as an only child and I was so alone. I don’t want my child to have to experience that.”
“Well, I didn’t use a condom last night. You could be pregnant right now,” was his reply.
Heaviness descended upon her heart. This was so not how she wanted this morning to be, and certainly not the marriage proposal she had dreamed of. “I’m on the Pill—I won’t get pregnant if that’s all you’re worried about.”
“I’m sorry, that’s not the only reason we should get married.”
“Then why?” she asked suspiciously.
He let out an exaggerated sigh. “Lynsey, I don’t have time to get into this with you right now. What do you want me to say in the five minutes I have before I leave for work?”
She couldn’t believe his glib attitude. “How about saying something to me like…‘I love you, Lynsey, and I made a tremendous mistake by not marrying you twenty years ago?’ That would take you less than thirty seconds to say, and you could have easily gotten to your precious job on time.”
Suddenly his jaw set and his eyes narrowed. “I didn’t make a mistake by not marrying you twenty years ago! I let you go to become a success in life—and you did. I can’t regret that!”
“So, what I thought all these years was correct. I was nothing to you but a quick and easy way to shed your virginity.” Just saying the words was devastating.
“That’s not it at all,” he vehemently insisted. “You were always so intelligent. I mean, you were a sixteen-year-old senior in high school! Just how many grades did you skip over, anyway?”
“Two,” she answered in a low voice.
“Do you know what would have happened if I hadn’t married Kelly?” He didn’t wait for her reply. “I’ll tell you what. You and I would have been ostracized by everyone in this town! We would have had to be married right away, and we would have had to live with your mother, because I had no money.”
“My mother loved you. She would have been happy to have us live with her,” she interjected.
“And we were so naïve, Lynsey. You would have graduated high school with either a big belly, or a baby in your arms…if you had graduated at all.”
She crossed her arms over her breasts and looked at the floor. She was too afraid that if she looked at him she would break down. “Some of the girls in school were married. A few of them had babies.”
He lifted her chin and forced her to make eye contact with him. “And you were too smart to be stuck in this town, and just another housewife. You would have become bored and resentful.”
“I wouldn’t have known the difference,” she countered.
“I had serious doubts then. I still have doubts now,” he admitted.
Her dark lashes flew upward. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I believe that you will become bored and restless in Unity and will want to go back to Florida or maybe California. I have a job and a family here, Lynsey. I don’t ever want to give that up. I’m afraid that we’ll have a child, and you’ll take my baby and leave. I can not allow that to happen.”
She couldn’t believe what he was saying. Nothing was further from the truth. “Do you think I would have sunk so much of my savings into that house just to abandon it? I would never, ever do what you’re saying. But if circumstances changed, I would expect you to support what was best for our family. Couples who are committed make sacrifices for each other!”
It was becoming clearer and clearer that things were rapidly falling apart between them.
“Lynsey, didn’t what happened between us last night mean anything to you?” he asked.
She chuckled unpleasantly. “I suppose that with us living in such close proximity, last night was inevitable. But don’t worry about it happening again, Nick. When you get home this evening, I won’t be here.”
“Where are you going to be?”
She wanted to hurt Nick like she was now hurting. “I’m sure that Caleb wouldn’t mind me bunking down at his house for a week or two.”
“Over my dead body,” he seethed. “I will drag you away from him kicking and screaming if it comes to it. I’ll handcuff you to my bed if need be. Believe me, Lynsey, I’ll do it!” He flopped down into a kitchen chair and buried his face in his hands.
“I have to go now, Nick. I’m meeting your sister for breakfast. Listen to me. You need to pull yourself together. In your line of work, bad things happen when you lose your concentration.”
When he didn’t reply, she let out a sigh of resignation and headed for the door. At the last minute she turned to him. “Thanks for almost making it happen between us.”
Back To You/Natalie-Nicole Bates + a great giveaway!
I’m thrilled to be here today to talk a bit about my latest release, Back To You. Back To You is a contemporary romance and 2012 Finalist for Best Short Romance at the Festival of Romance.
Back To You was originally released in early 2012, but its publisher has since left the business. Books To Go Now has since picked up the book and re-released it. I am honoured that Books to Go Now has made Back To You a part of a very special collection featuring two bonus stories: My paranormal romance novella, Remember The Stars, and my paranormal short story, Antique Charming. Back To You can also be bought as a single release.
In celebration of Back To You, I am giving away to one lucky commenter today a $10 Amazon gift card. To enter, simply leave a comment at this post.
Connect with Natalie-Nicole
Twitter: @BatesNatalie
Natalie-Nicole Bates Street Team Sign Up
Blurb:
BACK TO YOU/Natalie-Nicole Bates
On the surface, Lynsey Reznor seems to have it all. She is beautiful, brilliant, and a successful true-crime writer who has been living the past decade in Miami. But what Lynsey lacks is what she needs the most—a family.
After the death of her mother, and yet another failed relationship, Lynsey makes an impulsive decision to return to her hometown of Unity. But Unity will present its own bittersweet memories, most notably, her first love, Nick Lincoln.
Twenty years ago, Nick broke teenager Lynsey’s heart when he decided to marry another. He had his own private reasons—reasons he never explained to Lynsey. Now she is back, along with a chance to reclaim her love. But Lynsey wants answers from him that he may never be able to give out of duty and guilt.
Buy Links
Back To You (single release)
Excerpt
When he heard her, he came to her, took her into his arms, and kissed her. It was a comfort that he wasn’t regretting their lovemaking. She didn’t think she could handle being rejected by him twice in her lifetime.
“Do you have to leave soon?” she asked.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to, but I have to.” He went to the stove and prepared her a cup of coffee. “I think we should start planning our wedding. We could be married at Christmas.”
She was taken aback. Is this his proposal ? This was supposed to be so romantic and memorable, not talk about planning a Christmas wedding while he stirred a cup of coffee.
“Do you even want to get married?” She took the coffee mug he offered. “I mean, it wasn’t that long ago that you told me you weren’t sure you ever wanted to be married again. You said you didn’t see fatherhood in your future, and Nick, I want a baby…more than one. I grew up as an only child and I was so alone. I don’t want my child to have to experience that.”
“Well, I didn’t use a condom last night. You could be pregnant right now,” was his reply.
Heaviness descended upon her heart. This was so not how she wanted this morning to be, and certainly not the marriage proposal she had dreamed of. “I’m on the Pill—I won’t get pregnant if that’s all you’re worried about.”
“I’m sorry, that’s not the only reason we should get married.”
“Then why?” she asked suspiciously.
He let out an exaggerated sigh. “Lynsey, I don’t have time to get into this with you right now. What do you want me to say in the five minutes I have before I leave for work?”
She couldn’t believe his glib attitude. “How about saying something to me like…‘I love you, Lynsey, and I made a tremendous mistake by not marrying you twenty years ago?’ That would take you less than thirty seconds to say, and you could have easily gotten to your precious job on time.”
Suddenly his jaw set and his eyes narrowed. “I didn’t make a mistake by not marrying you twenty years ago! I let you go to become a success in life—and you did. I can’t regret that!”
“So, what I thought all these years was correct. I was nothing to you but a quick and easy way to shed your virginity.” Just saying the words was devastating.
“That’s not it at all,” he vehemently insisted. “You were always so intelligent. I mean, you were a sixteen-year-old senior in high school! Just how many grades did you skip over, anyway?”
“Two,” she answered in a low voice.
“Do you know what would have happened if I hadn’t married Kelly?” He didn’t wait for her reply. “I’ll tell you what. You and I would have been ostracized by everyone in this town! We would have had to be married right away, and we would have had to live with your mother, because I had no money.”
“My mother loved you. She would have been happy to have us live with her,” she interjected.
“And we were so naïve, Lynsey. You would have graduated high school with either a big belly, or a baby in your arms…if you had graduated at all.”
She crossed her arms over her breasts and looked at the floor. She was too afraid that if she looked at him she would break down. “Some of the girls in school were married. A few of them had babies.”
He lifted her chin and forced her to make eye contact with him. “And you were too smart to be stuck in this town, and just another housewife. You would have become bored and resentful.”
“I wouldn’t have known the difference,” she countered.
“I had serious doubts then. I still have doubts now,” he admitted.
Her dark lashes flew upward. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I believe that you will become bored and restless in Unity and will want to go back to Florida or maybe California. I have a job and a family here, Lynsey. I don’t ever want to give that up. I’m afraid that we’ll have a child, and you’ll take my baby and leave. I can not allow that to happen.”
She couldn’t believe what he was saying. Nothing was further from the truth. “Do you think I would have sunk so much of my savings into that house just to abandon it? I would never, ever do what you’re saying. But if circumstances changed, I would expect you to support what was best for our family. Couples who are committed make sacrifices for each other!”
It was becoming clearer and clearer that things were rapidly falling apart between them.
“Lynsey, didn’t what happened between us last night mean anything to you?” he asked.
She chuckled unpleasantly. “I suppose that with us living in such close proximity, last night was inevitable. But don’t worry about it happening again, Nick. When you get home this evening, I won’t be here.”
“Where are you going to be?”
She wanted to hurt Nick like she was now hurting. “I’m sure that Caleb wouldn’t mind me bunking down at his house for a week or two.”
“Over my dead body,” he seethed. “I will drag you away from him kicking and screaming if it comes to it. I’ll handcuff you to my bed if need be. Believe me, Lynsey, I’ll do it!” He flopped down into a kitchen chair and buried his face in his hands.
“I have to go now, Nick. I’m meeting your sister for breakfast. Listen to me. You need to pull yourself together. In your line of work, bad things happen when you lose your concentration.”
When he didn’t reply, she let out a sigh of resignation and headed for the door. At the last minute she turned to him. “Thanks for almost making it happen between us.”
Back To You Collection by Natalie-Nicole Bates released today + giveaway!
I’m thrilled that my newest contemporary romance, Back To You, is released today by Books To Go Now and available at Amazon!
But that’s not all…
This is a special release. Not only does it include Back To You (a finalist at the 2012 Festival of Romance Reader’s Awards), but you will receive two bonus stories! The paranormal romance novella, Remember The Stars + my paranormal short story, Antique Charming!
In celebration of this release, I’m giving away a VERY limited-edition Remember The Stars naughty balm (for lips and other bits!) + a limited-edition SEE ME perfume, crafted from the inspiration of my paranormal novella, SEE ME, available now at Leap of Faith Publishing and Amazon.
To enter, simply leave me a comment below!
Also, I’m participating in FOUR blog hops during the next week, each with a great prize attached. I have several tours starting soon, each featuring an amazon gift card giveaway. I’m also looking for a few more members to join the Natalie-Nicole Bates Street Team. So why not stop by my blog and sign up to follow me?
Twitter: @BatesNatalie
Natalie-Nicole Bates Street Team
The Back To You Collection is available at Amazon
Back To You
On the surface, Lynsey Reznor seems to have it all. She is beautiful, brilliant, and a successful true-crime writer who has been living the past decade in Miami. But what Lynsey lacks is what she needs the most—a family.
After the death of her mother, and yet another failed relationship, Lynsey makes an impulsive decision to return to her hometown of Unity. But Unity will present its own bittersweet memories, most notably, her first love, Nick Lincoln.
Twenty years ago, Nick broke teenager Lynsey’s heart when he decided to marry another. He had his own private reasons—reasons he never explained to Lynsey. Now she is back, along with a chance to reclaim her love. But Lynsey wants answers from him that he may never be able to give out of duty and guilt.
Remember The Stars
For Leah Rhodes, life as she knows it has just changed forever.
Waking in a gutter in the dark surroundings of her distant past, a familiar man stands out in her confusion.
But Remy Moreland has been dead for years.
It soon becomes apparent to Leah that both she and Remy are trapped in a hell of their own making.
Can one night together not only lead to the way out, but to love as well?
Antique Charming (short story)
Third-generation funeral director Lizzie Morton is about to have her dream realized. She has purchased the long abandoned Nichols Funeral Home and its upstairs flat, determined to restore the funeral home to its once former glory. But a late night visitor, Adam Nichols, claims the funeral home still belongs to his family. Lizzie scoffs at his odd behaviour and outlandish claims, but when a vintage photograph appears, she soon realizes, to her horror, that Adam Nichols did once own the funeral home—more than one hundred years ago—and now she has allowed this entity to pass into her home.
Remember The Stars/Natalie-Nicole Bates + a great giveaway!
I’m thrilled to be here today to talk about the release of my new paranormal romance novella, Remember The Stars, available exclusively now at Amazon through Books To Go Now.
In honour of this release, I’d love to give away a fabulous pair of handmade earrings to one lucky commenter today. To enter, simply leave a comment at this post with a way to get in touch.
Remember The Stars/Natalie-Nicole Bates
For Leah Rhodes, life as she knows it has just changed forever.
Waking in a gutter in the dark surroundings of her distant past, a familiar man stands out in her confusion.
But Remy Moreland has been dead for years.
It soon becomes apparent to Leah that both she and Remy are trapped in a hell of their own making.
Can one night together not only lead to the way out, but to love as well?
Available at Amazon
Excerpt:
“Remy,” she said his name. Where did she know that name from? It wasn’t common. Think, Leah, think. Then it hit her—hard.
She remembered exactly who Remy Moreland was.
He was in the newspaper years earlier. Her mother had shown her a copy. Remy Moreland was involved in a fatal street race. His Porsche had been split in two, killing him and a young woman in another car.
Remy Moreland was dead.
But if he was dead, what was he doing here, alive, and with her?
Sweat broke out on the back of her neck and her vision clouded. This was someone’s idea of an evil, evil joke. She had to get out. She had to find her way home.
Standing, she grabbed the edge of the deck for support. “I have to get out of here,” she mumbled and stumbled her way around the desk.
He grabbed her around the waist. “You can’t go back out there. It’s dangerous.”
She sunk her open palms against his chest and struggled to get out of his grip. “Get off of me, you malevolent freak! You’re dead! You’ve been dead for years!” she blurted.
Immediately, he let go and jumped back from her as if he had been stung.
“What are you talking about? He demanded.
She backed away, ready to make a run for the front door. But the confused mix of anger and disbelief in his contorted expression stopped her.
How could he not know he was dead?
“It was years ago, Remy. You had an accident. It was in the newspaper.”
He tilted his head, his blue eyes huge. “Do I look dead to you?”
Well, he was pale, his blue eyes ethereal. She hesitated, and then spoke. “Now that you mention it…”
“You bitch!” he snapped.
The force of his voice caused her to flinch and she raised her fingers to her throbbing temples. All she wanted at that moment was to get out of this man’s sight and find her way home.
“I’m not dead,” he stated ominously.
“Okay, you’re not dead,” she conceded as she rubbed circles on her temples.
He took a step closer. “As a matter of fact, right now I am languishing across town in a nursing home. I eat through a tube in my belly and piss into a catheter bag. I remain nothing but an emaciated, contorted version of the man I once was.”
She closed her eyes. This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening. None of this was real.
When she opened her eyes, he was in front of her, a macabre grin creasing his handsome features. He lifted a brow. “So, what did you do?”
“Do? What are you talking about?”
“To get here. You know my situation, so what’s yours?”
He wasn’t making any sense. She turned away from him, left the office and began to walk the long hallway to the front door, but he followed her closely.
“Let me guess,” he provoked. “You look like a murder-suicide kind of girl. You’re not wearing a wedding ring, so I’m assuming you shot your boyfriend in the head and then offed yourself in some spectacular way—like jumping off a balcony and splattering on the ground. How could you have known you would wind up here?” he chuckled unpleasantly.
She stopped cold. How could he say such a horrible thing? She turned back to him only to find him mere inches from her. “You’re horrible. You don’t even know me, but you’ve resorted to participating in some sort of evil joke on me. I just want to go home…or wake up.”
“Your life as you know it is over, Leah.”
“What are saying, Remy? That I’m dead?”
“You’re not dead…not quite. This is limbo…purgatory…the first circle of Hell. The most wretched place on earth where you are sent to atone for your sins.”
Find me:
Twitter: @BatesNatalie
Remember The Stars/Natalie-Nicole Bates + Giveaways!
I’m so happy to be here today to talk about my newest release, a paranormal romance novella called Remember The Stars.
To coincide with this fabulous party, Remember The Stars is FREE for you to download today and tomorrow at Amazon. Be sure to get your copy today!
I am also giving away a gorgeous pair of handmade earrings, the details are available on a separate post, so be sure to enter.
Also, be sure to visit my blog, I am participating in several blog hops with cool jewellery giveaways! So download your free copy of Remember The Stars and hop on over to my blog for more chances to win!
Blurb:
For Leah Rhodes, life as she knows it has just changed forever.
Waking in a gutter in the dark surroundings of her distant past, a familiar man stands out in her confusion.
But Remy Moreland has been dead for years.
It soon becomes apparent to Leah that both she and Remy are trapped in a hell of their own making.
Can one night together not only lead to the way out, but to love as well?
Short Excerpt:
Barefoot, she crossed the dark street and began making her way in the direction of the police station. If she remembered correctly, it was three blocks away. A chill rose on her skin as she tried to remain focused. She concentrated on taking one agonizing footstep in front of the other.
When she crossed over the first street, she stopped to rest beneath a street light. Leaning up against the side of a brick house, she took notice of how eerily quiet her surroundings were. The only sound was her own breathing. There simply was nothing, and no one. Was she truly alone? She wondered.
She shook off the intrusive thought. Of course she wasn’t alone. Remy Moreland was real. Well, the late Remy Moreland was sort of real. Maybe surreal was a better word.
He had spun some tale of purgatory, of languishing between life and death. Then a thought struck her like a blow from above.
What if he was telling the truth?
Links:
http://www.natalienicolebates.com
Twitter: BatesNatalie
Natalie-Nicole Bates giveaways!!
I’m thrilled to be here today to talk about my newest release, Remember The Stars and to host a cool giveaway! Today I’m giving away this fabulous pair of handmade earrings. For your chance to win, simply leave me a comment with a way to get in touch with you!
But it gets even better…
Remember the Stars is available today and tomorrow for you to download from Amazon for FREE! How cool is that?
And if that isn’t enough, I am participating in two blog hops at my blog, with a third starting at midnight tonight! Each hop has a different piece of jewellery as my prize. So be sure to hop on over to my blog after you have downloaded Remember The Stars!
Love, Natalie-Nicole xx
Remember The Stars/Natalie-Nicole Bates now available at Amazon
I’m thrilled to announce that my new paranormal romance novella, Remember The Stars, is now available to buy at Amazon! How cool is that? Be the first to get your copy today!
Remember The Stars will be available from the publisher’s site (Books To Go Now) in the next few days.
Now that we’re nearing the end of the party, remember that I’m offering a giveaway at my posts for your choice of any of my currently published ebooks + the matching limited-edition perfume (with the exception of Antique Charming, as these are all gone, and I don’t have Remember The Stars in stock yet).
To enter, simply leave a comment at any of my posts during the party with a way to get in touch.
Also, why not stop at my blog and sign up to follow me while you’re there by Google, Linky, Facebook, or Twitter? I currently am participating in two blog hops with great prize giveaways, and have two blog tours for my paranormal romance SEE ME, starting this week, both with an Amazon gift card grand prize.
http://www.natalienicolebates.com
Twitter: BatesNatalie
http://www.facebook.com/natalienicole.bates
Remember The Stars/Natalie-Nicole Bates
For Leah Rhodes, life as she knows it has just changed forever.
Waking in a gutter in the dark surroundings of her distant past, a familiar man stands out in her confusion.
But Remy Moreland has been dead for years.
It soon becomes apparent to Leah that both she and Remy are trapped in a hell of their own making.
Can one night together not only lead to the way out, but to love as well?
Available now at Amazon
