By
Shiela Stewart (Guest Blogger)
Recently
a new neighbor has moved in. Well, of the furry kind. A floppy
eared, hoppy kind. It's not unusual to see a rabbit or jack rabbit
hopping down the street, or sitting in a yard. The hop away if you
try to get close. Me and my family love seeing them and watching
them. Several years ago, rabbits decided to take up residence in my
back yard. My poor black lab, Bella (RIP) was terrified of them. LOL
But
back to my new neighbor. We would come outside to see her (my hubby
insists it’s a boy) hunched down in their flower garden. She’s
dug out a spot where she sits.
Why,
you may ask, do I insist it’s a girl? Because she goes to the same
spot every time. She dug a spot in the dirt and she hunches right
down and sits there all day, leaving a few times, I assume, to eat. I
think she’s making a spot to have her babies.
I
think it would be cute to see a bunch of tiny bunnies hopping around.
But I do agree with my daughter. They’d eat my plants, though she
hasn’t touched any so far.
We’ll
keep watching her, and maybe soon, I’ll see some tiny hoppers in my
yard.
Then
one day, while watching her sitting in her usual spot, I jokingly
said to myself, Maybe she’s a shifter. That’s my author's brain
at work. My mind goes into overdrive and I began building a story
around her. What if she’s a shape-shifter, and she has been sent
here to observe the human race, to learn from us, imitate us? What if
they plan to take over the world? There could be millions of
shape-shifters around in other forms, monitoring us and we would
never know it. I now, it's just fiction, yet… when I asked the
bunny if she was a shape-shifter, she looked at me, then hopped off.
Hmmmm, Maybe…
And
that’s what brings me here today. My shape-shifter story, Surviving
the Darkness. I’ve never written
a shape-shifter into any of my books. I mainly write about vampires,
demons and ghosts. Yet here I was, creating a shifter, and not just
any shifter. He’s a wealthy bar owner with a passionate heart. And
what better place for a shifter than in a town run by vampires.
Surviving
the Darkness is the last book in my
Darkness series.
Here
is the blurb
|
You
can run, but you can’t hide.
|
|
Surviving
an abduction, and running home to hide, might seem like a good
idea. Except home is now run by vampires.
Deborah
Carmichael had it all. Fame, fortune and an amazing gift bringing
songs to life on her piano. Until a madman began stalking her. At
first he seemed harmless, attending her concerts, asking for
autographs. Then he turned creepy, sending photos of himself
wearing identical dresses she wore, dressing up mannequins in her
likeness. But she made a vital mistake, sending her bodyguard
away. It was the perfect opportunity for her abductor to strike.
Rich,
debonair, and owner of the only vampire/demon establishment in
Jacobs Cove, Zachary Adams has it all. Or so he thought. When a
beautiful, troubled young woman walks into his club, he is
instantly taken by her. Helping her overcome her fears, teaching
her to stand up and fight, Zach knows she is the one.
When
her abductor finds her, and takes her captive, Deborah fears this
will be the end. Will Zach find her on time, or will Deborah find
the strength to fight?
|
Excerpt
“What
is that?” A rag doll-like dummy held up by posts on either side
stood in the living room.
“Your
enemy.” Taking her hand in his, Zach led her to the dummy. “Meet
Buster.”
“Buster?”
Was he serious?
“He’s
here for you to beat on.” He made the dummy dance and brought out a
smile.
“Come
again?”
“I
can feel you hesitating when I’m teaching you self defense. I know
it’s because you don’t want to hurt me, so this is my solution.”
“You
want me to pound on this rag doll?” She held a hand out to the
dummy.
“I
do indeed. He can take it.” To demonstrate, Zach threw out a right
cross that shook the dummy on the release.
“You’re
a very strange man.” Yet it made her smile. When he took her in his
arms, drawing her to his chest and kissed her forehead, then her
lips, every muscle relaxed.
“I
love the dreamy look in your eyes after I kiss you. Okay, let’s get
started.”
Deborah
stood still, her mind numb. He had a way of making her feel safe. He
had a way of making her feel. Period. “Are you ready? Let’s get
started,” he said.
She
felt absolutely ridiculous, but she stepped up to the dummy and
jabbed it with her right fist.
Zach
snorted beside her. “My grandmother can punch harder than that, and
she’s a hundred and ten. Come on, Deborah, give it all you’ve
got.”
“Seriously?”
That can’t be real. He was probably just egging her on.
“As
serious as I am standing right in front of you. Come on, show me what
you’ve got.”
Deepening
her frown, she jabbed the dummy one more time with a little more
heat.
“If
he had a voice he’d be laughing at you right now. Hit him,
Deborah!”
Shooting
Zach a heated glare, she balled her hand and plowed it into the
dummy’s gut. It rocked, it teetered, but remained standing.
“See.
Now kick it.” He demonstrated with a kick to the dummy’s shin.
“This
is stupid,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
“Kick
it.”
He
was beginning to piss her off. Lifting her right foot, she slammed it
into the dummy’s gut with enough force to have it rock back and
forth several times before coming to a stop. “Happy?”
“Not
particularly, no.” He walked behind the dummy and lifted one ragged
arm. “Is that all you’ve got?” he said in a wimpy, high-pitched
voice. “Come on, weakling, bring it on.”
“Now
you’re just being foolish.”
“Look
at you, all frail and scrawny,” he continued with the silly voice.
“Those arms are like toothpicks. You can’t take me. You’re too
weak.”
“Why
do you want me to beat on this poor, defenseless object? We both know
I can punch and kick.”
“Why
did I get you to scream for two days?”
“Because
you’re a sadist?” One blond brow lifted.
“I’ve
never been called that before. No, it meant to open you up, bring out
the fighter in you. Now kick me, Deb and do it with meaning.”
“You
never call me Deb.” She hauled off and planted her foot in the
dummy’s leg. She was sure if Zach hadn’t been behind it, the
thing would have toppled over.
“Because
Deborah suits you better. The dummy called you Deb. Do that again,
only this time with your left.” She did, but she didn’t have as
much power in her left as she had in her right.
“Good,
now try the side kick I showed you and go for his mid chest.”
“This
is all fine and good for a dummy, but there is no way I can do this
to a human.” She did as he asked and shifting to her left, raised
her right leg, then jammed it into the dummy’s chest.
“Yes
you can, and you will. Now go with the left.”
She
repeated the move with her left, frowning at Zach. “No, I can’t,
and I won’t. I can’t hurt anyone.”
“Oh,
so you would rather they hurt you. It’s your life or his—which
one do you value more?”
“That’s
a stupid question.”
“Answer
it.”
“Mine,”
she said between her teeth.
“I
don’t think you really mean that,” Zach taunted, flapping the
dummy’s arms at her. “Say it with conviction.”
“Mine,”
she repeated a little firmer, throwing her right fist out at the
dummy’s abdomen.
“Still
not good enough.”
“Mine,”
she shouted, and this time she put everything she had into the kick.
She gasped when both Zach and the dummy went tumbling backward. He
came down hard on his back, dummy resting on top. “I am so sorry!
Are you all right?” Rushing to his side, she pushed the dummy away,
amazed at its heaviness, then placed her hand on Zach’s face.
“Now,
that’s better.” Looking up at her, he smiled.
Buy Links
Champagne Books:
http://champagnebooks.com/store/search?controller=search&orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=shiela+stewart
About
the Author
Shiela
Stewart is a paranormal suspense author with a writing history that
stems back to her youth. Always a dreamer, wondering if her
stories would ever reach an audience, she was finally published in
2006 and hasn’t stopped since. It is rare to find a
stand-alone book as she prefers series stories. Her longest running
series to date is her Darkness series, which is a vampire romance.
Her
joy for scary suspense is evident in each of her books. She has had
several accomplishments, including fighting for the top spot in the
rankings with author Stephanie Myers, receiving glowing reviews as
well as interviews on local television and reviews and interviews in
The Romantic Times Magazine.
When
not writing, Shiela spends her time with the love of her life,
William, and their children and grandchildren.. Her strong affection
for animals is evident in the many cats she cares for.
Her
favorite time of the day is at sunset.
