Of
Love and Darkness
Twisted
Fate
Book
One
Tami
Lund
Genre: Paranormal, Shifters
Publisher: Soul Mates Publishing
Date of Publication: June 24,
2015
ASIN: B00ZJ7SRB8
Number of pages: 181
Word Count: 60k
Cover Artist: Syneca Featherstone
Book Description:
OF LOVE AND DARKNESS kicks off
the new Twisted Fate shape-shifter series. There are two kinds of shifters:
Rakshasa and Light Ones. Rakshasa want to snack on human bones. Light Ones want
to protect the humans.
Unfortunately, the Rakshasa are
currently winning the battle, as the Light Ones are not fertile. Only one type
of Light One, exceedingly rare females called Chala, are able to produce
offspring. The Rakshasa know this, and have managed to nearly decimate the
population.
Enter Gavin Rowan, a cursed
Rakshasa who believes he is a Light One. He feels all his Rakshasa urges to
kill, but has been cursed to protect the Light Ones instead.
Throw Sydney Amataya into the
mix. She is a Chala– except she doesn't know it. At least not until Gavin saves
her from a Rakshasa attack and then declares her as his mate.
But that’s not how Sydney
operates. Encouraged by her cross-dressing Fate, William, she refuses Gavin’s
claim. If he wants to mate with her–once she gets over the shock of discovering
this supernatural world, that is–he's going to have to woo her, impress her,
wine and dine her. Romance her. She deserves no less, end of the world be
damned.
Guest Post: Why Shifters?
Here’s a question: why shifters? I’ve now started two series
centered around shifters – the Twisted Fate Series (Of Love and Darkness is the
first of three books) and the Lightbearer Series. Twisted Fate is entirely
about shifters, while Lightbearer was supposed to be about magical beings
called, well, Lightbearers. Yet when I threw shifters into the mix in that
series, it became about shifters. How did that happen?
The answer is simple: shifters are one of my favorite genres
to read. So not coincidentally, I also happen to enjoy writing about them. They
are sexy, strong, powerful, hot, did I mention sexy? In my reasonably extensive
research, I have learned a few things
about these seductive alpha beings.
I’ve learned they all have one thing in common. All shape
shifters have the ability to change from human form into…something else. And
that, as far as I have been able to determine, is the single aspect that
defines every shifter in every book I’ve ever read or written. Beyond that,
well, every author interprets them a little differently. Which is the way it
should be, right? We’re talking magic, and magic is defined by the imagination
of the person writing it.
Some shifters can only change into the form of one animal.
These are typically referred to as were-animals (werewolves, were-bearers,
were- you get the picture). Others are able to shift into pretty much any
animal, or, as I like to explain in my books, the form of any warm-blooded
being. The shifters in my Lightbearer Series can even shift into the form of
birds, if they are so inclined. This comes in handy when one wants to escape
rapidly and he’s on the second floor or at the top of a cliff (both situations
occur in the first book in this series).
Many shifters’ clothing cannot shift with them. The clothing
is either shed before the shift or, if the shift must occur with little notice,
the clothing is torn to shreds when the body changes and alters, and the
shifter must figure out another means of covering his naughty bits when he
returns to human form.
The shifters in my books can shift while wearing clothing,
and when they return to human form, their clothing returns to their body
exactly as it was before the shift. I admit, I made this decision out of
convenience. I considering the no-clothing route because, let’s be honest, that
makes more sense, from a non-magical standpoint. But I was having a difficult
time writing the whole, “Hold on, I have to strip and hide my clothing for
later” aspect into the various scenes and plots and sub-plots of the series. So
I decided if magic can make a person change from human to animal, then magic
can make that person’s clothes reappear when they return to human form.
Some shifters have the ability to speak to each other
telepathically. Some are able to harness other forms of magic, too. Some have
glowing eyes. In my Lightbearer series, the shifters’ eyes glow when they are
feeling strong emotions. Anger, frustration, sadness, passion. Even if the
shifter is trying to act stoic and passive, the object of his desire, if she is
smart enough, can figure out pretty easily that he feels something, if his eyes
are glowing. It’s practically a declaration of love.
Or lust.
Some shifters eat only red meat. Actually, the desire to eat
red meat might possibly qualify as the second thing all shifters have in
common, now that I think about it. Or maybe not. A vegetarian shifter could
make for an intriguing storyline.
Many shifters have obsessive, jealous personalities. Like a
dog, protecting his bone. Or his house. Or his mate. My shifters have this
trait. In fact, it plays heavily into the next couple of books in the Lightbearer
series.
I’m sure I’ve missed a few common traits. What other traits
do you notice in your favorite books about shifters or weres? Which common
traits are your favorite?
Excerpt:
It was silent for long
moments before Sydney realized the two animals had stopped fighting. She risked
a quick glance over her shoulder and saw that one of them, the larger, bulkier
one lay on the ground in a pool of blood, his lifeless eyes staring at her,
unseeing. Sydney swallowed back bile and turned away from the grisly scene.
And found herself staring
at Gavin’s T-shirt-covered chest, as he crouched in front of her and cradled
her wounded arm with more gentleness than she would have given him credit for.
She tried to wrench her arm free and let out a gasp of pain.
“Stop moving,” Gavin
commanded in his gravelly voice. He gently slid her shredded coat off her
shoulder, as if he meant to inspect the wound more closely.
“Where the hell were
you?” Sydney demanded. “I just got attacked by a rabid dog. A really big dog. I
need to go to the hospital. I need a rabies shot. Damn it, that hurts.” She
hissed as he ripped off the arm of her sweater, instead of trying to tug the
entire thing over her head.
“Hey,” she protested,
“that’s my favorite sweater.”
Gavin gave the sweater a
look that indicated he could not quite understand why it was her favorite, and
then he prodded the wounds on her arm. Blood poured freely from four long
slashes, dripping off the tips of her fingers and onto her now-ruined coat.
“I doubt he had rabies,”
he muttered as he continued to inspect the wounds. “And I just rescued you, so
you’re welcome.”
Sydney gaped at him.
“Rescued me? Rescued me? You ran like a cat when somebody pulls out the water
hose, you moron. There were two dogs. One jumped out at me and the other
attacked him. They started fighting and I somehow got caught in the crosshairs.
We should probably get the hell out of here though, because only one of them is
dead back there. The other one might decide to come back and attack us.”
“He won’t,” Gavin said
with an odd inflection in his voice. “But you’re right, there are others, and
the scent of blood will bring them relatively quickly. Especially your blood.
What are you?”
To Sydney’s utter horror,
he leaned close to her wounded arm and sniffed, like a dog checking out another
dog’s scent.
She gave her arm another
jerk, but Gavin held her in a death grip. “What are you doing?” she asked as he
bent closer still and then . . . licked
her wounded arm.
“Ew!”
Gavin’s eyes glazed over,
as if he had fallen under some sort of spell. He blinked dazedly for a few
heartbeats, his hands grasping her arm in a tight enough grip she thought the
appendage might go numb. And then he bent his head and licked her wounds again,
this time with earnest, licking over and over, as if he intended to clean up
every last bit of blood. By the time the entire area was cleansed of all traces
of blood, he was panting heavily and his eyes were still glazed. Sydney
couldn’t be certain, but the bulge in his pants seemed to have gotten larger.
“Gross,” she snapped.
“Now I have to get a rabies and a tetanus shot. I hate shots. Can you
get hepatitis this way? I bet you have some sort of sexually transmitted
disease, and now you’ve given it to me.”
“No disease,” he managed
between pants and licks.
“I’m supposed to take
your word for it? Get away from me.” She twisted her shoulder, and slid her arm
out of a grasp that had gone slack. She was startled that she only experienced
a twinge of pain, and when she looked down at her arm, her eyes widened as she
realized the four long gashes were no longer bleeding, and in fact, appeared to
actually be healing right before her eyes.
“What the . . .?”
“Chala,” Gavin whispered,
his eyes still glazed and, were they glowing?
It was the third time that evening she thought she saw glowing eyes. Sydney
glanced up at the darkened, cloudy sky and wondered if it wasn’t some trick of
the lights in downtown Detroit.
“Chala,” he whispered again.
Sydney gave him a cross
look. “My name isn’t Chala.”
“You are a Chala,” Gavin
said. The glazed look faded from his eyes, and while they still appeared to
glow faintly, they had taken on a far more calculating look. Despite her
current situation, she couldn’t help but think he had lovely silver-blue eyes.
“And you are my mate.”
About
the Author:
Tami Lund likes to live, love,
and laugh, and does her best to ensure the characters in her books do the same.
After they've overcome a few seemingly insurmountable obstacles first, of
course.
Tami is multi-published, both
self and with a few publishers, including Crimson Romance, Liquid Silver Books,
and Soul Mates Publishing. Chances are, there is a new book coming out soon. Be
sure to stalk her on social media, so you know when.
And most important, if you
enjoyed one of Tami's books, please let other readers know by leaving a review
on the site from which you bought it, or on Goodreads. Otherwise, how will they
know which book to read next?
