Sunday 17 June 2012

The Great BLOOD GUILT Excerpt Contest: Part 1!

Since we haven't had a party round here for a while, here's the promised Big Contest instead :).

How big? Well, in four parts, one each day from now until Thursday, leaving Friday for people to catch up before the close of the contest at midnight.

Each day, I'll post an excerpt from my new release, Blood Guilt, followed by a fun question for you to answer in the comments. After that, you need to go to my Facebook page, "Like" it (if you haven't already!) and comment on the excerpt - or the book in general there too. When you've done that, you have one automatic entry to the contest.

If you play on each of the four days, you'll have four entries, and so a four times better chance than if you entered once :).

And the prize? A $20 Amazon gift card (or other currency equivalent if Amazon provides) - which. of course, I'd love you to spend at least partly on Blood Guilt and my other books! :).

So, without more ado, here's the first contest excerpt. Detailed contest instructions will follow!


BLOOD GUILT: Blood Hunters, Book 1
By MARIE TREANOR
Ebook $2.99, Out Now from AmazonAmazon UK and Barnes & Noble

Natural enemies, deadly attraction...

The first of a vampire romance series, a sequel to the Awakened by Blood trilogy.

Mihaela, a fearless vampire hunter secretly haunted by loneliness and childhood tragedy, finds it difficult to adjust to the new world order where vampires are not always the bad guys. She's taking a much needed vacation in Scotland when she sees a little boy being chased through the streets of Edinburgh. Rescuing him brings bigger problems - two vampires from her past: Gavril, who killed her family; and the reclusive and troubled Maximilian, gifted Renaissance artist and one-time overlord of the most powerful undead community in the world. Maximilian once saved her life and now needs that favor returned.

The earth moves for Mihaela in more ways than one. From Scotland to Budapest and Malta, she  races against time to prevent a disastrous, vampire-induced earthquake and save an innocent yet powerful child – all while fighting a dreadful attraction to Maximilian, her only ally, whom she can’t afford to trust. For Maximilian, the hunter becomes a symbol of renewed existence, as he struggles to accept his past and rediscovers his appetite for blood and sex - and maybe even happiness.

*

Prologue

The vampire stood silhouetted against her bedroom window.

Quicker than thought, Mihaela grabbed her stakes and leapt off the bed, poised to defend and kill, just as she was trained to. Her heart hammering in her breast, she faced the intruder: tall; slender; untidy dark hair falling forward over cheekbones that looked sharp enough to cut. Maximilian.

His lips parted, revealing his fangs as he walked toward her through the pale shaft of moonlight. He wore jeans and a faded black tank that clung to his lethal body. Mihaela plunged both stakes together from different angles, to give herself more chance of piercing his heart. Although she didn’t even see his arms move, both weapons were torn from her fingers and hurled onto the carpet.

The vampire reached for her, not to kill, bizarrely, but to take hold of the neck of her nightshirt and rip.

Time slowed and stilled. Naked, she stood in front of him, and they stared at each other.

Christ, he was gorgeous. Like a punk fallen angel, with all the beauty of youth and the sheer, powerful sex appeal that can only come with age. Six centuries of age. Even other vampires didn’t trust Maximilian. Everyone hated him. He was beyond the pale. Perhaps that was why she’d always felt this ridiculous attraction she’d never, ever admit to.

She lashed out at him with her bare hands, but he caught her fists easily, jerking her against him. Her struggles were useless, his strength too great. She felt his erection between her thighs and gasped at the surge of excitement enveloping her whole body. It was wrong, deeply, utterly wrong, and yet when he bared his fangs and bent to her neck, she couldn’t prevent the yearning, the dreadful, naked lust.

He pushed against her, and she fell backward onto the bed, helpless under his weight, panting with as much arousal as fear.

He lay between her legs. His mouth nuzzled her throat, and she was appalled by how good it felt. Then, without even speaking a word, he pushed into her body and bit into her vein, and she fell immediately into orgasm…

****

Mihaela sat up with a cry. Her heart thundered. Sweat trickled down her forehead and between her breasts. Between her damp thighs lurked the ache of pleasure and frustration. But at least her room was empty and the window closed. And her chaste T-shirt still clung undamaged to her body.

With shaking fingers, she pushed her hair back from her hot face and lay down on the pillow.

It wasn’t the first time she’d dreamed of the vampire Maximilian since he’d saved her life so casually. She just prayed it was the last.




To enter the contest, complete both steps  below!

Step 1. Answer the following question in the Comments section of this post: How would you advise Mihaela to deal with her dream problem? (Feel free to be as serious, funny or imaginative as you like :)).

Step 2. Go to my Facebook page, "Like" it, if you haven't already done so, and post a comment there about this excerpt or about the book in general - you'll see a post there about this contest.  

When you've done that, you have one entry to the contest!

All four parts of the contest will end at midnight EST Friday night/Saturday morning, so you must have all your entries in by then!

Watch out for Part 2 of the contest coming tomorrow!

Good luck :)

Marie



Natural enemies, deadly attraction:
BLOOD GUILT, Out Now.



6 comments:

  1. I would tell her to find Maximilian and continue her dream.

    amysmith98@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. A problem?????? If I were her I'd go back to sleep and enjoy!!!!!

    kk

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  3. Love the covers Signet gives you!
    Love a party and getting to peek into the upcoming
    book! Awesome price on the book too!! Will all the
    books be out as this in ebook too? Its going to be
    great reading all these settings they travel
    (especially Scotland!). Awesome Prologue, but you
    had to tease us! I was so caught up I was awed at
    the end there! Love it! I'd say she must go and
    find him, and only him, and give in :D

    cathiecaffey @ gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Cathie - glad to hear it!

      I loved the Signet covers for the Awakened by Blood books too. BLOOD GUILT is my first self-published book, and the cover was designed by Kimberly Killion at Hot Damn Designs - isn't it beautiful? :)

      Good advice, Cathie, if she's brave enough :).

      Marie

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