30 Days of Demons, Day 28: Sharon Ashwood Back to Blog
Update: The winner of RAVENOUS is…Ilona! Congrats, Ilona!
Today’s guest author is Sharon Ashwood, and Sharon has one fabulous excerpt to share with us! After reading that preview, oh, I want to read more!
And guess what? Sharon is going to give away a copy of RAVENOUS to one lucky commenter. Very cool.
Welcome!
One kiss is all it takes to lose your soul.
With the right kind of demon, you don’t want to stop there. Mac learned that one a bit too late.
Conall Macmillan—Mac–is a cop who first appears in RAVENOUS, book one of The Dark Forgotten series. He meets Geneva, a gorgeous blonde villainess who gives him a bad case of demon cooties. As the demon infects him, he becomes his own worst nightmare. He turns against the heroine who tries to save him, attempts to gobble up her soul, and generally carries on in a damnably sexy but disreputable way.
Poor, poor Mac. Such a come-down for a heroic detective. He gets booted off the good guy’s team and everything and all he wanted to do was kiss the girl and save the day. Sometimes authors are just plain mean.
The upside is that Mac gets a book of his own called SCORCHED, on the shelves December 1/09. It’s kind of a fairy tale, complete with a sorcerer, goblins, and a damsel in distress. So what if the hero is an ex-cop demon and the damsel is a bit non-standard. Mac never does learn to avoid those Babes of Doom:
***
Constance was definitely more temptation than he could handle. He bent and pressed his lips to hers, perhaps to taste her puzzling smile, perhaps to kiss it away. Or maybe just to prove his expertise.
She inhaled, a quick, light gasp ended by his capture of her mouth. Her lips were
cool and soft, returning his kiss with surprised hesitation. That perfume he had smelled earlier, something flowery and old-fashioned, wafted up from her silken skin. He felt the tentative brush of her fingers in his hair, light as a moth’s wings. Finally, her hand settled on his cheek, a girlish, uncertain touch so gentle that it tickled.
She was no practiced flirt, and he’d just called her bluff.
At a twinge from his conscience, he drew back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean …”
She used both hands to pull his head down, bringing his mouth back to hers.
Okay. Mac wasn’t about to argue. Heat surged through him, thick and electric. He drew his hand up her spine, over her ribs, up the side of her breast. Constance flinched, as if he’d touched a bruise, but then murmured in pleasure, rising onto her toes. Her body brushed against his. Oh, yeah. Unexpected, but oh, yeah.
He felt the tip of her tongue meet his, a shy inquiry. Constance tasted as sweet and wild as blackberries still hot from the sun. He could savor her soul, sad and pure, like her smile.
He already ached in his body, but that taste of her spirit made him ache in his heart. He caught the salty tang of loneliness. That’s just not right. Was there no one to look after he? A tiny creature like Constance shouldn’t be out wandering the halls of the Castle by herself. She was so small, he could nearly span her waist with his hands. The fabric of her dress felt rough, too coarse for such tiny perfection. And there was far, far too much clothing for satisfactory
exploration.
Okay, whoa, buddy. In five seconds flat, you’ve gone from sneaking a kiss to planning to get naked with someone you’ve just met. Get a grip.
Heedless, Mac’s fingers slid beneath the flimsy fabric of her scarf, finding soft, cool skin and the gently rounded tops of her breasts. He kept his touch feather light and was rewarded with a delicate shiver. Tracing his thumb over her collarbone, he caressed the satin flesh of her shoulder. Nice.
He deepened the kiss, but kept his beast tightly leashed. Whoever this girl was, she wasn’t ready for his demon side. Hell, most of the time, neither was he.
So sweet.
Yeah, okay, Macmillan, what’s with the hearts and flowers? This isn’t you.
Something was not right.
No shit, Sherlock. Nothing’s been right for over a year. Was it the soul-sucking demon shtick or the eternal prison of darkness that tipped you off? As for the girl …
Mac winced, suddenly going very still. Women. There’s always something.
Yeah, Constance was sweet. The teeth, however, were a surprise.
Gently, he pulled away. Her eyes were closed, her lips flushed and slightly parted to reveal tiny, perfect fangs. A vampire. But an innocent one that sent off none of the usual vampiric vibes. There was only one way that happened.
Constance had never tasted blood.
Pheromones. That answered why she had fascinated him so completely, sent him head over heels in less time than it took your average speed date.
But it raised still another interesting question.
A really good one.
Am I meant to be her first kiss or her first kill?
***
I have to say that demons are the most fun creatures to write ever. For one thing, there are few preconceived ideas about what, exactly, they’re supposed to be like. The sky—or the depths of the underworld—are uncharted limits. I could take a guy who’d lost everything—his job, his friends, his humanity—and find a completely unique way of giving him back his life. So he’s a demon. That doesn’t make him a lost cause. Just a little, um, challenging …
What do you with a guy who’s so hot, he leaves you scorched?
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What do you with a guy who’s so hot, he leaves you scorched?
Throw water? 😀
I love demons in novels – these books can take you on a really fantastic ride through worlds and creatures where the only limit is your imagination . . or the authors.
This book both looks and sounds fantastic . . 😀
Mmmmm… Tortured, conflicted hero. 🙂
Good morning, ladies, and thanks for commenting.
Guess what – the cover for SCORCHED has JUST been posted on Amazon. I don’t even have a copy yet! I was delighted to see that it’s up in time for this blog.
http://www.amazon.com/Scorched-Dark-Forgotten-Sharon-Ashwood/dp/0451228642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246201824&sr=8-1
Great excerpt! A demon and a vampire? Would love to know how it worked out! :o) Tamsyn
Ooooo, this sounds YUMMY!!! Very interesting twist, a demon and a vampire 😀 Definitely need to get this one!
WOW!! What an excerpt! You grabbed my attention with that 😀 December can’t get here quick enough!
Well I have some ideas but I can’t tell them out loud…lol!!
What do you with a guy who’s so hot, he leaves you scorched?
Take a cold shower? Or just burn up with him…hehe!!!
I do like those covers….kick ass heroines look great on covers. Doesn’t always have to be a sexy male….well….lol!!!
Great looking books…heading over the amazon in Germany to see if they are there and put them on my wishlist.
Valerie
Take the pain and keep getting burned?lol
This book sounds great. I love Demons!
[…] 30 Days of Demons, Day 28: Sharon Ashwood – Cynthia Eden […]
I loved the excerpt. I have seen the book Ravenous in the stores and now I think I need to move it up on my TBB list. 🙂
Hummm……getting scorched by a hot guy wouldn’t be so bad. 🙂 Might be a lot of fun. 🙂
omg cant wait to read this book
Great excerpt!
I’ve heard great things about this book. Thanks for the excerpt. Have a great day.
Wow – I wish you authors would stop doing that! Now I have another book to add to my wishlist 😀
what would I do with a guy like anything he wanted. yummy. Really need to read this first book.
Loved the excerpt, it’s a great tease and definitely has me wanting to read more.
invest in an aloe vera & anti-burn cream company, because you will be using alot of it!
That excerpt was AWESOME!!! Very interesting combo, demon and vampire 😀
So how many books do you have slated in this series? Do they intertwine with each other?
Make sure you know the doctors & nurse in the burn ward at the local hospital. Okay definitely need to get Ravenous now and I’ve added Scorched to my wishlist.
Looking forward to reading about your demons 🙂
Looking forward to Mac’s story. Don’t know if I can handle a guy that’s scorching hot.
Hi, everyone! Thanks for dropping by on a summer Sunday-that’s definitely the mark of true reading fans!
Thanks for the question, Michele. I’m happy to say that I’m working on book #3 of The Dark Forgotten and I’ve been asked for #4. There are a lot of continuing characters – I regard these books as stories about a community and some of the characters are friends or relatives, so they cross each other’s storylines in important ways.
I have this book sitting on my bookshelf in my TBR pile. It belongs to a fellow book club member who said “you have to read this book, it’s really good” so she loaned it to me. I can’t wait to get to it.
I love the blurb, and then the excerpt. It’s so different than what I usually read. Fun and sexy.
I have the book and will read it soon, but just wanted to say I enjoyed the blurb
Move with him to the far north where most of the year it is freezing cold!
I read the excerpt. I’m hooked!
Hmmm….pheromones, yup, good olfactory excitement. Mix it with tortured, hot, and sexy hero and it can only mean one thing..getting scorched. I’d have to take an ice bath or make sure someone can put me out with a fire extinguisher. Great excerpt!
Sounds awesome! With a guy so scorching, I’d have a great excuse to break out the Haagen Dazs!
Oh my goodness! Mac sounds like a fantastic hero. The excerpt definitely has me wanting more.
I couldn’t wait for my budget to allow me to buy this one, I got it through my library. But it’s one of those “I want to read this over and over” books so I will be getting it soon I hope.
Hi Sharon~
This sounds so good and I can hardly wait for its release. Oh, and I love the cover “Scorched” and hey “Ravenous” has a great cover too.
well thats diffrent but good sounding i will add it to my list of books to get Ravenous was already on my list.
sasluvbooks@yahoo.com
there have been so many awesome authors, i’m gonna spend a fortune on new books!
Put on some sunscreen? My fair skin would burn like no tomorrow! 😀 This looks great, I have been eyeballing it for a while now!
Hi Sharon, I like your covers..haven’t decided which one I like better, Scorched or Ravenous. What do you do with a guy so hot he leaves you scorched? I say, whatever he wants.
Thank you for the hot excerpt and congrats on the future books. Have a great week. 🙂
I will name him George, and I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him…
😀
now i want tor ead this book more and congrats on the release and future releases and hummmm whatw ould i do
Id leave him just as Scorched and repete often cause everyone knows once is never enough
Excerpt is great and the cover is just lovely 🙂 Congrats!
Enjoyed Ravenous and definitely plan to revisit when Scorched comes out.
If a guy’s so hot he leaves me scorched, I would probably return the favor in kind 😛
What else can I do then being put on fire too, when can burn together 😉
The book looks great
Oh, ‘Ravenous’ sounds so exciting and hot! Can’t wait to read it. Thank you for the excerpt.
Thanks for posting. Ive already read Ravenous and it was fantastic. I highly recommend everyone who hasnt read it needs to.