Update: The winner of VAMPIRE IN DENIAL is…Hilleary Peterson. The winner of TUESDAY’S CHILD is…Michelle Bledsoe. And thank you very much to everyone who commented!
I first met Dale Mayer when I was assigned to be her mentor in the Brava Writing With the Stars Contest. I was totally impressed by Dale’s talent, and it was no time at all before I was hooked on her work. Dale, thank you for joining the party!! (And Dale is also one of my ENTANGLED anthology buddies!!)
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A vamp like none other
By Dale Mayer
Thank you, Cynthia for the invitation to be here today. You’re release parties are always so much fun. This one in particular! ENTANGLED is a special project put together by a wonderful group of writers for a terrific cause! I’m so proud to be a part of it! For those of you who haven’t already guessed it, Cynthia’s short story is terrific. No surprise there!
And my story? Well, Sian’s Solution is the love story between Taz and Sian, two minor characters in one of my all time favorite books, Vampire in Denial. As the creator of this world and all these characters, I’d like to think I could take a bow for this book…but in all honesty, Tessa, the heroine of Vampire in Denial, rode in on my muse and charged her way onto my page all her own. Gawky, valiant, and with a do-or-die attitude, she stole my heart right from the beginning. By the end of the first book, she’d made herself a permanent spot in my world. Now, I’m working to finish her series to share her story of love and war, and finding out what you’re really made of when all you love is lost, and all you’d thought lost, becomes found.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
To celebrate this release day, I am giving away one ecopy of Vampire in Denial and one ecopy of Tuesday’s Child – my romantic suspense novel – which was just picked as one of her Top 10 Reads of the Year by Neis at TheRomanceReview.com. To enter the giveaway, just leave me a question or tell me why you love vampires.
Excerpt:
Tessa hunkered down low to the ground, hidden by the long line of poplars edging the property as Cody went in for a closer look. She’d protested being left behind until Cody pulled the mom card on her. That he’d never be able to explain to her mom why he’d let her accompany him. She couldn’t argue with that.
The longer she’d studied the house, the stronger her sense of knowing grew. Jared was here somewhere on the property. Looking around, she realized the easy answer was to check out the sheds and outbuilding first.
Silent, she slipped inside the first outbuilding. Empty. She circled it anyway and looked for stairs, hidden doors, or rooms. Then she moved onto the next building. This one appeared to be a storage unit. Boxes and containers filled every square inch, or so it appeared. She studied the level of dust and the jammed boxes. Everything appeared deserted and forgotten for decades. Empty. She couldn’t sense anything bigger than a mouse.
Back out in the night, the dogs still slept, and Cody had yet to return. What if he couldn’t?
No, Cody had some serious skills, at least according to David he did. It would take a lot for someone to get the drop on him.
“Psst.”
He just didn’t have much class. Turning around, Tessa watched Cody land in front of her. “There’s no sign of anything unusual going on.”
“No, of course not. Why would there be? It’s not like they’re going to advertise that they’ve kidnapped humans.” She studied the huge stone mansion. “The captives are most likely to be downstairs.”
“You’re not going into the house. If you’re determined to take this further, we go back to our parents and let them take it to the council. They will determine the best course of action.”
Tessa stared at him in disbelief. Everything about the night had taken on a surreal appearance. She was here, where Jared was being held, with someone who could actually help her, and he wanted to go for their parents. No knight riding to the rescue here.
Then he’d been raised by the old belief that vampires don’t go against vampires – without just cause. She didn’t think she could come up with enough evidence to prove her case.
“We have to at least see if they are here.”
“No. No way.” He pulled away and turned prepared to leave.
“Please.”
“No, Tessa.” He shook his head, his vampire eyes glowing with terrible heat. “That’s enough. This isn’t a kid’s game. This is vampire business.”
“And who’s going to believe me? No one. I’m not like you. My word doesn’t mean anything to the others. If you don’t see that Jared’s been taken and kept as a captive yourself, you won’t be able to convince them, either.”
He shook his head.
Fine. She’d go in alone. Turning away, she headed to the back of the house. “Go back home. I don’t need you.”
“What the…” He raced behind her. “Tessa, stop. You can’t go inside there. You’re not allowed.”
“And they’re allowed to take humans?” She snorted. “I don’t think so.” The moon slid out from behind the clouds highlighting the lower level of the house. Off to the left, a set of stairs cut down to a narrow wooden door. Probably the cellar. Perfect. She picked up the pace, reaching for the knob in seconds. She bolted though the unlocked door before Cody could drag her back out. Down a narrow hallway, she fled through another door that led to a wide open space. Empty space. Damn it. Could the prisoners have been moved already? How?
“There, are you satisfied now?”
She spun around at the sound of Cody’s voice. “No.” She walked the perimeter of the room. The room curved down and around. This place was huge. At the far end, her nostrils flared. Animal. Death. Fear. Pain.
This area had been used as housing for animals during the cold winter months. Horses, most likely. Ancient farm smells permeated the air. Hay. Manure. Blood.
“What’s the matter?” Cody whispered.
She looked at him. “Can’t you smell it?”
“Smell what?”
“Death. Pain. And an overwhelming fear.”
“I can’t sense any of that. What are you talking about?”
Tessa looked at him strangely. “Not even with your vampire senses?”
He turned and lifted his nose and smelled the air. After a moment, he shook his head and laughed. “You don’t have a clue, do you? There’s nothing there.” He dropped the smile. “The fun’s over. Let’s go home.”
Tessa turned her back on him. Moving closer to the one side, Tessa concentrated harder. There. Jared. Relief washed over her. He was alive. “Jared’s in there.”
“What?”
But Cody was talking to empty space.
***
Tessa darted ahead of him. Half smooth walking, smooth talking vamp and half wholesome innocent human. He shook his head. What happened to David’s kid sister? He’d always been protective of her and Cody had naturally picked that up. She was different from the rest of them. Seth didn’t treat her with the same patience. And her Dad, well, he didn’t know what patience was. If it wasn’t for her mom, her life would have been much different.
On the outside she looked vampire. Hell, she looked hot. He hadn’t believed his eyes when he’d seen her tonight. He knew most of the gorgeous females in their area and she hadn’t been one of them. He’d followed her for that reason initially.
She’d smelled familiar. Then she’d turned and he caught a glimpse of Tessa in that wicked outfit. But she’d given him the rebuff. Confused, he’d withdrawn and kept a close watch. When she’d disappeared out back, he’d followed and couldn’t believe it when he’d seen her in the moonlight. He still wasn’t sure until she’d jumped. Jumped. Vampires did a lot of things, like flew, floated and even raced, but everything they did, they did with grace.
Not her. Awkward, disjointed movements, hard landings and gawky take offs. Little Tessie had somehow morphed into one hot Tessa.
His curiosity and doubt had turned to horror. She’d only ever been allowed at vampire meetings with a chaperone and sure as hell not in that ‘come hither and get laid’ outfit.
Christ, she’d looked good. And vampirish. Good enough to fool everyone there. But if her family found out, well that would be the end of life as she knew it.
***
