Update: Mardi’s winner is…Andrea Cummings! Congrats, Andrea!

Mardi Ballou will give one commenter a free download of any of her
dozen or so vampire stories — check out www.MardiBallou.com

Mardi climbing the 199 steps to the abbey

The mist, the fog, the one hundred ninety-nine steps up to the gloriously ruined ninth-century abbey and an ancient graveyard. No wonder Bram Stoker was inspired to bring Dracula onto English soil in this picturesque seaside town on the northeast coast, where Stoker wrote the vampire’s ship foundered in rough waters. Whitby even provided Dracula with his oh so chilling name.

Whitby Abbey, dating from the ninth century

Walking the hilly, twisty streets lined with shops, not a few brimming with goodies for the twice-a-year Goth fests, today the wary tourist is on guard for who or whatever might lurk until the opportune moment… Tanith Kalinski, the vampire-obsessed heroine of Playing with Matches,

might have spent vacation time here before she looked for a date at Fangly, My Dear. And just to soothe the nerves, Tanith or any wayfarer might choose to indulge in fish and chips or chocolate or ice cream—or all of the above—as well as heartier fare. One can even find jars of Dracula’s relish, purported to be a Bloody Mary made solid, but who can be sure… Perhaps Monsieur le Comte du Montnoir of Young Vampires in Love manages to tear himself away from Paris for occasional shopping, or perhaps a bite of Dracula fare, in Whitby.

The town and Dracula inspire art—magical photos, paintings, and fashion. The writer lucky enough to land in Whitby takes in inspiration with every bracing breath of salt air. It’s easy to get caught up in the glamour of the mystique and even carried away just the smallest bit. So when Mardi ducked into the museum dedicated to another famous passer through, Captain Cook, she casually asked the receptionist, “So, does Dracula drop in here often?” The startled woman carefully brought Mardi back to earth: “You do know he is fiction?”

So no, Mardi, there actually is no Dracula. But that stark truth in no way diminishes the charm of the eternal story and its home base, Whitby. Will Whitby feature in one of Mardi’s future stories? Stay tuned…

Update: The winner of INSATIABLE is…Kate N. Congrats, Kate N.!

In two weeks, my third Federation Chronicles novel, INSATIABLE, releases from Berkley Heat. It marks the start of a three book mini-series called Phantom Corps, which is, you guessed it, about the men and women who are part of a shadowy special ops military team called –wait for it- Phantom Corps.

Guest blogs are always fun, but sometimes it’s hard to know what to write about and not sound like a dork. So here’s my effort, though I am sure I’ll still sound like a dork 😉

For me, the key to every book, the heart and foundation of it all at once are the characters. I want to know who they are and what they mean to each other. How they draw things from each other. Do they make each other better people? Fill in the cracks? Shore each other up in bad times?

As I wrote Relentless and I began to draw Daniel as a character, I knew I’d want to write about him and what he got up to in an official capacity. He was real to me when I began to write Insatiable, even though he has a lot of flaws.

Daniel Haws is an assassin. He kills people for his job and he’s not really one to mope around about it. He knows there are things that have to be done and sometimes they aren’t pretty.

He presented a challenge – because he’s not, well, heroes aren’t supposed to kill people.

The kernel for Insatiable came to me as a flash of a scene. The hero standing, shooting a weapon, glittering cartridges shimmering in the light, falling to the ground all around the heroine, crouched at his feet. It was so vivid and so real to me, I even heard O Fortuna, from Carmina Burana in my head as I imagined the scene.

I wrote that one first. Because it rode me so hard there was no choice. And that scene is the one that helped me write Daniel as the hero he is. Because he’s there, taking the heat, making himself a target to protect his men and most definitely the woman at his feet.

As I wrote, I gained more understanding of Daniel, both as the leader of Phantom Corps and as a man falling in love with a woman he’s under orders to protect as his cargo.

Insatiable is an epic book. Daniel and Carina spend the first ¾ of the book on the run from people trying to kill them to stop them delivering the intelligence Carina has smuggled out of the Imperium.

Which brings me to Carina. I’ve written a lot of heroines over the years. Some are more memorable to me than others. Some were really easy for me to write. Nina Reyes from Enforcer comes to mind. Erin Brown from Laid Bare is another. Polly Chase. Other times, more usually, it takes me a while before I really get a handle on who my characters are.

When I’d finished the book, I realized Carina is one of my very favorite characters. Certainly not because she was easy to write. She wasn’t. I knew early on she’d have to be a virgin because of how she was raised and the level of security on her at nearly all times. But I wanted to make her inexperienced but not naïve. Which was harder than I thought.

She’s vulnerable in many ways, but also really strong. Intelligent. Cunning and at times, fearless. It’s why she throws herself into love with Daniel. She knows what she wants, even if there are times she knows she’s in over her head, she knows she wants him and she knows she wants to see the mission through. I loved writing her as a mix of all sorts of things and I hope the balance works for readers as much as it did for me.

In the end, the assassin and the virgin princess end up together and though I’m obviously biased, I think the combination works. I think she is exactly what he needs and she would be the first person to agree that he is exactly the person she needs.

I hope you all enjoy meeting Carina and Daniel when you read Insatiable!

SO, to help you do that (meet Carina and Daniel via the book, that is) I’m giving away a brand spanking new copy of INSATIABLE (they just came yesterday) to a lucky winner. What do you all think of unlikely heroes and heroines? Any that you love and want to recommend?

I’LL BE SLAYING YOU releases next Tuesday–next Tuesday!!!  Where has the time gone?

I thought I’d post a new excerpt for those interested in Dee’s story. This except will take you into the mind of my hero, Simon.  (Warning: Adult language to follow!) Hope you enjoy it!

After five minutes of silence from her, she finally deigned to glance his way.  “Harry said you could leave, buddy—”

“Simon.  Simon Chase.”  She knew his name. She’d been right there when he spelled it for the uniforms.  Each time.

She grunted.

He almost smiled. Almost.  “Ah, I can’t help but notice, Sandra—”

“Dee.”  Her voice snapped like a whip.

He’d been there when she had to spell her name, too.  He’d rather enjoyed her gruff, “Harry, you know this shit, S-A-N-D-R-A…oh, fuck off.”

“Dee,” he allowed.  But he’d be calling her Sandra again soon.  He liked that.  Liked the way her cheeks flushed so red when she heard the name. “You don’t seem too upset that someone tried to kill you tonight.”

The victim had been hauled away in an ambulance. Blood still soaked the ground, but Simon didn’t glance at it.  His nostrils twitched, just a bit, but the scent was starting to fade.

She rolled her shoulders in a little shrug. “Not like it’s the first time.”

He let his eyes widen. “Really.”

Another grunt from her.

“And you have no idea why folks want you dead?”

A furrow peaked between her golden brows.  “No clue.”

Right.

Her hands lifted then fell in a vague little gesture. “Well, it’s been fun, Chase, but I’ve got work to do.”

He pulled the wooden stake from his back pocket.  “Just what kind of work is it that you do, Sandra?”

A red flush rose on her cheeks.  She lunged for him and locked her fingers around the stake, but he didn’t let go.  She was close now, close enough that he could see light flecks of gold in her dark gaze. Close enough that he could see the pulse pounding at the base of her throat.  Close enough that he could almost taste those lips.

He tightened his hold on the stake. The wood was smooth and hard. The woman had obviously spent some time honing her weapon.

“Give it to me.”  She glanced back over her shoulder. “I don’t want to have to explain this shit to all of them right now, not with the silver shooting still hanging over me.”

Silver shooting?  Sounded like an interesting story.

Slowly, he released his hold and she jerked the weapon from him. Kneeling, she shoved the weapon into some kind of custom scabbard near her ankle.

When she lifted the ragged hem of her jeans, he caught sight of her leg. Nice. Smooth and pale and—

She shot back up, nearly clipping him in the chin.  Again.

Chance shook his head. So not what he’d been expecting. “You didn’t answer me,” he said and tried to ignore her scent.  A heady scent, rich and dark.  A woman’s sensual flavor.

She licked her lips. A quick swipe of her tongue that had his cock swelling.

Not what he’d been expecting, but he wasn’t gonna complain.  No way.

“Trust me on this, you don’t want to know.”  She shuffled back a few steps. Tossed him a careless smile. “Thanks for watching my ass tonight, Chase.”

Then she was gone. Turning away and marching through the cops still on scene, and he kept watching that ass.  Nice and firm, round enough to hold tight.

Yeah, he kept watching that ass, right until the moment she disappeared around the corner.

He waited a beat.  Two.

Then he stalked after her because he wasn’t about to let his prey escape that quickly.

***

I’m blogging with the Naughty Author Chicks today, and I’m talking about why I think monsters are hot.  Come over and comment for your chance to win an autographed copy of I’LL BE SLAYING YOU.

Update: The winner is…Gayle Hudson! Congrats, Gayle! And thanks to everyone who took my Night Watch quiz!! (Don’t worry, there will be more chances to win Zane’s book later!)

Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there!! Hope everyone has a fantastic day!

A few days ago, I created a facebook quiz for my Night Watch hunters.  (Yes, I gave in to the temptation of the quiz!) But, I wanted to make the quiz available for folks who might not be on facebook. So, here you go:

Take the quiz and find out if  you’d be Jude, Dee, Zane, or…um, something/someone else.  Someone a little less on the side of the good guys.

Post your results in the comments section. I will pick one winner for an IOU prize–an early copy of Zane’s book, ETERNAL FLAME (Available 11/30/2010).  As soon as I receive a copy from my publisher, I’ll ship it right to you!

And don’t forget…it’s just 9 short days until the release of I’LL BE SLAYING YOU!! Dee’s story will be out very, very soon!

Enjoy your day!