They — the ubiquitous they — say I write horror. See, I would disagree because horror to me involves a hell of a lot more gore and spooky. Maybe a dash of horror but really, not so much. A light sprinkling like cinnamon over vanilla ice cream…which is one of my favourite flavours.

Do I love writing about things that go bump in the night? Oh hell yes. There’s something enchanting about trying to straddle the line between normal life and the shadows crawling around in the corner.

Creature Feature 2 was a chance to write that slice of maybe tingle and a bonus of writing with Poppy Dennison, someone I adore. Whether she adores me after this venture remains to be seen but it’s still solid on my side.

Co-writing is a bit of a delicate balance itself. There’s shared world building and both authors have to be on the same page. For Poppy and me, it was a matter of asking a lot of questions and having reference points because we were writing our own novellas but at the same time, would interconnect the characters during points of the story. We also were sharing a landscape—Detroit—and there needed to have a ring of truth to the backdrop.

Because it’s all about the setting. Characters are well and good but they need something to play against. So Detroit had to stand out.

But most of all, I think we had fun. We both have such different voices and perspectives so it was intriguing to see where Poppy went while I was off in my own little area of Detroit. I think we were able to maintain our own voices but at the same time, have a common thread through both stories.

Did I mention the fun?

So I hope you all enjoy our venture into the Creature side of things… and have a good, maybe slightly tingly time reading it.

Excerpt From Legacy of Blood and Death

“What would you have me do?” Ciarnan drew closer and he waited to see if the dismembered vampyre would twitch in his presence. It lay on the table, as inert as it was when they’d dragged it in. “I’m already living in a wasteland of a city. And you toss off words like practicing magic like it is easy to pick up and put aside when I’m done with it. Magic—blood and death magic—eats away at the soul. Or at least my soul. It burns through the body and mind until black is white and up is down. The day I pick up chalk to summon a demon is the day I’m signing those kids’ death warrant. It would be an easier death if I slit their throats out in the open after luring them along with candy. Would you want that for them? For anyone?”

“And what about these vampyres? What happens when those kids go outside tomorrow and they’re pretty much looking like juice boxes in sneakers for those monsters? Or anything else your family might send after you? What then?”

“Then… I don’t know,” Ciarnan admitted. It’d been something he’d thought about constantly and as his roots in the neighbourhood deepened, he was more and more reluctant to stay hidden in his apartment and let the world take care of itself.

“Aren’t there other magics you can do? Life and whatever the fuck else is out there?” Javi put down the knife then wiped his hands with alcohol swabs to cleanse away any speck of vampyre from them. Carefully rolling up the dissected revenant in the sheet they’d placed under it, he tucked in the corners until the thing was shrouded in thick cotton.

“None of that will call the rest of the kiss to me.” Ciarnan thought about what he’d learned about revenants from his father. “I’m not really up on these. I’ve had some technical training and I could probably make one if I had to but they’re not my specialization.”

“Could you call them here?” Javi’s smoky golden eyes peeled back Ciarnan’s resolve as if it were rice paper wrapped around a bit of mocha candy. “Because I’m telling you, we can’t fight these things off one by one. It’ll be easier to lay down a trap of some kind and take them all out.”

“I’d have to be willing to… you don’t know what you’re asking.” He could feel the seductive fire of his magic simmering in his blood. It called to him, scratching through his veins at even the thought of flaming resin, gritty chalk and the sweet oblivion of the universe pouring through him.

There was Shaddock to consider and how she’d suffer if he lost control of the binding. Her spirit, broken and trapped in the mortal realm, would wander through the mists, forever driven by a bloodlust she could never quench. Who would care for Elric? The wolf-mix would turn wild and perhaps even savage the very children he once played with.

“What happens if I fall back into that darkness? Have you thought of that, Javi Navarro?” He blinked, trying to clear away the burn of emotions in his eyes. The tears were stubborn, clinging to his vision and stinging with the pain of a thousand tiny cuts. “Did you think about what damage I could do to this city if I let what is inside of me go? I am stronger than my great-grandfather ever was. I am the culmination of generations of mages and armed with the knowledge of mankind’s exploration of the scientific realms. Do you think I’d stop at something as mundane as a bloodline seeking kiss of vampyres?”

“I can tell you I’d hunt you down like one of these guys right here. I’d make it quick and clean but you want the truth?” Javi cocked his head and reached for Ciarnan’s face, ghosting a trail of astringent over his skin.

“Yes, Mr. Navarro,” Ciarnan whispered and he leaned into the man’s touch, despite the pain he felt in his soul and the overwhelming need to retreat into the safety of his solitude. “Please tell me the truth.”

“The truth is you’re stronger than that. You have something every Mac Gerailt before you didn’t have.”

“What is that?” This time, Ciarnan pressed harder into Javi’s cupped palm, reveling in the rugged scrabble of the man’s hand on his cheek. “An insane, broken dark fae with a deep love for gummy bears and chicken kidneys?”

“Well there is that but I was thinking of something else.” Javi stepped closer and brushed his lips over Ciarnan’s mouth, taking Ciarnan’s breath with him when Javi drew away. “You have a conscience and a soul—even as shattered as you might think it is, it’s stronger and more powerful than you believe. You walked away from that shit once—by yourself. This time Mac Gerailt, you’re not alone. You have me. Because I’d rather hold you tight than kill you dead. Anything to help you ride out the storms. I want to be your friend, Ciarnan, if you’d let me. If you want me. Do you?”

Ciarnan let his breath out, sinking into the man’s touch. “Yes, Javi. I’d let you…because I want you so very much.”

---

Creature Feature 2 can be purchased at Dreamspinner Press

Release Date: Sept 26, 2014

Two Men. One Apocalypse.

 

Rise of the Revenants by Poppy Dennison
Vampyres are on the loose in Detroit, and novice hunter Taz Cohen is on the job. The mission seems simple: stop the vamps. But Taz knows nothing about the mythical creatures, so he’s in for the fight of his life. Then he meets insanely attractive construction worker Darren Foster, who jumps into the battle with both feet. Sparks and bullets fly as they struggle against the vampyre horde and their attraction to each other. Avoiding gruesome death from the undead might be easier than shielding their hearts from each other.

Legacy of Blood and Death by Rhys Ford
For Javi Navarro, Detroit will become another blood-splattered city in his rearview mirror after he puts its dead back into the ground. Expecting an easy hunting job, Javi instead finds a kiss of ancient vampyres on the hunt for a descendant of their long-dead creator.

Reclusive Ciarnan Mac Gerailt abandoned his family legacy of blood and death magic after it nearly destroyed him. Unfortunately for Ciarnan, the Motor City can only be saved if he resumes his dark arts and joins forces with Javi Navarro, the hunter who brought the vampyre apocalypse—and hope for the future—straight to Ciarnan’s front door.

 

About Poppy Dennison

A sassy southern lady, Poppy Dennison developed an obsession with things that go bump in the night in her early years after a barn door flew off its hinges and nearly squashed her. Convinced it was a ghost trying to get her attention, she started looking for other strange and mysterious happenings around her. Not satisfied with what she found, Poppy has traveled to Greece, Malaysia and England to find inspiration for the burly bears and silver foxes that melt her butter. Her love of paranormal continues to flourish nearly thirty years later, and she writes steamy love stories about the very things that used to keep her up all night. If her childhood ghost is lucky, maybe one day she’ll give him his own happily ever after.

You can find out more about Poppy’s books on her website http://www.poppydennison.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Poppy-Dennison/270574609631110?ref=ts

Twitter https://twitter.com/PoppyDennison

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5108648.Poppy_Dennison

About Rhys Ford

Rhys  admits to sharing the house with three cats of varying degrees of black fur and a ginger cairn terrorist. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird, a Toshiba laptop, and an overworked red coffee maker. She blogs regularly at www.rhysford.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhys.ford.author

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rhys_Ford

And at the Starbucks down the street. No really, they’re 24/7. And a drive-thru. It’s like heaven.

Her books can be purchased, folded and first chapters read at Dreamspinner Press

 

Author Rhys Ford is generously offering a giveaway for our Love Bytes readers/followers

Rafflecopter Prize : A 20$ G.C !!

 

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