A warm welcome to author Rayna Vause joining us here today on Love Bytes to talk to us about new release “Twice Bitten”.
Rayna introduces us to her story , shares an exclusive excerpt and there is a link to a giveaway you can participate in!
Welcome Rayna 
I want to thank Dani and everyone here at Love Bytes for having me today and for helping me celebrate the release of my latest novel Twice Bitten. This book, if you couldn’t guess from the title, is my take on a vampire story. In Twice Bitten you will meet Danny an average guy who, through circumstances beyond his control finds himself becoming the thing that he both hated and feared, a vampire. Problem is there is nothing normal about his transition. He’s sort of stuck between vampire and human. So, he turns to the one person who he thinks can help, Kieran McCade, his ex-boyfriend who also happens to be a vampire. In the excerpt that I’m sharing today, Danny has already begun his transition and he’s trying to process his situation and also find a little bit of normalcy.
Blurb:
With a new species of vampire stalking the streets, the stakes are high. But that’s not the only reason hearts are on the line.
Danny Reynolds thought Kieran McCade was the one—true love and hot lust forever—until Danny found out Kier’s bloody secret and ran away screaming. Months later, Danny is facing his own paranormal crisis, and he needs Kieran’s help, but are there enough ways to apologize for breaking a vampire’s heart?
Nothing about Danny’s transformation is normal—not the attack that led to it, and not the symptoms Danny’s plagued with—but being in close proximity to Kieran is even worse than becoming a thing that goes bump in the night. Danny and Kieran aren’t the only things threatening to bump each other off, though. Secret organizations and clashing vigilante agendas want to get their hands on Danny. His only hope is to find a fix for his problem before he’s either captured or his abnormal transition starves him to death.
Danny and Kieran might have a real chance to repair their broken romance… but only if they keep Danny alive!
Danny stared at the mug. His mouth went dry even as his stomach growled again. “There’s blood in that, isn’t there?” He wiped a hand over his mouth as bile burned its way to the top of his throat.
“You have two choices. Drink it or starve. As I recall, starving wasn’t your preference. Hurry up either way. You need to get dressed so we can head over to your place.”
Even knowing he had no other choice, he still couldn’t make himself readily accept that he needed to drink blood to survive. Vampires drank blood, not humans. But you aren’t exactly human anymore, are you, Danny? He gripped the mug with clammy hands, sniffed. It even smelled a little like a strawberry shake, with a faint hint of metal.
“All right, Danny, you’ve got this.” He suppressed a gag, held his nose, and chugged like a frat boy at a kegger. “Oh God.” He gasped out the words and hung his head as he set down the mug.
Kier raised an eyebrow at him. “Nasty? I followed Sharon’s instructions explicitly.”
“No. It actually tasted good, and I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that I enjoyed that. Give me a second here.” Danny went quiet and took a moment to assess. The gnawing ache in his gut disappeared, and energy infused him.
He looked up at Kier, who leaned against the kitchen counter, ankles crossed as he sipped from his cup of coffee. Nothing about flannel should be attractive, but the black-and-gray button-down with two buttons open at the collar with the low-rise jeans and bare feet had heat pooling low inside Danny.
He swallowed hard and rubbed at the back of his neck as he gave Kier a slow once-over. Despite everything, Kier could still make Danny’s brain go fuzzy. With six feet of solid muscle, tousled brown hair, and blue eyes that could never quite mask his irritation, Kier made him want to forget everything and lose himself in Kier’s kiss. Danny licked his lips.
Kier’s lips twitched as though he fought back a smile.
“Dan, finish your drink. I don’t have the time to stand here all day for your viewing enjoyment.” Kier turned to rinse out his cup.
“Are you sure? Because that sounds like a fun way to pass the day.”
This time Kier gave in and smiled.
“Tell me something. How old are you? Something you said made me think that you only look like you’re in your thirties.”
“I was born in Philadelphia in 1875. My parents immigrated to America about five years before I was born. My father worked on the railroads.”
Danny blinked. “So that makes you what, almost one hundred and fifty years old. Wow, dude, you are seriously robbing the cradle with me.”
Kier choked on his coffee. “Shut up, annoying child, and go get dressed. We’ve got things to do,” he said, dabbing at the few drops of liquid that had sprayed on his shirt.
“But wait, I want you to tell me about the old days. What was it like to be alive to see the telephone invented? Did you ever wear a zoot suit? If so, are there pictures?”
“You’re an ass. Have you always been this annoying?”
“Probably.” Danny flashed a bright smile at Kier.
“What happened to the scared human who was revolted by all things vampire?”
“I told you, a lot of things about me changed in the time we were apart; I’ve been reconsidering a lot of my beliefs. I’m slowly coming to terms with everything. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still terrified of everything that’s happening to me and I’m still not sure that being a vampire is something I want for myself, but I’ve got you to help me through it. That means a lot to me.”
Kier looked away from him, and any trace of humor disappeared. “Yeah, well. We-we have a lot to do tonight. We’ve got to stop by your place, pick up some of your stuff, and bring it back here. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together for the foreseeable future. You’ll want your own stuff.”
Like the flip of a switch, Kier went from open to closed, hidden back behind some metal shield he’d erected. For the life of him, Danny couldn’t figure out what he’d said to cause Kier’s defenses to reengage. Some of the pleasure of the shared moment dimmed for Danny. He ran back through the conversation in his head, and with it came the memory of other conversations they’d had, things he’d thought and said. Kier was right. He was an ass. It never once occurred to him how Kier would feel hearing him refer to vampires as vile creatures, for justifying his break-up with Kier because of the lies. He’d never given Kier one reason to think he’d be receptive to learning the truth. He knew deep down even as he and Kier had their final fight that Kier didn’t fit the stereotype of vampires he’d built in his mind, but at the time he couldn’t move past it.
His heart squeezed. He couldn’t blame Kier for his caution. He’d hurt him. Hell, they’d hurt each other, but if he could convince Kier that he really wanted to start over, maybe they could repair some of the damage.
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Rayna Vause is a lifetime learner who wants to live on a Disney cruise ship travelling the world and thinks purple should be considered a natural hair color. She’s fascinated by the magic and mystery in the world; things like psychics, demons, cats (especially cats!) and true love. A proud geek, she injects some of her science and tech-obsessed soul into every story she writes. When not writing she’s pursuing another degree, running a conference, working through her massive TBR pile, losing herself in a video game, and plotting her next novel.
Links:
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/raynavauseauthor
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/Rayna_Vause
Website – http://www.RaynaVause.com
http://raynavause.com/contest/
An ebook copy of Demon of Mine
