My name is Ezra Clarke, and I’m twenty-three.
Forever.
If you’re counting in vampire years, I’m actually two-hundred and eight, and if living that long has taught me anything, it’s that nothing lasts forever. And that’s been fine. It’s… whatever. I’ve never wanted anything that long, anyway, which is why I’ve never taken a mate, but that all changed when I met Declan Byrne.
He’s young, handsome, and he doesn’t do what I tell him to. He smells like cinnamon and has eyes that remind me of the daytime sky. Every kiss we share feels like home, and no touch lasts long enough.
I need him to be mine.
And for the briefest moment he is, and life is perfect… and then it isn’t. Rogue vampires threaten to pull us apart, and complicated politics are painful reminders that a world exists beyond our privacy of our bedroom.
But if anyone thinks they can keep me away from Declan, they have another thing coming. My mate and I have a thousand lifetimes to live, and we’re just getting started.
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I’ve always been a really big music person, and there’s always songs that sort of stick out for me during the writing process, but with A Thousand Lifetimes, I decided to make a playlist. This was something different for me, but it was something my reader group expressed interest in, so I figured, why not?
Most of my books are a little bit angsty, and this one is no different, but the entire mood of A Thousand Lifetimes is different from my other contemporary titles. I think that’s to be expected when you’re writing about broody twenty-three year old vampires, though.
When I was twenty-three, I was all goth, all the time, and I used to spend a ton of time at these goth-industrial fetish clubs in Hollywood. There’s a club I wrote into the book called Coven and as I was seeing this place in my head, I went back to the kinds of places I used to frequent, so it seemed logical to me that the music I listen to while I wrote the book match.
You can check out the playlist here
The first song I added to the playlist is called Destillat, by a band called Das Ich. Ezra, the main character, is dancing to it when he first lays eyes on Declan, and I sort of let the progression of their relationship lead the music from there. Illusion by VNV Nation is another one on the list that is really specific to some of the feelings Ezra has in the beginning of the book. If you listen through the playlist, you can definitely pick up on the angst when you get to Placebo and Robert Smith. LOL
So, not only was writing vampires something new for me, but doing the playlist was as well. From a writing standpoint, I found it super helpful to have this list of music playing in the background as I wrote, and it was even more helpful for editing. I write *fast* and I was already a few thousand words into a new contemporary book by the time I got edits back on this one, but it was super easy to get back into the headspace of these characters by switching back to this playlist.
It was also a lot of fun to post in my group, because there’s people in there who I wouldn’t have expected to be familiar with these songs, so we all got to reminisce together about being broody and twenty-three for a little while 🙂
Kate is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour. Enter via Rafflecopter for a chance to win:
I unlock the front door and hear clinking glassware from down the hallway. My parents are up, obviously. I want to pull Declan upstairs because I’m not ready to share him yet. I only want him to be mine and I want this time to be ours. Just for one more night.
That’s a lie.
A lot more nights.
I want at least four more years of nights before I need to worry about whatever my parents are about to unload on us.
“Ezra,” my father calls from the dining room, and the hope inside of me plummets into the floor.
“We’re going upstairs,” I answer.
“Ezra.” This time it’s my mother and I curse them both under my breath because they know I can’t say no to her. I’ve never been able to.
“It’s okay,” Declan whispers against my neck. “I hope they like me.”
I turn and cup his face in my hands, and I’m pretty sure it’s impossible for someone to not like him. He’s perfection.
I nod and lead him into the dining room where he stands nervously half a step behind me. My mom gets up and comes around the table and looks at me like I’ve done something wonderful. She has this proud smile on her face and her eyes shift to look at Declan.
“And who are you?” she asks in this soothing way she has about her. She’s trying to get him to relax, and I equal parts appreciate it and hate it.
“I’m Declan,” he answers, staying still. “Declan Byrne.”
“Old name.”
“That’s what Ezra said.”
Her lips twitch into a smile. “How are you feeling, Declan? Let’s come and sit down.”
She returns to her seat at the table and we both follow. Declan slips into the chair he sat at earlier, and I take mine. My parents both have drinks in front of them, and my mom asks if we want anything. Declan reaches over and grabs my thigh, his fingertips treacherously close to my sac.
“I’m alright for now, thank you,” he says.
“Declan, these are my parents, Birdie and William Clarke.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“How are you fairing, then?” my mother asks again. She slides her hand across the table, palm up, and my father tangles their fingers together.
“Fine, I think.”
“He’s fine,” I answer. “We’re both fine.”
“You, darling, were far from fine when it was your time. Have things changed so much now that such a life changing experience can be so well-received?” my mother says, and I bristle at the insinuation. I reach beneath the table and take Declan’s hand.
“Our circumstances weren’t comparable,” I whisper, clearing my throat when the words catch. I don’t want to have this conversation.
“I really am doing okay,” Declan interjects. “I think it will be an adjustment, obviously. But it’s not the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”
A wave of fear and disgust washes over me and I blink Declan into focus. He’s looking across the table at my mother, but there’s no doubt we’re feeling the same way. I grip his hand tighter, and hope he knows that he has me now, and whatever happened to him in the past won’t ever happen again.
“I’m sure Ezra has told you the basics, yes?” My father finally speaks up.
“No sun. No food. No silver.”
“I assume since you’ve turned the two of you have… been intimate?” He looks properly embarrassed, and I wonder what he would have looked like if he could blush.
“Yes,” I answer.
“Was there… a blood exchange?”
“Yes,” I bite out.
“Good. The mate bond is sealed.”
“What now?” I cock my head to the side.
“Once the mate is turned, the bond is there, but it’s weak until it’s sealed with a blood exchange. If you’ve done that, the bond is sealed.”
“Why haven’t you ever told me that before?”
“I honestly never expected you to take a mate, Ezra,” my mother answers, taking her hand out of my fathers and folding them together neatly in front of her.
“You wanted to go to Hawaii,” I grumble.
“You’re such a wonderful boy.”
“I can hear his thoughts,” Declan blurts out. “Is that normal?”
My mother raises an eyebrow and shoots a quick glance at my father. “Sometimes.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means there’re different degrees.” He waves his hand in the air with a small flourish. “Sometimes the bond between mates is stronger, more solid.”
“Like soul mates,” my mother supplies.
“Soul mates?” I ask
“What else is there?” Declan speaks over me, and my parents ignore my question for his.
“It’s a list,” my mother laughs. “It varies, I think. Some of it develops over time, some never. Like William said, it varies.”
“What kinds of things though?”
“I don’t think that’s appropriate dinner conversation.”
“I’ve had dinner.” Declan shoots a challenging look across the table.
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