Love Bytes is happy to welcome to their blog author Liv Rancourt, who is joining us today to talk about new release “Soulmates”.
Check out the guestpost by Liv, the excerpt and don’t forget to participate in the giveaway!
Welcome Liv 🙂
Where do ideas come from?
I have a friend who’s an accomplished, award-winning nonfiction writer, and the last time we got together for coffee, she told me she could not imagine coming up with a whole novel’s worth of ideas. I might have laughed, because I can’t imagine learning enough about a subject to write a whole book about it, so we’re pretty much even. (lol!)
She’s got a point, though. I can’t always explain where my ideas come from. Some are fairly straightforward. I sang Gregorian chant for years and always wished I could learn from someone who’d sung chant back in the day. Le voilà! Meet Thaddeus Dupont, vampire – who was a monk before he was turned, and who still chants the hours every day.
The seeds of my novel Lost & Found were planted by a story I read about the dancer Nijinski, who was such a gifted artist and had such a tragic life. I wanted to rework his story to give him a happier ending, and while Nijinski doesn’t appear on the page, his spirit infuses the work, particularly the character Louis Donadieu.
Then there are the stories that sorta just show up. (lol!) Like, where did Aqua Follies come from? I saw a call for submissions for a publisher looking for novellas set in the ‘50s and ended up with a full-length gay romance set in 1955 Seattle. One thing just sorta led to another, and so on.
Haunted, book one in the Haunts & Hoaxes series I co-write with Irene Preston, is a spin-off from our Hours of the Night series (featuring the vampire Thaddeus Dupont). Haunted got its start when one of us wondered what the neighbors thought about a certain event in Nocturne, book 2 in the Hours of the Night.
Pretty flimsy premise to launch a series on, but there you go.
And then there’s Soulmates, my brand new m/m/m paranormal romance. If you’d asked me whether I set out to write a ménage story where there were as many explosions as there were sex scenes, I’d have said no. I mean, I love a good explosion – and a hot sex scene, tbh – but this story took off on a wild ride with an agenda of its own.
Now I’m mainly worried whether I can do justice to the sequel!
If you love a fast-paced paranormal romance that’s equal parts mystery and nontraditional love story, keep reading. There’s an excerpt below, along with a link to a giveaway. Since I’m celebrating Soulmate’s release, there are two prizes – which means two winners! One will get a $20 gift card and the other will get a fab m/m hoodie from The Ripped Bodice. So make sure and enter, and happy reading!!
Blurb:
Fusing copper, gold, and moonlight creates the strongest bond.
Trajan Gall is ready to meet the sun. The vampire has spent two years mourning a lost love, but he can’t refuse his maker one last assignment. Babysitting some VIP’s kid is hardly worth his effort.
Until he gets an eyeful of David.
Spring break in LA is werewolf David Collins’s last chance to do whatever the hell he wants. Graduation in June will be his first step into the family machine, and with one week to paint the town red, he’s aiming to do it in neon and glitter.
David’s father is the American Alpha, and something – some rumor or instinct or parental discretion – prompts Dad to hire a vampire to keep his heir out of trouble. Good thing. The shooting starts before David reaches his Sunset Beach hotel.
The danger chasing David – not to mention the white hot sparks that fly between them – give Trajan a much-needed jolt of life. When Trajan’s past roars back in a way that won’t be denied, the three of them must find a way to bridge past and present or David won’t have any future at all.
Soulmates Universal Buy Link: – it’s $2.99 or FREE in KU
(We’re in Trajan’s POV. He’s a vampire and he’s been tasked with keeping the American Alpha’s heir safe. This isn’t how he expected things to go…)
Back in the main room, he’s curled up on the couch, clutching a pillow. “Look”—he gestures at the screen—“Darius is leading.”
Damned if Darius isn’t a fair-skinned Italian-looking guy. “How much longer will this show last?”
“It’s almost over, but I got it off Netflix, so there are six more episodes in the season.” He punches the pillow. “Not like we got all that much to do.”
“Except stay alive long enough to figure out who’s trying to get to you.” I perch on the edge of the couch, gingerly, because I can’t trust myself to get too close to him. I have questions, and while I can persuade an ordinary human to answer truthfully with a little nudge of my mind, David is anything but ordinary.
“I told you. It’s my dad or my uncle or one of their hoo-rah lieutenants.”
“But what if it’s not?”
He flaps a limp-wristed hand, giving me the full nelly. “It is.” With a heavy sigh, he wiggles around till he’s sitting. “How much do you know about Were politics?”
“Not much.” I dare to ease back against the leather cushions. “It’s like vamp politics, but with more body heat?”
David gives me a sly smile. “I like body heat. Do you like body heat?”
Before I can answer, he’s coming for me, crawling up the couch. I put up a hand to stop him, but he laces his fingers through mine. “Is this okay?” he whispers.
I don’t respond, but I don’t push him away either. Over the last 175 years, I’ve tried just about everything, in every combination. Past and future fade in response to the heat of his now.
“I’m about to graduate,” he says, “and that means it’s time for me to get sucked into the machine.” He draws my hand closer, till my knuckles are brushing against his chest. “I’ll go to work for my dad, and I’ll move on up the ranks.” His grip on my hand is hot, but he hasn’t grown fur yet. “He’s the American capital-A Alpha, but he’s also the small-a alpha of the Collins Pack. He says if I can take care of the family pack, he’ll have more focus for national issues. That scares some people, because I’m flamboyant and I honestly don’t give a fuck. There’s not a wolf out there who can take mine in a fight, and there’s not a man in the pack who wants a queer in charge.”
I believe every word he says. “We can cross your father off the list, then. If he wants you to take over, he can’t be trying to kill you.”
His shrug doesn’t have much confidence. “It might be his way of testing me, of making me prove to them all that I’m up to the role.”
Talk about your tough love. I chew on that for a while. “But do you even want to take over?”
“I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep my family safe.” His conviction shines through, straightening his shoulders and raising his chin. “My mother, my sister, my cousins Marcus and Ben, they’re my posse. If they need me to step up, I will.”
“Why a solo trip to LA, then? Why leave your posse at home?”
“Because.” He tugs on my hand, using it for leverage to climb up over my thighs. He smells good, like wolf and sandalwood and man. “This is my last chance, Guido. In Seattle, I’m the Alpha’s son. Everyone knows it, and my life is planned down to how many shots of espresso I can order from Starbucks.” He’s hypnotizing me with his warmth and the sound of his voice.
“For this trip,” he goes on, “I bleached my hair and bought tints for my eyes, and I want a man in every orifice by the time I’m through.”
When his lips meet mine, I don’t try to stop him. I can’t. Connor was so long ago, and David is here and now.
He kisses me fiercely, as if someone’s going to lob a bomb through the window any second. He tastes good, surprisingly sweet, with an undertow of cigarettes and wildness. I want more of that. More of him. We can talk later. I fold his strong, wiry body in my arms and lift, carrying him upstairs to the safe room.
Liv Rancourt writes romance of all kinds. Because love is love, even with fangs.
Liv is a huge fan of paranormal romance and urban fantasy and loves history just as much, so her stories often feature vampires or magic or they’re set in the past…or all of the above. When Liv isn’t writing she takes care of tiny premature babies or teenagers, depending on whether she’s at work or at home. Her husband is a soul of patience, her kids are her pride and joy, and her dogs – Trash Panda and The Boy Genius – are endlessly entertaining.
Liv can be found on-line at all hours of the day and night at her website, on Facebook, or on Twitter. For sneak peeks and previews and other assorted freebies, go HERE to sign up for her mailing list or join the Facebook page she shares with her writing partner Irene Preston, After Hours with Liv & Irene. See you soon!
