Show A Zombie Some Love!

SHOW A ZOMBIE SOME LOVE!

by Paige Tyler

Thanks so much for letting me guest blog today!

Readers often ask me how I come up with ideas for my books, so I thought I'd give you a little behind-the-scenes peek at how I came up with my new release, a paranormal erotic romance from Ellora's Cave called DEAD SEXY. 

Before I say anything else though, isn't that cover too hot for words?!  When the art department sent it to me, I probably gazed at it for a good ten minutes in mouth-drooling appreciation before I could email them back telling the artist it not only rocked, but totally fit the book.  The hero is "Dead Sexy," after all! 

Okay, back to the story and how I came up with it.  First, to set the stage, I need to share a little something with you about myself.  Well, about my hubby and me, actually.  We love zombie movies, from the George Romero gems to Shaun of the Dead and everything in between, including "Walking Dead," the new series on AMC.  You just can't go wrong with  a movie full of walking dead people, can you?  Well, if you've ever seen a zombie movie (or even you haven't), then you know the creatures aren't the heroes of the film.  I mean, how can they be, right?  They're all dead and decayed and downright unattractive, not to mention pretty damn scary.  Which was why you can imagine my surprise when my hubby suggested I write an erotic romance about a zombie hero.  I was like, you're kidding, right?  What woman in her right mind would fall in love with a dead guy?  No way could that possibly work, or so I thought.

Turns out, my hubby wasn't kidding.  In fact, he started working up ideas for the story.

"The hero didn't have to be a zombie all the time," he told me. "Think outside the box - take a little literary license!"

Okay, I thought. I suppose I could be open minded.  

My hubby told me that in his out-of-the-box world, the hunky hero got cursed by an evil Voodoo priestess and only turns into a zombie sometimes.  

"I'm listening," I said. 

"And when he does go zombie, he doesn't have to be like the kind in the movies," my hubby added.  "Well, he has to look like one, you know all dead and stuff, but he doesn't have to be a mindless creature or attack humans or eat anything gross."

So, brains are completely out, thanks goodness!

"Think Jensen Ackles or Jared Padelecki, with a really, really, really dark tan - (yes, my hubby knows I've got a thing for the Supernatural hunks!) - well, maybe more gray and black than tan, but you get the idea."

I thought about that for a minute.  "So, the hero's dead, but he's still sexy, is that what you're saying?"

"Exactly," he said, giving me a grin as my eyes lit up with understanding.

By that point, my hubby had pretty much sold me on the idea.  Of course, I knew if I ran with it, I was going to have to sell it to a publisher, and I knew that could be tough since the hero is a zombie. But I ran with it anyway and ended up with a full-length novel.  And it came out pretty damn good, if I do say so myself!  I still had to find a publisher for it, though. 

About this same time, It just so happens that several of my other books were in the process of being picked up by Ellora's Cave and I thought what the heck?  Why not pitch it to my editor there and see what she thinks?  So I did, and she told me to send it to her.  She was interested to see how I handled the whole zombie-thing.  Well, long story, short, she liked it.  A lot!  My zombie romance with it's dead-sexy hero had a home!  I was thrilled and my hubby walked around for a week with a smug, "I-told-you-so" look on his face.

I've been getting the word out there about DEAD SEXY ever since I signed the contract for it and I'm thrilled with the interest from readers who can't wait to get their hands on it!  I can't wait for them to read it, too!  

Now that I've revealed the story behind the story, I thought I'd share the blurb and an excerpt just to whet your appetite for more!

Blurb:

Romance author Simone Kent thinks she might just have found the most perfect guy in all of New York City - in bed and out. But Drake Parrish is about as far from perfect as any man can get. Eight years ago, he was cursed by an evil Voodoo priestess to live part of his life as a zombie. Since then, he has lived like a recluse on New York’s Upper East Side, afraid to go out for fear he’ll suddenly turn into one of the walking dead.

The sex if the hottest either of them has ever experienced and Simone discovers just how naughty she can be with Drake, while he finds himself feeling things for her that he hasn’t felt in a very long time. When the Voodoo priestess learns of their relationship, however, she comes after him again. She is determined to make sure he won’t have a future with Simone, even if that means killing both him and the woman he loves.

Excerpt:

As she led him up the steps to the second floor, Drake found himself wondering if she would ask him in. And wondering what he’d say if she did. When they came to a stop outside the door to her apartment, Simone turned to give him a smile.

“I had a great time tonight.”

“Me, too.”

She caught her bottom lip between her perfect white teeth and chewed on it thoughtfully as if unsure what she wanted to say next. It was probably an unconscious gesture, something she did whenever she was thinking, but to him, it was sexy as hell and all he could think about was kissing her.

Surely, one kiss couldn’t hurt. He desperately wanted to. He hadn’t kissed a woman in so long. It would be nice to see if he still remembered how. 

Before he could stop himself, Drake tilted Simone’s face up to his and pressed his mouth to hers.

She tasted just as sweet and delicious as he thought she would. Her lips were soft and pliant under his as she kissed him back, her tongue eagerly seeking his out.

Drake groaned and slid his hand into her hair, deepening the kiss. Simone sighed into his mouth, running her hands up the front of his shirt to grasp his shoulders. The feel of her touch was like a tonic to his deprived soul and he let out another groan, deeper this time.

He ran his free hand up her side and around to her breast, cupping it through the soft material of her dress. He couldn’t stop himself and apparently, Simone didn’t want him to. She moaned and arched against him. He could feel the heat of her pussy through their clothes as she pressed up against his hard cock. Damn, she felt good.

Drake drew her bottom lip into his mouth and gently suckled on it before slowly kissing his way along the delicate curve of her jaw. Simone clutched his shoulders and tilted her head back. He eagerly trailed a path of hot kisses down her neck, then back up, his mouth finding hers again. Simone looped her arms around his neck, pulling him in even closer as their tongues met. 

Down the hall, a door slammed, reminding him where they were. 

Drake dragged his mouth away from hers, his breathing ragged as he tried to regain control. He had to get it together because he was about five seconds away from doing something really stupid. Like taking her to bed. “I should go.”

Her lips curved into a sexy, flirtatious smile. “Or you could stay.” 

God, how he wanted to. But as much as he’d love to spend the rest of the night exploring every inch of her body, he couldn’t take the chance he might go zombie on her right in the middle of sex. Talk about coitus interruptus, And it had already been almost four days since he last turned, which meant he was already pushing his luck.

“You don’t know how much I want to,” he groaned. “But I can’t.” 

Simone looked up at him with those big, blue eyes. “Why not?”

“Because I…” He hesitated, trying to come up with something that would sound believable. “I have a column due in the morning and I haven’t even started on it yet.” She knew all about deadlines, so she would understand that. Besides, he did have a column to write, it just wasn’t due until next week. “Rain check?”

She looked disappointed, but she smiled anyway. “Absolutely. How does coming over for dinner tomorrow night sound?”

It would be crazy to agree when he could be so close to having an episode, but he couldn’t say no. Not when she asked in that soft, sultry voice. “Sounds great.”

“Good. Be here at seven.”

“Seven it is.”

She pulled him down for another long, slow kiss on the mouth. “Don’t be late.” 

His mouth twitched. “I won’t.” He bent his head to kiss her again, then groaned. “If I don’t go now, I’ll be here all night.”

Simone laughed. “Would that be such a bad thing?”

“Not to me, but my editor at Money Issues might not be too understanding when he doesn’t find my column sitting in his inbox tomorrow.”

She sighed. “Deadlines can be a real pain in the butt sometimes. Okay, go home and write your column. I’ll cuddle up with a bowl of ice cream instead.”

He chuckled. “Sounds better than taking a cold shower, which is what I’m going to be doing when I get home.” He closed his mouth over hers once more. “See you tomorrow night, beautiful.” 

Resisting the urge to pull her into his arms again, Drake turned and walked down the hallway toward the stairwell. At the top of the steps, he glanced over his shoulder to see Simone standing where he’d left her, a sexy curve to her lips.

It took every ounce of strength he possessed not to go back and pin her against the door for one more long, lingering kiss. God, what he wouldn’t give to spend the night with her. Man, it was going to take more than a cold shower to get her out of his head.

Hope you enjoyed the excerpt and that you can't wait to read more! You can get DEAD SEXY from Ellora's Cave at http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8917-50-dead-sexy.aspx

You can also check out the trailer here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5D_YH6bYrE

If you decide to pick up DEAD SEXY, let me know how you like it!

*hugs*
Paige

http://www.paigetylertheauthor.com

http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com

LIVING ON THE EDGE is OUT!

Do you like your paranormals with bite?

Living On The Edge

by LaVerne Thompson

is now available from Red Rose Publishing

As one of the few female bounty hunters in the country and with a nickname like Edge, she enjoyed living on the edge and always got her man. One way or another.  As an executioner for her shifter clan she was relentless, but finding a mate was not something on her radar, having to hunt him down and execute him even less so.

But could she trust her instincts? 

Ethan Graves was a hunted man, not quite a man but a Leo of his kind.  When he found out he was hunted by a sexy bounty hunter, he let himself be caught.  He just had to convince her of his innocence before she killed him, then confess to wanting her as his mate. 

But could he trust his instincts?  

BUY LINK 

Chapter 2
Dragon's Heart
Story of the Brethren
by
LaVerne Thompson

“What was that? Did you see that?”

“See what?” his wife asked, craning her neck so she could look past her husband who sat at the window. “A bunch of clouds?”

“I’m not sure. It looked like something…something big, just blocked out the sun.”

“Well I don’t see anything. It was probably just a bird.”

“Not this high up and it was bigger than any bird I’d ever seen.”

The passenger in the window seat in section 14A on flight forty-seven bound for the United States from Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom hit the call button for a flight attendant. When she got there he didn’t know quite what to say to her. ‘I think I just saw a UFO,’ didn’t sound right. So instead he just asked for a straight gin and pulled the window shade down over his window. It was going to be a long flight.

Maya didn’t know why she pulled up her itinerary on her laptop and changed her flight arrangements, yet again. Instead of leaving today as she had originally planned, she would leave tomorrow night. What possessed her to make those changes and to spend the day hiking the Sperrin Mountains again, she hadn’t a clue. She just knew she had to get a look at those stones one last time. She felt as if she were on the verge of discovering something, what she didn’t know.

She followed the same trail she had taken less than a week ago. There was no map, but she had spoken to the guide again and he had given her specific instructions, she was sure she remembered the way. The hike the last time took about five hours for the entire trip, and that was because they went at the pace of the slowest person. Maya was in great shape and should make better time. Even though, she left late morning, she still had plenty of time to make it to the stones and back well before the sun set. But somehow she had gotten turned around. No one had warned her that a fog was going to roll in this afternoon or that it would hinder her sight of the almost non-existent trail.

“Come on Maya. Does that tree look familiar? Or is it familiar because you’ve walked past it three times already.” She was talking to herself again. But out here in the middle of nowhere there was no one who’d care. Maya stopped to take a drink of water from the hose attached to her backpack. When she looked up again she couldn’t believe what was in front of her. The fog was still thick but she could make out the outline of part of the perimeter of the circle of stones.

“Yipee!” she cried exhilarated. “I’ve found it again! The stones!”

No sooner had the words left Maya’s mouth when the fog cleared enough for her to notice an odd shape lay in the center of the stones.

Maya cautiously entered the circle and walked toward the shape on the ground. Whatever it was it wasn’t moving. As she got closer the shape took on the form of a person, curled into a fetal position, whose back was to her. She couldn’t tell if it was a male or a female. She could barely make out jean clad legs. The fog was still too thick for her to see the figure clearly. She moved closer until she could kneel over the person. As soon as she touched what she identified as an arm, she knew it was a male. There was muscle in the bicep. She rolled him over unto his back until she could see his face. She found herself gazing into the face of a sleeping golden angel just before the fog rolled back and swirled around his face, temporarily obscuring her view.

My God he’s just a boy, a teenager. She shook him gently. “Are you alright? Can you hear me? Are you hurt?”

She stopped speaking when she heard a soft moan.

“Oh my head,” a disembodied voice whimpered. “What…what happened?” The young man tried to sit up and slumped back down.

“Here take it easy,” Maya said. “Don’t try to get up yet. Don’t you know what happened?”

Maya sat back on her hunches, she still couldn’t see his face clearly anymore, but she could tell his head turned at the sound of her voice. “I…I don’t know, I…I’m not sure,” he said.

“Just relax. Give it a minute.”

“Oh…my head hurts.” The young man groaned again and held his hands to his head.

Before Maya could ask anymore questions he fell sideways and passed out, Maya couldn’t get him to wake up again. She put her backpack down and took out her cell phone. The glow from the phone showed her she had no service, she frowned in frustration. “Just great,” she said. “I spend all this money for a state-of-the-art cell phone, that’s supposed to provide satellite service so that you can be connected from anywhere in the world. Anywhere that is, but wherever you are, and need it most. This sucks!”

Maya looked down and realized the young man’s features were clearer. The fog was starting to lift but it was getting darker and the temperature was dropping in the mountains. She didn’t want to leave him; it was at least a two hour walk to the nearest house and help. But maybe she wouldn’t have to go that far. Maybe if she just walked around a little she’d be able to pick up a signal so she could call for help.

She walked around a couple of feet away from the young man but still no signal. She kept walking until she went beyond the standing stones; as soon as she did she got a signal and the call went through.

She put her phone in her pants pocket. The emergency people would be there as soon as they could. They would send a chopper in but the low laying fog might be a problem, they would have to walk their way into them. But Maya was a little taken aback when the operator said she’d never heard of the standing stones. She had to describe the area for her. Shouldn’t they have maps of the various hiking areas on the mountain? She was certain she dialed the emergency number for Sperrin County. She had programmed the number into her phone while on the first hike out here.

Maya gave the operator the name of the inn where she was staying and the name of her hiking guide. She tried to describe how to get there, the way her guide had done but that didn’t seem to be very helpful. Hopefully, they’d get a hold of her guide who can bring them to the right spot or they could call her cell and try to track her signal location that way.

Maya returned to the young man only to find that nothing had changed. She tried to wake him up again but he wouldn’t budge. She checked the pulse at the side of his neck and thought it beat strongly against her finger, at least confirming he’s alive. Next she checked his pockets for a wallet or any type of identification but they were all empty. She searched around the area for signs of a backpack or anything that could give her a clue as to who he was or what happened, but she could find nothing. The fog still rolling around the stones didn’t help visibility either.

She got up and walked around the circle of stones to see if she could find anything. She touched one of the stones. “Ouch! What the….” Maya couldn’t believe her eyes again. The stone was glowing and that was definitely an electric shock that she felt. This time she knew it wasn’t just dirt that she was looking at. The glow allowed her to clearly see the pattern of a dragon etched into the stone. “My God! What…what is that? A dragon? So I had seen a dragon before. But…but this is impossible. First it’s there then it’s not.”

A moan coming from behind her caused her to turn around in time to see the young man trying to sit up. She ran over to him. “Stay still. Don’t try to move. Help is on the way.”

He ignored her. He sat up and drew his legs up. “Oh my head...” He lowered his head until it almost touched his knees and brought his hands up to cradle his temples. It was then Maya noticed his hair. It was so long that when he leaned forward it cascaded past his shoulders until it completely covered his elbows. “What…what happened?” he stammered.

Momentarily lost for words, Maya kneeled down beside the young man. “I don’t know.” She almost lifted her hand to touch that waterfall of hair. “I found you unconscious here in the middle of the stones.”

“S…stones?” The young man lowered his arms and raised his head to look around him. The fog had rolled off a little more and Maya could see him clearly again. And oh wow! He was handsome, breathtakingly so. He must drive the young girls crazy. She could see that he did look like an angel, a sixteen or seventeen year old golden angel with all that long blond hair. And those eyes. They were eerily familiar. They were a lot like the eyes from her dream. They looked like emeralds and they were glowing. Wait a minute. They were glowing, like the stone. Maya’s head whipped around to look at the stone she had touched and sure enough it was still glowing. The eyes of the dragon appeared to be glowing emeralds, just like the eyes of the young man. Like the eyes of the dragon in her dream.

“Wh…what the hell is going on?” Maya looked back and forth between the teenager and the stone. She stood up abruptly and moved away from both the boy and the glowing stone.

The young man looked at her then looked at the stone. “I…I don’t know. I don’t know. Is it supposed to do that?”

“Hell no! Stones don’t just start glowing.” At least she didn’t think these kinds of stones did. “Who are you? What happened here?”

“I told you. I don’t know.” The young man became agitated. “I…I don’t remember.” He looked at her pleading with his eyes for her to help him, to help him understand.

Maya took a deep breath. Some instinct told her he would not harm her and he did appear to be genuinely confused. “Okay, okay calm down.” She said that for them both. “What’s your name?”

“I…I don’t know. Why don’t I know? I don’t remember anything.” He dropped his head down and placed his hands over his head. “What’s wrong with me?” He raised his head quickly and looked up at her. “Do you know what happened to me? Do you know who I am?”

Maya could read the turmoil in his weird gaze and felt sorry for him. She slowly returned to his side and kneeled down beside him. She was still a little wary of those glowing eyes of his. Maybe it was some kind of weird colored contacts.

“No. I’m sorry. I just found you laying here. My name’s Maya Trent. I’m just a tourist. Maybe you were in some sort of accident and you have temporary memory loss or something.” That seemed to be the most likely scenario. This was a small community. Surely, someone would know who the young man was, she hoped, even if he was a tourist. Which he could be, he had an American accent for sure. “Help should be here soon. Why don’t you just try to relax?” The young man reached out and grabbed her arm. When Maya tried to pull away he immediately released her arm. He didn’t hurt her, he had just startled her.

“I’m sorry. I meant no harm.”

“It’s okay.”

“Please, I’m just trying to understand. I don’t know why I can’t remember anything. I don’t know who I am. I don’t even know where I am.” He looked around at the stones and his gaze stopped and focused on the glowing dragon. “What’s that? It looks like some sort of dragon…dragon. That seems familiar to me. Aarrg!” The young man slumped forward again and grabbed his head. “The pain….”

Maya reached out and wrapped her arms around him. “Shhh, it’ll be alright. It’ll be alright. We’ll find out who you are.” At least Maya prayed they would, this was getting way beyond strange.

“Will you stay with me please, Maya? Will you stay with me until I remember?”

Maya looked into those eyes, eyes so like the dragon in her dream and knew she would stay with this young man until he was returned to where he belonged. For some reason she knew he didn’t belong here.

Maya found herself looking at the glowing stone again. Then she heard a sound in the distance.

She turned away from the stones and tried to see beyond the trees but the fog was thick there. “I think help has arrived. I think I hear a chopper but they may not be able to land near us. The fog’s still thick around the stones. They’ll have to find a clearing to land and walk in, but hopefully they’ll be here soon. I’m going to walk beyond the standing stones and see if I can reach them on my cell. I’ll be right back.”

“Al…alright.”

“I won’t go far. You’ll still be able to see me.” Maya got up and walked towards the stones, it was then that she noticed the stone was no longer glowing. As she got nearer, she couldn’t even make out the etching of the dragon that had been on it moments ago. “What the…!” she exclaimed.

“What? What’s wrong?” the boy asked. “Is something wrong?”

“Th…the stone, the stone is no longer glowing.” Maya stepped back so he could see for himself.

As she looked over at him it was then she made another discovery. His eyes weren’t glowing anymore either. “Your eyes…they…they aren’t glowing either.”

“What?”

“Your eyes. Your eyes were glowing like the stone. Who are you?” she finished on a whisper.

“I don’t understand. I….”

Maya shook her head. “It’s okay. We’ll get to the bottom of this. There must be some sort of explanation.” Either that or she was losing her mind.

“Why would my eyes glow? Why don’t I remember anything? Arrgh.” The boy shook his head sending hair flying in every direction. “This makes no sense. Why can’t I remember? I should be able to remember? What’s happening to me?” He tried to stand up and got as far as all fours. Maya rushed over to help him.

“Hey, hey, hey, take it easy,” she said helping him to stand. “Do you think you should be standing up?” Maya placed an arm around his waist and he looped his arm around her shoulder.
He turned to look at her and had to look down. At five eight Maya was no slouch, but this boy, young man was at least six feet and probably still growing. “I think I can stand. It’s only when I try to remember anything that my head hurts.”

“Well just take it easy. But I still think you should sit back down.”

“No, please. I want to see that stone. Can you help me over there?”

“I….”

“Please. I feel like I need to see the stone.”

“Okay, but if you feel dizzy we stop.”

“Agreed.”

Maya helped him walk over to the stone. She was aware that he was trying not to put any weight on her, she just guided him. They stopped once they faced the stone that had been glowing and was now as dark and as ordinary looking as any piece of marble.

The boy raised the arm at his side and laid his palm against the stone. As soon as he did, all of the stones began to glow. Maya and the boy found themselves surrounded by light in a rainbow of colors. Maya could have sworn she heard a low hum coming from all directions then the boy’s body began to tremble. He threw his head back and roared. That’s the only way Maya could describe it, it wasn’t a scream but a guttural primal roar. The vibration of which burrowed into her soul. It was the sound of a wounded animal.

Scared, Maya dropped her arm from around his waist and stepped away from the boy, releasing his hold on her. As soon as she did, he fell to the ground, unconscious again and the light coming from the stones winked out as though they had never been.

Looking down on the boy who lay at her feet, Maya felt as if she was indeed losing her mind.