Hot Halloween Heroes Blog Hop!

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I like it better than Christmas. What other holiday allows you to dress up like your favorite character (or like a table and a lamp—yes, we had a trick-or-treater at our house a couple of years ago dressed as a table and a lamp. She was way cool.) and solicit everyone for candy? It's got to be a dentist's favorite holiday.

But there's more to love about Halloween than just the costumes, the carved pumpkins, and the treats, especially if you're a paranormal lover like I am, whether a reader or a writer. Vampires have come a long way since the days of Dracula pulling his cape around his face and whisking a damsel in distress into his coffin for a little one-on-one time that usually ended with two red dots on her neck. Nowadays, there are vampires like Wrath, Vishous, Vlad, and even my hot blood-sucking tamales from my award-winning All the King's Men Series, who make Dracula look like a pansy. These are alpha vampires with muscle, moxy, and attitudes bigger than Texas. They're also vampires with human-like problems to overcome. And we love a sexy vampire with problems, don't we? I know I do.

Today (October 29) is my birthday, and I want to celebrate it with my vampires while browsing through the other bloggers involved in this blog hop. The vampires I'm inviting as special guests to my birthday party are the hero and heroine of my new book, Return of the Assassin, book five in the AKM Series, which just released today. Malek and Gina have waited a long time for their story to be told, and I'm excited about adding their heart-wrenching love story to the mix alongside, Micah & Samantha, Severin & Arion, and Io & Miriam. Malek & Gina are two vampires who must overcome tragic, painful pasts if they are to find happiness, and I'm thrilled to have been able to tell their story in Return of the Assassin. I love me a good vampire story, don't you?

As part of the blog hop, I'm giving away a $10 Amazon gift card, as well as all five e-books in my AKM Series to one lucky winner:

1. Rise of the Fallen
2. Heart of the Warrior
3. Micah's Calling
4. Rebel Obsession
5. Return of the Assassin

Make sure you enter your email in the comments and answer the question: What do you like most about Halloween? 

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Return of the Assassin Now Available!

My latest book, Return of the Assassin, is now available, albeit three days earlier than anticipated. It was due to come out on Oct. 29, but for the first time ever, Barnes and Noble pulled the trigger finger faster than lightning to make the listing go live within five hours of my uploading it. So, ROTA went up everywhere as of last night.

The first eighteen hours of publication have been amazing, with the book ranking the highest of all my books within ten hours of initial upload to their site. Two five-star reviews have already been posted, and fan reaction has been incredible. Lots of tears (everyone I've asked so far said they cried while reading the book), and many have said already that this is the best book yet in the series. I'm blessed for that, because a lot of times, books in series become less interesting as the series ages. Five books in, and my readers say the books just keep getting stronger.

Reviews have been outstanding, including a fabulous GraveTells review that had this to say:

"If you've been waiting for the next Black Dagger Brotherhood, this is it, but with a story arc and featured characters that stand on their own merit and writing that is as complicated and talented as J.R. Ward's without the abrasive, almost gangster style. I dare you to read Return of the Assassin and remain completely unmoved by the events in this book. And to think, this series has so much potential awesome left to explore!"

I do get compared to J.R. Ward quite a bit, and I'll admit she's been influential in my writing. I love the multi-POV story lines, and I like brash banter, much like she does. So, I don't mind the comparisons. It's an honor to be compared to her.

Now it's time to turn my focus to the next book in the series, Bound Guardian Angel, which is Trace's much-anticipated story. With high expectations come increased odds that those expectations won't be met, so I have to work extra hard on this one to make it the epic story fans hunger for. But I think I can do it. With the draft already started, Trace's story promises to deliver a few interesting scenes of action I've never seen anywhere. I think readers will have to peel themselves off their ceilings after they read his story. We'll see.

But for now, let me introduce you to a few new characters you'll meet in Return of the Assassin:

Savill Hawke is introduced in Return of the Assassin as "just a boy," but as you can see, he will grow up to be quite a man. Savill is a musical prodigy and a half-blood vampire with gentle powers, despite his scary exterior. His story is tragic, and he will endure a lot of anguish once he recovers from the induced coma we find him in in ROTA. Consequently, and partly inspired by another character he meets when he awakes from his coma, he will cover himself in tattoos: cobras up both arms, scorpions on his chest, the devil on his torso, and possibly a black widow on his back. What he's been through will make him want to push everyone away, and the tattoos are part of the armor he'll use to meet that objective. (muse: DeAngelo Demonio)

Trevor Knight, a full-blooded vampire, is Gina's best friend. At one time, he dated her brother, Gabe. He was also romantically involved with his business partner, Talon Justice, who he started the Knights of Justice with. The Knights of Justice is a security detail in Miami that's similar to All the King's Men, only without the royal credentials. Trevor wants a mate. A true mate. One he forms a biological bond with. This is something he yearns for, and it's why he broke up with Talon, because that link never formed with Talon. He is loyal to his friends and deadly to his enemies, and he will go to great lengths to protect those he loves. (muse: Alejandro Corzo)

Kieran Teague a deadly half-blood vampire who possesses special powers that caused him to be "marked" and ostracized from his clan. Even though this pic doesn't show them, his chest, torso, back, and arms are covered in tattoos so black and dense, they look burned into his skin. These markings are warnings to others of how dangerous he is. But deep down, Kieran is a tender-hearted, misunderstood male. And he aches that his clan banished him. His markings shame him, and he carries a lot of guilt. Instead of hiding his tattoos, he readily shows them to push anyone away who dares to get too close. The pain of losing everyone he loved has made him wary of anyone who threatens to enter his heart, and he would rather chase them away than let them in, only to lose them later. (muse: Ivan Rusilko)