Guest Author: Laurie London

Laurie LondonI am excited to welcome author Laurie London who is getting ready to celebrate the release of her newest novel, Bonded by Blood.

Some cravings are too powerful to resist…

Movie location scout Mackenzie Foster-Shaw has always known that she’s cursed to die young. No one can protect her from the evil that has stalked her family for generations—vampires who crave her rare blood type. Until one afternoon in a wooded cemetery, she encounters an impossibly sexy stranger, a man she must trust with her life.

For Dominic, a man haunted by loss, Mackenzie satisfies a primal hunger that torments him—and the bond they share goes beyond heat, beyond love. She alone can supply the strength he needs to claim his revenge. But in doing so, he could destroy her…

Make sure you stick around to the end. We’ll be giving away a signed copy of Laurie’s novel, Bonded by Blood.
_____________________________________________

Thanks, Jackie, for having me on Literary Escapism. Oooh, it’s pretty around here—green is my favorite color. My debut novel, Bonded by Blood, hits shelves soon, so to say I’m a little excited is an understatement! I’ll try my best to be coherent, but if I do or say something strange, please chalk it up to an extended lack of oxygen to my brain.

Not long ago on Twitter, one of the publishers I follow asked an interesting question. If you could write yourself in as a character from a book, what book would that be? For me, it was a no brainer. I’d love to be a heroine in a paranormal romance novel.

Aside from the obvious—hooking up with the hottest guy on the planet (realm, universe, world, etc.)—there are other advantages as well.

If you’re human, chances are you’ve got a special power or gift that makes you unique. Elena from Nalini Singh’s Angels’ Blood hunts down vampires that no one else can find, kind of like a vampire bounty hunter. Is there someone in your life who’s a real pain in the neck, who never does what you want them to do? How fun would it be to throw a collar on him (or her) and have him completely under your control?

Then there’s Sookie Stackhouse from Charlaine Harris’ series who can read minds. Just think. No one would be able to lie to you. When your kids said they unloaded the dishwasher, you’d know instantly without checking that they didn’t.

And if you’re half-human, like Cat from Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress Series or Tayla from Larissa Ione’s Demonica series, you’re a chick who kicks the butts of paranormal trouble makers, either killing them or sending them straight back to hell. I can think of a few drivers on I5 in Seattle that I’d love to drive a stake through.

In Bonded by Blood, Mackenzie is a sweetblood, a human with a rare blood type addictive to vampires. Now this, in itself, isn’t a special ability, in fact, it makes her a target for the bad guys as well as the good guys who can’t resist her.

But because of what she calls the Shaw family curse, she’s learned to take care of herself. She rides a pearlescent white motorcycle, is a good shot with her Ruger, and has an interesting job as a movie location scout. But when Dom takes one forbidden sip of her blood, it awakens powers that he never knew he had. Neither of them are ever the same.

Sure, a lot of bad things happen to heroines in paranormal romance, including Mackenzie in Bonded by Blood. However, you’d lead a really exciting life and things would always work out in the end. And, of course, you can’t forget the incredibly sexy warrior who’d be madly in love with you.

If you could write yourself in as a character from a book, who would you choose and why?
______________________

To read the first scene, click here: www.laurielondonbooks.com/excerpt.html

Excerpt:

Back at the field office, they took an elevator to a lower level. It opened into an underground five-lane shooting range that lit up automatically when they walked through the heavy soundproof door.

A glass case to the right of the door held rows and rows of semi-automatic and automatic rifles. She didn’t know much about them, just that they looked rather ominous. To the left of the door, floor-to-ceiling cabinets and drawers lined the wall, probably housing all sorts of weapons.

Dom reached into one of the drawers, ran his finger over the contents inside, then, evidently finding what he was searching for, he pulled out a small yellow ammunition box.

She was just about to say that she didn’t have her little Ruger, when Dom magically produced the gun and handed it to her. “Come on. I want to see what you’re made of.”

After donning eye and ear protection, she situated herself in lane two, the one she always chose regardless of the gun range. With a full magazine and the target in her sight, she kept her knees loose and stilled her breath, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to focus on the human-shaped target. Dom was too close. He disrupted her concentration.

“Do you mind?” She jerked her head to the side.

He complied, shaking his head in amusement.

Aware that he was watching her, she squeezed off a few rounds, hitting the head of almost every target.

“I’m impressed,” he said, handing her another magazine. “Let’s see how you do when they move.”

He pressed something on a side wall and a row of square targets sprang up along the back of the range. They moved side to side and up and down like a carnival game. She shot one round after another, pausing only to load the other magazine until her arms felt as if they would fall off and her dominant eye began to see double.

“That’s not really a target pistol, but you’re a hell of a shot.”
______________________

Embraced by BloodA graduate of Western Washington University with a BA in Business Administration and a former tester/programmer for a Fortune 500 company, Laurie London now writes from her home near Seattle where she lives with her husband and two children.

Her debut book, Bonded by Blood, A Sweetblood Novel comes out February 2011 from HQN. Embraced by Blood, the second book in the series, is coming July 2011.

Her writing has won and been a finalist in several prestigious contests including the Beacon, the Emerald City Opener, the Marlene, and the Orange Rose.

When not writing, she can be found running, reading, or riding and showing her horse. Someday she hopes to qualify for the Quarter Horse World Show – that is, if her horse doesn’t get hurt again.

Contact Info
Website: www.laurielondonbooks.com/
Blog: www.laurielondonbooks.com/blog.html
Social Media: Facebook / Twitter

Want to purchase Laurie’s novels?
Sweetblood

  1. Bonded by Blood at Amazon or the Book Depository
  2. Embraced by Blood at Amazon or the Book Depository

_____________________________________________

Bonded by BloodThank you Laurie for taking the time to stop by Literary Escapism!

Contest Time! Laurie is giving away a signed copy of Bonded by Blood.  All you have to do is answer this one question: If you could write yourself in as a character from a book, who would you choose and why?

As always, there’s more ways of getting your name in the hat (remember, these aren’t mandatory to enter, just extra entries):

  • +1 for each place you post about today’s contest on your blog, social network, or anywhere you can. Digg it, stumble it, twit it, share it with the world. Wherever you share it, make sure you add a link to it along with your answer.
  • +1 to any review you comment on, however, comments must be meaningful. Just give me the title of the review and I’ll be able to figure it out from there.
  • +1 If you are a follower of Literary Escapism on Facebook and/or Twitter
  • +10 Preorder Laurie’s novel, Embraced by Blood, or any novel through LE’s Amazon store or the Book Depository sometime during this contest and send a copy of the receipt VIA email for your purchase to: jackie AT literaryescapism DOT com. Each purchase is worth ten entries.

The winner must post a review of the novel someplace. Whether it is on their own blog, Amazon, GoodReads, LibraryThing or wherever, it doesn’t matter. Just help get the word out.

The contest will stay open until January 25th, at which time I’ll determine the winner with help from the Research Randomizer and the List Randomizer.

I have not been contacting winners, so you will need to check back to see if you’ve won.

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

15 Comments

  1. I’d be a shifter preferably and big cat one like a panther or tiger. The have natually long lives, one mate for life. and they are fast and strong with a high metabolism. Your book sounds great.

    scrtsbpal at yahoo dot com

    follow on twitter and facebook Pamk258

  2. You’re way more adventurous than me, sister dear. :) I’d probably wet my pants on a daily basis if I were a paranormal heroine.

    If I could write myself in as a character, it would have to be in a breezy romantic comedy where nobody gets killed, maimed, chased or scared witless.

    :)

  3. I love paranormals but I am too much of a wuss to live in a paranormal world. I would be freaked out all of the time. So I would write myself into a historical so I could experience a London season.

    Laurie, this book sounds great. I definitely want to read it. I hope to get my copy in the mail soon. Thanks for the giveaway.

    iqb99@yahoo.com

  4. Oooh, Pamk, I’d like to be a shifter cat too. So graceful and strong…except for the fact that I’m allergic to cats. ;-)

    Beck, thanks for stopping by. You’re such a baby.

    Danielle, that would be fun to experience a London season.

  5. I would pick the kick-ass heroine for the same reasons you did . You pretty much nailed it and mentioned some of my favorite ones. My number one reason would be the smexy alpha-male love . look forward to reading Bonded By Blood!

    1 posted on FB: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/sharon.stogner

    1 I have commented on lots of posts, but can’t remember which ones . You don’t have to give me this point if you don’t remember me .

    1 follower!

  6. I once had a crazy dream that I was Harry Potter’s twin sister, and the dream basically re-wrote the fourth book. No idea how the first three went… But that’s probably who I’d write myself in as since that series is the reason I love to read.

    +1 follower on twitter and facebook

  7. @Sharon, *high five* I’d love to be kick-ass in real life too.

    @SandyG and @GeishasMom73, so you’d want the ability to shift into whatever animal was the best choice at the time, rather than the same one over and over? Nice! You’d be so versatile.

    @Sara M, wow, what a cool dream!

    @Stephanie K, I haven’t read that series, but I’d love having magical powers too. Right now, I’d snap my fingers and, voila, my horses have been fed.

  8. Hello!
    Well, I don’t even know if I can enter the contest (I’m from Europe!) but I’ll try anyway because that’s a good question. I would love to be some kind of character with power over a natural element – preferably water, it’s just so cool! *laughs* But shapeshifting would be my second choice. Something with wings. A cute little sparrow perhaps.

    +1 follower of Literary Escapism on Facebook (carla costa) and on Twitter (@Jen7waters)
    +1 posted contest on my blog http://cuidadocomodalmata.wordpress.com/

    thank you!;)

  9. I don’t think I’d want to be an urban fantasy heroine because they usually end up suffering all kinds of torments. I think I’d like to be a character in a contemporary romance, the wallflower who ends up with the really sweet guy who will love her forever.

    +1 commented on Hunted by the Others
    +1 commented on Lightborn
    +1 commented on The Particular sadness of Lemon Cake

  10. Cinderella, because then I could have a really fab happy ending!

    meredithfl at gmail dot com

    +1 Facebook follower Meredith M.

  11. okay, because it’s an adventure (and I’m brave today) I would choose a person like Kate Daniels – strong and skilled… another possibility would be to be a Psy (Nalini Singh) with I-don’t-know-what-ability (there are too many to chooose from *g*)!
    thanks for a great post – I heard a lot of good things about your book and will definitively keep it in mind for my next shopping trip :)
    greetings, Melanie

Comments are closed.