Did you see the latest AAD Author visiting Larissa’s Bookish Life yesterday with her own After Dark on Bourbon Street story? You should totally go read it…like now.
After Dark on Bourbon Street
A werewolf’s best and worst list about New Orleans
Hey, y’all! I write a lot of werewolves, and most of the time they tend toward the wilderness, or at least cities in Colorado, where the mountains are a hop, skip and jump away.
I do have a few city wolves, though, and one of my favorites is Jared, from my Bloodrose series. He’s an Aussie werewolf living in a major northern American city, and his lover is what I think of as a psychic pusher. He can make people feel his emotions, and he can read theirs.
Jared likes to travel, so I had to wonder what it would be like for him to go to NOLA!
***
The worst thing about New Orleans was the smell.
Jared knew that most people noticed it. It was hard to miss the sour scent of leftover alcohol mixed with the press of humanity and rotting vegetation, topped off with the rot of a city that was always underwater somehow.
Venice had smelled very much like New Orleans when he’d been there during Carnevale.
That was mostly all the two places had in common. Well, that and good food and lots of water.
Grinning, Jared watched his lover, Adrian, wander around Jackson Square, looking at the art and trinkets. The man was fascinated, his psychic talent in overdrive. It was almost like Adrian was high.
It was adorable.
“Card reading, sir? Read your palm? Tell your future?”
Every time Adrian went by one of those tables people reached out, offering, pushing, and Jared growled a little, not wanting them to touch his mate. Adrian was no pushover, but he could get…lost.
A wide little lady in lots of jingly jewelry finally got Adrian to stop, her smile with its crooked front tooth too much to resist. Jared moved in close, listening to the hundreds of feet that slid across cobblestone and brick around them. Adrian slid into a wooden folding chair, holding out his hand, and Jared felt the jolt of fear from the lady as it passed through Adrian.
She was sensitive; she could tell Adrian was some sort of psychic beacon.
Interesting.
A giggling girl with too many beads around her neck almost slammed into him, her pursuer a college-aged kid with a three-foot daiquiri in his hand. He bounced off Jared without a second glance, intent on his prey.
The urge to hunt sizzled through Jared’s veins, and he glanced up automatically, checking the moon.
Adrian glanced over, eyes shadowed by long lashes, but Jared saw the glint of concern. He shook his head, smiling, and Adrian went back to his palm reading.
The woman started murmuring, thinking she was speaking too low for Jared to hear. She had no idea she sounded like she was plugged into an amplifier. Humans always thought whispering was quieter than just talking. They were wrong.
“You’ll live longer than most of your peers,” she was saying. “Your love will sustain you.”
Adrian’s laugh was like the fountain at their hotel, a tiny burble of sound. Jared smiled again, about to Push into Adrian’s mind to say he was willing to sustain anything his lover wanted when another drunk staggered too close, whacking the back of Adrian’s chair.
“Oi! Fuck off, mate.” Jared moved fast, grabbing the man and sending him spinning off into the shadows of the alley beside St. Louis cathedral.
The palm reader’s mouth fell open, and she let go of Adrian’s hand. “You don’t need me to tell your future,” she said, curling in on herself.
Adrian just grinned and handed her a twenty. “Nope. I’m protected under the sign of the wolf. You want to go get a muffaleta, babe?”
Jared took Adrian’s hand, nodding. “All that meat and cheese? Hell, yes. You can have my olive salad.”
“Deal.”
Adrian seemed to be having a ball. To keep his lover happy, Jared would put up with damned near anything. Even that smell.
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Meet Julia Talbot!
Julia Talbot has been assimilated by Texas, where there is hot and cold running rodeo, cowboys, and smoked brisket. A full time author, Julia has been published by Torquere Press, Suspect Thoughts, Pretty Things Press, and Changeling Press. She can most often be found in coffee shops and restaurants, scribbling in her notebook and entertaining other diners with her mutterings.
Contact Info
Website: http://www.juliatalbot.com
Blog: juliatalbot.blogspot.com
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads
Want to purchase Julia’s novels?
Just a Cowboy at Amazon
Lean on Me at Amazon
Belling the Cat at Amazon
Pictures of You at Amazon
An Itch to Scratch at Amazon
A Gentleman of Substance at Amazon
Werewolf Code at Amazon
The Amethyst Eye at Amazon
Mountain Trails at Amazon
Mystic U: Wolf 101 at Amazon
Perfect at Amazon
The High-Class Highwayman at Amazon
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Contest Time!
Thank you Julia for taking the time to stop by Literary Escapism!
Julia is giving away a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card. To enter, all you have to do is answer this one question: What else do you think should be on a shapeshifters best/worst list for New Orleans? Remember, you must answer the question in order to be entered.
In addition to the fabulous prize above, Larissa and I are giving away two $25 ARe gift certificates, so be sure to answer the question.
Even though I’m not giving the additional entries any more, you can still help support the author by sharing their article, and this contest, on your blog, Twitter, Facebook, or anywhere you can. After all, the more people who are aware of this fabulous author ensures we get more fabulous stories.
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 February 28th at which time I’ll determine the winner with help from the snazzy new plug-in I have.
I have not been contacting winners, so you will need to check back to see if you’ve won.
I think the crowds would be on both lists. It would be bad if you don’t like noise/ being pushed around. It would be good if you’re looking to pick someone out without being noticed.
I’d say noise and crowds.
Have they picked a winner for this contest, yet?