I confess that after spending the last decade with my
characters of the dramatic paranormal romance Promise Me Series, I didn’t want
to say goodbye. My Lash Series, while letting me discover
in detail the past of the title character, focuses more on fantasy adventure
with real historical elements than on passionate relationships. Enter my new
Unhallowed Love Series with the first book, A
Good Year, which lets my alpha demon Shaker free to enjoy some time on
earth with his new “Mistress,” Deborah, as he partners with her to smooth the
path for her independent film company, Pandora Productions. Vampire Devlin
Dalcon, weresnake assassin Lash, and Shaker’s brother Titus also have bit parts
in A Good Year, and other Promise Me characters will also likely make
appearances later in this series.
One
of the hardest parts of writing a series is sequel continuity; that characters
add onto their personal histories as they change and grow throughout new
installments without any inconsistencies or errors. I have to say it was and is
far harder to write intertwined series. The Lash Series takes place previous to
the Promise Me Series, and my demon Shaker appears in both, giving me some
history to draw on. Yet knowing the events of the last few Promise Me Series
books, I have more than a few hurdles to cross as well to keep my continuity, a
challenge that fills me with excitement. I really enjoy fitting together known
character histories with new delectable morsels of personal information,
discovering reasons previously unknown for climactic events, and creating
layers of personality for undeveloped characters that I was not able to explore
in previously published books.
While familiar characters are enjoyable as long lost
friends, a too familiar plotline is not. Unlike the isolated, rural estate
settings of the Promise Me Series, A Good
Year is set primarily in California
at the offices of Pandora Productions. In place of my former animal-loving,
long-haired tomboy widow Sarelle, my new heroine Deborah is a corporate savvy
professional with no pets, non-nonsense hair, and no time for romance…until
Shaker walks into her office one January evening. Even then, Deborah takes months to think of
Shaker as anything but a business partner. Still, like Sarelle with Danial,
Debbie puts her faith in Shaker, hoping their partnership will help her achieve
her dreams, unknowing of how much her relationship with a supernatural being
will alter her future…both in terrible loss, and purest, heartfelt joy.
A Good Year
by Tara Fox Hall
Available at:
Melange Books ~ Amazon ~ Lulu
Faced with losing Pandora Productions as well as her best
friend Rebecca to the smarmy Paul, savvy film executive Debbie makes a pact
with the demon Shaker, agreeing to bind herself to him as his human master in
return for killing Paul. When the intended coup goes amiss, resulting in the
deaths of both Rebecca and Paul, Debbie finds herself alone at Pandora’s helm,
facing a rising tide of corporate enemies lead by Paul’s duplicitous son Dante
and the behemoth Titan Pictures. Shaker’s backing smoothes the way, solving
some problems supernaturally, others through brutal bloodshed, even as he calls
into play various preternatural and human allies to assist Debbie. As the
months pass, Debbie’s strong resolve begins to crumble under the weight of her
actions, even as she guiltily concedes the pleasure she finds in Shaker’s arms
is becoming something more than just affection. Is there hope for a happy
ending built on so much evil? Or is Debbie doomed to lose her heart as well as
her soul to a demon who has only been waiting for the chance to claim both?
Excerpt:
Debbie looked up from the haphazard pile of papers on the
desk in front of her to the clock. Damn, it was already seven. She’d wanted to
be home an hour ago.
She pushed the papers away, then rubbed her sore eyes. Where
were the damn drops the doctor had prescribed? She couldn’t afford blurry
vision now.
A clawed hand rested on her shoulder, the sheer heat of the
reddish skin against hers instantly soothing. “You should go home, Mistress.”
Debbie leaned back her head, smiling tiredly at the demon
looming over her. “I can’t, Shaker. I went through too much to get control of
Pandora’s reins to let everything go to Hell.”
Shaker rubbed her shoulders. Debbie smiled and closed her
eyes, the soothing hotness of his touch unknotting her aching muscles.
“So what is it tonight?” Shaker intoned. “Piracy issues,
copyrights, or both?”
“That, some governmental red tape, distribution,
international markets, and tack on increased fees,”
Debbie replied, stifling a
yawn with her hand. “You name the problem, and I’ve got it. I feel like every
enemy I’ve ever had has come out of the woodwork.”
“Including Paul’s son?”
Debbie grimaced. “If I’d known that bastard gave a damn
about his father, I would have told you to kill him, too. Dante called me again
today, yelling about how he knew I’d had his father abducted. He’s threatening
to sue me.”
“He can prove nothing,” Shaker soothed, still kneading
Debbie’s shoulders. “There is no evidence that anything happened to Paul.”
“But there is also no evidence that he’s alive and well
someplace, either,” Debbie countered sourly. “I don’t suppose you can change
your form and pretend to be him in some other country for a while?”
“I could arrange something,” Shaker said after a moment,
pausing in his massaging. “But Paul’s son is not really interested in his
father. He’s interested in the inheritance he thinks he’s missing out on. You
said that Paul has been declared missing, but not dead. Dante cares less about
punishing you than claiming his father’s share of the company.”
“Becky’s share,” Debbie said sadly. She blinked rapidly, her
eyes already filling.
“It wasn’t your fault she took her own life,” Shaker
whispered, resuming his kneading. “She was already unstable, because of Paul’s
relentless machinations. He made her feel inadequate and insecure to the point
she believed she couldn’t handle living without him. Then when he died, she
broke.”
He said it as if Rebecca were a toy, not a person. “How
can you know that?” Debbie murmured, wanting to be soothed.
“I don’t,” Shaker replied with a chuckle. “But after a
thousand years, I’ve got a good handle on human motivations.”
Debbie’s eyes snapped open, and she half turned in her chair
to look at Shaker. “You’re that old?”
He smiled, showing his shark-like teeth. “Technically older,
but that’s all I’m admitting to.”
“Fair enough,” Debbie said. “Thanks for the massage. I
should get back to work.”
“On the contrary,” Shaker said. “I’m taking you home.” He
leaned over in a graceful motion, gathering up a protesting Debbie from her
office chair. In a blink, Shaker was standing in Debbie’s living room.
“What the hell?” Debbie exclaimed.
“Teleportation, of course,” Shaker said, going to the liquor
cabinet. He brought out a bottle of 10-year Ardbeg, and poured two shots.
Taking up both glasses, he brought one to her. “Sit down and have a drink,
Mistress.”
Debbie was too tired to protest. She kicked off her heels, then sat back
into her easy chair, sipping the alcohol. At first, she had been loath to try
scotch. But at Shaker’s insistence, she had developed a taste for it.
Debbie looked over again at her demon. God, it was still odd
to think of him that way, even if she was getting used to his horns and cloven
feet. Maybe it was because he’d never asked for her soul, or acted like the
demons in movies. Or it could have been his manner, which was always slightly
teasing, yet polite and well spoken. Shaker had a good sense of humor, a
quality Debbie had appreciated more and more in the opposite sex, as she grew
older. If only more of the men her own age were like him...
“You’re staring at me,” Shaker said with a
smile. “Ready to take our relationship to the next level?”
Tara Fox Hall's writing credits include
nonfiction, erotica, horror, suspense, action-adventure, children's stories,
and contemporary and historical paranormal romance. She is the author of the
paranormal fantasy Lash series and the paranormal romantic drama Promise Me
series. Tara
divides her free time unequally between writing novels and short stories,
chainsawing firewood, caring for stray animals, sewing cat and dog beds for
donation to animal shelters, and target practice. All of her published
children's stories to date are free reads on www.childrens-stories.net.
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