Hi, everyone! I want to thank I Smell Sheep for having me here today! I’m an Arizona author, having lived in the Sonoran desert for over twenty years. Here’s a desert-living fun-fact: scorpion mothers carry their babies on their backs. I know! And I’ve seen it since I’ve had scorpions in my house…yes, one big aaaaargh! (And you should hear me scream!)
Image courtesy of Nuttapong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
My latest paranormal offering, THE DARKENING, is part of my Guardians of Ascension world and takes place one month after events in GATES OF RAPTURE, a St. Martin’s Press release of December, 2012. Guardians of Ascension is an epic world of multiple dimensions in which the ascending process between dimensions involves hot romance and an array of emerging powers. Second Earth sees the transformation of the ordinary human into a vampire, who eventually mount wings! Yep, you heard it straight -- vampires with wings. I know, it’s kind of off-the-rails, but it’s all in the writing!
The following is the opening to THE DARKENING:
Chapter One
Near dawn, Samuel Daman dragged air into his lungs, each breath like fire as he surveyed the Superstition battlefield. He’d been fighting death vampires for hours, like the rest of the Militia Warriors. Sweat trickled from beneath his weapons harness and down his back. Blood seeped in a few places as well since one or two swords had caught skin.
He was a fucking mess.
But the death vampires kept coming, floating through the dimension on arctic air, fresh and ready to fight, dozens of them hour after hour.
He’d never seen so many pretty-boys at a Borderland before, which meant of course that the chaos left over from Darian Greaves’s defeat in recent weeks, had turned up the heat. Maybe it was a good thing to have the Commander out of the way, but his generals had hauled the remnants of his army into pre-planned hiding places before Thorne, in charge of the Allied Ascender Forces, had been able to run them to ground.
Chaos now ruled Second Earth.
The fucking war was still game on.
At the very least, the current engagement required another eight squads of Militia Warriors. Thirty-two trained men. But what the situation really needed was another Warrior of the Blood who could handle up to eight pretty-boys at a time. Eight, while a squad of four Militia Warriors struggled to slay just one.
He extended his vampire vision and in the distance saw that Warrior Santiago battled – holy shit – thirteen death vamps, way beyond capacity even for a powerful What-Bee. Santiago fought with his back to the immense monolith of the Superstition Mountains, a Latin God in the moonlight, his sword moving like a silver streak of lightning.
Samuel whipped his warrior phone from the slim pocket of his leather fighting kilt and thumbed over the surface. He kept his sword at the ready and turned in a slow circle keeping his eye sharp for more trouble.
“Central Command, Jeannie here. How can I help, Warrior Samuel?” He served as back-up to Section Leader Nathaniel. He didn’t like the job, but right now what anyone liked didn’t matter.
He explained the situation, that he needed another eight reserve squads called in and another Warrior of the Blood to the Superstitions on the double.
“Done.” He almost smiled as he thumbed his phone. The women at Central could handle anything. And no argument.
He took one last look at the field. The Militia squads were holding their own so he knew where he needed to go.
One problem remained: if he didn’t release his dark power on the battlefield right now, something he never did because of the unpredictable qualities of his power, how the hell was he supposed to support Santiago? In his current state, if even three death vamps turned on him, he’d be dead.
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I hope you enjoyed this excerpt from THE DARKENING. To learn more about Warrior Samuel go to:
Purchase from:
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Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads
Caris Roane has published nine paranormal novels and novellas and writing as Valerie King, fifty Regency works. In 2005, Romantic Times gave her a Career Achievement award in Regency Romance. As Caris Roane, she currently writes paranormal romance for St. Martin’s Press and also self-publishes the continuing stories for her Guardians of Ascension series as well as stories set in other worlds.
Giveaway for a reader on our blog stop
*eBook of The Darkening
1. be a follower
2. Answer this question in the comments:
You find a scorpion in your house... what do you do!
Grand Prize Giveaway:
One lucky winner will receive:
· A $10 e-Card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble
· a signed copy of ASCENSION
· an e-copy of THE DARKENING
· Caris Roane sticky notes, note cards, notepad, versatile calendar, RTC cards!!!
I would run screaming and get the broom and beat it. Yuck! Or I'd have my husband or oldest son remove it back to its habitat and out of mine.
ReplyDeleteThanks
i would scream like a banshee then try to crush him with something long so i don't have to get near... i think i would be even more afraid for my dog and cat so i will try to protect them by making them leave the room ( won't be easy if i'm screaming though)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book for me to read. I am adding it to my list.
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
Kill it. My rule of thumb is I ont go into their house they don't come into mine.
ReplyDeleteI'm a follower.
I'm a stalkers ooops I ment follower lol. If I found one in my home I would somehow trap it and take it to our local pet store they can do what they want with it. Butterfli262002@Yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteLol, you are part of the flock so it isn't stalking... Unless you have duct tape and a Polaroid camera
DeleteActually... I woke up one night about 6 months ago with a sharp pain in my back... and hubby found a small scorpion. Needless to say, he killed it. Ugh, I had a nasty sore sort of like a soft pimple head with a blister around it that kept coming back and OH how it hurt for the loooongest time.
ReplyDeletelavendersbluegreen(at)yahoo(dot)com
Aaaahhhhhh! Y'all need to move!
DeleteFollower!
ReplyDeleteWhen my family lived in the Mojave Desert we saw our fair share of scorpions in the house. Usually we just tried to get them back outside.
Kassandra
sionedkla@gmail.com
A scorpion in my house... First time I see one i would run out of the house screaming like a banshee. If I haven't moved and saw another scorpion I would hope I would have enough courage to dispose of it myself.
ReplyDeleteForgot GFC follower
DeleteBeckerjo at verizon dot net
Hi, everyone! LOVED all the answers about what you'd do with a scorpion in your house. My cats by the way ADORED them. They played and played with the critters until they were dead, or hiding. Apparently cats are immune or something, at least that's what I've heard and that's how they act, lol!
ReplyDeleteThis season, I've only seen one probably because our association finally cleared out the vacant lot next door!
Keep reading, wonderful sheep!
Caris
Haha, screamed for help and hopped on nearest chair :))
ReplyDeleteOops, forgot.
ReplyDeleteFlock member :)
Smile_1773 at yahoo dot com
Thanks for the great post and giveaway! If there was a scorpion in my house I'd find something to contain it and keep it away from the dogs. Like a bowl that I could just throw over it. Then the BF would have to kill it ;)
ReplyDeleteI feel qualified to answer the question because I recently discovered the existence of a weird-looking creature called a "pseudo-scorpion" --- looks like the real thing, has pincers but no tail. When it showed up on my kitchen wall, my reaction was as follows:
ReplyDelete1. Appropriate weapons from the kitchen counter (bananas, paper towel roll, plastic canister)
2. Beat the living daylights of said creature with the aforementioned weaponry, emitting battle cries such as "Yuck!" "Eeyew!", and "Dammit"
3. Google furiously to find out what the HELL that was, while still emitting battle cries.
4. Show husband the remains of the beast (note - husbands are never home when real emergencies take place) and make him check the entire kitchen for more of them.
Thanks for an enjoyable blog and the giveaway!
bwahaha! remind me to never show up in your house unannounced!
DeleteI´d run and scream for help *eeek* even if i´m a Scorpio myself =)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway & Happy Sunday!
//Linda
fr_larsson at hotmail dot com
I live in Las Vegas so we have pretty much the same sort of weather and insects. I've seen iguanas, scorpions, wasps so big I thought they could fly away with me but haven't seen any snakes thankfully. lol
ReplyDeleteI would probably behave like its a spider - Screech to high heavens, shoo the kids and dogs clear of it, and possible find something BIG and HEAVY to smoosh it. While smooshing it mutter "Die!" like I was Xena or in some video game. LOL.
ReplyDeleteBecause with my luck it would be when HUBBY and the fourteen year old son would not be around. Spiders, I just get bleach water or perfume and spray the living hell out of it. LOL
Raonaid at gmail dot com
O_o don't mess with you! Xena rocks :)
DeleteScorpion... well, scream and run away sound good. Hubby would take care of it ;) He's my protector. I don't think I'd be able to live someplace that had them. I have enough trouble with small spiders and mice UGH EW!
ReplyDeleteScoop it up and call animal control
ReplyDeleteTake a shoe to it or call a man over to deal with it!
ReplyDeleteI follow via GFC: Meghan Stith
mestith at gmail dot com
I would probably scream and then find something and kill it.
ReplyDeleteI follow via FB Crystal Young
GFC crystaley73
Email crystaley73 at yahoo.com
I would first scream and jump up on some piece of furniture (seems to be the way I deal with scares). Then I would find something (a shoe, ball bat, etc) to smash it! Or call for someone else to do it, lol.
ReplyDeleteGFC: June M.
manning_J2004 at yahoo dot com
Find someone to get it
ReplyDeleteI follow via email.
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
First off all LOVE this series!! I have all except the new one. Second if I found a scorpion in my house I'd be damned surprised because I live in Wisconsin lol...but I would call me Billy the Exterminator and see if he and his oh so hot brother Ricky would come get rid of it for me!!
ReplyDeleteI follow the Flock every way possible but I'll say GFC: Ashley Applebee
Thanks for the great giveaway!!
Ashley A
ash_app(at)hotmail(dot)com
I like the way you think Ashley!
DeleteSo the year that we had the biggest problem was the year the mama scorpion brought in her babies. The babies went everywhere. You can track them with a black light because they glow under that light. Well one of the babies ended up in a tub of clothes so my daughter and I did our black light-hunting-screaming thing. Eventually we killed it but honestly, I hated doing it! I'm so glad we don't have that problem anymore. I can write novels in which my warriors kill death vampires *off with their heads*, but I'm so squeamish about killing anything, including *shudder* SCORPIONS!
ReplyDeleteUh, you're all safe with THE DARKENING. Not a scorpion in sight, lol!
Hugs,
Caris
You guys are cracking me up!
ReplyDeleteIf I found a scorpion in the house, I would call for my husband to take care of it. Book sounds really interesting. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI follow via email.
bhometchko(at)hotmail(dot)com
I am so happy that there are no scorpions in Holland! If some would escape from the zoo and make it all the way to my house, I would of course:
ReplyDelete1. scream my head of
2. jump on the couch or something
3. call my boyfriend to come home immediately and kill it.
4. if he doesn't want to, I would leave the house and go to my best friend until the scorpion is gone.
A scorpion in the house would give me palpitations! Then I would have to call my husband to kill it. I don't think I could sleep until I knew it was gone! Love your books! Thanks for the contest.
ReplyDeletelizsemkiu at gmail dot com
the ebook portion of the contest is closed! You still have 3 days to enter Caris's rafflecopter for the grandprize.
ReplyDeleteour winner is crystaley73! I will be sending you an email :) thanks to everyone who stopped by.