(Today's guest blogger is Heather Kuehl. We will be chatting with Heather Sunday, March 13, 7-9 pm EST)When I started writing Fade to Black, Sarah was a very angry person. I mean, you would be too if you were attack and changed into a werewolf against your will. She was a survivor, and she made sure that no one would ever make her a victim again. So of course the events in the final chapters of Fade were going to rock her world (sorry, no spoilers).
When it came time to write the sequel, Malevolent Dead, I knew that Sarah was going to be shaken from her discovery. She wasn’t going to be as strong as she was before, but I wasn’t sure by how much. Sarah had relied on her anger and rage for the better part of five years. Six months wasn’t going to be long enough to put those feelings aside and be comfortable in her own skin. Don’t get me wrong, she was still Sarah. She could still fight and be strong when she needed to be, but don’t trust her to make big decisions after the events in Fade to Black.
Now, in Blood Moon, Sarah finally finds herself again. Picking up right where Malevolent Dead left off, Sarah finds that once again her life is being turned upside down. The Blood Moon Corporation wants her dead for breaking her contract, and Sarah's not one to just sit around waiting for death to come for her. She won't go down without a fight…
Blood Moon is the third installment in the Sarah Vargas Series. All proceeds from Blood Moon will be going to MUSC Children's Hospital. Please visit http://www.musckids.com/ for more information about this wonderful children's hospital.
Blurb: After she broke her contract with the Blood Moon Corporation, Sarah Vargas knew that it was only a matter of time before they came for her. What she didn't know is what lengths they would go to make sure that she had nowhere to run. Everyone Sarah has ever relied on is in danger during a time when friends become enemies, and Sarah quickly realizes that the Blood Moon Corporation will never give up until she is dead. The Blood Moon Corporation is coming, and even Sarah doesn't think she can make it out alive.
"Sarah reaches out, grabs hold and drags you through the story with her. Non stop suspense, scorching hot love, or is it just lust, scenes and enough paranormal nasties to keep you away from the cemetery permanently make this book one you've gotta read," said You Gotta Read about Malevolent Dead. Book one of the series, Fade To Black, reached #1 on Fictionwise.com's bestseller list for fantasy ebooks. More information about the entire Sarah Vargas series can be found on my website, www.heatherkuehl.com.
Now, for your viewing pleasure, here’s Chapter One of Blood Moon, but be warned, it has Malevolent Dead spoilers within it. Excerpt (before final edits):
At times, I loved my mentor. It was a pity the BMC let him go. So many people like me needed a teacher like him.
Just like Jared’s death, the BMC’s abandonment of Dom made no sense. Why would they get rid of one of their best teachers?
I gasped as it came to me as clearly as a premonition. I felt my connection with Damian flair as my mind went into shock, putting pieces together that I didn’t know fit. It couldn’t be…
It made too much sense not to.
I looked up at Dom. “Why didn’t the BMC save you from Marcellus?” I asked with my voice barely above a whisper.
It was the most obvious question, one that should have been asked the moment the vampire necromancer died. I had been too busy grieving over Jared to think straight.
Damian kept the metaphysical lines between us open, listening but careful not to say a word to distract me. I could feel him in my head, and I didn’t mind, one less person to tell.
Dom looked into my eyes and I could see indecision filling their black depths. He sighed as he backed away, and I thought that he decided not to tell when he faced me and said, “They ordered me to kill you.”
“And?” I asked. My blood ran cold. I felt the wolf inside me tense, preparing for an attack.
“And I refused,” Dom growled with disbelief written on his features. “Sarah, you’re like a daughter to me. I could never cause you harm.”
“What did the BMC do?”
“They said that they understood. The next day they sent me to take out Marcellus.”
I licked my lips. “They sent a vampire to kill a vampire necromancer?”
“Yes, that’s…” Dom froze. “They set me up.”
“No. I don’t think they did.”
“How do you figure? Sarah, I was controlled…”
“By a creature sent here to kill Damian, not me.”
Dom cocked his head to the side, and I screamed with frustration that he wasn’t putting it altogether.
“Think about it Dom! There are four people that I can fully trust; you, Donavan, Jared, and Damian.”
“Go on.”
“They sent Marcellus here to kill Damian. If he had succeeded, that would have taken care of one of my four. In doing so, the throne of Charleston would have been open to him, and I would be out of a safe place to live. Donovan should have killed you for killing his Weres. I should have been kicked out of the Clan for letting the dead Weres happen on my watch. Luckily, Donavan is more understanding than the BMC give him credit for. I would have been out of another safe house as well as a Clan to protect me. You, a vamp would sacrifice his own life to keep me safe. Jared…” I couldn’t say any more, and Dom started nodding as he thought it over.
“I can’t believe they would do this,” he said.
Donavan came over as Dom said these words. “Who?”
“The Blood Moon Corporation,” Dom and I said in unison.
“We’ve got to tell Damian,” Dom said as he dug into his pocket for his phone.
“There’s no need,” I said before he could pull it out. “He’s been in my head listening since I figured it out.”
I felt Damian’s anger rise to the surface, and suddenly I saw Damian as though I actually stood in his office. His black hair, once long enough to touch his knees, now barely brushed his shoulders. His plum-colored eyes burned with anger as he pulled book after book off the bookcase against his back wall.
