Welcome to this week’s guest author Kate Hill, here to present her new edition of a deliciously dark vampire romance!
Jocelyn has chased his nemesis for centuries. He swore that nothing or no one would stand between him and revenge on the creature that destroyed his life. That same rival leads Jocelyn to the one person who can reconnect him to the human race.
Art student Charlie has no idea that her family history binds her to a creature of legend–until he appears in the form of a tall, beautiful man with a thirst for revenge. The last thing she wants is to follow his orders, but if she intends to stay alive, she has no choice.
Note: The Darkness Therein was previously published. This re-edited version contains additional scenes.
EXCERPT:
“Legends say that if properly invoked, the spirits of evil will become incarnate. Once called forth, there is little chance of returning them to the hell from which they came. The most we can hope for is to imprison the evil. Only another immortal has a chance of destroying or imprisoning such a demon.”
Charlie shivered at the ominous words spoken in Jocelyn’s cultured voice.
“I know those stories,” she said. “They’ve been passed down in our coven since the middle ages. But there are no monsters or demons. Nature is what you make of it.”
“And more often than not we make it evil. Long ago, before even I can recall, one of these evil souls preyed on others, surviving on flesh and blood while seeking to master the world. He killed the one who unwittingly conjured him but the conjurer, realizing the horror he’d unleashed, passed to another the power of immortality, giving him the means to imprison the evil soul.”
Locks of golden hair shadowed his dark eyes. His stony expression made her shiver. She smiled in a poor attempt to disguise the fear that crept like a scorpion into her soul.
“I can’t believe two adults are sitting here talking about demons and curses.”
“Do you think what happened tonight was amusing? Do you know what he planned to do to you?”
Get your copy of this twisted, tasty tale!
Amazon: https://kate-hill.com/the-darkness-therein/
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/gt/book/the-darkness-therein/id6443994178
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/darkness-therein-kate-hill/1008195192
kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-darkness-therein
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1175373
Meet the author
Kate Hill is a vegetarian New Englander who loves writing romantic fantasies. When she’s not working on her books, Kate enjoys reading, working out, watching horror movies, and researching vampires and Viking history. She runs the Compelling Beasts Blog that is dedicated to antagonists, antiheroes, and paranormal creatures. Kate also writes as Saloni Quinby.
Visit her online at https://www.kate-hill.com. Join her newsletter at https://kate-hill.com/index.php/newsletter.
Connect with Kate Hill on all the socials!
Blog: https://kate-hill.com/blog/
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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16157.Kate_Hill
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/KateHillRomance
A few questions for the author:
Is this a standalone story or part of a series?
The Darkness Therein is the second story in the Ancient Blood vampire series. In this series, vampires are descended from alien visitors, although this isn’t fully uncovered in the first three Ancient Blood stories. While there are recurring characters in the series, the books can be read as stand alones. I’m in the process of revising the series, since it had been previously published.
What do you love about the genre you write in?
I love a happily ever after. In romance, it’s generally expected. With so many subgenres and cross genres, you can have a story with horror, action-adventure, historical, science fiction, and paranormal elements and still get a happy ending. That’s just a short list of what you can do in romance. There’s so much more. I love watching characters go through their trials while falling in love.
Tell us about your journey from aspiring writer to published author.
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing or dreaming about being a writer. When I was sixteen, I decided that I wanted to submit work for possible publication. Back then, indie publishing existed, but wasn’t as prevalent as it is now. There was a stigma attached to “self published” authors, and it wasn’t good. I’m so glad that has changed. I always hated the idea of being limited to reading books produced by a few select publishers. That’s a relatively small group of people deciding what I should read. If you don’t share their taste or their values, then you’re either out of luck or you have no choice but to write the stories you want to read, so that’s what I did.
I kept writing and submitting. I also started my own micro press and published black and white print zines with my work and the work of other authors. It was time consuming, but extremely rewarding. I loved reading people’s submissions and including them in the zines.
After ten years of gathering rejection slips, I finally got an acceptance for an erotic vampire short story. A while after that, the Darkness Therein was accepted for publication by one of the early electronic romance publishers, Dark Star Publications. From there, I worked with other small press and electronic publishers.
While I’ve enjoyed working with publishers, at this point in my life, I want to tell stories that aren’t required to fit into someone else’s guidelines regarding word length, sex scenes, and more.
The Darkness Therein has gone through two publishers and many changes over the years. It’s been out of print for several years, so I’ve done quite a bit of work on this re-release. It’s closest to my vision of what the story should be, and includes additional scenes.
What’s your favorite part of the writing life?
My writing journey has been a series of ups and downs, but I love the writing life. I love creating characters, talking to other readers and writers, and getting into the stories. Nowadays with so many indie authors who are innovative and respected, you can read a wide variety of books that weren’t as readily available years ago. You can find relatable characters. It’s good for both readers and writers. I love the progress that’s been made in publishing. That’s probably my favorite thing about writing life. Writing is supposed to be about exposing different ideas from different people, not limiting it to a few select ideas from a few select people. You won’t like every book you read, but that’s okay. It’s having the choice about what you want to read or write that’s most important, in my opinion.
What does your writing space look like?
Cluttered! They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’m including one for you.
Authors always seem to have a teetering To Be Read pile. What’s in yours?
Like you say, that’s a long list! Here are a few–King of Midnight by Tasha Black, Mrs. Jones by William Cain, A (Very) Gothic Séance by Sarah Tender, Soldier Beast by Shay Violet, and Gravescum-The Sword of Saint Georgas by Robert Davis.
What makes you put down a book without finishing?
It’s very rare that I won’t finish a book. Sometimes I read slowly, and that doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying the story. It’s just that some take longer to process than others. The last book I stopped reading and didn’t finish was because in it the female lead was embarrassed that her legs were muscular due to her full time job in retail. Sorry, but I just couldn’t get past that character’s weird impression of herself. It got under my skin.
Which authors have inspired you?
Alexandre Dumas comes to mind right away. Charlotte Boyett-Compo was a great writer. No one could beat her tortured heroes. She was also a lovely person who was always willing to support other writers.
Thanks for visiting, Kate, and best of luck with your rerelease of The Darkness Therein.
