The Damned
October Weeks
Genre: Dark urban fantasy
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Date of Publication: March 12, 2015
ASIN: B00UESEIJW
Word Count: 69,000
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
When slayers around the globe start disappearing in a familiar pattern—Josef’s pattern—she’s put on the hunt. And despite the painful memories and very real threat to her future that come with tracking him down, Tuck is certain of one thing: she is going to make Josef Dragos wish he’d never been born.
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/t_GhjVtmmqg
Available at Amazon
Excerpt:
Tuck Houston casually strolled through the front doors of the ritzy hotel with a warm smile on her face, her hoodie and jeans soaked through from the rain. “Wasn’t expecting the downpour,” she said as she neared the front desk, cringing a bit inside as her boots left a bit of mud on the carpet.
The clerk chuckled as he regarded her. “I don’t think anyone was—forecast didn’t say anything about rain.”
“Damn weathermen can’t be trusted.” She laughed as she made her way to the elevator and clicked the button.
“Apparently not!”
When the elevator doors opened a few moments later, she said, “Have a good night.”
“You as well.”
When the doors opened again, she made her way to her quarry’s room, letting herself in with the key she’d obtained the day before. Digital keys were much harder to obtain than the old metal keys smaller hotels or motels used. She’d charmed the male clerk into giving her a key so she could surprise her “lover.”
The room was empty, of course. As he’d done the night before, her target was having a “drink” at the bar before retiring to his room, courtesy of some idiot human. Even the Damned couldn’t kill everyone they fed from—got suspicious after a while, to humans and slayers.
Walking across the high-end hardwood floors spread over the entire room, Tuck sat herself down on a chair, kicking her wet boots up on the edge of the bed and placing her pure silver knives on her thighs, which had been sheathed at her waist under her hooded sweatshirt. They weren’t her favorite weapons, but they were best for close contact.
She’d been tracking Samuel Bellows for a little over six weeks, from Boston to San Francisco—the city she was now in. He was responsible for the killing of seven little girls, drinking them dry of blood then abandoning their bodies in the woods. She could practically taste his death on her tongue.
But those girls were not the reason she was after him. His power had lingered at the scenes of several missing slayers—she planned on having a nice, bloody chat with him about that.
Footsteps jarred the quiet about twenty minutes later. Samuel’s footsteps. No human would have heard his steps, but she was more than human—slayers had a predators’ hearing, and she clearly heard the delight in his gait. He had a new target, he had human blood on his tongue, and—she smiled to herself—he had no idea what was in his room.
The key card slid in the lock, the door clicked, and into the darkness of the room came Samuel Bellows—five-foot-ten, a bit heavyset, and reeking of glee.
He was a dead man.
She held her position patiently as he turned on the lights. The look of surprise in his gray eyes when he saw her was so comical that she actually laughed. “Good evening, Samuel. The name’s Tuck Houston. But you can call me Ripper, if you’d like.”
My Review
Please forgive me, as life makes me crazy- but I will have my review soon. I'm just trying to catch up again with all my reviews LOL :) To the author- I am so sorry and I will have it for you soon!
Please forgive me, as life makes me crazy- but I will have my review soon. I'm just trying to catch up again with all my reviews LOL :) To the author- I am so sorry and I will have it for you soon!
Author Interview
First, tell me a
little about your book J….
Thank you for having
me on your blog!
The Damned is about a vampire slayer named Tuck Houston. She’s currently on the
hunt for a vampire named Josef Dragos. Eight years ago he took two of her
closest friends from her, and now she finally has the chance to make him pay
for his deeds.
Do you recall how your
interest in writing originated or did you always just know?
I’ve always loved
reading, and I think that played a big part in me wanting to become a writer. I
wrote my first book in the first grade, about polar bears! LOL When I was
writing another story, in the second grade, I was the only student who used
quotation marks when someone was having a conversation without being told to.
Again, that has to do with my love of reading. After that, the love of writing
never went away.
What inspired you to
write your first book and what was it?
I wrote my first
full length book when I was thirteen. It was a story about an eighteen year old
girl who was half vampire, half werewolf. I actually still have the story on my
computer because I keep hoping I’ll go back to it and be able to revise and
publish.
Are experiences
based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Sometimes real life
experiences do make their way into my stories, but most are all from my
imagination. I’ll take those experiences that do make their way in and change
them as needed for the characters and environment they’re in.
How do you chose
when/which characters die in your books?
That’s always a hard
thing to do, but I’ve done it in more than one book. Normally I know who is
going to die at the beginning of the book, but in one instance I didn’t see it
coming. Once I know which characters are going to be in “the scene”, it’s a
matter of which character’s death will have the most impact for the overall
story.
Are there any new
authors that have grasped your interest?
I absolutely love
Rinda Elliott! I just finished her Norse YA trilogy and adored it. She also has
an adult UF series that I love as well J
Who do you look up
to as a writer?
Too many to name!
But Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Clive Barker for horror. Terry Brooks and JRR
Tolkien for fantasy. A few more are Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, and Lilith
Saintcrow.
If you had to do it
all over again, would you change anything in your book?
No. I’ve spent a
little over six years getting this book to where I wanted, and it took a lot of
revisions! But in the end, I absolutely love how it came out.
Is there anything
you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Action scenes. I have
a really hard time writing them because what’s in my head doesn’t quite come
out the same way on paper. Those scenes are where I spend a majority of my time
revising and editing.
What book are you
reading now? Or what genre?
I am currently
rereading the Demons of Oblivion series by Skyla Dawn Cameron.
Who designed the cover? And do you help with them?
Who designed the cover? And do you help with them?
Jay Aheer! She is so
awesome—I love it J
All I did was fill
out a cover art form with what I saw for the cover and she did the rest.
Did you learn anything
from writing your books and what was it?
Most of what I learn
from writing my books comes from my research. For instance, with The Damned I
had to find the perfect sword for Tuck, and I learned all sorts of awesome
things about ancient swords. From how they were made to which culture used them
and if it was a preferred weapon.
If you could be one
of your characters, who would you chose?
As hard of time as
she has in this book, I’d have to say Tuck J
Are there any books
you think some of us should read, just because?
The Demons of
Oblivion series by Skyla Dawn Cameron (four books are available now, starting
with Bloodlines). Narcisstic vampire Zara Lain is wickedly awesome!
Rinda Elliott’s
Norse YA trilogy (starts with Foretold), and the Beri
O’Dell series (first book is Dweller on the Threshold).
Do you have anything
specific that you want to say to your readers?
Thank you for giving
Tuck a chance! And I hope you enjoy reading her story as much as I loved
writing it J
About the Author:
October Weeks is a dark fantasy/horror writer and a reader with too many books and not enough shelves!
She lives in Vermont. Autumn is her favorite season—October and November are her favorite months.
Loves: reading, writing, movies (horror, sci-fi, and fantasy especially), taking walks, fishing, and family
Obsessions: Lindt dark chocolate and the SyFy Channel (Haven!).
Tour giveaway
$10 Amazon Gift Card
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