A
Touch of Darkness
Key
Series
Book
One
Yelena
Casale and Tina Moss
Genre:
Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance
Publisher:
City Owl Press
Date
of Publication: 3/2/2015
ISBN:
978-0-9862516-0-3
ASIN:
B00QJKUAUU
Number
of pages: 295
Word
Count: 75k
Cover
Artist: Tina Moss
Book
Description:
Cassie
Durrett dreams of the darkness. And lives the nightmare. She's
working for a tightwad boss at a pretentious NYC diner, dealing with
paralyzing pain that doctors can’t diagnose, and trying to hide her
hands that glow purple whenever she ...well, whenever.
So,
when mystery man, Gabe, walks out of her dreams and into her life to
spout some nonsense about her being a mythical creature, she chalks
it up to one more crazy thing to add to her it’s-a-crappy-life
list. Yet, when his predictions start to come true, she'll need his
help to beat back the darkness-spawned creatures invading her
reality.
Pretty
soon Gabe has her running half way across the country in search of
answers. As a bond grows between them, Cassie worries not about
losing her mind to the paranormal madness, nor her life to hellish
monsters. Rather her deepest fear is surrendering her heart to a
powerful man fallen from grace.
FIRST
PLACE in 2014 Readers' Crown Award for urban fantasy.
FIRST
PLACE in Central Florida RWA's Touch of Magic
contest
for paranormal romance.
Available
at
Excerpt:
Cassie
moaned as the remnants of the attack wore off. She opened her eyes to
stare into her dream man’s gaze. Oh, just great. I need to dream
about him again? Her body already tingled with pleasure at the
familiar vision. A trench coat molded to his tall frame. Across his
chest, droplets of water clung to a black shirt, then dripped down to
run over his dark jeans and heavy boots. Gabe. The name came to her.
How do I know his name’s Gabe? Reality flooded back with a
vengeance, the whole encounter snapping into focus as if the picture
emerged from a snowy TV. What she didn’t recall was what happened
after and why this man was now here, in her apartment.
Her
gaze darted around the room, looking for something to use as a
weapon. Bookcases lined the far wall with plenty of thick books
inside, but she’d never make it past him to reach the shelves. A
tiny statue of a marble angel stood on top of the old TV just a foot
out of her reach. Next to the TV sat an opaque yellow vase with a
couple of long-stemmed white calla lilies. Neither the statue nor the
vase, she decided, would be adequate for the job. When she couldn’t
find a satisfactory weapon, she opened her mouth to yell.
Before
she could utter a sound, Gabe moved so fast she saw him in nothing
more than a blur. His hand covered her mouth and he breathed into her
ear. “You fainted. I had to get you home, off the street. Please
don’t scream. I mean you no harm. I promise.” As if to punctuate
his last words, he took his hand away.
Cassie
suppressed the rising terror as she considered the situation and
chose anger instead. She narrowed her eyes and curled her hands into
fists.
“How
did you find out where I live if I was unconscious?” she said, her
body tensing in the fight or flight response.
“Your
wallet. I went through it.”
“Oh...”
Her hands remained fisted.
“You’re
a strong woman, but you shouldn’t direct your anger at me.” He
went to touch her shoulder, but she flinched away. “Look,” he
said. “There’s something we need to talk about. But first tell
me, how long have you had these headaches, this pain?”
“How
do you know about them?” Her voice raised an octave higher.
“I
just know. I also know what they mean. Do you?” He seemed eager to
hear the answer.
“I’ve
had these episodes forever,” Cassie said, unsure why she answered
him. “They’ve been getting worse lately.” Her head titled to
the side. “Are you a doctor or something?”
“And
have you ever felt any other feelings or sensations during or after
the headaches?” Gabe went on, ignoring her last question.
“Yes...Maybe...But
how on earth would you know?”
“Tell
me more,” Gabe insisted, his voice flowing smooth like water.
She
pressed her lips together and shook her head. “Enough. I’m not
telling you anymore until you tell me what the hell is going on, who
you are and what you want from me.”
Cassie
heard him whisper under his breath, “Easy...” It seemed more
instructions to himself than to her. She ignored it and waited for
his answer.
“Cassie,
I know everything I’m going to say will sound crazy to you, but
you’ve got to listen to me. Haven’t you ever wondered at all the
weird things happening to you over the years, at the feeling you get
with the headaches, the energy?” She was about to interrupt but he
raised his hand to silence her and continued, “This is not going to
be easy for you to understand but...there’s more to you than you
think.”
And
I thought I was crazy. Cassie started to tremble. “What’s that
supposed to mean?”
“Well...you’re
not exactly...technically...you’re not...” He struggled with
whatever he was trying to get out.
“Just
say it.”
Gabe
locked his gaze with hers. She didn’t look away. She couldn’t.
“You’re
not completely human.”
About
the Authors:
Yelena
Casale is an award-winning author of urban fantasy and paranormal
romance. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, she moved to New York at thirteen.
Being very curious, she has been a devoted reader and writer since
childhood. As a 2nd degree black belt and instructor in Shotokan
karate, an avid traveler, and history and art enthusiast, she weaves
universal themes with martial arts philosophies into her stories. She
lives with her amazing, supportive husband and the best Siamese cats.
In her spare time, she reads, paints, watches cool shows on TV and
tries to get more sleep.
Tina
Moss is an award-winning author of urban fantasy, paranormal romance,
romantic suspense, and New Adult novels. She lives in NYC with a
supportive husband and alpha corgi, though both males hog the bed and
refuse to share the covers. When not writing, she enjoys reading,
watching cheesy horror flicks, traveling, and karate. As a 5'1"
Shotokan black belt, she firmly believes that fierce things come in
small packages.
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ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading the excerpt!
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ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading the excerpt. This book sounds like such an interesting and intriguing read! I will totally have to add it to my "to-read" list.
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