Raif

For those who have read Secrets, you know the story is told from Leah’s POV. This page is dedicated to telling the beginning of the story from an array of characters…

~ Raif ~

Raif crouched between the lush, fragrant rose bushes and watched as David’s truck drove away. Not even the throne pulling harshly at his shiny blond hair could dampen the feeling of excitement raging through him. Raif was as ready to get David out of his life as Donovan was to get out of town.

David had been a throne in his side since he came to Serenity twenty-three years ago. Thanks to Judith, he’d become a permanent fixture while Raif had been busy in New York setting up a construction company for Donovan. Why a tantalizing woman like Judith wanted such a depressing man to be part of her life was beyond him. All the man ever did was brood and work.

He’d worked some much in fact, Donovan no longer trusted Raif to handle any of his financial affairs. Sure David was brilliant, but that didn’t mean he had to control every economic aspect of Donovan’s life. His total involvement in every venture Donovan invested in and Raif’s exclusion from it had become the main point of content between them.

Besides work, Donovan made it a point over the years to keep him close. He assured Raif it was only because he needed to retain David’s complete trust. Until a few nights ago he’d harbored serious doubts. Trust was overrated and no amount of butt kissing was worth what Donovan had been doing all these years.

Or so he thought.

All was explained the night Donovan finally came clean. David’s half-breed daughter was to serve as payment for the years her father had been in Donovan’s keep. With a mother like hers, Donovan knew she would grow up pure, capable and loving. He also knew she’d be completely ignorant to what she was. Once his plan was set in motion she’d need a savior. Donovan stood ready to be just that.

“Good riddance,” he mumbled as the taillights faded from view.

He emerged from his hiding place to find Judith. He knew getting Michael to listen wouldn’t be hard. Not many can resist a chance to humor the younger generations. Especially when the one listening made the one talking.

There was no doubt in Donovan’s or Raif’s mind that Michael would be able to ignore such a rare creature. Raif’s part was to keep Michael thinking he’d turned his back on Donovan, do whatever Michael asked until the girl was safely behind the doors of Serenity.

Time away from home was worth it if Donovan got what he wanted. David disappeared. And he would finally be able to claim Judith as his own.

Character from Secrets, Book One of the Serenity Series.

 

TAG!! You’re it!

I was tagged in a blog post by a fellow author, Frantiska Oliver. The challenge is to answer the following questions and then tag other authors. This is how authors play tag and, since I don’t run unless it is life threatening, this is my favorite version of Tag! You’re it!   

What are you working on right now?

At the moment I’m working on three different projects. The first, rewrites for the fourth book in the Serenity Series, Consequences. Since the release for the third book, Tribulations is right around the corner I want to continue Leah and Raine’s journey ASAP. Their story gets more and more interesting as time goes on. The second project happens to be a tie into the Serenity Series if only in part. Bittersweet revolves around a creature previously unknown to the supernatural world and will make it’s debut within the pages of book four. The third has turned into so much more than I thought it could when I started work on it. Heaven On Earth will be the first in a chronicle of angels who have been tasked with death. The Afterlife Chronicles will follow a corp of Reapers, Hunters, Seekers and Sentries as they ferry souls to face their fates.   

 

How do your stories differ from others in its genre?

I try to ground my characters in reality as much as I can. Even my vampires and werewolves have one foot in the human world and one in the supernatural. I want each one of them to appeal to the readers, maybe remind them of someone they know or even see certain qualities in themselves. Being able to touch (for lack of a better word) the heart of the characters is a gift. I love it when authors make me care about the characters they create. I can only hope I’m able to do the same for those who pick up my work.

Why do I write what I do?

Paranormal has always appealed to me. I love being able to play with myths and legends regarding different creatures and bend them into the characters I’ve always imagined them to be. There’s a certain amount of mystery surrounding them. Picking through the mystery and creating beings who have heart beats, feelings, agendas (be they good or bad) has been the most fulfilling thing I’ve done so far. Being published is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but without those amazing characters my stories are nothing.

How does the writing process work?

Most of the time it starts at night. I do my best writing when darkness falls and the house is quiet. No kids, no phone calls to field. No interruptions. I gather a cold can of Coke, my BIC Atlantis mechanical pencil, paper and my laptop and get to work.  

 

Now it’s my turn and I get tag three (there are more, but they have already been tagged) talented authors I highly respect respect and look up to. Jason McIntyre, Rebecca Hamilton, John Hardy Bell and guess what? “Tag you’re it!” 

Not Your Traditional Book Club

Guest post by David Lowry

 

Have you ever been so busy that you don’t have time to attend every book club function you want? Do you love to read but haven’t in a while and don’t even know where to begin when looking for a new book? Do you like fantasy, science fiction, paranormal, erotica or anything in between? Do you want to find others that like the same types of books you do or discover new authors?

If so then Club Fantasci is the book club for you.  A little different from your average meet once a month at the coffee shop book club, Club Fantasci meets once a month on Google+ and we talk about the Book of the Month, Wine of the Month and the music that each host feels best relates to the book we are reviewing that month.

 

In Club Fantasci we will discuss speculative fiction and it literary merits. The marketing of it, its effectiveness, and whether or not it shifts to much from it expected outcome from it genre. We wants to bring our members a deeper understanding of not just story telling, but what goes into the book itself on every level.

Our first Google+ hangout is August 31^st at 7:00 pm CST. You can interact with us on our individual twitter accounts @lowryagency, @ciaraballintyne, @dionnelister and @ShannonMillion to discuss your views on the book or just to have fun with us live. The video feed will be live on the Club Fantasci website.

More about the club:

Club Fantasci is a book club taking the stigma out of speculative fiction. We want to expose you to the full gamut of the speculative fiction genre, including science fiction, hard SF, militaristic SF, high/epic fantasy, dark fantasy, dystopian, cyberpunk, steampunk, space opera, paranormal, urban fantasy, SFF romance and erotica, and everything in between.

We want to educate readers on good writing in speculative fiction, entertain with witty banter, and above all have a fantastic time. Fiction need not be literary to be well-written, and good writing need not be boring or mundane! We promise you we’ll do our best to bring you a good book every month, and if not, we’ll tell you why it’s not! For a bit of light fun, we’ll also be featuring a wine of the month and picking a song that best fits the book. So bring your book, keep that wineglass topped up, and don’t forget your i-pod!

Your hosts are David Lowry, Dionne Lister (author of Shadows of the Realm), entertainment personality and model Shannon Million, and Ciara Ballintyne – your resident fantasy writer/lawyer extraordinaire combo!

Club Fantasci is also featuring a ‘Wine of the Month’ – August’s pick is a 2011 ‘Suited Muscat’ from Sort This Out Cellars Winery in Solvang, CA. Club members are entitled to a discount – check out the club website for more information.

You can learn more about us by:

Joining our group on Goo dreads

Liking our Page on Facebook

Checking out our Website

 

***Thanks so much to David for allowing me to help spread the word!***