Tag Archives: N’awlins

Author Spotlight: Eliza Gayle

Hullo! As you see we’ve got another AAD spotlight. (Highest of ironies? that I likely won’t even be there… but you know – hope springs eternal etc even when reality screamshints otherwise…) Eliza Gayle is the special author today – so here’s what she’s got to say! And bonus – not only is Ms. Gayle hosting a giveaway, she’s sharing an exclusive excerpt with us!

Thank you so much for having me today. I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to Authors After Dark in New Orleans. I’m one of the field trip authors and am hosting two tours with readers that will visit several voodoo shops. The goodie bags will be plentiful and with any luck, and maybe a few drinks, fun will be had by all. While that tour will focus on my magick series Pentacles of Magick, I thought today I’d talk a little about vampires.

I don’t usually write vampires. I’ve been far more involved with shifters, witches and contemporary BDSM romance. But it doesn’t take much to get the bug.

I do like to travel a lot and one of the places I often visit is Savannah, Georgia. Like New Orleans, it is a hot bed for paranormal activity and unbelievable history for a writer to draw on. And after several visits to one of my very favorite southern towns, I’d pretty much built up several ideas for vampire books that would take place in or around Savannah.

Honestly, all it takes is a walk across the cobblestones along River Street at night to get the ideas flowing. The night air rifling through your hair, the glow of the lights from the huge Talmage cable bridge casting their eerie glow. It’s the ideal haven for
supernaturals who enjoy the night.

Of course, being the southern girl that I am I want my vampires to not only be big and strong and oh so Alpha, but a little soft when it comes to their women. While I can’t imagine a vampire who isn’t alpha by nature, I love the idea of the right woman making him a little crazy. When I wrote Vampire Awakening I wanted my heroine to be stopped dead in her tracks when she met the hero. The kind of encounter where she can barely think of something to say let alone function.

And then she has to get up on stage and sing in front of him…

If you can’t already tell, I really loved this book and I’m hoping readers will too. It’s available in eBook now and since it’s a little short for print, I’ve already decided I need another vampire story with an equally compelling hero so I can put them together in a print anthology.

So back to Savannah I go where I can immerse myself in the many ghost stories, legends and creepy tales that feed into the imagination of a writer. Oh and by the way, the 2013 Authors After Dark will be in Savannah and I am already on the schedule of authors!

Will you be in New Orleans this year?

Abby stood still, denying her instant reaction to the sight and scent of a man she didn’t know from Adam. Her mouth watered with an urge to take a bite.

His long, strong fingers swept the hat from his head, revealing black, wavy hair. The kind of thick hair a woman liked to run her fingers through before a man captured her lips in a soul-searing kiss. The dark stubble of a five o’clock shadow covered his jaw– a look she had a definite weakness for. Piercing blue eyes caught and held hers as an untold spark ignited between them, stunning her. Caleb looked down at her with such an intense stare she practically felt him peeling away the layers of herself she didn’t even understand yet. There was so much knowledge there. As if everything about her had been laid bare. Her mind went blank.

His gaze raked over her body from the top of her head down to the boots on her feet and back up, lingering on the bare expanse of her neckline. The inexplicable urge to cover her skin washed over her. She suddenly wished she’d worn her hair down instead of in her standard work ponytail. When he once again focused on her face, the sensual lines of his face struck her again. Handsome yes, but not in a traditional pretty boy way. He was dark and…she searched for the right word to describe him.

Dangerous.

“It’s my pleasure to meet you, Abby.” His deep, dark voice and the underlying sensuality of his words captivated her, the husky tone causing her nipples to peak and her belly to clench with need. Just the sound of her name coming from him shot a heavy dose of lust scorching through her. She tried to take a deep breath to clear her head and only ended up with more of his delicious scent that began to spin her in the opposite direction.

She needed to get away from him fast. Her reaction confused her and the longer she stood here the worse it got. Abby took another breath, trying to calm her nerves.

“What can I get you from the bar, Caleb?” she muttered hastily, afraid to say more.

“Scotch, neat.”

She nodded and forced herself to look away. The unexpected arousal simmering through her veins threw her for a loop. Her skin tingled and itched for something she couldn’t explain. A slow ache began to pulse between her legs and Abby was forced to bite her tongue to hold back a whimper.

Jesus, what the hell?

Abby straightened her spine and gathered herself together as best she could. Caleb smiled at her as if understood exactly what she was going through. That smug grin finally enabled her to pull free from the fog of desire clouding her ability to think and do her job. She pulled free from his gaze and glanced at the other men seated at the table. They all wore various versions of shocked expressions as they watched her reactions to Caleb. Abby inwardly rolled her eyes. They were all incorrigible as far as she was concerned. Obviously they’d thrown Caleb in her path in another attempt to get a rise out of her. They spoke to her with teasing words and their infamous southern charm but deep down they were still guys with an obvious agenda.

A whole host of erotic images pushed their way through her brain, sucking the air from her lungs. This time she didn’t manage to hold back the gasp. Caleb’s brow quirked up in response, the question on his mind obvious. Good God she had no control around this man.

“I’ll be back with your drinks in a few, guys.” She rushed off, gulping in air as she moved in an attempt to clear her mind. Abby scooted around the bar, pushed her way through the kitchen doors and collapsed into a nearby chair. She immediately dropped her head between her knees and prayed the room would stop spinning. Not once in the past six months had she come close to such a visceral reaction to any person she’d come in contact with. Now a perfect stranger had suddenly dropped into her life and she felt the control she’d been clinging to slipping from her grasp.

First an anonymous picture and now this. Was she going crazy?

Every day she’d hoped beyond hope her memory would return, but now… Now she wasn’t so certain she wanted to remember.

So will you be in N’awlins? And what’d you think of the excerpt? One lucky commenter will win one of Eliza Gayle’s books. A signed print book, or an ebook – winner’s choice! (As for when winners will be drawn – the FAQs list that out. Thanks!)