Please welcome Paranormal Romance Author, Kiki Howell, to Charlene Blogs. I'm thrilled to have her here as my guest blogger today!
Ever since she was young, Kiki Howell has loved to listen to a well-woven tale with real characters, inspired plots, and delightful resolutions. Kiki could spend hours lost in a book, and soon she knew that creating lives, loves, and losses with just words had to be the greatest thing that she could do. To that end, she pursued her study of literature and writing, earning a bachelor’s degree in English. She then followed in a Master’s program in Creative Writing.
She has now had over twenty stories published between seven different small presses. She could not be more thrilled or grateful to see her creations polished and out in the real world. In May, 2011, Kiki was chosen as an Ohioana Book Festival author for her novel, Torn Asunder. Although, a bit of caution, most of her stories tend to hang out on the graphically sexy side of town.
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Tolerance and Compassion… Escape… and Fear Conquering Love…
Yeah, I know, what does this all have to do
with some dark, erotic, paranormal romantic suspense series? Well, let me try
to explain…Bear with me. *giggles*
So often, after too much time on social media
sites, or the off chance I catch the news, it’s easy to start viewing the world
with a half-empty glass frame of mind. School bullies, judgmental adults, etc,
can start to bring one down in their view of humanity. How do I process this
all as a peace-maker, why can’t we just all get along, type person? Well, in my
mind I get ticked…okay, steaming mad… You can feel sorry for my husband now.
I’ll wait. LOL
Seriously though, I turn to my own form of therapy
– writing. I find it easy too, to mouth off, rant if you will, about injustices
in the world, through my paranormal fiction. I mean, people fight due to land
lines, color of skin, and people they fall in love with. I find the fighting
much more justified in a paranormal world where vampires, werewolves and
witches have serious powers they can hurt each other with. *winks* And, it is
in this dark and sexy world that I get to rant, first off, and then make my own
point about how love, compassion, a little trying to put yourself in another’s
shoes and unconditional love and refraining from judgment can go a long way to
peace between clans.
The world can make one feel helpless, and so
I’ve always been one to escape into books, into fantasy, to escape it all.
Funny I pick such dark and paranormal stories to read, but then, it’s the world
I like to escape into. Now, I not only read, but have the privilege of writing
them. Guess I hope that they will give someone else a place to escape into.
And, if I sneak in a little rant, a little message, well I hope they don’t
mind. In my dark world full of prejudices and war, I promise you love – intense
and sexy. But also, I deliver those who are passionate enough to fight, with
all they are, for what they believe in and the one they love. Love conquering
fear, well I think that is the only way… Want to see how this all translates
into a three book series? Check out my Book Trailer and information my At War
in the Willows series.
Watch the Book Trailer Video on YouTube!
At War in the Willows
Series
Blurb
The Willows is a resort town run by
vampires, werewolves and witches. Here, their true identities are kept secret
from humans, and intimate relations between the individual clans are strictly
forbidden.
When it becomes known that the vampire
Amberlyn has fallen in love with the werewolf Kane, the tedious line of their
co-existence has been crossed. Caught in the crossfire of this revelation,
Drake, the vampire clan leader and Amberlyn’s maker, is killed along with an
innocent witch. These deaths spark a series of horrific events leading to an
all out War In The Willows.
In Book 1, Amberlyn’s vampire brother,
Isaac, always one to kick ass first and deal with the consequences later,
kidnaps a witch, Winter. He intends to find out what type of retaliation the
witch clan is planning against the vampires and werewolves. In doing so, he
finds so much more than he bargained for.
By Book 2, Isaac and Winter devise a
plan to try to get the Elders of the clans talking peacefully. But, things
don't go as they'd hoped, and the fighting between the clans becomes more
devious - deadly. Now, Devin, another Vampire of Drake's making, steps in to
help pick up some of the pieces as his sister, Amberlyn, fights to be with the
werewolf, Kane.
When Book 3 begins, it is Devin who
hides the biggest secret; he’s in love with a local human. In a moment of
desperation – of love – Devin sweeps this human, Sara, away to his home in
order to keep her out of harm’s way.
Unexpected close encounters, bodies
ripe with need, and situations beyond their control lead to forbidden
relationships. Now three vampires, a witch, a werewolf and a human must ride
along the edges of the rules. They will attempt once unthinkable romantic
entanglements despite all those who oppose their relationships while fighting
for their lives as well.
With the Willows full of violence and
bloodshed, meetings and magic amiss, will the clans ever be able to find peace
among them again? Or, will this war destroy the Willows?
Genres: Erotic, Paranormal (Vampire, Witch,
Werewolf) Romance
Book III, The Vampire's Human
- Coming Fall 2012
Reviews for Book I, The Vampire's Witch
“This is the first adult book I've read
by Kiki Howell. And it was delicious! Good plot, great characters and sexy
enough to raise the temperature in my house about 20 degrees... It's a very
fast read, only about 50 pages. But it's a real page turner!” ~4/5 Stars
by Lilac Wolf
“Ms Howell weaves a spell binding web
that ensnares the mind and lets the reader drift away in to another world. I
highly look forward to the next two books in this series!” ~4/5 Stars by
Phoenix Johnson
The Vampire’s
Wolf, Book Two
Excerpt
Into his arms she fell, knocked them both off balance until
they landed on the bed with the grace of lovers long kept apart. That’s to say,
no beauty or finesse at all; just two bodies which came together, joined as
close as they possibly could from head to toe, connected by what felt like the
beat of only one heart. Even though the fall was enough to take one’s breath
away, Amberlyn felt like she’d really taken her first real breath in a long
time when Kane’s mouth took hers. His lips claimed hers, pressed down hard,
consumed her own. He nipped at one spot, kissed another, parted her lips with
his tongue. She relented, gave herself more than willing, ready and able.
As they rediscovered all a simple kiss could be, their limbs
tangled together, warred for closeness that would never be enough, could never
be enough unless joined as one. Sometimes, even not then.
No matter what people were, no matter what the social laws, regardless
of the social conventions, beyond the uninformed beliefs, the rulers of their
clans could not police or keep apart two hearts such as theirs – so hopelessly
in love. Her vampire heart wanted a werewolf and she had to live with the
consequences of her actions. They’d held back, not seen each other since her
maker, Drake, had been killed when her relationship with Kane went public.
Still, no amount of time apart, blood shed, threat of war or all-consuming
guilt was going to change the way she felt about Kane.
This week her traitorous, dead heart had broken, had missed
Kane and Drake. All she’d really done with her time was lay low as if she’d
been told and get pissed about with the way things were. In their small resort
town of the Willows, in the mountains
of Tennessee, witches and werewolves and vampires were supposed to co-exist,
mingle for show in public, but not form relationships and never, ever fall in
love. But, sadly, the announcement that she loved Kane had gotten Drake killed
and a witch dead in the crossfire. Now it seemed war had been declared against
the clans.
She’d had hours to pine away the last few days, lost in all
of her losses, to think on such things – what she’d done right, what she’d done
wrong, how to make herself love no one – but there was no reasoning with the
cold, dead organ which beat no more in her chest. Though the guilt was a bitch,
she would forever long to be in Kane’s arms. These were the sad facts, her own
catch-twenty-two.
