Halloween might have passed, but that doesn't mean we are ready to stop reading spooky stories -- especially if they contain sexy vampires! Those are always high on the reading list and this week author L. A. McGinnis provides just such a book.
From the first time she picked up a book, L.A. was hooked on reading. By the time she left elementary school, she’d finished every volume in the C. H. Campbell library, forcing the poor librarian to order more Norse mythology. When she wasn’t running through the woods or rescuing animals, she could be found curled up in the backyard with a book, escaping to even greater adventures. But Laura dreamed of the day when she’d tell the really, really big story, the tale of growing up in the American twentieth century. But between riding horses and driving fast cars, somehow her teenage years flashed by.
Realizing that everyone has to grow up, she walked into a classroom at KSU and began studying Chaucer and Shakespeare and Old English, and once again fell in love with storytelling.
Eventually, her creativity came full circle, and as she changed from artist to mother, the dream of the Great American Novel was put on hold by all the other things that big life demands. Then one day her son challenged her, so she began writing again. to her delight, discovered that she loved it, perhaps even more than she had before.
After pecking out a longer-than-life YA novel and a somewhat convoluted apocalyptic horror manuscript, she finally found a genre that she adored.
She says she hopes you enjoy Shadows of Ghosts, the story of Logan and Ian. Let's find out more about Shadows of Ghosts!
Driving to South Carolina to claim an inheritance from a total stranger didn’t figure into Logan Dean’s long term plans. But she'd be a fool to pass up an opportunity, and her mother didn’t raise any fools. Now she's a pawn in a vampire war and fighting to stay alive. Thankfully, she’s discovered an ally in mysterious Ian Grant. As her feelings for Ian grow, Logan comes to realize if she wants the love she deserves, she's going to have to fight the demons of her past.
For over a hundred years, cynical Ian Grant swore to never love another woman. But from the first time he saw Logan, he knew an ancient part of his history had come back to haunt him, and the one thing he doesn't want becomes the one thing he has to have.
That sounds like I need to read more! Here's an excerpt:
“Why were you talking about me?” Logan countered.
Ian walked toward her, but she didn’t back away, fueled in part by curiosity, but mostly because nobody pushed her around. When his golden eyes locked on hers, a strange, sweet feeling swept through her.
The man simply…dazzled. With his fallen angel beauty framed by hair the color of copper and a body that flowed as gracefully as smoke. But it was those eyes, she decided, eyes as gold as Midas that did it for her, slanted above a smile as dangerous as a predator’s.
A wondrous feeling blew through her, like she’d missed him, like her heart had been broken a thousand times and now was finally whole. He was how home smells when you don’t even know how much you’ve missed it until you come through the front door and there it is. Waiting for you.
“Who the hell are you, Grant?” She managed, as he stopped a few inches away. The fierceness of his gaze set off another sensation, and as need curled through her, she reeled. It was as if she knew. Knew what his mouth tasted like. Knew his weight on her body. Because she’d felt them before. Staggering forward, Logan found herself caught by capable hands. “Oh God, what’s happening to me?”
Warm breath feathered her ear. “You’re curious, aren’t you? You feel it, don’t you?” Logan stood helpless, held in place not by him but by something inside her that made it impossible to leave. And when he reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, a gesture so tender, yet so achingly familiar, she couldn’t breathe. “You always had the most beautiful hair.”
“What kind of games are you playing, Grant?” Logan managed.
“Unfortunately for us, Miss Dean, this is not a game.” Clouds covered the sun, cutting off the nimbuses that fractured the gloom, plunging the room into shadow.
It was a sign, she thought, of something momentous. Or at least, she was going to take it as a sign, which meant pretty much the same thing. Right about then she realized they weren’t alone.
“What the hell is going on here, Ian?” Face burning, she stepped away from him immediately. Busted. Robert carefully looked between the two of them, a growing awareness on his face.
Grant smoothly took over. “I just drove out to see Bart’s old place. I’d hoped Miss Dean might be interested in selling.” Just like that, he became completely detached. Gone was any trace of whatever had happened between them. The moment felt stolen, instead of real. He didn’t want Robert to know. Know what, she wasn’t sure, but she did remember Robert’s final words yesterday…get the hell out of here, Ian…
Her legs were still a little shaky, but as the distance opened between them, her bearings came back. Fine, she thought, two can play at that game.
“Mr. Grant was explaining to me his plans for Aviemore.” She felt Grant’s jolt of surprise behind her. “I’m afraid I’ve…” she went on sweetly, “…fallen in love with the old place, too. So, of course I can’t sell.”
It was a small victory to see that coolness crack for a second. “Then I believe I won’t waste any more of your time.” Footsteps echoed down the empty hall.
Logan held up a hand to Robert. “Give us just a sec, will you?” She waited on the porch until Ian opened his car door before calling out. “Why did you come out here, Grant?”
“You don’t want the kind of answers I’ll give you, Miss Dean. Trust me.”
She bit back a laugh. “Yeah? Well, sometimes those are the only kind you get.”
If you want to read more, here are the buy links:
If you would like to get more information on L. A., here is her website:
www.LAMcGinnis.com
Thanks, L.A. for introducing us to your special world! Any comments or L. A.?
As we move toward the gift-giving season, time gets shorter for reading but longer for looking for gifts. For me, the idea of giving good books to friends and family can pay off in more ways than one. It gives me an opportunity to shop for myself... in addition to shopping for others. That means I get to visit all my favorite book stores and look around for any new ones that might have opened in the last year and visit all my old familiar favorites... just in case.
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