Hi, everyone. I
am happy to be here with my latest release, Dare To Love Forever!
At the end of
this post, you will find the blurb and an excerpt.
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I wrote a
vampire story even when the market is flooded with them. I tried to do
something some things different with this story. One way was to add
supernatural/magical elements to an already varied depiction of vampires and
their world.
Carson Locke is
a rare Tabula Rosa vampire. This was based on the idea of tabula rasa which in Latin
translates into blank slate. When Carson bites another vampire, their mind is
wiped clean, erased, creating a reprogrammable, blank slate, which can take on
any personality, including mindless killing machines. That is why Carson has
been sheltered his entire life and hidden away. In the past, Carson was forced
to bite someone he cared for deeply and is haunted by the terror of that memory.
Commander
Lincoln Samuels is a Sanatore vampire. In Latin (I love Latin if you hadn’t
noticed), Sanatore means healer. Lincoln’s blood has the ability to heal
other vampires. However, there is a possible side effect - Lincoln could bond
physically and mentally with that vampire. In the past, Lincoln bonded with
another vampire with near disastrous results. Now, he must decide if he will
save Carson and risk that happening again.
And, then, there
is the Salutem vampire...but to get into that would be a spoiler so you will
have read the story to find out about that vampire.
Add in a shaman
with supernatural powers and the ability to predict the future, and a destiny
put into place hundreds of years before Carson was born, and, I hope, this
vampire tale will satisfy the most die-hard fans of the genre.
EBook buy Link:
Paperback buy link:
Blurb:
Carson Locke is a Tabula Rosa vampire—a
dangerous rarity in the world of vampires. With one bite, he can wipe clean a
vampire’s mind, creating a mindless drone. Because of this, Carson has spent
his entire twenty-three years sheltered at home. That changes when his entire
family is murdered. Now on the run and near death, Carson meets Commander
Lincoln Samuels, a beautiful vampire who tries to heal him. In doing so, Carson
is bonded to the vampire and turned into something the vampire world has never
seen. When Carson is poisoned, he believes that someone wants him dead as well,
however there are greater plans for Carson put into motion hundreds of years
before his birth.
Lincoln is a Sanatore vampire with the
ability to heal other vampires. He heads a team in the New Vampire Justice
police force in Utica, NY. Late one night, he is called to a local Vampire
Blood Market where a starving Tabula Rosa vampire is about to be executed by
one of his officers. Feeling a strong connection to Carson, Lincoln wants to
heal the broken man despite knowing the risk in doing so. Healing Carson could
destroy Lincoln and cost him the chance to love again. What Lincoln finds is
that there is a greater evil threatening to take Carson from him.
Can two vampires who have loved and
painfully lost in the past, learn to trust one another, defeat the evil rising
against them, and dare to love forever?
Excerpt:
Descending farther, the flashlight flickered. Carson froze.
Stopping to shake the light, he could hear the beating of his overwrought heart
in his ears, feel the knot of dread expand in his gut. Gods, if he had anything
in his stomach to throw up, he would. Right now, he needed the blood that the
Vampire Blood Market (VBM) provided. Carson’s teeth had only sunk into a vein once
and the nightmare of that moment had forever been burned into his memory.
Besides, from what he’d heard, the bite hurt the donor like a bitch. That was
mainly the sport of pain sluts and adrenaline junkies who visited bars where
biting was still legal. In his isolated world of Gifford, NY, blood had always
been supplied. Now, he had to feed himself. Without money, that meant stealing
what he needed.
At the bottom of the stairs, he peered through the small
window into the VBM. Walls of illuminated refrigerated cases held blood in
containers similar to milk jugs. Unfortunately, stealing milk didn’t hold the
same consequence as stealing blood.
Ignoring the dangerousness of his mission, Carson grasped the
door handle. What he feared would be locked opened freely. Inside the VBM, the
refrigerated cases hummed. The air was cooler than in the hallway. Carson’s
mouth watered and his empty stomach clenched tight. Rushing to the first case,
he pulled open the door. He grabbed the closest opaque white container and ripped
the top off. Just as he lifted the container with the lifesaving liquid to his
lips, the lights came on and a voice shouted, “Freeze!”
Carson dropped the container and gasped. His heart pushed
into overdrive, his breaths barely escaped his throat. He gaped at the three
men and two women dressed in black uniforms pointing guns at him. Carson tried
to remain still but his feet moved backward without thought.
“Freeze or we’ll shoot!” A man with short black hair, who was
larger than a truck, leveled a gun at Carson’s head. The man could end all of
Carson’s pain. The fear, the hunger, the uncertainty, the agony of losing his
family. Just charge at the giant—or slip his hand into his pocket as if he had
a gun—and the bullets would do the rest. But as he ran into the wall behind
him, his muscles seized. He was going to die no matter what he did.
“Down on your knees and hands on your head!”
Without thought, Carson went down hard on his knees and
rested his hands on his head. His head swam from hunger, and his legs shook. It
was all he could do to remain upright. Carson closed his eyes and thought of
his younger brother, Caden, and his mom. He just wanted this to be over quick.
“Strip him,” he heard the gruff voice say.
Carson’s chest locked up as hands grabbed him. They ripped
Carson’s parka over his head and then his sweater and T-shirt were next. The
chill on his skin sent a shudder through his emaciated body.
Please, do it quickly.
Hands held him by his shoulders and arms, as if at any minute
he might resist. There wasn’t an ounce of resistance left in him, not an ounce
of fight. Tears burned his eyes like acid. Gods, his life had sucked so far.
This was the perfect ending.
The large man stepped forward. Heavy black boots scraped the
floor. NVJ in large white letters crossed his chest. New Vampire Justice. The vampire equivalent of a SWAT team, there
because Carson had been trying to steal blood, an act punishable by immediate
death.
“You have been caught in the act of stealing blood from a
certified Vampire Blood Market, an act punishable by death by the Vampire
Justice Act of 2003. Under the jurisdiction of the New Vampire Justice code
number 456.5, I, an enforcment officer for the city of Utica, NY, hereby pass
the sentence of death. Do you have anything you wish to say before this
judgment is carried out?”
##
About JC Wallace
JC Wallace started writing from a young age, but took
a break for marriage, kids, and college (in that order). He recently
rediscovered his passion and ventured out into the brave new world of
publishing with his short, Waiting for
Snow, and his first novel, Curiosity
Killed Shaney. At night and on the weekends, JC writes about all things
men, believing there is nothing hotter than two men finding and loving one
another, whether for a night or forever. An avid reader of M/M romance, JC
loves a good twist of a plot, HEA, HFN, or tragic ending. He also writes what
his bestie calls HUNK (Happy Until the Next Kidnapping).
In his daytime hours, JC works with individuals with
autism and behavior problems. He is owned by three kids, one grandchild and one
on the way, two dogs and one cat. He lives in the beautiful Adirondack
Mountains in Northern NY.
Website: www.jcwallacebooks.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jcwallacebooks
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