Guest Blog & Giveaway: J.K. Beck “When Blood Calls”

J.K. Beck is the author of  the brand new The Shadow Keepers paranormal romance series and I was fortunate enough to review the first book in the series last week. WHEN BLOOD CALLS (read my 4/5 bat review HERE) which will be published on August 31, 2010, established a fascinating supernatural world built around detailed ancient political system of justice.  Suspenseful, romantic, and full of darkly sexy characters.  J.K. was kind enough to stop by today and giveaway a copy of the next book in the series: WHEN PLEASURE RULES. See details below & it is open internationally. 

by
J.K. Beck

I’m so excited to guest blogging here at ATUF—and getting the chance to talk about my new series, the Shadow Keepers, the first of which (WHEN BLOOD CALLS) is hitting shelves next week! Before I sat down to write this guest post, I batted around a few ideas as to what I could write about, but since the hero of the first book, Lucius Dragos, is a vampire, I thought I’d talk about that truly defining vampire moment: the bite.

It’s dangerous. It’s deadly. And, yeah, it can be sensual, sexy, downright seductive.

Or it can kill.

That’s one hell of a dichotomy, and I think that’s part of what makes vampire heroes so alluring. I’ve been asking about vamps as heroes a lot lately, polling online friends and asking questions in blogs, and while their power, inevitable broodishness, and danger in a taming-of-the-beast way has come up, no one has specifically addressed the allure of the bite. But that has to be part of it, don’t you think? The heady sense of knowing that our heroine is cozying up to danger—that she’s courting death itself, but in the end we know that she’s going to win, because this vamp is our hero, and in the end the hero isn’t going to hurt her. Even with the bite—even if he changes her—somehow, someway, they’re both going to save each other.

It’s dark and deadly and romantic, harkening back to the same primal need to face and conquer fear and danger that (I think) once made gothic novels so incredibly popular. Vampire romances are, in fact, the new gothics. At least, that’s my un-researched hypothesis, but I don’t think it’s half bad.

Of course, once a vampire bites you, the legend of course is that you’re under his spell. And I’m going to use that as a rather inelegant segue into my books—because that really is how I feel about this series. I got bit, I got sucked in…and I’m loving it.

The fact is, I was playing around with an entirely different—and significantly less dark/ edgy—idea for a paranormal series, when this idea smacked me in the head one day. At from that moment on, that other idea was all but forgotten. I banged out the proposal for WHEN BLOOD CALLS. I put together a synopsis outlining the way the world worked, harkening back to the Covenant—ancient laws that govern the shadow world, laws that are enforced by the PEC, the Preternatural Enforcement Coalition. Characters formed, or more accurately, they introduced themselves by popping straight into my stories. And they still are. It’s heady and exciting and I’m loving it.

You know how authors sometimes say they’ve been bit by the writing bug? It’s true. And when they’re writing about vampires, it’s that much more accurate.

Here’s a short excerpt from WHEN BLOOD CALLS—it’s not a biting scene, but I hope you enjoy!

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     Quai laid the long, black coat on a nearby metal desk, and the  sight of Luke without his coat caught Sara’s attention in ways that had her feeling decidedly unprosecutorial. 
      In her apartment, he had not taken it off, though she'd been stripped almost bare.  The memory teased her, and she watched with unabashed fascination as Luke now stood in shirtsleeves, his biceps straining under black cotton.
     He was powerful.
     He was dangerous.
     And tonight, he'd held her close, comforting her, protecting her even in her dreams. 
     "Keep looking," he said, making her jump.  "Perhaps you'll see something in me you didn't see before."
     "I was thinking," she said.  "Not looking."
     "About me?"  That generous mouth barely moved, but even so, she had the impression that he was smiling at her.  Once again, she had to push back a wave of surprise at the utter incongruity of it all.  He was in prison, for Christ's sake.  His shirt pulled up to reveal an achingly familiar torso, over which was strapped a device that could have killed him only moments prior.  And yet he was standing tall and commanding, the room filled with the essence, the power, of Lucius Dragos. 
     "Ah, then," he said, knowingly.  "It was about me."
     To her utter mortification, Quai took that moment to swivel his slightly orange head around.  His large eyes narrowed as he looked at her, and she transferred to him the glare she'd earlier aimed at Luke.  He immediately turned back and concentrated on removing the metal band from Luke's chest. 
     "As a matter of fact, I was thinking about you," she said, delighted to see surprise flicker in his eyes.  Well, why not?  Two could play the one-ups-man-ship game.  "I was thinking that I should avoid talking to you."
     "Is that so?  Any particular reason?"
     "Me prosecutor.  You defendant.  And a defendant with an advocate."  She upped the sugar value of her smile.  "I'm afraid I can't talk to you without your advocate present."
     "So far,” he said, with the slightest smile, “I'd say you're failing miserably at that task." 

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I hope you check out WHEN BLOOD CALLS and that you settle back and sink your teeth into the series. And please, let me know what you think! I’d love to hear from you. Visit me online at jk@jkbeck.com or on the web at www.jkbeck.com or www.theshadowkeepers.com (you can read a bunch of excerpts there, with more coming, and find other cool stuff!). Find me on Facebook and Twitter. And if you’d like to see the book trailer I made, it’s on my website here

I’ll be giving away an advance review copy of WHEN PLEASURE RULES (book 2), as well, drawing the winner at random from the commentors! Chat about whatever you’d like, but if you’re looking for a topic, why not share what you think about the bite? Sexy? Dangerous? A little of both? Is the bite the key to a vampire’s allure, or is it something else that draws you in?

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Thanks J.K. for stopping by.  Come back anytime.

J. K. Beck spent more than ten years as a litigator in Southern California and Central Texas, using her rare free time to indulge in her passion for writing. Now she uses her legal background as inspiration for her paranormal romantic suspense series, The Shadow Keepers, set in and around a secret judicial system hidden within and mirroring our own. California born, J. K. now lives and writes in Texas, where she hangs out with her husband and daughters and drinks far too much coffee. J.K. Beck is the new pen name for bestselling author Julie Kenner. We always knew Julie was a little bit schizo….

Visit J.K. online:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Website

Read more from J.K. Beck

Shadow Keepers
1. When Blood Calls (read my Review)
2. When Pleasure Rules
3. When Wicked Craves

Giveaway

Giveaway courtesy of J.K. Beck

One copy of WHEN PLEASURE RULES

When Pleasure Rules, September 28, 2010

Description

Seven innocents have been brutally murdered on the streets of Los Angeles, yet the Shadow Alliance has no suspects and no leads. And as more bodies are discovered, the age-old feud between the vampires and werewolves threatens to explode and turn the city into a living nightmare.

With her back to the wall, Lissa Monroe—a strong-willed, ravishingly beautiful succubus who entices men to surrender their souls—agrees to go undercover for the Alliance. Her mission: infiltrate the mind of werewolf leader Vincent Rand, a ferociously alluring enemy who has a powerful hold over her. Lissa has never lost control of her deepest desires, but Rand is an impenetrable paradox, a principled soldier who fears nothing—except perhaps the darkness of his own past. As the city of Angels teeters on the brink of apocalypse, these two adversaries must join together to have even the slimmest chance of surviving a more lethal enemy hidden in plain sight.

Click HERE to read an excerpt from WHEN PLEASURE RULES

Giveaway Guidelines

1. Open Internationally
2. Leave a comment that includes:
   1. An answer to one of J.K.’s ‘bite’ questions or something about her post.
   2. A way to contact you if you win.
3. Entries must be received by Midnight MST on September 6th. The winner will be contacted and announced on September 7th.

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Interested in guest blogging on All Things Urban Fantasy?  CONTACT ME