Today I’m sharing with you one of my favorites: THE FIFTH KINGDOM, a romantic suspense I did for Carina Press early last year. Why is it one of my favorites? Both the heroine and hero, Bill and Deanna, are wounded characters who need love to help heal the wounds of the past.
I loved bringing them together as well as something very shocking in the middle of the book. I can’t say what and spoil it, but it involves Bill and it’s a biggie. A life-threatening biggie.
I hope you like this excerpt. Please note that it is for mature audiences.
By now you know that I’ve got two releases coming up, THE FIFTH KINGDOM a romantic suspense, and THE LOST, a paranormal romance.
Now I don’t want to give too much away about either of them, but after considering it for some time, it occurred to me that they have something in common that has really grabbed my attention: Magical and mystical energies.
In THE FIFTH KINGDOM, the energy comes from an ancient relic discovered in what could be Montezuma’s tomb. The relic is a copy of the Aztec Sun Stone sitting the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. The original sun stone is about 12 feet in diameter and weighs about 24 metric tons. You can read more about the original here.
The relic in the book is similar in terms of its look, but it is small enough to hold in your hands and made of obsidian and silver on stone. It is very different in one important way: It has mystical powers which are released once it comes in contact with something very sacred.
What can be so sacred? What about blood?
Now I won’t spill about whose blood awakens the energy in the relic or what it is because I don’t want to spoil the story for you.
Those energies, whether in relics, nature or in people, are all around us I think. As I said, that’s what inspired me for the two stories.
For THE LOST it was my visits down to the shore and the power I’d feel in nature, but also in the people gathered on Sunday mornings for Pavilion Praise in Ocean Grove. The gathering of that many people focused on one thing creates almost palpable energy to me.
It made me remember that I had felt something similar on a Palm Sunday many years back when my family and I went to Rome for Holy Week. Walking into St. Peter’s Square when it was filled with thousands of people joined together was seriously an amazing experience.
Those energies in us and around us is what inspired the SIN HUNTERS, a race of people capable of harnessing and using those energies for all kinds of cool things.
In the next few weeks, I’d like to explore with you those LOST energies. Find out if you believe or not in whether such powers can exist in nature, people or things.
For today, I’ll leave you with the Aztec Sun Stone and it’s supposed abilities to predict the end of THE FIFTH KINGDOM and also, the video premiere for the novel.
I’d love to hear from you as to whether you believe in THE LOST energies as we explore some other relics, people who see auras and sense energies, and all other kinds of cool things!
Don’t forget that on Thursday I’ll be having a live video event with Jeaniene Frost where we’ll be chatting about sexy urban fantasy and its heroes and heroines. If you can’t see the widget below, you can go to this link: http://t.wbx.me/fbam1 for the live video event.
There is something about alpha heroes that is so sexy, but of course, no one really wants a true alpha hero. I mean who could live with someone who always had to be on top, didn’t want emotional connections to anyone and equated physical strength with emotional strength. Just some of the not-so-nice traits of alpha heroes.
What we do love is strong men who are seemingly sure of themselves, but have that chink in their armor that allows for real relationships to develop. Physically strong men who are capable of being gentle as well as capable of showing emotional weakness. They can know to be strong by sharing the burdens of life with a significant other.
When I started writing THE FIFTH KINGDOM, I knew CIA Agent Bill Santana was going to be that kind of sexy hero. One who was strong, but had a soft spot inside. A wounded spot, actually. I didn’t know that at first when I started writing, but as Bill met up with the prickly and equally alpha Dr. Deanna Vasquez, a lot of his pent up old emotions rose up to make him so much more of a real person.
That pain that he was carrying inside of him touched Deanna, who likewise had a similar wound in her psyche. I think that’s what made them so special together – that their love for each other healed the scars they both bore in their hearts.
Of course we need some action as well since it is a romantic suspense. In THE FIFTH KINGDOM, the action revolves around Bill’s search for an archeologist kidnapped by a Mexican terrorist group. The archeologist is Deanna’s mom, Dr. Miranda Adams, who abandoned Deanna nearly fifteen years earlier which is the source of her pain.
Miranda has discovered what may be Montezuma’s tomb and an ancient artifact within the resting place, but it is only as the story evolves that Deanna comes to realize that the relic has some very unusual powers.
I loosely based the relic on the Mexican sun stone (shown below). The sun stone is a calendar of sorts, but also a history of the Mexica people (whom we call the Aztecs). The original of the stone is in Mexico City and in the story, Deanna and Bill take a visit to the museum to see the stone and to also try and infiltrate the terrorist group.
In case you haven’t had a chance to check out an excerpt from THE FIFTH KINGDOM, here it is!
With the rains over for a bit, it’s time to think about summer and what better way to get the party started than with the Summer Splash Blog Hop.
I am participating in a Splash Into Summer Blog Hop. Just leave a comment saying “I want to splash into summer with a book by (insert the name of the author)” on any blog post between today, May 25 and midnight EST on May 31 for a chance to win a $1o gift card, autographed copies of both SINS OF THE FLESH and STRONGER THAN SIN, plus a T-shirt for THE LOST and some other goodies.
Also check out all the other blogs participating for a chance to win other cool giveaways.
For those of you who are new visitors, take a moment to check out my upcoming releases: THE FIFTH KINGDOM, a romantic suspense from Carina Press; and THE LOST, a paranormal romance from Grand Central Publishing. Here are some excerpts for you to read, download, etc.
Today I’m sharing with you one of my favorites: THE FIFTH KINGDOM, a romantic suspense I did for Carina Press early last year. Why is it one of my favorites? Both the heroine and hero, Bill and Deanna, are wounded characters who need love to help heal the wounds of the past.
