The Succubus Gift Blog Tour: excerpt, interview + giveaway

The Succubus Gift

Chapter 1

We have been burned at the stake, locked up in asylums, drugged into a stupor. We are secretive for our own protection. - Seamus O’Donnell

     She noticed the young man immediately when he walked past her, head down and in a hurry, but not only because he was so good looking. He had no thoughts, no mental activity, and that grabbed her attention in a way nothing else could have.

     Following him, she stepped into a shop doorway when he stopped and looked around. She didn’t need to keep him in sight. She could feel his emotions, so strange coming from someone with no thoughts she could read, different than all the other people on the streets. Checking her mental shields to make sure they were as tight as she could make them, she followed him around a corner. He didn’t look back, seemingly not aware she was there.

     Moving closer as he turned another corner into an alley, she stopped when he hesitated at the other end. He looked about before stepping out onto the street, but he never looked back. Realizing he couldn’t feel her, she closed the distance between them.

     Scanning the area with her mind, she discovered two other men, farther away, who also were mentally shielded. Their emotions were completely different than his, and she shivered at the malice radiating from them. Every time the first man changed direction, the others soon followed. Although they couldn’t see each other, it was almost as though they could feel each other, just as she could feel them. Through the maze of streets in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor area, they danced across the city in the summer twilight.

     He walked into a bar just a block off the water. She knew it had entrances on two different streets, and rather than follow him, she walked to the corner, out into the street, and stood in front of one of the unusual old triangular houses in this part of town. From her vantage point she could see both entrances.

     Coming out the other side, he walked in the opposite direction, away from the harbor. He was doubling back, hoping to lose his pursuers, but they weren’t tracking him by sight or sound. She watched a man hesitate in front of the door the young man had used to enter the bar, stop, and then turn around.

     He was walking faster now and she was forced to break into a run to keep up with him. He stopped in a small park, in a dark area near a building, turning and waiting for her.

     “Why are you following me?” he asked as she approached him. He was tall with brown hair and blue eyes in his early twenties.

     “Those men are following you. Do they want to hurt you?” she asked, looking up at him. “They don’t feel the same as you do.” His blue eyes widened. “They’re coming. They can feel you.”

     “I can’t feel you, and I doubt they can either,” he answered with a puzzled tone in his voice. “You’re an O’Neill.” He took a step toward her. “Who the hell are you?”

     She felt the other men at the edge of the park. “Why are you afraid? Are they going to hurt you?”

      “I don’t know. They might try,” he answered, smiling nervously.

     She covered him in her shield and saw his fists clench as the other men approached. The sense of menace radiating from them increased as they drew closer, moving stealthily. In the darkness, she couldn’t see them clearly. Large men, even bigger than the young man she was following, they had a rough look. One passed within only a few feet. He turned and looked directly at them, but continued on. She could see he held a pistol close to his body.

      “Holy Mary,” the young man breathed when they were well gone.

      She stepped close to him, out of the shadow, and looked up at his face. It was the first time he could see her clearly. His eyes widened in shocked surprise.

      “Who are you?” she asked. “What are you? Do you know what I am?”

     He stared at her pale face wreathed in black hair. His mouth opened, then closed. He swallowed and shook his head.

     “Please,” she said, her voice cracking, “can you help me? I’ve been alone for so long. Are there more people like us? Do you know where to find them?”

     Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward and in a low voice said, “Come with me. I’ll take you to someone who can answer your questions.”

     He started off, then turned back when she just stood watching him. “I know what you did to make those men miss us. Thank you. I promise no one will hurt you if you come with me.”

     They set off across the city together. After several blocks he turned up a street, similar to many in the area, where all the row houses looked exactly the same. They walked to a house halfway down the street and rang the doorbell. When the door opened, he entered, pulling her after him.

     “Jared, what the hell?” the man inside stepped back frowning, his eyes scanning over her, lingering on her chest. “Who’s this?”

     “I’ve been playing hide-and-seek with two thugs half the afternoon,” Jared answered. “Their shields and strength were pretty much a match for mine, and I just couldn’t shake them. Then I ran across this lovely lady who graciously extended her shields to hide me from them. Where are Seamus and my mom?”

     “Shielded you?” She felt him attempt to read her mind. Her blue eyes flashed and she pushed back, feeling his shields bend under the pressure she exerted. His eyes widened. “I see. Seamus is probably in his office.”

     Jared took her by the arm and led her down a corridor. They took a turn, then turned again into another corridor. Bewildered, she let him guide her. She had been in dozens of Baltimore row houses and they were small, open structures. She felt like she’d fallen down the rabbit hole.

     They stopped in front of a door and Jared knocked, then entered when a deep voice said, “Come in.”

     Inside a spacious office, a very large man with shoulder-length gray hair and a bushy beard was seated behind a desk. A tall, thin woman with sandy colored hair in her late thirties or early forties stood just inside the other door to the room. She took a tentative step forward, the blood draining from her face, and the man sat up in his chair, eyes riveted on the face of the young woman with Jared.

     The young woman wore a white tank top and hip-hugger blue jeans that outlined her wasp-waisted hourglass figure. Thick, wavy black hair cascaded to her waist, contrasting with her pale complexion and sapphire blue eyes.

     “I’d like you to meet … I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name,” Jared said, turning to her with a slight smile.

     “Brenna,” she said.

     “Of course. This is Brenna. I had a couple of stalkers follow me tonight. She helped me get home. Brenna, this is my grandfather, Seamus, and my mother, Callie.”

     “Thank you for seeing my grandson home, Miss, uh,” the man said slowly. He had a faint but distinct Irish accent.

     “Morgan,” Brenna supplied.

     “Miss Morgan. I didn’t know he was lost, but thank you for your help,” he said with a faint smile.

     “She shielded me,” Jared said. “Covered me to invisibility without touching me.”

      Seamus’ eyes narrowed at this assertion, studying her closely. “That’s very interesting.”

The Succubus Gift (Book 1 of the Telepathic Clans Saga) by B. R. Kingsolver

YA paranormal*ebook*Published April 22nd 2012 by Smashwords

Purchase: Amazon (US) \(UK) | B&N | Smashwords | Goodreads | Kobo |Diesel-ebooks | Indigo.ca (It is also available in the Apple iTunes bookstore)

The transition between teenager to university to graduation is difficult and confusing for everyone. As an orphan and a prodigy who entered college at sixteen, harboring secrets she dares not reveal, Brenna Morgan’s journey is more complicated than most. Then one evening she stumbles across a young man who promises to answer all her questions if she’ll trust him.

The history of the Clans, called the Sidhe by the Irish, stretches back to antiquity. The Goddess blesses Her people with 25 Telepathic Gifts. In addition to Telepathy, the Gifts include command over Air and Fire, Telekinesis and Teleportation. In over 2,500 years, She has never bestowed more than 15 Gifts on a single person.

Brenna’s life isn’t the same after she discovers her unusual and mysterious heritage. In addition to being a telepath, Brenna learns she has the Succubus Gift.

That’s just the beginning of her problems. Someone is stalking her. Then there’s the tall, dangerous woman who shadows her and hints a Goddess has linked them. And what is she going to do with a handsome, charismatic, womanizing man she knows she should avoid?

Some days a girl just wants to pull the covers over her head and stay in bed -- with a willing young man of course.

Urban Fantasy with a dash of romance. The Succubus Gift is a completely different take on the succubus myth. Beautiful women and hot men in a world with a hidden telepathic subculture. 

The Succubus Gift and Succubus Unleashed are both available at all major eBook locations, Amazon, B&N, Apple, Sony, Kobo, etc for $2.99 (and the equivalent in pounds at Amazon UK). The Telepathic Clans, Books 1 and 2 is available at the same locations for $3.99. That's two full-length novels, both Night Owl Top Picks, for the price of a Starbucks. 
For the bundle: Amazon - B&N 

An interview with B. R. Kingsolver

1) Why telepathic clans? How did you conceive the idea (s) for The Succubus Gift and when did you know you had a novel?
Those are completely different questions. I read the Georgina Kincaid books by Richelle Mead and liked the idea of a succubus, a woman who was powerfully and blatantly sexual. But I was uncomfortable with the fact that for a woman to feel free to express her sexuality she had to be in league with the devil. It just seemed to extend the stereotype that female sexuality is evil. So I played with a lot of ideas about how a succubus could be one of the good guys.

As to your other question, I hadn’t tried to write any fiction since I was about fifteen. I had a conversation with a close friend last year about self publishing and mentioned that I had a story I thought might sell. She encouraged me to write it. I discovered that it was very easy to write out the story because I had so fully imagined it. I gave it to a couple of other friends to read, and they came back with suggestions and criticisms, but also encouragement.

2) How did you go about your world building? Can you share some ideas about the 25 Telepathic Gifts? The Succubus Gift?

I’m a huge fan of urban fantasy. I played with the idea of setting the book in a standard paranormal world where my characters were one of many types of paranormal beings but decided it was better to set them in our normal world. I have Scottish, Irish and English ancestors and have always been fascinated by the history and mythology of the British Isles, and a race of powerful telepaths provides a basis for the myths of the Fae and the Druids. Research into that mythology provided an easy link to the Telepathic Clans.

As to the Gifts, I researched the mythology of psychic talents and compiled a list of those which have been claimed or postulated and formalized them. I grew up reading science fiction, and felt that a rigid structure of what was and wasn’t possible for my characters was necessary. I always feel cheated as a reader when a character just pulls some fantastic ability out of the air, so I developed the science behind the Gifts so that there would be internal consistency and limits on what characters could do.

The Succubus Gift was the one extension of all that. The succubi are the Druids, the priestesses of the Goddess, and the energy they drain from men is an offering to the Goddess.

3) Which character spoke to you first? Which one (s) were easy to write and were any difficult?
Brenna was always the focus. Rebecca came second and of course I had to have a love interest, so I developed Collin. I think Collin was the most difficult. An alpha male without a shred of jealousy who isn’t threatened by a woman more sexual and powerful than he is. Rebecca has always been the easiest. Brenna is soooo wonderful! Some people have told me that she sets their teeth on edge because she’s so perfect – beautiful, powerful and rich. But Rebecca provides a counterpoint, the best friend who is always there to call her case and put things in perspective.

4) Are you a pantser or a plotter?
Both. I create a detailed outline of my books, but sometimes the writing takes you in directions you haven’t planned. I have whole chapters that I’ve written then cut because they took the story in the wrong direction or just didn’t quite fit. But a lot of that influences the character development in my head and gives me a better understanding of the back story.

I have outlines for three books that are yet to be written. I hope to share those stories over the next year or so.

5) What attracts you to the paranormal/fantasy genre?
I’ve been reading science fiction and fantasy since junior high school. I read for escape, and reading about the divorcee next door isn’t an escape. I’ve also read a lot of history and historical fiction. I want a book to take me somewhere I’ve never been.

6) What are you working on now?
The second book in the Telepathic Clans, Succubus Unleashed, was published this past summer. It’s a continuation of Brenna’s story. I’m currently working on revisions to the third book and hoping to publish it this fall. Then I’m going to put Brenna away for a while. There will be a fourth book, probably next year.

After I finish this third book, I’ve started a mystery/thriller set in the same world with a different succubus character, a Welsh private eye. I’ve also written the first chapter of a more normal paranormal novel aimed at a YA/NA audience. The main character of that is a Valkyrie and there are elves, dryads, dwarfs, vampires, shape shifters, and all that.

7) What can readers expect to see in Brenna's next installment in the series?
The second book is out and it starts almost immediately after the end of the first one. Brenna continues to integrate into her new family and learn about her Gifts. The mystery in the first book as to why people are kidnapping succubi is solved.

The third book goes more global, with a story line that includes the other Clans around the world.

8) What are some of your thoughts on the epublishing world?
It’s easier than I would have thought to publish, but harder to sell. I didn’t realize how many poorly edited and poorly written books are out there. Many people automatically assume a book that comes out only as an ebook is bad and couldn’t be published through a traditional publisher. So you have to overcome that perception. Promoting a book is a lot more work than I thought it would be.

That said, my novels have a number of problems that prevent going the traditional publishing route. My main characters are the wrong age. The books don’t fit into a standard genre. Traditional publishers would want me to eliminate the sex, which means eliminating my concept of succubi, and make my characters high school kids. Or, they would want me to make the characters older, which would mean rewriting the story.

One of the things epublishing has done is allow more creativity. Ideas, characters and stories that are unusual or don’t fit into the publishers’ standard definitions and genres have an outlet.

About the author:

Facebook | Twitter | Website and Blog

I write books combining Adult Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Science Fiction. I believe in fiction as an escape, with devastatingly beautiful women and incredibly sexy men. 

In my books, you will find characters with psychic abilities, such as telekinesis and telepathy, and a completely different view of a succubus than you've ever encountered before. 

I made silver and turquoise jewelry for almost a decade, ended up in nursing school, then took a master's in business. Along the way I worked in construction, as a newspaper editor, and somehow found a career working with computers. 

I love the outdoors, especially the Rocky Mountains. I've skied since high school, with one broken leg and one torn ACL to show for it. I've hiked and camped all my life. I love to travel, though I haven't done enough of it. I've seen a lot of Russia and Mexico, not enough of England. Amsterdam is amazing, and the Romanian Alps are breathtaking. Lake Tahoe is a favorite, and someday I'd like to see Banff. 

I have a very significant other, two cats and two Basset Hounds. I'm currently living in Baltimore, nine blocks from the harbor, but still own a home in New Mexico that I see too infrequently.

Next stop on the tour: 

Turning The Pages

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