A Vampire’s Saving Embrace blog tour: excerpt, guest post and giveaway

One woman. One man. Romance. Danger. Vampire. Hello and welcome to Reader Girls on this Friday in July. In our area in New York, the temperatures are really hot and this paranormal romance sounds steamy too. Look at that gorgeous cover! We are today's stop on A Vampire's Saving Embrace Blog Tour hosted by Bewitching Book Tours. This stop is jam packed with an excerpt, a guest post by the author and a tour-wide giveaway. Enjoy the day!

A Vampire’s Saving Embrace (Book One, Supernatural Desire Series) 

by Darlene Kuncytes

Paranormal Romance

Paperback, 147 pages/eBook, 168 pages 

Purchase: Amazon | BN | Goodreads 

Abigail Montgomery was happy with her life. She was independent, strong, and had managed on her own for a very long time.

That was, until the dark, handsome Desmond LaGrange showed up at the bar where she worked. How could she know that this mysterious man would end up saving her from the evil that she didn't even know existed? And why was she so drawn to him? Why did he make her body heat with just a simple look?

Desmond LaGrange was fighting a past he was trying hard to forget. But when 

he sees the beautiful Abby working behind the bar - something deep inside compels him to get closer.

The only question is why? 

And when he saves her from danger - can he resist the strong pull between them to let her go when the time comes?

Or will the passion that she ignites in him be his end?

Excerpt

Chapter 1

Abigail Montgomery blew a stray strand of hair away from her face as she glared across the crowded bar - her eyes narrowed in frustration.

“I swear to God, Abs - you’re going to scare Mr. Hottie away with those looks you keep shooting his way. You look like you could peel the paint right off of the walls for crying out loud!” Kat, her co-worker yelled at her over the noise – gracing her with her best no nonsense scowl.

Abby gave Kat a disgusted grunt as her eyes stayed on the disturbingly handsome man sitting alone at the table on the other side of the bar.

He had been in Echo’s every night for the past three that Abby had worked. Sitting at the same damn table - nursing a bourbon, and watching her. He never approached or spoke to her - he just watched her work - his oh, so sensuous, full lips set in a grim line - and it was beginning to un-nerve her. This man was beyond model perfect, and it made Abby feel utterly intimidated and completely lacking. Just what in the hell was this man’s problem?

She took a deep, steadying breath and tore her eyes from him - trying to concentrate on something - anything other than his disturbing presence. She stooped down to grab a tray of clean glasses from beneath the bar, and unceremoniously dropped them with a resounding crash when she turned to find Mr. Gorgeous standing at the bar directly in front of her - his eyes locked on her face.

“Easy there, pet,” he whispered - the smooth, silky timber of his voice causing her to shiver slightly. Damn, but the man was delicious, she thought sourly.

He stood about six foot two and was unbelievably muscular – but not the steroid addled muscles of a body builder, she thought with a twinge – no… his muscles were real. Un-Godly real and painfully apparent beneath the very expensive shirt he wore. The man just reeked class and money. Cripes!

His hair was jet black and cut short to where it just touched the collar of said shirt in sexy, messy spikes. And his eyes - oh Lord, his eyes were sea blue and framed by unbelievably long, thick lashes. It should be illegal for a man to have such beautiful eyelashes she thought with a grunt. Yet, he was completely and irrevocably all man.

Abby felt a sudden surge of heat run through her as his eyes traveled over her face as he thoroughly appraised her - and she bit her bottom lip to stop her wayward thoughts. “Can I get you something?” she croaked out - immediately wincing at the tremor in her voice. Crap.

He smiled, his perfect white teeth glistening slightly - his eyes capturing and holding hers. “That depends, my pet - on just what it is that you are offering.” The wicked smile that came to his face caused Abby’s cheeks to burn, and an unwelcome heat to spread through her stomach as her entire body began to tingle.

Her hackles rose at the unwanted onslaught of it all and she glared. Abby did not like the effect this man was having on her in the least!

“Do you want another drink?” she ground out - her emerald eyes snapping fire as her cheeks blazed red – damn, was it getting warm in here? She silently wondered - hating how awkward and unsure she felt under his close scrutiny. He was holding her gaze as if he were looking into her very soul - and it was making her beyond uncomfortable in a completely embarrassing way. The guy had her entire body trembling.

“Actually…”

“Oh, Christ Abby,” Kat said, squatting down and starting to pick up the broken pieces of glass from the floor. “Are you all right?” Abby looked down at the fiery red-head and grimaced.

“Damn, Charlie is going to have my hide,” she whispered before glancing back up. She was startled to discover that Mr. Gorgeous was gone; and quickly searched the pulsating crowd on the dance floor - then the table where he had been seated for the past three days – but he was nowhere to be seen.

Abby felt a sudden rush of something that she wasn’t sure was relief or disappointment. She shook the thought off and bent down to help Kat with the mess she’d made; and groaned softly when she noticed that her hands were shaking. Damn, just what in the hell was wrong with her?

Abby was what most would call classically beautiful. She was 27, curvy in all the right places - five foot four inches tall with golden hair that hung to her shoulder blades in luminous waves; and deep emerald green eyes that took everyone who met her back instantly with their beauty. She was sweet and funny and seemed to put the people she met at ease immediately. Even though, she closed herself off from any outside activities. She always turned down the many dates she was asked on - preferring to keep her distance.

Kat on the other hand was full bodied and boisterous. Her flaming red hair matched her flaming personality and wild ways.

The two were complete opposites; but yet had quickly become best friends. Kat was Abby’s yin to her yang - the regulars at the bar calling them fire and ice.

“I saw you talking to that gorgeous piece - please tell me he was hitting on you.” Kat said, laughing happily - her eyes gleaming mischievously as she waggled her eyebrows at her friend.

Abby shook her head - not exactly sure what he had been doing. “No, he just wanted another drink,” she replied half-heartedly, and realized with a start that there was disappointment in her voice. She cursed herself again for her reaction to the man.  Good Lord!

“Damn it, Abs.” Kat reprimanded, her eyes narrowing. “You really need to quit playing the nun and flirt a little. That gorgeous drink of water has been here watching you, and only you for the past three nights,” she bit out in a huff. “This self- imposed celibacy of yours is wearing thin. You are just too damn beautiful to let all that go to waste.” Kat placed her hands on her hips and glared at her.

Abby shook her head and shrugged. She was doing just fine on her own. In fact, she liked her solitude. She always had. Even as a little girl, Abby was more comfortable strolling alone in the woods near whatever house they had been living in at the time - listening to the sounds of the forest, than spending time with others.  Although, if she were to be honest, she never really had the time to make any real friends. She and her mother had moved around often, and making and losing friends had just become too much for her. It was so much easier to just be on her own. No attachments meant - no hurt. “I’m fine.” She grumbled irritably – gracing her friend with her best scowl. “I am completely content with my life. Thank you very much!”

“Oh, come on Abigail!” Kat bit out, glaring right back at her. “You are one of the best people I know, and you deserve to be happy. Yet, you just continue to hide yourself away and wallow in your loneliness.”

“I am not lonely!” Abby snapped, her eyes blazing. “And I am not wallowing in anything!”

“Really? Well, that is definitely not how I see it. Honey, you need to kick up your heels a bit - and that man was about the finest specimen of the male gender that I have probably ever seen,” she continued – her voice softening a bit. “And, Abs, he was so totally into you. You have to move on for God’s sake. He’s not Eric. Not all men are sadistic assholes.”

Abby grimaced at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. She had worked extremely hard the past year to erase that abusive bastard from her life and her mind. Even though they had only been together for a little over four months, the damage he had done to her mentally and physically remained, and she caught herself touching the tiny scar under her chin with her finger. No! She silently reprimanded herself. She was not going there.

She had purged him from her life and had accepted the fact that she was better off alone. Dating had never been her thing anyway, and she had accepted that. She was a complete jerk-off magnet – and she had discovered the hard way that it was best just to stay away from men in general. Love was all an illusion anyway - Abby thought with a grunt. Men said all the right things until they got what they wanted from you – then all bets were off. Eric had painfully proven that. Before she could say anything else, Abby felt a hand on her arm and her body tensed -a creepy chill running up her spine.

She turned her attention to the man standing at the bar and inwardly cringed as he blatantly looked her up and down with a hunger that did nothing to reduce Abby’s unease. He was a thin, scruffy guy with dirty brown hair and eyes that looked… almost black - and intense in a way that caused her to immediately stiffen. “Hello, my lovely,” he purred, his voice guttural and raspy.

Abby pulled her arm from his grasp just as a blinding headache hit her full on – almost knocking her to her knees. Holy hell, she thought, bringing her fingers to her temples as she winced in pain. Just where in the hell had this come from? She looked at Kat, her face set in a grimace. “Kat, could you help this gentleman,” she choked out. “I think I might need to go home. I seem to be getting a migraine.”

“Oh, sure,” Kat said, quickly glancing at the man standing there. Her smile faded as she watched him look at her - then back to Abby. He was looking her friend up and down as if she were on the damn menu, and it caused Kat to grow extremely uncomfortable. “Go on, get out of here,” she whispered, ushering Abby toward the back room. “I’ll take care of this jerk. You just go on home and get some rest.” She pushed her through the door and turned back to the bar - realizing with a deep feeling of dread that he was gone.

Abby grabbed her purse and walked out of the back door and into the alley beside the bar. She took a deep calming breath and closed her eyes, inhaling the fresh air deeply. As soon as she got outside, her headache began to subside and she thought about going back in and finishing her shift, but the creepy guy at the bar convinced her that she should just go home, take a couple of aspirin and go to bed. Tonight had been one hell of a doozy! First, tall dark and gorgeous – then Freddy freaking Krueger!

About the Author:

Darlene Kuncytes was born and raised in Northeast Ohio. She has enjoyed writing ever since she can remember, and has always had a love for romance. 

"A Vampire's Saving Embrace" is her first novella, of what will hopefully be many more. She has always loved the supernatural with a touch of suspense - not to mention the allure of finding one's soul mate. 

She loves hearing from her fans-so be sure to drop her a line. 

Amazon author page | Facebook author page | Twitter | Facebook book page

Also on Goodreads and Pinerest!!!

My road to becoming an author.  Wow! What a loaded statement that is! I believe that I came out of the womb with a love for books and writing.  I cannot remember a time when I didn’t.  On rainy days my mom and I would make books.  We would draw pictures and I would write the stories.  It is just such a treasured memory for me.  A little fun fact is that in 8th grade we had to write a story for English class and my teacher gave me an F because he said it was too perfect and there was no way I did it on my own – that my parents had to have helped if not written it! My mother met with my teacher and told him that she sat there and watched me write it ALONE – so my grade was changed to an A with his apology.  And he requested that I be in his class the following year! Lol! I have to say, I did love that man – he really pushed me after that.

I love music when I write. Usually soft and romantic.  I am such a romantic at heart.  I love that moment when you experience a first kiss and it just curls your toes.

I think there is a part of me in all of my characters to a point.  From how they react to certain things to the smartass reply’s.  They become so real to me and I can picture exactly what they look like – although, when people ask me to send a picture I just can’t bring myself to do it.  I guess because even though I know what they look like to me – they can be something totally different to the reader.  That is the awesome thing about books! I can describe a place or person – but a reader will ALWAYS have their own twist on it.  Did you ever watch a movie and think – man that is NOT what I pictured him to look like?  That is what is so great about books.  They put your imagination into overdrive!

I had a wonderful fan contact me to tell me that she was reading a certain scene in my book and she was going crazy! That she couldn’t breathe and that it just had her heart racing and her hands shaking – and that just blew me away! To get a reaction like that from someone is more than I could ever have hoped for.  Although I will admit to writing a certain scene and having it affect me so profoundly that I just kind of say Whoa!

I did worry when I began writing my book that people would be over the whole Vampire thing – but that quickly passed.  I couldn’t have stopped it if I had tried. I did have a reviewer say that the book was good but she was so over Vampire’s.  I have to say, that stung – but this is a romance and whether he is a Vampire or a pastry chef – it comes down to a love story.  And there will always be those people that love the paranormal – so I hope that it is just an added bonus.

And the BEST part of becoming an author? Well that is two-fold. First I would have to say it is just all the phenomenal people that I have met.  People that understand that I am new to pursuing my dream and have helped me and encouraged me along the way – for them I will be eternally grateful. The fans that have sent me things that the book inspired! Wow! I mean – so generous! I have gotten book thongs (which I am attempting to learn to make at the moment! But I am far from crafty!!) To ribbons and bracelets! Unbelievable!  And the second best thing on this crazy road to becoming an author is that although right now I am not doing it full time – that I AM doing it!! This has been my dream forever.  And I all of you to thank for that!

Much love,

Darlene Kuncytes

Giveaway:

Tour wide giveaway 5 ebooks, 3 paperbacks – signed, 6 keychains

a Rafflecopter giveaway