Welcome Vivi!!! I'm excited to have you with us today!!!
First, I want to thank Viviana for allowing to come chat up
the lovelies who frequent her blog. Today, I want to talk about one of my
favorite topics, who do we love more? Bad boys or Boy Scouts?
We love to show the two sides of supernatural angst whether
it’s in our books or our movies and television shows. One of my first encounter
with this phenomenon in the supernatural realm was in Interview with a Vampire.
Louis’s desperate need to be good balanced the darkness brooding inside Lestat.
They were counter opposites morally, but they needed one another to survive.
The easiest way to show the power struggle of good and bad
is with siblings. Where are my TVD fans? Damon is the bad boy vamp who Elana
could only truly love when she herself becomes a vampire and let go of some of
her humanity. Stephan, on the other hand, is entrenched in the quest to be good
(well most of the time at least). Human Elana had an undying love for Stephan.
She grounded him to his humanity. Both brothers offer Elana a different kind of
love.
I too use this contrast throughout my Dueling with the Devil
series. I have Jacque and Xavier, two brothers who are polar opposites when it
comes to good and evil. Jacque, while still a demon, tries his best to do the
right thing. Xavier, raised in the slums of Hell and had to fight for survival,
makes his living as a contract killer, cutting off his emotions except anger
and resentment. Book one and two in the series highlight the story of Jacque
and Angel and Xavier and Bell. These two couples show two very different
approaches to life and love.
Stolen Innocence shows how good and bad can exist in the
same person but how the decisions we make builds us into the person we are.
Damon and Charity both struggle with their family bloodlines. Charity’s family
is cursed and Damon is the son of Lucifer. Both can’t avoid the impact of who
they are and where they come from, but learn they can make a new future.
So, as you think about the bad boys and Boy Scouts in your
real or fictional worlds, which do you prefer and why?
Thanks so much for hanging with me today!
Thanks again Vivi for hanging out with us today!!
All, check out "Stolen Innocence" blurb, an excerpt below and enter the giveaway!
All, check out "Stolen Innocence" blurb, an excerpt below and enter the giveaway!
Stolen Innocence
(Dueling With the Devil #3)
by Vivi Dumas
Blurb:
They say ignorance is bliss, but when it comes to love and mating, Charity Lovell wished someone had schooled her on the ins and outs. She fell hard when she saw the beautiful face of the fair-haired demon as he lay broken in Lucifer’s dungeon. Her body ached for him. Her heart cried for him. This had to be her mate, right? Who else could make her trade her soul to the Devil to save someone she didn’t know? Someone should’ve told her love wasn’t quite as straight forward as that.Damon lived an uncomplicated life, even as the alpha of the Lake Charles pack and the son of Lucifer. He should’ve taken a mate years ago, but held on to the hope of love. Only one female came close to making him believe he still had a chance for happiness. Yet, her heart belonged to someone else. Once again, the feeling is back, stronger than ever. And again, his female has pledged herself to another. Damn demons were ruining his love life. This time Damon plans to fight for what was his and win his rightful mate.
Release Date:
November 11, 2013
Excerpt
"I didn't fucking ask her to serve herself up
for me," Laurent barked at the massive wolf sitting across from him.
"I was passed the fuck out. Haven't even spoken two words to her."
Damon jumped out of his seat, catching the lunging
wolf midair. "I think we all need to calm down."
A feral growl escaped Ty, the Alpha of the New
Orleans pack. He shoved Damon away from him. "This is your fault
Boudreaux. You came to us for help. We trusted you. And you vouched for
them." The wolf jerked his thumb towards Laurent and his friends.
Laurent's sister, Bell, stood with her hand on her
hip, blue eyes ablaze. "That chick was off. She went all Twilight-Wolf on
us. Like she imprinted on Laurent. I told everyone something was wrong with
her."
"We don't imprint!" a pretty she-wolf
growled from the back of the room.
Bell inhaled
to begin another rant, but her brother cut her off.
"Bell, sit down and be quiet," Laurent
grumbled. Bell muttered something under her breath. "You're not helping.
Sit!" Laurent snapped.
Stepping in the middle of the eclectic crowd of
supernaturals, Damon ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat.
"This is no one's fault. Charity is an adult. She made a choice, albeit
stupid, but one she made on her own. She believes Laurent is her mate. When we
rescued him from Lucifer's dungeon, she definitely had some kind of attraction
to him. Wouldn't leave his side. We can't change any of that now. We have to
work together to figure out how to get her back."
"Why the hell would Lucifer trade Laurent's life
for hers?" Tact wasn't Bell's strong suit. This time her fiancé, Xavier,
nudged her lightly, swinging the ice-blue glare in his direction. "What?
It's a valid question."
The five members of the New Orleans pack looked at
Ty, waiting for his response. Them and their damn secrets. Damon shook his
head.
"She's one of the few members left of our
original lineage. Charity's family is the reason there are werewolves. The
females of her line are cursed with the inability to shift until they find their
mates. It keeps their other powers dormant until they find the one they
love." Ty spoke in hushed tones as if Lucifer himself eavesdropped on
their conversation.
The whole room remained silent, allowing the gravity
of the revelation to settle. Damon paced the length of the purple flowered
sofa. The small living room became more constricting. Jacque, a shifter demon
and Xavier's brother, rose from his chair. He strolled over to Damon and Ty.
"How did her family start a species?"
Jacque questioned.
Ty rubbed the back of his neck. "Her
great-great-great-grandmother was promised to Damballa, but she gave herself to
another. As punishment, Damballa cursed us to turn to wolves. He was so enraged
he killed Ariella and then offed himself. It's told Ariella brokered a deal
with Lucifer before she ascended to allow us to maintain our human form except
on the full moon. Later we learned to adapt and shift when we needed. Afraid
that one of the Lovell females would eventually be able to reverse the curse or
become too powerful, Lucifer bound their powers until the found a mate, which
only a few did. It's like one of those fucked up Lifetime movies."
"What kind of powers do Charity's people
have?" Laurent asked.
Ty shrugged. "We don't really know. None of them
has ever used them to my knowledge. That's why it's dormant until they mate. If
or when they find the one they belong with, they focus on their partners and
not their powers. Only one has left the Ward and might have accessed her
powers. We've asked Red to come here today."
"Who names their child Red? Is that like Apple
or North?" Bell stopped laughing when Laurent shot her a menacing glare.
"It's a nickname cause she loves the color red.
Her real name's Simone," one of the females of the New Orleans pack
corrected, rolling her eyes at Bell.
"Someone talking bout me?" A fine, leggy
female in a painted-on red dress walked into the small room followed by two
equally hot females. Red's thick mahogany tresses fell around her face in long
spirals. She crossed the room to Ty and kissed both his cheeks. The other two
women repeated the gesture. "Look like y'all started the party without us.
What's all the commanding my presence about?"
Ty hesitated before answering. "It's about
Charity."
The short honey-toned female crossed her arms.
"What the fuck she do now?"
"Jade, don't start," Red chastised before
turning back to the Alpha. "What she do, Ty?"
Ty laughed nervously. "It's bad this time. She
done turned herself over to Lucifer."
"What the fuck, Ty? You're supposed to keep an
eye on her and call us when she gets out of hand," The female in the
wife-beater and ball cap fussed. Even with the boyish clothes, she couldn't
hide her pretty features.
"Look, that girl's a handful. Dani, you know for
yourself. How many times you had to go find her outside of our territory?"
Ty aged as the conversation continued. Lines cut deeper in his face from worry
and stress.
Damon interrupted to get the conversation back on
tract. "Hi, ladies. We were trying to figure out why Charity would be important
to Lucifer. Ty seem to think the females in your family has some powers that
might attract Luc's attention, but not sure what kind. Do you have any
idea?"
Red scanned the faces in the room with a deliberative
expression. She met the gaze of the two females who arrived with her. The one
they called Dani nodded in encouragement. "We've not spoken of our powers
to anyone outside our family. It has brought nothing but unhappiness to the
women who have used it."
Jade spoke up. "But you know that's why he wants
Charity." Red released a breath she
was holding and plopped into an armchair, covering her face with her hands.
"How bad can it be? It's a freaking power. We
all have them," Bell interjected.
Red lifted her head, her pretty face lined with
worry. "We're necromancers."
The room went dead silent.
About the Author
Vivi pens multicultural paranormal romance, mixing the two genres she loves. Her steamy paranormal romances indulge in worlds inhabited by demons, werewolves, vampires, and other supernatural beings. She has published works with Decadent Publishing, Ravenous Romance, and Breathless Press.
You can find Vivi here:
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