30 Days of Demons, Day 21: One Sweet ARC!
Update: The winner of Jessa Slade’s ARC is…Michele! Congrats, Michele! I’ll email you with prize details. Thanks for all the wonderful comments!
Hi, everyone! You’re in for a serious treat today–one very lucky commenter will win an ARC of Jessa Slade’s October release, SEDUCED BY SHADOWS. I took a look at the cover the other day–and, wow, what a cover. Wait–look. See what I mean?
This looks like one fantastic new series, and I’ m eagerly waiting for the October release! Jessa, welcome to my demon fun!
***
First, let me say Thank You! to Cynthia for letting me play on 30 Days of Demon. This is my first guest posting, very much in advance of the October release date of my first book. And in a paragraph of firsts, I am thrilled to say that my first box of ARCs came in the mail on Friday! So I’d like to give away the first copy to a commenter here today.
Have you ever had one of those days when you wonder, “What on earth possessed me?”
Possibly I’m revealing too much about myself here on Cynthia’s blog, but I have those days faaaar too often. Since I’ve heard that writing is the poor woman’s psychotherapy, perhaps it’s no surprise that my demons get exorcised on the blank page.
In my debut urban fantasy romance, SEDUCED BY SHADOWS, I asked, “What if some demons felt… well, bad about the whole eternal darkness bit? What if they wanted their shot at redemption? What if they possessed certain tragically unlucky humans in a desperate attempt to repent – only to discover that sometimes being good isn’t as easy as a fallen angel might hope?”
It certainly explains some of my less stellar moments. How ’bout yours?
Because while it might be simpler to explain why bad people do bad things, from my earliest days in Sunday school, I wondered why good people do bad things. We curse. We lie. We neglect to tell the people we love how much they mean to us. What possesses us?
My hero, Ferris Archer, has been possessed by a teshuva – a repentant demon – for a very long time. He knows it’s not an excuse for his bad behavior; no, it’s a challenge, to fight harder for what’s left of his demon-mottled soul. But when he meets Sera Littlejohn, the first female possessed, he fears now for his heart. He’ll have to find the courage to embrace the other half of his soul or face a damnation darker than even he can believe.
But contemplating the infinite concepts of good and evil can overwhelm us, whether we’re demon, human or something in between. And while we’re guiltily wondering what possessed us, maybe you’ve had the sneaking suspicion that being bad can be awfully good, as Sera discovers early on in SEDUCED BY SHADOWS:
***
Sera walked into her bedroom, still naked. Damp heat followed her out of the shower in a slowly uncoiling mist. Only the slant of streetlights through the blinds lit the room, casting deep purple shadows. And he was there, a lean, dark outline with his black trench coat buttoned tight. Spicy musk teased her senses.
She blinked. “I’m dreaming. That’s why I’m wandering around my apartment naked. I never wander around naked.”
“Not wandering. You were coming. For me.” He stood unmoving, but the trailing edge of his long coat shifted in a draft she didn’t feel. “I will make it a sweet dream.”
She touched her forehead, in lieu of pinching herself and drawing his attention to her naked parts. Dripping strands of her hair tangled around her wrist. “I don’t need a wet dream tonight. Go away.”
He moved closer. “You called. You’ve called forever.”
“I don’t even know you… ” She trailed off when he raised a hand to brush back her hair. He had the square, blunt hands of a working man, but his thumb feathered across her temple, almost too lightly to feel. The touch sent ripples of shivery sensation through her body like a pebble in still water.
It was just a dream, she reminded herself.
“So lonely,” he murmured. “So lost.”
“I’m sorry for you, really. But I can’t help you.”
“You’re the only one who can. But I meant you, my love.” He stroked the back of his knuckles along her cheek. “You’ve been alone so long, so long afraid, close to giving in, calling all the while.”
“I’m not . . . I am not your love.” She pulled away.
“I’ve breathed your soul. Whom else can I love?”
“You haven’t breathed on anything of mine.” Her skin prickled at the thought—a pleasure she hadn’t indulged in in a long time.
From behind, his hands slid over her shoulders, down her arms, then skipped to her bare hips.
That made her shy away as nothing else had. “Don’t touch me.” Not there. The unspoken words echoed in her head.
He held his hands framing the scars. The long shadows of his fingers hid the red and white puckers of stitched flesh. “I will make you whole again, as if you’d never been broken, nothing left behind.”
Speaking of dreams, everyone said she was dreaming when she’d promised herself the same after her accident. “What, you’re a physical therapist?”
“Quite the opposite.”
While she pondered what that might be—as if the riddles in dreams even mattered—he eased her back against him. The leather of his coat was cool on her backside and shoulders. Her thoughts scattered.
“I will take away your loneliness, your fear,” he said.
“I’m not afraid.” And, stupidly enough, that was true.
He whispered into her hair, “You will be.”
***
So what do you think? Is the lure of the darkside too strong to resist? As the real-life drama in Tehran plays out, do you wonder if there are times when being ‘bad’ is heroic?
Thanks for reading! You can find Jessa at:
June 21st, 2009 at 8:24 am
This book sounds really good, and I really can’t wait to read it. The cover is fantastic (aka really hot!!).
June 21st, 2009 at 8:26 am
Being “bad” is often doing what other people don’t want you to do — thus I’m all for it! Sounds like a terrific book Jessa!
June 21st, 2009 at 8:26 am
Sounds good Jessa! I’m looking forward to finding it on the shelves this fall…unless I’m lucky enough to win an ARC here! LOL!
June 21st, 2009 at 8:33 am
Delicious cover! And I just added your series to my must read list.
June 21st, 2009 at 8:46 am
Welcome, Ms Slade!
The premise of the series sounds delicious, I would certainly want to see how you carry it off. And huge congrats on having your box of shiny ARCs already
such a cool moment, hmm?
June 21st, 2009 at 8:52 am
Great cover1 and the blurb is such a tantalizing taste! Sounds like it is going to be a great book! Congrats! :o)Tamsyn
June 21st, 2009 at 8:55 am
Oh there is not anything wrong with being bad sometimes!! lol Love the cover on this book it is HOT!!
June 21st, 2009 at 8:57 am
Great excerpt,I can’t wait to read the whole book now.Crossing my fingers that i win..If not I’ve mark the release date down.I love the cover too.
June 21st, 2009 at 8:58 am
If I was Sera, the darkside would’ve definitely had me leaning towards crossing over when he said “I will make you whole again, as if you’d never been broken, nothing left behind.” Now, I need to find out what happens!
Congrats on your first book! I’m looking forward to reading Seduced by Shadows. Super enjoyed the excerpt, it just whetted the appetite to read more.
June 21st, 2009 at 9:07 am
Whoa. Sexy cover!
June 21st, 2009 at 9:25 am
Great cover! I liked the blurb, can’t wait to read the rest of it
June 21st, 2009 at 9:48 am
This blurb has me totally hooked! I agree that the cover is awesome!
June 21st, 2009 at 9:54 am
Awesome excerpt, Jessa! Ferris sounds HOT!
Count me out of the ARC giveaway–I’ll be buying a copy the minute it hits the stores!
June 21st, 2009 at 9:57 am
The cover and the blurb have got me wanting more. Can’t wait for the release. Come on Oct. Dark is always better than light. I love taking a walk on the dark side. Have a great day.
June 21st, 2009 at 9:57 am
I love the cover and I will definitely have to check this book out. It sounds very interesting.
June 21st, 2009 at 9:58 am
I have to admit, I keep print-outs of the cover posted strategically around the house for inspiration
I was always the good girl in real life, so playing with the concepts of good and evil and all the gradation in between has been fascinating. How much easier for the angels and demons themselves to see everything in black and white!
June 21st, 2009 at 10:08 am
Wow this book sounds awesome and what a gorgeous cover! I hadn’t heard of this one yet. Please enter me!
June 21st, 2009 at 10:23 am
What an intriguing excerpt and cool cover! Can’t wait to give it a try…
June 21st, 2009 at 10:34 am
I love the excerpt! Awesome writing and very atmospheric. Terrific premise, too. No wonder demons are the new vamps.
June 21st, 2009 at 10:41 am
Looks great!
June 21st, 2009 at 10:55 am
Sounds good! Also, what a *cough* pretty cover.
Yep, I’ve definitely had “What on earth possessed me?” days.
June 21st, 2009 at 11:10 am
Can’t wait to read the first book in the Marked Souls series. Sometimes being bad can be heroic.
June 21st, 2009 at 11:31 am
Great excerpt! The idea behind the book definitely raises a lot of questions. Perhaps there are times when being bad is heroic and done for the right reasons. In this world, it seems those gray areas are necessary on occasion.
As for days, or actions, that have me asking myself ‘what on earth possessed me?’, I definitely have those. Usually more often than I like. lol
June 21st, 2009 at 11:39 am
whoo hoo! lovin’ that bookcover!
June 21st, 2009 at 12:00 pm
That cover is fantastic! And after reading the excerpt my first impression was MORE PLEASE! *G* Can’t wait for October.
June 21st, 2009 at 12:04 pm
The cover is hott! The story also sounds really good. I can’t wait to get and read this book!!!
June 21st, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Wow. What a great excerpt. Can’t wait to get the book. Congrats on the upcoming release. And you have a great cover.
beth@bethcaudill.net
June 21st, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Wowsa…..hot,wet dream. I loved the excerpt. And the cover is really hot. Can’t wait for the book and congratualtions on the release.
June 21st, 2009 at 12:20 pm
I’m looking forward to this series to add to my TBR list!
June 21st, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Welcome Jessa!
Wow that cover is hot and what a great excerpt.
Love the blurb and congrats on the upcoming release!
June 21st, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Going to the darkside must be an easy thing or we wouldn’t need so many prisons. But thank heavens for our romance novels where bad can sometimes be really good.
June 21st, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Like those before me have said “great cover”.
What an original idea for a book and series. I can’t wait to read it!!!
June 21st, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Wow, what a fantastic book! Just saying “hey” - Congrats, girl! ~doing the hip kadoodle~
June 21st, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Wow! Hot cover. Rippling abs. Nice excerpt.
June 21st, 2009 at 12:55 pm
My editor told me last week that the second book in the series was going to cover conference and that we’d be reprising the “bold hero” theme. So summoning my inner lolcat, I said “moar pleez.”
June 21st, 2009 at 1:03 pm
wow, this book looks like a scorcher!
June 21st, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Hi Jessa,
Whooo hooo congrats on getting your ARC and this wonderful story published. I can’t wait to see it on the shelves…with the fabulous cover.
June 21st, 2009 at 1:19 pm
thats a “hot” cover, great excerpt, can’t wait to read the book
June 21st, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Cool…another chance to tell you how great this is and how excited I am for you! You already know I think the cover is hot and the story WAY intriguing — I would love to have an advance read of this (Pepto Pink Cover and all!).
June 21st, 2009 at 1:32 pm
the cover is so hot i cant wait to read this book i guess it comes down to no matter what you doing the right thing might not always be the right thing and doing the bad thing might not always be the bad thing
June 21st, 2009 at 2:02 pm
wow. I love that excerpt. It grabs you by the throat and sucks you in. Now I am dying to read this when it comes out in October. I love the cover.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:11 pm
It sounds great
As for the question, hard to say, it all depends on the kind of bad. When you stand up for something then yes
June 21st, 2009 at 3:16 pm
I am a big believer in shades of gray, that a bit of good and evil is in all of us. Wonderful writing Jessa, I can’t wait to read it.
June 21st, 2009 at 4:03 pm
wow, this sounds great, I’m putting it on my TBR.
LOVE the cover, and the snippet rocks!!
Congrats….and am wondering if you’re on to something about writing being the poor woman’s psychotherapy?? If so, I really need to get writing, lol.
June 21st, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Congratulations on your debut!!! Went to your website and saw that you put the first chapter of SEDUCED BY SHADOWS, totally have me hooked, would love to win a copy
I have to ask, how many are you thinking will be in this series?
June 21st, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Love the premise. Great cover. After that excerpt, I can’t wait for it to come out in October.
June 21st, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Michele, I wrote SBS as a stand-alone. Then my amazing editor said she wanted to buy it and asked how many more I had in mind. And the word “nine” popped out of me
Erk. I spent a three-day weekend pacing my patio, furiously brainstorming, and gorging from my bucket o’ cookie dough, and at the end had three interlocking trilogies, each of the nine books with its own hero and heroine and its own internal plot. I have NEVER channeled a story arc like that. It was thrilling. I wish I could write books as easily!
The challenge I made to myself was to create stories strong enough to stand alone yet enhance each other. I aspire to books like Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series or Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress which I started mid-series… and then had to go snatch up the rest
Will I get to write all nine? Only the publishing gods know. But that’s my dream. Thanks for letting me share the first step with you!
June 21st, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Dang! That cover is hot hot!! I’m gonna put this book on my to buy list because this sounds like something I’d really like to read
June 21st, 2009 at 5:53 pm
wow that is a nice cover and yeah sometimes being bad can be heroic. Depends on what you are being bad for.
June 21st, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Sounds like a winner of a book.
June 21st, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Yay! What a rockin’ cover! Opening a box of those babies must have been a hoot! Get ready in October to start stalking the NYT list…
Annie Melton:-)
June 21st, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Being bad can be heroic at times. I mean standing up for what you believe in is not always done in the best of ways or the easiest either. Sometimes you need to let that bad side of yourself out to get the job done right?
Love the excerpt!!! I so wait to read this one. October cannot get here quick enough for me.
LadyVampire2u(AT)gmail(DOT)com
June 21st, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Oh wow! does your book sound good. I’ve added your title to my wish list and I’m sure it will be at the bookstores in October so I’ll keep checking.
Thanks for the contest and the chance to win an ARC.
June 21st, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Hi Jessa,
Sounds really intriguing. Love the cover! The exerpt was smokin! Can’t wait to see it in stores. Thanks so much for the contest.
denlsn@msn.com
June 21st, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Come to the Darkside! We HAVE cookies!!!
I’m loving that color. very nice!
June 21st, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Hi, Jessa, sounds like a good read. I know you’re over the moon here. Thanks.
June 21st, 2009 at 7:51 pm
This sound terrific, I can’t wait to read it. October seems so far away.
June 21st, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Sounds great and I love the cover!
June 21st, 2009 at 8:18 pm
I love the cover. The blurb sounds great.
June 21st, 2009 at 8:51 pm
OMG! What an amazing excerpt, and congrats on the fantastic cover. I agree with Virginia sometimes you just have to say ” Come to the darkside! ” Hope you all had a great Sunday and to all fathers, Happy Father’s Day!
June 21st, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Hi Jessa! Gosh I’ve been so excited about this book since I heard about it!! I want it to be out NOW, LOL. You’ll lure me to the darkside with this book too
I think the lure is the almost a wish to want things challenging, to want to experience too, just so you know your answer to ‘what if’. I’ve challenged myself in the past and I’ve learned from some!
cathiecaffey(at)gmail(dot)com
June 21st, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Great cover and blurb. Sometimes you have to be a little bad in order to set things right.
June 21st, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Love that cover. Hey Jessa.
Great excerpt too!
June 21st, 2009 at 11:38 pm
> Come to the Darkside! We HAVE cookies!!!
Virginia, I’m assuming those would be double dark chocolate cookies, yes? And how nice that the dark is good for your heart. Romance knew it all along.
June 21st, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Fantastic cover and loved the excerpt. Thanks for sharing!!
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:38 am
Wow, Jessa, can’t wait for the book to hit the shelves.
So proud of you!!!
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:50 am
Hi Jessa~
This sounds really interesting and I love the cover. I am looking forward to reading it.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:33 pm
awesome cover!
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Jessa, thanks for sharing today–I’m definitely looking for your new one! The darkness you paint definitely seems hard to resist!
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Thanks for stopping by. The book sounds very interesting and I can’t wait to see where the 9 story arc you came up with goes. The cover is HOT by the way.
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:52 pm
This sounds like an awesome book!! This is definately on my list to look for (of course, that’s if I don’t win this copy!).
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Great excerpt and the cover is so hot…wow! Am looking forward to reading the book…sounds very exciting.
Thanks for the post and congratulations.
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Jessa!!!!!! I can’t believe the book is finally here. Ever since you won the GH with this manuscript, I’ve been dying to read what your twisted mind concocted.
In spite of the fact this is a romance and a demon story, I really appreciate that you ask some tough questions. Is being bad every heroic? I just watched Valkyrie last night with Tom Cruise. Stafford is a hero in many ways, but he was certainly bad for his time–he went against his oath to the German military.
In terms of being overwhelmed by the ability to do evil–it reminds me of a class I took once with a Jesuit priest. The class was about depth psychology and the exploration of ourselves and our own ability to do true evil (even the best of us) or at least to allow evil to be pervasive by doing nothing. It was both fascinating and horribly frightening to face myself and know I have the ability to be both saint and satan. I think that’s why redemption stories are so powerful to all of us.
I can’t wait to read Seduced by Shadows!
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:59 pm
I want an ARC!!! Am I too late to be in the winner circle??? I can’t wait until OCTOBER!!
I want and ARC!!! I want an ARC!!!
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:52 am
Lately I’ve been reading lots of urban fantasy and would surely love to read this one. The cover is one of the hottest this year!
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:21 am
Well, the difference between good and bad isn’t always so clear but depends on who you ask. One person’s “good” is another’s “bad” and vice versa. Even ethics and laws don’t always go hand in hand.
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I want that ARC - if I don’t win it I WANT that book
*maybe a few hints before my birthday will get the kids on the right line lol*
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I just heard an interview on NPR with a guy reviewing the “shock a co-worker” experiments done in the 1970s where unsuspecting test subjects were told to give a “shock” to another subject (secretly in cahoots with the experimenters). The majority shocked away, despite screaming, pleading and, eventually, terrible silence. Oops.
We’re all ridden by demons. Knowing that is half the battle. Okay, maybe only a quarter, but still
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:51 pm
wow that cover its self is hot the story sounds just as awesome cant wait to read
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Being bad can definitely be heroic. Sometimes that is what is needed to get the job done!
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:38 pm
When will the winner of the ARC be announced? Just wondering, the suspense is killing me!
June 24th, 2009 at 1:43 am
You’re not the only one Leslee!
June 25th, 2009 at 12:07 am
Congrats, Michele!
June 25th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Way to go, Michele! Thank you, Ms Slade.