Have you ever wanted to take the world of Forged Bloodlines out for a spin? Write yourself in there as an original character? Kill off characters you hate? Decide who Anja belongs with once and for all? Now’s your chance! I’m holding a fan fiction contest for the Forged Bloodlines series. I would like to offer prizes in multiple categories (such as most romantic, best action, snappiest dialogue, most true to character, steamiest…), but we’ll see how many entries we get. There is no minimum length and any rating is accepted.

What do you get if you win? A signed copy of Release Me When the Sun Goes Down (or you can substitute one of my others if you prefer), a $10 Amazon gift card and your choice of some Forged Bloodlines swag that’s currently only available to my Streetbots team. Anyone who enters must give me permission to post the winning entries on my blog, but I will give you full credit. It’d be extra awesome if you decide to post it on fanfiction.net or mibba or one of the other fan fiction hubs.

This contest will run through April 30th, so you’ve got time to put something together be it a one-shot or a multi-chapter epic saga. You can set your story at any point in the Forged Bloodlines timeline, even in the future or the past and use any characters as you will. To enter, contact me through the website or through facebook pm and we’ll chat about how to submit.

What do you guys think? Is that deadline doable? I’m flexible here, so sing out if you have any questions.

We finally got Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down out in print! So, for all you out there who prefer to hold the physical book in your hands (and it is pretty!), you can buy it on Amazon.com here.

In other news, The next book in the series, Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down is coming along very well, just crested the 81K mark and there’s still quite a bit of excitement to get to. Also, I finally broke down and started an author page on Facebook, you can find it here for updates on book stuff and some fun giveaways in the future.

Hi Guys! I am off and running with Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down, but I thought you might like a little taste of Miss Me for those of you who haven’t picked it up yet. This takes place at Anja’s parents’ place for Thanksgiving Dinner.

The whole time I descended the stairs I recited a feverish plea to the gods to let it be someone else standing on the other side of the door, but there Jakob stood, larger than life, dressed in an elegant gray suit and topcoat. “What are you doing here?” I hissed, stepping out beside him and pulling the door closed behind me.

“I’m embracing human customs. Isn’t that what you asked for?” he beamed, too pleased with himself for his own good. “You look lovely as always, petal.”

“I didn’t mean here! Those are my parents inside.”

“Exactly the reason I’ve come. I know my duty.”

“Your duty?” Why did that make the hairs on the back of my head stand at attention? What was he up to?

“Anja?” My father pulled the door out of my hand, his eyes settling expectantly on me with his best what the heck is going on look.

“Daddy, this is Jake. He’s my, um…”

“Lover,” Jake supplied glibly, an easy smile on his face as if he’d remarked upon the weather.

I stared at him stupidly, sputtering on the inside before I could make the words tumble out. “I am not! We’ve never… Daddy, I swear he’s not my…” I couldn’t even say the word.

“We haven’t shared certain physical intimacies, but make no mistake, I intend to make you mine in all ways.” The man had no shame in such a public declaration in front of my father, of all people.

Oh no… I wanted to crawl into a hole and pull the dirt in after me when I saw the bulge of my father’s eyes. “Daddy, I…”

“All is well, petal. Your father is a man of the world, he understands such things well enough,” Jakob declared confidently, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’ve brought surety so there will be no doubt my intentions are honorable.”

The mind boggled.

“Perhaps we’d better bring this inside.” My father suggested after an uncomfortable silence, turning to go up the stairs to the main living area.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Jakob snapped his fingers, and Gunnar and Isak appeared at the end of the walk, arms laden with packages.

“What is that stuff?” I whispered.

“Is it not customary to bring gifts?”

“That’s Christmas, not Thanksgiving.”

“Ah, forgive me the blunder. I mean to pay my respects to your family.”

Unable to go inside, my bodyguards deposited their bundles on the front porch, and Jakob ferried them in, not allowing me to carry a single thing. I went back upstairs, not having to enter the kitchen to hear the whispered conversation between my parents as my dad brought Mom up to speed on the late addition to dinner.

Thankfully, Jakob refrained from using the L word again during the introductions that followed. I hadn’t brought anyone home with me for the holidays since Trent, and they’d loved him to pieces. But I could tell he’d already won my mother over, and I was pretty sure he hadn’t even had to put the whammy on her. All it took was a case of expensive merlot and a compliment to her hairdo.

“Let’s sit down, shall we?” she suggested, touching her hair almost girlishly. “We don’t want the food to grow cold.”

You know how in vampire movies, the newly turned vamp can’t get enough raw meat when he’s going through the transition? I couldn’t stomach the stuff. Meat – cooked or otherwise – made me gag, but I could still appreciate simple starches. I took the smallest piece of turkey and focused on the mashed potatoes and stuffing, leaving off the gravy made with turkey drippings. Not that I’d eat a whole ton of those sides either, but I could at least make a small dent in my plate.

My father bristled when Jakob took his place at the head of the table, but he didn’t say anything as he took a seat beside my mom. There was general small talk as the meal was served, and I relaxed, trying to find the normalcy in the holiday. If I could just keep Jakob from saying anything boneheaded…

“So… Jake,” my father began once his plate was loaded up. “You said something before about intentions.”

“Indeed,” Jakob replied, draining his glass and pouring another of the merlot. I could begin to see why he’d brought an entire case of wine. His plate was completely covered with food, and as he had on our date, he ate with gusto, already putting away nearly half of it by the time we’d barely started. He wiped his fingers on the cloth napkin in his lap, drawing a sealed envelope from his jacket pocket. “I humbly ask permission to court your lovely daughter, and offer this as a token of my worthiness.”

“Isn’t that nice,” Mom beamed, accepting the envelope and handing it to my father.

“What is that?” I leaned close to Jakob, whispering in his ear, but he only winked, watching for my father’s reaction.

Daddy’s eyes widened as unfolded the sheaf of papers inside. “This is… this is generous indeed, but… hardly necessary to date my daughter.”

“I merely wish to show you I can care for her in a manner which befits her.”

“What is it, Daddy?”

“It’s the deed to this house. Our mortgage has been bought from the bank and paid in full.”

“Oh my…” Mom gasped, and I was right there with her, only with a few choice words in Chinese running through my head. Was he for real? He’d bought out their mortgage as an ice breaker?

“I can’t accept this.” He folded the deed back up and held it out, but Jakob put his hands up.

“There is nothing for you to accept. The debt is paid, there is nothing for you to do but enjoy the peace of mind that comes from land ownership.”

“It’s too much…”

“Too much would have been showing up at your door with a string of goats or a team of oxen.” Jakob’s smile was bright and this time my father matched it.

“And a lot harder on the hedges.” They all chuckled over that and I could tell he’d managed to completely win them over with a single grand gesture.

“What, so you’re going to sell me off?” I demanded, disgusted that my own father could be so easily bought. Where had all his high morals run off to?

“Anja, really.” My mother colored slightly, reaching for her glass of wine. “There’s no need to be so dramatic. You’re ruining his largesse.”

They wanted dramatic? I’d give them a show stopper. Jakob wanted to experience human traditions – a holiday blow-up was right on the menu. “I’m sorry, I’m just having trouble accepting the fact that you’re happy to trade me off to the highest bidder. If I’d known that was all it took to gain your approval, I would’ve raffled off my virginity years ago to pay for Daddy’s car.”

“Anja, that’s enough!” my father thundered, and it was enough to make my mouth snap shut with an audible click before I remembered I wasn’t his little girl anymore.

“Oh stop, you lost the claim to righteous indignation when you accepted that bribe,” I snorted, doing my best to ignore his spluttering apoplexy as I turned to Jakob. “I don’t know what you thought you were doing with this stunt, but this isn’t the way to win my heart. I’m not chucking it all and leaving with you because you set my parents up for a cushy retirement. I’m sorry if that hurts you, but you don’t have the right to run roughshod over my life like this. You can’t trade me to my father for a herd of goats and a cow. I thought you would have learned that by now.”

Jakob leaned forward, an unrepentant tilt to his lips. “Clearly you’re worth far more, as I’ve already demonstrated.”

“That’s really not the point.”

Wake Me When the Sun Goes Down
Find Me When the Sun Goes Down

Anja Evans: Teresa Palmer – So I hadn’t cast a female lead as a blonde before, but since it went with the Viking ancestry link for this series, I decided to try something new. I like Teresa Palmer because she can play innocence well, but you get the feeling like she could seriously kick a little ass once she comes into her own. (see her with a shotgun in Warm Bodies)

Jakob: Alexander Skaarsgard – Okay, so I’m typecasting a little here, but who else can you picture as a Viking with flowing blonde hair? Well, maybe the guy from Thor, but he was the wrong type for this role, knowing what’s coming ahead. I couldn’t find a good picture of him with long hair that didn’t look kinda derpy though.

Rob: Jason Statham – Rob is a character I borrowed from my True Blood fanfic, and I pictured him as Handsome Rob from The Italian Job at the time and the name just stuck. He looks like he could hold his own against a vampire and I just love his voice with the accent.



Leila: Summer Glau – Okay, remember on Firefly in The Shindig when Badger held most of the crew of Serenity in the cargo hold while they waited for Mal to finish his business (duel) on Persephone and River came out and greeted him with a passable version of his own accent? That’s the voice I heard in my head when I wrote Rob’s sister, Leila.

Gunnar (left) and Isak (right) – When I started to think about two bodyguards who were close in height and size and physical characteristics, these two guys from Dude Where’s My Car popped into my head and sorta stuck there.

Terry Byrne: Jeremy Piven – Let me just start out by saying I love me some Jeremy Piven. I think he’s funny and he’s got a great smile. But when I needed a mental image for the slimy politician he just slid in there and embodied the role in my mind.



Jenessa: Rosamund Pike – She’s so classically beautiful, I can see why a vampire would turn her. Love her accent, and it’s easy to see her getting along with both Anja and Bishop, trying to become a peacemaker between them.




Marcus: Chris Pine – I started off with a completely different actor in mind to play the charismatic candidate for Elder of the West, but as soon as he started talking, Chris Pine edged him out.




Frost: Joe Flanigan – I wanted someone who could play the laid back type in tactical gear, a contrast to Bishop’s tightly wound devotion and Mason’s gung ho attitude to the Order





We’ll have a bunch of new characters in the next one (hopefully not so many it becomes confusing) so the dreamcasting for Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down should be fun.

I’m thinking of doing a Q&A for Anja’s world. So start thinking up any behind the scenes type questions you might have for me. I might even give up some spoilers.

My new book is out! Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down is now available for sale on Amazon and Barnes and Noble! It’s out as an e-book for $3.99 but you don’t have to have a Kindle or Nook to read it, they have free downloadable apps so you can read it on your PC, or even your phone. It’ll be available in print as well in a few weeks through Amazon. I’m super excited about this one, I can’t wait for you all to read about what Anja gets herself mixed up in now. Here is a little taste to whet your appetite starting with Anja, Ellie and Maggie while Anja’s getting ready for a date with Jakob:

“Your ex is mad sexy,” Ellie commented from her perch on the bathroom counter top, legs swinging as she pawed through my make-up case.

“I’ll be sure to tell him you thought so, that ought to make him happy,” I replied, trying and failing to get my hair to cooperate with the sophisticated updo I’d seen in a magazine ad.

“Here, let me help you,” Maggie offered, her nimble fingers combing through my blonde hair. “He is very dishy at that,” she ventured shyly. “Where did you meet him?”

“He um… sort of popped into my life unexpectedly, not long after I got to San Francisco.”

Maggie sighed, fingers twisting and pulling at my head so that I couldn’t see what she was doing. “And was it love at first sight?”

“Not even close. In fact, I think I remember yelling at him the first time we spoke.”

“Ooh, hot blooded.” Ellie waggled her brows at me, snapping her gum around a grin. “Lust at first sight then?”

“Maybe, a little.” It was definitely more of a lust connection with Jakob. Then again, I didn’t know him as well as I thought I’d known Bishop.

“You sure can pick ‘em,” Ellie continued, no boundary to her comments. “I thought Bishop was a right go’er, but I’d take a ride with this one m’self. Oh look, she’s gone scarlet!” she laughed, and I did my best not to let her get to me.

“Leave her be, Ellie,” Maggie chided her lightly. “Anja’s not one to kiss and tell.”

I caught Maggie’s eye in the mirror, giving her a short nod of thanks.

“What is he then?” Ellie asked, unrepentant.

I blinked, not understanding the question. “What do you mean?”

“He’s not a vampire, your beau.”

“No, not exactly.” It occurred to me that we’d talked about the origin of the Ellri back in England, and I hoped she hadn’t put two and two together.

“But he’s not human either.”

“No, definitely not a human,” I allowed, taking control of the conversation. “He’s… something else. Something dangerous, so watch what you say around him. In fact, maybe don’t talk to him a whole lot, okay?”

“Fine. I’ll lower my eyes and stand aside when he gets here then, shall I?” She hopped off the counter, bowing and scraping her way to the door.

“Good plan,” I teased, lobbing a foam curler in her direction, the motion making my head jot the other way.

“Careful!” Maggie exclaimed as her fingers tangled in my hair.

“Oh, sorry,” I grimaced, trying to hold still.

“No need to apologize to me, it’s your hair that got pulled,” she clucked, hands busy again. “He obviously cares for you a great deal if he came all this way as soon as he heard you’d split with Bishop,” she ventured.

“That’s sort of the problem. He’s always been so… intense about his feelings for me.”

“And you don’t feel the same?”

“I don’t know what I feel right now,” I admitted freely. “I’m all jumbled up inside between the way things ended with Bishop and coming home. I can’t help but feel like I’m not ready to start something with Jake yet.”

“Then why are you going out with him?”

“Good question.” I met her gaze in the mirror. On some level I must have wanted to see him again because I could have just as easily sent him on his way. “I don’t know. Does that make me a bad person?”

“I don’t think you’re a bad person at all,” she smiled warmly. “Everybody deserves a spot of happiness, especially you.”

“What if I’m leading him on? What if I can never be happy with him? What if Bishop’s the only man I’ll ever love and he’s gone forever?”

“Forever would be a very long time if you truly believed that.”

I couldn’t live my life for forever, it was too depressing. “There is no forever,” I murmured, remembering something Carter had said to me once. The hunter had the right of it, immortality didn’t automatically mean longevity for any of us. “There’s only today… and today I choose to go out with Jake.” Maybe I hadn’t given him enough of a chance before. I did feel a connection to him. Maybe I owed myself a shot to see if it turned into something deeper?

“There, all finished,” Maggie reported, stepping back so I could get a good look at my hair in the mirror. “Pretty as a picture.” She smiled in approval of her own handiwork. She’d rolled the hair back from my brow and gathered it high on the crown of my head, twisting it into a series of coils that looped around to hang off the back in elegant curls secured with jeweled pins.

“Wow, that is fancy.” I turned my head to get a better look at it. “Where’d you learn to do that?”

“I had all too much leisure time in my stay at Vetis,” she said, wrinkling her nose with distaste.

“Remind me to have you do my hair all the time,” I smiled, pleased with the effect. It made me look far more put together than the hairstyle I’d failed at. “Now I just need to get dressed, and I should have plenty of time to take Ellie out.”

Speak of the devil, Ellie popped her head into the bathroom. “Pull your socks up, he’s here.”

“What? He’s not supposed to be here for more than an hour!” I hissed, my stomach clenching into a hard knot.

“Tell that to him. He’s sprawled on the couch like he owns the place,” she muttered, less than impressed.

Frak! “He’ll just have to wait, right? He’s the one that’s here so early. I’ll go tell him to come back later or park it for a while.” Despite the fact that I didn’t expect him to so much as peek into the bathroom, I swept the rest of the hairpins into the top drawer, throwing my hairbrush in after it.

Jakob clambered to his feet the second I came into view. “Very lovely indeed. Though I can’t say it goes with the ensemble.” His eyes raked over my fuzzy Hello Kitty pajama bottoms and my slipper socks.

“Well, if you’d gotten here on time, you wouldn’t have had to see the chrysalis stage,” I retorted. “You’re awfully early tonight, aren’t you, Jake? Is something wrong?” I gave him a pointed look; everyone else in the room hung on our every word.

“Not at all, I simply couldn’t wait to see you, petal. Go and put on a frock, I’ll wait.”

“Oh, so you do want us all to go out together tonight? Suit yourself,” I shrugged. “Ellie, go get your shoes on, you’re coming with us.”

“Bangarang!” she crowed, zipping around the corner to her bedroom so quickly, she careened into the wall. “I’ll be ready in two shakes,” she called out.

“I thought…” Jakob’s brows knit together. “You said you would be all mine tonight.”

“And you said you’d be here at eight,” I pointed out. “I told you I have responsibilities, and Ellie is one of them. I need to take her out hunting.”

“Surely one of these will suffice as a chaperone for the child.”

“We will go where Miss Gudrun goes.” Gunnar broke his silence, and Isak nodded beside him.

“That won’t be necessary,” Jakob smiled expansively.

“It’s alright, guys. You know how when Rob’s around, you don’t have to stick to me like glue? Well, he’s all the protection I need. I’ll be perfectly safe with Jake.”

“But who will keep you safe from him?” Gunnar scowled.

I half expected Jakob to get angry at the open defiance, but instead he chuckled in amusement. “I can see you are dedicated to your profession, and I commend you in this. I can assure you, it won’t be necessary.” The guys bristled for a half a second, and then I saw the change come over them as Jakob’s will took hold of them.

“Look who’s all high and mighty. Alls he’s missing is a shiny hat.” Ellie gave a disgruntled snort, one boot in hand as she hobbled out of the bedroom.

“You will not speak so to your betters,” Jakob growled, shifting his focus to the girl. “In fact, you will not speak to me unless spoken to.”

Ellie’s gaze grew unfocused, her mouth slack.

“Jakob…” I sucked in a breath. “You don’t have to do this, they can be trusted.”

“Experience has proven otherwise,” he replied with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You will defer to me in all things, and you will not speak of my presence to anyone outside this household.” His gaze swung to include Maggie who hovered by the doorway to the kitchen. “Do you understand?”

“Understand,” Maggie murmured, her head nodding in time to Gunnar and Isak’s reactions. Ellie remained mute, her lips pressed together into a thin line.

“Good. Now that is settled, go and put on a pretty frock.”

His high handedness didn’t sit well with me, but since I didn’t feel like being compelled to do what he wanted, I gave him a short nod. Instead of going straight to change, I stopped before Gunnar. “Can you please take Ellie out to feed tonight? She’s still very new to this, so don’t let her kill anyone.”

“Of course,” Gunnar nodded, and Isak grunted at his side.

“What shall I do?” Maggie asked, her hands twisting nervously on the hem of her sleeve.

“Whatever you want. Watch TV, go to a movie, go shopping… sleep. You don’t have to keep nocturnal hours anymore. You’re free to come and go as you please.” I offered her my most comforting smile, hating the uncertainty coming off of her in waves. Just when she’d started to come out of her shell, all it took was one conversation with Jakob to rattle her right back into it.

“There is something I’d like to go see at the cinema…” she ventured, and I saw Ellie’s eyes bulge wider. She obviously wanted to go too, but either couldn’t or wouldn’t speak in front of Jakob again.

“I’ll go get changed then and get out of your hair so you guys can make plans.” I squeezed her shoulder before turning back to Jakob with a last look. “You, be nice,” I warned, ignoring the innocent who me expression that leapt to his face.

Thanks to everyone who voted, it was a really close race! Counting the four offline votes we got, the cover on the right narrowly edged out to become the winner. Random selection (don’t you just love online dice rollers?) picked Seleana as the winner for the free book and she’ll get to choose between an ebook copy and a signed print copy of Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down.

I am done with edits as of this morning, so it’ll be out very soon, just waiting on James to work his magic with some final tweaks on formatting for Kindle and Nook.
Stay tuned for a sneak peek.

Also, Nine Steps to Sara is a freebie today through Wednesday on Amazon here. This will be the last time you can snap this one up for free for the foreseeable future, so pick up a copy today, or if you’ve already read and enjoyed it, tell a friend!

Hey guys. James, in a stroke of geniosity, has proposed an alternate cover for Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down. Since we haven’t had a giveaway in a while, I thought we’d put it to a vote. Simply weigh in with your opinion in the comments section and it automatically enters you in a drawing for a free copy of the new book. I’ll leave it up to you whether you’d prefer to have the ebook copy (which will be ready a lot faster) or a signed print copy (which will be a lot prettier).

So, let’s hear it – which cover do you prefer? The one on the left or the one on the right?

Here is the cover for Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down that James has been working on. I love how lonely and gray it is, sort of fitting with Anja’s mood. And here is the blurb I’ve been working on for the fourth book in the Forged Bloodlines Series.

Little old me, Anja Evans – art college drop out, relative newbie in vampire society and newly single without Bishop by my side – the new Jarl of the Northwest? Great googly moogly… how did I get myself into these things?

There are new responsibilities for Anja to live up to as well as her growing entourage of friends crowding her out of house and home. With the news that Bishop is out of the picture, Jakob is back, his patience growing thin as he waits for Anja to put aside her petty distractions and take her place by his side. But Anja doesn’t want to spend her life as an ornament, she’s resolved to bring a sense of humanity back to the vampire community. With her newfound abilities (and a few well placed allies), the Order doesn’t stand a chance against Anja and her determination to provide Sanctuary to any vampire that needs it. But the dangers in Anja’s life might come from within the walls she’s built to keep herself safe.

So far I’m about 36,000 words into it, and all I can say is, Anja’s life is sort of spinning out of control right about now. Hopefully she’ll learn to swim before the sharks start to circle!

In semi-related news, I’m giving away free copies of Wake Me When the Sun Goes Down on Amazon for today and tomorrow. So, if you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, now you can pick it up for free. And if you enjoyed it, please tell a friend.

Off for a quick bite to eat and then it’s back to Anja and company. I think it’s just about time for Jakob to stick his nose into her business again.

Soon to come
- dream casting for The Company of Shadows
- an excerpt from Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down
- possibly a character interview… who would you guys like to hear from?