I don’t gamble. I like as close to a sure thing as I can get before I invest. That goes for my money, my time, my fashion choices (such as they are!) and my reading material. These days when said time and cash are sparse, I’ll devote my reading time to authors I know and topics I enjoy. But every once in a while, I’ll be lured out to try something new – a genre, a debut author, and sometimes, a new hair color. And I don’t regret it.
The re-issue/re-packaging of my Touch of Midnight vampire romance series is the best kind of gamble – a new look with a proven book. The nine titles are being re-vamped (snicker) by ImaJinn Books, and this month offers one of my favorites – MIDNIGHT GAMBLE. It combines history and the paranormal. The Roaring ‘20s backdrop was such fun to research and my characters kick up their heels to its decadence while following a darker undercurrent of mystery. The new cover – LOVE IT! Revisiting the text to do some tweaking – another plus. I’d forgotten how much I liked the steely heroine and enigmatic hero in their cagy dance around a forbidden romance. And then there are the returning characters!
Here’s a taste . . .
Against the uninhibited decadence of 1920’s New York, where bootleg liquor flows until dawn to the sound of hot jazz and rolling dice, day-walking vampire, Frederica Lavoy stalks those of her kind to bring them to her father’s court for crimes against humankind. A series of careless murders leads her to an exclusive club where patrons drink more than champagne from unsuspecting guests. Drawn to the club’s owner, the enigmatic Darcy Edwards, Rica’s loyalty is torn when she suspects he’s the man her father has sent her to find.
. . . become the hunted?
Tricked into embracing the night during the time of Pharaohs, Eduard D’Arcy struggles to bring peace to those who are damned by what they must do to survive. Yet he’s found no forgiveness for himself - until he’s captivated by the unique and spirited Rica. But in this game of cat and mouse they’re playing, the stakes are not just heart and soul, but life and death itself . . .
"4 1/2 Star Top Pick: Readers will want to sink their teeth into this hypnotic and compelling tale." — Kathe Robin, Romantic Times
"Nancy Gideon is one of the best supernatural writers on the market today." — BookBrowser
"Fun, entertaining vampire romance that makes the supernatural seem natural." — Under the Covers Book Review
Excerpt
SHE WAS BACK AGAIN.
Eduard drifted toward the special glass, allowing him to observe his company without being observed himself.
Frederica Lavoy. Who was she? A mystery. An unknown. In his
world, unknowns were dangerous, and this compelling woman had already led him
to realize his first mistake.
He’d considered her as a peer among the day’s loveliest
women. Looking at her now, he conceded his error. She wasn’t equal to the day’s
beauties. She far surpassed them, eclipsing them as one of this era’s electric
lights was put to shame by the purity of an evening star. She dazzled. She
glowed. She was poise, perfection and power. An irresistible combination of all
he admired. He’d been able to think of nothing else. How had he so underrated
her the night before, when on this night, her rarity, her magnificence cast all
others into pale shadow.
What omnipotent force spawned her?
Heaven or hell? Nothing quite so unique existed without the touch of divine
intervention. And she was divine, a celestial body unfairly tethered upon a
mortal plane.
He moved closer to the glass, unaware of his own
gravitational response. His fingertips pressed to the cool surface between them
as if it were the only barrier keeping them apart.
He watched her, mesmerized
by the way she crossed the crowded room, a smooth ripple of motion disturbing
nothing in her wake. As if she moved through a world separate from theirs. But
was it foreign to his?
The inviting shimmer of her dress captured him completely,
as if he were one with that heavily beaded fabric as it caressed the length of
her body. As if his mouth sighed along the inner curve of her bosom where the
neckline hung open in a daring plunge. As if his hands brushed the soft curve
of her thighs with each advancing step. It was an unusual shift, as unique as
the creature who wore it. A simple drape of celadon silk patterned with
delicate lilies like some rare Chinese watercolor. The clear beadwork picked up
flickering accents of light, making the design stir as if by a gentle breeze,
coming alive against the contours of her figure in a beckoning breath he wished
could be his own. He wondered what, if anything, she wore beneath it. The
movement seemed too natural for artificial restraints. Just as she did herself.
He’d forgotten to continue his pretended breathing. A
stillness settled over him, a deep, preternatural calm that could go on
undisturbed as centuries swirled by unnoticed. Time, which had lost all meaning
within the realm of his existence, ceased altogether as she came up to the
glass. There, she stopped, and stared through eyes as green and precious as
that valuable Korean porcelain.
Of course, she couldn’t see him. It was just a coincidence
that she appeared to meet his stare with an unwavering, all-knowing directness.
And then she lifted her hand.
He thought at first she would touch the tousled crop of hair
to rearrange some errant strand as she looked into her own reflection. But she
reached out toward the glass, instead, her own fingertips finding his, matching
their spread upon the opaque mirror.
Gasping, he pulled his hand back as if he’d felt her touch.
At the same moment, hers drew away as if sensing the contact had been broken.
He was breathing now in quick agitated snatches though he
required no air to sustain him.
MIDNIGHT GAMBLE is up for Kindle with its new look, and will soon appear across all formats in trade paperback and e-book. Sink your teeth in!
Happy Reading and Happy New Year!
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Nancy Gideon on the Web
1 comment:
I love the new covers for your re-issues, esp. Midnight Gamble. Wishing you much success.
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