Scent of Salvation
Chronicles of Eorthe Book 1
By Annie Nicholas
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Date of Publication: July 30th, 2013
ISBN:
978-1-61921-748-5
Word Count:
98,000
Cover Artist:
Kanax
Book Description:
Love blooms across
species, culture, and time.
Chronicles of
Eorthe, Book 1
Stranded in another
dimension, on a primitive version of Earth, Dr. Susan Barlow needs to find a
way to survive. There’s no electricity, no cities, and to her shock, no humans.
Instead, she faces a population of werewolves, vampires and incubi. The people
are vicious but she must find her place among them. And live.
An illness is
killing Sorin’s pack. As alpha it’s his responsibility to save them, but it’s a
battle this warrior doesn’t know how to fight. Then a blue light in the sky
brings a creature he’s never seen. She calls herself human, but to him she
smells like hope.
Sorin offers Susan
a safe haven in return for a cure, but she’s not that kind of a doctor. She’s a
doctor of physics, not a physician. Yet as they search for a cure to save a
dying people, they find something special—each other.
But even with
Sorin’s protection, Susan can’t help but wonder how long she can survive in a
world without humans…
Before Susan could explain anything about dimensions and gateways, the door to Kele’s chamber crashed open, and Susan jumped to the balls of her feet, prepared—to what, fight? Was she nuts?
A female blocked the entrance, her muscular physique hinting at enough strength to twist Susan into a pretzel without breaking a sweat. The newcomer flung her black hair over her shoulder.
Rising with grace, Kele straightened her dress before addressing the intruder. “Mother.”
“Daughter, I heard you’ve brought home a stray along with the Apisi alpha.” The female’s stare drilled into Susan, her sneer far from welcoming.
Susan’s breath caught in her throat. Black, soulless eyes ate her gaze. Her fingers clutched the lapels of her jacket as she pulled it closed. She wiped her sweaty palms on her pants and offered her hand. “I’m Dr. Susan Barlow.”
The female shifter narrowed her eyes, nostrils flaring.
Susan withdrew her untouched hand, then hid it behind her back and glanced at Kele. Maybe she should have sniffed her mother instead? She wished someone would give her the Dummies Guide to Shifter Society and a little time to study it.
Kele’s mother crossed the room in two great strides and swung her arm.
Susan did her best impression of a statue. She didn’t budge as the impact of the slap swerved her head to the side and dragged her gaze from mother to daughter. Both of them were flushed with emotion yet at opposite poles of the color spectrum—one dark as an oncoming storm and the other pale as the moonlight.
The back of Susan’s heel caught the edge of the cushion and she landed hard on her back.
The bitter flavor of blood swept over her taste buds. “What the hell?” She rubbed her jaw and glared daggers at the crazy woman looming over her. Just as quickly, she schooled her expression to something less threatening before she insulted the bigger shifter further. With the tip of her tongue, Susan explored her mouth. She didn’t encounter any big gaps, so no lost tooth. A small blessing.
Kele’s crazy mother hovered over Susan’s face and bared her teeth. In beast form, her expression would have appeared fierce, but in human form it seemed terrifying. With an easy grace, she flipped Susan onto her stomach. A bony knee pressed between her shoulder blades, making her kiss the floor. Pain shot across Susan’s upper back and neck.
“How dare you come into my den and not submit to me.”
“She’s not a shifter!” Kele shouted. “You can’t expect her to know how to be polite.”
Something ran over Susan’s hair, and the sound of sniffing followed. She tried to take a deep breath but the weight on her back made it difficult.
The nutjob exhaled in disgust. “What is she?”
“A human.” Kele peered at Susan’s throbbing face as she stroked her hair. “Please, I wanted to teach her how to behave before meeting you and father.”
“Your father.” The bitch snorted. “It’s bad enough he’s entertaining a vampire and dealing with trespassing alphas. We don’t need any more vermin within the den.”
Susan was jerked from the ground by her hair and dragged across the floor. Pain shot into her scalp while she scrambled to support her weight with her legs.
“Let go. Let go.” The shifter world was more brutal than anything she’d ever experienced. Susan slapped at the crazy woman’s hands tangled in her hair.
“My daughter took too many liberties in offering you shelter. You’ll need to find another den to take you in.”
At a loss, Susan yanked and squirmed but only made the pain worse. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kele leap.
The petite blonde used her wiry strength to jump across the room and land on her mother’s back. The collision knocked them both to the ground in a knot of arms and legs.
Untangling her limbs from the struggling shifters, Susan could finally elbow the bitch in the face. The impact made a satisfying crunch. She pulled back her arm for a second shot, but Kele grabbed her and half carried, half dragged her out of the chamber.
“Hurry, we need to reach my father before she beats you into cinders.”
Not needing any further incentive, Susan ran after her new friend. “Your people are crazy.”
Can you please share with us a little about yourself?
Where to begin? I’m a mom of two boys, been a nurse
for over twenty years, and am addicted to Candy Crush.
Have you always wanted to be an author?
I had
always wanted to write a story but I couldn’t figure out how the process
worked. Instead I just created little stories for myself in my head for the
longest time.
Can you share with us your typical
writing day. Is there anything you have to have while writing?
My goal is to write 2000 words per day when I’m in the creating phase of my manuscript. I can only work on one book at a time, so I write it then edit it before starting something new. My schedule is very hectic so I’ve learned to write anywhere, anytime.
What would you say is the most challenging or rewarding part of
writing?
The most challenging is promoting my books. It’s a big world out there and it’s not easy to reach people especially with the market changing more towards ebooks there is less shelf browsing.
Can you please tell us about your latest book?
Scent of Salvation is based on an alternate Earth
where humans don’t exist. It’s populated by blood thirsty vampires, feral
shifters, and incubi to die for, literally. Susan is a human physicist who
tossed into this dimension when she destroys her dimension gateway machine. As a born and
raised city girl, she must learn to survive in a world where every creature is
capable of killing her.
How did you come with the idea for this story?
I love telling this story because it shows how twisted my mind is. LOL
Both my sons were very ill with strep throat. Fever
for days. When one was awake, the other was asleep, and vice versa. In other
words, I had slept more than a few hours in days. I felt like the Tylenol,
Ibuprofen, and antibiotic dispensing machine.
About two in the morning, I had both boys in one bed
so I could watch them together. My oldest’s fever was raging and I was waiting
anxiously for the meds to kick in or I’d have to place him in a cool bath.
Again. I was sitting on the floor and
rested my head on the mattress and fell asleep.
In a matter of minutes, I dreamt of this whole
world. I spent the next nine months writing book one and about a year editing
it. If you’ve read where this story comes from and read the book, you’ll see
much of the inspiration within it. By
the way, my boys are fine. Thank goodness for antibiotics. :D
Can you share with us your current work in progress?
Release is the third book in my Angler series.
Nosferatu rule from the shadow and keep order over
their blood thirsty people. Bald with pointed ears, they give vampires
something to fear. If a law is broken, they have only one punishment. Death.
They are the most powerful clan in the Vampire Nation and the most
monstrous. Only a male vampire can be
transformed into a Nosferatu but not all survive.
Connie Bence is on the run with her two lovers,
Rurik and Tane. As leader of the
Nosferatu, Tane’s only threat is his own clansmen and they want all three of
them dead. When Rurik began to lose his hair rumors spread and the Nosferatu
accuse Tane of trying to transform Rurik into one of them illegally.
With the Nosferatu on their heels, Connie tries to
figure out what’s changing Rurik and cure him before she loses him to blood
lust.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
Jim Butcher, Nalini Singh, LK Hamilton, Robert
Jordan, Larry Niven, and CJ Cherryh.
Do you feel that any of your favorite
authors have inspired your writing style?
Definitely! Once I decided to take my writing
seriously I started studying what made these authors special to me. Jim and LK
taught me pacing, Robert world building, Larry and CJ that one doesn’t have to be human to be interesting.
Open your book to a random page and
please reads us a few lines.
Susan glanced over her shoulder. She’d never
seen anyone attack another person—beast—whatever before.
The large, black shifter pinned the other to
the ground and held it there. His bright blue eyes met hers and sent a cold
shiver down her spine.
“Don’t encourage them, Susan.”
She twisted to face her hostess. “I didn’t
mean to. Why are they fighting?”
Kele raised a delicate eyebrow again. “Do you
have a mate?”
“Mate?”
“A lover? A male?”
“No!” She didn’t have time for men and wasn’t
any good around them, especially the really hot ones.
“You’re unclaimed and young—”
“And pretty,” an accompanying guard commented.
Glaring at the beast, Kele continued, “They’re
showing off for you. Especially Ahote, the dark one. He plans to court you.”
Susan stopped midstride and was almost
trampled by a guard. “What does court mean among your people?” The idea of
being given over to a male made her stomach sour. She’d been ready to die to
protect DOUG from military abuse. Was she ready to die to avoid her own abuse
as well?
“I can smell your fear. It’s thick in the air.
You’re going to need to control it if you want to survive.” The petite blonde
caressed the closest beast. “None of them would ever take you against your
will.”
What is in your To Read Pile that you
are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?
Darynda Jones’ Fifth Grave Past the Light
Nalini Singh’s Archangel’s Legion
Have you ever used anyone from your
real life encounters in any of your books?
Not really, that could lead to possible
problems. LOL
What was the most surprising thing
you learned about yourself while you were writing?
I LOVE underdogs. Every single book I write or
love is an underdog story.
About the Author:
Annie Nicholas
writes paranormal romance with a twist. She has courted vampires, hunted with
shifters, and slain a dragon’s ego all with the might of her pen. Riding the
wind of her imagination, she travels beyond the restraints of reality and
shares them with anyone wanting to read her stories. Mother, daughter, and wife
are some of the other hats she wears while hiking through the hills and dales
of her adopted state of Vermont.
Annie writes for
Samhain Publishing, Carina Press, and Lyrical Press.Author Stalker Sites:
Thanks for the interview. :)
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