Synopsis
Ollie Dormier's tattoos are
deadly. She is a Scrivener—an employee for Death—and her skull tattoos
mark her clients for their demise. She does her job, and she stays out
of trouble. But when her hands start to burn hot and fierce, and her
control goes leaping out the window, all hell breaks loose. Ollie is
showing the early signs of being a Master...demonstrating power that is
forbidden.
That power is exactly what Reaper Brent Hume is counting on. A hot,
scruffy rebel, who does marvelous and terrifying things to Ollie's
insides. Now he needs Ollie's help—and her skills—to overthrow the evil
and corrupt Head Reaper. That is, if he can figure out a way to keep
this hot-handed girl cool...and keep his hands off.
Excerpt
After raiding Lethe, the underground
lair of the Head Reaper, Brent and I convened around a piping hot
radiator in my livingroom. The temptation to sit on it and warm my buns
was there, but I resisted. What was impossible to resist was standing
side by side with Brent without touching. And the more we sought
warmth, the closer we became. Too soon we were all but hugging in
effort to regain our body heat.
Had he suggested removing our clothes, I
would not have partaken. I would have liked to know what the rebel
Brent Hume was like in the bedroom, but not right before Lethe, in
Lethe, or after Lethe, and certainly not standing over a radiator,
shivering ourselves silly.
My clicking teeth slowed as the
radiator, and Brent’s body heat, melted a layer of ice on my clothing.
“Did you... you get the Reaper’s name?”
He pulled down the collar of his shirt
to expose a white notecard inside a plastic bag—the prize from Lethe. A
name was scribbled on it, but from what I could see the writing had
bled. Brent noticed a second after me.
“Mother fucker,” he groused. “The ink
got wet.”
“Of course it did.” It was too much
energy to roll my eyes. For now, I needed heat. Lots and lots of heat.
He held the baggie up to the overhead
light. “I see a name. Baird.”
“Is that a last name or first? Is it a
male or female? Who is it?” My shivering worsened my panic, which in
turn worsened my shivering. “We did this all for nothing, didn’t we?
Didn’t we?”
“Good Hades, calm down, Scrivener.” He
turned from me when I tried to get a peek at the name through the soggy
baggie. Not one to take such an obvious cue to give him space, I went
for it, using my own shivering to launch into the air. Quick as he was,
he underestimated my determination. The baggie was in my hands before
my feet touched the floor. Being short and swift was a fine offense
against tall and slow.
“Hey!” he barked.
“It says Baird. It’s a last name.” I
ducked when he reach around my shoulders, thwarting his effort to
retrieve the baggy. “But I can’t read the first name. No knowing if it
is a guy or gal.”
“Give it back.” Brent refused to
continue reaching for the prize, as if little ol’ Olivia outplaying him
was a front to his ego.
“I don’t know a Baird,” I said.
“Neither do I. This means I can’t just
look the Reaper up and distract him or her like I had planned.”
“So I was right?” I dropped my arms to
my sides as we faced each other, Brent looking as bewildered and broken
as I felt.
“Seems so.”
I sighed to keep from breaking into
tears. My shoulders and head felt heavy. The couch seemed a great place
to throw myself down and let my emotions pour out. I would’ve found
out, if Brent did rush at me and grab the baggie. There was only a
small glimpse of his wicked smile before we found ourselves entangled,
both vying for the prize. A moment after, I found out what it would be
like to collapse onto the couch, only with the Eidolon, too, falling
over top of me. The springs of the IKEA beast cringed from our weight.
Thoughts of Eve and the name Baird
flitted away in exchange for one very real thing hovering above me.
I grew tense but hopeful when his eyes
turned to my lips. I knew what that meant. Every woman did. However
selfish and grossly out of place it was, I was okay with one kiss, more
curious than frightened to discover what it is like to kiss an Eidolon
who could drain my life. Perhaps my motivation was to ridicule Fate by
kissing the lips of Death himself. Or maybe I was cold, tired, and
downright horny.
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Author interview
I'm delighted to have
Abigail join me to anwer a few questions for the blog. Please give her
a very warm welcome ...
First of all, thank you for inviting me to your blog! :-)
Where are you from?
Good question. I was born
in Ohio, grew up in North Carolina, and spent most of my adult life in
Illinois and Colorado. I’m from all over, I guess.
(Deanna): Oh, I've
visited Colorado. It's beautiful.
Tell us your latest news?
My debut paranormal
romance, The Reaper’s Kiss, A Deathmark Novel is finally out! I’m also
working on the follow up novel to The Reaper’s Kiss right now. That one
should be out in June of 2016. And when I’m not involved with the
Deathmark Series, I’m working on a new, women’s fiction about PTSD and
the long path toward healing.
(Deanna): Yay, a book 2.
I love a good series!!
When and why did you
begin writing?
I was an artistic
kid—drawing, dancing, acting, singing, and, of course, writing. Over
the years I realized that out of all of the arts, writing is my topmost
passion. I love telling stories, so in some ways I like to think of
myself as a storyteller first and then a writer. I can honestly say
that I’ve been a writer since I was old enough to write.
What inspired you to
write your first book?
I studied ancient Greek
and Roman literature in college, so I pulled from those mythologies. I
also looked at the history of tattoos that goes as far back as the Otzi
Man found in the Italian Alps. The Otzi Man had roughly 61 tattoos that
they believed helped him with pain. His discovery and tattoos got me
thinking about tattoos and their magical purposes and why people wear
them.
(Deanna): I adore
mythology!!
Do you have a specific
writing style?
I took inspiration from
Jeaniene Frost and Darynda Jones. I like their mix of dark and
sarcastic and outright funny.
(Deanna): Oh Jeaniene
Frost is one of my favorite authors. I love her Cat and Bones series!
How did you come up with
the title?
Through the help of my
agent and editor. Honestly, I’m terrible at titles. That is not my
talent. Don’t ever ask me to title anything. Please.
Is there a message in
your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Stand up for what is right
no matter how hard or frightening it might be. We need more people in
the world who fight for the underdog or the voiceless.
(Deanna): That is so
true. It's a great message.
How much of the book is
realistic?
Not much and that’s
probably a good thing. I mean, I sure hope that there isn’t a Scrivener
out there putting tattoos on people as a way to mark them for Death.
Scary stuff. Then again, I do think there are guides that help us cross
over from life to the Afterlife. That is a thought I can live (and die)
with.
(Deanna): I can live
with not much of it being realistic! My first encounter with Death as a
character was a book by Piers Anthony called "On
a Pale Horse", that was such a long time ago!
I have one very close
friend who has done a majority of my tattoos. Over the years and the
long tattoo sessions with her, I began to formulate my main character,
Ollie. So, there are some qualities of my friend in Ollie (some of the
best qualities).
(Deanna): I love
tattoos. I'm rather a big fan of Kat Von D. She's gorgeous with all her
tattoos and what an incredible talent!
What book
are you reading now?
Right now I’m doing
research for a new project not at all connected to the Deathmark
Series. So, I’m reading Irritable Hearts: A PTSD Love Story by Mac
McClelland and The From-Aways by C.J. Hauser.
What are
your current projects?
I’m editing the follow up
novel to The Reaper’s Kiss as well as working on a women’s fiction
about PTSD and the long path toward healing.
What would
you like my readers to know?
Thank you. Seriously. I
consider myself lucky that people want to read Ollie and Brent’s story.
And I hope my readers love the pair as much as I do. Of course, I’m
just a little biased. :-)
(Deanna): I'm looking
forward to reading it. It's in my TBR.
Thank you
so much for stopping by. I have loved your answers to all my questions.
Please stop by again anytime!
Author Info
Abigail Baker shares her home with a Siamese cat
endearingly named “The Other Cat” and two rescued mutts with mundane
human names that people think are cute. In addition to writing about
rebellious heroines, she enjoys hiking, discovering craft beers, baking
the perfect vanilla bean cupcake, and rock climbing (going as far as
scaling 800 vertical feet to the summit of Devil’s Tower National
Monument in 2013).
Abigail won first place in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer’s 2010
Colorado Gold Writing Contest for Romance for THE BLOODSUCKER and first
place in RWA’s Golden Network’s 2011 Golden Pen in Paranormal Romance
for TATTOO OF YOUR NAME ACROSS MY SOUL (now THE REAPER’S KISS,
Deathmark Book One). She regularly blogs about life observances, lives
at the base of the Rocky Mountains, and can be easily found hiking any
of Colorado’s best trails.
Author Links:
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Find Deanna around SOCIAL MEDIA:
Kalli Lanford, a native of San Diego,
California, grew up hanging out at the beach and playing
sports. When she’s not nerding out at San Diego Comic-Con,
she can be seen doing normal-people stuff like teaching high-school
English, cooking delicious meals for her family, and attending her
son’s football games. In her spare time, she new adult
fiction and loves listening to hard rock. She hopes to live
long and prosper, and that you will, too.
I live in the teeny, tiny town of Taylor, NY,
(Alliteration Alert!) though my mailing address is Cincinnatus, my
telephone exchange is Truxton and I pay taxes and vote in Cuyler. All
of these are at least in the same rural county in the southern hills of
New York State; Cortland County. There are more cattle than people
here. The nearest “big” cities are Syracuse and Binghamton and they are
an hour away, in different directions, and not really all that big by
most standards, though they both seem humongous to me. I look out my
window to see rolling, green, thickly forested hills, wildflower laden
meadows and wide open blue, blue skies. My road is barely paved. The
nearest neighboring place is a 700 acre dairy farm.