Joining us today we have Lia Davis, author of A Rebel's Heart which is featured in the Ever After paranormal anthology. Please give her a warm welcome!
Things I’m thankful for this year
Many of us are just too busy to stop and think about what we are thankful for. The older we get the faster time seems to go by and the busier we become. We just don’t take time for ourselves and our families and friends. The holiday season is the time to slow down and reflect on the year and take a long look at what we have, where we’ve been, and who is in our lives.
I’m thankful for a lot of things this year. Here’s my top five things that make me feel blessed.
My husband: he’s one of my best friends, soul mate, and he knows me better than I know myself. He showers me with affection even when I’m being grumpy, and he can always make me smile.
My BFF and Business Partner: Carrie Ann Ryan and I met in an online critique group and hit it off from the start. That was a little more than 2 years ago. Since then, we opened our company, Fated Desires Publishing, LLC and supported each other in our writing and personal lives. I’m thankful to be able to call her a wonderful friend and grateful to be taking this business journey with her.
Living the Dream: This past July I was able to quit my day job and work at home fulltime on writing and helping Carrie Ann with Fated Desires. Both of which are growing beyond what I thought could happen in just a short time. It’s been an awesome year.
My Readers: I love each and every one of you. Without you I wouldn’t be about to release my 9th book in January 2014 with 10 and 11 on its heels. Thank you guys!
New grandbaby: Even though my daughter and her boyfriend are young and have a long bumpy road ahead of them, new life is always a blessing. I’m thankful they have each other and the wonderful family support from both sides. I can’t wait to meet little Isabelle Marie.
I want to wish everyone a safe, happy, and healthy Thanksgiving and holiday season.
Blessings to you,
Lia
A Rebel’s Heart, Ashwood Falls #3.5
By Lia Davis
Part of the Fated Desires Publishing’s anthology, Ever After
Amazon | B&N
Widow and mother of five wonderful, full grown males, Sarah Matthews lives the best she can—one day at a time. Now that her babies are having babies, she relishes in spoiling her grandkids. But her inner mountain lion is restless and Sarah can’t shake the feeling something is lurking in the woods surrounding her home. The unease becomes a reality when a man she thought died with her mate five years ago is found on her property beaten and unconscious.Damian Archer never considered revealing his existence to his best friend’s widow. Hell he didn’t know how she’d react to knowing that he was alive for the last five years while her human mate was dead. When he got word that Sarah has become Shield’s—a human rebel organization set up to hunt and kill shapeshifters—next victim, he must go to her and uphold his best friend’s dying wish to keep Sarah safe.Buried pain, old lies, and dangerous secrets aren’t enough to keep the sparks from flying as they try to survive a new threat against their race.
Excerpt:
Sarah Matthews was tired. Life had become lonely and less exciting. Sure she had her kids, but they had their own lives, their own families. It just wasn’t the same, and considering she’d lost a part of her soul it had become an effort to just get out of bed some days. Her mate had died a little over five years ago in a car accident that, until today, she’d believed just that.
An accident.
A case of being in the wrong place and all that.
However, today she received a package that made her wonder if her mate was indeed murdered. She opened the mailbox and frowned at the small box inside. Pulling it out, she studied it, suspicion twirling inside or mind. She put the thing to her ear and listened. She didn’t know what she’d expect to hear. A ticking from a bomb? Now she was being ridiculous. She rolled her eyes. “Ever so suspicious,” she muttered to herself.
There was no return address, nor was there a receiving one. That was odd. It was like someone had placed it in the mailbox. She didn’t hear any vehicles stop or even slow down in front of her house last night or this morning except for the mailman a few minutes ago. With her supernatural hearing, she’d heard a car pull up. Even her puma would had sensed another shifter in the area. Yet her senses didn’t go off.
Another mystery about the box in her hand.
The only writing on the top of the box was her name, hand-written.
Curiosity crept in, and after a quick sniff to make sure there weren’t any non-ticking explosives inside, she opened the box. Cold sensation went up her spine, and a hot fear burned her belly as she peered at the contents. Tears blurred her visions, and each heartbeat hurt as the wound that had slowly healed over the years was ripped back open. Inside the box was a gold wedding band with the words my love, my soul engraved on the inside. It was identical to Walt’s.
The ring he’d said he lost while working.
Underneath the ring was a slip of paper that read: You’re next.
Unable to go back into the house she and Walt had bought together, lived in, raised Nevan, and filled with their love, she ran into the woods, seeking some kind of peace. The tears fell in fat drops, soaking her cheeks and making it even harder to breathe.
She came to a stop at a large oak tree and dropped to her knees while she cradled the ring to her chest. The raw pain transformed into anger toward the sick bastards that could have done it. Whoever they were.
She peered back at the note. The two ugly words blurred as a tear dropped on them. Did this mean that Walt had been killed? If so, why? What would be the point of killing her? She didn’t have any enemies that she knew of anyway. And Walt…he was the most gentle and caring male she knew.
The sound of footsteps running in her direction made her stand and shove the note and ring into her pocket as her cat instantly went on alert. She scented the air and was relieved when she didn’t smell the acidy sweet smell of the Onyx Pack’s mutants. The half-animal, half-human creatures were not only gross; they were more powerful than she was.
The scent she did pick up belonged to a human, but there was another scent she couldn’t place, though it seemed familiar. The pounding of shoes hitting the earth grew closer, and she ducked behind the tree, unsure of what the human was doing in this part of the Smoky Mountains.
A human male ran past the tree, turned to look right at her as if he knew all along she was there, and pointed a gun right at her. Sarah gasped and fell to the ground a split second before he fired. Scrambling on hands and knees, she crawled around the tree and froze as another man barreled past her toward the human. The new man wasn’t a man, but a male puma shifter.
And she knew him.
Damian Palmer.
No, not possible. Damian had been in the car with Walt at the time of the accident. He’d died right along with his best friend. She’d seen his body, damn it.
Sarah Matthews was tired. Life had become lonely and less exciting. Sure she had her kids, but they had their own lives, their own families. It just wasn’t the same, and considering she’d lost a part of her soul it had become an effort to just get out of bed some days. Her mate had died a little over five years ago in a car accident that, until today, she’d believed just that.
An accident.
A case of being in the wrong place and all that.
However, today she received a package that made her wonder if her mate was indeed murdered. She opened the mailbox and frowned at the small box inside. Pulling it out, she studied it, suspicion twirling inside or mind. She put the thing to her ear and listened. She didn’t know what she’d expect to hear. A ticking from a bomb? Now she was being ridiculous. She rolled her eyes. “Ever so suspicious,” she muttered to herself.
There was no return address, nor was there a receiving one. That was odd. It was like someone had placed it in the mailbox. She didn’t hear any vehicles stop or even slow down in front of her house last night or this morning except for the mailman a few minutes ago. With her supernatural hearing, she’d heard a car pull up. Even her puma would had sensed another shifter in the area. Yet her senses didn’t go off.
Another mystery about the box in her hand.
The only writing on the top of the box was her name, hand-written.
Curiosity crept in, and after a quick sniff to make sure there weren’t any non-ticking explosives inside, she opened the box. Cold sensation went up her spine, and a hot fear burned her belly as she peered at the contents. Tears blurred her visions, and each heartbeat hurt as the wound that had slowly healed over the years was ripped back open. Inside the box was a gold wedding band with the words my love, my soul engraved on the inside. It was identical to Walt’s.
The ring he’d said he lost while working.
Underneath the ring was a slip of paper that read: You’re next.
Unable to go back into the house she and Walt had bought together, lived in, raised Nevan, and filled with their love, she ran into the woods, seeking some kind of peace. The tears fell in fat drops, soaking her cheeks and making it even harder to breathe.
She came to a stop at a large oak tree and dropped to her knees while she cradled the ring to her chest. The raw pain transformed into anger toward the sick bastards that could have done it. Whoever they were.
She peered back at the note. The two ugly words blurred as a tear dropped on them. Did this mean that Walt had been killed? If so, why? What would be the point of killing her? She didn’t have any enemies that she knew of anyway. And Walt…he was the most gentle and caring male she knew.
The sound of footsteps running in her direction made her stand and shove the note and ring into her pocket as her cat instantly went on alert. She scented the air and was relieved when she didn’t smell the acidy sweet smell of the Onyx Pack’s mutants. The half-animal, half-human creatures were not only gross; they were more powerful than she was.
The scent she did pick up belonged to a human, but there was another scent she couldn’t place, though it seemed familiar. The pounding of shoes hitting the earth grew closer, and she ducked behind the tree, unsure of what the human was doing in this part of the Smoky Mountains.
A human male ran past the tree, turned to look right at her as if he knew all along she was there, and pointed a gun right at her. Sarah gasped and fell to the ground a split second before he fired. Scrambling on hands and knees, she crawled around the tree and froze as another man barreled past her toward the human. The new man wasn’t a man, but a male puma shifter.
And she knew him.
Damian Palmer.
No, not possible. Damian had been in the car with Walt at the time of the accident. He’d died right along with his best friend. She’d seen his body, damn it.
Lia Davis is a mother to two young adults and two very special kitties, a wife to her soul mate, a paranormal romance author, and co-owner to Fated Desires Publishing, LLC. She and her family live in Northeast Florida battling hurricanes and very humid summers. But it’s her home and she loves it!An accounting major, Lia has always been a dreamer with a very activity imagination. The wheels in her head never stop. She ventured into the world of writing and publishing in 2008 and loves it more than she imagined. Writing started out as a stress reliever that allow her to go off in her corner of the house and enter into another world that she created, leaving real life where it belongs. Now it has become her career. A real life dream come true.Her favorite things are spending time with family, traveling, reading, writing, chocolate, coffee, nature and hanging out with her kitties.Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | G+
Giveaway!
Lia will be giving away a $15 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card (winner’s choice) and a swag pack. Follow the Rafflecopter instructions below to enter.
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I love your books Lia and can't wait for more!!!
ReplyDeleteI love this book and It's great authors. Lia that is all wonderful things to be thankful for. I am thankful for my granddaughter. Alexie Angelle. Thanks for sharing Ever After and the giveaway. Happy Thanksgiving! evamillien at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to reading this book! How many books do you think there will be in the Ashwood Falls series?
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting me. Thanks, Allison, Eva, and Angieia for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteAngieia, There are 10 books planned in the Ashwood Falls series, then there will be a spin-off series involving some of the other Packs.
Just stumbled upon your books and I really love them:D
ReplyDeleteHi Lia. This anthology looks good.
ReplyDeleteI loved Ever After and can't wait for more from Ashwood Falls! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete