*Crystal pours the wine and passes a glass*
Wahoo! I always love a good glass of pinot!
It seems like just yesterday I was wrapped up in the dark, dangerous, and oh-so-sexy Theron's story. Now four years have passed and you've just released the 7th book in the Eternal Guardians series. Congratulations! *clinks glasses* Has the time seemed to fly by for you and do you still get butterflies in your stomach on release day?
Wow, has it been four years? LOL I haven’t been paying attention!
It’s actually very hard for me to believe this is the seventh book in the series. Originally, I’d envisioned the Eternal Guardians as a seven book series, but once I started writing TWISTED I realized there are still several story lines to be told. So this will not be the last book. Not even close.
As for butterflies? You bet. I seem to push the boundaries a little more with every book. TWISTED, especially, made me a little nervous. It’s pretty dark, and I was quite worried what fan reaction would be to the things that happen in this book, but so far the reviews have been really good, so I’m breathing a big sigh of relief.
Fans of the series have been looking forward to Nick's book for a while now. I know I have, especially after Enraptured! What can readers look forward to in TWISTED?
Well...Twisted is the seventh book in the series, but don’t worry if you haven’t read the other books yet. You can read TWISTED as a stand alone. TWISTED is Nick’s story. Nick is not a guardian even though he carries the markings of the Argonauts. Instead, he’s the leader of the half breeds (half-Argolean, half human), the half-brother of the guardian Demetrius, and, in an evil twist by the gods, shares a soul mate with his brother (though the female in this twisted little love triangle chose Demetrius as her mate.)
At the beginning of TWISTED, Nick has been imprisoned by Hades for six months. Hades recently discovered that Nick is Krónos’s bastard son and that the elder god hid some of his powers within Nick in the hope of using him to break out of his prison in Tartarus. Hades wants those powers for himself, so he’s entrusted Nick to his son’s care, er...torture...with the goal of breaking Nick and claiming those powers for himself. But the woman in charge of Nick’s torture is unwittingly keeping him from breaking. Only Nick hasn’t decided if she’s good or evil and what that means for his future.
I can only imagine that going from traditionally published at the start of the series to self-published was a scary transition. How has the response from readers been about this change and how much are you loving the creative freedom?
Readers have been great. I was a little worried when I released BOUND, the sixth book and the first one that was straight to self-published, but readers didn’t even notice the difference. I honestly don’t think readers care where the book comes from, as long as it’s well written, well-edited, and in their hands. I know I definitely don’t.As for creative freedom...oh yeah. Thanks to self publishing, I was able to write TWISTED without limitations. For me that was definite plus.
I know they say that all good things must come to an end but you would make me a very happy girl if you never stopped writing about these fantastic heroes! What can we expect in the future for the Eternal Guardians?
Next up is an Eternal Guardians novella in the 1001 Dark Nights project, set to release next summer. Tentatively it’s titled RAVAGED, and readers will meet the hero in TWISTED. After that...don’t worry. Many more books to come. I have too many characters waiting for their own story!
Before we say adieu please help me finish up this bottle of wine (Hey, time AND wine flies when you're in good company!) and share with our readers your favorite scene between Nick and Cynna.
Absolutely! ~Elisabeth tips back her glass~
While I’m drinking, enjoy this scene...
“Nick.” Cynna’s soft, warm fingers brushed his shoulder.
He dropped his hands and whipped around. This deep in the tunnels, there was no light, but his senses were so heightened right now from Krónos’s energy churning inside that he didn’t need any illumination to see her standing a foot from him, her silky hair falling to her shoulders, her wide chocolate eyes alight with sadness and…pity.
The pity pushed him right to the edge. Who was she to pity him? Who the fuck was she to care?
“Don’t let them win.” She moved closer. “Fight it. The way you fought it these last few months.”
Those months spun in his memory. Reverberated in his ears. Rushed through his veins. The crack of a whip snapping in the darkness. The sting of the leather slicing into his flesh. The cold metal of the shackles tightening against his wrists. The chains jerking his arms high over his head. The hot, wicked sensation of those nymphs’ fingers gliding along his overheated skin. And a release he hadn’t known he’d craved hovering out of his grasp, impossible to reach. All thanks to her.
Blood pounded in his veins. Anger and rage and desperation coalesced. That energy snapped and sizzled in his hands until he couldn’t hold it back anymore. “Stupid move, female.” He closed his hand around her wrist and yanked. “I warned you.”
She gasped and fell into him. But before she could pull away, he turned and dragged her behind him.
“Nick…”
He headed for the tunnel on the left, wrapped his fingers around the first set of steel bars he came to, and threw the door open.
He flung her into the dark holding cell and stepped in after her.
She hit the stone wall, turned quickly, and looked back, her wide eyes searching the darkness, trying to find him. “Wh—what is this place?”
“Our version of a drunk tank. Never used until now. Fucking poetic, if you ask me.”
She sucked in a breath as he drew close, but didn’t struggle when he grasped her arm, yanked it upward, and snapped a metal cuff high on the wall over her wrist. Didn’t once turn away while he reached for her left arm, jerked that one up as well, and snapped the second cuff over her other wrist.
That shadow energy hummed and rolled inside as he stepped back. Thanks to his enhanced senses, he could see her. See her well, even in utter darkness. His gaze slid over her newly dark hair, the white, almost angelic sweater falling open at her chest, the tips of her breasts pressing against the soft cotton, and her slim hips and long legs encased in the formfitting jeans. Arousal stirred in his belly, mixed with the darkness, then slinked downward until he was hard as stone.
“Nick. Listen to me.” Her hands curled into fists. “I—”
“What did you say to me in that cell when you brought those nymphs to me?” Power rippled in his veins as he braced his hands on the stones beside her head and moved in so close his body was a breath from hers.
“I—”
He brushed the tip of his nose against her ear and lowered his voice to a menacing whisper. “I think it was something along the lines of…this isn’t a game.”
Twisted
(Eternal Guardians #7)
by Elisabeth Naughton
ebook
Published September 29th 2014
ISBN139780990304128
Nick –Leader of the half-breeds and the last true hero. He’s spent his life fighting a dark pull toward the gods. A pull he now knows is linked to his father Krónos and the Titan’s plan to escape from the Underworld.
But Nick’s hidden powers are coveted by more than just his father. Imprisoned by Hades, Nick battles every form of torture imaginable as the sadistic god schemes to break him. Only one thing is keeping him sane. One woman who gives him the strength to fight the relentless darkness. She has a dangerous plan of her own, though, and as Nick’s powers grow stronger, even she might not be enough to alter his destiny.
As the fate of the world hangs in the balance, Nick’s allegiances are tested. And no one knows whether he will choose to fight for good or succumb to the sinister lure of evil. Not even him.
About Elisabeth:
Before topping multiple bestseller lists—including those of the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal—Elisabeth Naughton taught middle school science. A rabid reader, she soon discovered she had a knack for creating stories with a chemistry of their own. The spark turned into a flame, and Naughton now writes full-time. Besides topping bestseller lists, her books have been nominated for some of the industry’s most prestigious awards, such as the RITA® and Golden Heart Awards from Romance Writers of America, the Australian Romance Reader Awards, and the Golden Leaf Award. When not dreaming up new stories, Naughton can be found spending time with her husband and three children in their western Oregon home. Visit her website at www.ElisabethNaughton.com to learn more about her books.
Thank you for hosting Elisabeth!
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