Book Spotlight on Devika Fernando’s blog!

Featured – Second Nature by Marie Lavender 12/6/2014 I’m very happy to spotlight a book I really loved and that satisfies my craving for good vampire fiction. Ladies and gents, give it up for awesome author Marie Lavender and her latest release with the fitting title “Second Nature“. Second Nature by Marie Lavender About the Book Blurb She never expected it… Desiree Edwards has a problem. She’s been attacked, kidnapped and forced to get along with a vampire of all things. It’s something right out of the story books she reads, or her worst nightmare. But, sometimes he’s not the monster he appears to be. He seems so humanlike that she can’t help it when her emotions betray her, when her body betrays her. To make matters worse, she finds out more about herself than she ever wanted to know. She was unlike any other… Alec has a problem. The animal in him wants Desiree. But, so does the man. The more he learns about her, the harder it is to deny what he wants. But, he’s a freak, and she’s just a human. The two species don’t mix that way. Then an old enemy surfaces and Alec is forced to make a choice. His life or hers. Can Alec’s soul be saved by this unique human? Or will it be far too late Excerpt Desiree had just shut off the faucet when the lights suddenly went out, shrouding the room in darkness. “Shit!” she muttered. She fumbled for the light switch, but nothing happened. Now, where were the candles? Her hands groped the surface of the counter, catching things that spun to the floor. She tried to remember what direction she must walk. Right. She walked slowly along, and cursed when she stubbed her toe on a table leg. Her hands found the hard wood surface and then there was nothing, just air. She kept walking little by little, her arms outstretched until her palms met cold glass. The sliding glass doors to the patio. She was startled by the light for a moment, a hazy purple glow. It dawned on her then. Her solar-powered lamps had come on. She froze suddenly as a thought dawned on her. Oh, God! They were motion-activated! Her mind raced with the implications of the invasion. Had someone been in the yard? Cut the power to the house? A claw danced up her spine at the thought. Goosebumps prickled her arms. Peering into the semi-darkness, she sucked in a breath as she saw a pale face on the other side of the glass. She screamed, stumbling back. With the dim light shining, she was able to locate the butcher knife off the block and raise it in the air. Her senses strained, she crept back towards the glass, but there was nothing there now. She frowned. Had she imagined it, the ghostly figure from before? She wanted it to be just coincidence that her power was also out, but realistically she knew that she couldn’t be that lucky. Was this somehow related to the incident upstairs last week? With her knife poised, the muscles in her arm now shaking with tension, she scanned the patio. Still nothing, but someone was there. She felt it. Hairs rose on the back of her neck. Time ticked by, too slowly for comfort. She felt a weird tingle in her skin, but she ignored it. Her eyes burned now from the effort of peering. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement. She swung, her heart pounding in her chest, and sought the source of the motion. Still nothing. She could hardly tell what the danger was over her loud heartbeat. But she still sensed it, like a deer that knew a predator was close by. She thought she would go mad with the waiting. Then she saw the dark figure at the end of the hall. On impulse, she turned, ran to the glass doors, slid one open and raced across the patio. She gripped the knife until her fingers felt numb. Suddenly she was tackled to the ground, a heavy bulk falling on top of her. She sucked in a breath to scream, but a hand covered her mouth. She bit down hard, but there was no response. Her assailant grasped her hand and shook it wildly until her grip on the knife loosened and it fell away. He pressed into her, his arousal evident. Her eyes bulged in panic, her breath coming in short bursts. His teeth latched onto her neck, and she was shocked at the rush of desire, the heat low in her belly. She shook her head even as he bit her, clamping a hand down on the back of her neck to keep her in place. She bucked beneath him, did what she could to fight, but he was on her backside. He was too powerful. He flipped her over, resuming his primal bite. She fought harder, trying to claw his face, his neck, anything she could. That was when she heard the voice inside her mind. It teased at her with a cool sensation across her forehead. Stop fighting me, Desiree. I won’t hurt you. She froze and he seemed to still as well. When he lifted his head, his face was in shadow, but she sensed his eyes on her. She realized it wasn’t his command that had stopped her, but his voice. She suddenly came back to herself then. What on earth was she doing? She was beneath a man that had attacked her. She shook her head and opened her mouth. Don’t scream, the voice came again. I won’t hurt you. Buy Links Amazon pre-order:  http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00Q7FWIWA Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23622109-second-nature Marie Lavender About the Author Bestselling author of UPON YOUR RETURN and 19 other books. 2014 BTS Red Carpet Review Nominee. Finalist and Runner-up in the MARSocial’s Author of the Year Competition. Honorable mention in the January 2014 Reader’s Choice Award. Liebster Blogger Award for 2013 and 2014. Top 50 Authors on AuthorsDB.com. Winner of the Great One Liners Contest on the Directory of Published Authors. Marie Lavender lives in the Midwest with her family and three cats. She has been writing for over twenty years. She has more works in progress than she can count on two hands. Marie has published twenty books in the genres of historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance/fantasy, mystery/thriller, literary fiction and poetry. Lavender just released Second Nature, a paranormal romance/urban fantasy, in December of 2014. She released Magick & Moonlight, a romantic fantasy, back in March. Upon Your Honor, released in late April, is her second historical romance. Her current series are The Heiresses in Love Series, The Magick Series and The Blood at First Sight Series. Feel free to visit her website at http://marielavender.com/ for further information about her books and her life. Marie is also on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. A list of her books and pen names are as follows Marie Lavender: Upon Your Return; Magick & Moonlight; Upon Your Honor; Second Nature Erica Sutherhome: Hard to Get; Memories; A Hint of Scandal; Without You; Strange Heat; Terror in the Night; Haunted; Pursuit; Perfect Game; A Touch of Dawn; Ransom; Leather and Lace Kathryn Layne: A Misplaced Life Heather Crouse: Express Café and Other Ramblings; Ramblings, Musings and Other Things; Soulful Ramblings and Other Worldly Things Author Links http://marielavender.com/ https://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/ http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/ http://marielavender.blogspot.com/ https://www.facebook.com/marie.lavender.58 https://www.facebook.com/MarieAnnLavender https://www.facebook.com/UponYourReturn https://www.facebook.com/MagickMoonlight https://www.facebook.com/UponYourHonor https://www.facebook.com/WritingintheModernAge https://twitter.com/marielavender1 https://plus.google.com/u/0/104926404745289477307/posts http://www.linkedin.com/pub/marie-lavender/27/187/10a https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6938764.Marie_Lavender http://authorsdb.com/authors-directory/1578-marie-lavender http://www.pw.org/content/marie_lavender http://www.amazon.com/Marie-Lavender/e/B00C10Q94I/ http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00JTKTODG http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00IRKN5P2 http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00I0D9LQ8 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJu8HjRVYCFOqcIoX6ZxdqQ/videos