Please welcome Thea Harrison and Vivian Arend to Book Binge as part of their Big Adventure going on right now. They’re here to promote their new releases Devils Gate and Wolf Line. We’re thrilled to be apart of their big blog adventure!
The events in my third Elder Races novella, DEVIL’S GATE, fit beautifully with this theme. The hero is Duncan Turner, who is a secondary character from STORM’S HEART (book two) and SERPENT’S KISS (book three). The heroine is the medusa Dr. Seremela Telemar, who is also a secondary character in both books, although the hero and heroine don’t meet until later.
In DEVIL’S GATE, Seremela must go to a dangerous place to retrieve her wayward niece. Duncan refuses to let her go by herself. When someone knocks on Seremela’s door, this is what she sees:
A dark haired man stood on the other side of her door, looking like he had just stepped out of an issue of GQ magazine. He stood in a casual stance, hands in the pockets of a hand stitched linen summer suit, the jacket unbuttoned. Every expensive line of the tailored clothes emphasized his lean, well shaped body. His sleek dark hair, layered in a razor cut, fell on his forehead as though he had just run his fingers through it. His eyes were just as dark as his hair and glittered with intelligence. In contrast his skin was the pale ivory of a man who never saw any sunlight.
Because if he did, he would vanish in a roaring blaze of fire.
Duncan Turner, internationally famous lawyer and the youngest progeny of one of the most Powerful Vampyres in the world, stood on her doorstep? In midmorning?
When Duncan discovers the challenge Seremela faces, he pushes himself into the situation and insists that Seremela allow him to travel with her.
Unable to resist, he reached out to take her hand, and she let him. He relished the sense of her slender warm fingers resting in his grip. She kept her neat, oval fingernails trimmed close, a practical choice for a medical examiner turned researcher. “You can’t go to Devil’s Gate all by yourself. It’s too dangerous.”
She did not protest nor did she appear to be angry at his presumptuous language. Instead, she stared at their hands as she pointed out, “My niece is there all by herself.”
“Which, we can both agree, is not acceptable,” he said.
The smile in her eyes dimmed, her expression tightened and she looked at the floor.
“Well, there isn’t any other option,” she told him. “I spent half the night and much of this morning trying to figure out the best thing to do.”
“There has to be some other way,” he said.
“There isn’t,” she said, her voice turning flat again. “There’s no legal recourse. The state can’t even keep the area adequately policed. They certainly don’t have the resources to send anyone in to find one person who I can guarantee doesn’t want to be found. And frankly, I don’t want to bully my sister into going with me. She’d only wring her hands, fall apart and be useless. Trust me, that would be much more trouble than it’s worth.”
“I understand,” he said. He raised her hand and pressed his lips against her fingers. She froze, her startled gaze flashing back up to his. “But nevertheless I still can’t let you go to Devil’s Gate by yourself.”
This time she did pick up on his language. “You can’t let me,” she repeated with a careful lack of emphasis.
He knew exactly what it sounded like, and he was entirely unrepentant for it. He stressed, “Not by yourself, Seremela.”
Her shoulders drooped and she tried to pull her hand out of his. “While I understand that you mean well, I don’t have time to argue with you,” she said. “My taxi’s coming in less than a half an hour, and I’m not finished packing yet.”
“Cancel it,” he told her, his fingers tightening on hers.
“Duncan—”
He pulled her closer until they stood toe to toe, and he looked deeply into her strange, beautiful eyes. “Cancel it,” he repeated. “And take your time as you finish packing. I will sort out the quickest flight to Reno then come back to pick you up.”
He could see from her puzzled expression that she still didn’t quite get it. “I’m not sure what to say.”
In light of the number of clues he had dropped, her confusion seemed remarkably innocent and was entirely adorable. He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to say anything,” he said. “Or better yet, figure it out while you finish packing. You can tell me whatever it is on the flight, since I’m coming with you.”
A delicious warm rose color washed intoxicatingly underneath her creamy light green skin. “You are?”
“I am. Now, don’t argue with me,” he said as she took in a quick breath. He began to wonder just how far she would let him push her. In wondering where her boundaries might be, and what she might do should he cross them, he began to enjoy her even more than he had before. “Just do as I say.”
She shut her mouth with an audible click. “Can’t. Won’t. Don’t. You’ve used a lot of archaic-sounding prohibitives in the last fifteen minutes.”
He could tell she wasn’t really angry. She was, ever so gently, warning him not to go too far. It pleased him so much he ran the tip of a finger very lightly down her cheek.
“You might have noticed, my dear,” he murmured. “I happen to be a nineteenth century kind of a guy.”
When Duncan and Seremela set out on their journey, events take them farther than they ever expected to go.
To find out what Viv is up to today, you can check out her blog at Red Hot Books!
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WOW. That sounded terrific, Thea! Loved the excerpt and the peek at Duncan and Seremela!
I think most of our trips contain some sort of surprises. One that wasn’t a good one was the sad reminder that yes, I DID need to pack Tylenol every time, because the one time you don’t, you need it 😉 And so DS2, who was around 2 and a half at the time, was burning up in his little tuxedo during his aunt and uncle’s wedding (we were on a gorgeous little island off the coast of Korea, where it seemed impossible to find children’s meds)… Surprise! ;p
Some fun surprises are stumbling across great eats and making new friends, whether it’s at Disneyland or rafting down a river or trying to find the grocery store wherever you are 🙂
Happy travels!
f dot chen at comcast dot net
Ooooh, lovely! I can’t wait!
Have I ever taken a trip that surprised me?
Well, I went down to London on a whim, once, after my friend told me he’d be there for a few days. I stayed with him at his brother’s flat (it was an absolute tip!) and we went shopping while he told me about what had been going on at home since I’d left. It was good fun and it made me more confident about my ability to manage my life I guess. :p
hannah.mohammed.hmg (at) gmail (dot) com
I took a trip to Mexico when I was 18 and what surprised me was that all of the Mexican men thought American women were easy. So, we had to be careful how we acted so we didnt draw attention to ourselves. It was definitely an eye opener.
ehaney578 at aol dot com
We recently took a drive to Florida from New York, just last February. With two kids, planning it 4 days in advance was very hectic, but we had a great time!
Hi everybody!
Wow, it’s interesting to read about your travel experiences. Reading your comments is giving me itchy feet–now I want to go on vacation somewhere.
My next trip will be for work, but it’s great work and an exciting trip. I’ll be going to RWA in Anaheim in July. It’s going to be huge fun!
Good luck with the contest! And Holly, thank you again for being such a gracious host. Always a pleasure to visit with you.
Thea
I am too much of a planner to be surprised on vacation. However, I am planning a vacation to Scotland and the island of Iona – something I have wanted to do for years. I suspect that there will be some surprises there – and I can’t wait!
I travel a lot, but still every trip has its surprises. For example, this spring I was in Scandinavia for two months on business. I was staying in southern Sweden about 1 hr from Copenhagen. I’d never planned to visit that part of the world, so I had no idea what I would find there. Turned out that Copenhagen was really lovely and fun. We went in on the weekends and had a great time just wandering around.
jen(at)delux(dot)com
Wow! Loved the excert! Looking forward to release day!
I will be travelling to Disney with my almost 4 year old daughter in July. It will be her first time on a plane so I am sure there will be some surprises along the way! 🙂
Laura_Annis(at)yahoo(dot)ca
The hubs took two of the boys and me with him to Portland once while he had to work. We stayed in a nice place along one of the rivers and what surprised me were all the wild blackberries. They were all along the river path. They made a great lunch. We also climbed Mt. Hood. The view/silence/and awesomeness surprised me. Loved it!
Thank you.
vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com
I took a trip to Washington, DC in middle school that changed my life. I decided I didn’t just want to be a SD girl and bullied/begged for 4 years to get my parents to let me go to college there.
Loved the excerpt. Seremela intrigues me – mostly because I am deathly afraid of snakes and she’s a Medusa with them growing out of her head. 🙁
love the expert.
I think a trip that surprised me would have to be the trip i took to denver colorado at the beging of may with my older brother who has aspergers and he handled it better than we thought he would.
dragonsinger93@yahoo.com
Thanks for the great post ladies!!!
The last trip I took was to Disneyworld w/ some friends. It was a blast!!! That was several years ago and was my last vacation. Hmmm… I gotta fix that 🙂
I haven’t really been anywhere.Just to another province for a wedding and this surprising happened there.
Great excerpt.Thanks for sharing.
elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net
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Oh, I want to read more! We took a family vacation, week in a beach house with 24 people! I wasn’t sure how it would go with all the different family members but we all had a great time and the cousins all got closer as a result!
lfacchini(at)tampabay(dot)rr(dot)com
Great excerpt. I haven’t been anywhere so no surprises yet but I’m sure they’re coming.
I love the Elder Races series. Can’t wait to read this book. It sounds amazing.
e.balinski(at)att(dot)net
Our family trip to Yosemite probably surprised me the most. To see nature at it’s absolute finest, no matter where you looked, was just awe inspiring.
caity_mack at yahoo dot com
This sounds like a great addition to the series-I can’t wait to read it
We took a trip to the Smoky Mountains a couple of years ago. We did the usual sight seeing things, clingmans dome and drove over the mountains into Cherokee. What was great was all the wild life we got to see. Moose, elk, and bears. We also stopped at a dam and took a tour. It was really interesting, I was surprised I liked it so much. Now when we go somewhere and there is a dam close by that has tours,
I make sure we see it.
luvufzzzeeefaces at yahoo dot com
Took a trip to Los Angeles CA and lost internet service on the airport which I thought was weird. Had to switch to wireless. Was going to the LA County Museum of Art but it did not open before noon. Turned out the Le Brea tar pits exhibit was next door so I toured that first. Had not expected to see prehistoric animals with fine art but was fun to explore.
Great excerpt. I took a trip to a fairly large American city and was surprised that their airport closed early, leaving me stranded due to a flight delay.
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
I really had a great experience during my first trip to Hawaii. Besides the beautiful scenery and weather I met one of my great friends on that trip.
janie1215 AT excite DOT com
when I went to Aruba some years back, I expected to enjoy the trip but not to relax as much as I did or enjoy the ocean water so much (I’m not much of a beach person in truth). It was one of my fave vacations.
gamistress66 (at) aol (dot) com
Hmm, I rarely do trip and vacation, but now since I working full time, I must travel to some places I never visit before. The trip itself always make me surprised, like what a food that famous there, the vacation spot and many others
When we made our first trip to the VA hospital in Clarksburg we took back roads and the senic ride was lovely and we stopped at a meadow with some interesting trees. We by it now every time and I stop to take pictures, one time a deer popped up and startled us.
Z
seawitchreviews @ yahoo.com
I took a backpacking trip to Hawaii and because of unseen problems we spent a beautiful New Years Eve Night on a beach in tents with some very fun locals. It was a very fun memory.
usignolc(at)yahooDOTcom
Thank you for the excerpts, I loved them. It looks like their trip isn’t going to be easy.
I’ve been to Scotland two years ago to follow a language course. I got to meet a lot of foreign people. It was fantastic. Scotland is a marvelous place!
lol I took an 11 day 5100 mile road trip with a 6, 13, and my 70 someting aunt. We had a blast everyone one of us. My six year old most of all. He really surprised me with his willingness to travel and see new thinks.
I went to DisneyWorld and got blisters on my feet, so the last day wasn’t as fun as I expected.
Awesome question! Yes I’ve taken a trip that surprised me. My husband and I were on our way from San Diego to Yuma Arizona to visit the pharmacies in Algodones Mexico. We did not expect to see the scenery in the mountain pass along the way. We are from the Pacific Northwest full of soaring craggy mountains. When we trekked through these they were HUGE round boulders. It looked like God had dumped truckloads of river rounded BOULDERS out of the sky. It was awesome and wondrous.
I have taken a lot of great trips. They weren’t great because they were so amazing but because I threw myself into them 100%. But my most recent adventure was an eye opener. I chaperoned a 3 day trip to NY with my son’s class. Watching the students watch Broadway shows was wonderful. The kids are still talking about Wicked and Spiderman!
I haven’t travel a lot. I have spent many good days with my friends in vacation but I haven’t live a trip that has surprised me yet. I hope really soon.
Artemis
Do not travel a lot but I have to say my first trip down to South Carolina surprised me. My children and I went with my mom and step dad. So different from Ohio and West Virginia.
Raonaid at gmail dot com
It was the tour I got to go on to Turkey that really surprised me. Its was odd how one city can be so divided that when you are in the European side it feels like Europe but when you cross the river its like a whole new country and environment.
A couple of years ago, I went on a two week cruise/rail tour to Alaska. The entire trip was breath-taking.
Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com