Excerpt:
Then everything froze. Joni, the customers, the cars outside. All movement simply stopped. The chime on the front door sounded. My throat went dry. Somehow, I knew what was happening. I knew who had arrived, though I didn’t understand how or why.
Twisting around, I peered over the rim of the booth. Standing in the doorway was the man from my hallucinations, a creature of the dark plains. Tall and slim, broad-shouldered, dark in aspect. That same man had beheaded a snake in my kitchen. Not my kitchen, I reminded myself. The illusion of my kitchen, part of the same hallucination of an impossible world. The Hunting Grounds, he’d called it. Where we go to hunt souls.My mind spun with the impossibility of what I was seeing. He couldn’t be real. Yet here he was, in Joni’s shop. Except, he looked different. His hair was peppered gray instead of black. His skin seemed a shade darker. Or maybe lighter? It was like wrapping my head around a mirage, trying to remember what he looked like in my nightmares. But the simple force of his presence, the quiet luminescence of his spirit, was unmistakable. That was him.
Without so much as a glance in my direction, the man stepped into the shop and started toward the counter. Everything stirred at once. Several people looked his way. Joni let go a long, low whistle.“Well, I’ll be!” she exclaimed. "We haven’t had anyone that drop-dead gorgeous walk in here since…Well, ever!”
She kept staring, mouth agape, as he ordered coffee. Then her face lit up, and she jumped into action, wiping down the table next to me.
“I’ve got an idea,” she said. “I think you should go for him.”
“What?” I croaked.
“He’s totally your style.”
“I don’t date men in suits.”
“What are you talking about?” She laughed. “Look at him! It’s fate. I can feel it.”
“Joni –”
“Sir!” She called. “Sir, we’ve got an empty table right over here. Next to the windows.”
Holy crap! I sank deeper into my seat. “I’m serious, Joni! Send him somewhere else.”
“Straighten up, beautiful.” She patted me on the shoulder. “Give it a shot. What’ve you got to lose?”
Then she was gone. I cast about frantically for an escape, but there was no back exit from the booth. Unless I wanted to crash through the window. Could I do that? Crash through the window?
Yeah, I could do that. But I’d have to leave my insects behind, and –
And there he was, taking the table next to me. His chair scraped against the floor. His clothes rustled as he settled in. Minutes passed while my heart pounded inside my chest. I kept my face turned, pretended to stare out the window, wondered whether it would hurt to feel the glass shatter against my skin.Idle talk filled the coffee shop. Customers came and went, orders were taken, steam forced through frothing milk.
Still the man said nothing.
I snuck a glance in his direction. Damn, he was handsome. Heart stoppingly so. Desire tugged at my gut, a strangely familiar sense of attraction, as if we’d known each other before this moment. As if I’d been bound to him in a time before memory.
Fun Facts About SOUL MASTERS
The soul masters are supernatural rulers of the afterlife. They build their realms by claiming souls. The more souls in a soul master’s possession, the greater their power.
There is no driving struggle between good and evil among the soul masters. Their world operates more-or-less like a feudal system, with soul masters forming alliances that serve personal interests and ambitions.
Mayela’s nemesis and love interest, Nathan, is a relatively young soul master. His lineage runs deep, extending back to ancient Egypt.
Nathan was born a half-mortal, unaware of his heritage. When his supernatural mother came to claim him, he had to make a choice between becoming a soul master or being destroyed by others of her kind.
The protagonist of Soul Masters, Mayela, is a forty-something female ecologist. She is also a widow.
Like many readers, I’ve perceived a bit of ageism in paranormal romance, which tends to feature younger protagonists. So, I decided to write a story that features a smart protagonist with a little more life experience, and some significant life trauma, under her belt.
Mayela’s encounter with Nathan will change her life forever - and not just because she’s bound to fall in love.
Soul Masters is set in my home town of Kansas City. This is the first book I’ve written based on the place where I grew up, known to local residents as the City of Fountains. I had a lot of fun writing scenes around the landmarks that I love. I hope you have a lot of fun reading it!
Those are some fun facts about Soul Masters. What questions do you have about the book or its world and characters?
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