Please welcome guest author, Rachel Rawlings
Thanks for having me on the
blog today! I’m excited to be here. I went back and forth on what to talk about
and finally decided to WIP it! I’m really excited about my current work in
progress. It’s new characters in a new world, set in practically in my own back
yard Baltimore City. I thought this would be a great opportunity to introduce
people to Jax and see what they think of her. But don’t tell first heroine
Maurin Kincaide because as tough as I think I am if she sends her crew after me
I’m in trouble!
I swapped out the plain black
shirt I'd worn to volunteer at the shelter for a cut off white tee with a spray
painted red anarchy symbol on it. One of my favorites, the shirt was short
enough to show a little stomach and cut low enough to flash just the right
amount of cleavage. My tips improved significantly whenever I wore it. This
proved to be no exception.
The place was packed to
capacity. Wall to wall people, everyone drinking and having a good time.
Completely clueless to the demons roaming the streets, just waiting to torment
them and snack on their souls. I envied their ignorance. I wished like hell I
didn't know the things I did.
One of the regulars shouted
his order for two shots of Fireball over the pounding music and roar of the
crowd. I mindlessly filled the glasses and slid them across the bar top,
surprised when one made its way back to me. The guy raised his shot glass,
waiting for me to lift mine. I clinked my glass against his and slammed the
liquor, savoring the cinnamon taste and slow burn. We both slammed the shot
glasses upside down on the bar and he disappeared back into the crowd.
I'd made it a rule not to
drink more than two shots a night. Something I had to remind myself of more
than once during my shift. Thoughts of demons continued to creep into my mind
the rest of the night, souring my mood. Thankfully none of the customers
noticed or my tips would have suffered.
I made it through my shift.
Exhausted and ready to crash I grabbed my stuff from the employee lockers in
the backroom. I also grabbed a bottle of Kettle One and dropped some cash on my
manager's desk. With a nod he added the money to the drawer he was counting
down and I headed home.
I made it a block before the first
demon crawled out of an alleyway on my right. The smell of sulfur hit me and I
knew it was a lesser demon. The stronger demons smelled of burnt wick, like
when you snuff out a candle. I figured that out a couple years ago. Useful
information. It helped to know when to fight and when to run. I'd been running
more than I'd used to but I could easily send this one back to hell.
I started to speak the words
I'd used a dozen or so times to banish demons when I realized there was more
than one. I shivered from the intense chill running down my spine. Outnumbered
I decided to haul ass. Better to tuck tail and run, and live to fight another
day than be ripped to shreds by a pack of lesser demons. I picked up the pace,
practically race walking. Until I ran into Lazarus.
By far the most powerful
demon I'd come across, Lazarus smelled like ashes, like everything laid waste
to the fires of hell. Being able to smell them was just one more perk of my
deal with the devil. The ability to sense them grew stronger every day. I took
it as a reminder that I was one day closer to joining their ranks and paying my
debt to the Lord of the Damned.
He pressed forward, pushing
me back toward the alley. "I owe you one, you little bitch." Lazarus
struck, back handing me across the mouth before I could back away.
I stumbled back from the
blow, running the back of my hand across my mouth to wipe away the blood from
my split lip. I'd made a mistake. Again - at least I was consistent. I'd gotten
too comfortable with the absence of the demon and let my guard down. I hadn't
even been looking for demons when I walked out of the bar. I smelled them
before I felt them and that meant I'd let them get too close.
Lazarus came at me again. His
hand clamped around my throat, blocking my air flow. I clawed at his fingers,
tried to pry them from my neck as little black dots danced along the corners of
my vision. I never should have hit him. Content to mentally torment me and
haunt my everything step, this was the first time he'd ever touched me and I'd
brought it on myself. I knew if I died I'd go to hell. There'd been no calls
from the heavenly host, no angelic herald visiting me to say all was forgiven.
If Lazarus killed me, it was a one way ticket to eternity in the fiery pits. My
survival instincts kicked in to high gear. I wasn't ready to die and I
certainly wasn't ready to give myself up to the devil.
I reached into my bag,
fumbling around until I got a hold of the neck of the vodka bottle. I yanked it
out and cracked it over the head of the demon. The bottle bounced off his head
without any of the satisfying shattering glass I'd come to expect from the
movies but he did drop me. After gulping in air, I smashed the bottle against
the wall and slashed out with the jagged neck. I missed, taking a sharp jab to
the ribs in the process. Doubled over, but still holding the broken glass, I
tried for another strike, managing to slice Lazarus's thigh. He hissed from the
pain but didn't back down. He had me by the neck again, slamming me into the
brick wall of the building behind me. Close to blacking out, the bottle neck
slipped from my grip.
He pawed my body with his
free hand, squeezing hard on my left breast before settling between my thighs.
I tried to knee him in the groin, hoping it had the same effect on demons as it
did on men but he blocked it. He pulled his hand out from my crotch and punched
me in the stomach before clamping it down with his other hand around my throat.
If I could have breathed, it would have been a sigh of relief. Lazarus was back
to simply trying to kill me. I'd rather be murdered than raped by a demon.
Resolved to my fate, I stopped fighting and prepared to meet the Devil.
The sound of footsteps and
someone shouting reached my ears as I slid down the wall. Lazarus took off,
disappearing at the end of the alleyway. The lesser demons scattered like wharf
rats down by the peer. I sat there on the damp ground, surrounded by trash bags
and over flowing dumpsters, trying to catch my breath. The person who'd been
yelling reached the alley, their footsteps slowed as they realized my attacker
fled the scene. Grateful the guy passed by at the same time Lazarus was kicking
my ass, I looked up to thank my rescuer.
He extended a hand to help me
up off the ground, waiting patiently when I stared at him with my mouth agape.
He wiggled his fingers, trying to encourage me to take his hand but I smacked
it away. I've never believed in coincidence before and I wasn't about to start.
Dane didn't just happen by, he'd been looking for me.
"I'm going to file for a
restraining order if you keep this up." I pushed off the cement and
stumbled to my feet.
Dane reached out to help me
after I swayed a couple times but I shook my head.
"You want me to take you
to the emergency room? Get those ribs looked at?" Dane glanced at the arm
I'd wrapped around my midsection. "You can fill out a police report while
you're there."
"I'm fine. No hospitals,
no police." Because when you tell
people demons are attacking you they didn't put out an APB for the assailant,
they locked you up.
***
The Maurin Kincaide Series
Book One
Rachel Rawlings
Genre: Paranormal Urban Fantasy
ASIN: B003V4B6CI
Number of pages: 326
Cover Artist: Joseph Eastwood
Book Description:
I'm Maurin Kincaide, a psychometric, and until a few days ago I was working for Salem's Preternatural Task Force as an interrogator. I cracked more cold cases and got more confessions than anyone else in the department. Of course that was before I traded in my badge for an ancient Celtic sword. Now, I'm the Special Liaison for the Council, the governing body of the Others, and I take my orders from witches, werewolves and vampires.
I didn't just make a career change though. I'm not the same person I was before. I'm stronger, I can heal from wounds that would kill a normal person. I'm developing latent psychic skills at a breakneck speed. Oh yeah, and it would seem that a Pagan goddess has taken permanent residence in my body and mind. Crazy thing is, I'm starting to feel normal, like this is who I'm supposed to be.
Of course, there are those who don't agree. Morrigan and her sisters for example. Actually, I'm pretty sure they'd like nothing more than to see me dead. And if I can't stop them and the demons they've raised, they just might get their wish.
Witch Hunt
The Maurin Kincaide Series
Book Two
Rachel Rawlings
Genre: Paranormal Urban Fantasy
ASIN: B009YLODRW
Number of pages: 316
Cover Artist: Joseph Eastwood
Book Description:
Maurin Kincaide is back in this action packed follow up novel to The Morrigna. No longer a member of Salem's Preternatural Task Force Maurin is the new liaison for The Council, governing body of Others. During what should have been a routine meeting with her former Captain, Maurin is brought in on a murder investigation.
Three dead witches, three cryptic clues, no sign of the killers and the Salem coven is losing allies within the Council. If Maurin and her unlikely partner Captain Matthison can't stop the killers, the Witch City might be without its namesake.
Wolfsbane
The Maurin Kincaide Series
Book Three
Rachel Rawlings
Genre: Paranormal Urban Fantasy
ASIN: B00DAIILMS
Number of pages: 78 Novella
Cover Artist: Joseph Eastwood
Book Description:
Given the choice between her sister's wedding and witnessing the challenge for Alpha of the Salem pack, Maurin knows exactly where she'd rather be. Smack dead center in a pack of snarling werewolves wearing eau de filet mignon.
Until Francesca takes off the morning of her wedding. Being her sister's keeper will not excuse her from her job as the Council Liaison. Torn between obligations to a family she's avoided for almost a decade and the Council of Others, Maurin has less than twenty-four hours to set things right.
Available at:
Blood Bath
The Maurin Kincaide Series
Book Four
Rachel Rawlings
Genre: Paranormal Urban Fantasy
ASIN: B00IJ16Z56
Number of pages: 202
Cover Artist: Joseph Eastwood
Book Description:
Bodies are piling up and all signs point in one direction. Rogue vampire. Except things aren't always what they seem, especially in a murder investigation.
With her current relationship on the rocks, her father playing match-maker and her neighbor tossing his hat in the ring, the body count isn't the only thing on the rise. Maurin is neck deep in magic, mayhem and murder.
Can she catch the killer before the killer catches her? One things for certain, when hunting vampires there will be blood.
Available at:
Mistletoe Meltdown
The Maurin Kincaide Series
Short Story Book 4.5
Rachel Rawlings
Genre: Paranormal Urban Fantasy
ASIN: B00RLUQ2GI
Number of pages: 28
Book Description:
What do you do when you're out voted on hosting a holiday party, complete with gift exchange and all the trimmings?
Tie on the apron and deck those halls.
Self proclaimed Scrooge, Maurin Kincaide accepts the challenge and tackles the yuletide with all the determination she would a Council task.
But not everyone is brimming with holiday cheer. A blood coven threatens to bring the holiday festivities to an end.
Can Maurin stop the dark magic before the clock strikes twelve, signaling the solstice?
Available at:
Ill Fated
The Maurin Kincaide Series
Book Five
Rachel Rawlings
Genre: Paranormal Urban Fantasy
ASIN: B00TI20TZC
Number of pages: 270
Cover Artist: Joseph Eastwood
Book Description:
Some things are destined to end in death. After the first attempt on her life Maurin wasn’t scared. Hell, she was almost flattered. But someone put a price on her head and things are getting complicated. Trouble is brewing in the fae courts and it’s spilling over into Salem. The UnSeelie Dark Guard have answered the call for her head on a platter and people closest to her are disappearing.
Can Maurin master court politics and find her missing men before someone claims the bounty on her head?
About the Author:
Rachel Rawlings was born and raised in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. Her family, originally from Rhode Island, spent summers in New England sparking her fascination with Salem, MA. She has been writing fictional stories and poems since middle school, but it wasn't until 2009 that she found the inspiration to create her heroine Maurin Kincaide and complete her first full length novel, The Morrigna.
When she isn't writing, Rachel can often be found with her nose buried in a good book. An avid reader of Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, Horror and Steampunk herself, Rachel founded Hallowread- an interactive convention for both authors and fans of those genres.
More information on Hallowread, its schedule of events and participating authors can be found at HallowRead Blogspot and Hallowread Facebook.
She still lives in Maryland with her husband and three children.
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