Hello there! Jess Haines here. I’m the author of the H&W
Investigations series—urban fantasy novels about Shiarra Waynest, a human
private investigator in an alternate, present-day New York. Somehow she keeps
getting pulled into supernatural troubles way above her pay grade…
One of the things I love about urban fantasy is that you can be as
serious or un-serious as you want—it
all has its place.
My books swing back and forth on that spectrum. There are times
when I’m shooting for laughs and times when I’m shooting for tears. With my
latest, FORSAKEN BY THE OTHERS, I was aiming more for the absurd.
For example:
Thrane didn’t
answer him. I squinted my eyes open as Leewan grumbled under his breath, taking
the steps with a gait so jarring, my teeth were rattling. He glanced down at me
as I groaned, giving me a fangy grin.
“Wake-y, wake-y!”
I gave him the
most irritated glare I could muster under the circumstances. “Anyone ever tell
you you’re an asshole?”
He shrugged and
dropped me. I wasn’t expecting it and voiced a little shriek that cut off as
soon as my butt hit the couch, some of the air knocked out of me as my spine
connected with the arm. Owww.
“Every day, but
for you, I’ve trotted out an extra side of—”
“Leewan!”
Leewan looked up,
frowning, then abruptly skittered out of Thrane’s way with inhuman speed,
giving the other vampire room to place Sara with a little more care on the
cushions next to me. She was still out like a light. Thrane dusted his hands
off and glanced at me.
“Normally I don’t
care much for anyone who threatens me and mine, but seeing as you got attacked
by zombies on my doorstep, I figured I’d offer you two a hand.”
“Yeah, right,
Jimmy. You’re just hoping the blonde will give you her number.”
Thrane glared at
Mac, but didn’t dispute it. He turned back to me. “The gang knows they’re not
allowed to eat you. I’m going out. You can stay here until your partner wakes
up. Bathroom’s over there if you want to clean up.” He hooked a thumb in the
direction of a door with chipped, peeling paint and a black and yellow
“Caution: Hazardous Area, Authorized Personnel Only” sign tacked on.
Some of the other
vampires got off the couches and floor cushions to follow Thrane out of the
basement and into the night. He started belting out Panic Switch by the Silversun Pickups once he reached the top of
the stairs, spreading his arms wide and tilting his head back like he was
howling the song to the heavens.
Half of the ones
following him soon picked up the song, too, the pack of singing vampires
disappearing into the night, the sound not quite fading entirely as the door
slammed shut behind them.
I wondered if
maybe I was dreaming. Really weird dreams as a result of the mage’s dark magic
or something.
I love my vampires. Even when they’re incredibly weird.
Adding a touch of the ridiculous, a la HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE
GALAXY, is only one of the aspects of writing urban fantasy that I adore. Of
course, there’s also the gratuitous sexy vampires:
His gaze drew me
in next. Clyde’s eyes were… well, cliché as it sounds, a smoldering, dark blue.
Come-hither eyes. Eyes deep enough to drown in. I remembered at the last second
to look away, and, much like whenever David Bowie came on screen in Labyrinth,
soon found myself staring at what was obviously framed by his too-tight pants
and the tails of the shirt he hadn’t bothered to button.
“Mr.
Seabreeze,” Sara said, and with far more grace than I could possibly have
mustered, “it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Oh, no, the
pleasure is all mine.”
The
two of them were very cool and polite with each other considering he looked
like he’d walked off the set of some romance novel photo shoot. I debated
opening my mouth, but the words package and balls were
dangerously close to the tip of my tongue. Instead, I mutely offered my hand
when he approached to give us both a polite, welcoming handshake. I imagine my
vow of silence was probably for the best—for all of us.
Point being, even when they’re dangerous, even when they’re sexy,
you can still have fun with vamps. Hope the little snippets from my next book
are impetus enough to interest you in checking it out!
For the next stop on the blog tour, be sure to visit the official FORSAKEN
BY THE OTHERS blog tour calendar (link: http://jesshaines.com/blog/?p=2210)!
You can also visit me on the web:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JessHainesAuthor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Jess_Haines
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/jesshaines
Thanks again for having me, Brooklyn Ann!
_____
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Forsaken
by the Others Book Description:
The Others–vampires, werewolves,
things that go chomp in the night–don’t just live in nightmares anymore.
They’ve joined with the mortal world. And for private investigator Shiarra
Waynest, that means mayhem…
Have a one night
stand with a vampire, and you can end up paying for it for eternity. P.I.
Shiarra Waynest, an expert on the Others, knows that better than most. Yet here
she is, waking up beside charismatic vamp Alec Royce with an aching head…and
neck. Luckily, Shia has the perfect excuse for getting out of town–namely, a
couple of irate East Coast werewolf packs who’d like to turn her into a chew
toy.
On Royce’s
suggestion, Shia temporarily relocates to Los Angeles. But something is
rotten–literally–in the state of California, where local vampires are being
attacked by zombies. Who could be powerful enough to control them–and reckless
enough to target the immortal? Following the trail will lead Shia to a
terrifying truth, and to an ancient enemy with a personal grudge…
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