On this Friday the 13th, I have a very special book haunt spotlight for you.
Welcome to my stop on the book tour for Unearthed after Sunset by Lauryn April.
Unearthed after Sunset releases in just 2 days so
take advantage of the $0.99 preorder price now!
Also, try your luck and be one of 3 winners to win a copy here!
Blurb:
When Greg Erickson is killed by sultry and seductive vampire Lila, he wakes up cold and alone in a wooden box. After clawing his way out, he finds himself thrust into a vampire turf war, unsure of exactly whose side he’s on and why he’s fighting. Greg discovers that it’s not easy to be human one day and hunting humans the next. While his new vampire cohorts push him to accept his newfound existence, there’s one girl from his human life he’s unable to forget.
Caroline Christensen lived a normal life once. Then her brother was killed by vampires and her family legacy as a vampire hunter was handed down to her. When she meets Greg at a bar one night, they both feel an immediate connection. Then Greg discovers Caroline’s secret and she worries he’ll never talk to her again. She soon finds out that he has a very different reason for not calling — he’s dead.
Now Greg has become Caroline’s target, but can she bring herself to kill him? Greg, however, isn’t Caroline’s only concern. The vampires are battling one another, and Caroline is determined to find out what they’re fighting over.
Excerpt:
Darkness fell around me as the last lingering traces of the sun were swallowed by the horizon. I stumbled through the cemetery gate. The farther I moved from the street lights and beams of passing cars, the higher the hairs on the back of my neck stood. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but when they did, a graveyard, landscaped with native plants and a pebbled walkway weaving through the grass, came into view. A short brick wall enclosed the space, and as a breeze brushed by, I felt at peace.
It was a clear night, heavy with stars. I tried to remember the constellations I’d learned in the astronomy class I’d taken my freshman year, but few came to mind. As I crossed the yard, I read the names on the headstones. Sometimes I stopped and looked at the epitaphs.
“Here lies…Aaron Ackers,” I read on one grave marker. His headstone lacked a cross or any other religious symbols. “Aaron Ackers…atheist, all dressed up with nowhere to go.” I chuckled to myself.
I began walking away and nearly tripped. One of my shoelaces had come untied. Kneeling beside Aaron’s grave, I retied them. After righting myself, my sight traveled across the yard, and something new caught my eye.
Long tan legs kicked out from the wall. My eyes followed their movements for a short while before trailing up her body. Silver light from the near full moon reflected off her tight white top and the blooming flowers growing beside her. She looked so innocent sitting there in her short floral skirt, the wind catching the edges of the fabric, making it flutter against her thighs.
She tapped her nails against the wall and sat slouching to one side. Then I saw her face. Caroline. What was she doing here? She looked bored, dark brown eyes rolled up to the sky as she sighed. Why was she in a graveyard, in this part of town, at night? She told me she was on her way to work. She couldn’t work here, could she?
She hopped down from the low brick wall and walked deeper into the cemetery. I started to follow when two gangly men approached her. Dressed in dark clothes, they loomed over Caroline’s petite frame.
My eyes remained stuck on her as I ran. The two men circled her, obviously trying to intimidate her. Neither looked like he had good intentions. My heart was already pounding, but I ran faster.
Caroline said something, the sound of her voice no more than a whisper in the wind. A man laughed. The other lunged at her, and I fell flat on my face. My foot had caught on a root, unearthed from the hallowed ground.
I pushed myself up as one of the men stumbled back. Caroline held her fists out before her. Had she punched him? The other man grabbed her from behind and wrapped his arm around her neck as his buddy got up from the ground.
I got back on my feet. “Hey, stop, let her go!”
The men turned to me. I slowed my pace, glad to have their attention, but also suddenly cautious for the same reason. I tried to think of something clever to persuade them to leave her alone, but no words came to me.
At that same moment, Caroline flipped the man that held her by the neck over her shoulder. He landed hard on his back. The other man turned back to her. I started running again. She pulled something from her purse and kneeled beside the fallen man. I wondered what she was doing. She should run. Instead, she took the object in her hand and drove it straight into his chest.
I stopped running.
Every square inch of breath in my lungs heaved out.
She killed him.
Author Bio:
Lauryn has always been fascinated by the paranormal, picking up a healthy Stephen King habit by the age of thirteen. Her favorite TV show growing up was “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, and she’s always preferred bands like The Rolling Stones, and The Doors over whatever they’re playing on the radio.
Lauryn has been writing since she was a teenager. In college, she spent three semesters writing for her school newspaper. Then, when she was nineteen she published her first work, a poem in her school literary magazine. When she wasn’t writing, Lauryn was studying Psychology and Philosophy and graduated from UW Oshkosh with a BA in Psychology. She continues to learn and grow as a writer.
In 2012 she published her first novel “Into the Deep” which explores the intricacies of the adolescent mind and what it means to feel alone. The sequel “Hidden Beneath” followed a year later.
Lauryn currently lives with her husband and two dogs in Wisconsin.
You can follow her on Twitter @LaurynApril or on Facebook facebook.com/laurynapril
Author Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lauryn-April/e/B008TT45FU/
Website: www.laurynapril.com
Blog: http://laurynapril.blogspot.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/laurynapril/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/laurynapril/
Right now you can win a copy of this e-book! 3 winners will win 7 e-books in our 2nd Annual Bookish Halloween Giveaway so be sure to grab your free and easy entries!
