Spotlight on Tainted Blood by Katrina Michaels and 8 Super Halloween Giveaways!

Today, the spotlight is on a new vampire novel by Katrina Michaels!  I will be posting my review on 10/30/12.  

Giveaways: At the end of the post there are links for 6 active Halloween Giveaways.  Leave a comment here and be entered to win a paperback copy (USA residents only) or one of five e-copies of Annals of the Immortyls (Open to any commenter).

Here is a little about Tainted Blood:

Tainted Blood by Katrina Michaels

Lilith's Day is a time of celebration and remembrance among vampires.  As the holiday looms, a series of horrific deaths shocks the vampire community of Riverside and gathers the attention of Tom Duncan and his agents at the Preternatural Investigation Agency.   The vampires’ blood products had never been considered vulnerable to tampering, so when the cause of death points to poisoning, everyone is shocked.  Finding the culprit amidst unknown motives, numerous suspects, and rising tension between vampires and humans proves to be complicated.

At the same time, Agent Max Boyd finds herself having to face her past when a dangerous thief makes his presence known in Riverside.  Reliving mistakes you tried to put behind you is never easy, as Max well knows, but when the thief puts her friend's life in danger, that is exactly what she must do.

Excerpt: Marco Delant broke away from chatting with some of his regulars and continued making the rounds of his club.  It was a Friday night and the after work crowd was piling into Tombstone looking for colorful drinks and meaningless conversation.  He passed by the bar and nodded to his newest bartender.  Lucas returned the favor before turning his attention back to the ladies placing their orders.  He smiled wide, allowing his fangs to show, and smirked as the ladies giggled predictably.

It had come as no surprise to Marco that Tombstone’s patrons had become accustomed to having a vampire behind the bar.  When Tara quit, it was mentioned frequently by his customers.  Being able to take some not so subtle hints, he began searching for a new preternatural bartender, but found it harder than he thought it would be.  His first two hires didn’t work out very well.  The first told him that Tombstone’s music was too loud and distasteful and the second preferred to glare at anyone within two feet rather than serve them.  However, Lucas was fitting in nicely so maybe his luck was changing.

“Lilith’s Day is approaching and the moon is shining bright,” Jackson intoned after sidling silently up next to Marco.  “It may seem quiet, but it won’t last.”

“Then I guess I’ll appreciate the quiet for as long I can,” Marco smiled, humoring the eccentric vampire, sometimes also called a Bela, as they preferred to emulate the old-fashioned movie vampire stereotype.

Jackson took a delicate sip of the blood from his wine glass as he considered Marco’s words.  “Very true,” he agreed.  “But I prefer chaos to quiet.  Silence can easily be destroyed by a mere whisper, but nothing can end chaos.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Please do.  Oh, my compliments.  It is a lovely vintage tonight,” the vampire smiled, rolling the blood in the glass.  He took another long swallow before turning back into the crowd as his black cape fluttered dramatically with each stride.

Out of all the types of vampires Marco had met, Belas were certainly some of the oddest.  At least they were taking inspiration from Bela Lugosi and not the actual Vlad the Impaler and so were mostly harmless. 

Marco dismissed Jackson’s words as mere theatrics and continued to survey the crowd.  Satisfied that everyone was happy and that everything was operating smoothly, he disappeared into his office to catch up on paperwork.  He hadn’t been sitting at his desk for more than a half an hour, though, before the screams started.

The first one caught him by surprise and he knocked his glass of water to the floor.  The shattering glass stole his attention briefly, but more voices joined in the high-pitched clamor emanating from the club.  Marco ran out of his office and tried to pinpoint the source of the disturbance.  People were scrambling away from a darkened corner of the club, but others were pointing behind the bar in horror. 

“Spencer!  What’s going on?” Marco shouted to a nearby bouncer. 

“I think Lucas is sick,” the bouncer replied nervously.  Everyone knew that vampires didn’t get sick.

“What?  Okay, check to see what’s happening over there and I’ll see to Lucas.  And try to keep people calm,” Marco ordered and pointed to the other focus of the ruckus.

Marco hurried over to the bar, pushing people out of the way gently until he could see his bartender.  The vampire was on his knees vomiting blood onto the floor.  “Lucas!” Marco cried and jumped over the bar.  “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t know,” he gasped in between heaves.  “Hurts!”

“What hurts?” Marco asked and grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and dialed 911.  He quickly gave the operator Tombstone’s address and let her know that the emergency involved a vampire.  “Lucas, what hurts?” he asked again after he disconnected.

“Throat.  Blood’s burning,” Lucas rasped and managed to look up at Marco who swallowed hard.  The vampire’s lips were turning black and cracked.  He had never seen anything like it. 

Lucas heaved and blackened blood erupted from his mouth onto the floor.  As he coughed out more blood, Marco could see open oozing blisters in his mouth.  The vampire started to scream as black lines began spreading out across his face and down his neck.  It took Marco a second to realize that the lines were actually veins.

“Marco!” Spencer yelled.  “It’s one of the customers.  A vampire.  He’s throwing up blood.  He looks real bad!”

“Oh my God!  Help!  He’s dying!” a woman screamed from the other corner where Marco could see that another crowd had gathered.

“What the hell is going on?” Marco breathed and looked around the club, seeking some sort of answer, and saw Jackson sitting quietly in one of the chairs near the back.  The vampire noticed his gaze and raised his glass in a mock salute to the sudden chaos.

Don't forget to leave a comment at this post to be entered into the drawing for Tainted Blood (USA) and Annals of the Immortyls (Anyone).  

Here are the 6 other active giveaways.  Just leave a comment after the posts to enter, except on 
B. K. Walker's post, where there is a Rafflecopter. 

Paperback book from Lee Taylor:http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/lee-taylor-on-halloweenpaperback.html

Ebooks by Vanessa Morgan:

http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/vanessa-morgan-talks-about-scary.html

Ebook from Katie Salidas:

http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/sexy-cedric-interviews-fallon-from.html

Ebook from Roy Hudson:

http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/roy-hudson.html

Two Paperbacks from A. J. Scudiere:

http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/author-j-scudiere-on-darkside.html

B. K. Walker Halloween Gift Basket:

http://www.immortylrevolution.blogspot.com/2012/10/b-k-walker-halloween-gift-basket.html