Taking the Next Step
Continuing the Series
~~LM Pruitt
No matter how many
series I write, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the Jude
Magdalyn series. Jude and the gang were my foray into career writing and I’m so
happy other people have read and enjoyed their story so far. It’s not over by a
long shot—the latest book in the series, Shades
of Blood, will be released later this week. Once again, I’ve done my best
to bring local New Orleans vampire lore to the forefront while still delving
into the crazy, kooky characters of the Crossroads.
I’m sharing a sample of Shades of Blood with you today to get
you in the mood for the upcoming release. I hope everybody enjoys reading it as
much as I enjoyed writing it.
“You ever go on the Vampire Tour here?
Probably not.” Duprees pulled at his tie, rolled his shoulders a little. “One
of the stories they tell is about the Carter Brothers. And from that story
comes another, a story about one of their last victims, a man named Felipe.”
“I’m not liking where
this is going.” Theo rested a hand on the small of my back and I bit my lip to
keep from hissing at the almost scorching heat. He noticed anyway and almost
instantly, it went down to a more manageable temp. “Stop beating around the
bush; finish it.”
“Felipe killed over
twenty people. Drank their blood. Dissolved the bodies in acid.” Duprees
delivered the facts in a cold, clipped voice. A cop’s voice. “His actions were
discovered when his parents filed a missing person report and police
investigated his address. He’d left his diary behind, the last entry detailing
his plans to leave the city after throwing his latest victim into the
Mississippi.”
“So he left. That’s
good. He’d be pretty up there in age at this point.” My palms were starting to
sweat and it had nothing to do with Theo. Even a blind man could see where this
was going. I wasn’t blind.
But I really had wanted
a peaceful holiday season.
“Jude.” Theo ran his
hand up and down my spine. Normally it helped soothe. Right now, it just
agitated me even more. “Time for us to face facts.”
“I don’t like this anymore
than you do.” Duprees placed the photo of the note on top of the stack of
papers, tapping them once. “But when I add two and two and get five, I have to
start looking for the crazy missing element somewhere.”
I sat back heavily,
raising my eyes to the ceiling. I closed them when I heard the front door slam
open and shut in a way that could only mean Danie was back. The sounds of Celia
and Mickeal arguing filtered down from the floor above. If I had to guess,
Elizabeth had closed herself off in the kitchen, household accounts spread over
the table. Rian would be nearby, but far enough away to not annoy.
I sighed, tilted my face
down as I opened my eyes. “Well, I guess you could call a blood-thirsty, more
than likely hell-bent on revenge vampire, a crazy element.”
The Books:
Shades of Desire
By L.M. Pruitt
Book 2 Jude Magdalyn Series
All
I wanted was a little peace and quiet.
Instead, I've got dead Covenant members and a steady stream of letters from the
new guy in town. His beverage of choice? A 2002 Merlot, with a shot or two of
powerful virgin blood.
On top of that, I'm breaking in a new police liaison, failing at playing
matchmaker, and fighting nausea like it's a full time job. All I wanted was a little peace and quiet.
Instead, I've got dead Covenant members and a steady stream of letters from the
new guy in town. His beverage of choice? A 2002 Merlot, with a shot or two of
powerful virgin blood.
On top of that, I'm breaking in a new police liaison, failing at playing
matchmaker, and fighting nausea like it's a full time job.
Did I forget to mention that I've also got enough girls living at the
Crossroads to start my own boarding school?
Peace and quiet? Out the window.
Shades of Gray
By L.M. Pruitt
Book 1 Jude Magdalyn Series
Jude Magdalyn Henries lives what many would call an unconventional
life.
Orphaned at birth, raised by nuns, a teenage runaway living on the
streets... she now earns a living at odd jobs, including one as a fake tarot
card reader. Very little about Jude's life appears normal, by any scale.
When she accepts a gig to do a private reading, unconventional
takes on an entirely new meaning. Life as she knows it ends when she's thrust
into a world she never knew existed-one filled with magic, vampires, and her
beloved New Orleans on the verge of an underground war.
To make matters worse, she's got two men in her life vying for
attention, Williams and Theo. Both call to a different part of her, but one
scares her just a little bit.
Can she step up to the challenges set before her and make the
right choices for the greater good?
Excerpt Shades of
Desire
“If someone doesn’t get me a lemon in the next
five minutes, everyone will suffer. A lot.”
“Jude, I love you. Which is why I can say you’re being just a little
overdramatic.” One look at my face and Theo changed his tune. “But then again,
you could say pregnancy is dramatic and you’re just getting into the groove.”
“Nice save.” I tried to sit up again. Halfway through the upward
movement greasy waves of nausea rolled over me and I eased back down onto the
pillow. Strands of black hair clung to my sweaty face and I closed my eyes,
exhaling slowly. “Not as nice as that lemon would be right now, but nice.”
“Elizabeth will be here in a moment. No doubt she’ll have a lemon. And
tea. And toast.” Theo turned over to face me, laying one hand over my still
mostly flat stomach. If you looked close, you could see the smallest of bumps.
I know, because I checked. Every other day or so.
If anybody told me three months ago, that the week before Halloween,
I’d be lying in bed with a man who absolutely adored me—even the crazy
parts—I’d have asked them what the hell they were smoking. If they’d thrown in
being pregnant, I would have punched them in their jaw. Then gone to the store
and bought a dozen pregnancy tests and prayed for them all to be negative.
But that was before the Covenant.
In two weeks, I’d gone from being an orphan raised by nuns, to the
latest in a long line of only daughters. Women charged with the protection and
well-being of hundreds of people with unique powers. Some made flame burn for
hours, while others called the wind to knock you flat on your ass. They were a
group of people who came together over two-hundred years ago, bound by a
prophecy. One with no past, lost in the present, will bring in the future,
through gifts of both this world and the next.
And lucky me, I’d passed the job interview.
I’d sent Hart to a muddy, watery grave-literally. Unless something went
crazy wrong, he’d stay under the Mississippi until the Final Judgment. Williams
ruled the vampires of the city now and kept his distance as much as possible.
And I, Jude Magdalyn Henries, led the Covenant. Maybe I wasn’t terrific
at it. But Gillian would be proud.
All things considered, I think I came out with a pretty good deal.
The Author:
L.M. Pruitt has been reading and writing for as long
as she can remember. A native of Florida with a love of New Orleans, she has
the uncanny ability to find humor in most things and would probably kill a
plastic plant. She is the author of the Jude Magdalyn Series as well as New
Moon Rising, featuring Cari Gravier, and Taken, featuring Frankie Post. She is
currently at work on the next book in the Moon Rising series, Harvest Moon
Rising, due out April 2012. Ms. Pruitt makes her home in Florida with two
cats--one smart, the other not so much.
Convinced she’s a part of the witness protection program, sixteen-year-old Jewel Rose is shuffled around the globe with her family like a pack of traveling gypsies. After arriving at lucky home twenty-seven, she stumbles upon a mysterious boy with magical powers claiming to be her guardian . . . and warning of imminent danger. Despite the obvious sparks between them, Jewel discovers a relationship is forbidden, and the more she learns about dark, brooding Roman, she begins to question who she can even believe — the family who raised her, or the supposed sworn protector who claims they’ve been lying to her all along.
