Guest: Evelyn Shepherd

I'm pleased to welcome Evelyn Shepherd who was kind enough about anything she wanted. So what did she decide on? Don't forget to comment to be entered to win a $20 Amazon GC and follow Evelyn's tour.

Hey ya’ll, so glad to be here! Thanks to Kristabel for having me. I’m psyched to be able to talk to everyone for a bit. For this tour I’ve been doing a lot of interviews, so I’m really excited to just talk for a minute about some more candid thoughts. Honestly when I was first approached with the offer to do a free-reign blog post I was slightly apprehensive.

I’m a terrible blogger, hands down. I can never think of anything to say. It may be because my head is full of so many ideas for stories that there just isn’t room for anything else. So I had to really think for a moment.

I could talk to you about the perfect way to make eggs (which I do not know) or talk about my on-and-off affair with needlepoint. That really isn’t exciting – save the grandma jokes! I’ve decided to talk about some awareness, which also leads back to some of my inspiration for writing. Let’s face it, my life is writing so there really isn’t much else for me to talk about. Not unless you want to hear about my Glee obsession.

Anyone? A little Klaine talk? Anyone?

No?

Well, fine.

Onto the topic. One of the major questions asked during my interviews has been what inspires me. While there are several people out in the world that have inspired me, one of the major things that has pushed me into writing has been my life. I have two sisters, one older and one younger. As the middle child I’ve learned from my older sister’s mistakes (of which she made many) and also been tethered to my younger sister. Around fifth, maybe sixth grade, my little sister was diagnosed with severe autism and MRDD (mental retardation).

I love my sister, but at times it was hard growing up. I was stuck between a rebellious older sister who pushed as many boundaries as she could and a younger, who, while five years my younger, had the mentality of an infant. Fantasy, role-playing, reading, and video games became my outlet. I lost myself in a world that wasn’t my own, a world I could control. Life was easier between the pages of a book. If I could have had a Never Ending Story experience, I would have in a heartbeat.

Eventually that passion turned into writing. It started as a hobby, something I never dreamed of pursuing. I wrote the worst fan fiction. My first was for this anime called Escaflowne. When I got tired of writing fan fiction, I tried my own stories. From there that passion developed.

Writing has always been a part of my life. It has been my greatest escape and without it I don’t know where I’d be. A psych ward maybe? Actually, I probably should be there now! Well, thanks Kristabel for letting me share my story!

BLURB: Valentine’s Day turns into a nightmare when an ancient vampire burns her way through the greater Columbus, ushering in the Aztec God of Death. Theo and Carlos will have to set aside their personal problems in order to put an end to a deranged killer. But as the body count rises, they find outthey’re going up against more than a vampire -– they’re going up against each other.In the midst of the chaos, Theo faces his own personal turmoil. When Lloyd confronts Theo about his feelings, Theo isn’t sure whether his heart still belongs to Carlos or if he truly cares for Lloyd. If he wants to save the world, Theo will have to overcome his troubled heart and harness the power within.


EXCERPT

I thought I was drowning. There was a brief moment—when my vision turned black and my mind went blank—when I was sure I was standing in front of the devil.

How many people can honestly walk away from the devil after shaking his hand? No one. Because once you shake his hand, you never truly leave him. He has a piece of my soul. It was the price I paid to come back to life. Eventually he was going to collect the rest of his debt.

I wasn’t drowning, though, and he wasn’t here for his final pound of flesh. I cut through the water, and reality cleared in the rise of air bubbles. I started on my first lap, focusing my attention on strengthening my knee and not on the thousands of thoughts swirling in my mind. I had screwed my knee up four months ago, and even though I had been out of rehabilitation for almost two months, I still had to work on getting it back to normal.

My back was an intricate network of knots. After a long day, I just wanted to let it all drift away. The Olympic-size pool wasn’t an ocean that could carry me away on the current, though, so I kept on swimming, pushing myself as hard as I could.

There were nights when I woke up screaming. I used to think the nightmares that stalked me were bad, but now the ones that followed me, even during waking hours, were far worse. I was just a step away from becoming a monster, and the nightmares reminded me of how close I was to falling over that edge.

I hit the other side of the pool, flipped in the water, returned to the opposite end. I was able to work out the stiffness in my limbs after the first lap. I continued to do ten more, each one helping take away the heavy burden of the day.

I broke the surface and grabbed on to the concrete ledge of the pool, holding on tight as I dragged in a slow breath of air.

“Mi corazón, are you done?” Carlos’s voice drifted down to me. I could make out his scruffy black sneakers just a few feet away from my hands.

I looked up at him, taking in the low-slung red basketball shorts, the tight black tank, and the inches of glistening caramel skin slicked by sweat. My cock twitched with life.

My name is Theo Bourne, and I’m a detective for the Columbus Police Department’s Preternatural Task Force. It’s my job to control the arcane underbelly of the city. Originally I had been a member of the NYC division, but after losing my partner, I moved back to Columbus.
That was when I met Carlos.

About Evelyn:
Evelyn Shepherd lives in Columbus with a fox terrier named Sunny and a ferocious appetite for sexy urban fantasies and horrors. She spends her time writing, but when she isn't working on her next novel she's either reading or spoiling her nieces and nephew. She is currently working hard at her next novel.
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