SPOTLIGHT w/INTERVIEW - PNR - THE GUARDIAN (Cities Below, #5) by Jen Colly

The Guardian

The Cities Below, #5

by Jen Colly

Date of Publication: October 11th 2022

Cover Artist: Ryan Imbrock

Genre: Paranormal Romance

ISBN:9798201144319

Number of pages: 300

Word Count: 97,000

Tagline: Prepared to die...fighting to live.

BLURB

Savard was in a mood to die, but when a human insists on saving his life, death is no longer an immediate option. He knew of no species – human, vampire, or demon – that could see him while in his invisible Spirit form. Unique to this world, this woman's singularity was a danger to the entire vampire race.

Waking behind bars in an underground vampire city was not how Sera envisioned her night drive ending. She has come to expect nothing from those who pass through her life, but this man, dying on the side of the road, proves to be different. Savard fights to free her from tyrannical vampire laws and to hide her unique abilities. What Sera doesn't understand, is why he would fight his growing love for her.

Savard's haunted past threatens to tear them apart. Soon, Sera discovers just how far her guardian is willing to go, and what he's willing to do, to keep her safe.

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Excerpt

Savard watched her delicate jaw drop at the sight of his fangs. Never in his long life had he shown a human what kind of creature lurked behind the visage of a man. He waited for her scream, expected her terrified flight or even a fainting spell. Instead of acting like a normal human, she just sat there, taking it all in, processing, and then out of the blue, the minx slugged him in the shoulder.

He groaned, not so much from her punch, but from stabilizing his core muscles to keep his body upright. Through gritted teeth, Savard asked, “What the hell was that for?”

“Give it a guess,” she huffed, not frightened, and certainly not shying away. “You can speak. Just say what you are. You didn’t need to threaten me with the pointy teeth.”

“Wasn’t a threat…won’t bite,” he mumbled. He knew he was behaving poorly, but his body ached, his hunger beat a heavy cadence against his tongue, and this woman had ruined his plans for a quick death.

His eyelids drifted shut, his head tilted back against the cushion. He was getting worse. The pain was there, but not exactly excruciating, making it easier to speak. His body was numbing out, going cold on the inside. Sensation was slipping away, along with life.

“If you’re what I think you are, then…” her soft voice trailed off, as if redirecting her question.

“What can I do? Be honest.”

“Nothing you’d be willing to do,” Savard said, cracking one eye open to observe her reaction, and when she shifted closer, he suddenly realized she still held his hand. In fact, her grip had never wavered. Even after he’d bared his fangs.

“Like letting you bite me? How can you be sure I wouldn’t?”

“I’m not asking.”

“But if it would help you…” Her delicate eyebrows scrunched together, and she asked in earnest,

“Would it help you? And would it hurt?”

His lips twitched, the beginnings of a smile that never fully formed. For some reason, he found explaining the nuances of a vampire’s bite to this innocent human amusing. “Blood heals. A bite is more pleasure than pain.”

“I wouldn’t turn into a…”

“No.”

“When you bite someone…” Her voice was hesitant, the first subtle hint of trepidation he’d found in her. “Do they die?”

“No. Life is precious,” he said quietly.

Deafening silence surrounded him and he closed his eyes again, the calm lulling him. Several minutes passed, or perhaps more, and then he unexpectedly caught her scent. The soft, delicate flesh of this woman had a scent all its own, and he opened his eyes to see her leaning close to him, her hand pulling that fluffy white-blonde mass of randomly braided hair away from her neck. Savard growled, closing his eyes against the temptation, and turned away from her.

“Why not?” she asked, her steady voice sending shivers through his battered body.

Teeth clenched, he said, “You should have left me there.”

 

Author Info

Jen Colly is the rare case of an author who rebelled against reading assignments throughout her school years. Now she prefers reading books in a series, which has led her to writing her first paranormal romance series: The Cities Below. She will write about anything that catches her fancy, though truth be told, her weaknesses are pirates and vampires. She lives in Ohio with her supportive husband, two kids, one fluffy dog, and four rescued cats.

The Book Junkie Reads . . .Reckless Dreams  Interview with  . . . Jen Colly . . .

How would you describe your style of writing to someone that has never read your work?

My books tend to move at a faster pace, which personally, I love. This is simply how I prefer to read a story, but my writing has also been greatly determined by my characters. They refuse to hold still. With damn near immortal creatures at my fingertips, it's impossible to predict, or curtail, their actions. Between the random fisticuffs, sword fights, bites, near misses with the sun, and all out battles on the front lawn, my male characters are a bit difficult to tame. Not that any woman in her right mind would want them tamed. I can't contain them, and I refuse to try. A few of my heroines are brash, defiant, and capable of ending your life. Even those women who bear a quiet, internal strength, do their part to captivate the interest of both the hero and the reader. The constantly shifting world around these characters does not stop for romance. Likewise, love will not be barred by a difference in species or a pesky execution order.

Do you feel that writing is an ingrained process or just something that flows naturally for you?

Parts flow, but others are a labor of love. The early stages of a story for me is like putting together a quilt. I have these beautiful, individual squares. These squares are my major scenes that I can see clearly from beginning to end like a video clip. The primary scene, the defining moment in which I fully understand the two main characters, can land anywhere in the story. Each story contains 3-5 of these squares, or scenes. Once I place them in an order that makes the story flow logically, I can expand on those scene squares. The hardest part is filling in the gaps with details to connect the scenes while simultaneously setting up the next book.

Have you found yourself bonding with any particular character(s)? If so which one(s)?

Absolutely. A tiny piece of me is in each character, so there will always be a connection of sorts. Like Cat, if you come after my kids, I'm coming after you. Jovan has a special place in my heart. It feels like I've raised him, dealt with his temper and rebellion, taught him lessons, cried when he ran away from home to seek vengeance, and... Well, I can't tell you that last part yet. Spoilers. Bonding is something else entirely. The hero of The Guardian is someone I seem to have bonded so closely with that he pops into several books throughout this series. He makes an appearance in three of the four previous books and is intricately involved in future stories. When he's not there, I miss his energy. Captain Devlin Savard is fascinating. Not only does he understand the big picture, but gently nudges the people and pieces of the puzzle around him into place to accomplish the end result. The only thing he seems blind to is his own fate, and though he does his best to manipulate the outcome, he cannot predict or control the woman fate dropped gracelessly into his path.

Do you have a character that you have been working on for a long time that still isn't quite ready, but fills you with excitement to work on the story?

Oriana. She is light and love, chaos and stubbornness. We've seen tiny glimpses of her as a child, but we don't know her yet. It won't be long now and she'll be fully grown and ready to stand on her own. Where she's going, she is desperately needed, and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure how she's going to react. The rest of her hodgepodge adopted siblings are...well, they're each their own unique disaster. Oriana came through tragedy unscathed, with an exuberance for life the others don't understand. Heck, I don't understand it, but she is going to crash into her hero's world like the sun breaking through black rain clouds, and I cannot wait to see how he copes with her overabundance of joy, love, and headstrong determination.

Can you share your next creative project(s)? If yes, can you give a few details?

The next project is, or course, the next in the series. Dulcina Casteel has forced her way into the spotlight a couple times already, and I expect nothing less from this fearsome female. Soon it will be her turn. Living her best life above ground, hunting demons, she thrives in the solitary existence of a Stalker. Her days are blessedly quiet, and her nights spent hunting and killing demons. What could possibly turn her world upside down? A man, naturally, but not just any man. A broken and bruised, weather-worn, crinkle-eyed, smiling man. A human. From Kentucky.

Keep an eye out for Night Stalker (Cities Below #6)!

Website - https://www.jencolly.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/collyjen
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jen.colly.1/
Blog - http://www.jencolly.com/the-jen-mind-blog
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Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8634547.Jen_Colly

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