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The month is almost over!!! Don't miss out on Free and Cheap reads! Remember July 1-31 Smashwords is having a huge sale!!! I've entered my Immortalis series. You can get the first two FREE! The rest are 50% off!

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Disturbed Fate by Kia Zi Shiru



Title: Disturbed Fate
Author : Kia Zi Shiru
Genre: Urban Fantasy, gay, New Adult
Format: (print, ebook, or both) Print and ebook
Links to buy:
Kobo


Tell us the story behind the story. What inspired you to write this novel?
I’ve been a fan of vampire stories for a long time, to me vampires haven’t been scary though they can be rough. I had been thinking for a while to write about real life vampires, or sanguine vampires. It was a community that I had a lot of interest in. I started a couple of different stories but just couldn’t get it right just yet. Then I combined the vampire story with a magical story I had the outline for and this created Disturbed Fate.  A story which uses a lot of ideas from real life vampires but just taken slightly to the magical. It has two types of vampires, sanguine (blood) and psychic (energy), and I’ve tried to show the difference between the two within the story.
Add to that a guy who can see the future and a guy who has lost his boyfriend because of drowning, an Oracle, magical circles, cats and a werewolf housemate and you’ve got the perfect recipe for weird scenes and interesting plot twists.

Tell us about the book cover. How does it represent your book? How did you choose the artwork?
I tried to find a good Japanese model first, but it’s really hard to find those on stock websites. Together with Eric Hubbel, my cover artist, we first created some ideas with a Japanese model but one evening I decided that it wasn’t exactly what I wanted. I liked having a non-caucasian model on the cover, but I felt it wasn’t going to look as good as I wanted to. So I looked around, trying to find models that could either be my main character, Marc, or Devlan. I found three guys and we decided on this one. He looked the best for what we were planning for the rest of the cover. This is by the way my idea of what Devlan would look like. I imagine Marc a bit broader and with darker hair.
Eric then went back to work and finalised the colours and the positioning of the text. It was so easy to work with him!

Synopsis:  
Marc, a small pet shop owner and seer, needs help with his store, but his new employee, Galen, brings with him more trouble than expected. Marc tries to keep their relationship professional even if Galen seems insistent on taking it to the next level. And then there is the problem of Galen’s past.
Keiran, a hard working medical student and Marc’s best friend, has a small problem, a stalker. One night he confronts the guy and finds in his stalker vampire, Devlan, is too alluring to turn down. But Devlan isn’t who he seems to be.
When the four men meet up for a night out their lives fall apart. Marc’s premonitions are wrong and everything points towards one autumn night a couple of years ago. Now they need to figure out what happened that night, before someone dies, again.

Time is running out. The visions might be false, but they don’t paint a pretty picture, not about their futures and, especially, not about their pasts. They need to reverse the change before it is too late.

Excerpt
Chapter 1

Marc tried to stay on his feet as he slid from the post office towards his shop. The city had been caught off-guard by the snowstorm the night before and the cleaning crew hadn’t gotten to this side of town yet. It was uncommon to have this much snow in late November—it promised nothing good for the rest of the winter.
Next to him, his cat, Isis, didn’t seem to have any problem with the cold or the ice. Which wasn’t surprising. It had been on a day like this that he had found the silly cat to begin with.
Isis lightly jumped onto a pile of snow that was in the way, barely making a dent in the surface. But as Marc tried to step on the same pile his foot went into it up to his knee. He growled. That was going to get cold before he reached the shop he owned. Great.
As he stood still to sweep the snow from his jeans Isis walked further ahead and stopped at the corner of the street.
A few meters away a young Japanese man knelt near some trashcans. He seemed to be talking to something but Marc couldn’t see what it was. Though Isis seemed to be really interested in what was going on. Which left very few options, and whatever it was, it wasn’t food.
The young man stepped away and, indeed, a small white kitten tried to follow him. The young man knelt down and shook his head, talking to the little animal.
Isis stepped forward and the kitten looked their way. It tilted its head and mewled. The young man looked up and tried to flee as he saw Marc.
Marc frowned. He knew this guy. He wasn’t sure where from but he was quite sure that he had seen him before.
Marc held up his hands and tried to smile. “I’m not gonna hurt you. I was just curious what was going on.”
“This kitten came from behind those trashcans and it keeps trying to follow me.”
Marc stepped forward and saw the little nest where the kitten had apparently hidden.
“I seriously didn’t try to dump it. It was already here and I can’t take it home. I didn’t know what else to do.” The young man looked as Isis came close to the kitten and then wound her body around it, keeping it warm. “Your cat seems to like it. Can’t you take it?”
Marc looked down at the two cats and his suspicion was confirmed when the kitten glanced up. First to the young man, then him and then the young man again. This was not a normal kitten. This kitten had chosen the man to be its owner. Marc shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that, sadly enough. I’m gonna take a wild guess and assume you dabble in magic?”
The young man’s eyes went wide.
“I thought so. Well, congratulations. This is your familiar, or as some call it, your guardian. Once you’re chosen you can’t really get out of it.”
“But… it can’t be. I can barely care for myself. How am I supposed to take care of someone else? I don’t have the money.”
But Marc saw the way he was eyeing the kitten. The connection between them had already established itself and trying to break it now would be useless. A thought occurred to him.
“I’ve got a pet store not too far away. I could use some help.”
“Why would you offer that to a stranger? You don’t even know me.” The young man knelt down and petted both Isis and the kitten, hiding his face from Marc, but he could hear the relief in his voice.
“I need help at the store, you need money. Sounds fair, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, but…” The young man looked up. The feeling of familiarity struck Marc again, but he couldn’t place his face.
“I’m Marc, what’s your name?” Marc held out his hand.
“Galen. My name is Galen.” Galen took his hand and shook it strongly.
“Well, let’s get out of this cold. I’ll show you the shop then.” Marc smiled and Galen smiled back. This could get interesting.

Marc pulled the key from his pocket and opened the door to the shop. He stepped inside and reached out to flick on the light. Fluorescent lamps blinked on and covered the shelves in harsh light. He walked through shoulder high rows of shelves with pet food and toys before he reached the counter. The shop wouldn’t be open for another hour or two, that should be enough time to get Galen set up with food and other things.
Isis played around his feet, begging for his attention. He picked her up and dried her wet feet with the warm towel he kept on the radiator next to the counter. He then wrapped her into the warm towel and held her close, just how she liked it.
He turned around and faced the young man. “How is the little one doing? Is she okay?”
Galen nodded.
“Well, this is my shop. It’s been getting busier the last couple of months. I make enough to live on and some spare which allows me to take on someone else to help out.” Marc handed Galen a towel too, so he could wrap it around the kitten.
“So, why suddenly get someone? You seem to have done fine up until now.” Galen smiled, holding the warming kitten close to his body.
“Because it’s too busy for just one person. I have a friend who usually helps me out a couple of hours a week, but he is in his last year of university so he doesn’t have a lot of time. I need someone who can do more than just a few hours.” Marc sat Isis on the counter in her basket, where she kept on purring in contentment. “So, we have a deal then?”
Galen nodded. “Sure, I can work here a bunch of hours a day. I’ll need the money now, won’t I?” Galen looked down at the kitten and smiled. The kitten looked up and meowed softly.
“Well, you go and get some essentials. I’ll grab some food for her from the back.”
“How do I… I don’t want to be in debt to you. I really don’t have the money now.” Galen stepped towards Marc. “How do I pay for all of it?”
“We’ll figure something out. Don’t worry about it. Now, you go get some stuff. I need to open the shop in about an hour, so we’ve got till then to get everything to your place and sign contracts and things.”
“Thank you.” Galen gave him a blinding smile as he walked around.
Marc couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he knew Galen, that he really had seen him before this morning. But where? Marc looked at Isis and agreed with her. There were more important things at stake than the fact that he might know someone. How had a guardian as young as this kitten left the nest? Guardians weren’t supposed to leave the group until they were adults. Why had it been forced to leave this young?

A little taste of Dark Salvation and a special treat too.

As part of the Close Encounters of the Wicked Kind Scavenger Hunt, I'm sharing a little Dark Salvation with you today! 
I have linked up with over 30 authors to bring you a collection of steamy and seductive stories.  I'm Katie Salidas, cross-genre Urban Fantasy and Erotica author. I love to dabble in all things vampire and I've been at this for quite some time. But before you sample a little of my latest, here is your chance to win it and many other fabulous reads. Today's scavenger hunt question:


So, Now that we've taken care of the business, how about a Sample?

Fatigue claimed his limbs and Nicholas had not the strength to fight it. He leaned back and rested on the cool floor. His eyelids drooped further. He blinked once, twice… and then allowed exhaustion to take him.
Vaguely aware of his surroundings, the rummaging of someone nearby brought him back to consciousness. Kitara. He remembered. She was helping him. She was human.
She was bleeding.
The sweet coppery scent hit his nose and his eyelids flew open. Instantly, he focused on the origin of that smell.
Blood!
His entire being craved it. As if pulled by invisible strings, his body lifted off the floor. He was on his feet, snarling, fangs bared, ready to sink into soft flesh. It did not matter that she was frightened, Kitara’s blood called to him.
Before he could comprehend his own actions, he was on her. She squealed in fright but did not back away. “Please don’t kill me,” her voice was little more than a frantic whisper, but held her ground.
Nicholas had her wrist at his mouth, suckling like a babe at the wound she had made. He had not taken a second’s pause to wonder at how she had done it, but the cold tip of a blade pressing at the back of his neck answered that question for him.
“Please don’t kill me,” she said again, but this time the conviction had returned to her voice. “I don’t want to use this.”
Brave, he thought. Not that the knife would really save her, but that she thought to at least arm herself made him smile. He gulped down what little blood he thought he could without harming her, and lapped at the wound to close it. The invigorating effects were immediate. Warmth returned to his limbs. The ache of his wounds diminished to a dull throb.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said, his voice thick with desire for more. Nicholas had to rein in his inner beast. Her blood had been so rich, so sweet. A tantalizing treat he should never have sampled. Just that small taste had him craving more.
“You needed to heal.”
He looked at his arm. The wound was still there, but it had begun to scab over. Her blood was already working magic. “You took a dangerous risk.”
“I was armed.” She held the blade, a 10-inch chef’s knife up ready to strike.
Without warning, Nicholas lunged forward and grabbed Kitara’s wrist in a crushing grip. He pushed her backwards, pinning her to the wall with his body. She tried to struggle, but was no match for Nicholas. He took her free hand and held it firm against the wall.
Kitara’s heartbeat raced, vibrating through her chest into Nicholas’s body. The tantalizing thump-thump sent all of his blood rushing south. A new need arose within Nicholas. One he had not satisfied in a long while. Kitara’s breath shuddered. Nicholas felt the contracting of her muscles as she tried to fight his grip and bring the knife down upon him. Her human strength was nothing. Even in his weakened state he held her firm, but he admired her spirit. The smell of her fear, and her sweet orange and vanilla scent, called out to him. He bent his head low to take a better whiff. His nose grazed the soft skin at the base of her neck. She was a delicious temptation. He’d already sampled her blood once; he knew how rich and sweet she tasted, and he longed for more. He bent lower, drawing out the moment, savoring the anticipation, reveling in the frantic thump-thump of her calling heart, the pulsing artery in her neck practically begging for him to open up and devour all she had to give. Nicholas let out a slow breath and reined in his hunger. He gently pressed his lips against the soft warmth of her skin. Just a simple kiss, but that alone had its own satisfying effect.
Kitara’s body spasmed under his grip. She let out a strangled squeal, then went slack in his arms.
Nicholas held her firm, wrapping one arm around her waist, taking on her weight and keeping her upright. “Have I made my point?” Husky need filled his voice. Oh, how he wanted to slake his desire for her blood and her body! But that could not happen.
“Yes.” Her words came out in a whisper. The heat from her breath blew against his ear and her body pressed so close to his. Her warmth. Her scent. He was the one supposed to be in control, yet everything about her made him want to sit up and beg like a dog. All of his remaining blood had traveled down south, and suddenly his pants became unbearably tight.
 “Don’t ever take a risk like that again.” He pulled away from Kitara with a jerk, as if her very touch burned him.
“I’m not going to say I’m sorry.” Kitara’s voice found its conviction.
Nicholas didn’t bother to look at her as he responded. “You would be if I’d lost control.”
“I wouldn’t be able to feel anything if you’d lost control.”
“So you still have a death wish then?”
“Now who’s the one who can’t say thank you when they’ve had their life saved?”
The door opened behind them, a welcome distraction from the temptation that threatened to ruin Nicholas’s self-control.
“I’m immortal, sweetheart.” 


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Immortalis Carpe Noctem
Book 1
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Becoming a vampire is easy. Living with the condition...that's the hard part.
Newbie vampire Alyssa never asked for this life, but now it's all she has. Rescued from death by Lysander, the aloof and sexy leader of the Peregrinus vampire clan, she's barely cut her teeth before she becomes a target.
Kallisto, an ancient and vindictive vampire queen – and Lysander's old mate - wants nothing less than final death for her former lover and his new toy. She's not above letting the Acta Sanctorum, and its greatest vampire hunter, Santino, know exactly where the clan can be found.
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The exciting sequel to Immortalis Carpe Noctem. 
Rule number one: humans and vampires don't co-exist. One is the hunter and one is the prey. Simple, right? Not for newly-turned vampire Alyssa. A surprise confrontation with Santino Vitale, the Acta Sanctorum's most fearsome hunter, sends her fleeing back to the world she once knew, and Fallon, the human friend she's missed more than anything. Now she has some explaining to do. However, that will have to wait. With the Acta Sanctorum hot on their heels, staying alive is more important than educating a human on the finer points of bloodlust. 


Pandora's Box
Book 3
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After a few months as a vampire, Alyssa thought she'd learned all she needed to know about the supernatural world. But her confidence is shattered by the delivery of a mysterious package - a Pandora's Box.
Seemingly innocuous, the box is in reality an ancient prison, generated by a magic more powerful than anyone in her clan has ever known. But what manner of evil could need such force to contain it?
When the box is opened, the sinister creature within is released, and only supernatural blood will satiate its thirst. The clan soon learns how it feels when the hunter becomes the hunted.
Powerless against the ancient evil, the clan flees Las Vegas for Boston, with only a slim hope for salvation. Could Lysander's old journals hold the key? And what if they don't?
And how welcome will they be in a city run by a whole different kind of supernatural being? 
Werewolves...



Soulstone
Book 4
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Witches, Werewolves, and Vampires... Oh My! Add a mystical stone and a few disembodied spirits, and you have the latest, and most exciting installment of the Immortalis series, Soulstone! 
Book 4 in the Immortalis series
It's a desperate time for rookie vampire Alyssa, and her sanity is hanging by a slender thread. Her clan is still reeling from the monumental battle with Aniketos; a battle that claimed the body of Lysander, her sire and lover, and trapped his spirit in a mysterious crystal. A Soulstone.
Unfortunately, no amount of magic has been able to release Lysander's spirit, and the stone is starting to fade. Weeks of effort have proved futile. Her clan, the Peregrinus, have all but given up hope. Only Alyssa still believes her lover can be released. In despair, Alyssa begs the help of the local witch coven, and unwittingly exposes the supernaturals of Boston to unwanted attention from the Acta Sanctorum.
The Saints converge on the city and begin their cleansing crusade to rid the world of all things "Unnatural." In the middle of an all-out war, but no closer to a solution to the dying stone, Alyssa is left with an unenviable choice: save her mate, or save her clan.



Moonlight
Book 5
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Good girls don’t wear fur or fight over men, and they certainly don’t run around naked, howling at the moon.
But then, no-one ever called Fallon a good girl.
As a human unofficially mated to an Alpha werewolf, Fallon is being pressured to “become”... or be gone.
Her mate Aiden, the interim leader of the Olde Town Pack, is in a position that demands he either choose a wolf mate or leave the pack forever. No matter how hot the sex with Fallon is, he can’t ignore centuries of tradition.
Become a wolf or not: If only the choice were that simple! Fallon’s options are further clouded by the overt presence of other females desperate to be the Alpha’s mate. And when these bitches get serious, it’s not just claws that come out. If Fallon wants to keep her man and take the title, she’ll have to exert a little dominance of her own.



Dark Salvation
Book 6
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A gathering storm of violence is on the horizon. Whispered threats of the Acta Sanctorum's return have the supernatural world abuzz. Only recently aware of the other world hidden behind our own, Kitara Vanders has barely scratched the surface of what being supernatural truly means. A special woman in her own right, she possesses unique telepathic abilities, gifts that have recently come under the scrutiny of the Acta Sanctorum, a fanatical organization whose mission is to cleanse the world of anything supernatural. Targeted and marked for death, Kitara's only hope lies with the lethally seductive yet emotionally scarred warrior Nicholas. 
Knowing full well the atrocities of which the Acta Sanctorum is capable, Nicholas is all too eager for the battle to begin. Fueled by pain and rage from the loss of his mate, he's itching for a fight, but one thing stands in his way: Kitara, a beautiful dark-haired woman with unique psychic abilities and an unusual link to the Saints. Despite his resolve to remain focused on his mission, a purely physical relationship binds them together in a way neither of them expected. And when her life hangs in the balance, Nicholas finds his own is teetering on the edge too.

About The Author

Katie Salidas is a USA Today bestselling author and RONE award winner known for her unique genre-blending style.

Since 2010 she's penned five bestselling book series: the Immortalis, Olde Town Pack, Little Werewolf, Chronicles of the Uprising, and the all-new Agents of A.S.S.E.T. series. As her not-so-secret alter ego, Rozlyn Sparks, she is a USA Today bestselling author of romance with a naughty side.

In her spare time Katie also produces and hosts a YouTube talk show; Spilling Ink. She also has a regular column on First Comics News where she explores writing from a nerdy perspective.