Tag Archives: Sanguine

November 25, 2017 · 12:01 AM

Rainbow Snippet for 11-25-2017

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Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, bloggers, and readers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).   Check out all the other awesome snippets by clicking on the picture above.

I’m switching gears for a bit, taking a break from Onyx Sun and posting some excerpts from Sanguine, a science fiction semi-paranormal M/M erotic romance.

“I am so glad that you found me.”  Kaen stepped back and looked at him questioningly. “How did you know I was a vampire?”

“I’m a Hunter, remember? And in addition, you… You…” Gregor sighed, not having the words to explain, and finally shrugged. “You are my Blood Master… my family’s Blood Master. You… I had no choice but to respond to you, to go to you… It was so hard not to, the times that you would come to check on us…”

Kaen nodded slowly. “I think… I think I felt it… but I didn’t know what it was.”  He closed his eyes, remembering the feelings that had drawn him to the work sites. “I would go to check on the work being done, but that was an excuse. It was you. I – I wanted to see you. I didn’t understand why, but…”  He reached out and stroked Gregor’s cheek, awed by the connection the two of them shared.

Gregor smiled and kissed his wrist softly. “And now you are stuck with me.”

“And quite happily at that,” Kaen said, kissing him back. “Thank you, for coming to me.”

“I had no choice.” But Gregor’s smile said that he knew he was where he belonged.

“Do you want a choice?” Kaen asked quietly, searching Gregor’s eyes.

“If I had one,” Gregor replied, “it would be to stay with you.”

Blurb:
Kaen Yblis is a man with a past – if only he could remember it. He lost his memories in a duel with another vampire, and for centuries he has been alone, not even aware of all that had been torn from him.

Until he meets Gregor Vladescu, a young human who stirs desires and emotions that Kaen didn’t know he had, and whose blood brings back fragments of memories.

As Kaen returns to his ancient home, a threat from his past arises and threatens to once again tear away everything that is precious to him. Will ancient blood and ancient soul bond be enough to save them all or will they be the very things that destroy them?

(NOTE: Sanguine is a science fiction, semi-paranormal, M/M erotic romance. It contains sex scenes. You have been warned.)

Available at Amazon for Kindle
and at
Smashwords for everything else

 

 

 

 

 

 

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November 18, 2017 · 12:01 AM

Rainbow Snippet for 11-18-2017

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Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, bloggers, and readers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).   Check out all the other awesome snippets by clicking on the picture above.

I’m switching gears for a bit, taking a break from Onyx Sun and posting some excerpts from Sanguine, a science fiction semi-paranormal M/M erotic romance.

Following from last week’s snippet, in which Kaen and Gregor were discussing anal sex.

 “We should wait,” [Gregor] murmured into the kiss, “until Trini has gone for the day.”

Kaen nodded, then took a deep breath. “I don’t want to wait.”

“Neither do I. But I also don’t want us to be interrupted.”

Sometimes,” Kaen replied, punctuating his words with kisses, “your practical streak is really annoying.”

Gregor laughed and kissed him hard, his lips hungry. “Kaen,” he murmured, and Kaen tightened his arms around him.

“I love you,” he whispered into Gregor’s ear.  “I can’t help myself.”

“Then don’t,” Gregor murmured back.  “Don’t stop.”

Blurb:
Kaen Yblis is a man with a past – if only he could remember it. He lost his memories in a duel with another vampire, and for centuries he has been alone, not even aware of all that had been torn from him.

Until he meets Gregor Vladescu, a young human who stirs desires and emotions that Kaen didn’t know he had, and whose blood brings back fragments of memories.

As Kaen returns to his ancient home, a threat from his past arises and threatens to once again tear away everything that is precious to him. Will ancient blood and ancient soul bond be enough to save them all or will they be the very things that destroy them?

(NOTE: Sanguine is a science fiction, semi-paranormal, M/M erotic romance. It contains sex scenes. You have been warned.)

Available at Amazon for Kindle
and at
Smashwords for everything else

 

 

 

 

 

 

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November 11, 2017 · 12:01 AM

Rainbow Snippet for 11-11-2017

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Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, bloggers, and readers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).   Check out all the other awesome snippets by clicking on the picture above.

I’m switching gears for a bit, taking a break from Onyx Sun and posting some excerpts from Sanguine, a science fiction semi-paranormal M/M erotic romance.

Kaen smiled and kissed him again, hungrily.  “Speaking of wanting,” he murmured, and Gregor laughed and slid a hand inside Kaen’s pants.

“Mm… I love this,” Gregor murmured. He started to kneel but Kaen stopped him.

“I want you inside me,” he said.  Startled light blue eyes met his dark blue ones, and he smiled. “I don’t dare do that to you yet, but I think it will be all right if you do it. And I want to know what it will feel like for you when I can finally take you that way.”

“You’ve never?”

“Not that I can recall.” Kaen kissed him softly. “For all intents and purposes, you will be my first.”

 

Blurb:
Kaen Yblis is a man with a past – if only he could remember it. He lost his memories in a duel with another vampire, and for centuries he has been alone, not even aware of all that had been torn from him.

Until he meets Gregor Vladescu, a young human who stirs desires and emotions that Kaen didn’t know he had, and whose blood brings back fragments of memories.

As Kaen returns to his ancient home, a threat from his past arises and threatens to once again tear away everything that is precious to him. Will ancient blood and ancient soul bond be enough to save them all or will they be the very things that destroy them?

(NOTE: Sanguine is a science fiction, semi-paranormal, M/M erotic romance. It contains sex scenes. You have been warned.)

Available at Amazon for Kindle
and at
Smashwords for everything else

 

 

 

 

 

 

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November 4, 2017 · 12:01 AM

Rainbow Snippet for 11-4-2017

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Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, bloggers, and readers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).   Check out all the other awesome snippets by clicking on the picture above.

I’m switching gears for a bit, taking a break from Onyx Sun and posting some excerpts from Sanguine, a science fiction semi-paranormal M/M erotic romance.

In this excerpt Kaen and Gregor have been discussing Kaen (he’s a vampire) feeding from other people. Kaen speaks first.

“They will never be to me what you are,” he murmured. “They are my people, but you… you are something more.”

Gregor closed his eyes, his love for Kaen overwhelming him. “It shouldn’t matter to me,” he said.  “You are the Master.  Who you feed from or who you…”

“No,” Kaen said sharply.  He stroked Gregor’s cheek with gentle fingers.  “I cannot imagine wanting anyone the way I do you.  It… it goes beyond physical pleasure.”  He kissed Gregor, softly at first, then with increasing passion until he finally felt Gregor yield and relax.

Blurb:
Kaen Yblis is a man with a past – if only he could remember it. He lost his memories in a duel with another vampire, and for centuries he has been alone, not even aware of all that had been torn from him.

Until he meets Gregor Vladescu, a young human who stirs desires and emotions that Kaen didn’t know he had, and whose blood brings back fragments of memories.

As Kaen returns to his ancient home, a threat from his past arises and threatens to once again tear away everything that is precious to him. Will ancient blood and ancient soul bond be enough to save them all or will they be the very things that destroy them?

(NOTE: Sanguine is a science fiction, semi-paranormal, M/M erotic romance. It contains sex scenes. You have been warned.)

Available at Amazon for Kindle
and at
Smashwords for everything else

 

 

 

 

 

 

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March 27, 2017 · 1:33 PM

Families

Like them or not, we all have them.

And so do our characters.  After all, they don’t exist in a vacuum.  They had a life before the story (and hopefully they’ll have a life afterward too.) They have families of some sort, just like we do. And friends and rivals and…

And let’s just stick to families, okay?  They can have enough drama for multiple books.

Like it or not, our families helped form us into who we are.  We might break from them and their beliefs, but they are still there in the background.  Why should our characters be any different?

Answer: They shouldn’t.

Even if your characters’ families are never shown or mentioned or named in your book they’ve still had an impact on who your character is and why s/he is the way s/he is.

Some people are great at writing families and family relationships.  I’m… not one of them. Most of my characters seem to come from families that are dysfunctional at best and downright toxic at worst.

Let’s take a look at some of them.

In Onyx Sun (which I will finish the revision of sooner or later), Taliya’s mother tried to cheat her out of her rightful place as head of household, and sold Taliya’s lover to a slaver.  Growing up, Taliya always felt closer to her grandmother than to her mother – and to the father that she barely knew.

Sanguine is something of an exception, in that Gregor has a large, warm, loving, and closely knit, extended family (with one exception).

In Song and Sword:

Marlia’s family is dead but the manner of their deaths did a lot to shape who she was at the start of the story.

Dakkas’ father and half-brother want to kill him, so he grew up not really expecting to grow up.  It made him cautious and hesitant to trust.

Pashevel and his father don’t see eye to eye, but at least he’s not plotting his son’s death.  Pashevel’s mother is dead, and it was her banishment from the kingdom – along with his father’s somewhat cold attitude – that had the greatest effect on who he turned out to be.

Kashrya never knew her birth parents, but was raised by a shaman, who, while respected by the tribe, was never really a part of it, so she was also always an outsider.

And lastly, in The Academy of the Accord series:

Marsden is the oldest of a large family, and when their mother died after the birth of the youngest he pretty much took charge of raising the others.  He loves his family, but we only meet two of them. He still fills a “father” role much of the time.

Vinadi is the only child of wealthy parents, both of whom were wizards, and was never really close with his family. (We only meet an aunt and a couple uncles.)  He grew up isolated and lonely. His early wanderlust came from an unconscious desire to find “home” – which is also what led to his dream for the school.

Kordelm’s mother was a whore who kicked him out to fend for himself when he was just a child. He is resilient, street-smart, and independent.  Something of a loner growing up, now that he has friends he will give his life to protect them.

Wellhym’s father threw him out when he was ten years old and it was discovered that he didn’t like girls. Wel’s mother never said a word, but his older brothers did.  One of them later comes around and accepts him. The other… not so much.  His friends become his surrogate family, but he never really stops wishing things could have been different with his birth family.

Torlew’s father was more interested in money than in his children. As the youngest son, Tor grows up seeing how unhappy his older siblings are, and resolves to not fall into that same trap. We meet his family and it’s about as awkward as you’d expect. He has one free-spirited aunt, who we never meet, and a little sister that is following in her footsteps.

Caristen’s family is loud and boisterous, and except for one temper tantrum from his father, they are totally accepting and supportive of him and his friends. (Cair’s mother is a force to be reckoned with and his father should be glad she wasn’t holding a cast iron skillet when he was throwing his tantrum.)

Yhonshel never knew his birth parents. He saw his first foster family killed for no reason other than that the man wanted to.  It was eight years after that before he could form attachments to other people. (And then it was mostly because they didn’t give him a choice.)  It was because of his helplessness as a child that Yhonshel became very good at protecting people.

(No, I’m not going to go through the families of the other characters from later books. If I do this post will turn into a novel and there are enough of those in this series.)

Maybe on Friday I’ll talk more about families – the kind you find or create vs the kind you’re born into.

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September 24, 2016 · 12:01 AM

Rainbow Snippet for 9-24-2016

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Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, bloggers, and readers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).   Check out all the other awesome snippets by clicking on the picture above.

This week I’m taking a brief break from Onyx Sun to promote an anthology that I’ve been published in.  It’s called Flight was released on Wednesday by Mischief Corner Books.  It’s a collection of 300-word flash fiction, all of it LGBTQ spec fic.

Yesterday I shared  one of the Judge’s Choice entries “Smoke” by Zev de Valera) chosen by J. Scott Coatsworth.  Today, as promised, I’m sharing an excerpt from mine: “Paper Arrows.”

“Fuck.”

It seemed to be the only word he could say, the only word he could think.

It didn’t keep the nausea at bay. 

Branth was no fighter.  He would be killed in the first skirmish and Kiervan knew with absolute certainty that that was his plan. 

The paper crumpled in his fist.  He would set fire to it, destroy it as Branth had just destroyed him.  Power built in his hands as tears built in his eyes.

“I love you, you son of a bitch.”

 

flight-banner

 

Flight Publisher: Mischief Corner Books
Author: Various (including me!)
Cover & Illustrations Artist: Mila May
Length: 33.6 K
Format: ebook, print
Release Date: General release 9/21/16
Pairing: LGBTIQA
Price: $4.99 eBook, $12.99 print b/w*, $24.99 print color*
*Book contains 5 illustrations inside.

Blurb: A 300-word story should be easy, right? Many of our entrants say it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever written.   Queer Sci Fi’s Annual Flash Fiction Contest challenges authors to write a complete LGBTQ speculative fiction micro-story on a specific theme.  “Flight” leaves much for the authors to interpret – winged creatures, flight and space vehicles, or fleeing from dire circumstances.   Some astonishing stories were submitted – from horrific, bloodcurdling pieces to sweet, contemplative ones – and all LGBTQ speculative fiction. The stories in this anthology include AI’s and angels, winged lions and wayward aliens. Smart, snappy slice of life pieces written for entertainment or for social commentary. Join us for brief and often surprising trips into 110 speculative fiction authors’ minds.

Available:
Mischief Corner Books
Amazon
All Romance
Kobo
iTunes
Goodreads
Goodreads Series Page
Barnes & Noble: Coming soon
Smashwords: Coming soon

Author Bio: In the first year of the Queer Sci Fi Flash Fiction contest, we received about 15 entries for the theme “Endings”. In the second year, it was 115 for “Discovery”. This year, we had more than 170 entries from people around the world, and from all parts of the LGBTIQA rainbow. “Flight” represents 110 of those people and their stories.

Also!
If you join the QSF (Queer Science Fiction) newsletter this week, you get a free copy of Sanguine,
my SF, semi-paranormal, MM erotic romance.

Sanguine06b

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December 26, 2015 · 12:01 AM

Rainbow Snippet for 12-26-2015

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Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, bloggers, and readers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).   Check out all the other awesome snippets by clicking on the picture above.

I decided to continue with excerpts from my science fiction semi-paranormal M/M erotic romance, Sanguine, since it’s on sale for 99 cents for the remainder of the year.  I’m picking up from where I left off in last Saturday’s snippet.

 

Gregor turned away from him, bracing his hands on the dresser.  His shoulders were shaking and Kaen wanted to go to him, to hold him.

“Say it.” Kaen’s voice was a whisper.

“Your lover,” he choked. “I want to be your lover.”

“Was that so hard?” Kaen asked gently, coming up behind him.  Strong arms encircled him and pulled him upright, holding him against his chest as he nuzzled the back of his neck. 

The only response Gregor could muster fell somewhere between a moan, a whimper, and a sob, and Kaen smiled. 

“I am sorry,” Kaen whispered.  “I was not angry with you, Gregor.  I just… I don’t know what to do with the feelings that I have for you.  It has been so long…”

Gregor turned to face him.  “Master,” he whispered.  “Do with them – with me – whatever you wish.”

 

 

Sanguine06b

Kaen Yblis is a man with a past – if only he could remember it. He lost his memories in a duel with another vampire, and for centuries he has been alone, not even aware of all that had been torn from him.

Until he meets Gregor Vladescu, a young human who stirs desires and emotions that Kaen didn’t know he had, and whose blood brings back fragments of memories.

As Kaen returns to his ancient home, a threat from his past arises and threatens to once again tear away everything that is precious to him. Will ancient blood and ancient soul bond be enough to save them all or will they be the very things that destroy them?

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December 19, 2015 · 12:01 AM

Rainbow Snippet for 12-19-2015

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Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, bloggers, and readers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).   Check out all the other awesome snippets by clicking on the picture above.

I decided to continue with excerpts from my science fiction semi-paranormal M/M erotic romance, Sanguine, since it’s on sale for 99 cents for the remainder of the year.  I’m picking up from where I left off in last Saturday’s snippet.

Kaen asked Gregor what it was that he wanted…

 

 “To please you, Master.”

“Say it,” Kaen hissed.  “What do you want?”

“To be your Blood Slave, and to serve you in whatever other way you may desire.”

“No,” Kaen said.  “Tell me what you want.”

Gregor lowered his gaze.  “You know what I want, Master, what I want to be to you.”

“Say it.”

“I promised I would not speak of it again.”

“Say it.”

 

Sanguine06b

Kaen Yblis is a man with a past – if only he could remember it. He lost his memories in a duel with another vampire, and for centuries he has been alone, not even aware of all that had been torn from him.

Until he meets Gregor Vladescu, a young human who stirs desires and emotions that Kaen didn’t know he had, and whose blood brings back fragments of memories.

As Kaen returns to his ancient home, a threat from his past arises and threatens to once again tear away everything that is precious to him. Will ancient blood and ancient soul bond be enough to save them all or will they be the very things that destroy them?

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December 14, 2015 · 1:35 AM

Magical Unrealism

I have a problem and I really have no idea how to solve it.

I have a tendency to overestimate myself as far as what I can accomplish in any given day/week/month/year/lifetime.

This results in me overbooking and overextending and over-committing myself.

And that results in nothing getting done. (Due, in part, to my “all or none” mentality that makes it hard for me to just chip away at big projects little by little.  I’m working on changing that one, but anyway…)

The above has led to my current backlog that I need to work my way out of.

What is said backlog?

Well…

Two Pocket Letters that are unfinished but overdue.

Two Pocket Letters that aren’t started but is overdue.

One Pocket letter that isn’t started but has no sharp due date.

Three Pocket Letters that are barely started and due soon.

Unknown number of Pocket Letters (I think six or so) that aren’t started and are only semi-committed to but are due soon.

Then there’s the upcoming holiday that I am totally unready for.

And crafts.

Starting with way too many started counted cross stitch projects and ones that aren’t started but that I want to do.

And crochet.  (Must stay off of Ravelry.)

And assorted other crafts that I want to work on.  (Like my much neglected dollhouse that I’m remodeling).

And crafts I want to learn: leather-working, wood-burning, beading, jewelry-making, soap making, spinning, wood-carving…

And then there are the writing projects.

Shall I list them?

Yes, I think I shall.

9K owed from September’s 1K-a-Day Challenge.

27K owed from October’s 1K-a-Day Challenge.

10K owed from November’s 1K-a-Day Challenge. (I hit 50K for NaNoWriMo but my personal goal was 60K.)

31K for December’s 1K-a-Day Challenge.

Finish revisions for Onyx Sun so I can get it published.

Finish Hedge House so I can revise and edit it and get it published so my friend Caroline doesn’t fly over from England and stand over me with a scythe.

Finish Book 6 of The Academy of the Accord series so I can edit the series next year and (hopefully) release it in 2017.

Finish Book 2 of The Other Mages trilogy because that’s all part of my very first NaNoWriMo novel and I really want to get it out there.  I owe it to the books to finish the trilogy because that’s what got me started on this madness.

All of the above can be finished by the end of this month, right?

Then there’s the rest of the list.

Finish Lost House.

Finish Guardians of the Abyss.

Finish a novel based on a tabletop RPG a friend is creating.

Write the sequel to Song and Sword.  (Tentative title: Song and Stone.)

Write the sequel to Sanguine.

Write the sequel to Onyx Sun. (Yes, I know it isn’t even out yet.)

Write a spin off to Onyx Sun.

Finish and revise The Sword and the Shield, a paranormal mess that I wrote in November of 2011, the month that I couldn’t decide what to write for NaNoWriMo so I wrote two 50k novels – while working full time, going to school part time, and ML’ing for the first time. (Work and school were in totally different directions, by the way.)

Finish and revise Disturbed Magic, the other mess from 11/2011.

Finish the trilogy without a name and add it to the revise and edit pile.

Finish Sea Witch (tentative title) – a novel that grew from a picture a friend sent me for a writing prompt.

Finish Vishkya, a fantasy novel that I started simply to shut it up – and for catharsis, to purge something from my past.

Expand a flash fiction piece about an angel and a demon into a novel.

Finish a… (I’m not sure what to call the genre) novel that I started ages ago.  (Like most of my stuff it doesn’t have a name.)

Find and finish a novel that I started so long ago that I didn’t have a good storage system so it was printed chapter by chapter on a dot matrix printer.  (I’m pretty sure that it was written in Word Star and the computer didn’t even have a modem.)

And then there’s a folder full of snippety type things.  They’re not really fully developed enough to be considered novels or even valid starts, but they are more than plot bunnies.  There are too many to list individually.

(The more I worked on this list, the more half-remembered, half-started stories came to mind.  There are more – lots more – and now they’re all going to be clamoring for attention too.)

And there is also my “plot bunny bag” that holds slips of papers that hold ideas for stories.  Every once in a while I get brave and dive into it, but that way lies madness.

And, of course, I should be able to get all of those done by the end of next year.

Right?

 

 

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December 12, 2015 · 12:01 AM

Rainbow Snippet for 12-12-15

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Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, bloggers, and readers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).   Check out all the other awesome snippets by clicking on the picture above.

I decided to continue with excerpts from my science fiction semi-paranormal M/M erotic romance, Sanguine, since I’m leaving it on sale for 99 cents for the remainder of the year.  I’m picking up from where I left off in last Saturday’s snippet.

 

Kaen heard him sit up and reach for his clothes and he could hear his pain in his ragged breathing and could not shake the image of the anguish that had been in his eyes. 

He waited as Gregor pulled his shirt on and stood to pull his pants up, but did not speak until he sat down to pull his boots on.   “No.”  He turned to face Gregor.  “Stand up.”

Obediently Gregor rose, looking into his eyes, and Kaen reached out and slowly drew him to him, kissing him – a slow, lingering kiss, his lips soft and gentle as his tongue explored Gregor’s mouth.

Gregor felt himself relaxing, melting into the kiss.  His heart ached.  He wanted… oh, he wanted… But he held back, letting his Master take his time, not sure what Kaen wanted from him, what he wanted him to do.

And Kaen continued the kisses; the maddeningly slow sensuous kisses that made Gregor want to respond, to cling to him, to press his body against his…

Kaen could sense Gregor fighting to control himself, could feel the struggle in Gregor’s body, hear it in his breathing, and he smiled.

“What do you want?” he whispered.

 

 

  

Sanguine06b

Kaen Yblis is a man with a past – if only he could remember it. He lost his memories in a duel with another vampire, and for centuries he has been alone, not even aware of all that had been torn from him.

Until he meets Gregor Vladescu, a young human who stirs desires and emotions that Kaen didn’t know he had, and whose blood brings back fragments of memories.

As Kaen returns to his ancient home, a threat from his past arises and threatens to once again tear away everything that is precious to him. Will ancient blood and ancient soul bond be enough to save them all or will they be the very things that destroy them?

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