Friday Follies Featuring Alexandra Anthony

Morning lovelies! Today, we've got the lovely Alexandra featured today. Be sure to give her a warm welcome!

Before we get started, tell us a bit about yourself. Anything about your non-writing life.

I’m a stay at home Mom that also home schools my daughter.   I’m a huge Walking Dead Fan (as well as being a bit vamp crazy).  In my spare time (HA), I like to sit down and read - my TBR list is about a mile long at this point.  It’s a positive and negative about being an author – finding terrific books that you can never read!

Summer is just about to conclude here in the Western Hemisphere, so what is the craziest thing you’ve done all summer? Did you camp out in your backyard like I did, with severe weather warnings looming about?

Hmm, the craziest thing I did this summer was attending Fandomfest - and standing in line for over seven hours to meet Norman Reedus.!  It was well worth the wait – he was awesome to his fans!

Do you have any summer traditions, or a ritual to break in the season?

My daughter’s birthday is July 6^th, so we always set off fireworks for her birthday/July 4^th Holiday. 

Do any of your vamps walk during the day? And if they do, how would they pass a bright summer day?

Yes, all of my vamps are day walkers.  Their eyes are sensitive to light, but with sunglasses, they manage to do everything their human counterparts do…just a little better!

How would Josephine Anderson spend a hot summer’s weekend?

I would say she’d probably spend it with Stefan…but I doubt he’d keep you cool!

Summer is one of the seasons where weather can impact everything whereas plans are concerned. What do you do, when you’re rained out?

I always have a contingency plan.  This July 4^th it rained off and on, so we set up umbrellas and stood under them while we fired them off.   I suppose you could say I’m a bit of a control freak!

Tell us about your latest release.

Odyssey (The Vampire Destiny Series Companion Book 1) was just released on Wednesday.  It’s my hero, Stefan’s POV for Fated and Illusion.  We also see a bit of Stefan prior to his human death and his struggle with immortality.

Here is a the blurb for Odyssey:

In this first Companion Piece to The Vampire Destiny Series, we follow our hero, Stefan Lifsten, from the time of his human death, through his early years as a vampire until he meets Josephine Anderson, his fated mate.

We’ll travel along with him during his initial struggles to accept his immortality, his betrayals by friends and foes, and experience his joy of meeting the woman from his vision…experiencing Fated and Illusion through his eyes.

This book is a Companion to The Vampire Destiny Series and will feature missing scenes and character information.  While this book can be read as a stand-alone book, it is highly recommended that you read Fated and Illusion to fully experience this book.

This book contains sexy vampires, graphic language and highly erotic scenes that are not for those 18 and under or are of the faint of heart.  Consider yourself warned.

It’s live on Amazon…http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Vampire-Destiny-Companion-ebook/dp/B00EZ8A4FE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1378338384&sr=1-1&keywords=odyssey+alexandra+anthony

Smashwords… https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/354251

Here is a small excerpt from Odyssey:

1862, Amsterdam

Nearly 500 years had passed.  Alone, I traveled and watched nations rise and leaders fall.  I had seen death and destruction.  Adapting with the changing times, I marveled at the inventions of technology and along the way, I accumulated great wealth.  I had only been in Amsterdam for three years when I met Lukas Meijer.  He was the proprietor of a small bookseller near my home.  We had struck up a strange friendship over numerous discussions of philosophy and world events when I frequented his storefront.  I did not make it a habit to search out and befriend humans, yet this eccentric man had managed to pique my interest.  Perhaps it was his sharp wit.  Or possibly the fact he sensed I was something more than human and accepted me for my differences.  Regardless, I came to enjoy my discussions and time spent with this strange man that also did not seem to fit the mold.

He was nearly a decade older than me in human years and for a mortal being, he was strikingly handsome, almost aristocratic in nature.  His angular face held an intelligence I had not encountered in centuries.  His pale blue eyes were quietly watchful, observing and cataloging.  He also had an acidic tongue and was quite open with his opinions.

He had told me his family had been wealthy and had spared no expense when it came to his education.  They had died when he was a young man and had no siblings.  As open as he was to me, it became clear why he had decided to tell me.  It was clear that Lukas knew I was not human and longed for the same, yet would never ask.

Nothing could have prepared me for this moment as I sat by Lukas' bedside, a battle warring within me.  He was hovering near death; his lungs filling with fluid and his breaths coming in rasping pants.

My head bowed as I inhaled deeply.  When I looked up, I brushed my much shorter hair back from my eyes, and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Lukas, you are dying."

His eyes fluttered closed and his clammy hand grabbed at mine.  "Yes, I am not long for this earth Stefan.  It is time you told me the truth.  You do not have to hide anymore."

His words hit me powerfully.  I made no effort to look away or move.  I simply began to talk.

Years of memories spilled from my lips.  I told him of my homeland, the few things I remembered from my human life.  The recollections were difficult for me to discuss because I remembered so little.  Every detail about my maker, down to my hand in her demise and my witnessing of her murder was told.  I explained my position on the Council, my penalty for Solveig’s misdeeds…they were words I had never spoken aloud to another mortal—or immortal for that matter.

After I finished, I was amazed at his response.  He did not shy away when I told him of what I was or the things in my past.  He simply listened and watched me with his impenetrable stare.  His eyes were soft and filled with empathy as he chose his response.

"I am honored that you told me.  However, I feel as if you are not telling me everything there is to tell.  You are holding something back, Stefan."  Lukas coughed weakly and he gave my hand a squeeze.  "There is something you are looking for or you would have ended this existence years ago."

Leaning back slightly in the chair, I smiled at my dying friend.  He was correct, of course.  There were times I contemplated revealing myself to humans and ending my life.  I had been alone for many years, sent on missions of torture and destruction.  Whenever my spirits flagged, there was something buried deep inside that kept me going.  I delved further into my mind, the vision of the woman that was to be my fate and my destiny easily came to the forefront of my thoughts.  It had been that way since I had envisioned her 50 years ago.  She was impossibly beautiful; with long copper hair that hung in wild waves down her back.  Her vibrant green eyes were large over her prominent, high cheekbones.  She was luminous, absolute perfection.  All other women paled in comparison to her beauty.

My silence had garnered a knowing smile from my dying friend.  “I see I am correct.”

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

Coming up next is the second book in The Dark Hart Chronicles, Rapture.  It will be out in the late fall/early winter of this year.

Thanks for hanging with us today! I hope you had fun, and we’re glad to have had you over.