Showing posts with label The Breaking of Bonds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Breaking of Bonds. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Guest Blog: Alina Popescu


The Breaking of Bonds Tour Banner
Title: The Breaking of Bonds
Series: Bad Blood, Book Two
Author: Alina Popescu
Genre: paranormal, supernatural, paranormal romance, vampire
Length: Novel

Synopsis

A human sacrifice throws vampires of two worlds, trueborn and baseborn, into an escalating conflict. One side pushes for revenge, the other for freedom. The trueborns stubbornly hunt for Anthony and Louis, pushed by Hesrah’s desire to avenge her human best friend, Alexa. The baseborns are divided between rallying with those challenging the rule of Ankhsis and obeying the trueborns.
breakingbonds_promo
What emerges from the portal between Earth and Ankhsis in the middle of the turmoil rocking both worlds is more dead than alive. Neither human, nor baseborn, and certainly not trueborn. This new being will either damn them all or be their race’s most powerful weapon. Will they trust it not to destroy them, or will Ankhsis decide putting it down is the only solution?
In the end, who is guilty? Who will pay? Will anyone survive its wrath?

Book Trailer


Buy Links:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y4P5C5U
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00Y4P5C5U
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00Y4P5C5U
Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00Y4P5C5U
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-breaking-of-bonds-alina-popescu/1122051367?ean=2940151945226
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thebreakingofbonds-1814960-140.html
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/546554
2
Make sure you read book one of the series before enjoying book two!

The Edge of Hope – Bad Blood Trilogy, Book 1

badblood cover blog promoEveryone she loved betrayed her. She felt lost and broken. Getting away from the pain and embracing a new path, Alexa decided to leave her old life behind and chase a long forgotten dream in Malta. There she met a gorgeous man, bearing the scent of fresh love. He led her to a new city to explore, Amsterdam. Is the tall, dark, and delicious man a dream come true or just a risky gamble?

Alexa chose hope and new beginnings over fear and warning signs only to be brutally dragged into a world she never really thought existed. Vampires, their feuds, and her future held tightly in their hands.

Trapped in a mysterious world, Alexa gives love chance after chance. Following her quest of self-discovery in a blood bound world, will she survive the journey?

Take advantage of the sale for The Edge of Hope – $0.99 everywhere
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JEBJXDQ
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JEBJXDQ
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00JEBJXDQ
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-edge-of-hope-alina-popescu/1119064391?ean=9781497436305
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-theedgeofhope-1472664-143.html
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/424918

Excerpt

I shook my head, trying to focus on Seth. “Don’t move,” I said in what I imagined was a stern voice, but to be honest, it shook a little. “Not a muscle.”

“What are you doing,” Seth asked. He did not seem scared either, but he certainly did not trust me around him. 

“Just shut up and do as I say!”

I got closer to him and it all became harder to bear. The smell of his blood, the sight of it, the sound of it running through his veins, the scent of his sweat, it all made my vision blurry. My head was pounding and my stomach hurt worse than ever before. I reached out and put one hand on his shoulder, right next to the bite. I took a few deep breaths, but I tried to get used to the feeling of his skin under my touch and all that closeness to… well, my favorite dish. When it seemed to become something I could take without sucking him dry, I pushed his head toward his right shoulder. He resisted the move but finally moved it. 

The closer my lips got to the bite, the harder it was to keep in mind what I was supposed to do. I was breathing heavily and moaning, I think. There were some sounds coming out of my throat, but I was unsure what it all was. I licked tentatively and stopped when my brain registered the taste of his blood. I had vivid images about bleeding him dry distracting me, but I pushed through and continue to lick the fang marks a little longer, till I was sure I had covered it all in my saliva. 

All I wanted was to be far from him, fast. And the moment the thought formed in my mind, I started running backwards. I bumped into the furthermost wall and stopped. Seth and Magnus seemed to react very slowly, as if they were moving in slow motion. I could see their startled expressions at the sudden move but only long seconds after I had touched the wall. 

“All right, it seems you also have speed. Almost full feral powers on Ankhsis. That will certainly be a problem,” Magnus said in a surprisingly steady voice. In my experience, people tended to panic a little when they discovered a problem. Oh, shit was one of my go-to phrases. 

After making it through the earlier challenge, I started to trust my abilities of self-control more. So I walked back to the bed and sat on the very same chair that Seth had been sitting on when I had woken up.

“Are you OK?” My shaky voice made me cringe a little.

“Yeah, fantastic,” Seth mumbled, arching a brow and staring right at me. It did not take a genius to figure out he was being sarcastic; even Sheldon Cooper would have picked up on it that one time. 

“I’m really sorry.” I winced at the thought of what could have happened and averted my eyes. 

“I’m sorry, that was harsh,” he said, taking me by surprise. I hadn’t expected him to let it go so quickly. I sure as hell wouldn’t have gotten over someone trying to suck the life out of me so quickly. “We’re both new to this, I guess. I am not used to be someone’s prey; you don’t know how to control your urges. My ego is what you have bruised the most.’

“I truly am sorry, Seth! It really is unlike me to behave like that.”

“You mean bleed strange men dry after trying to sexually take advantage of them?” He smirked but his smugness was not funny in the least.

“I don’t remember you resisting that second part much.” I sneered and clenched my fists, starting to feel less guilty for having attacked him. 

“Now, now, kids! Don’t fight,” Magnus said, getting closer to us, probably imagining they could have done a better job at stopping me together. 

The anger was so thick I could have cut it with a knife… if it took a material form. Oh, damn it, who cared, I felt it seething and my stomach coiled with the need to cause some damage and fill up on blood in the process.

“Oh, no, Alexa, I wouldn’t dare say I wouldn’t have… encouraged you to have your way with me,” Seth continued on the same half-amused, half-mocking tone. “But see, I was not the one calling some idiot’s name when I finally emerged from the portal.”

I couldn’t say if I ever had a chance to even think I should try to control my rage. I just threw Magnus across the room, grabbed Seth by the neck and jumped on top of him, on the bed. I could have just squeezed his neck a little and there would be no more mocking me. 

The skin on my inner thighs was touching his abs. A perfect six pack, I could feel it without looking. The raw sexual desire slowly overpowered the anger and the hunger. He was smiling, I eventually noticed. His hands were suddenly moving and I shivered at his soft but steady touch. He caressed me from my ankles upward over my knees and finally settled around my waist. I could smell his arousal and it only made my physical reaction worse. 

“Want to forget about him for a while?” Seth asked and I realized I had stopped holding him by his neck and I was tracing his upper arm muscles instead. I ran across the room once more. I heard him laugh, so I just ran out of the room and out the door. I kept running down the stony alley and into the woods.


Guest Post by Alina Popescu
Sometimes things don’t go according to plan

I’ve spoken about my writing process at length. I start to write the script in my head, I see the characters interacting as their journey comes to life, and when every piece of the puzzle is worked into the thread, I start writing. By the time I start typing it all out on my computer, I know where I’m going. But sometimes characters are nothing but menaces that just won’t go along with my initial plan. 

With the Bad Blood trilogy, that happened twice so far. The first time was easy. I was planning out The Edge of Hope and Louis came out of nowhere, demanding his place in my story. He wouldn’t shut up about it, so I included him in Alexa’s story line early on. It turned out she needed Louis, in more ways than I could have guessed. 

The second time… well, this happened during my planning phase for book two, The Breaking of Bonds. I was used to it by now, but then it happened again while I was writing the story. Seth refused to be a good little supporting character. His relationship with the female lead was supposed to be a sexually charged one, but never move past an initial distraction. Seth was not supposed to play a more significant role in the story. 

Boy, was I wrong! I was dead wrong about him and his importance, or so he kept claiming. I went along with it because I now know better than to fight it. I suppose it’s up to the readers to decide if it was the right call. 

The bottom line is things don’t always follow the path you’ve imagined they would. Characters are loud mouths that refuse to let you shut them up. Stories change, and sometimes the shift is so shattering, you can’t help freaking out a bit. Okay, a lot. The right thing to do? Breathe, relax, and trust the story you’ve imagined and the characters you’ve created. For all intents and purposes, they are not real. But they are the voices of your instincts, telling you where you should go. 

Giveaway

Prizes: 3 e-copies of The Edge of Hope, 2 e-copies of The Breaking of Bonds, 1 bundle of Bad Blood, books 1 & 2
a Rafflecopter giveaway
1

About the author

Writer, traveler, and coffee addict, Alina Popescu has been in love with books all her life. She started writing when she was ten and even won awards in local competitions. She has always been drawn to sci-fi, fantasy, and the supernatural realm, which explains her deep love for vampires and is also to blame for this trilogy.

Social Links
Site & Blog: http://alina-popescu.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/authoralinapopescu
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alina_popescu
Instagram: http://instagram.com/alinapopescuwriter
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/alina-popescu
Google+:  https://www.google.com/+AlinaPopescu
Amazon:  http://amazon.com/author/alinapopescu

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Cover Reveal: The Breaking of Bonds


The Breaking of Bonds Cover Reveal

Synopsis

A human sacrifice throws vampires of two worlds, trueborn and baseborn, into an escalating conflict. One side pushes for revenge, the other for freedom. The trueborns stubbornly hunt for Anthony and Louis, pushed by Hesrah’s desire to avenge her human best friend, Alexa. The baseborns are divided between rallying with those challenging the rule of Ankhsis and obeying the trueborns.

What emerges from the portal between Earth and Ankhsis in the middle of the turmoil rocking both worlds is more dead than alive. Neither human, nor baseborn, and certainly not trueborn. This new being will either damn them all or be their race’s most powerful weapon. Will they trust it not to destroy them, or will Ankhsis decide putting it down is the only solution?

In the end, who is guilty? Who will pay? Will anyone survive its wrath?

breakingbonds

Pre-order Links

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y4P5C5U
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00Y4P5C5U
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00Y4P5C5U
Amazon DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00Y4P5C5U

Excerpt

Hesrah was growing impatient; she wanted to return to the portal, so she decided she needed to push them to finally share their information with her.

“What is it that you have discovered that needed my immediate attention?”

Anhubis took out an envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket and threw it on the table. She reached out to it and found a few photos in it. Louis, strapped down to a chair, all bloody and beaten. Good for him!

“What is this?” she asked, looking at Anhubis from under knitted eyebrows.

“One of our baseborn friends – we still have a few of those – followed Anthony after the events in Juliana Park. He managed to send these over before being caught.”

“Do you know where he was?”

“Yes, but they are long gone.”

“Why would Anthony do this to his partner in crime?” she asked, tilting her head.

“God knows,” Anukh stepped in. “Maybe they were never partners. Maybe he found out who Louis really was.”

“Can you find them again? Or do I have to bring an Inner Sanctum squad over here?”

“Don’t you dare!” Anhubis said in a thundering voice, pointing a threatening finger at her. “The Inner Sanctum will not meddle on Earth. I will find them again.”

“Make sure you let me know the moment you do,” Hesrah said, her eyes boring into him.

“Won’t you be too busy guarding the portals, waiting for your precious human friend?”

His mocking smirk, more so than his sarcastic words, got to her and in a blink of an eye her fist raced through the air, connecting to his face. As he fell to the ground, she lunged and got on top of him, her fangs piercing the skin of his neck. Her nostrils flared at the spicy cologne he was wearing and she managed to squeeze a few drops of his blood before Anhubis threw her off of him. The fight would have surely escalated if Anukh wouldn’t have stepped in to stop them.

“Are you both crazy?” he hissed, a deep frown line marring his forehead. “Anhubis, you are the head of the High Council. Surely you can tell how ill-advised being inconsiderate towards humans is. And you, Hesrah! You are a part of the Inner Sanctum and your mother’s daughter. You should both be ashamed.”

When they moved away from each other, Anukh, with a half sad, half disgusted smile, said a hurried good-bye and left the room.

“If you ever talk about her like that, I will kill you with my bare hands,” Hesrah said through clenched teeth. To her, that was not a threat, it was a promise, and she suspected Anhubis knew it, as he nodded quickly and took a step back.

The Edge of Hope (Bad Blood I) by Alina Popescu

Everyone she loved betrayed her. She felt lost and broken. Getting away from the pain and embracing a new path, Alexa decided to leave her old life behind and chase a long forgotten dream in Malta. There she met a gorgeous man, bearing the scent of fresh love. He led her to a new city to explore, Amsterdam. Is the tall, dark, and delicious man a dream come true or just a risky gamble?

Alexa chose hope and new beginnings over fear and warning signs only to be brutally dragged into a world she never really thought existed. Vampires, their feuds, and her future held tightly in their hands.

Trapped in a mysterious world, Alexa gives love chance after chance. Following her quest of self-discovery in a blood bound world, will she survive the journey?

Ebook

Take advantage of the sale for book 1 – 99c on Amazon.


Paperback



About the author

Writer, traveler, and coffee addict, Alina Popescu has been in love with books all her life. She started writing when she was ten and even won awards in local competitions. She has always been drawn to sci-fi, fantasy, and the supernatural realm, which explains her deep love for vampires and is also to blame for this trilogy.

Social Links

Site & Blog: http://alina-popescu.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/authoralinapopescu
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alina_popescu
Instagram: http://instagram.com/alinapopescuwriter
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/alina-popescu
Google+:  https://www.google.com/+AlinaPopescu
Amazon:  http://amazon.com/author/alinapopescu
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