Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway: Bitter Fruits (Eden's Fall #1) by Sarah Daltry

Description:

For fans of dark urban fantasy comes a novel that questions why forbidden fruit is always the most tempting…

A vampire-themed masquerade party isn’t really her scene, but Nora is sick of frat parties and bars. When she meets Alec, the appeal suddenly becomes clear. It’s obvious that they’ve been struck by the same intense mutual attraction, but Alec keeps his distance. Intrigued despite herself, Nora pushes a little deeper — and discovers Alec’s unimaginable secret…

Nora is not afraid of following Alec into the darkness, but the choice is soon taken from her. Someone is hunting her — someone tied to the secret and desperate to see it play out. But when Nora finally meets her aggressor, she finds herself hopelessly drawn to him. She needs to make a choice between the two men, but can she save them both, knowing one is destined to die?

“This book is one of the best paranormals I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot. Five stars hands down! I am proud to pass it on to all of you. Buy this book, devour it and enjoy.”

GUEST POST

I don’t consider my story dark but then again, I don’t define dark. It’s really far more of a question of morality and what it means to control your own destiny. Although there are bigger forces than Nora at work, she refuses to let the world drive her. She wants to make her choices, which is part of the challenge for her. She is both destined to choose free will and desperate to choose it, making things a little complex. 

If it’s dark in any way, I would argue that it’s dark because it looks at the hidden truth behind Biblical mythology. There is great deal out there about Lilith and about her mythology, yet we pretend it’s not part of the story. Why? The novel addresses how much we rely on other people to tell us stories – and how we shape our own lives based on our assumption that they tell the truth. But what if they don’t? 

Technically, Bitter Fruits is paranormal/urban fantasy but really, take out the vampires and the Biblical context and you have a simple story – it’s about a college student at the end of school trying to figure out her path. She is drawn to one man and then another, but it also puts her in the middle of a universal and cosmic story. Still, at the end, really it’s about her defining what’s acceptable for her. What’s normal for her, even if it’s abnormal for others.

EXCERPT

TOUR SCHEDULE

I storm out of his office feeling superior until I get into the hall. Away from Henry, the reality of what he is saying, of what Alec has told me, starts to sink in. What am I doing? Henry is right; I can’t fight supernatural forces from as far back as the Bible. I can barely pass statistics!

I don’t know where to go or whom to turn to, and I debate about running back to Henry and asking him to save me from myself. That won’t solve anything, though, because his solution will be to let Alec face his death alone. It may have only been a week, but there is something about Alec; I feel like something brought us together for a reason, that maybe I can save him. It’s probably arrogance, because how many years of human history have passed? What makes me, a 22-year-old girl from Delaware, think that I can change something that has never been changed since man began? Yet, despite all evidence to the contrary, I do think I can; I just need to be pointed in the right direction.

I jump when a hand brushes the back of my neck. I turn and Caleb, along with all of his danger and desire, stands behind me. He smirks, seeing that he has accomplished his goal of catching me off guard. The dark hall of the academic building seems to glow where he is standing and I take a deep breath, warning myself not to find him attractive. When his lip curls up in an actual smile, though, my body stops listening to my mind. I really wish I could turn it off when it comes to Caleb; I know he is wrong for me and that he and his brother do not get along. Knowing that Alec sees him as a threat doesn’t help either, but still my nerves seem to react to his body as he gets closer.

‘I always seem to find you talking to that professor of yours. Should I warn someone of ethical violations?’

‘He’s dating my roommate,’ I reply. ‘And I am dating your brother.’

‘Dating. That is such a silly word,’ he teases, closing the gap between us completely and running a hand along my neck to the back of my head, his fingers lacing their way into my hair. ‘My brother is lucky but he is also stupid. I don’t suppose he warned you —’

‘He told me everything,’ I say.

‘I sincerely doubt that. I also sincerely doubt that you will be any different from his last failed love affair. Mortals are weak and none weaker than a woman in love.’

I may be just a college girl and I may be naive, a little stupid, and in over my head. However, no one calls me weak and I stomp on Caleb’s foot, breaking free of his hold. He groans and looks at me, surprise mixing with admiration in his expression.

‘Don’t call me weak. Your brother seems to be convinced that he will die, unless he finds someone, so how about you help me?’ I ask.

‘You really don’t know, do you?’ His amusement irritates me and makes me feel like a child.

‘Know what?’

‘Why on earth would I help you prevent my brother from being killed when I am the one to kill him?’

******

In movies, fighting a supernatural army is usually pretty straightforward. The good guys find some kind of magic box, recite some chant, and the bad guy loses. Usually after a lengthy diatribe expressing all of his reasons for being evil. However, I have exhausted all the methods I’ve seen on TV or read about: silver, crucifixes, holy water, magic boxes, and sunlight. Turns out most of those aren’t real. Who’d have guessed?

‘But she can’t go out in sunlight, right?’ I ask Caleb, after we’ve been brainstorming for what seems like hours. He’s still leaving something out, but at this point, I figure he’ll tell me when he’s ready. In the meantime, we can work out what we both know. ‘Only you can. Otherwise, it’s barbecue time.’

‘You know, Nora. If there was one human being I could choose to fight alongside while facing down the end of the world, I’d pick you a million times over.’

‘It’s because I’m crazy hot, right?’

He smiles. ‘Something like that. Anyway, no, Lilith cannot go out in sunlight. Nor can her creations.’

‘So why don’t we just get them all outside on a nice day and — bam! War over.’

‘Well, for starters, I don’t think she would take an invitation to an outdoor extravaganza. Secondly, there is still the question of what she’s fighting.’

‘And that is?’

‘Revenants,’ he says and the fear returns.

‘Wait. I thought we were fighting them.’

‘We are,’ he confirms.

‘So Lilith is on our side?’

‘Lilith is on no one’s side but her own. However, my actions…’ He trails off and I try to piece together everything I’ve learned. He began to show these signs after he started reading Dr Evans’s journals. Something was in those journals.

‘There’s something. Something in the notes.’

‘The revenants. They started about five years ago. The first sighting was in a small town in England, about a hundred miles north of Oxford.’

‘Okay,’ I say, waiting for him to say something that I understand as significant. I’m not really looking for a geography lesson of revenants.

‘I’ve been to the town many times. The last time was right around the rise of the revenants.’

‘So you knew that they were rising?’

‘No.’ He shakes his head. ‘Before we came to the States, I made an annual trip there, to a cemetery. I kept my distance, but I still needed to mourn.’

Understanding washes over me. ‘Teresa,’ I say.

‘Teresa.’

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About the author:
Sarah Daltry writes about the regular people who populate our lives. She’s written works in various genres – romance, erotica, fantasy, horror. Genre isn’t as important as telling a story about people and how their lives unfold. Sarah tends to focus on YA/NA characters but she’s been known to shake it up. Most of her stories are about relationships – romantic, familial, friendly – because love and empathy are the foundation of life. It doesn’t matter if the story is set in contemporary NY, historical Britain, or a fantasy world in the future – human beings are most interesting in the ways they interact with others. This is the principle behind all of Sarah’s stories.


Sarah has spent most of her life in school, from her BA and MA in English and writing to teaching both at the high school and college level. She also loves studying art history and really anything because learning is fun.


When Sarah isn’t writing, she tends to waste a lot of time checking Facebook for pictures of cats, shooting virtual zombies, and simply staring out the window.

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