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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Monday, October 19, 2015

The Willow Creek Vampires Series by Stephanie Summers

Welcome to Willow Creek, where life is simple, crime is practically nonexistent, and people are happy—unless you’re Sabine Crowley. 




Description:

Published: September 3rd, 2015

Welcome to Willow Creek, where life is simple, crime is practically nonexistent, and people are happy—unless you’re Sabine Crowley. 

On her eighteenth birthday, she receives word that she’s the latest offering in a two hundred year arrangement between the townspeople and the vampire lord who presides over the town. There goes her plan for traveling the world, moving away from Willow Creek, and pursuing her dreams. Now that she’s being sent to live with the vampires, she’s tied to the town and cocky newcomer Remy, the vampire she’s tasked to feed for the rest of her life. 

The Willow Creek Vampires Series follows Sabine’s journey through finding out she’s the next offering, to falling in love, to doing everything she can to hold onto and save the love she never thought she’d find, all while searching for a way to freedom.

This set includes Craving, Haunting, and Awakening, the first three books in The Willow Creek Vampires Series as well as the companion short story, The Bludworth Chronicles: Origin. Please check out the individual book pages for reviews. 

Craving: Welcome to Willow Creek. People are happy, crime is practically nonexistent, life is good…unless you’re Sabine Crowley, who has been chosen to be the next blood bag for the vampire lord who has protected the town from otherworldly creatures for 200 years.

Sabine has big dreams for her life, and none of them include becoming a vampire’s concubine. On her 18th birthday, she seeks solitude to process the cruel turn her destiny has taken. As she sits alone in Cleary Park, a sexy stranger approaches her. He’s tall, mysterious, handsome, and a complete jerk. He soon reveals himself to be a vampire and she’s terrified of him and her strange attraction to him. She wants to get as far away from him as possible, yet finds herself wondering if she’ll see him again. 

Remy, the cocky newcomer vampire, has been summoned by his maker, Bastian, to take his place beside him in the hierarchy of vampires inhabiting Willow Creek. He’s none too thrilled to be stuck in a boring little town in the middle of nowhere where he’ll have to feed exclusively from the girl he’s been paired with. He’s repulsed by the whole situation. 

When Sabine tries to run away from her fate, Remy is forced to follow and bring her back. They’re unwillingly thrust into each other’s lives and reluctantly find an undeniable attraction between themselves. Will they ever look past their contempt for one another and act on their urges? Or are they destined to hate each other forever? 

Haunting: Sabine Crowley is adjusting well to her new life at Willow Creek Manor with Remy by her side. That is, until she finds out some devastating news from Bastian. Has Remy been lying all along about his feelings for her? Had she been a fool to believe he really could love her? 

Remy has been accused of trying to leave Sabine and his responsibilities to Bastian behind. He’s been locked up and drained of his lifeblood to the point that he has no memory of what has happened since just after Sabine officially became “his”. 

In a house full of vampires, not being paired has put Sabine into quite the predicament. Luckily for her, she’s managed to make a couple of powerful allies who are more than willing to help her out in any way they can. It’s up to Sabine to figure out the truth about Remy and how the secret of Willow Creek can help or hinder her quest to be free. 

Awakening: The town of Willow Creek is seemingly free after Remy’s sacrifice set off a life-altering chain of events that resulted in the demise of most of the world’s vampire population. Sabine flees to her home afterwards, except her family has disappeared and a “For Sale” sign is planted in her front yard. Just when she thinks she’s lost it all, she’s summoned back to Willow Creek Manor. Confused, and almost certainly walking into a trap, she reluctantly returns, only to find that the king of vampires still lives… and he is none other than her Remy. The dead love of her life is alive, but he doesn’t quite seem like the same man. With the help of a witch, a ghost, and a longtime enemy, can Sabine bring back the man she fell in love with… or will she lose him forever? 

Also included is the prologue and first two chapters of Stephanie's contemporary rock star romance, Take Me On. Once you've read The Willow Creek Vampires Series, you might remember a certain rock star Sabine has been obsessed with named Ash London. Take Me On is his story.

EXCERPT





He stood looking out the window at nothing. 

Not turning toward her, he spoke. “You were never in any real danger. You know that, right?”

“I get that, but that’s not what I’m having issues with… that’s not what scares me.”
“What is it then?” 

“You.” 

His body stiffened as he heard the fear in her voice. His head turned slightly in her direction. 

“You scared me before, but I’m absolutely terrified of you now. You bit me when you said you wouldn’t, and I’ve never seen someone be as violent as you were. I’ve never seen someone die right in front of me, let alone witnessing such a violent death.” 

“I didn’t bite you.” He continued looking out the window again, and his body relaxed. 

“I saw my blood dripping off your teeth and running down your chin. Now you’re going to lie about it?”

“It wasn’t your blood. It was mine. I meant it when I said I wouldn’t feed on you in front of all them.”

“Oh… I saw the blood, and I thought,” she trailed off in mid-sentence. “I guess that’s why it didn’t hurt. I thought maybe you just made it so I didn’t feel it.” 

“I wanted them to believe I was feeding from you, so I bit the inside of my lip. That’s why I kept my mouth on your neck for so long. I knew some of them were watching us. If I hadn’t pretended to feed on you, things could have turned sour fast, and it’s not like I could tell you my intentions without alerting everyone else.” 

He turned to face her just as she reached up and placed her hand on the spot his mouth had been focused on. He saw lust flash briefly in her eyes. Though he would never admit it to her, he enjoyed being close to her. He planned to tease her about kissing her and sucking on her neck, and he was going to act like he was the pig she thought he was, but he would never tell her how much he enjoyed being so close to her. His lips ached to kiss her again. 

“Then what was with killing that guy? All for a necklace?” Sabine shook her head and looked at him incredulously. “You could just buy another.”

He looked down at the floor. He couldn’t stand making eye contact with her while he revealed the story so close to his heart. “It isn’t just a necklace. It’s my mother’s, and later belonged to my wife. That necklace is the only item I possessed that belonged to either of them, and he stole it from me.”

“I didn’t realize you still had feelings like that. You made it seem like you don’t care about anything,” she said, moving to the side of the bed closest to him and sat down.

“I do care about a few things. I may put on a tough exterior, but some feelings linger.”

“So, it has sentimental value... couldn’t you just take it back? Did you have to kill him?”



“Yes, I did. Everything I owned as a human was stripped from me by my father when I refused him. I managed to hide the necklace in a place he never suspected, and I retrieved it later. So, you see, it wasn’t just that it was theirs, but it was the only thing I had left from my mortal life. The necklace was the last bit of myself that I could still hold on to.”




About the author:
Stephanie Summers is a paranormal and contemporary romance author. She recently from West Virginia University with a degree in accounting, though writing is her true passion. Stephanie seemed to always have a story or two or ten running around in her mind. At the ripe old age of 30, she finally decided it was time to put aside the thought that she didn't have what it took to write a novel and began writing her first story. 

She has since published her first paranormal series, The Willow Creek Vampires Series, with Craving (Book #1), Haunting (Book #2), and Awakening (Book #3) available now. Her short story, Love Forgotten, was chosen to be published in Stardust: A Futuristic Romance Collection, and another short story, Saved by the Bear, is available now. Her contemporary rock star romance, Take Me On, was released in July 2015, with its sequel, Take Me Home, scheduled to release later this year.

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