Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway: Blood and Eternity by Shira Anthony

We’re so pleased to have author Shira Anthony stopping in today to celebrate her new Dreamspinner Press release, Blood and Eternity. She’s here to chat about the concept of time travel today, is sharing an excerpt from the book, and has a great giveaway up for grabs, so be sure to check out all the details!

Welcome, Shira!

Wibbly, Wobbly, Timey, Wimey

Thanks, Lisa and crew, for hosting the Blood and Eternity blog tour today! I’m so excited to share the final book in the Blood series from Dreamspinner Press with everyone. Be sure to read down about how to enter the blog tour giveaway for a handmade unisex bamboo bracelet featuring bats and other vampire-ish dark themes.

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of time travel and I thought it would be cool to try writing it. So when the idea of vampires with superhero abilities popped into my mind, I decided to dive in head first, not really thinking about how it all might play out. And you know what? Writing time travel is the hardest thing I’ve ever done!

The Blood Series was inspired by a sci fi/romance Japanese anime, Noein (and yes, I’m a total anime geek, for those who may not already know!). And although there are many theories about the flow of time, this particular series used what I call the “fork in the road” concept. Take the road to your left, and things turn out one way. Take the road on your right, and you could have an entirely different set of events unfold. The diagram gives you an idea of how this works.

Easy, right? Hell no! In fact, I rewrote the ending at least a half dozen times to make things work!

Blood involves multiple timelines. In fact, in Blood and Eternity, I recap those timelines for the reader. There are 3 timestreams in the series: 1) the original timestream set out in Blood and Rain, 2) the timestream created when the main character goes to the past and changes the future with his actions, and 3) a timestream where, let’s just say (no spoilers!), the future isn’t exactly the way the main character would have wanted it to be.

Three timestreams. The constant in all of them other than our hero? The bad guy, Verel Pelletier, who has stolen the ability to manipulate time as well. And that’s where the entire series turns. When you have an antagonist who can exist in multiple timelines, how do you kill him off or prevent him from causing chaos to begin with? That’s the question answered in Blood and Eternity.

Blood and Eternity ends with a happily-ever-after after plenty of trials and tribulations.  Together, Adrien and Nicolas sacrifice a great deal to find their happiness. I hope you’ll enjoy their story and the conclusion of the series. I’ll leave you with an excerpt from Blood and Rain, the first book (no spoilers here!). Don’t forget to comment on the post to be entered to win the cool spooky bracelet!

–Shira

About the Book

Sequel to Blood and Ghosts and the final installment in the Blood TrilogyVampire hunter Adrien Gilbert never dreamed he’d fall for his prey or that his love, Nicolas Lambert, would give him the gift of immortality. But when a hunter bent on destroying the truce between vampires and hunters throws the gauntlet at Adrien’s feet, Adrien must travel through time to save Nicolas, and with him, the entire vampire race.

The time has come to make a choice—one they will live with for eternity.

In this final installment in the Blood Trilogy, Adrien and Nicolas must face their greatest enemy in a deadly last confrontation. But to prevail, they’ll need to master the enemies within.

When Adrien awakens to a future he doesn’t recognize, he faces an impossible decision: live a perfect life with Nicolas in a shattered world, or risk everything to repair a broken past. But before he can challenge vampire hunter Verel Pelletier, he must master the demon who lives in his own mind—and learn to control his ability to travel through time. With Nicolas by his side, he prepares for a final battle against a powerful adversary who likes to play games with the past and future.

But the price of ensuring a future for their loved ones may be an eternity spent alone.

Buy the Book from Dreamspinner Press: eBook || Paperback

The Excerpt

“Monsieur Gilbert,” said Nicolas as he offered his hand. “Thank you for coming.”

Adrien didn’t take Nicolas’s hand. Nicolas appeared momentarily taken aback by Adrien’s rebuff but then offered Adrien a warm smile, revealing the tips of his sharp eyeteeth.

Adrien found it difficult not to stare. Nicolas appeared to be in his late twenties, although Adrien knew better. Vampires were immortal, or nearly so, since they aged slowly and could live for millennia. Nicolas could be hundreds, even thousands of years old. And yet his eyes seemed to sparkle with the curiosity of youth, and his pale, perfect skin glowed in the firelight.

Nicolas wore an exquisitely tailored velvet jacket in nearly the same shade of brown as his eyes. It accentuated his graceful body and strong shoulders. Nicolas’s matching wool trousers fitted his long legs so well Adrien could imagine the corded muscles beneath. The gold embroidery on the white silk of Nicolas’s vest made his hair appear even darker than Adrien remembered. Adrien wondered what that hair might look like freed of its binding. Long, past his shoulders, and nearly black. And although he told himself he was attracted to Nicolas because of what Nicolas was, Adrien couldn’t deny the intensity of Nicolas’s physical beauty, nor could he deny that being so close to Nicolas left him ill at ease. He felt underdressed and unsophisticated in his simple tweed jacket and trousers.

The doors to the sitting room opened again, and a servant entered carrying a tray with several glasses and a decanter filled with red wine. Adrien was thankful for the interruption—it gave him time to regain his composure. The servant set down the tray and quickly retreated, leaving the two men alone once more.

“May I offer you some wine, Monsieur Gilbert?”

“Thank you.” Adrien took the crystal wineglass from Nicolas’s hand and their fingers brushed, sending a jolt of energy up Adrien’s arm.

Nicolas looked at Adrien in obvious surprise, as if he, too, had felt something. Adrien hastily withdrew, barely managing not to spill the wine.

They stood in silence until Nicolas raised his glass. “To your health, Monsieur Gilbert.”

Adrien drank deeply and schooled his features, willing himself to focus on something other than his companion. Not a simple feat, given that every fiber of his being cried out for more of the vampire’s touch. He took a slow breath and allowed the alcohol to do its work, relaxing his body and allowing him to regain his composure.

“My brother will join us for dinner.” Nicolas sipped his wine and turned back toward the fire.

“Your brother?”

“Jean is the leader of our clan. He was the one who asked that you come.”

Jean Lambert. The leader of the Lambert clan was known in the hunter community as much for his reclusiveness as for his immense powers.

Whatever they want from me, it must be very important to the clan.

About the Author

Shira Anthony was a professional opera singer in her last incarnation, performing roles in such operas as Tosca, i Pagliacci, and La Traviata, among others. She’s given up TV for evenings spent with her laptop, and she never goes anywhere without a pile of unread M/M romance on her Kindle. You can hear Shira singing “Vissi d’arte” from Puccini’s Tosca by clicking here: Shira’s Singing

Shira loves a great happily-ever-after and never writes a story without one. She’s happy to write what her muse tells her, whether it’s fantasy, sci fi, paranormal, or contemporary romance. She particularly loves writing series, because she thinks of her characters as old friends and she wants to visit them even after their stories are told.

In real life, Shira sang professionally for 14 years, and she currently works as a public sector attorney advocating for children. She’s happy to have made writing her second full-time job, even if it means she rarely has time to watch TV or go to the movies. Shira writes about the things she knows and loves, whether it’s music and musicians, the ocean, or the places she’s lived or traveled to. She spent her middle school years living in France, and tries to visit as often as she can.

Shira and her husband spend as many weekends as they can aboard their 38′ catamaran sailboat, Prelude, at the Carolina Coast. Not only has sailing inspired her to write about pirates and mermen, her sailboat is her favorite place to write. And although the only mermen she’s found to date are in her own imagination, she keeps a sharp lookout for them when she’s on the water.

Shira Anthony’s Website