Guest Post & Giveaway with Tracy Cooper- Posey

What if We Weren’t The Top Cats?

 

Superiority of an individual or a species over another is a harsh lesson to learn, but nature is harsh – it keeps handing this lesson out whether you want it or not.  Humans have been at the top of the food chain for a very long time.  But what if we weren’t? 

I was reminded of this just the other day.

My husband believed for the longest time he didn’t like cats.  He thought them to be cold, unemotional creatures.  He liked dogs, because they always greet you with a wagging tail and a happy disposition and are always eager to please.  So for many years of our marriage he resisted the pressure from me and the kids to acquire a cat.  But eventually he caved and in his usual fashion, didn’t just acquiesce.  He had to do it in style:  He went and picked out a kitten he liked, bought all the essential supplies, then brought it home inside his jacket one evening and surprised the hell out of us.  That’s how we acquired our silver stripe, Pippin.  We quickly realized Pippin needed company and added a calico, Merry.

For several years we remained a stable, two-cat household.  Merry, by the way, became Mark’s cat.  She idolizes him, curls up with him when he snoozes and talks to him when her water bowl is empty.  She is his girl.  No, I am not jealous.  She head-bumps me, too.

Then two Christmases ago, our middle son, Matthew, heard about a litter of nine kittens that had been abandoned in a barn.  The snow was very deep and it was incredibly cold that Christmas.  We hesitated for maybe fifteen minutes while we wondered if Pippin, the male, would get his nose out of joint.  Then we figured we’d worry about it later.

The kitten that came home with Matthew was small enough to sit on the palm of my hand.  It was a mass of fuzzy black fur that looked like it had never had the benefit of a mother’s grooming.  In amongst that fur were two electric blue eyes darting in every direction as this tiny kitten tried to take in everything at once.  And just at the base of its delicate neck was a startling, small patch of white, like a medallion.  As we already had two characters from Lord of the Rings, this ragged ranger from the wilds simply had to be Strider – black overcoat, blue eyes, medallion and all.

It took us about three weeks to realize that Strider had the cat equivalent of ADHD.  And no, he hasn’t grown out of it.  Two years later, he out-weighs both Pippin and Merry, and he’s still bouncing off walls, leaping into the air for no particular reason, and chasing shadows.  And when shadows won’t do, he’ll chase his tail – the first and only cat I’ve ever seen that does the dog thing.  He also pants like a dog.  I’ve researched it and discovered that cats pant when they’re excited.  Strider gets excited a lot. 

A three cat household creates some interesting dynamics.  Merry is female, so we didn’t have to worry too much about her.  It was Pippin and Strider we had to keep an eye on.  Pippin had been top Tom all along.  We needed to make sure he accepted Strider and as Strider grew, that Strider didn’t nudge Pippin out of the group, either.  Having them both neutered helped considerably and keeping a careful eye on feeding time and unsnarling arguments over the feeding bowls, etc., has kept most of the hierarchy disputes to a minimum.  Pippin has continued to remain top cat in charge except when it came to eating.  He always hung back until the other two had finished.

Until last weekend.  Strider, as I mentioned, is two years old now, and he’s a fully grown, heavy little beast.  Especially when you pick him up, because he flops completely in your arms, his legs and paws all hanging which way so his belly is exposed for rubbing and that’s when you really notice how much he weighs!

I can’t tell you what happened last weekend that made a difference.  There was no big fight or showdown, because we weren’t woken up by cats screaming and clawing each other to pieces.  But something happened overnight.  Because now, all three cats eat from the food bowls at the same time.  Pippin doesn’t hang back anymore. And now all three cats sit together, lie together, and walk around together.  Détente has been reached.

In Blood Stone, vampires are the top cats in the hierarchy – at least for a while.  They’re the superior species even to humans, even though most humans aren’t aware of that fact.  But somewhere in the middle of the story, the vampires discover they’re not the most powerful species after all (and I won’t spoil the story for you by saying why).  The more interesting part of that discovery is that some of them don’t take it so well.  That’s a natural, knee jerk reaction.  I don’t think a lot of humans would take it well if they discovered they were no longer the most powerful creatures on the planet anymore, either.  It’s the survival instinct kicking in.

If you discovered that vampires really did exist, for instance, and given that vampires are so powerful and virtually omnipotent, how would you feel, knowing that your survival as a species was now threatened?  Would you fight?  Or would you, like Merry, Pippin and Strider, try to come to some arrangement?

This is the question that the humans and the vampires in the Blood Stone series face and have to answer, and it’s not an easy answer to give.  Survival, when you’re not the superior species, never is an easy question.

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Blood Stone is my 44th title and my ninth indie book.

Nial orders Calum Garrett to get close to Hollywood producer Kate Lindenstream.  Garrett reluctantly complies for he has held himself apart from humans for centuries.  Kate doesn’t fall into Garrett’s arms, either.  She already has someone for that.  Roman Xerus -- whom Kate knows as Adrian -- and Garrett go way back to the sixteenth century Scottish highlands, but they parted bitterly two hundred years ago.

With Roman’s support, Kate battles Garrett in wills and business as he methodically forces himself into her life. However, on the closed-in movie set in the Californian desert, Garrett’s calm, orderly world crumbles for Garrett is drawn to Kate.  He has begins to experience real, human feelings.  

Kate doesn’t cooperate in the chess game Nial orchestrates, despite being unaware of the strategies swirling around her film set.  Demanding and expecting only the best for her movie, Kate’s agenda forces Roman and Garrett to work together to protect her and keep the humans around her ignorant of the Pro Libertatus, the anonymous and all-powerful vampire group who nearly killed Nial, Sebastian and Winter, and shield Kate from the excesses of the League for Humanity.  But could Roman really be with the Pro Libertatus?

There’s hidden intentions everywhere, and centuries of repressed feelings, along with at least two different groups that mean them harm.  Then there’s the rumours that Kate has found the mythical Blood Stone, the key to unlocking vampire history and lifting their curse.   Who is Kate, really?  Because once Garrett begins to notice, things about Kate don’t quite add up, either...

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An Excerpt From: BLOOD STONE
Copyright © TRACY COOPER-POSEY, 2012
All Rights Reserved.

 

Adrian returned to his distant, charming and undemanding self for the rest of the meal, letting Kate relax and enjoy his company, and her body to tingle and zap as she entertained the future possibilities between them.

Their eyes would meet and Kate would see the knowledge in his, too, and that further spiced the lunch date.

By the time she slid from the buffet and fished her car keys from her satchel, as Adrian strode ahead to pay the bill, Kate felt almost drunk with a subterranean arousal more potent than anything sweet Greg Evershot had managed last night. Kate stared at Adrian’s powerful denim-clad thighs as he stood at the maître’d’s counter signing the chit, and the flex of his thick bicep as he wrote, and could so easily imagine him naked.

She could feel her cheeks heating as she moved toward the counter. Adrian turned and dropped his coat over his forearm and dug heavy sunglasses out of the pocket, watching her approach with a small smile tugging the corner of his mouth.

“You’re a stunning lady,” he said, when she reached him.

Her cheeks bloomed even harder. “Thank you.” She barely managed to say it without tripping over the two little words.

“You’re a better director, though,” he added.

This time her smile was not forced at all. “You just made my day,” she said truthfully. “This way, I parked in the underground garage here.”

They used the escalator in the lobby to slide down into the cool, dim and echoing roots of the building.

“Main level?” Adrian asked.

“One more down,” Kate said. “Stairs are over there.” She pointed to the concrete stair block across from the elevators. They waited for a black Mercedes to pass, then crossed over and climbed down to the next level. She looked for her Audi, and spotted it as another car started to rumble its way up from the next lower level.

“That one,” she said, tripping the lock so the lights would flash for Adrian’s benefit.

He nodded and headed toward the car, with Kate about two paces behind him. The car moving up from the next lower level turned the big U-bend then, and its day time running lights caught them in the middle of the traffic lane. It came to a sudden halt, and the back door opened.

“Kate!”

She whirled, throwing up her hand against the lights, and pushing her satchel behind her back with her right hand. She walked a few more paces to the right to clear the lights, which put her right next to Adrian.

“It’s Calum Garrett,” the voice said.

“Goddam it,” Kate breathed softly. She felt, rather than saw, Adrian’s glance down at her.

The back door of the luxury limo closed and Garrett came forward. “It can’t be a coincidence running into you again like this.”

“Run into, or run over?” Adrian asked.

Garrett looked at him. “I was talking to Kate.”

“And she clearly doesn’t want to talk to you.”

The other door of the limo opened, and a seven foot, very thin man in his fifties with blond hair got out, carrying a briefcase. He seemed to be all arms and legs, the pinstripe suit merely exaggerating the length of everything.

“Your enforcer?” Adrian asked, with a grin.

“My lawyer,” Garrett replied. He looked at Kate. “Is there any way—”

“No,” she said flatly.

Garrett glanced at Adrian, then studied her for a moment longer. “I see,” he said at last. “Well, I had to try.”

He turned and walked back to his limo, and both he and his lawyer climbed back in. The limo took off with a smooth purr, and passed Kate and Adrian, all black enamel and smoked glass. Kate didn’t know if Garrett would be watching her, but she bet he was.

She shuddered. “Creep. He didn’t even say good-bye.”

“His sort doesn’t because they figure they’ll be back,” Adrian said. “What did he want, anyway?”

Kate starting heading toward her Audi again as she told him quickly about her run in with Garrett, skipping to the distasteful highlights. Adrian listened without interruption – he was good at that – but she got the impression his mind was half-occupied with something else.

As she settled herself behind the wheel, he ducked down to look at her, with one hand on the roof of the car, the other on the door. “I’m going to pass up the privilege of being driven anywhere by you, Kate.” His voice was low, and the double meaning of his statement sent a little shiver down her back. His eyes and his attention were fully on her. “I’m sorry, but I forgot about something I have to take care of downtown.”

She hid her disappointment, and made herself nod. “No problems.” She made herself not ask the next question.

But Adrian answered it anyway. “I’ll call.” He went to close the door, hesitated, and dipped his head down to look at her once more. “Maybe you should stock up on hundred dollar bills, Kate. Just for fun.”

He shut the door softly and was gone, all while Kate fought to draw in her breath fully, and get over the huge lump of excitement and pure erotic pleasure that blocked all her vitals for twenty precious seconds.

When she finally turned the key, her hand shook.

Oh, Adrian Xerus was so going to impact on her life!

 

BLOOD STONE is the second book in the Blood Stone series

BLOOD STONE is the sequel to BLOOD KNOT.

It is a Plus-sized Novel.

WARNING:  This book contains two hot, sexy alpha heroes, frequent, explicit and frank sex scenes and sexual language.
It includes heart-stopping sexual scenes between the aforementioned sexy heroes, menage scenes, anal sex and the use of sex toys.  Don't proceed beyond this point if hot love scenes offend you.
No vampires were harmed in the making of this novel.

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Blood Stone is the second book in my best selling erotic MMF paranormal urban fantasy romance series.  It will be on sale on September 14, if not a bit before then. 

The good news?  The first book in the series, Blood Knot, is my #1 best seller, was the Winner of the Coffee Time Reviewer’s Recommended Award, was listed as one of Goodread’s “Most Drool-worthy Covers“, nominated for Erotic Vampire Book of the Year by The Romance Reviews, and received a CAPA Nomination for Best Paranormal Book of the Year by The Romance Studio, December, 2011, among many glowing and rave reviews.  If you’re curious about Blood Knot, you can read more here:  http://bit.ly/g9pSw5. 

The really good news?  On the 14^th, when Blood Stone is released, Blood Knot drops down to $0.00 for three days of free downloading at Amazon.

Bookmark Blood Knot on Amazon now:  http://amzn.to/hcrCCf

And bookmark Blood Stone on my website, so you can jump to the Amazon link the day it goes live:  http://bit.ly/TrCuWv

If you want a reminder on the 14^th to go get your free book, sign up to my blog’s RSS feed, or to the email feed, or to my newsletter.

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Tracy Cooper-Posey writes romantic suspense, hot erotic paranormal and urban fantasy romances. She has published over 40 novels since 1999, been nominated for 5 CAPAs including Favourite Author, and won the Emma Darcy Award. 

She turned to indie publishing in 2011. Her indie titles have been nominated three times for Book Of The Year.   She has been a national magazine editor and for a decade she taught romance writing at Grant MacEwan University. 

She is addicted to Irish Breakfast tea and chocolate, sometimes taken together.  In her spare time she enjoys sewing, history, Sherlock Holmes, science fiction and ignoring her treadmill. An Australian, she lives in Edmonton, Canada with her husband, a professional wrestler, where she moved in 1996 after meeting him on-line.  

You can find her site at http://www.TracyCooperPosey.com.

 

 

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