Got back from AlienCon Tuesday night. Yes, the convention ended on Sunday, but it was a two-day drive to get home. Flying would’ve been much faster, but (1) I hate to fly and (2) we brought our dogs so flying was out of the question. No, Gypsy and Loki didn’t attend AlienCon, too *snickers*. They spent their time in our hotel room being (what they would consider) neglected since we spent several hours each day away from them. My dogs’ paws-down rating aside, we all had a good time. I haven’t been to a convention just for fun in over a decade, so this was an especially nice treat. 

At one point during the long drive back, my husband said “You know, Thanksgiving is next week” and I replied “Nuh uh!” Well, UH huh, because yes it is! I don’t know how a holiday marked on the calendar for the whole year managed to sneak up on me, but it did. I feel so unprepared. Thank God I’m not hosting it or I’d really be in trouble. Still, I’ll be rushing to put up my Christmas decorations this weekend. Yes, I put them up before Thanksgiving. Why? It’s a pain in the ass to do all that decorating, so I am going to get FULL value out of it by having those decorations up for at least six weeks. *grins* That might not be sentimental, but it’s true.

While I was away, BFF Ilona Andrews had a new release. DIAMOND FIRE, a Hidden Legacy novella, came out the November 6th. This novella bridges the culmination of Rogan and Nevada’s main storyline plus rolls out the red carpet for Catalina’s turn as a heroine. It’s a fun, fabulous story, but don’t take my word for it. Look at all the glowing, 5-star reviews from readers who’ve already gotten their copy, so be sure to grab yours, too! 

Nevada Frida Baylor and Connor Ander Rogan cordially invite you to join their wedding celebration. Summoning, weather manipulation, and other magical activities strictly forbidden.

Catalina Baylor is looking forward to wearing her maid of honor dress and watching her older sister walk down the aisle.  Then the wedding planner gets escorted off the premises, the bride’s priceless tiara disappears, and Rogan’s extensive family overruns his mother’s home.  Someone is cheating, someone is lying, and someone is plotting murder.

To make this wedding happen, Catalina will have to do the thing she fears most: use her magic.  But she’s a Baylor and there’s nothing she wouldn’t do for her sister’s happiness.  Nevada will have her fairy tale wedding, even if Catalina has to tear the mansion apart brick by brick to get it done.

Order: Amazon | BN | Kobo | Apple Books

That’s it from me for now. I must get back to my keyboard, where WICKED BITE , the second Night Rebel novel, awaits. Oh, Veritas. You didn’t think you’d really get away with *censored* when it came to Ian, did you? 😉

I’m currently away from home, about to experience the out-of-this-world fun of AlienCon Baltimore, but my editor texted me last night to say that SHADES OF WICKED hit the USA Today bestseller list at #44! Thank you, readers, for making sure that Ian and Veritas’s debut made such a wonderful splash! 

If you’re saying “Huh? IAN’S book? I didn’t know about that!” go here for all the details. Oh, and speaking of possibly not knowing about Ian’s book, I recently found out that I’d had the WRONG link up for my newsletter on my website, so if you thought you signed up, but didn’t get a New Release notice from me last week, that’s why. Here is the updated link to my newsletter, hosted by CoffeeTime Romance. Of course, be sure to select my name for the author you want to receive information on. 

As promised, I also have updated pre-order links for the sequel, Wicked Bite. Note, the title changed, so if your copy of Shades of Wicked shows that the next book is Wicked Promises, scratch that! It’s Wicked Bite now, releasing on July 30th, 2019, and here’s where you can pre-order yours: Preorder: Amazon, Apple Books, B&N, BooksAMillion, Kobo, IndieBound

Once again, thank you so much, readers! *group hug*

Before we get to the playlist that I listened to while writing Shades of Wicked, an important note about the next Ian and Veritas novel. At the back of Shades of Wicked, it says the title of the next Night Rebel book is Wicked Promises. However, between the time that was printed and now, we changed our minds :). The UPDATED title of the second Night Rebel book featuring Ian and Veritas is WICKED BITE. It even has some pre-order pages up so you can bookmark it or pre-order: WICKED BITE on Amazon and WICKED BITE on Apple Books (I’ll update my website as more retailers post links.) No cover yet for WICKED BITE, but I’ll post that as soon as I get the go-ahead, too.

And now, to the playlist for Shades of Wicked! As many of you know, writing to specific music helps put me in the right frame of mind because I’m conditioning myself to write a particular story whenever I hear those particular songs. I’m not saying this works for every writer, but it works for me, so I stick with it. That being said, there’s no hidden meaning for the book in these songs. Some of these are recommendations that you, readers, have given me, so thank you again! Some songs are recent hits, some are very retro, and some are in between. Now, music tastes are as personal as reading tastes, so if you don’t like some of the bands/songs, no problem. Just please don’t tell me that I shouldn’t like them, because if a song/band is listed, then I do and no arguing on your part will change my mind :). 

The layout is artist name: songs. Artists are in alphabetical order for ease of listing, but this isn’t the order that I listened to while writing because I’m not that organized, heh.

Bastile: Pompeii, Oblivion

Bon Jovi: Living with the Ghost, Roller Coaster, We Don’t Run

Breaking Benjamin: Psycho, The Dark of You, Torn in Two, Save Yourself

Broods: Evergreen, Everytime

Cage The Elephant: Come a Little Closer

Daughter: Youth

Foo Fighters: Everlong

King & Country: O God Forgive Us

Halsey: Gasoline, Bad at Love, Is There Somewhere

Hozier: Better Love

Imagine Dragons: Whatever It Takes*, Believer

INXS: Don’t Change

The Killers: Read My Mind

Lana Del Ray: Video Games, Lust for Life

Led Zeppelin: Immigrant Song

Little Dragon: Twice

Miley Cyrus: Younger Now, Miss You So Much

Of Monsters and Men: We Sink

One Republic: Let’s Hurt Tonight**

P!nk: What About Us, Barbies, Where We Go, For Now, I Am Here

RAC: Let Go

Sia: The Greatest

The Chainsmokers & Coldplay: Something Just Like This

Goo Goo Dolls: Flood, The Pin, So Alive

The Killers: Read My Mind

Thousand Foot Crutch: So Far Gone

Tom Walker: Leave A Light On

While I listened to all these songs repeatedly (it takes me several months to write a book, so just imagine how many times I listened to them!) the song marked with * is the one I listened to on continuous repeat while writing the first sex scene. And the song marked with ** was the one I listened to on continuous repeat while writing the second sex scene. Take from that what you will ;).

As the subject line says, SHADES OF WICKED is now out! As my publisher hilariously said, “Take a bite out of Ian.” *snorts* Sure, go ahead. He’d probably like that ;).

The Rule Breaker

Master vampire Ian is unrepentant, shameless…and every shade of wicked. He’s made one too many enemies in his two centuries of existence, including Dagon, a demon who now lays claim to his soul. Ian’s only chance to escape Dagon is to join forces with a Law Guardian, but he’s never been able to abide by the rules for long.

The Law Maker

Veritas’ normal role is police, judge and jury to reprobates like Ian. But she has her own ax to grind with Dagon, so if she can use Ian as bait…well, all’s fair in law and war. As they scour supernatural hotspots to perfect their trap, Veritas soon realizes Ian’s devil-may-care, roguish image hides something much more powerful. And Ian discovers that Veritas has shocking secrets of her own. As they’re drawn to each other with a passion as intense as their peril, either love or justice will prevail. But each will have devastating consequences…

Order: Amazon, B&N, IndieBound, Apple Books, BooksAMillion, Kobo or Malaprops (for a limited time, signed copes still available to order at Malaprops)

Thankfully, I’m not the only one excited about this book. Here’s a sampling of what others have said: “A flawless blend of high-stakes romance and action-packed paranormal adventure…Sexy, breathtaking, not-to-be-missed paranormal romance.” KIRKUS, starred review.

“The legion of fans for Frost’s super popular, darkly twisted Night Huntress titles will be thrilled by the first book in her Night Rebel series…Wild, magically enhanced sex and bloody, bone-pulverizing battles will keep readers turning the pages.” BOOKLIST.

“SHADES OF WICKED is everything Jeaniene Frost fans hoped for and much more.” FRESH FICTION

“Shades of Wicked is a fantastic start to this new series…Bravo again, Jeaniene Frost.” THE READING CAFE

“Pulse-pounding action with some of the best characters you’ll have the pleasure to read about…Ian and Veritas had me hooked from page one and addicted for more.  The next installment can’t come soon enough.” UNDER THE COVERS BOOK BLOG

“SHADES OF WICKED is a roller coaster ride of everything you’d love in a paranormal story. Secrets, lies, battles, insane sex (good gravy Frost has an outstanding imagination when it comes to creative sex, never doubt that!) and an ending that will leave you going ‘whoa’!” SCANDALICIOUS BOOK REVIEW

“With Ian’s devil-may-care attitude, and Veritas’s single-minded focus on her mission, the pairing off of these two is as delightful as it was unexpected.” ALL THINGS URBAN FANTASY

Of course, my favorite recommendation might have to be from Dromichaetes of Dacia, Master of the Dark Coven and unofficial spokesvampire of the Ministry of Undead Persons*, who rather begrudgingly has this to say: “The Ministry acknowledges that the Author’s Work in Question, SHADES OF WICKED, has literary merit and provides exciting entertainment value, while still torturing its principals hereinafter known as Hero and Heroine with a sufficient degree of cruelty to elicit sympathy from both Undead and the Living.”

Ha ha ha! I knew Ian was gonna hook you, Dromeo! Resistance is FUTILE.

Of course, for those who’d rather try before they buy, you can read the first three chapters plus additional excerpts of SHADES OF WICKED here. You can also listen to an audio clip from Chapter One HERE.

Whether you spend your Halloween reading, chomping candy or both, I hope that you have wonderful Halloween!

*Disclaimer: No, I’m not claiming that an actual vampire endorsed this book, but author & BFF Ilona Andrews is. *giggles* See more here. For the backstory on this supposed feud between me and an aggrieved vampire, go here and here. 

Before we get to the new except and the Quote of the Day roundup, I wanted to give a final remainder to readers who want to order a signed copy: you only have a short amount of time left to do so. Malarops Bookstore has partnered with my publisher to ship signed books to readers between now and shortly after release. If interested, please go to this dedicated page on Malaprops website and follow the instructions. Don’t miss the part where you have to specify in the comment section of your order that you want your copy SIGNED, and if you want it personalized, specify who you want it made out to. Thanks so much to Malaprops and Avon Books for setting this up!

I also wanted to thank all the readers who joined in on the Facebook Live chat last Friday night. If you missed the chat, but want to see it, the link is HERE. Funny alert: the video starts out sideways since I wanted to get the wider view to include my editor in it, but as you’ll see, that didn’t work out so well. Thanks also to everyone who came to last weekend’s KissCon event in Atlanta! It was so much fun chatting with all of you.

Next up, some additional early feedback about SHADES OF WICKED. For those of you who want to read a review, but don‘t want to get inadvertently spoilered, here’s a new one from FRESH FICTION that has no spoilers. My favorite line, of course, is “SHADES OF WICKED is everything Jeaniene Frost fans hoped for and much more.” I know it’s impossible for every reader to have that reaction, but one can dream! Lol. The full review is HERE.

Don’t want something as formal as a review? Looking for a fun summary along with alcohol recommendations based on Ian and Veritas? Then the SMART BITCHES, TRASHY BOOKS blog has you covered! Go HERE to see which drinks were recommended based on SHADES OF WICKED, and read the fun write-up. My favorite line is “The first time we meet him in this book, he’s wearing nothing but a circus ringmaster’s coat and proudly displaying his own pierced ringmaster, if you catch my drift.” *snickers* I think we do! 

Now, to the excerpt. The HAPPILY EVER AFTER blog is hosting a never-before-seen excerpt from SHADES OF WICKED. This one digs a little deeper into Ian’s past and his ties to Mencheres, so go HERE to check it out. Thanks for HEA for hosting this!

And now, to the Quotes of the Day. To recap, over a week ago, I started posting a Quote of the Day on my Twitter and Facebook pages, and will continue to do so until SHADES OF WICKED’s release on Tuesday (October 30th.) Here’s this week’s roundup of quotes previously posted (note: if you want to see them when they come out, follow me here:

Click to be taken to Jeaniene’s Twitter page. Or, here is the direct link: https://twitter.com/Jeaniene_Frost

Click to be taken to Jeaniene’s Facebook page. Or, here is the direct link: https://www.facebook.com/JeanieneFrost

First up, a last-minute live interview and Q&A with more tomorrow night (Friday, the 19th) via Facebook Live on my Facebook page at 8pm Eastern Standard Time! I’ll be talking about SHADES OF WICKED, of course, plus anything else I’m asked, heh. Go HERE to watch and join in. Or, here is the direct link: https://www.facebook.com/JeanieneFrost

Next up, as of last Monday, I’m posting a Quote of the Day on my Twitter and Facebook pages from now until SHADES OF WICKED’s release on October 30th. Every once in a while, I will post a bonus quote, too. If you want to see them when they come out, follow me here:

Click to be taken to Jeaniene’s Twitter page. Or, here is the direct link: https://twitter.com/Jeaniene_Frost

Click to be taken to Jeaniene’s Facebook page. Or, here is the direct link: https://www.facebook.com/JeanieneFrost

However, since not all of you have or want those accounts, every week, I’ll also post a roundup of the quotes on my blog. This week, I’m posting them early since tomorrow, I’ll be driving to go to the Avon KissCon event in Atlanta. But, normally, you can expect to find them on Fridays. Without further ado, here were this week’s daily quotes. Enjoy! 🙂

 
And here’s the bonus quote, which doesn’t have the neat background image, but I hope you enjoy it anyway 🙂

“I never needed safety words before. The few times I lost control with people when I was young, I knew to stop when I heard screams followed by variations on ‘arrg, my back, my back!” – Veritas, Law Guardian for the vampire council, to Ian.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Exhibit A of Offending Material

My husband just walked by my office to ask, “What are you laughing at?”

This, dear friends. I’m laughing at this because BFF Ilona Andrews Dromichaetes of Dacia, Master of the Dark Coven and official spokesperson for the Ministry of Undead Persons, has sent me more of his thoughts on SHADES OF WICKED, the first Night Rebel book, more commonly referred to as “OMG, Ian finally has a book coming out?!”

Here is Ilona’s Dromichaetes’s latest message, copied directly from my inbox. If you haven’t read his previous correspondences, including a Cease & Desist letter and my reply to it, they’re detailed HERE. Now, to his latest, with my thoughts bracketed and in red font for easier delineation. For context, it seems that Dromichaetes has just read the chapter where Veritas is confronted by Cat, Bones, Mencheres and Spade as to their opinions on her new relationship with Ian.

Master of Dark Coven <fangmaster4unlife@gmail.com

Today at 11:59 AM

Before I get to the chapter, a reminder that readers who want to order a signed copy of SHADES OF WICKED only have about two weeks to do so. The details: Malaprops Bookstore is partnering with my publisher to ship signed books to readers between now and shortly before release. If interested, please go to this dedicated page on Malaprops website and follow the instructions. Don’t miss the part where you have to specify in the comment section of your order that you want your copy SIGNED, and if you want it personalized, specify who you want it made out to. Thanks so much to Malaprops and Avon Books for setting this up!

Now, as promised, here is another excerpt from Ian and Veritas’s upcoming novel, SHADES OF WICKED, Night Rebel book one. This time, I’m picking the entire third chapter to post. If you haven’t already read chapters one and two, you can find them HERE, and I’m adding chapter three to that page for easy reading continuity.

If you’ve already read the first two chapters, then no need to click away to the other page – you can dive right in, the water’s fine…as you can see from this chapter where Veritas is required to watch Ian shower to make sure he doesn’t get away from her or use another spell against her. *snickers* Enjoy!

Chapter Three, SHADES OF WICKED, copyright Jeaniene Frost

Ian went to one of the second-level bedrooms as if he were very familiar with it. He probably was. Judging from what I’d seen, he’d been at this brothel for at least two days. That mock carnival in the basement certainly hadn’t been set up in a mere afternoon.

He stripped off his jacket as soon as he crossed the threshold. I made sure to keep a close watch on his hands as I followed him into the bathroom. I couldn’t allow him to magically fabricate another weapon. There were plenty of things in this room that a highly skilled practitioner could use.

Ian’s dossier revealed that he had spent time in the company of witches and mages, but it posited that he’d done so for excitement and socializing. Wrong and wrong. Most practitioners would’ve needed to recite an incantation in order to get the power to transmute one type of object into another. Another way would be to draw several specific magical symbols to create the necessary power. Ian had changed a silver pebble into a knife without a single word or scribble, and he’d done it while I was beating his skull half in.

If that wasn’t impressive enough, tactile magic was one of the highest forms of the craft. That’s why I couldn’t take my eyes off his hands. He’d need to use at least one of them to conjure up more of that kind of magic. Right now, he wasn’t doing anything threatening. He stepped beneath the shower spray and closed his eyes as that first blast of water hit him. Then, he washed his hair, his movements brisk and efficient. When he picked up the body wash, however, he slowed down, working the liquid into a rich lather before running his hands over his body.

Did he think I’d never seen a man make a show out of washing himself before? I had, and even the most seductive of them had always been a little too obvious, a little too sleazy. Women were much better at this form of manipulation, but if he wanted to give me something to look at, let him.

After a few minutes, I had to give Ian credit—he was good. He didn’t attempt to meet my eyes to gauge the effect of his actions. He also didn’t go right for his groin as most men did. Instead, he acted as if I wasn’t even there while he started with his arms, washing each with smooth, sweeping strokes that emphasized the muscled elegance of his limbs. Then he moved on to his chest, soaping it with a languid thoroughness that highlighted every ripple, hollow, and chiseled inch.

He gave the same unhurried attention to his lower body, his hands running down the tautness of his abdomen before sweeping over the hard globes of his ass. Those hands lingered over the thicker muscles in his thighs before moving down to his well-defined calves. Even his feet weren’t neglected.

Somehow, the never-ending sweep of his hands started to feel hypnotic. If I were a few thousand years younger, I might even start to imagine how each muscle, hollow, and sinew would feel if I were the one touching him. Or notice how his muscles appeared even more defined when the water washed away another swath of suds, or how his skin glistened beneath the bright lights in the shower stall.

Or fixate on how the thick appendage between his legs was growing as if also longing to feel the touch of those slow, skilled hands.

When I realized I was staring, I gave myself a hard mental shake. Again, I’d underestimated him. Ian was obviously as skilled at using his body as he was at using magic. That, or I wasn’t as immune to his decadent beauty as I’d assumed. Whether it was my newfound compromised emotional state or my extended bout of abstinence, I didn’t know. Either way, I had to keep my focus on both his hands. Not just the one currently slicking suds over the impressive appendage between his legs.

“I say, you’re looking in all the wrong places now.”

His voice held the silkiness of honey along with the lure of wine, but deadly potions could also taste sweet. My careful watch on his other hand revealed his true intentions. He wasn’t trying to seduce me. Like a magician, he was drawing my gaze one way while the real trick was about to take place somewhere else.

I gave a pointed look at his left hand, which was creeping behind his back. “Keep both your hands where I can see them.”

His smile changed into a scowl. “You’re no fun at all.”

He wasn’t even trying to deny that he’d been about to fling a spell at me. I’d take that roundabout honesty as progress.

“Law Guardians aren’t supposed to be fun,” I noted dryly. “We’re supposed to be good at our jobs, and despite a few slip-ups already with you, I am. Even if I couldn’t stop time, there’s still no spell you could fling at me that I haven’t defeated a thousand times before.”

He smiled again. For the first time, it seemed genuine. “I take that as a challenge. Let’s make it interesting, shall we? If I use a spell on you that you’re unable to defeat, you’ll drop your requirement that I follow your lead on our quest to kill Dagon. Instead, you’ll follow mine.”

He hadn’t been following my lead as it was, but damned if I’d let him off the hook. Plus, his arrogance could be useful. Good to know I wasn’t the only one letting emotion cloud my judgment.

“How long are you giving yourself to attempt this supposedly unstoppable spell?”

“Two weeks.”

Perfect. If all went well, I would be done with him by the time he tried it. “Fine, if you agree to stop trying to escape or trick me until this grand attempt. And when you fail to hit me with a spell that I can’t defeat, you’ll follow my lead plus give me three unquestioning acts of obedience.”

“Done,” he said at once.

He seemed so confident. He even smiled with the kind of anticipation I’d seen only on gladiators right before they struck a killing blow. Was it possible I’d made another mistake? He’d already surprised me several times today.

But no. He couldn’t best me in this.

“Done,” I said after a slight pause.

His smile turned sly. “How shall we seal this new accord? A blood oath?”

As if I’d assume his shedding a few drops of blood would suddenly make him honest. “Something else. Hold out your hand.”

He arched a brow but extended a still soapy hand. I closed my fingers around his, not surprised that his flesh felt far warmer than a vampire’s normal temperature. His time in the shower had heated his skin, and now, that water would provide me with what I needed to ensure an oath he couldn’t break.

Water was one of the main natural elements of the world. That made it powerful, if one knew how to extract that power. I did since I had a special talent with water. I hadn’t wanted to use more of my hidden abilities today, but if I didn’t, I’d soon be fighting off attacks from my duplicitous ally in addition to the ones that would be coming from Dagon.

A ripple of energy flashed through the room when I began to speak in an ancient language, the first one I’d learned. That energy settled on our joined hands. Ian hissed when he felt it.

“What are you doing? And why are you speaking Sumerian?”

I wasn’t about to answer either of those questions. In truth, I hadn’t expected him to recognize the long-dead language. Not that it mattered. These words weren’t significant.

Ian tried to pull his hand away. The spell I was creating trapped him. It wrapped around me, too, feeling inside us for the promises we’d both just made. When it found them, it tightened our hands together. Then I felt its energy crest before it slid beneath my skin to dissolve inside my bones.

Once it did, I opened my eyes. “Now neither of us has a choice about keeping our latest promise. The spell found them, and if one of us were to renege on them, it would rot our bones faster than either of us could heal.”

Ian’s eyes were lit up with emerald, and the muscle ticking in his jaw showed how displeased he was by this turn of events. But when he spoke, his voice was light, and instead of trying to pull his hand away, his fingers now caressed mine.

“A Law Guardian who practices forbidden magic. How irresistibly hypocritical of you.”

***
SHADES OF WICKED releases October 30th. You can also pre-order yours at Amazon, B&N, IndieBound, Apple Books, BooksAMillion, Kobo

The official book trailer for SHADES OF WICKED is here! Once again, I turned to Book Candy Studios to produce it, and once again, I love the results. Without further ado, click the “play” button below to enjoy, or go to the trailer link on my YouTube page here (direct link: https://www.bookcandystudios.com/).

(Note: In case it isn’t obvious, everything below is written with tongue firmly in cheek)

Exhibit A of Offending Material

As some of you who follow my blog already know, I have been sent a Cease & Desist letter via friend and fellow author Ilona Andrews from Dromichaetes of Dacia, the Master of the Dark Coven. Dromichaetes is an apparent spokesperson – or is it spokesvampire? – from the Ministry of Undead Persons. Among other things, the letter demands that I pull publication of SHADES OF WICKED (pic included for reference) and to stop writing my books the way I do because, to quote “under no circumstances can Vampire Persons be portrayed as having fulfilling friendships and, especially, romantic relationships that end happily” as well as my favorite complaint “Some of them [vampires] have been approached by humans asking if they wore silver jewelry on private parts of their anatomy to heighten sexual pleasure.” The full Cease & Desist letter is HERE. 

Things escalated when Dromichaetes contacted my agent, Nancy Yost, with further demands. You can read Dromichaetes’ letter plus Nancy’s hilarious very serious reply HERE. With these additional letters, it’s become clear that this issue requires my personal involvement. That’s why I’m writing an open letter to Dromichaetes of Dacia, the Master of the Dark Coven, care of the Ministry of Undead Persons:

Dear Dromichaetes, or Dromeo, to borrow my agent’s moniker,

Greetings from the lively side of the grave! I did indeed receive a copy of the correspondences you sent to both my agent and my dear friend Ilona, and I have to admit, I’m beyond flattered. Don’t be offended by this. Yes, you doubtless expected me to cower in fear, but come on. My first Cease & Desist letter is from an actual vampire? That’s a top-tier item crossed off my bucket list right there!

While I respect your concern that my books have veered off the “traditional” path, I feel that typecasting vampires to only be portrayed as the forlorn villain is so 1897 (DRACULA publication-date pun ftw! Ahem.) What I mean is that Vampire Persons are surely vibrant creatures with more personality traits than the tragic, brooding, tormented type – not that there’s anything wrong with those types! But let’s throw back the coffin lid on other types of Vampire Persons, shall we? For example, have you read any of Ilona Andrews’ fabulous books? She and Gordon’s vampires aren’t brooding or tormented. They’re monstrous and terrifying, yet they’re also very versatile because they can rip you to pieces AND carry letters inside their throats or their…well, a creature of your advanced learning is surely familiar with the term “prison pocket”? But I digress. My point is, if there is room for monstrous vampires, emo vampires, and perpetually tormented vampires, surely there must be room for vampires who are also heroic, funny, witty, and – yes, I’ll go there – sexy.

Come now, dear Dromeo. Before you protest, I refuse to believe that someone with your vast longevity hasn’t, at some point, experienced love. You did, didn’t you? Wasn’t it wonderful? Didn’t you want it to last forever? While in life (or, excuse me, undeath) such love might eventually wither away, in the romance genre, we have the promise of the happily-ever-after where love overcomes all challenges, no matter how dire. I give the same promise with my books, although since I write series versus stand-alones, the happily-ever-after doesn’t come in the first book. So, yes, long live the brooding, emo, or tormented vampires! And long live the monstrous, terrifying, villainous vampires! But don’t forget to make room for the vampire heroes, vampire heroines, and everything in between. I for one refuse to let your entire species be defined by only one type of narrative. Creatures such as yourself surely deserve more. You’re not going to let the human race have a monopoly on complexity, are you?

That is why I welcome my agent sending you a copy of my latest book, SHADES OF WICKED. All I ask is that you read it with an open mind. Kirkus gave it a starred review and called it “A flawless blend of high-stakes romance and action-packed paranormal adventure,” but if you can’t enjoy the “wild, magically enhanced sex,” perhaps you’ll enjoy the “bloody, bone-pulverizing battles” as per Booklist’s review (note that I wouldn’t insult you by offering my own admittedly biased opinion, which is why I included statements from objective parties.)

For more objectivity, anyone can read the first two chapters plus additional excerpts of SHADES OF WICKED HERE.  You can also listen to an audio clip from Chapter One HERE.

I await your reply once you have finished the novel, Dromeo. Until then, I remain your admiring – if rebellious – scribe,

Jeaniene Frost

P.S. To illustrate my point, I’m including the below picture. It’s from a few years ago, so my hair is red instead of its current blondish shade, but it gives a more succinct visual about my thoughts on your demand that I stop writing vampires who fall in love, have dangerous adventures, have hot sex (with or without piercings!) and overcome dire odds to eventually live happily ever after:

10/10/19 Edited to add: Dromeo has responded! I woke up yesterday to an email in my inbox with the subject line of “I am reading your book” and the sender info as “Master of the Dark Coven.” You can read his reply HERE. Funny side note: if you reply to his gmail account, you get this auto message “Foolish mortal, your email has been received.  If you are found worthy, you will be honored with reply.  If not, your email will go on a kill list.” Lol! I mean, ahem, I’ve been WARNED ;).