Follow This! Kelly Whitley

Kelly Whitley is my guest today on Follow This! Her new book, Into the Red is a must-read if you love vampires, romance, and suspense. Read on to learn more about her and and an excerpt from her book.

What got you started in writing?  

I work in the medical field, and an idea about the way I saw vampires wouldn’t go away. I saw them as being similar to humans—born, not made—but with some key paranormal differences. After being an avid reader for years, I decided to give it a shot and try my hand at writing.

How did you feel when you got that first acceptance?   

Excited, and then scared. Could I bring this thing to fruition with an editor and a publisher?

What’s your biggest challenge as a brand new author?    

The promotion. Although I’d set up a platform before I ever submitted my first manuscript, the day-to-day reality of promo remains a challenge.

What’s next for you? I’m working on a couple of novels and two short stories right now. At some point, I hope to write the story of a couple of the secondary characters in Into the Red.      

Where can fans find you?

Website: http://www.kellywhitley.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kwhitleybooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellywhitleybooks

Blog: http://kellywhitleybooks.blogspot.com/

BLURB:

Human blood is an illicit and highly addictive drug--if you're a vampire. Known as Red, its side effects are insanity, and eventual death. A group of Red-addicted vampires known as Poisoners are killing women as part of an extortion plot involving a lost ancient vampiric tome, and they’re leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. The discovery of each new victim risks exposure of the entire vampire race to humans. Then one victim survives…

Dr. Evan Nichols, oncologist and vampire, lives a monk-like existence, by his own choice, focusing on patient care and research to benefit his vampire brethren. It’s been twenty-five years since his world turned upside down—the night he lost his fiancée and discovered his hidden vampire heritage. Now his government has ordered him to take a mate—or they’ll choose one for him. It’s a horrible prospect, and one that might push him over the edge—until Fate throws him together with a human female.

Wary of relationships, Tara West has poured her energies into work and inventing cutting edge climbing equipment. She doesn’t like the gorgeous Dr. Nichols, yet finds herself unaccountably drawn to him.

When a crazed vampire attacks and poisons Tara, Evan rescues her. With time running out, he has to create an antidote to the poison before he loses his chance at love.

In order to make the vaccine which might cure her, he has to find the bastards who poisoned her and take their venom—before they die of their addiction. If he doesn’t reach them in time, saving her will be impossible.

Thus the journey begins—into the Red!

Buy Links:  Muse It Up        Amazon  

EXCERPT:

The caged light above the emergency exit cast a pallid purple glow over the alley and the pair coupling against the brick wall. Barely twenty feet away he watched, hunkered down in the murk of the shadows, thinking about the merits of killing them both, or waiting for the girl to be alone.

The bar catered to the darker element; men who came to drink, drug, and fornicate. Dangerous men. Men who committed violent crimes as easily as they breathed. Few women frequented this establishment. Most of the females present worked there as waitresses with benefits for purchase, for the men with sex on their minds.

Management took a cut of everything—the liquor, the drugs, and the sex. He also knew the management dictated who did what to whom and when, so it had been just a matter of time before a pair left the bar for the privacy of the alley.

The guy from inside the bar was clean, well-dressed in something other than biker gear and blue jeans, and wasn’t drunk or high.

Which was better than usual.

Hidden, he watched while the man finished and then disappeared back inside. The girl stayed in the alley. A match flared as she lit a cigarette and walked in tight circles by the back door. Based on his observations, he knew she wanted to attract a customer who didn’t come from the bar.

A quickie.

She didn’t realize she’d just sealed her own fate. It would be a quickie. A hell of a quickie.

He separated from the shadows and approached her from the end of the alley. He wasn’t clean, well dressed, or sober.

Which was worse than usual.

But he did have fifty bucks. He bit back a laugh as he caught the expression on her face—half victory, half revulsion. She took his money, tucking it into her bra before turning to face the rough brick of the building.

He leaned into her, pressing her chest against the alley wall and inhaling the smell of her neck as he yanked up her skirt and entered her from behind. He ran his hands over her body, relishing the feel of her soft skin as he plunged into her, ignoring her little yips of pain.

As he slammed into her and finished, the leech of his addiction demanded satisfaction, and he snaked an arm around her throat. For a moment she didn’t react, then the fragrance of her relief gave way to the smoky scent of panic. She lashed out, connecting with the unforgiving brick wall. Her struggles kicked his anticipation into overdrive, and he sank his teeth into the exploding pulse of her fear.

Within a few seconds, her legs gave out, leaving her limp against the wall; he supported her around the waist. Anyone encountering the scene would assume they’d not yet concluded their transaction. The ache of withdrawal eased its way into euphoria as the Red hit his bloodstream.

With jerky movements, he laid the body out of sight behind the filthy packing boxes before grafting himself to the shadows.

Soon, another couple would exit the bar for an outdoor tryst.

And he’d be watching.