The Darkening by Caris Roane
A novella of the Guardians of Ascension
49,800 words plus Ascension Terminology
A tortured warrior and a peace-loving counselor battle to protect Second Earth against a powerful dark force…
He thwarted connection of any kind…
Fearing that his newly emerged grayle power will kill innocent ascenders, Samuel Daman struggles to keep his distance from beautiful Vela Stillwell. But the breh-hedden has struck and her light floral scent tears at his restraint. When the enemy draws them both into the darkening, a place of secret travel for Third ascenders, will Samuel learn to control his power, or will he destroy what he desires most?
She hid from grief…
Vela Stillwell wanted a new life, away from Militia Headquarters, away from the reminder of all she’d lost when her husband died five years earlier. Seeking a more reclusive occupation, she finishes her last day of work only to have Samuel Daman and the infamous breh-hedden sweep through her life. Though trying to disconnect from her new emerging power and from Samuel, the call of the darkening pulls Vela into an adventure that both terrifies her, yet reveals the truth about her deepest desires. Will she succumb to the breh-hedden, or will her fears prevent her from living life to the fullest?
Caris Roane has published nine paranormal novels and novellas and writing as Valerie King, fifty Regency works. In 2005, Romantic Times gave her a Career Achievement award in Regency Romance. As Caris Roane, she currently writes paranormal romance for St. Martin’s Press and also self-publishes the continuing stories for her Guardians of Ascension series as well as stories set in other worlds.
Where to find Caris:
Hi, all! Thank you soooo much to Phantasmic Reads for having me here today!
I’ve been a writer for most of my adult life, beginning in my mid-twenties, which for some authors means that I lost a couple of decades! I envy those writers who knew from an early age that they’d be giving their hearts and souls to the written word. But the writing bug eventually found me, bit down hard, and I’ve been happily concocting stories ever since!
Many people ask me how it was I could go from writing Regency Romance to Paranormal Romance but for me the transition was really simple! What both genres have in common is world-building. I might put my winged warrior vampires in black leather kilts and matching weapons harnesses in order to do battle against the enemy, but in like fashion, I’ll put my hunky Regency hero in buckskin breeches, a waistcoat and top boots before he sets out to engage the heroine in a war of words. Yep, world-building!
My latest paranormal offering, THE DARKENING, follows Militia Warrior, Samuel, as he tries desperately to hold back his dark power, an intense, preternatural power that emerged in his life after a decade of torture. When he escaped from that prison, a year prior to events in THE DARKENING, his dark power killed a number of innocent people and he’s lived with the guilt ever since. What he fears most is that one day his dark power will rise and hurt, perhaps even kill, those he cares about the most.
The following excerpt comes from the first chapter of THE DARKENING. Samuel has had to answer to the leaders in his world – Thorne, Endelle, and Jean-Pierre – having failed to tell them about his emerging dark power. He’s already explained about why he held back, but Endelle, especially, needs him to get with the program!
I’ve been a writer for most of my adult life, beginning in my mid-twenties, which for some authors means that I lost a couple of decades! I envy those writers who knew from an early age that they’d be giving their hearts and souls to the written word. But the writing bug eventually found me, bit down hard, and I’ve been happily concocting stories ever since!
Many people ask me how it was I could go from writing Regency Romance to Paranormal Romance but for me the transition was really simple! What both genres have in common is world-building. I might put my winged warrior vampires in black leather kilts and matching weapons harnesses in order to do battle against the enemy, but in like fashion, I’ll put my hunky Regency hero in buckskin breeches, a waistcoat and top boots before he sets out to engage the heroine in a war of words. Yep, world-building!
My latest paranormal offering, THE DARKENING, follows Militia Warrior, Samuel, as he tries desperately to hold back his dark power, an intense, preternatural power that emerged in his life after a decade of torture. When he escaped from that prison, a year prior to events in THE DARKENING, his dark power killed a number of innocent people and he’s lived with the guilt ever since. What he fears most is that one day his dark power will rise and hurt, perhaps even kill, those he cares about the most.
The following excerpt comes from the first chapter of THE DARKENING. Samuel has had to answer to the leaders in his world – Thorne, Endelle, and Jean-Pierre – having failed to tell them about his emerging dark power. He’s already explained about why he held back, but Endelle, especially, needs him to get with the program!
From Chapter One
Thorne rubbed a hand over his brow. “Okay, that’s a reasonable answer. But, shit, we need you.”
“I know that,” he said quietly.
“When did this power emerge?” Endelle asked.
His gaze shifted away from her, away from all of them. He didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to remember. He took a deep breath. “While I was hanging from ropes in that prison cell in Honduras Two. That’s one reason I’ve never trusted this power. It’s dark, it came from my hatred of my torturers.”
Endelle shook her head a couple of times. “Listen up, warrior.” She angled her thumb toward Jean-Pierre. “You need to put yourself in JP’s hands, and start trusting some of the What-Bees, that maybe they’d be able to handle this dark-ass power of yours and help you gain control of the rest of it.”
He opened his mouth to argue with her, but she shushed him. “Ch-ch-ch! Not a word, asshole. You’ve been holding out and we’re all pissed as hell. We’ve got a full-blown war on our hands and the Borderlands have expanded with activity every goddamn night. So, this isn’t a discussion. You will work with Jean-Pierre and you will like it. Do we understand each other?”
He nodded. “Yes, Madame Endelle.”
“Good. Now someone tell him about Duncan. I’m outta here.” She lifted her arm, and much to everyone’s dismay she folded straight out of room, which set the alarms shrieking. Luken already had his phone to his ear and a few seconds later, the alarms shut down. No one folded in or out of Militia HQ, without express permission, except by way of the multiple landing platforms.
Once his ears stopped ringing, he focused his attention on Luken. “What about Duncan?” The warrior was one of Samuel’s few good friends and had helped him to escape his captivity a year ago.
Luken met his gaze squarely. “Duncan’s missing. We don’t know where he is, or what happened to him. He disappeared while battling at the New River Borderland two nights ago. There’d been so many teams folding in and out of the space that it took almost twenty-four hours before we concluded he’s now MIA.”
* * * * * * * * *
I hope you enjoyed this excerpt from THE DARKENING. To learn more about Warrior Samuel go to: http://www.carisroane.com/the-darkening/
We have TWO giveaways for you today! First is an ebook copy of The Darkening. For the second one, one lucky winner will receive:
- A $10 e-Card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble
- a signed copy of ASCENSION
- an e-copy of THE DARKENING
- Caris Roane sticky notes, note cards, notepad, versatile calendar, RTC cards!!!
Her Guardians of Ascension is one of my favorite series! I won a copy of The Darkening a few weeks ago and can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shar, and Hi, Everyone!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to drop by and say hello! Writing this series has been a totally amazing experience for me. Though I've published over 60 novels and novellas, most in the Regency genre, I'd never done a series like this before! I have LOVED the experience, so much so that though my pub house has moved on, I'm not ready to give up my hunky warriors, so I'm continuing the series until, hopefully, each of the long-suffering brothers, the infamous Warriors of the Blood, finds his mate!
Have a fabulous day!
Hugs,
Caris