Guest Post & Giveaway: Amber Kallyn

Reading Lark After Dark is excited to welcome author Amber Kallyn to the Dark Nest today! Amber is the author of the Heart of a Vampire Series, and today we are celebrating Book 1: Bloodstorm.

Amber is giving away a $5 Amazon gift certificate to one lucky winner at this (and every) stop in the blog tour. Just comment below to be entered. Amber will also be giving away a $20 Amazon gift certificate to the wonderful host who has the most comments at the end of her tour. And she will be giving away another $20 Amazon gift certificate to the reader who leaves the most comments on all the blogs she’ll be visiting. (if there is a tie, she will use Random.org to select the winner).


Vamping It Up 
by Amber Kallyn
I remember a few years ago as I delved into my dragon shifters and wrestled with my Angels and Demons, saying flat out I would never write about vampires. I mean, there are so many great books out there already, I didn’t have anything fresh or interesting to bring to the table. 

Flash forward... 

I’m lying in bed trying to sleep (one of the few quiet times I have to do the creative thing) when a new character wakes up in my head. 



She sidles up to me and whispers, “Hello.” 
“Hi,” I reply. “Who are you?” 
“The name’s Niki. And do I have a story for you.” Then she flashes me a grin, complete with fangs. I jump back from the sight, hands up, shaking my head. 
“B-but you’re a vampire,” I tell her. “I don’t write vampires.” 
Her eyes shone, red bleeding into the color. “You do now.” 

The next morning she was still there, hovering in the back of my mind. Little by little, she introduced me to her lover, Shane, and a whole new world of vampires, shifters and magic. Niki was such a pain, I couldn’t ignore her. When I finally listened, I realized my vampires don’t follow the standard conventions. 

They can get a tan, though the sun will weaken them. The whole Holy Water & garlic doesn’t do a thing except leave you with a pissed off, damp, vamp. They drink blood, but a nice gourmet meal will help them keep that whole humanity thing going. Like anyone, a liquid diet makes them true monsters of the dark. Stakes hurt, but to truly kill a vampire in my world, it’s off with their heads or they’ll be back. They’re supernatural beings, fast and strong, but under it all, they still face the same emotional needs as anyone. In the end, they want to belong and to be loved. 

Did I bring anything new to the world of vampire stories? Maybe. Most of all, I hope what I brought was Niki and her story of hope and love and redemption. 

Q4U: What’s your favorite thing about vampires?

An Excerpt from Bloodstorm:

There was little warning as the air stirred. The sheriff slammed his hands on the fence, one on either side of her, trapping Niki between his body and the wood.

She glanced up at him, amused.

He practically bit out his words. “I have a dead shifter with vampire marks, a truce close to breaking, though hell if I can figure out all the whys, and a Rogue vampire in town.”

His scent overwhelmed her and Niki couldn’t resist playing with fire. Just a little. She leaned closer. “And I’m obviously guilty. After all, I’m a murderer merely because I’m a vampire.”

She bared her fangs.

He didn’t flinch. His face reddened and he glanced past her, to the wooden fence, before meeting her gaze once more. His voice softened the tiniest bit. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

“Oh? It was pretty clear to me.”

He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. Niki continued to stare at him, wondering what he’d been about to say.

“Look,” Shane said, his voice soft and seductive now. She didn’t trust it. “I believe you didn’t do this. But if you know who’s behind the killings, I need to know too.”

“You can’t con me with sweet smiles and pretty words,” she replied, though her breath came just a little faster at his nearness. He smelled of soap and smoke and spice. It set her nerves on edge and she could barely think as his scent filled her.

His eyes widened as if he could read her thoughts. She licked her lips and his gaze drew lower, to her mouth. He swallowed loudly, drawing a tiny bit closer.

As if pulled by some magnetic field emanating from him, Niki leaned in.

She stared into his golden eyes, unable to break from his gaze, to move back from the hot energy rolling off his body.

“Niki,” he whispered huskily, need filling his voice. His shoulders tightened and his jaw clenched.

If she hadn’t been who she was, her body would have melted into a puddle, right then and there. She couldn’t bring herself to pull away.

Time stood still, the rest of the world fading into nothingness. Thoughts of her duty faded. All she could do was stand before him as her body came alive, reminding her she was a woman.

Shane growled, crossing the last hairsbreadth of distance between them. He pressed his lips to hers, firm and warm.

Gasping against his mouth, she drank in the feeling.

His touch was electrifying. Inside her, something long dormant and frozen for centuries began to wake. The short stubble on his chin scraped against her skin deliciously.

An unbidden desire to embrace him fully pushed at her. Her hands curled with the thought of what his skin, his flowing hair would feel like. The thought finally gave her a sliver of control. She broke away, slipping beneath his arm and backing up to the other side of the alley.

She stared at him, breathing fast and sharp.

He seemed shaken. As unsteady as she felt.

Find out more about Bloodstorm and Amber Kallyn on our Release Day Blitz post HERE.