Rising Currents: Louisiana Moon with Lani Rhea

Are you ready to break in Lani Rhea gently? You know she's a virgin guest blogger, and she's granted me the gift of being her first time! Lani and I met a little more than a year ago on Savvy Authors, and it's been writing-lust ever since ... she possesses a passion for adjectives and an Unbound amount of creativity. 

Thank you, Louisa, for sharing your blog with me today. It’s an honor. I would like to start off with a little history about werewolves and vampires, because mine are different, yet share characteristics in the same retrospect. And I’ll toss a little magic in the mix.

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Histories:

Werewolves are ancient, going back far into history from Greek mythology to Latvian folklore. All over the world the myths of werewolves can be found. They have attributed superhuman strength and senses, and mate for life and stay in family groups.  Humans can be turned into a werewolf simply with a bite, or there can be a curse… which might bring a curse to me because my heroine is so stubborn.

Vampires, ah, the mighty vampire, the creature I used to pretend to be as a child. Who am I kidding, I still dress up as vampires at Halloween! Vampires can be so fun. They go back thousands of years in several different cultures. A favorite vampire cult of mine is the Egyptian Cult of Sekhmet. I’ve actually began a story called Rising Currents: Aeon Blood centering around this cult, but in my own creative way.  It is based on Goddess Sekhmet, which is the reason that modern day vampires are around in books and movies today.

Hoodoo, folk magic, is also known as a conjure, witchcraft or rootwork.  In American English, the word hoodoo was first documented in 1875 and is commonly mixed up with voodoo.  Voodoo is a religion and hoodoo is a group of magical practices. And the reason I mention hoodoo is because my story Rising Currents: Louisiana Moon involves hoodoo magic.

Now my characters:

What’s a normal life anyway…

Kristina Knight

Kristina Knight is a kick-ass werewolf bounty hunter. Think of the artist PINK and you can envision Kris, except Kris has long curly brown hair. She is of Royal blood, and in my story Louisiana Moon only Royal bloodlines live forever. Kris has turned her back on her Royal tie and lives a long life alone killing ominous vampires who dare cross her path. Only Royals can hold the beast inside for long periods of time. She is vegan by choice, but tames the beast with tasty treats of alligator and sushi rolls. To help keep Mother Earth clean, Kris recycles and yes, she considers herself a tree hugger. Nature is in her blood and she doesn’t want any creature or being disturbing the natural balance. She lives in a stylish container home and drives a Chevy Volt.  And the only man deemed her lover in the past, a vampire.

The Underworld is not to cross…

Ryant Starga

Ryant Starga is Italian, born centuries long ago in Tuscany. He has hips built for pleasure, a tongue for wicked things and tawny eyes with dark specs like reptiles that could capture any soul. Ryant has locks of raven hair meant for pulling and built like a gladiator. Can you imagine the rousing succulents this man could bring? Ryant does break the rules. His latest and greatest uproar, kicked out of New York for forming a coven. He materializes from thin air and can vaporize into mist with the snap of his fingers to travel to different locations. To some, he may appear ruthless, which is a vampire’s nature. They can be vicious and take what they want at any given point. And let me mention, Ryant could come to my house anytime, I’d invite him inside. Would you? But then again, once his mate, always his mate, and he will let his own self be invited inside…your heart that is.

Trouble stirs deep when a third is involved…

Darin James

Darin James, your all American wannabe war hero, never finding the right woman, until he is saved by Kris before being turned into a vampire. He’s six foot tall with shoulder-length blond hair, and ripped muscles from all those strenuous workouts. Darin lost his parents in a car accident, and brings a natural balance to Kris’s world with his kind humanity and human nature. He’s always ready for a fight, eager to give that helping hand in the right spots, too.

BLURB

Losing her parents to vampires, Kristina Knight, a werewolf bounty hunter, is ready to protect humans from the bloodsuckers. Saving Darin James, a human, from the Truce Brotherhood adds risk to the vampire coven’s wrath. When Ryant, her ex-lover, appears on pretext on protecting her, she isn’t ready to trust him again. Especially not after he’d made his choice clear years ago.

Ryant Starga is driven by the need to protect Kristina, not because she was his world in the past, but because with her blood, the Soulscapes would rule the Underworld. And that means no creature would ever be safe. His plan to convince her that she needs his protection goes awry when he realizes that in spite of the years separating them, he’s unable to keep his hands or mind off her, and the human out of the picture.

With the Soul Demons hot for blood using hoodoo magic, a single drop means sure death.  With the human, Darin, stepping over boundaries, will Ryant gain respect from Kris, only to lose her again? Can he hope for a future? Can there be a love triangle, or will there be separations? Will they all live long enough to find out?

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My dream is to have Rising Currents: Louisiana Moon published sometime this year. This is still a work in progress, but she’s getting there. I also have a few more stories lined up for the series. Keep an eye out.

Thanks again for having me on your blog today, Louisa. It was a pleasure.  And thank you for stopping by to read this!

~Lani

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Oooh, Lani! Thank you for the hotness on this Tantalizing Tuesday! In order to keep up with this breakout writer, make sure to friend Lani on Facebook, follow her via Twitter and check out her blog For Your Eyes Only.

So which HOT STUFF do you like the best? And, if you'd like to share on a Tantalizing Tuesday, leave a comment with your email addy, and I'll tell you how!