Today I'm honoured to introduce you to Judy Teel, author of Savage Magic (Shifty Magic, #3). She has a guest post for us on the lessons she learned from the bad guy, as well as an excerpt. Judy will be awarding $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Enter to win a $20 Amazon/BN GC - a Rafflecopter giveaway
Lessons I Learned From a Bad Guy
Lord
Bellmonte, or as Addison disrespectfully calls him, Bellmonte, is not someone
you’d invite home to meet the family. Not just because he’s a vampire. Above
and beyond that hazardous fact, Bellmonte is someone you really don’t want
noticing you. He’s that dangerous.
He’s
also been the big surprise as I’ve created the Shifty Magic series.
I
originally cast Bellmonte as the quintessential bad guy—pushy, unpleasant and
threatening, more the gangster or mob boss type than a brilliant puppet master
kind of guy. Until he turned out to have his own ideas about how things should
go, which is typical of him.
As I
wrote Shifty Magic (Book 1) and
worked with this intriguing character, his unexpected and sophisticated snark emerged
and evolved into the perfect foil for Addison’s take-no-prisoners style. I was
thrilled. I began to look forward to scenes with her and Bellmonte, even while
struggling to keep him under control. No star likes a secondary character
upstaging her, even in novels. (Which is why I had to temporarily bench him for
Savage Magic, Book 3.)
And
then a strange thing happened.
Despite
all his manipulative and plotting ways, I began to admire this ruthless,
ambitious vampire exec. I was shocked. Bellmonte’s the kind of guy who’d snap
your neck as soon as look at you, or order everyone you care about slaughtered
if it suited his bigger picture. How could I like someone like that?
But
as I wrote Undercover Magic (Book 2),
something unexpected happened. His character deepened, becoming more layered,
and I realized that maybe some of his attitude wasn’t completely without merit.
Even if the direction he prefers isn’t the one I’d choose for myself (or anyone
I know).
Maybe,
there were things we could all learn from the self-serving, charming Lord
Bellmonte.
10 Rules to
Live By (According to Lord Bellmonte)
Never
tolerate having a delicious meal interrupted.
Always look
your best, you never know who might show up at your door.
Never do
anything for only one reason.
Always have
two backup plans, three if you’re less than 100 years old.
If you’re
obsessively intrigued by a difficult person, keep it to yourself.
Never pass
up the opportunity to give a Were a hard time.
Being
fabulously rich is delightful. Never let anyone tell you any differently.
Where your
age is concerned, always keep them guessing.
Keep your
enemies close, and your relatives closer. The latter is more likely to stab you
in the back.
Above all,
always keep your sense of humor. It will irritate your enemies in the most
delicious manner.
Judy will be awarding $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. I would like to Encourage you to follow the tour and comment because the more you comment the better your chances of winning! The tour dates can be found at the bottom of this post.
Enter to win a $20 Amazon/BN GC - a Rafflecopter giveaway
Title: Savage Magic
Author: Judy Teel
Blurb: A deadly disease from an unknown origin…
Addison Kittner and ex-FBI agent Cooper Daine arrive at Bone Clan expecting a warm welcome. Instead they’re imprisoned and placed under quarantine, where they discover that the werewolf mountain Clans are being decimated by a deadly plague which can’t be cured.
An old obligation that changes everything… With only a few days to live, Cooper’s brother, Alpha of Bone Clan, asks Cooper to fulfill his promise, one that’s crucial to their Clan’s survival. But if he does, Cooper risks loosing Addison. Forever.
An ancient creature bred for genocide… Determined to stop the plague and cure Cooper’s brother, Addison defies Clan law and sneaks away to an ancient ruin which might hold the key. There she discovers an unexpected link to her past and inadvertently calls forth an immortal monster that will destroy the paranormal races protecting humanity if it can’t be stopped. But as Cooper and Addison battle to stop the annihilation of the Clans and the forces trying to tear their bond apart, something even more powerful and deadly gathers just out of sight… And prepares to strike.
Read the first two in the series:
Excerpt
The scent of blood got stronger, pulling my thoughts back
and making my heart pound a little harder against my chest. Slipping a knife
from the sheath inside my right boot, I watched the flutter of shadows on the
path below where it turned and disappeared behind a thick wall of laurels. Slow
breath in…Silent breath out…
Deeper shadows emerged and took shape — a man and a woman,
both dressed for living outdoors and blending in. And there was Cooper,
complacently allowing them to roughly pull him along between them, his nose and
a cut on his cheek seeping blood. Weird. Cooper was built like an early
twenty-first century Olympic gymnast and I’d seen him take out opponents in
less than ten seconds without a single blow landing on him. How had they
managed to subdue him?
I watched them come closer and pass below me. The woman on
one side of Cooper was medium height with light skin and dark red hair that
she’d pulled back into a short ponytail with a strip of leather. The man on the
other side was tall and muscular with tanned skin, his bright red hair in a
military cut.
I adjusted the soles of my logger boots against the
branch under me to give myself a more solid launch, judged the distance — and
jumped.
About the Author
Judy Teel was born in Virginia and moved
to North Carolina just before middle school. She's a fiction author and
novelist writing in the dystopian urban fantasy genre. Her stories deliver
mystery with some thriller elements, a kick-butt heroine with a large dash of
snark in her, a bit more than a touch of romance with a guy that makes readers'
hearts beat a little faster, and a wild ride full of action and emotion from
start to finish.
Shifty Magic is permanently free on
all platforms and Undercover Magic is
free as a thank you gift for anyone who signs up on my readers list: http://judyteel.com/my-free-book/
Links to books
AMAZON:
NOOK:
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