I'm sadly late in getting this out there to you, but that is mostly due to illness. Thankfully, my fellow indie writer Katie Salidas has been quite gracious with her understanding and forgiveness.
And now, without further ado, I present the cover for Katie's upcoming new book (due in February!), Dissension:
~Synopsis~
The great
cataclysm wiped almost all life from the face of planet Earth, but tiny pockets
of survivors crawled from the ashes, with only one thought: survival, at any
cost.
But not all
survivors were human.
In the dark,
militant society that has risen in the aftermath, vampires, once thought to be
mythical, have been assimilated and enslaved. Used for blood sport their lives
are allowed to continue only for the entertainment of the masses. Reviled as
savages, they are destined to serve out their immortal lives in the arena, as
gladiators.
And there is
no greater gladiator than Mira: undefeated, uncompromising...and seemingly
unbreakable. When an escape attempt leads Mira into the path of Lucian Stavros,
the city’s Regent, her destiny is changed forever.
Lucian,
raised in a culture which both reviles and celebrates the savagery and
inhumanity of vampires, finds Mira as intriguing as she is brash. An impulsive
decision - to become Mira’s patron – changes more than just Lucian’s perception
about vampire kind. The course of his
life is altered in ways he could never have predicted – a life that is suddenly
as expendable as hers.
Can Mira
prove to Lucian that all is not as it seems? Can Lucian escape centuries of
lies, bloodshed, and propaganda to see the truth? Or will the supreme power of
the human overlords destroy them both?
~Excerpt 1~
©Katie Salidas 2014
Rising Sign Books LLC
The roar of the crowd, all twenty-five-thousand people in
attendance, rose to a thundering crescendo when Mira delivered a bone-crunching
blow to her opponent’s ribs. Standing only five feet tall, she might not have
appeared a formidable warrior, but the thin, spiky-haired waif of a vampire
could hold her weight and more when put to the test. Amplified by the superb
acoustics, the sound of bones cracking echoed through the Superdome arena. The
defeated, a red-headed male vampire staggered, punch-drunk, and then dropped to
his knees. Dirt and sweat coated his face but could not mask the fear in his
icy blue eyes. His was a look Mira had seen so many times before. Her
opponent’s immortal life had finally come to an end, and he was ready to take
the final deadly blow.
Above her, Mira knew the fifty-foot mega screen showed her
hapless victim in brilliant resolution, ensuring that all who were attending,
and those watching from the comfort of their homes, could see these last
gruesome moments in crystal clear high-definition.
Mira gazed down at her opponent’s blood-soaked face. Though
he was her enemy for the moment, she did not relish having to end him. No one
should be forced into the arena and told to kill or be killed. It wasn’t right.
But it was what was demanded of her, and given the choice between her life and
someone else’s… well, there really was no choice. No matter the cost, Mira was
a survivor.
She glanced up to the large private box overlooking the
arena. A well-dressed man in deep-purple robes sat, enjoying what appeared to
be a dinner of filet mignon and roast potatoes. Even here, in the dusty arena
below, Mira’s enhanced senses picked up the tantalizing scent of very rare, bloody
steak. She could hardly believe that a human could not only watch the murder
about to take place, but also sit and eat the dead flesh of a once-living being
while doing it. From the smell of it, the poor beast was practically still
bleeding on his plate. Who was truly the more savage creature?
Over the crowd’s roar, an announcer introduced the
well-dressed man, Lucian Stavros, Regent of the Iron Gate. Lucian gently and
purposefully slowly set down his knife and fork. He took another moment to wipe
his face clean and then smiled, acknowledging the roaring crowd.
Chants of “Death, death, death,” rang out from the throng as a single unified demand.
The Regent listened for a moment, making a show of putting his hands to his ears to hear screaming hoard’s request, and then held a hand out, with his thumb pointed to the side.
As if the next moment were the most important, the anticipating mass hushed. Eerie silence filled the arena as everyone watched for the Regent to make his decision.
From her vantage point below, Mira saw the steely look of
determination cross the Regent’s face. If she didn’t know better, she might
have thought he took this decision seriously; but then, he was human, and they
never cared much if her kind lived or died. Lucian Stavros took a cursory
glance down at Mira. Their eyes met. It was only a brief moment, but in that
short time, Mira saw him waver.
Could it be true, she wondered, or was it just a trick of
the light? No human actually cared about the lives of vampires. The moment faded,
and the fleeting thought left.
Mira saw the Regent’s decision. He turned his thumb down.
Death!
The crowd went wild.
The last hope for her defeated opponent had vanished; Mira
had to finish him. “Sorry,” she whispered to the half-dead vampire on his knees
before her. Though her fangs tingled at the prospect of tasting his final dying
moments—her reward, if you could call it that, for living through another
battle—she did not enjoy what she was about to do. Like her, he was a slave,
forced into servitude to the humans as they saw fit. He had not asked for this,
and neither had she. But, despite what either of them wanted, it was the will
of the crowd, the humans, that had to be served.
Aiming to sever the carotid artery with her fangs, Mira dove
at her opponent’s neck. His death would be quick. At least she could afford him
that luxury.
~And now for a little bit about Katie~
Katie Salidas is a Super Woman! Endowed with special powers and abilities beyond those of mortal women, she can get the munchkins off to gymnastics, cheerleading, Girl Scouts, and swim lessons. She can put hot food on the table for dinner while assisting with homework, baths, and bedtime… And, she still finds the time to keep the hubby happy (nudge nudge wink wink). She can do all of this and still have time to write.
And if you can believe all of those lies, there is some beautiful swamp land in Florida for sale…
Katie Salidas resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mother, wife, and author, she does try to do it all, often causing sleep deprivation and many nights passed out at the computer. Writing books is her passion, and she hopes that her passion will bring you hours of entertainment.
~Here's a bonus excerpt for you!~
©Katie Salidas 2014
Rising Sign Books LLC
the hair on the back of Mira's neck prickled. An
uncomfortable weight of unseen eyes settled on her. Dread sank to the pit of
her stomach. Busted...and so close to escaping. Someone else was there,
watching her. She felt it, but what was more unsettling was the fact they had
yet to announce themselves. Guards would shoot first and ask questions later.
Someone lurking in the shadows… there was no telling what game they’d be
playing.
Mira turned around and stood next to the guard she had just
felled. It didn’t take much for her to find the source of her unease. A pair of
mossy green eyes scrutinized her from the opposite end of the hall.
Heart pounding, she stared back at the man attached to those
quizzical eyes. Human, no doubt. But he didn’t carry a weapon. Nor was there
any fear in those green eyes of his. On the contrary, alone in a dark corridor,
he stood his ground, lifting his head, and stared Mira down like an alpha from
some long lost wolf pack.
The strangeness of his manner caught Mira by surprise. For a
few moments too long, she stood dumbfounded, trying to process who he was and
what her next move should be. His face seemed oddly familiar, though at the
moment she couldn’t place where she’d seen him before.
The strange man was tall and well built, but that really
didn’t matter much. Mira could take down vampires larger than she with no
problem. But that wasn’t the thing stopping her from making a move. Judging by
the deep plum of his suit, he was a man of some power. Only the Elite – those
in the ruling class – were ever permitted to wear such an audacious color. As
desperate as Mira was at that moment, she needed to tread carefully. Being
caught escaping—again—would earn her more time in the light box, but injuring
an Elite could have her staked out in the middle of town square awaiting the
dawn.
“Aren't you going to finish him?” the man asked, his tone
calm, soothing, as if he genuinely wanted to know the answer.
“Why don’t I finish you instead?” She hoped the warning in
her voice would be enough to deter him, but still the man remained unfazed,
like some stoic statue across the hallway. What was he playing at? And why was
he just standing there, calmly, giving her every opportunity to strike? Did he
really place so little value on his life?
“You could kill me, sure, but ask yourself how that is going
to help your situation.” Spoken like a true Elite. He had to be up to
something.
She didn’t like the smugness in tone, but felt at a loss as
to how to continue. She could be on him in a fraction of a second. Crush his
windpipe, and maybe buy herself a few more minutes to find the exit, but she
was lost and had already wasted too much time. However, her inaction was almost
certain to earn her some additional reprisal as well.
The corner of his lip quirked up. “I take it by your lack of
response, that you’ve decided against harming me?”
Damn him! He knew she couldn’t take the risk. “For the
moment, I guess.” Mira did not let her own uncertainty leach out into her
voice. She attempted to sound self-assured, as if she were the one in charge at
that moment.
“Well.” He let out a little sigh. “I’m pleased to hear
that.” The strange man smiled congenially. “But, we will have to sort out what
to do with you. It appears you’re out of bounds here.”
To learn more about Katie and her books, check out these links:
Blog
Katie's Publisher
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
All Romance eBooks
