It’s my privilege to welcome Shari Nichols to N. N. Light’s Book Heaven today. She has known us for several years and if I can gush for a moment, she’s one of our favorite paranormal/urban fantasy romance writers. She’s being spotlighted here so please give her a great big welcome. Take it away, Shari…
I’m Shari and I love to write. I’ve been an avid reader since I was a child. I can still recall sneaking into my parent’s bedroom to read my mother’s Harlequins. My passion for writing grew from there. I wrote for both my high school and college newspaper, and got used to hearing that my writing was too flowery for a byline. I switched my major from journalism to marketing and ended up with a degree in business. I worked in technology sales for a number of years, but the compulsion to write never went away.
Several manuscripts later, and after years of rejection, my first book, HAUNTED, got picked up by a small press. The book has won multiple awards, including the Beverley, and has five-star ratings. This paranormal romance is loosely based on my friend’s true story of living in a haunted house in Haddonfield NJ. I did a ton of research and in-person interviews, while writing the story. For someone who has experienced their own encounter with a ghost, this was absolutely thrilling.
I’ve always been a huge fan of the Harry Potter books and wanted to write a story set in a magical world but targeted for adults. From there, the Raven’s Hollow Coven series was born. The setting for the award-winning series where supernaturals and human coexist is the town of Hoboken NJ. I love when readers email me that they recognize several landmarks, some of their favorite restaurants and bars throughout the series.
MIDNIGHT DESIRE, book one in the series, A Reviewer’s Choice Award Winner, hit the top 100 on amazon. The story focuses, on a special agent from a magickal bureau who’s desperate to catch a killer, forcing him to enlist the help of a snarky witch with a shady past.
MIDNIGHT TEMPTATION, book two, received a New York Book Festival Honorable Mention was inspired by my grandfather’s struggle to escape from Europe after waking up from his funeral and ringing a bell. This story has been passed down through the family by witnesses who were there. Back in those days, tales of vampirism were running rampant. My grandfather was forced to adopt his mother’s maiden name to get out of the country. I put a new twist on it and created my own vampire lore.
MIDNIGHT CRAVING, book three, is an enemies-to-lovers story about a vampire detective and a demon special agent, that are forced together when he’s framed for murder. My heroine is forced to be the bait to lure out the killer, who targets women on a supernatural dating app. I’ve always been a huge fan of the film, Sea of Love it has that vibe, but set in a paranormal world. MIDNIGHT CRAVING is available now for preorder.
AFTER MIDNIGHT, book four, due out in February focuses on a matchmaker who's been cursed. She hopes to change her karma by helping others find love. If you liked the book, or the film Practical Magic, then you will love this whimsical novella.
I’m finally living my dream and getting my MA in creative writing. The process has been incredible so far. I’ve always wanted to become a better writer. This program is helping me achieve that goal.
Learn more by visiting my website. The books are great for book clubs. Let me know. I absolutely love to do them!
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Learn more by visiting my website at http://sharinicholsauthor.com/index.html
xoxo
Shari
Thank you, Shari. Good luck with your MA. Readers, scroll down to read all about her latest release.
Title: Midnight Craving (Raven’s Hollow Coven Book 3)
Author: Shari Nichols
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Book Blurb:
Natalya Dubrosky left the cold, privileged world of the Upper East Side’s vampire elite for the Raven’s Hollow police force and has never looked back. Now for the first time in her immortal life, she’s doing things on her own terms, living in a coven full of witches, and developing her gift as a clairvoyant. When she’s assigned to a murder case, she’s forced to work alongside her nemesis, special agent Cayden Teague of the MBI, (Magickal Bureau of Investigations). All the evidence points to someone the victim met online. In order to lure out the killer, Natalya must become the bait. But how can she do the one thing she dreads the most without revealing her deepest, blood-drenched secret?
Once a victim, she’s become a survivor. The more time she spends with Cayden, the more she realizes they’re cut from the same cloth. The icy-blue eyed opens her up to a world of sensuality and tempts her with the promise of a future she thought she could never have.
Through the course of many lifetimes, Cayden has never gotten over the brutal murder of his family and his first love by a thug group of vampires. Guilt and torment have become his constant companions and keep him on a razors edge. Booze is the only thing that numbs the pain from loss. After a night of hard drinking, he wakes up disoriented and finds the woman he went home with covered in a pool of blood. The past is repeating itself in the most twisted away. He won’t rest until he finds the one responsible, forcing him to put Natalya in harm’s way. How could he live with himself if something happened to her? Ever since she came into his solitary world and turned it upside down, everything he thought he knew is unraveling. A sworn enemy from this past shows up and threatens the life he’s come to value.
How far are they willing to go to get to the truth and protect each other?
Excerpt:
Turning on her side, Natalya closed her eyes, willing herself to push all thoughts of the investigation to the back of her mind. A sound coming from the window made her jolt upright. Sniffing the air, she caught a whiff of a demon. Her fangs elongated. Before she could get to her feet, a hand covered her mouth.
Her instincts kicked in. Thrusting up with her knee, she aimed for the groin. She rolled off the bed onto the wood floor, taking her attacker with her.
They both landed with a thud.
“Watch it, Dubrosky. You don’t want to damage the jewels. Keep it up and you’ll wake the whole damn house.” Teague’s masculine scent invaded her nostrils, a combination of sandalwood and pure male. The familiar scent comforted her, and sent a shock of heat up her arm, melting through her pj top.
“Teague? What are you doing sneaking into my room? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” His warm body pressed against hers and unwanted arousal left a hot tingle along her skin.
“I need to talk to you and it couldn’t wait.” She looked up into his blue eyes and they filled with storm clouds.
“How did you get in here?” Her voice came out huskier than she intended. For some reason the question seemed to make his horns turn darker, accentuating the broken one right at the tip. The imperfection made him even more attractive, and gave him character. She’d heard once upon a time that he’d been a fearsome warrior on another plane. Her fingers curled at her side with the urge to run her fingers over the tip. Had he injured himself in battle?
“Through the window. I knew I’d find you awake. I expected to find you hanging upside down.”
Very funny. “If you came here to insult me then maybe you should go out the way you came. What’s wrong with you?” She couldn’t think straight having him this close. He radiated a palpable sexual energy that was hard to ignore. Teague stayed pressed up against her body. She could hear the rush of his blood and the hiss of his breath.
“Do you want the short list or the long one? My apologies for the drop by, but there’s a lead I’m following up on and it couldn’t wait. I should’ve called first. You’re right by the way. I’m an asshole, but the reports prove I’m not a killer.” The sincerity in his voice took her by surprise. Did he make jokes as an outlet for his pain? A better question, why wasn’t he moving? And why didn’t she want him to?
“You never mentioned that you had a history with the vic.” He could’ve let her rot in prison, but instead he pushed to get her into rehab? In Natalya’s experience, there were only a select few in law enforcement who cared enough to go the extra distance.
“I didn’t think it was important at the time. We go back a long way.” A deep sigh fell from his lips. “I can’t believe she’s gone.” The vulnerability in his eyes drove a stake through her last shreds of caution. Her pulse quickened by the confidant way he held her, like he had every right to keep her there for as long as he wanted. And more importantly, like he’d never hurt her, but go out of his way to protect her at all costs.
If he’d helped Andee turn her life around, then maybe she’d been wrong about him after all. Could there be some chinks in his hard-ass armor? Her head spun.
“This was too important to talk about over the phone.”
When he didn’t make a move to get up, she cleared her throat. “If you want to keep those ‘jewels’ you seem to be so fond of intact, I suggest you let me up.” Natalya could read his expression in the dark. His lips twisted into a smile. In most cases when a man was this close, let alone on top of her, she’d feel trapped. Panic would set into her limbs, but not with him. Her body became flushed, hot all over. Her breath came out in short little puffs.
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Author Biography:
Shari grew up in a small town in Connecticut where haunted houses, ghosts and Ouija boards were common place, spurring her fascination with all things paranormal. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, going to the gym, or sharing a meal, and a glass of wine, with her family and friends.
Shari Nichols shakes up the ultimate supernatural cocktail, combining witchcraft, vampires, suspense, and spice into an irresistible paranormal potion." (InD'Tale Magazine) "Amazing characters, romance, and suspense what more can a lover of paranormal romance hope for?" (Linda Tonis-Paranormal Romance Guild.)
Follow Shari on Bookbub to receive notices about her new books, sales, and please join her mailing list at http://sharinicholsauthor.com/contact.html
Her newest book, MIDNIGHT CRAVING, book three in the Raven's Hollow Coven series is available for preorder. Her novels have won the following awards: The Beverley Award, New York Book Festival Honorable Mention, Reviewers Choice Best Book, Reviewers Choice Best Series, Golden Leaf Finalist Best Book, Golden Leaf Finalist by a New Jersey Author, HOLT Medallion Finalist. Literary Titan Silver Medal Winner.
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