YA Indie Carnival : Indie Idol! M. Leighton dishes Lucius From Her Smoking Hot Blood Like Poison Series

MY INDIE IDOL: The bestselling YA author M. Leighton!

For those of you familiar with the Blood Like Poison series, you know Lucius.  Sexy.  Flirtatious.  Irish.  Vampire.  But for those of you who haven’t, I’d like to introduce you to him.  He will be the subject of the next book in the Blood Like Poison series.

Alright, y’all!  Here’s Lucius:

Chelsea had never interviewed a vampire before and, though she’d spent the night tossing and turning in excitement, now that the moment had arrived, she found she was a bit nervous.  After all, she really had no idea what to expect.

She was smoothing her skirt when the studio door opened.  Her head jerked up and her soft brown eyes collided with sparkling emerald green ones.  They held her completely captive for what felt like an eternity before she was distracted by movement.  Chelsea’s eyes dropped just in time to see one side of the man’s mouth turn up in a lopsided grin.  Chelsea felt the sudden urge to giggle, but she quickly squelched the impulse and cleared her throat instead.

The door closed with a muted thud, effectively locking Chelsea in the small room with the man she assumed was Lucius.  Somewhere in the back of her mind, it registered that she should feel afraid, but all she could muster was a nervous smile and a single breathless word.

“Hi.”

“Hi yourself,” he responded, his lips stretching into a full smile.

When she said nothing, simply stared slack-jawed at his dazzling face, the man chuckled, a rich sound that set free a nest of butterflies in Chelsea’s stomach.  As their wings fluttered wildly, Chelsea thought to herself that if black velvet could make a sound, his laugh was the sound it would make.

As the man made his way across the room to the two armchairs before which Chelsea stood, she took the opportunity to memorize his features.  He was tallish, probably six foot or a little more, and he moved like a predator.  His dark red hair was likely shoulder length, but was currently pulled into a neat ponytail at the nape of his neck.  His skin was uber pale in that way she’d come to associate with vampires, but otherwise his features were extremely pleasing in their masculine perfection.

He stopped in front of her, one coppery eyebrow rising in question.

“You must be Chelsea.”

Although her mouth was dry as desert sand, Chelsea managed to answer.

“And you must be Lucius.”

He simply nodded, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Where would you like me?”

Chelsea had never imagined that an Irish brogue could be so sexy, and yet there she was, virtually melting beneath his suggestive question.  Forcing her legs to move, Chelsea took a step back and silently indicated one of the two chairs.

Lucius lowered himself into the deep cushion and watched Chelsea as she flittered about nervously, seeing to the last minute details of the interview.  Although she could feel his eyes on her, Chelsea felt slightly more composed when, several minutes later, she seated herself opposite him to begin the segment.

“Today on True Vampire Stories, we’re joined by Lucius, one of the oldest vampires living in the United States.  It’s great to have you Lucius.”

“The pleasure is all mine, I assure you,” he responded lightly, his jewel-like eyes burning holes into hers.

Chelsea paused, momentarily losing sight of both her purpose and her manners.  Before she could recover, Chelsea asked the first question that came to mind.

“So, is that an old vampire trick?”

“Is what an old vampire trick?”

“The way you’re charming me.”

Lucius’s lips curved into a devilish smile.

“Is that what I’m doing?” he asked playfully.

“You know that’s what you’re doing.”

“This is no trick, lass.”

“So, you’re not trying to charm me right now?”

Lucius tipped back his head and laughed.  It was a deep, genuine sound that made Chelsea’s stomach flip over.

“Of course I’m trying to charm you, but I’m not using any tricks to do it.”

“You’re not, like, compelling me or anything?”

“No.  I’m simply smiling at you.  Is that a crime?”

“No, but maybe it should be.”

Still smiling broadly, Lucius leaned forward in his chair, bracing his elbows on his knees and tilting his head to one side as he considered Chelsea.

“Now, what kind of a man would I be if I didn’t try to win the favor of a beautiful woman such as yourself?”

If you liked meeting Lucius, stayed tuned to my blog http://mleightonbooks.blogspot.com on the “What I’m Writing Now” page for updates on when I begin his story, as well as title and cover reveals, excerpts and release date announcements.

NEED MORE? LIVE IN SAVANNAH? M. Leighton will be touring with THE PARANORMAL PLUMES SOCIETY for a Haunted Book Tour in Savannah, GA. Highlights include dinner in a haunted restaurant, a private haunted tour of Savannah AND some creepy readings by all of the YA authors on the tour.

Now for more INDIE IDOLS, check out what my fellow carnis have cooked up this week!

The Fuji Mermaid Dani Snell’s Refracted Light Reviews
Leopard Girl Patti Larsen Author of The Ghost Boy of MacKenzie House, The Hunted Series and the Hayle Coven Novels
Fire Breather Courtney Cole Author of Every Last Kiss, Fated, Princess, and Guardian. Also a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Strong Woman Nicole Williams Author of Eternal Eden, and Fallen Eden. She is also a contributing author in the Glassheart Chronicles
Champion Sword Swallower Fisher Amelie Author of The Understorey, as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Snake Charmer Amy Maurer Jones Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Pretzel Woman Rachel Coles. Geek Mom. Book Reviewer Author of Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Whistles, Beergarden, Plagues, Bees of St. John, and Mushrooms
The Giant T. R. Graves T.R. Graves: Author of Warriors of the Cross
Jungle Woman P.J. Hoover Author of Solstice, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, The Necropolis
Shape Shifter Alicia McCalla Author of the upcoming science-fiction novel Breaking Free
Tarot Card Reader Heather Cashman Author of Perception
Fortune Teller Abbi Glines Author of Breathe, and the upcoming Existence and Vincent Boys
Knife Thrower Cheri Schmidt Author of Fateful, Fractured, and Fair Maiden
Fire Dancer Lexus Luke Author of Manitou, The Sky People Saga
Fire Breather Suzy Turner Author of December Moon and Raven
Dragonslayer K. C. Blake Author of Vampire Rules
Elephant Trainer Gwenn Wright Author of Filter
Ring-Leader Kimberly Kinrade Author of Bits of You, Pieces of Me and Forbidden Mind
Prestidigitator Darby Karchut Author of Griffin Rising and the upcoming Griffin’s Fire
Lion Tamer Madeline Smoot Author of Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls