From Cynthia Eden: Let's Get Psychic!

Hi, everyone! And a very BIG thank you to Jacquelyn for inviting me to guest blog today. Wow, I am such a Jacquelyn Frank fan girl—I love those sexy Nightwalkers!

At this point, I realize that I should introduce myself (and by that, I mean saying more than just that I’m Jacquelyn’s fan!). I’m Cynthia Eden. I write paranormal suspense and erotic romance. When I started writing, I began my career with ImaJinn Books and Red Sage Publishing. I’ve recently gotten new contracts with Avon Red and Kensington Brava.

The novel that I’d like to talk about today is my upcoming Kensington Brava release (okay, by upcoming, I mean 05/08!). Here’s a little blurb about my paranormal suspense, HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT:

Emily Drake is a psychologist with a very special talent—thanks to her empathic power, she can touch the thoughts and emotions of her patients. And Emily’s patients, well, they aren’t exactly typical either; they’re Other—vampires, demons, all of the creatures that humans fear in the darkness of the night.

When one of the Other starts killing humans, Emily is pulled into the investigation. Colin Gyth, the lead detective on the case, doesn’t trust her, and, since Emily senses he’s a shifter, a being born with the ability to transform into an animal, the feeling is pretty mutual. Never trust anything born with two faces ... that was Emily’s motto. However, she and Colin are forced to put aside their misgivings and work together once Emily officially joins the investigation as a profiler.

While Emily and Colin search to unmask the killer, an unexpected passion grows between them. Burned in the past by those he’d trusted, Colin had never thought he’d let a woman get to close to him again, especially a woman with a dangerous power like Emily’s. Yet he finds that he can’t resist her. There’s something about the reserved Doctor Drake that calls to him, and the beast within the man recognizes his mate. But when the killer sets his sights on Emily, Colin will have to risk his life in order to protect the woman he craves more than anything else, and Emily will have to use her gift to look into the very heart of evil in order to defeat the monster hiding in the shadows.

* * *

Jacquelyn gave me a quote for this story—a quote that absolutely made my day, “A cross between CSI and Medium, only hotter and with a hero that truly has bite!”

Oh, yeah, I love that quote. First of all, I’m a huge fan of The Medium—no matter how many times NBC changes the line-up, I manage to find Mrs. Dubois and tune in for my psychic fix.

I always been intrigued by the idea of psychic powers. Always wondered what it would be like to have the ability to predict the future or to read the minds of others. When I was a kid, my mom gave me this game called “Psi-Kick”—it was supposed to encourage the development of psychic powers. It came with dowsing rods, ESP cards, dice, and a few other bits and pieces that time has made me forget. I do, however, remember playing with that game for hours. And you know what? Sadly, I do not think that my psychic powers improved AT ALL.

So, since I don’t have any powers, I decided to create a heroine who did have those powers. Emily Drake is strong, smart, and a dang fine psychic. She’s got phenomenal empathic powers, but, as fate would have it, those powers only work with the Other. So, she makes that unusual talent work for her—and she opens a practice just for paranormals.

And, as fate would have it (okay, as I planned it), Emily falls for one of the Other at the really, really wrong time.

Here’s an (unedited!) excerpt from HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT:

“How much do you know?”

Emily swallowed, tried to figure out just how much she should reveal.

His hold tightened around her.

He was the one sitting down, the one forced to look up at her, but Emily had the feeling she was the one in the vulnerable position. “I-I know you aren’t human.” Her voice came out softer, huskier than she’d intended.

She hoped Colin would leave it at that. Hoped he wouldn’t probe any deeper.

“Ah, baby, I already knew that.”

She tried to tug her hand free, but his grip was unbreakable.

“You’re the Monster Doctor, the one all the local ghouls go to see.” A faint trace of amusement underscored his words. But his eyes were watchful, intense, showing no echo of humor.

Her jaw clenched. “Let go of my hand.”

He smiled at her, and his fingers fell away from her wrist.

Emily immediately sprang across the room, putting several feet between them. Nice, protective space. “Look, if you aren’t here to discuss the case, then I want you to leave.” She turned her back on him, heading toward the front door.

“How do you do it?”

His words stopped her.

“How do you tell who is human and who isn’t?”

She heard the soft rustle of the sofa cushions as he rose.

“That’s a pretty interesting talent you’ve got there. And I’m just dying to know exactly how you do it.”

Emily cast a longing glance toward the front door. “I’m afraid you’re just going to have to live with your curiosity, Detective.” Because she sure as hell wasn’t going to reveal her innermost secrets to a stranger. Yep, letting the guy inside had been a definite mistake.

“Hmmm.” His breath blew against the nape of her neck. Emily jumped, startled to find him so close to her. The guy hadn’t made a sound when he’d crossed the room.

“I’d like to see your hair down,” he muttered, and his fingers brushed against the bun she’d yet to unwind.

She jerked away from him. “And I’d like to see you leave. Guess which one of us is about to get her wish?”

His hard lips curved into a smile, a smile with a hint of real warmth. “Tough lady, aren’t you?”

She’d had to be.

His smile slowly faded. “But trust me, I’m a hell of a lot tougher than you could ever dream of being.” And in a flash, he had her penned against the wall. His strong, hard body pressed against her, his muscular thighs pushed between hers, shoving up her skirt, and his right hand locked around her wrists as he forced them against the wall over her head.

Her breath left her body in a startled gasp.

“Now let’s try this again,” he growled. “Just how much do you know about me?”

* * *

Well, I’ll just tell you…my heroine knows every secret my hero has. Every single one.

It’s good to be psychic. Here’s a pic of the cover for HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT. The tag line and quote info still have to be inserted, but I think you can get the general idea.

And now, TIME FOR A CONTEST! Leave me a comment below, telling me what psychic power you’d like to have and why—and I’ll select a winner at random. The winner will receive a $15 Amazon.com gift certificate. I’ll post the winner’s name in the comments section on August 28^th (that way, folks will have a little extra time to get comments in place). Good luck!

Thanks for the fine hospitality, Jacquelyn!

Best wishes,

Cynthia Eden
www.cynthiaeden.com
"New Year's Bites" in A RED HOT NEW YEAR--12/07, Avon Red
HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT--05/08, Kensington Brava
Believe in monsters. They believe in you.