Guest Blogger: Erin Kellison

The winner of Erin's book is: MarZel. Congrats, MarZel! Send me your contact info and I'll pass it along to Erin. Thanks to everyone who participated.

When I was a kid, my bedroom had a wide closet with accordion doors. And inside that closet was a little white door that led to the unfinished, dusty, spidery attic space under the roof, a place I never dared to venture. One blustery night I watched as that little white door slowly eased open, then slammed shut. Then eased open again, only to slam shut even harder. Over and over again. I was so frightened that I breathed as shallowly as possible. I could not call for my mom. I could not get out of my bed and run for the door. I sat on my bed in stone cold terror waiting for a horror to emerge and “get me.”

After a little while, it occurred to me that (oh!) the wind was doing it, and my fear abated and the clammy sweat dried on me. I was left feeling disappointed. A spooky attic was way more fun than an empty one. I guessed I had better go to sleep. But of course I didn’t. Nope, instead my brain started working, turning over that most delicious and wonderful of questions: What if?

What if the attic was haunted? What kind of creature existed in the pitched shadows beyond my bedroom? What would that creature want on this side of the door? It didn’t take too long before I’d worked myself back into a spooked thrill. My poor mom.

In my upcoming debut, Shadow Bound, the question, What if? takes the form of the deep, threatening shadows of a between place I call Twilight.

Shadow is the stuff of imagination, nightmare, and seduction. Enter at your peril.

Excerpt from Shadow Bound:

Talia heard Adam’s intake of breath as she wrapped the veil around them, the day falling from sunny blue to a dreamy murk. They stood in layered fog, the veils of shadow sensuously lapping at their bodies. The trees, the meadow beyond, the hulk of Segue Institute were all there, yet somehow appeared transient. As if one good gust of wind might carry it all away.

Adam’s hand warmed in hers. He filled her with his wonder, which was better than all the rest. Made her realize how beautiful shadow was, too.

“A little more,” he said.

Talia reached and the day darkened to dusk, the orb of the sun shifting from blazing yellow to deep violet. The world turned to myriad purples and shades of blue and black. Sounds stretched so that the birds’ twitters and crickets’ chirps became high, eerie notes warped by darkness.

Shadow settled on her shoulders and slid deliciously against her skin in welcome.

Adam’s wonder turned to awe and building excitement.

Talia glanced at him to see how much of what he felt could be read on his face.

He looked down at her, about to say something, but instead he stopped and stared. That sensation was back, a trickle in the sense of his discovery, then a flood blotting it out. Desire.

Bio:
Erin Kellison writes paranormal romance with a strong emphasis on dark fantasy/urban fantasy. She attempted her first book in sixth grade, also a dark fantasy adventure, and still has those first, hand-written chapters. An avid reader, stories have always been a central part of her life. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English Language and Literature, with a concentration in mythology and folklore. She went on for a masters in Cultural Anthropology, focusing on oral story-telling and Native American mythology. When she had children, nothing scared her anymore, so her focus shifted to writing fiction. She sold her manuscript, Shadow Bound, to Dorchester Publishing via The 2009 Dawn Thompson Memorial Haunted Hearts Contest. She lives in Arizona with her two beautiful daughters and husband, and she will have a dog (breed undetermined) when her youngest turns five.

A commenter will be chosen at random on Tuesday night to receive a copy of Shadow Bound. Check back to see if you have won!