Who is up for an excerpt from The Ghost Within?

That's right. The Ghost Within releases march 13th so why not an excerpt. In this one Vicky the Seer finds out what it feels like to be a Bloodseeker.

 Pre-order .99
Amazon
Other Retailers

A kick to her chins smarted and added to the ache in her head. “Get up, take your sword.”
She lifted her head. The woman’s long red hair lay in waves over her chest. A black shawl draped over her shoulders, beneath it a royal blue collar climbed up her neck, the collar just below her chin. A long skirt flared below her waist, stopping where it met her boots. She grabbed the sword and held it in front of the soldier. “If you defeat us you walk away.”
The soldier heard everything. Vicky’s thought melded with his but she had no free will. This was the past and she couldn’t change it. She didn’t think on her own. He didn’t trust them and knew he had no choice. He stood and grabbed the sword from her hand.
The man, a bandana laced around his head falling against his back. A dark braid fell over his shoulder. His tight pants tucked into his boots and a white blouse over his chest. A pirate?
He pulled a sword from his waist. The female moved away as the men circled each other. The soldier raised his sword and jabbed at the pirate who spun and came back with a swing that missed the soldier by a hair, only because he sucked in his gut, anticipating the move.
They pranced around the room, a swing for another, until the soldier pinned the pirate’s shirt to the wall. He leaned in, gritting his teeth. “What do you want, filth?”
The pirate chuckled, then stopped. His face solemn. “You. We want you.” He lunged forward, his shirt ripping. The soldier stepped back and yanked his sword out of the wall and struck the pirate across his abdomen. Dark blood, almost black, poured from his wound, coating what was left of his white shirt. To the soldier’s horror, the stream of blood lessened.
He swung at the pirate over and over, blade marks slashed across his chest, then he plunged his blade into the heart of the pirate. He staggered backwards, dark blood sputtering from his mouth and down his chin. Convinced he’d taken care of the pirate and ready for the woman, he kicked him against the wall and turned on his heel.
Needles exploded into his neck as the woman bit down on him, taking him off guard. He screamed in pain, another mouth sank their teeth into the other side of his neck, then he dropped to the ground. His head spun and everything turned black.
Warm, metallic liquid coated his throat, forcing him to swallow. The soldier’s eyes popped open. His head pushed back, the first thing he spotted was the wooden ceiling. He shifted his eyes. Red liquid poured from a metal chalice the female held above him. With each swallow of the liquid his own memories drifted away until he remembered nothing and only sought the taste of the metallic liquid -- blood.
Vicky stumbled backwards, her body fighting against the terror in her vision. Her hands dropped from the helmet.

“Vicky?” Adrian’s arm was wrapped around her. “We need to go.” Footsteps neared the room.

Get the entire series:
All three books on Amazon
The Vampires Next Door Book 1 is free everywhere!

The Vampires Next Door at all retailers
The Monster Upstairs at all retailers

Excerpt copyright Books by Elle, Inc./ Elle Klass 2018

Bestselling Vampire Series!

I woke up this morning and prepped my coffee than staggered half-awake not full of caffeine yet to my computer and got the crazy idea to check my yearly ebook sales. To see which book sold the best this year. It was a weird itch but I entertained it.

What I found was The Monster Upstairs sold more copies digitally than any other book. The week it was released almost as many copies of The Vampires Next Door sold, making this my best selling series. I can't say I was surprised. 

The release of Scarlett wasn't far behind. That impressed me since it was released at the absolute worst time for an indie author -- November.

When I released The Vampires Next Door it sold like wildfire, staying in top rankings for almost 3 months. No it didn't make any list that counts to the public but entered my bestselling hall of fame.

This information tells me I'm in good shape to release the Ghost Within. The first and second drafts of the book are finished. Right now I'm putting on finish touches before I send it to my editor. 

I'm really excited to release this book. I think its my best YA story. Parts of it give me chills and goosebumps. Unlike most people fear doesn't do that to me. It's the ah-ha moments when they realize everything is bigger than they ever imagined and sad moments. Yes, I get goosbumps during sad parts. The movie Pearl Harbor gave me chills from beginning to end.

The Bloodseekers is an epic saga and considering its sales gives me the notion that ending it with a third book won't make readers happy. From the time I wrote the first book I had an itch to write more books, individual stories about side characters and the legend. Now I'm convinced I should. There are so many layers to the story steeped in lore and magic. I could easily write another several novella's related to the series but not part of the series since it ends in March 13th.

It's really not about book sales but readers and making them happy, giving them an epic story they can sink into.

I was side-tracked for a minute. The Bloodseekers also sells best at reader cons. In fact I sold out at every book signing this year but two.

The first book in ebook can be picked up for free and The Ghost Within is on pre-order sale for .99!

Amazon: The entire series

The Vampires Next Door (all retailers)

The Monster Upstairs (all retailers)

The Ghost Within (all retailers)

The Monster Upstairs Background

The sequel to The Vampires Next Door is almost here. Release date set for March 7th. This series is home to me. The only series I have currently placed in a setting close to my home -- St. Augustine Florida.

In similar fashion there are places of interest noted in The Monster Upstairs. These places exist. In this book the Slayers find themselves not beneath St. Augustine but Jacksonville, sister city to St. Augustine.

Help support the release please share this post and/or support the Headtalker https://headtalker.com/campaigns/bloodseekers-in-st-augustine/

These underground tunnels really exist and some are open to tours. The transportation tunnels here made for a nasty adventure for Alison and the acquaintance of a new creature -- Alistair the Boghart,

Excerpt:

She found the voice. It was attached to an odd looking creature with wild brown hair, a large nose, and round cheeks peering at her with two outstretched hands from a hole in the bricks no more than a foot or so above her head. Another set off blades hit the ground and she jumped, reaching for the creature’s hands. He grasped them and pulled her upward while she planted her feet along the wall and climbed it.

“’Bout time. Follow me,” he said as he crawled through the small space. It was large enough for him to crawl, as he was no larger than a four-year-old child. She felt like a giant and had to wriggle on her belly, her ribs throbbing with each movement, and the dampness soaking through her shirt and jeans. She was glad she wore old clothes and running shoes for her little venture. The gunk coating the crawl space oozed through her fingers as she clutched between the bricks to get to the other side.

What's happening? demanded Rodham.

It was a booby trap. I'm OK.

The creature jumped out of the space and grabbed her hands, pulling her out. She was impressed with his strength as she tumbled out of the tunnel onto her butt and the gunky ground of yet another tunnel. He was no more than half her height and she wasn't exactly tall at five foot three inches.

“Thank you,” she said, lifting her aching body off the ground. She felt like an old woman and desired a long, hot bath filled with bubbles and the scent of strawberry or vanilla, anything but the nasty odor that coated every inch of her body and made her cringe.

“It's not every day I find a young lass traveling these tunnels,” he muttered. “Or anyone...” he finished, his voice trailing off.

But those aren't the only tunnels used in the book. There are also tunnels beneath Jacksonville that contain bank vaults. They're still used today for tours and businesses.

 And in St. Augustine style there is a battle in one of the existing forts. A small fort called Fort Matanzas.

The picture purchased as the fort is closed due to damage from Hurricane Matthew.

 The background on the book cover also contains a draw bridge from one of the forts.