Hidden Mortality | Romantic Reads and Such

Tags

Now for round two of today’s paranormal romances (have you checked out Sex and the Single Vamp yet?) – take a moment and enjoy as Maggie shares some insight into her hero, Seth, from Hidden Mortality.

*****

As an introduction to a character from Hidden Mortality, today I’d like you to meet Seth the hero. Name: Seth Race: human Age: 35 for more than 200 years so far. When I stared to write this novel I always saw Seth as a combination of Kelly Slater and Vin Diesel. I have to admit I find them both yummy.

Background: Seth was born in the early 1800 in a small town called Trowbridge just outside of Bath where he trained with his father to be a blacksmith. He hated his father who was a drunk and beat his mother. She was found drowned in a local river and it was considered suicide. He swore he would never become like his father but he didn’t completely succeed.

His first true love Rosie was married when he met her. He was honourable and left her alone. When her husband died Seth was already in an unhappy marriage and starting to drink. His wife died in childbirth and Rosie was murdered. His life was spiraling out of control
Rosie was killed in a ritual that was said to provide immortality to the killers. She had witch blood and granted the gift of immortality to Seth as well. She asks him to protect her descendants and find the killers.

Two hundred and more years have passed and Seth still searches and watches over Rosie’s descendants. Recently his need to find Rosie’s killer has changed because he has fallen in love with her descendant Cara.

Interesting facts: Seth can only kill the other immortal who murdered Rosie with a dagger he fixed. He does not know the whereabouts of the dagger. When he kills the murderer he will die himself. That was fine with him until he met Cara. Below you can see the cover for Hidden Mortality that will be out with Soul Mate Publishing in November. I actually like the fact that Seth’s face is not completely shown as it gives the reader the ability to fill in the rest of the details.

*****

Hidden Mortality

by Maggie Mundy

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Soulmate Publishing

Date of Publication: 6th February 18, 2014

ISBN:-13:978-1-61935-329-9

ASIN: B00I911NI0

Number of pages:281

Word Count: 85,000

Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde

Purchase at Amazon

Blurb:

A witch is murdered in 1850 in a ritual that will grant longevity to four men. What they are not aware of is that she has bestowed the same power to another called Seth to avenge her death.

Cara lives in present day Bristol, and is a descendant of the witch. Having been unlucky in love she fills her days with food with her Irish themed catering business. Her nights are another matter; they are full of erotic dreams of a mysterious lover, or nightmares with mutilated bodies. So this wasn’t the best time for her Nana to tell her she is coming into her power.

*****

Excerpt:

Cara kept searching but couldn’t find the book she wanted. The assistant at the empty counter smiled politely as she approached.

“I’m looking for a book called Immortality and Witchcraft, Fact or Fiction,” Cara said.

The woman typed the title into her computer. As Cara waited, someone walked up to the other counter beside her. She turned to look. Her world stopped as she met the slate grey gaze of the man staring straight at her. This wasn’t possible. He couldn’t exist. He was just a dream lover. Yet there he was, standing next to her as big as life.

She tried to smile, but it probably came out as more of a grin. He didn’t smile back. Her legs turned to jelly. If she didn’t breathe, she would pass out. She reached out and gripped the counter. One of them had to look away but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Someone was talking to her and the moment was broken.

“Excuse me.”

“Sorry.” Cara replied, as she forced herself to look at the salesperson. She was afraid if she glanced back, he would be gone. Her imagination must be playing tricks on her.

“It looks like we should have one copy left,” the woman said.

“I think I’m just about to sell it,” the other shop assistant said coming up to the register. “We could order it in for you. It might take a couple of weeks.”

“Please, take my copy.” The man at the other counter held out the book. His voice was deep, exactly as it was in her dreams. She was caught again in his gaze. The world disappeared and for a moment they were the only two people alive locked in the gaze they shared. Her hand went to her chest. She could feel her heart racing at the thought of him being near.

“Thank you, but no I couldn’t. You had the book first.”

“Please, take it. I have plenty of time to wait for another copy to come in.”

She found it hard to say no. Perhaps, it was the fact he was about six three and wore grey bike leathers. They added to the effect of making him look powerful. The shaved head and the stubble on his face gave a menacing look, but she wasn’t afraid of him. This wasn’t right. Her life was wild enough without dream lovers becoming real.

Plus, she wouldn’t want her other dreams to become real as well. She needed to say something, or he would think she was an idiot standing there with her mouth gaping. He held the book out to her. As she took it, her hand touched his. It was such a tiny touch and yet it meant he was real. She felt the heat rising up her neck as she blushed. She also sensed another heat inside her. It was the same way he had made her feel in her dreams.

“Thanks.” Cara paid for her book and listened as he confirmed his contact details. Seth Scanlon. She had a name. She wasn’t really stalking. Taking another book off a shelf, she flipped through the pages. He glanced her way before he left and caught her gaze once more.

She couldn’t fool herself. The look he gave her was so intense she felt he was seeing inside her soul. Her breath caught. She shivered although the shop was warm. For a split second, she considered following him and saying he must remember all the times they had made love.

She could just imagine the expression he would give her. He didn’t know her. She was a stranger. The shop became suffocating as she pulled at the collar of her jumper. She needed to be outside. There was no sign of him on the street. For a moment, she wanted to cry. At this rate, she would give the silly schoolgirls in the shop a run for their money.

*****

Author Info:

Maggie Mundy lives in Adelaide, Australia and is a member of Romance Writers of Australia, and the local chapter SARA (South Australian Romance Authors). She recently completed a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and English at Flinders University. She had a short story published in the RWA Topaz Anthology Little Gems in 2010 called Sea and Vines. Over the past year she has had stories on line with Alfie dog in the UK and Antipodean SF in Australia. She has also performed for many years in corporate entertainment for which she wrote her own sketches, which probably explains why her head is so full of characters. She loves writing romance but thinks falling in love can be scary, especially in her stories where creatures of the night really exist.