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#MFRWHooks ~ Seal the Deal (@KA_Raines)

K.A. Raines7 Comments

Welcome to MFRW’s weekly Book Hooks blog hop! To check out the other blogs in this hop, simply click the banner below or in the side bar.

For this week’s book hook, I thought I’d share an excerpt from The Infiltrator. A virus has rendered humanity mostly extinct. Keira Starr is alone, staying alive by staying on the run, sleeping in empty gas stations and the trunks of cars long abandoned on the highway. The world is overrun by “Ghosts,” the mindless, bloodthirsty dead, but they are the least of her problems. She is being hunted by ragtag groups of ruthless men, independent contractors working for a mysterious human trafficking ring. When she is finally captured, she discovers that Derrick Caine, despite his gruff demeanor and appearance, may just have a different agenda altogether.

In this scene, Derrick prepares to track a missing man and little girl into the woods who disappeared from their community, the Fortress, while surveying the stars.

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Keira stabbed a Ghost in the temple angrily, blinking back sudden tears while working out the brunt of her aggression on the dead thing. She couldn’t look at Derrick as she re-sheathed his hunting knife and turned to climb back into the truck, her formerly clean clothes now spattered with blackened Ghost blood. This could be it. He could die out there trying to find a man and a little girl who were probably already dead, and she would never see him again. She hated this—that she still felt. This was exactly why she had avoided people for so long. She didn’t want to feel.

“Hey.” A hand caught her bicep in a firm grasp, and she found herself being wheeled forcefully around, colliding suddenly into a hard chest. Before she could even process what was happening, rough fingers were gripping the back of her neck beneath her hair, pulling her forward, and she just caught a glimpse of Derrick’s eyes glinting in the moonlight as he crashed his lips against hers.

The kiss was desperate, unpracticed, and tasted like cigarettes as their teeth clanked together—but she didn’t care. It was a promise, a sealing of a deal she hadn’t even realized had been made until that very moment. I’ll be back, he seemed to be saying. This ain’t done. We ain’t done.

And then, just as suddenly as it began, it was over. Guns were firing. Ghosts, now pouring out of the woods in a steady torrent, bits of exposed yellowed bone and gnashing teeth reflecting off the Dodge’s headlights, were falling to the ground in a barrage of bullets and brains. Ig was yanking her by her arm, and he practically shoved her into the cab of the truck. He was shouting, but she couldn’t ascertain the words. As she yanked the door shut and wrenched the truck around—bodies thumped sickeningly beneath the wheels—Keira watched in the rearview mirror as Derrick disappeared into the Ghost-infested woods on his own. Drawn by the vehicles, none of the dead things seemed to notice him as he slinked off into the darkness.

Nevertheless, as she touched her lips that still tingled from his hasty kiss, she felt dampness on her face—and she couldn’t help but curse him.

~~~

Be sure to check out my debut novel, The Infiltrator, available HERE ~ Only $2.99 and always FREE on Kindle Unlimited!

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#MFRWauthor ~ Corn Mazes & Bike Trails & Pumpkin Patches – Oh, My! (@KA_Raines)

K.A. Raines2 Comments

MFRW’s Week 40 Blog Prompt: “It’s a sunshiny day, what do you do?”

Fall. I love it. So. Friggin’. Much. Don’t get me wrong; every season has its perks. I’m hugely fond of the Christmas season, but being in East Texas we don’t see a lot of snow. Just a lot of cold rain, which means a lot of wet, cold mud. (While I realize everyone who lives in areas who get snow view it as overrated and possibly a nuisance, I view it as magical). Spring, of course, means flower blossoms and the scent of honeysuckle, and it’s cool enough that I can sit on my patio and enjoy the view of the pine trees bordering my backyard without the risk of melting.

I loved summer as a child, and it still has its merits. I love campfires and s’mores and swimming and boating and rafting and beaching. However, lately these fun trips have been few and far between (what with COVID and trying to finish school during summer semesters). And did I mention that summer in East Texas is humid and hotter than hades? While during the spring I sat outside with my daughter while she played on her slip ‘n slide and swing set, by summer the heat and mosquitos had largely driven us indoors.

But, oh, fall, how do I love thee! I can sit on my patio and enjoy the trees again! My kids and I can hit the bike trail!

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We’ve already been out to the corn maze and pumpkin patch on the first sunshiny Saturday when the temp didn’t rise above 80, and we’re looking forward to going back for the Halloween festivities in a couple of weeks. Before COVID, one of our traditions was to visit Six Flags Over Texas for their annual Fright Fest, but my kids and I won’t be doing that this year (I put our memberships on pause). Still, I’m sure we’ll make some new traditions as a family!

What are your favorite things about fall? Do you have any Halloween traditions? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

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#MFRWauthor ~ Bromance? Or Nomance (K.A. Raines)

K.A. Raines5 Comments

MFRW’s Week 38 Blog Prompt: MM Books: write them? Read them? Why or why not?

When I was a teenager, I was a huge Anne Rice fan. While not blatant, there are homoerotic undertones to her writing, specifically detectable between her male protagonist vampires Louis and Lestat, as well as between Louis and Armand in Interview with the Vampire. It’s not blatant, and as a younger reader I wasn’t aware that there was anything to be read between the lines. It wasn’t until I became more mature and reread the first few books of Rice’s Vampire Chronicles that I picked up on it – and found the prospect appealing. Literature and film of the past century have painted the vampire as charming and alluring, qualities that would assist in drawing in unsuspecting prey. Such fodder is inherently erotic, and the idea of multiple deceitfully charming predators is too delicious an idea.

While I have a personal preference for hetero stories – it’s what I primarily write – it’s certainly not a requirement, as I’ve developed a healthy appreciation for stories featuring men only. What can I say? I love men and the wide variety of packages in which they come. I love charming vampire antiheroes. I love dirty, crossbow-wielding zombie-hunters. I love biker-gang bad-boys. Well-dressed federal agents (preferably FBI, not IRS). Just give me MEN. Like in this video…

Thanks for reading and be sure to comment and tell me: What’s your favorite non-canon MM fantasy from any movie, TV, or book series??

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#MFRWauthor ~ I Like Big Flaws (and I Cannot Lie)

K.A. Raines4 Comments

MFRW blog prompt: “As a reader, what attracts you most to a character?”

From literature to film, I am most intrigued by male characters who are psychologically damaged – yet not beyond redemption. I like the outcast or scoundrel who might be concealing a softer side (Han Solo, anyone?). I like complicated antiheroes capable of redemption (How about Anne Rice’s Lestat?). These men come in many different packages. They might be handsome and charming in the conventional way. Or they may hide behind snark to conceal their insecurities (Severus Snape?). No matter the genre or medium – novel, film, or TV – I want to see men who are imperfect and flawed, their facades concealing more than meets the eye.

As for women, make them strong, assertive, and confident. I want to see (or read about) The Walking Dead‘s Michonne kicking ass and getting the hero – even if the ass-kicking itself is metaphorical rather than literal – or Katniss Everdeen with with her bow. This desire is why I wrote so many strong female characters into my debut novel, The Infiltrator – probably the only female-dominated zombie novel ever written – while I portrayed male characters as more prone to emoting than the women. I wanted it to bend gender stereotypes (as well as bend genres). Also, I simply enjoy writing about broken, fucked-up men.

My character preferences for damaged men and strong women can be seen in my current WIP as well, which is also a dystopian romance featuring two empaths whose mental battles are sexually charged. For this novel I chose to use several tropes including fated mates and enemies to lovers – and even a couple I might have made up (is fuck or die a thing?).

Excerpt from my as-yet-untitled WIP:

She closed her eyes. Centered the surging energy. Felt the pressure behind her eyes once more, imagined it flowing outward. She could almost see it. See where she needed to center it. She focused on his mind. Felt his resistance, as solid as a steel wall. All she needed was a crack, a small way in, then all she had to do was squeeze—

She screamed at the effort, and for an instant—just an instant—she felt his barrier bow beneath her assault. With a heave, she pushed once more, felt the fissure form. And then she was in. Just as she concentrated the energy and began to squeeze, she was bombarded by images: A small boy with dark hair crouched in a corner. And a woman crying—

Jahnna was yanked up suddenly by her wrists. Her eyes snapped open as she was shoved violently out of his mind once more, the connection severed. He was angry, but he was also…she didn’t know what he was. She knew he could hurt her if he wanted to, but he was just staring at her, breathing heavily through his nose. Oddly, she thought he might kiss her. If he did, she would bite him—hard enough to make him bleed.

Thanks for stopping by! I’d love to hear from you! What are your thoughts? What kind of characters do you like to read about?

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