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Turning. Please leave an email address. Contest ends Saturday, July 27th at
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The
Turning
A Dr. Kelly Murphy Novel
Graduate
medical school, start competitive internship, don’t get cut from the program,
become a surgeon. It was a great plan. One Kelly Murphy loved and had dreamed
of most of her life… And it was blown to hell in a night with an uninvited
bite.
Now she’s
missing three days of her life, trying to handle her freaked out best friend
and parents who called the police when she went missing, all as she realizes
she’s not the same person she was before. She’s different. Like has fangs
different.
When he
shows up on her doorstep claiming to know what happened to her, Kelly’s not
sure that makes things any less confusing. But at least he can guide her,
right? Either way, she has a plan and a choice she didn't make won’t stop her…
Even if she might have the urge to bite her patients from now on.
EXCERPT
“Kel,
what the hell happened to you?” my mom asked. I could tell she was holding back
tears.
“I
don’t know. I remember going to the bar after my last exam. I saw Nicole, and
she handed me a shot to take, I slugged it back, then I woke up here dying of
thirst. Everything in between is a total blank. It’s not hazy details, or
fuzzy—I’ve got nothing. Nicole called me and woke me up this morning and she
filled me in that I’ve been missing and how long I’ve been gone. Can you guys
call the police or whomever you have searching for me and tell them I’m found?”
“Are
you going to the hospital? Did you check for bruises? Never mind, we’re coming
over,” my dad rattled and then hung up the phone. I wanted to laugh; some
things never changed, but it wasn’t a laughing time right now. I sat on my
couch with my pop, wondering where I had been.
Checking
my phone, I saw I had a lot of missed calls. Chugging the pop didn’t seem to
help my thirst so I finished that and got a bottle of juice. That wasn’t
working either. Thinking it was odd, I yawned and realized I was really tired.
I laid down just to close my eyes for a minute, but promptly fell asleep.
The
knocking at the door woke me with a start and hearing my parent’s panicked
voices made me immediately go to open it. It seemed I was there instantly.
Wow,
I must be still out of it because I don’t usually move that fast. As I opened
the door, I could swear I heard something that sounded like two heartbeats.
Staring strangely at my parents as they came in, I just dismissed it. They must
have been very anxious from not knowing where I was and had rapid heartbeats.
“Kelly,
oh my god, you really are okay!” My mom started gushing as she came in and just
about tackled me with a massive hug.
“Mom,
I’m fine. I swear,” I whispered, glad for something familiar when I was
freaking out.
“Jen,
let the girl breathe, you’re choking the air out of her.” I looked up at my dad
to say thank you and realized I saw something I hadn’t seen for years. He was
crying. “Are you sure you’re all right, Kel? I think we should take you to the
hospital to get checked out and—ah— well, get a rape kit done.”
“Dad!”
I said, completely shocked. My dad and I had never discussed anything like that
before, not even a birds and the bees talk. “I’m sure nothing like that
happened, Dad. Everything is, well, kind of as it should be. I mean there’s no
way when I was drugged or whatever, taken, that I was raped. I have no bruises
or cuts and not a button out of place.”
As
I was talking I was drawn back to my mom. She smelled great, sweet even. I sat
down next to her, and I know she was talking, but I wasn’t listening to a word
she said. I just couldn’t get over how great she smelled. I just wanted to eat
her up!
Until
I bit my tongue. “Ouch, damn that hurt!”
“What,
are you okay?” Mom said, looking panicked again.
“Yeah,
Ma, I’m fine. I bit my tongue, hang on it’s bleeding.” The next instant it
seemed I was in the bathroom.
“Wow,
Kelly, you sure are moving fast these days,” my dad yelled from the living
room, but there was a twitch of nervousness in his voice. Now why would that
make him antsy?
“Got
to keep up with the docs at the hospital,” I said, trying to laugh it off. The
blood from my tongue tasted so good in my mouth it was starting to weird me
out. I opened my mouth to see how much damage I had done. What I saw made me
think I was hallucinating. “Holy shit!”
“What?
What’s wrong?” my dad hollered from the living room. I heard him start to get
up.
“Dad,
don’t get up. I’m fine, just tripped.”
“How
did you know I was getting up? You can’t see me from there.”
“I
heard you,” I said dismissively. I wasn’t as concerned about my hearing as I
was with the teeth I thought I saw in my mouth. I opened my mouth and looked in
the mirror again. How the hell did I all of a sudden have, well, fangs? I
touched them, just to make sure. Could it be a hallucination if you could touch
them?
“I
didn’t make a sound. How did you hear me?”
“I
heard the floor board creek and it was where you were sitting.” Okay breathe, I
told myself, just breathe slowly and deeply. As I relaxed, the fangs seemed to
shrink back into normal teeth. Well shit! Did that just happen?
“Kelly,
he didn’t make a sound. You’re starting to really worry me.” I could feel the
concern from my mother, and it snapped me back. In the next instant I was
standing right next to her. “Crap, Kelly, how did you get over here so fast?
You scared the shit out of me. You seem so pale, but your skin is flawless. Did
you start using a new moisturizer?” I gazed at her in utter dismay, and my look
must have said everything because she got up and walked to the window. “You’ve
got to open these blinds more often, it’s not like you are a vampire living in
a coffin.” She laughed as she said it but it hit me like a ton of bricks and then
she opened the blinds.
“Ahh,
Mom, close them! The light is killing me,” I said a little louder than I meant
to.
“Are
you all right?” My dad said with a raised brow, but I was too busy focusing on
what my mom had said—vampire.
“I’m
fine. I just need to get some rest,” I replied, trying to hint that they should
leave. I had a lot to think about, and the sound of their hearts beating was
drawing me closer to them. I was just so thirsty I didn’t know how much more I
could take. After what my mom said I was scared to think why I was so drawn to
them.
Crap, I watch way too many horror
films!
Behind the Scenes
Ø
Did
you make any marketing mistakes or is there anything you would avoid in the
future?
Frisbees and beach balls with my logo on them weren’t really such
a hit. They sounded cool to me, but apparently not everyone wants them and they
really don’t want their kids to have
them with the website of an erotic romance author on there…
Ø
How
do you relax?
I’m sorry, could you repeat the question? I don’t know that
word. Maybe use it in another sentence so I get the context? Wait, let me get
my dictionary.
Ø
What
is your favorite genre to write?
Anything paranormal. If it’s contemporary, it’s too much like
reality to hold my interest.
Ø
Do
you ever suffer from writer's block? If so, what do you do about it?
No, not yet
Ø
When
you begin a story do you start with character or plot?
Um, neither. I normally just start with a dream. Either it puts
me at one scene that I work backwards from or it’s build of a previous book or
lots a different things. I’d need more options.
About
Growing
up on the northwest side of Chicago, Erin is a loyal Cubs fan, but she also
admits to being a die-hard Green Bay Packers girl. From target practice to
candle making, she enjoys an eclectic list of hobbies that feed her outgoing
and creative personality.
Feeling
unfulfilled with her life in corporate America, Erin decided to pursue her true
passion, and her first novella was published in May 2010 under the pseudonym
Joyee Flynn. To date, she has published over 70 books in the erotic romance
genre, and her dedicated readers eagerly await each installment to her numerous
bestselling series. Wanting to give her characters a bit more action, mystery,
and adventure, Erin decided to branch out from romance and her Joyee pen name
to create successful, strong, independent women with a paranormal twist.
Living
near the Rocky Mountains, Erin spends her days curled up on the overstuffed
chair with a Mountain Dew and her 8 year old Weimaraner, Marius, at her feet,
telling the stories her characters whisper in her ear. Her love of the written word hasn’t changed
much over the years. The only difference is that she no longer has to hide in
her closet to read after bedtime.
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