by: Avery Daniels
Series: Accidental Vampire
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Release Date: May 1, 2022
Publisher: Blazing Sword Publishing, Ltd.
Amazon | Goodreads
What's a positive thought girl to do when she finds herself one of the undead? Recite plenty of affirmations and use those new toothy skills to assist her PI boss, of course.
In 24 hours, Misty Summers had the worst date of her life, was bit by a vampire, and her PI boss may close his business as he goes through a divorce. Looking on the sunny side, she decides to use her new vampire assets and become the investigator to keep her job and income. She doesn’t know what her future holds, but it can’t be any worse! When she starts following up on a missing woman’s case, she finds herself in the middle of murder. Even with her positive thinking and affirmations, she is finding her new reality daunting. But she vows to take a bite out of crime in her small lake resort town.
If you like Duffy Brown, Nancy Warren, Nova Nelson, Dionne Lister, Trixie Silvertale, and Leighann Dobbs, then you'll love this series with a quirky intelligent sleuth, small town lake setting, and tantalizing mysteries. Misty Indigo Summers is a positive thinking kind of gal and a most unlikely vampire and PI.
It is humorous and light with a murder mystery to solve and a rogue vampire to catch. No scary vampires (okay, the rogue is a little scary), teen angst, or dark horror genre vampires. Expect to smile at Misty’s predicaments and the cooky characters while figuring out a murder mystery.
Tell me about some of the characters readers will be introduced to in the book and series?
Misty is a positive thinking gal, she tries to look on the bright side of things. She is a little quirky and the most unlikely person to be turned into a vampire. In her new reality, she meets a flirty wizard, Rowan, who is suave and gorgeous. She is introduced to the Meta-mundane Council that asks her to find the vampire who turned her and while Rowan can assist, there are laws about fraternizing between species (vampires and wizards can’t date.) You’ll meet Misty’s funny landlady, a hippy vampire mentor, and her best friend Courtney too. Oh, and you’ll meet Winston, Misty’s tuxedo-cat who she can hear now.
Tell me about one of your favorite scenes from the book and why it’s a favorite scene?
Oh, there are a few. I do like when Misty confronts the killer because she is accepting her new vampire status but also trying not to hurt anybody. She still thinks she needs to understand her limits though. In the scene she doesn’t mind scaring the killer a bit in a playful way.
What surprised you about First Bite?
How much fun the series was to write and... how the characters kind of took over. They really made sure I wrote them how they wanted. Sounds weird, I know. But the primary characters took on a life of their own. Especially Misty and Rowan, they came through strongly and sort of write themselves. It’s an author thing. If you saw the movie “The Man Who Invented Christmas” you’ll have an idea of how it worked.
Can you share some fun facts about First Bite?
- This was my first paranormal story and I did research on vampires, including reading the Vampire Survival Guide!
- I had the actor Matt Bomer in mind for Rowan, oh yeah.
- I loved the television show Moonlight staring Alex O’Laughlin before he was in Hawaii Five-O. Besides having the handsome Alex O’Laughlin I liked how the vampire character was more relatable – and he was a private investigator. This probably influenced my story to some degree.
- I also loved the television show Blood Ties starring Kyle Schmid and Christina Cox based on the novels by Tanya Huff (I loved the books too!) That had a private investigator with a vampire helping.
- I was a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Vampire Diaries. I think I was meant to write a vampire series.
“I never want to see you again.” I slammed the passenger side door. Roger sped off in his red truck, his dragging muffler sounded like a tray of silverware ground in a garbage disposal. That ended the date from hell. He took me to a cheap restaurant, we saw the budget dollar movie, and I had to pay for my own popcorn. I can understand being on a budget, truly, I get it. But then to get all handsy in a parking lot, right under a parking light! He had the nerve to get upset when I said no. I had to slap him. When he slapped me back, I elbowed him in his jewels. The complete jerk. There was a sickle moon hanging lazily in the sky and a cool autumn breeze rustled the gold and russet leaves. I walked faster to warm up. I hadn’t brought a coat since I’d expected to be driven. A gust whipped my hair across my eyes and I swept it back.
I took a deep breath and wondered at the smell of autumn, the slightly sharp tang in the crisp air. I wrapped my arms around myself.
The bright side was I stood up for myself and put an end to his assault. Unfortunately, I’m stranded after eleven in a rougher part of town on a Sunday night with nobody around. I wish I could strangle Roger’s pencil neck. I can walk off my anger; we don’t have an Uber or such in the small town of Majestic. I needed to recapture my positive vibes anyway, so a walk would do me good.
Another positive item to the evening was I didn’t spring for a new or previously owned dress for the evening. It would have been wasted on the moron, anyway. I wore my deep purple sleeveless turtleneck and black pants. It was classic and more than he deserved. My best friend, Courtney, had assured me this blind date would be different. Oh, it was different, all right, and not in a good way.
I’ve never actually had a good date, not one single good memory of a date. Tears stung my eyes. Enough negativity. I recited my mantra. I am ready for the perfect man for me. I am working on myself to be the person who will attract my perfect partner. After yet another disheartening experience, it’s all I can do to not blame it all on myself. Nope, the right man is coming to me. Yeah, okay. I may be trying to convince myself more than attracting Mr. Right into my life. I’m okay with that at the moment.
My low-heeled strappy sandals slapped against the sidewalk, an exclamation point with every step. There wasn’t any traffic, and I had a couple of miles to go. Other than my footsteps, it was quiet except for a dog barking in the auto salvage yard behind me. But I felt a presence and knew I wasn’t alone. I sped up. I was speed walking now and my heart pounded. This really wasn’t a good area. Majestic was a modest-sized town, just big enough to warrant two canines on the police force. I didn’t want to find out firsthand about the seedy side of town.
Were those footsteps behind me? I stopped abruptly. I heard a scuff, then nothing. My senses screamed run, and even though my sandals weren’t the best for it, at least they were strapped on. I grabbed hold of my purse strap to keep my purse with me. I didn’t care how it looked; I took off running for everything I was worth. My mind continued to yell, faster, faster!
One instant, it was a clear sidewalk in front of me, and the next I ran into a man who had just appeared. My mind reeled at his abrupt materialization. His eyes were strange; even in the dark, his eyes bore into mine. I took my purse and aimed for his head. He moved so fast I barely saw a blur. Next thing I knew, the guy was behind me, had pinned my arms, and was trying to give me a hickey!
Worst day ever! There just is no positive way to look at any of this night. I struggled, scratched, and kicked but was losing my energy quickly. I remember slumping to the ground. I think he was still attached to my neck. I wanted to keep fighting, but I couldn’t even stay conscious.
I took a deep breath and wondered at the smell of autumn, the slightly sharp tang in the crisp air. I wrapped my arms around myself.
The bright side was I stood up for myself and put an end to his assault. Unfortunately, I’m stranded after eleven in a rougher part of town on a Sunday night with nobody around. I wish I could strangle Roger’s pencil neck. I can walk off my anger; we don’t have an Uber or such in the small town of Majestic. I needed to recapture my positive vibes anyway, so a walk would do me good.
Another positive item to the evening was I didn’t spring for a new or previously owned dress for the evening. It would have been wasted on the moron, anyway. I wore my deep purple sleeveless turtleneck and black pants. It was classic and more than he deserved. My best friend, Courtney, had assured me this blind date would be different. Oh, it was different, all right, and not in a good way.
I’ve never actually had a good date, not one single good memory of a date. Tears stung my eyes. Enough negativity. I recited my mantra. I am ready for the perfect man for me. I am working on myself to be the person who will attract my perfect partner. After yet another disheartening experience, it’s all I can do to not blame it all on myself. Nope, the right man is coming to me. Yeah, okay. I may be trying to convince myself more than attracting Mr. Right into my life. I’m okay with that at the moment.
My low-heeled strappy sandals slapped against the sidewalk, an exclamation point with every step. There wasn’t any traffic, and I had a couple of miles to go. Other than my footsteps, it was quiet except for a dog barking in the auto salvage yard behind me. But I felt a presence and knew I wasn’t alone. I sped up. I was speed walking now and my heart pounded. This really wasn’t a good area. Majestic was a modest-sized town, just big enough to warrant two canines on the police force. I didn’t want to find out firsthand about the seedy side of town.
Were those footsteps behind me? I stopped abruptly. I heard a scuff, then nothing. My senses screamed run, and even though my sandals weren’t the best for it, at least they were strapped on. I grabbed hold of my purse strap to keep my purse with me. I didn’t care how it looked; I took off running for everything I was worth. My mind continued to yell, faster, faster!
One instant, it was a clear sidewalk in front of me, and the next I ran into a man who had just appeared. My mind reeled at his abrupt materialization. His eyes were strange; even in the dark, his eyes bore into mine. I took my purse and aimed for his head. He moved so fast I barely saw a blur. Next thing I knew, the guy was behind me, had pinned my arms, and was trying to give me a hickey!
Worst day ever! There just is no positive way to look at any of this night. I struggled, scratched, and kicked but was losing my energy quickly. I remember slumping to the ground. I think he was still attached to my neck. I wanted to keep fighting, but I couldn’t even stay conscious.
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She still resides in Colorado with two brother black cats as her spirited companions. She volunteers for a cat shelter, enjoys scrapbooking and card making, photography, and painting in watercolor and acrylic. She inherited a love for reading from her mother and grandmother and grew up talking about books at the dinner table.
Places to find Avery Daniels:
I really liked the excerpt. Sounds like a fun read.
ReplyDeleteJanine,
DeleteThank you for your interest in First Bite. I think you will enjoy it. I look forward to hearing how you like it.
Avery Daniels
Excellent interview and I love the excerpt, First Bite sounds like my kind of book and I am looking forward to reading it! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a beautiful weekend!
ReplyDeleteGreat artwork
ReplyDeleteThe blip worked, now I want to read more. Thank you for another TBR
ReplyDelete