Darkness Becomes Her
By Jaime Rush
Book Six of the Offspring Series
Avon Books, June 2012 (ISBN 978-0062018922)
A man beyond redemption. A woman beyond hope. And a battle that will either kill them…or bring them back from the edge.
Lachlan McLeod has a mission: find the beast who put his brother into a coma. He’ll start with Jessie Bellandre, his brother’s girlfriend, who’s harboring a dark, dangerous secret that could get them all killed. But as they plumb the depths of Darkness, and the light he didn’t know existed in the shadows of his heart, not falling in love with her will be as hard as staying alive.
SURPRISE CHARACTERS
One of the fun things about writing a series is when a character you envision being in the background jumps to the foreground. Or in the case of Cheveyo, jumps into the story unexpectedly. Lachlan McLeod was one of those characters, too. Poor chap’s been through a lot. But I’ll let him explain that in an excerpt from the book:
“My father was fascinated by slime molds, unclassified blobs of biological material. He especially loved when he found powdre ser where a meteor had landed. One day, he tracked what he thought was a meteor, collected the powdre ser, and brought it back to his lab, where he accidentally ingested a bit of it.
“My dad wasn’t only strange because of his affection for slime. He could astral project—send his soul to other places. The slime mold amplified his powers. Eventually, it fell into the wrong hands and was given to a group of people in a top secret government project. The offspring of those people inherited their parents’ enhanced psychic abilities. We all have psychic powers beyond the norm. The man behind the project, he was the one hunting my father. He hunted the Offspring down, too, but now he’s dead.”
“The reason your father kept you in hiding through your growing up years,” Jessie said. “The thing he thought was a meteor, I’m guessing that has something to do with this parallel dimension you mentioned.”
“Aye. One of those dimensions is called Surfacia. Sometimes a being from there slips through a crack between the dimensions. What my father saw wasn’t a meteor; it was an aircraft that crashed here. What he found that day wasn’t powdre ser; it was the pilot’s Essence. His life force. That is in us. And maybe you.”
While Lachlan had to grow up on the run, he made the best of his abilities … until he overused them and accidently caused the death of someone he loved. And now he lives a life of seclusion and self-punishment, a man without hope of redemption.
We writers do love to torture our characters; they have to earn their happy ending, after all. So he gets a chance to redeem himself: he sees a vision of his brother Magnus lying dead on the ground, a woman standing over him. When Lachlan discovers that the woman he saw is Magnus’s love interest, Jessie, he’s intent on saving Magnus from his own lust. Alas, he comes on scene seconds too late to prevent the attack. Jessie, however, is not his attacker, who turns out to be the man with supernatural powers who’s hunting her. Jessie uses her own ability, called Darkness, to save Magnus, putting him in a healing coma.
Foiled again, Lachlan vows to kill the man who can turn to Darkness before he can hurt Magnus or Jessie again. For the first time, he has a chance to regain his honor. Kill the bad guy, save the girl … and not fall in love with her. Because, as the two work together, they are drawn together in a way neither has ever felt.
Yes, the one woman who touches his soul and fires his body is forbidden to him, even though she has never even kissed his brother. Lachlan will have to make a tough choice. Will he risk honor to find love?
All of that from a character I thought would be a second-fiddle to Magnus’s story down the road. And his Scottish accent didn’t hurt!
I’m celebrating the release of DARKNESS BECOMES HER with my Kick Butt First Line contest. Shocking, suspenseful…make us want more! Cash prizes! Contest runs until July 1, 2012. For aspiring authors, it’s a chance to get your name out there and add a “win” to your bio. For readers, it’s a chance to play at being a writer. Even if you’re not inclined to write a line, check out the entries—they’re a lot of fun! For details, go to www.JaimeRush.com and click on the Contest link.
Author Website | GoodReads | Facebook | Twitter | Harper Collins
GIVEAWAY TIME:
What kind of unexpected things have happened in your life that turned out to be a good thing? Or name a character that surprised you in a book you’ve read. Comment to win a copy of DARKNESS BECOMES HER! Please fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter.
Happy release day!!!
I was very suprised how big Sienna’s role from The Darkest Seduction ended up being for the series.
When I got pregnant for the third time was a surprise and giving birth 6 weeks early was a surpise, and almost losing her was excrutiating, but 2 1/2 yrs later she is perfect and full of sass. And I’m grateful for her, even when she’s a terror some days. Cheesey, I know.
The biggest surprise in a character for me was Lothaire in IAD. For so much of the series, he is the ultimate nemesis for the good guys, yet throughtout he does a few, very few, things contrary to his nature. So to have him turn out the way he does in his own book, was pretty amazing. Have to say that he was the guy you had a love/hate relationship with.
Thanks Kelly and thank you Jamie for the insight and I hope to get to read your books this summer.
Have a great day ladies.
brandypm(at)optonline(dot)net
I can’t really remember an unexpected thing in my life…lol….I’m pretty cautious about things and a pretty good planner. I’d say a character that always surprises me is Anita Blake from the Anita Blake series….she really goes through the wringer in those books and the problems she has with men…lol Thanks for the giveaway!
Happy Release Day!!!
I know getting pregnant for the third time — i never had the girl i was hoping for — but my three handsome sons are the best thing in my life.
audie(at)wickerness(dot)com
Happy release day! I’m super excited to start this series, as I just got the first 3 books 🙂
I had leukemia when I was 17 (I’m 31 now). It was bad and I wasn’t expected to survive it. Well I did and it brought me so much closer to my mom and it definitely made me grow up a lot faster and appreciate life. My motto is “things can and have been worse, so this going on right now isn’t so bad”
Hi, all, and thanks for the congrats!
My surprise for the day is my car battery is dead! And hubby’s not around so must go try to find a hybrid battery in a small town…fun.
Erin, so glad you’re recovered. You are blessed.
Nikki, glad your early baby is healthy!
My surprise was finding a soulmate 22 years ago who was my best friend ONLY…no romance or attraction. And then finding 2 years later, that there WAS something now there. We have been married over 17 years and I can’t imagine my life without him!
I can’t really remember what an unexpected things have happened in my life. Let see, maybe when i learned to use Facebook for the first time and have a lot friends in online 🙂
Happy release day!!!
I am looking forward to reading your book !!!
Happy New Release!!!!
My boyfriend and I broke up after a two years and a child. After being apart for one year, we started talking again and ended up getting back together. The time apart was well worth it. Things are better than ever now. We have been back together now for 12 years and happily married for 7 with two kids! The break up was unexpected, but it turned out to be a great thing!
Most unexpected thing would be turning 18 and finding out two months later I was pregnant. It was a shock and TOTALLY unexpected but the best thing that could have happened to me.
Great post, Kelly! I’ve seen this author before but haven’t read her books. Thanks!
Happy release day!!
The unexpected thing that happened to me was when I went into surgery pre-op and found out I was pregnant so they couldn’t do the surgery. Then two weeks later found out having twins. I had a beautiful baby girl and boy!
I think all of the brothers in Larissa Ione’s demon series surprised me. They were all so dead set against commitment and all that but when it smacked them in the face, the bowed down. Not easily though lol.
My complete surprise is my husband. When I meet him, I didn’t expect to fall in love with him let alone marry him. We’ve been together since 1999 and married since 2004. 🙂
I would marry him all over again, too.
Book wise I would say Eve and Roarke. The stuff those two have been through and it only makes them stronger.
Marika
maw1725@gmail.com
When I met my husband, we despised one another…amazing how it turned out! Lol!
Happy release day!
When my husband asked me out for the first time. I didn’t expect it to be a date. He was a corporate officer and I was an engineer so when he asked me to lunch I thought it was for work. I was so surprised when he picked me up in his corvette and we lunched w/o talking work at all. We were married 8 months later and are into our 23 year of marriage.
vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com
Love all the surprise stories! These are great. Especially those where the surprise maybe wasn’t good at the outset but turned out to be wonderful.
Happy Release Day! The biggest surprise was the how much I enjoyed the characters in The Night Huntress series from J. Frost. When I first read the books, I think “Vampire hunter, I dislike vampire hunters.” That is sooooo not what the series is about and they are totally worth indulging in so you can get intimate with each character. sdylion(at)gmail(dot)com
Happy Release!!! For me the biggest surprise was going to work for a company I always said I would never work for but then when I had no choice it turned out to be the best thing that could’ve happened for my career and now 6 years later I am still there:)
The most unexpected thing that ever happened to me was falling in love with a foreigner (when I thought I would settle down with somebody from my own “environment”), marrying him and moving to a different country. That was beyond my wildest dreams!
I would also be pleasantly surprised if I won this giveaway! Thank you for the opportunity!
minadecaro(at)hotmail(dot)com
Congratulations on your release. I always though Carlisle was a surprise in Twilight. He is a vampire and a doctor which I think is pretty amazing. Tore923@aol.com
Hi Jamie, congrats on your new release!
I was unexpectedly laid off from my job of many years, and the six months I was out of work were some of the longest and most nerve wracking months of my life. The job I finally got is the best ever, and I’m so glad I’m not in that old, safe, going nowhere, stressful job any more.
Hi
Zsadist, from the BDB series ny JR Ward totally surprised me. He seemed so cold in the previous books, and turned out to be the most tender one.
My son was/is a total surprise from conception to date at 17. He shouldn’t have been able to happen and after his first 2 years has been an absolute dream. He is an old soul and constantly surprises me with his wisdom and maturity. Oh and Jaime ~ I LOVE YOUR BOOKS! Keep up the awesome writing.
These are such great stories! Thanks so much for sharing them. They’ve all made me smile, with the laid off jobs that turned into having the best, moving to a foreign country–wow!, and surprise babies! And of course, fictional surprises are good, too.
Thanks, Glittergirl! So glad you love my books 🙂
Congrats on the book! I was surprised by Zsadist in the BDB series and finding out about his background.
Happy release day!!! I agree with Jennifer about how Sienna’s role in the end of the LOTU series was surprising…but I loved the story!!! Paris *swoon*. I wasn’t surprised by Zsadist though…I knew he was hurting and that the most tortured heroes have the softest hearts…..God I love me some Z!!!!!* triple swoon* lol.
andieleah78@gmail.com
Happy Release Day, Jaime!! Well by now the day has past, but still – YAY! The book looks amazing. Not sure how to answer your question – I can’t think of a book character, but in my life there have probably been a lot of those moments where bad turns to good – my life is just like that! IT goes along with the saying that goes something like- people make plans and God laughs. Something life that! I guess one could be that I was placed in an internship for grad school, but then stopped going to grad school, so the internship wouldn’t count – boo! But then the agency hired me as a paid employee – YAY! I know that’s not a sexy example, but it’s all I could come up with!
MJB
msmjb65 AT gmail DOT com
Happy release day. As for characters who surprise me…that happens a lot. I love it when the character does something I just totally didn’t see coming.
Happy release day! As for characters that surprise me, I have to say that a lot of characters do because I probably perceive them a certain way after reading the back of the book and then after reading the book, perceptions can change because we get to know the character more.
Once i was so lazy to woke up from my bed and then i was late to go to my college. Turned out there was an accident on the tram . I thought i was lucky because if i went to my usual route i will be caught in a traffic accident.:) I believe that is a blessing 😉
My surprize was 19 years ago when I was told I was pregnet. And was told 2 years before that I could not have any more kids. Spent 8 months on bedrest. Great give away.
Muffy
Love to hear all these stories! Wish you luck in this contest and in life!