Smokin' Hot Reads: Release Blitz and Giveaway: Dark Flame (Flame-Born 1) by Kat Silver

Book Title: Dark Flame (Flame-Born 1)

Author: Kat Silver

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Bookfly

Release Date: February 6, 2021

Genre/s: MM paranormal/urban fantasy

Trope/s: Enemies to Lovers

Themes: Finding home and self. Self-discovery. Self-acceptance. Learning to trust.

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 82 000 words/310 pages

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Amazon US | Amazon UK

Hunted by a vampire prince. Caged by his rescuer. Can Michael escape the dark destiny written in his blood, or will his own heart be his undoing?

“I know who you are because you belong to me. You were born to be mine.” ~ Alexei Vasiliev, the vampire prince.

Haunted by the death of his parents, Michael Blakeley wants answers. The twenty-six-year-old martial artist seeks their killer, but he also wants to know why electronics short out at his touch, and why his libido is a raging fire.

When a group of soldiers calling themselves Guardians rescue him from a back alley ambush and claim to have the answers he needs, he agrees to go with them. Especially when they tell him the attackers were vampires. But nothing in this supernatural underworld is as it seems, and when the silver-eyed commander cages him instead, Michael's answers slip further away.

Can Michael find safety from the vampires who claim him? Can he escape the dark destiny he discovers is written into his blood? And will he break the chains of the commander who keeps him captive? The one man he has no desire to leave?

Dark Flame is the first pulse-pounding book in the Flame Born LGBT urban fantasy series. If you like enemies to lovers, shifters, sexy vampire princes, and scorching heat, you'll love this smoldering tale of bloodlust and magic.

Warning: Dark Flame is a gay erotic love story. It contains explicit language and sexual scenes between men, and is meant for adult readers only. There is content some readers may find distressing. See inside for potential triggers.

I kneel and hang my head and wait. I have to. I want to. There’s an elation in my chest, as though I’m about to meet a secret beloved I’m only now remembering. My attention draws upward, compelled to the stunning creature. I couldn’t look away if my life depended on it, but I avoid meeting his dark gaze.

With unearthly grace, the vampire saunters toward me, his eyes riveted to my face. The closer he comes, the more the battle slips into the background. It could be only the two of us here in the steelworks. Weapons fly around him—bolts and swords whistle through the air, heading for his chest, but stop midflight before they can meet their target and clatter to the concrete. He doesn’t spare them a glance.

The nearer he stalks, the harder my heart pounds. My breath comes in shallow puffs. Cold sweat soaks my T-shirt. My nails puncture the soft flesh of my palms. I feel defenseless.

The prince stands in front of me, close enough to touch, a towering demigod, his immense wings creating a shadowed cavern.

I force my eyes down, fixing them on a patch of crimson blood painted across the concrete. I resist a baffling urge to lean and rest my head against his hip.

Strong, elegant fingers cup my chin to lift my face. I tense, my stomach twisting with panic. I’m certain that once I meet those black eyes, it’s over. His fingers burn hot against my chin. The touch tingles my skin like champagne. I melt into his hand and look up, finding two pools of darkest night. My resistance vanishes.

Master. The word hangs in my mind.

I will never let it leave my lips.

I think I left my jaw somewhere on the floor as I read this book. The story almost compelled me to keep reading and never put it down. I had to keep turning the pages. OMG! I don't even know where to begin. First, this story is amazing and I absolutely loved it. Second, you have a fantastic cast of characters that not only drive the story, but enhance it. And the plot, wow. Well-written, Kat Silver has strung words together beautifully and I can't wait to see what she will do next. 5 stars!

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Interview With The Author

Q: Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know.

I’m a full-time night nurse in in a small nursing home run by Augustinian nuns.

Q: What’s your favorite scene in your latest book and what makes it a fave?

The introduction of the antagonist. Alexei, the vampire prince.

Please share an excerpt from the scene.

Excerpt

The nearer he stalks, the harder my heart pounds. My breath comes in shallow puffs. Cold sweat soaks my T-shirt. My nails puncture the soft flesh of my palms. I feel defenseless.

The prince stands in front of me, close enough to touch, a towering demigod, his immense wings creating a shadowed cavern.

I force my eyes down, fixing them on a patch of crimson blood painted across the concrete. I resist a baffling urge to lean and rest my head against his hip.

Master. The word hangs in my mind.

It will never leave my lips.

Q: If you could spend some real-life time with one of the characters in the book, who would you choose and why?

Commander Gabriel Flanagan, the love interest. He’s 359 years old, and has traveled all over the world, lived with both vampires and shifters, lived with Fae. I think his conversation would be very interesting.

Q: On the flipside, which character would you probably least get along with? Why?

Some of the Guardian soldiers who protect humans and supernaturals are pretty narrow-minded. I think that would soon grate on my nerves.

Q: Let’s take off your author cap and put on your reader cap for a moment: what do you look for in a book, what sort of protagonists do you love, and do you have a favorite genre?

My favourite genre is MM romance. My favourite tropes are enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, and I enjoy a touch of kink with my love stories. My favourite sub-genre would be fantasy, including paranormal.

Q: What books and authors would you say influenced you to become a writer?

Anne Rice, Raymond E Feist, Enid Blyton

Q: What are your least and most favorite things about being an author?

Sharing the love and excitement for story. It’s what live for.

Q: What’s the best piece of writing/author advice you’ve ever received that you’d pass on to someone just getting started in the business?

Write as if nobody’s watching, because nobody’s watching. (Dan Brown)

My advice: Let the story out first. This may mean your first draft is rough. Let it be rough. Details can be perfected later.

Q: Have you ever written a line, paragraph, or passage, and thought, “Darn, that’s pretty amazing, even if I do say so myself”? What was it?

Hahaha. Yeah.

Q: What’s the one genre/sub-genre you haven’t written yet, but would love to? What’s kept you from it so far?

YA fantasy. Or an epic classic fantasy. Both would be LGBTQ of course.

Q: Let’s talk tropes: do you have a few favorites that you enjoy both writing and reading? If so, what are they and what makes them your favorites?

Enemies two lovers and friends to lovers, also fake boyfriend, are my favourite romance tropes.

My favourite fantasy tropes are anything paranormal, especially vampires, and urban fantasy.

Q: If you could choose one of your books to be adapted for the silver screen, which would you choose? Why do you think it would translate well to film?

I have no interest in televising my books. I’m a book lover, through and through.

Q: What’s the one book you’ve read in your lifetime that you wish you’d written? Why did this particular book leave such a lasting impact on you?

Magician by Raymond E Feist. It’s just the perfect fantasy story. It had everything I wanted from a fantasy story when I was a teenager. I would have added a romance, of course. The male protagonist would have met his beau.

Q: If I were to interview your main characters, what would they say about you?

Aah, the cruel mistress.

Fun Questions

Q: Let’s pretend you’re taking a road trip, and you can choose any three of your characters to go with you. Who would you want on the ride-along, and why them?

I’d take Laasya. She’s a talented witch and used to being around soldiers, so I imagine she’d be handy to have around and easy to be with.

Flanagan, because he has hundreds of years of experience and lots of stories to tell. (If we can get him talking)

And Michael (the protagonist) because he’s a sweetie, and a mixed martial artist so would protect us from any unscrupulous strangers.

Q: If you were stranded on a desert island, what are three things you’d absolutely have to have?

Books, um…books, and also some books.

Q: If you had to choose between becoming a superhero or supervillain, which would you choose and why? What would your superpower be?

Superhero. With a supervillain boyfriend.

Q: If you could travel back in time, with all your years of experience and wisdom intact, what advice would you give to your teenage self?

Write those stories in your head.

Q: If you were to sit down and write your autobiography today, what would the title be?

Thank You.

Q: Star Trek or Star Wars - both or neither? Explain.

Star Trek. No competition.

Q: It’s the zombie apocalypse. It’s up to you and 5 other uninfected humans to save what’s left of humanity. Which fictional characters would you want on your team, and why?

The Marvel superheroes. I’m sure they would get things sorted once they stopped arguing.

I’m a simple northern English lass with an addiction to writing, as well as all things romance. Also addicted to cats, cat videos, and anything with, you know, cats in it. And there's chocolate, and tea, coffee too, and rainy Sundays. Okay, I have many addictions. But my first love has always been story in all its forms, from movies to books to anecdotes told over a beer at the local pub. If we're sharing a story, I'm all ears. And if it's fantasy with sexy heroes and vampires and lots of angsty luuurve, I'm probably drooling. Come in, pour yourself a tea, and kick your shoes off. Let me tell you a story.