Crimson Dreams by Margaret L. Carter is a Paranormal/Paranormal Romance Event pick #pnr #paranormalromance #vampireromance #giveaway
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    • Apr 10
    • 5 min read

Crimson Dreams by Margaret L. Carter is a Paranormal/Paranormal Romance Event pick #pnr #paranormalromance #vampireromance #giveaway



Title: Crimson Dreams

 

Author: Margaret L. Carter

 

Genre: Paranormal Romance (vampire)

 

Book Blurb:

 

The summer when Heather was eighteen, her dream beast’s nightly visits warded off loneliness and swept her away in flights of ecstasy. Now, returning to the mountains to sell her dead parents’ vacation cabin, she finds her “beast” again. But he turns out to be more than a dream. She meets Devin in the flesh, apparently not a day older. His first human lover, centuries in the past, died horribly because of her devotion to him. Does he dare expose another mortal woman to that risk?

 

Excerpt:

 

"Go away!"

 

The voice certainly sounded human. She glimpsed dragging movement, as if he unsuccessfully tried to stand.

 

"No, you are hurt. I'd better get some help."

 

"No!" The snarl in his voice paralyzed her. "It's only my leg, thanks to your quick action. The doe is right over there." She heard him drag in a rasping breath before he continued. "Its neck is broken. Bring it to me."

 

"What--"

 

"Do it!"

 

His voice compelled her. She didn't stop to question again until she leaned over the still-warm body a few yards away. What does he want with the deer? And why am I doing this? she wondered as she grasped the animal's forelegs and dragged it closer to the injured man.

 

As soon as she came within the man's reach, he grabbed the animal and shoved her away. "Stay back--not safe--" He rolled over and buried his face in the doe's belly.

 

What's he doing? Is he some kind of maniac? In spite of his warning, she tiptoed nearer and knelt down, trying to see what he was doing. After several minutes, he raised his head. She saw a dark stain around his mouth.

 

"I told you to stay back."

 

Heather scrambled to her feet, ready to flee. Too late--she didn't see the man move, yet he was at her side, his fingers around her wrist. With his other hand he wiped the--blood?--from his mouth.

 

"I mean you no harm. I owe you thanks for your help. Without it, I might have lain there for hours, in pain or unconscious." He stood firmly, as if he weren't injured at all.

 

What's going on? I thought he had a broken leg. But her fear ebbed away and she said, "Oh--no problem. I'd better get home now."

 

"You'll forget all this. You imagined what you saw a moment ago." His rich baritone vibrated beneath her diaphragm.

 

Now she saw his face as fully human, saw a pale young man with thick, dark hair and bushy eyebrows. Like Ted, he was much taller than she, but he carried himself proudly, without the slouch that characterized Ted's posture. The man's eyes held hers captive, while his thumb stroked the pulse point on her wrist, sending shivers up her arm.

 

How did I ever think Ted was sexy? She swayed toward him, yearning for the caress to go on and on. "What do you mean, imagined?"

 

"You were confused. Go home and forget."

 

"I'm not crazy! I know what I saw!"

 

The man's free hand brushed her temple, the curve of her jaw, the hollow of her throat. His fingers felt refreshingly cool in the humid air. "What you saw wasn't real. You don't want it to be real, child. Why complicate your life?"

 

She fought against the whirlpool sucking her thoughts into oblivion. It's real, and I don't want to forget!

 

The sound of a car's engine shattered her trance. She jerked her hand free, eliciting a snarl from the man.

 

Yelling for help, Heather scurried up the embankment. A station wagon stopped for her frantic waving. Its occupants, an elderly couple, vacationers like her own family, didn't question her half-true story about a tiff with her boyfriend.

 

To her relief, she managed to slip into the cabin without her parents' realizing that strangers, not Ted, had dropped her off. She mumbled a quick goodnight and headed straight for the shower.

 

That night, she received the first "visit." She dreamed of waking up in her bedroom in the cabin, to find the creature from the woods standing over her. He looked like an ordinary man now, except that his eyes glinted red again. She realized at once that this encounter wasn't real, because he wore a ruffled shirt with lace collar and cuffs, topped by a swirling black cape with crimson lining. Anyway, a live, solid man couldn't have gained access to her room. She wasn't a heavy sleeper, so if he'd broken in through the front door or climbed in a window, the noise would have awakened her before he'd reached her bedside. Not to mention waking Mom or Dad. Therefore, he was a dream.

 

He seated himself on the edge of the mattress. She felt it sag. Wow, what a realistic dream!

 

"You are a very stubborn child," he said. His voice made the air vibrate around her.

 

"You're not really here," she murmured. Assured of that fact, she wasn't afraid. He was actually attractive, in a wild sort of way. Like Heathcliff. Heather and her best friend had tried to read Wuthering Heights that spring; the other girl had quickly given up, but Heather loved the book.

 

"I'm glad you're taking that sensible attitude now. I enjoy my life here and don't want to leave. Nor do I want to use excessive force. That always complicates matters." His cool fingers trailed over her face and neck. Delightful shivers coursed through her. "What you thought you saw this evening was your imagination. Don't tell anyone."

 

"I didn't plan to," she said.

 

"Good. Then you can forget it. It wasn't real."

 

Here we go again. Her head seemed to be floating. "I don't care if it was real or not, I still don't want to forget." His hand stroked her hair, making her feel like purring. "Only exciting thing that's ever happened to me. I want to remember. Won't tell anybody."

 

He gave an exaggerated sigh. "I've never encountered anyone quite so difficult. Well, as long as you understand that this is only a dream, how much of it you remember doesn't matter." He leaned over to kiss her forehead, her cheek, her neck, then still lower.

 

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What makes your featured book a must-read?

 

A “good guy” vampire who’s also a folk singer and a fantasy role-playing game enthusiast, in a beautiful mountain setting.

 

Giveaway –

 

Enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card:

 

 

Open Internationally.


Runs April 9 – April 17, 2024.


Winner will be drawn on April 18, 2024.

 

Author Biography:

 

Reading Dracula at the age of twelve ignited Margaret L. Carter’s interest in a wide range of speculative fiction and inspired her to become a writer. Vampires, however, have always remained close to her heart. Her first published book was an anthology of vampire stories she edited, Curse of the Undead. Her work on vampirism in literature includes Dracula: The Vampire and the Critics, The Vampire in Literature: A Critical Bibliography, and Different Blood: The Vampire as Alien. She holds a PhD in English, and her dissertation contained a chapter on Dracula. In fiction, she has written horror, fantasy, and paranormal romance on vampires, werewolves, Lovecraftian entities, and other “monsters.” Her stories have appeared in various webzines and anthologies, including several of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover and Sword and Sorceress volumes. Her vampire novels include Dark Changeling and its sequel, Child of Twilight, now available in an omnibus edition, Twilight’s Changelings, as well as several vampire romances. With her husband, Leslie Roy Carter, a retired naval officer, she co-authored a fantasy series beginning with Wild Sorceress. Her recent novellas include a Christmas paranormal romance, Chocolate Chip Charm, and a spring-themed contemporary fantasy, Bunny Hunt. Her most recent novel, Against the Dark Devourer, is a dark paranormal romance with Lovecraftian elements. She and Les, who live in Maryland, have four children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

 

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