Black Swan by Linda Nightingale

The Author:
Born in South Carolina, Linda Nightingale has lived in many places, including Canada, England, Miami, Atlanta and now Houston. She has seen much of this country through the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer when she bred and showed Andalusian horses. She won the Georgia Romance Writers Magnolia award and was a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. She loves piano, horses, reading, writing and…no, not arithmetic! She has completed four novel manuscripts, two about vampires and two about fallen angels. Visit her at http://www.lindanightingale.com/. There is a continuing vampire story on her web site.

The Book:
Black Swan was released on February 25 from The Wild Rose Press (http://www.thewildrosepress.com/)

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Paranormal; Fantasy
Length: Short (43 pages)
Heat: Spicy

Black Swans, mortals who submit to the vampire's kiss to experience euphoria and sexual ecstasies. At birth, Black Swan had a twin story. But the Black Swan and Swan Song became one spicy vampire story.

The First Review:
Long And Short Romance Reviews
Rating: 4 books
Reviewed by Tiger Lily

Suffering from a broken marriage, Carol Langston meets Tristan McLaghlan at a Black Swan party. Black Swans are mortals who willingly barter blood for the sensual ecstasy and euphoria vampires give in return. To Carol, this looks like the real thing until her handsome vampire runs away from her and his true nature. Separated by miles, divided across two species, can their love survive?One tall, dark, and handsome vampire is seeking his perfect mate – if she’ll have him again. Tristan McLachlan needs to satisfy his bloodlust and Carol Langston is the only woman who’ll do. Now he needs to find the way back into her heart.

Ms. Nightingale writes an interesting plot. Her vampires have consciences and remorse. The twists are logical and believable because the reader can identify with the trials of the characters. The hero Tristan captivated this reader... The story is an enjoyable read. The love scene on the hood of the BMW is very hot because of the chance they may get caught. If you like brooding vampires and damsels in distress, then "Black Swan" is the read for you and your friends.

Excerpt:
The fact that the man she loved was in bed with another woman ceased to be important when she saw the blood.

Her heart, which had been running on empty until she met Tristan, stuttered and stalled. Horror freeze-framed time—the shutter snaps of images flooding her brain almost audible. She couldn’t breathe or move, knew she hadn’t made a sound, but Tristan's head snapped up. Wild red eyes honed in on her. Blood smeared his mouth, drizzled from two wounds on his partner's throat. The woman he'd been screwing was deathly pale and deadly still.

She hadn't blinked but Tristan was on his feet. Her heart tripped over a beat. No one could move that fast. He shook back his mane of black hair and, holding her prisoner in his gaze, glided toward her. The last rays of the dying sun bronzed his body.

"I never meant for this to happen again." His lyrical Irish accent grew more pronounced. "I’m sorry you saw what you saw. I promise I wasn't cheating on you." He rubbed his forehead as if he could erase a memory then embraced her tight again. "But unfortunately I can't tell you what was really happening.”

She gasped. Tristan had literally vanished from her arms, reappeared by the window. In profile, he looked like an angry ancient god. From the apartment next door, Ravel's sensual Bolero and the sounds of lovemaking wove through the utter stillness.

"Love ... is rare in my life. I didn’t wish lose it again." His voice was part of the throbbing melody. "But I am what I am."

His last four words penetrated her misery. For a couple of stuttering heartbeats, she stared at him in shock. Fear invaded her fantasy world.

A hard shudder rolled over her. “What are you, Tristan?"

He whirled, his eyes glowing in the dark. "You don't want to know what I am." A muscle in his sculpted jaw twitched. "But perhaps you should."

Fangs dented the bottom lip of the most beautiful, evil smile she’d ever seen.

Contest:
Answer the following question from the story to win a Black Swan coffee mug.

What instrument does Tristan play?

The winner must leave an email addy so that I can contact her/him for a snail mail address.