Dark Fantasy

Aug
11

My post at the Harlequin Paranormal Romance Blog

About SON OF THE SHADOWS and SON OF THE SEA:

I met a couple of hundred thousand of my closest friends during the San Diego Comic-Con, and a lot of them love paranormal romance! So I was able to talk in depth with fellow romance fans about my world of the Gifted—long-lived magic users who exist under the radar of us normal, Ungifted folk.

In my Nocturne novel, Son of the Shadows, three ancient magical families go to war with each other—the House of the Flames, the House of the Blood, and the House of the Shadows. The soul of the hero, sexy French-Canadian Jean-Marc de Devereaux, is mangled by Lilliane, the mad twin sister of his beloved Isabelle de Marco, known as Izzy.

All three Houses are descended from French noble families that rose to power during the Hundred Years’ War, when Joan of Arc fought against the Dauphin’s enemies, lost, and was burned at the stake for heresy. St. Joan has always favored Izzy’s House of the Flames, until one terrible day, Izzy must use dark magicks to save the lives of those she loves. In response, Joan abandons her.

Jean-Marc, Lilliane, and Isabelle are the Guardians of their Houses—fierce protectors and the first line of defense against rival Gifted factions and Supernaturals alike. Vampires and werewolves hunt in the dark shadows, and it is up to those who have sworn to protect the innocent to hold them in check.

After his torture at Lilliane’s hands, Jean-Marc’s soul is filled with dark impulses he can barely control. Izzy has been stripped of all her magical powers as well as her memory. Yet the two must travel to Haiti to stop Lilliane from unleashing unspeakable evil on the world. Their sexual tension and Izzy’s fear of Jean-Marc torment them both as they face death, and worse…and are changed forever by love.

While talking to Nocturne fans about the Gifted, I relived my trips to France and Montreal, two of the important homes of the Gifted. I’ve walked the streets of Carcassonne, the ancient French medieval walled city, and slept in a fourteenth century farmhouse near Cahors. I’ve lit candles to St. Joan at Notre Dame, and found her in a tiny village chapel, where one of the devout had laid fresh roses at her feet. I’ve ridden in a horse-drawn carriage through Old Montreal, and dined in an ancient wine cellar while the rain pounded the slate roof. France and Quebec are two magical places, surely.

Check out the first two books in the Gifted series, Daughter of the Flames and Daughter of the Blood, now available as eBooks at eHarlequin.com. Or download the entire series — including my Nocturne Bite, Son of the Sea — in The Gifted Bundle.

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Jul
28

The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance

I am so proud to announce that The Mammoth book of Vampire Romance is available from Running Press. I have a short story about the Gifted in the book. It is titled “Vampire Unchained.”

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Nov
12

“Daughter of the Blood” is HERE!

DaughteroftheBlood.jpgI’m very excited to announce that my new dark fantasy, DAUGHTER OF THE BLOOD, has been hailed as a December Top Pick (4 1/2 stars out of 4) by Romantic Times.

Romantic Times says:

“Full of magic and supernatural beings, Izzy DeMarco’s life is far from what it used to be when she worked in the evidence department of the New York City Police Department. Now she’s in New Orleans to become Guardian of a supernatural family and deal with various beings out to kill her. Izzy gets help from Jean-Marc Devereaux, soon-to-be guardian of his own family. Daughter of the Blood (4 1/2) by Nancy Holder is a wild tale about magic families with a heritage dating back to Joan of Arc. Holder wonderfully maintains the tension from the first story in the series, and the book ends with a shocker.”

–Alexandra Kay

DAUGHTER OF THE BLOOD has been nominated for “Best Bombshell” by Romantic Times Magazine!

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Oct
27

Daughter of The Flames

DofFlames.jpgWhen a mysterious stranger helped her discover her family’s legacy of fighting evil, things began to make sense in Isabella DeMarco’s life. But could she marshal her newfound supernatural powers to fend off the formidable vampire hell-bent on bringing Izzy down in flames?

DAUGHTER OF THE FLAMES is the story of Isabella (“Izzy”) DeMarco, a 26-year-old New Yorker who discovers that she is the long-lost heiress of a legacy of magic handed down to the women in her family by Joan of Arc. Not only that, but her family, the House of the Flames, is only one of the many Gifted clans, families, and tribes who operate under the radar of our (Ungifted) world. The Gifted world is in turmoil–and Izzy’s family is under attack. It falls to Izzy to save the House of the Flames, when all she wants to do is go to the NYPD Academy and work on her relationship with NYPD Detective Pat Kittrell. But Le Fils, the King Vampire of New Orleans, and sexy Jean-Marc de Devereaux, Izzy’s mentor, have other plans for her.

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DAUGHTER OF THE FLAMES made #8 on the Waldenbooks Bestseller list!

Gina Showalter loves DAUGHTER OF THE FLAMES. Read her blog (and read her books!).

Harriet Klausner of amazon.com says DAUGHTER OF THE FLAMES is “an incredible romantic fantasy…a must read superb thriller.”

COME ON OVER to the Bombshelter for more information.

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