Book Spotlight: Isadora by Ella Frank
Isadora
(Masters Among Monsters #2)
by Ella Frank
Release Date: January 12, 2016
Erotic Paranormal
About Isadora
A TRAGIC BEGINNING
Isadora Nikitas understands what it means to be betrayed. That lesson was taught to her in the prime of her life, and when she is offered a chance to exact revenge, she finds it difficult to refuse.
Instead, she entrusts her survival to a mysterious vampire known only as Diomêdês, a male who wants nothing in return but to watch over her—in every way imaginable.
Gifted with speed, strength, and immortality, she determines that her life will no longer be governed by the needs and wants of a mere man. She has cowered for the last time, and with her Ancient by her side, she thrives and blossoms into the most formidable female vampire in existence.
But, once upon a time, like all little girls, Isadora believed in love. She believed it because she once had it. So, when it comes along a second time, she knows that it’s possible—but when you love someone, they become your weakness. Unless, in fact, they become your enemy instead…
A MYSTERIOUS PAST
Fulfilling your life’s prophecy should be empowering. At least, that’s what Elias Fontana always believed. But, as he stands guard over the beautiful vampire he’s taken hostage, his convictions start to crumble. Made to believe by his creators that he and two others have been designed to destroy a dangerous race, he has difficulty connecting his current reality to the woman he once loved.
A TANGLED TALE TO UNRAVEL
When friends become enemies and enemies become lovers, who can you trust in the webs of lies and despair? And, when your life is at stake and blood has been shed, how much are you willing to sacrifice to fulfill your destiny?
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Excerpt from Isadora
January—11 years earlier…
ISADORA HURRIED DOWN the stark, white corridor and kept her eyes on the floor. She couldn’t believe how close she’d cut her latest feed. Alasdair would have her hide if he had to bail her out, but it wasn’t her fault. Not really.
Not one human had caught her eye in the latest batch of yieldings, and that was saying something considering she wasn’t partial to male or female like her cousins. Ugh, it was a slump. Thanos had warned her that it would eventually happen. She hadn’t believed him, though, and with Diomêdês out of town, her options were limited.
She’d been restless lately, which was unlike her, and tonight, she hadn’t been able to wait. The local hospital seemed a smart place to peruse a decent selection. That was until the damn patient had coded.
Just my luck, she thought, and when the first doctor had arrived, she’d promptly knocked him out, stolen his lab coat, and shoved him in the bathroom. Then a rush of hospital staff had shown up and she’d had no choice but to leave by foot. That had been…oh, about five minutes ago.
While shoving her hands in the deep pockets, she came up to the entry she’d walked through earlier and sighed. All she had to do was get out into the shadows and fade back to the lair without anyone seeing. Alasdair would be none the wiser.
As she turned the final corner, a smug grin crossed her lips—until she ran smack into the equivalent of a brick wall.
“Oh, shit. I mean—” The male standing opposite her placed a hand on her arm. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you until it was too late to stop the collision.” He chuckled, and the warm sound of the vibration had Isadora raising her eyes.
As he absently ran his palm down the sleeve of her coat, she barely felt the touch. He was unlike any she’d ever seen.
The first thing she noticed was his height. Being a tall female herself, she’d always been drawn to a man who surpassed her own stature, and this man had several inches on her. His hair, dark as her own, was swept back from his face as though he’d run his hands through it. It was the odd color of his eyes, though, that held her immobile. They were an unusual shade of…silver that reminded her of her Ancient’s hair, and right now, they seemed to be shining at her.
“Are you okay?” he asked, bending a little at the knees to get a better look at her.
She quickly lowered her head. Jesus. Talk, Isadora. Tell him you’re fine and get away from him. “I think I’ll survive.” No, no. Do not flirt with him.
“Well, thank god for that.”
Brilliant, she admonished herself. His tone had taken on a quality she knew all too well—interest. But she didn’t have time for this. She made a move to step around him, but the fingers she hadn’t even realized were still on her wrist tightened.
“Wait…”
She looked down to where he held her, and as if he’d just noticed, he released his grip.
“Yes?”
He gave a shrug, but the cocky smile that tipped his lips belied any kind of indifference. This man was confident, and he had every reason to be.
“You can’t just leave. What if I injured you?”
A burst of laughter bubbled out of her at the notion, and it was the first time in years she had done so.
“I’m serious,” he said as he took a step closer.
She brought her fingers to her lips to hide the grin she was flashing. “Yes, I can see that.”
“I mean, what if you leave and later suffer from a concussion? I’m a pretty solid guy, and you did run into me rather hard.”
As he said the word hard, their eyes locked and Isadora’s arm lowered, her lips parting. She needed to get out of there. The high from the feed and her lack of yieldings these past few weeks must’ve been causing a residual sexual pull, because all she wanted was to get naked and on her knees for this guy.
As a group of hospital staff ran by, he broke their connection and gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. “Do you need to go?”
Yes, but not because of that. “I should.”
“Are you a doctor here?”
“Ahh no. An intern.” Great, now I’m lying. And why that lie?
“Oh, so, if I come back, I might bump into you again?”
That was why right there. “Uh, maybe.”
When it was clear she wasn’t going to say anything else, he held his hand out for her to shake. It was such a human gesture and odd in light of their having already connected so spectacularly that she just stared at it.
“Then let me introduce myself so it won’t be strange when I show up again tomorrow. I’m Elias, and you are?”
As Isadora slid her palm into his, she allowed herself to take another good look at him. He was sexy, and the way he was watching her with intense focus made it more than obvious he found her just as appealing. Surely there’d be no harm if she took a little peek inside.
She gently pushed into his mind, and what she saw was anything but endearing or shy. He was imagining her as stripped down as she had just been picturing. However, he had her on her feet and against a wall—the hospital wall behind her, to be exact.
Loving that image, she was more than content to keep watching, but as if he knew she was in there, his mind went blank. She blinked, not believing what she was seeing, but sure enough, it was as if he’d flicked a switch and the television had been shut off.
“You’re not going to tell me your name?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts and flashing a wide grin.
She wasn’t sure why, but instead of compelling him to forget her, she slicked her tongue along her lower lip and watched him track it with those unusual eyes.
“I’ll tell you that the next time we bump into each other.”
“Which will be?”
Diomêdês would be gone for several more days, so perhaps she could amuse herself with this human until he returned. Then maybe…maybe she would present him as her next choice if things went well.
“I work tomorrow night.”
It should’ve alarmed her at how easily lies fell from her tongue, but she’d honed the perfect delivery of such tales over many centuries and found she really was quite skilled at it. Thanos, her cousin, was terrible.
“That’s good to know. I’ll be sure to stand in every corridor until you run into me.”
Isadora walked backwards, once again slipping her hands into the coat pockets, and winked. “I should pass by this one around midnight.”
As she turned to push through the exit, he called out, “I’ll be waiting…”
Ella Frank is the author of the number one bestselling Temptation series, including Try, Take, and Trust, and is the co-author of the fan-favorite erotic serial, A Desperate Man. Her Exquisite series has been praised as “scorching hot!” and “enticingly sexy!”
1. Why did you decide to write romance novels?
ISADORA HURRIED DOWN the stark, white corridor and kept her eyes on the floor. She couldn’t believe how close she’d cut her latest feed. Alasdair would have her hide if he had to bail her out, but it wasn’t her fault. Not really.
Not one human had caught her eye in the latest batch of yieldings, and that was saying something considering she wasn’t partial to male or female like her cousins. Ugh, it was a slump. Thanos had warned her that it would eventually happen. She hadn’t believed him, though, and with Diomêdês out of town, her options were limited.
She’d been restless lately, which was unlike her, and tonight, she hadn’t been able to wait. The local hospital seemed a smart place to peruse a decent selection. That was until the damn patient had coded.
Just my luck, she thought, and when the first doctor had arrived, she’d promptly knocked him out, stolen his lab coat, and shoved him in the bathroom. Then a rush of hospital staff had shown up and she’d had no choice but to leave by foot. That had been…oh, about five minutes ago.
While shoving her hands in the deep pockets, she came up to the entry she’d walked through earlier and sighed. All she had to do was get out into the shadows and fade back to the lair without anyone seeing. Alasdair would be none the wiser.
As she turned the final corner, a smug grin crossed her lips—until she ran smack into the equivalent of a brick wall.
“Oh, shit. I mean—” The male standing opposite her placed a hand on her arm. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you until it was too late to stop the collision.” He chuckled, and the warm sound of the vibration had Isadora raising her eyes.
As he absently ran his palm down the sleeve of her coat, she barely felt the touch. He was unlike any she’d ever seen.
The first thing she noticed was his height. Being a tall female herself, she’d always been drawn to a man who surpassed her own stature, and this man had several inches on her. His hair, dark as her own, was swept back from his face as though he’d run his hands through it. It was the odd color of his eyes, though, that held her immobile. They were an unusual shade of…silver that reminded her of her Ancient’s hair, and right now, they seemed to be shining at her.
“Are you okay?” he asked, bending a little at the knees to get a better look at her.
She quickly lowered her head. Jesus. Talk, Isadora. Tell him you’re fine and get away from him. “I think I’ll survive.” No, no. Do not flirt with him.
“Well, thank god for that.”
Brilliant, she admonished herself. His tone had taken on a quality she knew all too well—interest. But she didn’t have time for this. She made a move to step around him, but the fingers she hadn’t even realized were still on her wrist tightened.
“Wait…”
She looked down to where he held her, and as if he’d just noticed, he released his grip.
“Yes?”
He gave a shrug, but the cocky smile that tipped his lips belied any kind of indifference. This man was confident, and he had every reason to be.
“You can’t just leave. What if I injured you?”
A burst of laughter bubbled out of her at the notion, and it was the first time in years she had done so.
“I’m serious,” he said as he took a step closer.
She brought her fingers to her lips to hide the grin she was flashing. “Yes, I can see that.”
“I mean, what if you leave and later suffer from a concussion? I’m a pretty solid guy, and you did run into me rather hard.”
As he said the word hard, their eyes locked and Isadora’s arm lowered, her lips parting. She needed to get out of there. The high from the feed and her lack of yieldings these past few weeks must’ve been causing a residual sexual pull, because all she wanted was to get naked and on her knees for this guy.
As a group of hospital staff ran by, he broke their connection and gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. “Do you need to go?”
Yes, but not because of that. “I should.”
“Are you a doctor here?”
“Ahh no. An intern.” Great, now I’m lying. And why that lie?
“Oh, so, if I come back, I might bump into you again?”
That was why right there. “Uh, maybe.”
When it was clear she wasn’t going to say anything else, he held his hand out for her to shake. It was such a human gesture and odd in light of their having already connected so spectacularly that she just stared at it.
“Then let me introduce myself so it won’t be strange when I show up again tomorrow. I’m Elias, and you are?”
As Isadora slid her palm into his, she allowed herself to take another good look at him. He was sexy, and the way he was watching her with intense focus made it more than obvious he found her just as appealing. Surely there’d be no harm if she took a little peek inside.
She gently pushed into his mind, and what she saw was anything but endearing or shy. He was imagining her as stripped down as she had just been picturing. However, he had her on her feet and against a wall—the hospital wall behind her, to be exact.
Loving that image, she was more than content to keep watching, but as if he knew she was in there, his mind went blank. She blinked, not believing what she was seeing, but sure enough, it was as if he’d flicked a switch and the television had been shut off.
“You’re not going to tell me your name?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts and flashing a wide grin.
She wasn’t sure why, but instead of compelling him to forget her, she slicked her tongue along her lower lip and watched him track it with those unusual eyes.
“I’ll tell you that the next time we bump into each other.”
“Which will be?”
Diomêdês would be gone for several more days, so perhaps she could amuse herself with this human until he returned. Then maybe…maybe she would present him as her next choice if things went well.
“I work tomorrow night.”
It should’ve alarmed her at how easily lies fell from her tongue, but she’d honed the perfect delivery of such tales over many centuries and found she really was quite skilled at it. Thanos, her cousin, was terrible.
“That’s good to know. I’ll be sure to stand in every corridor until you run into me.”
Isadora walked backwards, once again slipping her hands into the coat pockets, and winked. “I should pass by this one around midnight.”
As she turned to push through the exit, he called out, “I’ll be waiting…”
Copyright © 2016 by Ella Frank
About the Monsters Among Masters series
About Alasdair (book one) - Published: October 13, 2015
A DANGEROUS ALLURE
Bestowed with eternal life by the Ancient Vasilios, Alasdair Kyriakous is one of the most feared and ruthless vampires in existence. His name carries weight across all of the seven continents.
But he is a mystery to his kind, an anomaly among the self-indulgent. While he enjoys the pleasures of the flesh, he is exceptionally particular in his choice of partners and prides himself on his ironclad self-control.
Yet with one look his control will become a thing of the past, and Alasdair will discover that eternal life doesn’t always last forever…
A DEADLY ATTRACTION
Thrust into a world he could never have imagined, Leo Chapel awakens in his worst nightmare. Taken hostage by the dangerously mesmerizing vampire, Alasdair, Leo must rely on his intelligence to escape before he reveals a secret he isn’t even aware he’s hiding.
A FORBIDDEN DESIRE
Unaware that they’ve been brought together by an outside force and are little more than pawns to a higher power, Alasdair and Leo spend time trying to uncover the other’s secrets, the attraction between them growing stronger all the while.
But enemies are watching and preparing to act against them. When decisions that will alter lives and destinies have to be made—can a dead, grey heart learn to beat again?
Read my five-plus-starred review of Alasdair.
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About Ella Frank
Ella Frank is the author of the number one bestselling Temptation series, including Try, Take, and Trust, and is the co-author of the fan-favorite erotic serial, A Desperate Man. Her Exquisite series has been praised as “scorching hot!” and “enticingly sexy!”
A life-long fan of the romance genre, Ella writes contemporary, M/M romance, and erotic fiction and lives with her husband in Portland, Oregon.
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A Q&A with Ella Frank
1. Why did you decide to write romance novels?
Because I love reading them! I fell in love with love around the age of fourteen/fifteen when my Nan gave me my first Sandra Brown novel, and after that I was done. From there I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to fall in love in real life, and I wanted to write and read about it in books!
2. Do your leading men come from any place in particular? Dreams? Movie stars? Your partner? Past partners?
I always think every character you create has a little piece of someone you know, and maybe a piece of yourself. But really, my men are all from my overactive brain!
3. What do you do in your down time?
Read! Or binge watch Netflix. I love TV shows but hate commercials. So Netflix and Hulu are possibly the best things that have happened in modern times IMO.
4. When you walk into a bookstore, where do you head first?
The erotic section. Hands down. I make a beeline in that direction and my husband heads to the DVDs. I used to take great joy in taking the risqué titles to the cashier’s and smiling sweetly at them. But now I buy them on my kindle…ahh, some of the thrill is gone because of that!
5. Who, if anyone, has influenced your writing?
Well, that would be the author’s I grew up devouring. That list includes Sandra Brown, Nora Roberts, Janelle Denison, Lori Foster, Carly Phillips. There are so many wonderful writers in the genre. I also grew up reading James Patterson, who I love.
6. What research did you have to perform to back up your story? Any research, which really opened your eyes or gave you new respect for a topic or profession?
With this recent series (Masters Among Monsters) I’ve been able to go back to my first love of Ancient History and do some digging and research on several topics. Some were not so pleasant like torture, and others much more so, such as clothing, locations, and myths.
In other stories, such as Blind Obsession I got to research all about Paris and violins and classical music and it really gives a whole other level of appreciation.
7. What is your method for writing a book? A certain amount of hours every day? A certain routine? Are you character/story builder or an outliner or some other method?
Up until recently, I would’ve said I was a total pantser (as in writing by the seat of my pants). However, I have recently become an outliner of sorts. It’s messy and no one really understands it but me, but it’s definitely helped with this series for sure. Not that I always stuck to it!
8. How do you get past writers block or distractions like Facebook?
I walk away. Sounds simple, right? It’s not always so. If I’m stuck on something I will usually try and push through until I’m so annoyed I get mad, throw a tantrum, and THEN walk away. As for Facebook, the trick is checking once in the morning, and once in the evening, and really even then sometimes I have to take time-outs to make sure everything gets finished on time.
9. What is your favorite book from childhood?
Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta. This is such an amazing book about finding out who you are, and being proud of it. I also got to go and listen to the author speak as a teen which was phenomenal.
10. What’s on your desk? Can you see your desk? Describe what you see when you look around.
I usually sit at my kitchen table first thing in the morning at 4:30AM when I get up. I know I’m insane. That’s actually where I am right now, and there is an unopened bottle of wine, waiting for tonight and my headphones to block out all noise. Later when the rest of the world wakes up, I will move to my actual desk which is a varidesk! Sometimes I sit, and other times it folds up so I can stand. I love it.
11. What's the weirdest thing you've Googled?
Well, it wasn’t weird so much as unexpected for a woman to be searching it. I write in the m/m genre and considering I am a female I had to research quite extensively through videos and words and also chatting with people, the sexual interactions and situations I wanted to use. Now I just imagine it all in my head and go from there. But you always want to be as accurate as possible.
12. What is your favorite line from any of your books?
That’s hard! Like making us pick our favorite child. I have a couple that come to mind:
“You are going to ruin me.”
She placed her palm over my heart and tapped 1,2,3. 1,2,3—before whispering, “You’re going to save me.”
~ Veiled Innocence
“Before this, I didn’t know you were essential for me to feel alive.”
~ Trust
When did this story morph? When did it change from a tale of two to a tragedy of three?
~ Blind Obsession
13. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Not really! I believe in lust at first sight. I think you can be very attracted to someone as soon as you see and meet them. But usually it takes a few conversations to find that deeper connection. It might only be one or two conversations, but there usually needs to be some talking. However, in some books it totally works! After all, it’s the fairytale and it’s fiction, where anything is possible!
14. What do you do when you are not writing?
I love movies, reading, TV and relaxing with good food and wine.
15. What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?
It’s always tough to hear that someone doesn’t love a character you may particularly love writing or feel a connection with. That’s always the toughest for me. It’s almost like you want to defend them like they’re your blood relative. But in the end, you are putting your work out there to be read and enjoyed (or sometimes not). That comes with the territory, you just have to develop a thick skin and not let it mess with your head.
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