Little
Flame Series Box Set
Books
1 - 5
Melissa
Lummis
Genre:
Urban Fantasy
Publisher:
Peacepipe Productions
Date
of Publication: September 30, 2014
ASIN:
B00MY7IY00
Number
of pages: 495
Word
Count: 155K
Cover
Artist: Stephanie Nelson
Book
Description:
Fiamette
Jurato is on a mission: to fix her broken past. She’s teamed up
with the world famous DJ, Maximillian, to search for the ex lover who
can help her put all the pieces back together. There’s only one
problem: he’s been dead for over two hundred years.
As
a healer to the supernatural, she’s no stranger to navigating the
impossible maze of magical complications. But getting lost in the
magic isn’t the problem; finding her way back home is.
Book
Trailers:
Nine30
https://youtu.be/Zqat7v5zIbs
Electric
https://youtu.be/CgkuKV5MVWQ
StarLand
https://youtu.be/t052wNfyth0
LimeLight
https://youtu.be/og2lFXAp_8w
Excerpt:
The
club lights blinked out, and in the humming dark an amplified voice
yelled, “Give it up for Maximillian!”
Laser
lights flashed around the smoky stage, revealing human-shaped shadows
and a DJ setup.
“Make some noise,”
the DJ yelled.
A
spotlight strobed across the scene, then snapped back to the DJ. I
stopped adjusting my white go-go boots and squinted, trying to get a
good look at him. The crowd roared as he leaned over to a
beanie-wearing guy on his right, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
Beanie-guy cupped the end of the cig and flicked a lighter. Smoke
obscured the DJ’s face and I sighed. I wanted to see him, dang it.
I’d been running late tonight and missed the usual meet-and-greet.
Story of my life.
“Yeah, yeah,
yeah,” the DJ mumbled into the mic as he twisted knobs and pushed
buttons, puffing smoke and music into the air.
Even
with the spotlights, the details of his face were buried under
swirling smoke and pulsing laser beams looping the hazy club. The
first high notes picked like an electric guitar sample, and words I
couldn’t make out repeated in jittery bursts over a subdued bass.
Black lights flipped on, turning teeth and all things white into
glow-in-the-dark neon. The fog machines bellowed clouds of dry ice
that burned my nose. Damn, shouldn’t I be immune to it after so
many shows?
Rising
up from my kneeling squat, boots finally tied, I dropped my hula
hoops onto the platform, then set one thigh-high boot at a time
inside the circles. Jutting a white-sequined hip, I waited for the
music to build to that explosion of bass and high-pitched alarms that
had been driving me deaf the past two months. Yet, I couldn’t say I
hated the job. I’d tried different settings, but this was
definitely the best fishing spot. The catch I was after liked the
nightlife and large crowds.
And
this club was packed to the gills. Good. Better pickins. I bent with
deliberate flare, popping my a** into the air and giving it a shake
as I scooped up one of the glowing hoops and spun it around my hips.
I gyrated and dipped, swinging the hoop higher around my exposed
midsection, my arms swaying to the music. I didn’t have to think
about my next move. It poured out of me like the music from the DJ’s
hands. I turned in lazy circles, taking in the jumping crowd as one
living, breathing beast. Individual faces surfaced in rare glimpses.
When
I completed a 360-degree turn, the bright eyes of the DJ arrested me.
I sucked in a breath. He was the hottest thing in L.A. at the moment,
exploding all over the music scene. His lips twisted in a sideways
Popeye grin, and holding my gaze with penetrating eyes, he flipped
black hair over his shoulder and winked. Damn! Heat flushed through
me in a prickly flood, followed by a startling surge of
disappointment when he returned his attention to the MIDI boards.
He
bobbed up and down, one hand constantly flickering as it tweaked the
boards in front of him. Everything about him moved to the music, even
the occasional finger jabbing his black-rimmed glasses back.
The
music decelerated as he pulled the cigarette from his mouth and
raised it to the sky, granting the crowd a huge smile that said
something mind-blowing was about to happen. The mass of bodies bayed
in anticipation. He tucked his smoke back between his lips, and his
shoulders rocked as he worked at bringing the music. He raised his
palms to the crowd, encouraging them to take it up a notch, and they
obliged with glee.
Suddenly,
he lifted his euphoric face to the sky, swaying back and forth in
focused ecstasy. One arm shot up, an index finger pointing the way to
heaven, as he squeezed his eyes shut.
A
synthesized female voice cried out, “OOOH MY GOD – god – god –
god - god!”
Music
burst in a sizzling shower over the DJ and crowd as they leaped
together to its driving beat. It got to me. He got to me. I licked
the heavy gloss I’d applied preshow before I realized what I was
doing, and pressed my lips together trying to fix it. Things lower
clenched. Too bad he’s so young. I sighed. And not a vampire.
A
tingling on the back of my legs dragged my attention back to my goal
for the evening. Peeking over my shoulder, I drove the hoop around my
hips, the LEDs smearing white and seven-colored orbits over my mostly
bare body. Turning toward a pair of crimson eyes, I dropped my
Day-Glo-painted eyelids to half-mast as his burning gaze slid over my
boy-shorted backside.
My
white halter top glowed in the black light as the strobes made the
sequins flash like Christmas lights. The music paused unexpectedly
and the DJ mumbled into the mic, “I just finished this song half an
hour ago on the tour bus.”
The
horde screamed its ridiculous approval. When he turned the music back
on, I kicked the second hoop into play. It was all improvised, of
course. I had no idea what the DJ was going to do during the show,
and he apparently hadn’t known either, considering I never got a
playlist. So, to prepare, I’d practiced to all his music all week.
This song sounded familiar, but if he’d just created it, I guess it
had to do with absorbing his style.
The
blipping sample of a laser blast penetrated my sternum, my heart
tripping with it. As a quiet drum calmed the moment, I returned the
hot stare of my quarry. I couldn’t make out the details of his
features, but when I blurred my gaze and tapped into what most
healers referred to as their “third eye”, I could see the subtle
energy pulse of his aura: definitely vampire. Anticipation bubbled up
my spine.
About
the Author:
Melissa
Lummis writes new age suspense in a fantasy setting, but her stories
are also straight up, steamy adult romance. The Love and Light Series
is currently available at Amazon exclusively, as well as the Little
Flame Series, a spin off focusing on the character Fiamette from the
Love and Light world.
Melissa
considers herself a truth seeker and a peaceful warrior, in addition
to a paranormal and fantasy author. With too many interests for her
own good, she has rarely been content with one vocation. Her first
professional life was as a high school English teacher, which led to
another incarnation as a wife and an instructional designer
/technical writer. After starting a family, she found herself
reincarnated yet again as a mother, yoga instructor, and personal
trainer.
While
all her past lives have contributed to who she is today, yoga has
become a part of how she gives back, maintaining her Registered Yoga
Teacher status with Yoga Alliance so she can help people one-on-one
to overcome physical limitations and heal themselves. But she has
always been and always will be a writer. She’s authored dozens of
wellness articles for various publications, as well as maintains a
blog focusing on wellness, healing, and living a life on purpose.
A
Yankee by birth and a Penn State graduate, she lives in rural
Virginia with her husband, two children, an Alaskan Malamute, and a
myriad of forest creatures. Melissa believes the universe conspires
to help an adventurer, and if we live our lives as if it is a daring
escapade (and it is!), then everything we need will find its way to
us.
Interview
Where are you from?
Originally, Berks County, Pennsylvania, but I
currently live in Virginia.
Tell us your latest news?
The 9th book in the Little Flame series,
Music, will release March 30, 2016 and is up for pre-order now. http://www.amazon.com/Music-Little-Flame-Book-9-ebook/dp/B01D3UMH9U
Also, I’m going to be a featured author at the
Richmond’s Readers Rehab Author Event on April 30, 2016. http://richmondsreadersrehab.weebly.com/
When and why did you begin writing?
I’ve been writing since I was six years old, but
started working on my first novel the fall of 2010. It took a long time to
bring that story together into what eventually became Enlightened, my first
published novel.
And why do I write? I think it’s always been a part
of who I am. I process life through writing and I have always been an avid
reader.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I was six. I wrote a tiny story for school and
got an A+, but it was the comment my teacher wrote at the top of the paper that
made me realize I was a writer. She wrote, “Someday, you’re going to be a
writer!” I asked my mom, “But I wrote a story. Doesn’t that make me a writer
now?” She responded with a smile, “I guess it does.”
What inspired you to write your first book?
My thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. The journey
took six months and it changed me in a fundamental way. I thought, there’s a
novel in me about this and so the journey began. I ended up publishing
something completely different than I started out with, but that’s part of the
magic.
Do you have a specific writing style?
I tend to write in first person with a focus on the
spiritual underpinnings of the story. No matter what the genre—urban fantasy,
paranormal romance, sci-fi, or contemporary romance—I can’t help but see the
character and the story line through the prism of the spirit. A reviewer once
said I write “new age suspense in a fantasy setting”, and that about sums up my
style.
How did you come up with the title?
The Little Flame series title comes from the main
character’s name, Fiamette. It means “little flame” in Italian, and her
personality is definitely a fiery one. The titles of the individual books are
based on concert venues: Nine30 comes from the 9:30 Club in D.C. Electric was
inspired by the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, and so on. See if you can
guess the inspiration for the other titles. J
Is there a message in your novel that you want
readers to grasp?
There are several, but the main thing I hope readers
take away from the Little Flame series is that we are all capable of so much
more than we realize, and that the ones who love us have a lot to offer.
Together we can make amazing things happen.
How much of the book is realistic?
That’s hard to say because I write Urban Fantasy,
but definitely the relationships that develop between the characters are
realistic. There’s so much magic in my world, but it is based on science, to
some extent. For example, Newton’s first Law of Thermodynamics, also known as
the Law of Conservation, states “that energy cannot be created or destroyed in
an isolated system.” What that boils down to in my magic world is that magic
has to come from somewhere and there are consequences, such as being “drained”
when you use it.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events
in your own life?
I think it’s more like my experiences influence the
experiences of my characters. There might be little things like a scrap of
dialogue or what it feels like to ride a motorcycle on a cold night, but I
can’t say that the big scenes or events in my story ever happened to myself or
anyone I know.
What books have most influenced your life most?
My life? Wow. The
Alchemist by Paolo Coelho because the “universe conspires to help an
adventurer”. War And Peace by Leo
Tolstoy because great men don’t make history, the people make great men who
influence history. And life can be sad.
And then there’s everything by Stephen King because
his books showed me I could write and publish the crazy stories in my head and
people just might read them.
If you had to choose, which writer would you
consider a mentor?
Stephen King. Without a doubt. You know what makes
his books so scary? Why they get to you the way they do? Because he knows
people. Look at his descriptions, his dialogue, the decisions his characters
make. He understands people and when he brings that to the page, he makes all
that scary stuff believable as well. *shivers*
What book are you reading now?
I am reading Grave
Peril, the 3rd book in the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Awesome
Urban Fantasy series, by the way. A must read for UF fans.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your
interest?
Olivia Hardin. She writes contemporary romance,
Urban Fantasy, and Paranormal Romance. I’ve read everything she’s written.
Fantastic writer who knows how to make you feel the feels. Love her.
What are your current projects?
I am currently working on the last book in the
Little Flame series, Head, as well as a novella for a special series called
Hotel Paranormal. Each novella will be written by a different author, but the
series revolves around the Hotel Paranormal, a magical resort where
supernaturals can kick back and relax. Sort of. You can ask to join this
Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1000344550039705/ to find out more about it, as well as this check
out this website http://www.thehotelparanormal.com/.
What would you like my readers to know?
As a reader, you have all the power. When you love a
book or a new author, tell your friends and write a review. Reviews boost
visibility on Amazon, iBooks, and all the other ebook venders so other readers
can find the book. Even if you think your one little review won’t matter, it
will.
But word of mouth is
the best advertising there is. And if more people are buying your favorite
author’s books, then he or she will be able to continue writing even more
wonderful books for you to read. So show your favorite authors some love and
tell everyone you know how much you loved their books.
Tour giveaway 3 signed paperback sets Little Flame Series: books 1 – 5 US Shipping Only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for both the excerpt and giveaway
ReplyDeleteThank you for having me on your blog today! The interview was fun. I enjoyed it. :-)
ReplyDelete