Guest Post: A Stream of Darkness (Crymsen Crescent) by Avery Kilpatrick ~ #BookTour #Excerpt

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Five Fun Facts about Avery Kilpatrick

Hello, y’all! My name is Avery Kilpatrick, author of A Stream of Darkness, and I’m going to share a few fun facts about me. Thank you to my host for allowing me to take over a blog and share my book with y’all! 

Fact One: I have a Service Dog.

Okay, I will have a psychiatric service dog sometime between September-October. Remington, aka Remi, is a red fox lab with green eyes (they’re so pretty and I gush every time I see them) that will turn a year old in September. He’s currently being trained in Arizona by Bark to Basics Canine Center and he will be another tool in my toolbox to battle depression and anxiety. I suffer from severe depression and anxiety that leads me to have night terrors and scratching my hands when I’m anxious. Remi will be trained to interrupt me from scratching or picking at my hands, to perform deep pressure therapy to calm me down, and to provide a personal bubble in public areas when I feel exposed, vulnerable, or claustrophobic. 

Fact Two: I played softball for most of my life.

Ah, softball. Those were some of the best days of my life despite the summer, humid heat, the sweat, the dirt underneath my fingernails, and the weird tan lines. There are days where I really miss it; especially, when I see other people play—little kids, high schoolers, or college students. That just made me sound so old (I’m only twenty-four for crying out loud lol), but when it’s softball season, I will watch all the college softball I can. SEC, all the way, BTW. 

Fact Three: The Twilight Saga is the reason I began to read and write.

Yup. I said it. I admit it. To the fans, I’m sorry if it sounds like I’m dissing the Saga, but there are some people who didn’t like the books or the movies and are currently cringing at my reveal. I loved the books—read them a lot in my middle school years—and they got me into reading more books. Without the Saga, I wouldn’t have become such an avid reader or an aspired writer/author. 

Fact Four: I wrote my first completed novel when I was thirteen.

I’ve always had an avid imagination—my mom could tell you plenty of stories from my childhood where I would create detailed stories from ketchup bottles and salt and pepper shakers. After reading the Saga and discovering all these different worlds someone can literally create from their minds, I decided at thirteen that I was going to try my hand at it. I cringe thinking about awkward thirteen-year-old me writing that first book because I was a budding writer without a clue. My mom, bless her, read it and bragged about it on Facebook—there were even talks about publishing it, but that never came to fruition. I don’t think that story will ever be re-written, but that first manuscript led me to grow as a writer and hone my craft. 

Fact Five: I sleep with a stuffed, lavender-scented sloth named Dash.

For the longest time, since I was four or five, I slept with a stuffed black horse named Alley that was my companion at night. I only recently—recently—retired her and I still have her in a separate guest bedroom that’s now her home. Since I have terrible nightmares, it was nice to have Alley (and now, Dash) or my cat Cinnamon to wake up to in the darkness. In  my poetry collection, Hurricane Vignette, I dedicated a poem to my stuffed horse. Dash the lavender-scented sloth was Alley’s replacement, and they say lavender can relax you and help you sleep at night, which is what I desperately need since I hardly sleep through the night. 

 

A Stream of Darkness

Crymsen Crescent 
Book One
Avery Kilpatrick
Genre: Urban Fantasy, New Adult with a dash of romance
Publisher: Avery Kilpatrick
Date of Publication: July 31, 2020
Number of pages: 
Word Count: 62,358
Cover Artist: Warren Design

Book Description:

A reformed killer, a dragon agent, and a lone shifter must work together to investigate four abductions…

I’ve always had a close relationship with death.

Six years ago, I was the Renegade, the Wolf of Eden, terrorizing the streets of a small town in Mississippi. Now, after a plea deal that saved my life, I work for the police as a consultant and unofficial cop.

Obsidian Moon, the Underworlder police agency, isn’t doing anything about the disappearances of four college women. It falls to my shoulders while I’m stressing over my college assignments and the new transfer who thinks testing my control is a great pasttime.

Then there’s him. The mystery shifter who danced with me at a club and reminds me of home.And he seems to be more than just a random stranger who walked up to an ex-murderer and danced rather than fight.

But I have bigger concerns than two sexy men on my tail as a stream of darkness hangs over Paradise Grove.

The opening of a new series, A Stream of Darkness, will have you guessing at every turn and turning the pages to learn more.

Check out MY REVIEW

PURCHASE: Amazon

 

I sidestepped the ramming bull—well, technically, he was a werewolf—and watched with growing amusement as he slammed into the bar. 

As one of the more prominent clubs on the Quad, Mirage was filled to the brim with writhing bodies hypnotized by the pulsing music that resounded from the DJ’s throne. The walls thrummed with the powerful beats and siren acoustics coaxed people into drowning themselves in alcohol. Flashing lights of gold and sapphire, of ruby and amethyst, of emerald and topaz, cast colorful shadows on the clubbers who watched the growing brawl in amusement and fear. 

I cocked my head to the side and ebony-gray curls swayed to the left as mint eyes burned like a raging pyre as I watched him stumble to his feet. A Cheshire Cat smirk pulled my lips back over elongated canines that gleamed under the colorful neon lights. “Olé!”

The bar, a mix of black quartz and wood, won this round as it remained unharmed. The werewolf shook his head, the tightly braided red curls bouncing lightly against the left side of his skull. His jade eyes were glazed in confusion and there were flecks of pale yellow from the wolf peering through his gaze as his temper grew shorter. He held a hand to his side and attempted to take a deep breath only to hiss quietly. Though wolves, like most Underworlders, could heal themselves through either magic or blood, it took time to fix fractured bones. His linebacker build didn’t help matters either as he held out another hand to grip the bar to steady himself. 

He snarled, a rumbling sound that probably caused him more pain than he let on. Our audience murmured as the less than sober patrons realized that the scar dominating my face wasn’t just any old scar from a run-in gone awry. Flowing from my left jaw to the bridge of my nose, the puckered, jagged scar was as much a moniker as a reminder of my “sin.”   

“Mind givin’ me another shot, Izzy?” I drawled, my gaze never once leaving the wolf in front of me as we circled each other. 

Izzy was already working on my drink before the last word left my mouth. Her hands flashed after working for years as a bartender on the fast-paced Quad, and she wasn’t at all bothered by the brawl in front of her. “I should be cutting you off, Luce, but since alcohol doesn’t effect you—what the hell, right?”

Pink eyes remained amused as she watched the crowd around us groan while money exchanged hands. She had her long, straight platinum locks pulled into a ponytail as two square strips caressed the sides of her sharp cheeks. Placing the shot glass on the tabletop, she placed a fifty-dollar bill beside it with a good-natured grumble. 

I chuckled, and the redheaded wolf took the momentary distraction as a chance to tackle me. Sidestepping him, I placed my hands on his back—barely a brush of my fingertips—and slammed my knee into his abdomen. The crunch of bone and the wheeze of air as a rib punctured his lung reached my ears, and my glittering eyes narrowed as he collapsed at my feet with a groan. Either he was truly a newbie with fighting a petite woman like me, or he was attacking with emotion rather than logical reasoning. 

As my father would say, he was fighting for his pride and not for survival. 

Heading to the bar to collect my shot, I tossed it back with a hearty sigh as the burn slid down my throat. Without me asking, Izzy refilled my glass, and I repeated the action before slamming the shot down on the bar as stumbling steps reached my ears over the roar of the music and drunken crowd. Sighing, I glanced over a narrow shoulder to see the wolf clutching his side as blood dripped from his bottom lip. He just would not accept defeat, no matter how much bigger a predator I was. 

“Look, sourpuss,” I adjusted the fingerless gloves on my hands and rolled the sleeves of my leather jacket to my elbows. Pulling my thick, ebony curls behind me, I continued, “I’d hate to kill your pride in front of all these people, but I’ll gladly do it if you’re raring for a good ol’ fight.”

Glaring at me, he clenched his teeth at the calm indifference in my voice as I was not at all intimidated by his hulking form or the flecks of gold in his eyes. He towered over my five-two frame and I looked like a sixteen-year-old girl with a blunt mouth that got me into trouble, but I wasn’t joking around this time.

 

Two Free Signed Paperbacks of A Stream of Darkness (USA Only)

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Avery Kilpatrick was born in Flowood, Mississippi, in April 1996. Raised in a small town in the Mississippi Delta, she has a fondness for nature and the cotton fields that create Southern snow pastures in the fall. After writing her first novel when she was thirteen, Avery decided to pursue her dream as an author at a young age.

An alumnus of Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, Avery graduated with a Bachelor’s in English. She also worked on the student-run newspaper, The Delta Statement, during her four-year career at Delta State as copy-editor and Editor-in-Chief.

Avery currently lives in a ranch-style home in her hometown in Greenwood, Mississippi. The mother of three fur babies, Cinnamon the spoiled cat, Ginger the rambunctious old lady, and Remington a.k.a. Remi the service dog, Avery has enough fur from shedding animals to make a fourth pet. When Avery isn’t busy writing her next novel, she goes on walks with her mother and dogs, watches Outlander or Criminal Minds on Netflix, or can be found curled up on the couch with Cinnamon reading a good book.

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I'm an outdoor sun loving reader living near San Fransisco. I’m a mother, wife, animal & book lover. I'm the owner, reviewer & mind behind Angel’s Guilty Pleasures. My favorite animals are horses & dogs. As for reading I love all things paranormal & urban fantasy & my favorite shifters are dragons.

14 comments on “Guest Post: A Stream of Darkness (Crymsen Crescent) by Avery Kilpatrick ~ #BookTour #Excerpt

  1. Izzy is definitely a character! I hope you like her.

  2. I love a good mystery very intriguing pulls me in and makes me want to know the rest of the story. Thanks for sharing.

  3. I’m digging this book because the woman on the cover looks like a kickass heroine!

  4. Pink eyes? Makes me wonder what Izzy might be (if not an albino).

  5. Sounds like a great read. I like the cover.

  6. This sounds like a great read! I love the cover! ❤

  7. The book sounds fascinating. Love the cover!

    • I’m glad y’all love the cover! Warren Design did an awesome job!

  8. Congrats on the new release! It sounds fascinating. Great cover too.

  9. You sure have a great cover for the book.

  10. thanks so much for the wonderful guest post. such a pretty dog and i hope he is all you are looking for. i am also a huge fan of the twilight saga. i saw the movies first…even bought my first dvd…then bought the white set. i first read them from the library, but i have every intention of reading them again….sometime. so far, i love the movies more, but i think that is because i watched them first.
    sherry @ fundinmental

  11. A dragon agent?? This sounds like an intense book. I also love the cover and blurb.

  12. The cover is beautiful. I love the genre and shifters are one of my favorites to read about. Thanks for the chance.

  13. I appreciate getting to hear about a new book. Thanks so much for taking time to share.