Blood Phoenix: Claimed by Alisha Costanzo
Urban Fantasy
Date Published: October 17, 2014
Who knew immortality would be such a bitch.
Boot Camp for Vamps has a new prisoner, and Ria is testing her new world of rules and regulations, fighting her oldest nemesis—conformity. Her key battle is keeping her individuality and hiding her phoenix powers.
With an uptight mentor, an estranged werewolf, and an unlikely band of humans on her side, Ria must first survive her trials, designed to break her by a queen hell bent on making her suffer...let the nightmare begin.
Excerpt
Leaned over the sink, I tried to unravel the knot in my chest. I have changed…
I shook my head to dislodge the thought. Ari stood in the doorway, hip cocked, arms folded across her chest and purple hair pushed out of her face.
“You’re not even going to try to explain? Argue that you’re not different?” Her voice cracked on the last word.
Leaning my hip against the counter, I mimicked her stance, more to keep myself together than anything. “I’m not one of them. Not completely. I’m fighting to keep my humanity.” A small flicker of her normal, wicked self passed behind her eyes. “At least I’m surrounded by good looking men…”
She snorted and her body relaxed. “True that. Still some, eh…” She raised her hand and gave me a so-so sign. “But the queen keeps some high quality meat here.”
I gave into her signature banter with a roll of the eyes. “So, what do you want to know?”
“What did it…” She cleared her throat. “Was it as painful as they show in the movies?”
“Yes and no. It felt like someone boiled me from the inside out.” A simplified version, but Ari didn’t need to know how long it took.
Ari grimaced and looked down. “What does dying feel like?” Her body tensed and relaxed, shifting in the door way with discomfort.
“Peaceful, I guess. It doesn’t really feel like much of anything.” Death had been calm, a perfect moment after the pain of the transition. Living hurt.
“What does blood taste like? I mean, is it good? To you?” She fiddled with the belt loops on her jeans with her fingers.
“Do you honestly want to know?” If I hadn’t already known, I didn’t think I’d want to.
“Yeah. If my best friend is going to be a vamp, I need to know.” Ari looked up at me again with her defiant look. She hoped I’d call it disgusting.
“Each person tastes different. And yes, it’s good. I don’t think I could stand it otherwise.”
“Yeah, I guess you don’t want to suck on a rusty nail, huh?”
Laughing, I said, “No. I’ll take the MSG every time.”
About the Author
Alisha Costanzo is from a Syracuse suburb. She earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Central Oklahoma, where she currently teaches English. LOVING RED, a Broken World novel, is undergoing serious edits for its 2015 release. And novelette, "Maiden of the Underworld," will be released in anthology, DISTORTED in 2014. In the meantime, she will continue to corrupt young minds, rant about the government, and daydream about her all around nasty creatures.
Author Links
Twitter: @AlishaCostanzo
Giveaway
One signed, physical copy of book one (Blood Phoenix: Rebirth), 5 signed bookmarks, a signed 8x10 Rebirth poster, and an ARC of Blood Phoenix: Claimed.
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