Variants
The
Anathergians Trilogy
Book
One
Michelle
C. Reilly
Genre:
Sci-Fi Fantasy with Romance
ISBN:
978-1500364489
ASIN:
B00LE1B9DQ
Number
of pages: 270 print
325
Kindle
Word
Count: 92k
Book
Description:
Sworn
to Protect the Very People Bent on Destroying Them
POWERFUL
Auden,
the king of the immortal Anathergian race, came to Earth five
thousand years ago when he and his people escaped from their
destroyed planet. His power is immense, but is threatened because he
has yet to take a Lifemate.
WITCH
With
the blood of an Anathergian and a witch running through her veins,
Leah is a force to be reckoned with. After leaving her foster family
to learn how to master her new-found powers, Auden finds her. With
him, she discovers her heritage, her strength, and her love.
VARIANTS
An
Anathergian is using variant strains of his DNA to turn humans into
Anathergians. This enemy’s goal: use the Variants to take over the
world and take Auden’s place as king. Auden and Leah’s goal:
Stop the enemies and discover what connections Leah has with them.
Excerpt
from Chapter 4:
He
stood inside the entrance as the doors closed behind him. His gaze
was drawn to a slim calf covered in black denim hanging over the arm
of a wing back chair facing the desk. A black Converse shoe bounced
up and down. Then a dark head with gray eyes peeked at him from
around the edge of the chair. The girl’s near-black straight hair
was cut at an angle where it touched the tip of her chin on one side
of her heart shaped face and ended at mid ear on the other side.
He
took a step forward, ready to reach for her. It was an instinctive
reaction and one he had never done before. He held himself still.
His
insides sang to the tune of another like him. Oh, yes, she is most
definitely of Anathergian blood.
With
reddened cheeks, she twisted away.
Marla
reached her desk. Glancing from Auden to Leah, she gestured toward
the girl. “Auden, please meet Leah.”
The
girl gave a halfhearted wave at him from beyond the chair. Auden
raised an eyebrow at Marla. The woman’s brow creased and she shook
her head, her curls bobbing against her cheeks. “Leah, have
manners, if you please.”
“I
waved hello, didn’t I?” said a sulky voice from the seat.
Marla’s
mouth went tight, and then she motioned for Auden to come forward. He
approached the side of the desk to get a better view of the girl.
She
was slight, but not too thin. Her long, shapely legs, emphasized by
the tight jeans, seemed to go on for days. Her short-sleeved fitted
black t-shirt had a drawing of a face with Xs for eyes. His gaze
stopped at her pert breasts that stood from the shirt for a moment.
When he realized where his stare had strayed, he brought his perusal
higher. A pale, sateen neck gave way to a stubborn jaw line. Parted
wine lips made his throat parched. Her straight nose was almost too
big for her face, but it went well with her angled chin. A gunmetal
glare shot sparks at him and she bounced her leg to an agitated tune.
It was apparent she was not happy about her current situation. He
could commiserate, but it didn’t mean he would give into her
rancor.
#
Leah
scrutinized the man who, according to Marla, had come to bring her to
his people for training. He was someone Marla trusted and the
training would help her grow. As if. Leah already had people to train
her. Here, at Sanctuary. She didn’t need his people. And what could
his people teach her she hadn’t already excelled at?
She
tilted her head back and glared at him, giving him her best As if I
care look. But, jeez, was he huge! Holy crap, he could probably take
down a bull without using a horse or rope. His eyes were as dark as
the deepest depths of the ocean and churned with as much life as
those seas. She idly wondered what treasures were hidden there. When
Leah studied his face, she thought of exotic Egyptian pharaohs. He
wore a black, long-sleeved buttoned shirt made of a soft material
that kissed his muscles like a lover. His jeans molded to his
muscular thighs and extended over black boots.
His
gaze gave her a once over so thorough she had to subdue the urge to
squirm. Instead, she notched her chin higher. When he continued to
scrutinize her, she said, “You can stop staring.”
Marla’s
intake of breath sent a small pang of guilt through Leah’s chest,
and she sent the woman a quick apologetic look. Glancing back at
Auden, she noticed a slight lift at one corner of his mouth. She
covered her own twitching smile and instead showed a sudden interest
in the wood beams lining the ceiling.
“What
have you told her?” His baritone timbre made Leah think of swimming
in a serene lake with cool water surrounding her. It calmed her.
“I
told her we have known each other for quite some time and I trust the
training she will receive with you will be beyond reproach,”
answered Marla.
Irritated,
Leah let out a small harrumph. “I’m sitting right here. Please
don’t talk about me as if I’m not right in front of you.”
“Oh,”
he regarded her up and down, “do you wish to join the
conversation?”
That’s
it! After the morning she had, she wasn’t going to let this guy
push her around. She stood, taking fast steps toward him. “Do I
wish to join the conversation? You”—she pointed at him—“bet I
do! Why am I going with you? What type of training can you give
me”—she pointed a thumb at herself—“that I can’t learn
here?” She gestured with her hands indicating the school. “What
makes your people”—she poked her finger into his chest and became
even more annoyed because he didn’t even flinch—“so much better
than the people I have here?” She indicated the school again.
“Leah,
this is unacceptable behavior,” interjected Marla, her voice high
with angry disappointment.
Auden,
who hadn’t moved a muscle during Leah’s tirade, spoke to Marla.
“It’s fine, Marla. I can handle this.”
“Handle?
Handle? Seriously?” Leah sputtered. “Do you think you’re just
going to ʻhandle’ me?” She made quotation marks with her
fingers.
“Right,
then, I’ll leave you to it,” Marla said to Auden and headed
toward the double doors.
Book Blog from Michelle
C. Reilly,
author of VARIANTS, The Anathergians Trilogy, Book One:
The inspiration
for VARIANTS, The Anathergians Trilogy, Book One, came to me in 2004.
The first scene I saw was from the infamous Chapter 10—where Leah
experiences
V’nurch (or the transition into becoming a full
Anathergian and becomes immortal). You see, when an Anathergian goes
through
V’nurch, they experience an overpowering need—no,
a requirement—for dominant and mind blowing sex. When I saw the
scene unfold in my mind, I knew I had to share it with the world.
When their planet was destroyed over
five thousand years ago, the Anathergians came to Earth to take
refuge. They were led by their immortal king, Auden. As the king,
Auden is completely dedicated to protecting his people. When he came
to Earth, he swore to also protect humans from harm. He’s a very
dedicated and deep man. Fun and games are not something he partakes
in, if ever. Auden has too many things to do.
In fact, I asked if he’d like to join
me so I could take a few comments from him for this blog, but he
merely scoffed at me. “As if, Ms. Reilly. You know full well I have
no time for interviews.” He turned his angled features away from me
and summarily dismissed me.
Leah had hopes and dreams when she was
young, but her foster father crushed them beneath his boot, just like
an old stale cigarette. She, instead, learned to focus on her studies
and her brother, Ceadan. These were the two constants in her life she
knew she could count on. When she finds out she’s a witch, well,
the joke was certainly on her. Later, when she finds out she’s not
only a witch, but her father was an Anathergian, she really doesn’t
know what to believe anymore. So, she reverts to the two things she
excels at: her studies and her love for her brother.
Never—not even for one moment—could
she believe that she would become Lifemates with a man like Auden.
He’s a king, for Christ’s sake. Sure, he’s gorgeous, built,
strong—the ultimate Alpha. But, become his Lifemate? Not in a
million years.
So, when she’s stuck with him, she
doesn’t know how to react. She can’t revert to her old ways
because there’s no getting out of this situation.
When I asked her what she planned to
do, she turned the question around on me. “What would you do if you
had one of the hottest guys ever shackled to you for the rest of your
immortal existence?”
I blanched.
She gave me a knowing smile.
Auden, however, isn’t so sure. He’s
attracted to her, but he expected something… more. What that was,
he wasn’t quite sure. It was like grasping at a rainbow—it’s
real, you see it, but can you hold it? Is it even real? And Auden
doesn’t deal in rainbows. He likes cold, hard steel.
When he finally accepts her, built up
tension leaves him after being on the brink of madness for hundreds
of years. She is the balm to his soul. She is his other half and has
made him whole.
Too bad it doesn’t last for long.
I knew VARIANTS wasn’t pretty. I knew
it was dark. I knew readers were going to walk away from it and
possibly be angry. But, VARIANTS is the first in a Trilogy, so there
is always that silver lining within the thunderstorm clouds covering
that horizon. You may just need to search for it. Or, of course, find
out what happens when book two, WITCHES, comes out. It will be soon!
About
the
Author:
Michelle
C. Reilly is a single mom of two wonderful boys. She spent ten years
in the U.S. Navy as a Hospital Corpsman Preventive Medicine
Technician, which meant she was actually attached to or stationed
with the U.S. Marine Corps. She has a Masters in Science in Public
Health, but she is generally an IT geek and a geek of many other
things as well. She currently resides in Las Vegas, NV, with her two
cats, Meowdy and Moose, and her dog, Katie aka “The Old Lady.”
Make
sure to visit her website www.michellecreilly.com for more
information about her and her upcoming books.
Twitter:
@MichelleCReilly
Tour
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3 swag bags (includes bookmark, post-it, magnet, and temporary
tattoo)
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1 signed paperback book
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3 kindle books
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1 amazon gift card $10
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2 bracelets
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What did Sister Sinister think of the book?
I gave it 4 stars!
* * * *
"Variants" is an enjoyable sci-fi urban fantasy with splashes of romance to round it out. It is another take on the vampire mythos, with the race of beings known as the Anathergians - an alien species that colonized Earth some 5,000 years ago. Greatly powerful and near immortal, it is crucial to their well-being to find their lifemate, and the King of the Anathergians has yet to find his. And he is beginning to suffer for it.
Auden has discovered that one of his kind is selling Anathergian DNA to unscrupulous humans, who are integrating it into human bodies, creating powerful, fanged people with an apparent thirst for violence.
Leah is a witch and, it seems, so much more. If only she'd had someone there to tell her that before the day she burned her foster father's hands and fled straight into the arms of a flock of hat wearing nanny witches! And after 4 years of training, she's about to have her world turned on its head one more time.
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