Good morning! I'm H. E. McVay, also known as Heidi around LSB. My morning-after is literally that! My first book came out yesterday and wow, it was a rush to see it up! So much preperation and work has gone into the release and coupled with the fact that it was Mike who was kind enough to finagle the date so that it would be released on my birthday (Thanks Mike!) I'm feeling extremely grateful to the entire staff at LSB for their hard work.

I always have a difficult time deciding what to blog about, as I'm usually a homebody and except for making the occasional blunderous entry into my LJ, I don't generally interact with people for fear of being too *perky*. And that's putting it nicely.

My writing tends to be quite dark and (hopefully) erotic. And it astonishes me how many people expect me to be the same way. I tend to be exactly the opposite of that. I've been called so perking as to the point of being sickening. But in truth, I really do enjoy shocking people with the visceral nature of my writing. It's what never gets old, the expressions on their face when they realize WHAT I write. I *heart* shocking people.

In general updates of life at Casa del McVay, my husband has left for sea and I am alone for the time being. If you'll harken back to my last entry, I was in North Carolina visiting family. I returned home, got the hubby gone, and then left again. I'm now in Louisiana for three weeks visiting the other branch of the family.

On the writing front, Scion's Rebirth, the follow-up to Avatar's Awakening is finished. And I've begun on the as yet untiltled third book. It's an in-depth look at the dynamic between Jacob and Celeste that I've spent 2 books setting up. So I'd better make it good!

And without further ado, in celebration of the big release, I'm going to give an excerpt. This is without a doubt, my favorite scene in all of AA, or a snippet of it at any rate.

~Adam paced the length of the library. He’d been told he was free to wander, and had taken full advantage of it. The room was massive and the only place in the house he felt remotely safe. The bedroom he’d been shoved into had been relegated to a place to sleep, nothing more. His steps took him over the plush Oriental rug that dominated the room before he turned and headed back in the other direction.
The clearing of someone’s throat caught his ear. He whirled to find Jacob leaning on the door frame. The doctor stared at him, expression unreadable. “Come with me, Adam.”
He remained rooted where he was, confusion mingling with the shock of what he’d witnessed only minutes before. Elizabeth had been bested by the other Predator, only to confer with him for a few moments as he pinned her down on the ground outside. She’d not been pleased with the outcome, that much was certain, given the manner in which she’d stormed past him and into the house. Leon had gathered their weapons and followed at a more leisurely pace, grinning at Adam wolfishly when he passed. It had left him wondering what exactly the terms of their wager had been.
Jacob stepped aside to let Adam exit the library. The doctor remained uncharacteristically silent as he led Adam down the hallway towards the stairs.

Adam glanced to him, his nerves further set on edge. “Where are you taking me?”
“The guesthouse,” came the short reply.
“Why?”
“My Scion’s orders.” Jacob fell silent, not speaking until they were out of the house and across the courtyard to a small cottage set into the trees behind the main house. The details of the structure went unnoticed as Jacob unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Adam followed him inside, surprised when he Jacob turned and reached for his uninjured hand. He punched in a sequence of numbers into the cell phone he held in his free hand. The bracelet beeped, the light turning red. Jacob slid it off Adam’s wrist and slipped it into the pocket of his slacks. Jade eyes met Adam’s own for a moment before his spoke. “Elizabeth will be here in fifteen minutes.

I’m going back to the main house now. I won’t be locking the door behind me. After this moment, I am no longer responsible for your actions.”
Blue eyes flickered towards the open door. He opened his mouth to speak, Jacob’s meaning registering. The vampire was giving him a way out, a chance to run. Adam’s heart sped up. Jacob spoke again as he moved toward the door. “Do you understand me, Adam?”
Adam lifted his chin, then nodded. “Yes.”
Jacob gazed at him a moment longer before disappearing out the door, closing it softly behind him. Adam stared at the door, feet carrying him towards it automatically. He tested the knob and found that it gave easily. Jacob had not lied he was giving him a way out. Adam’s heart soared when he opened the door and stepped onto the wraparound porch, gazing at Jacob’s quickly retreating back.
His mind spun with the possibilities. Jacob was loyal to his Scion to a fault, yet here he’d presented Adam with the perfect opportunity. Adam’s brow knitted together in a frown. But why? Don’t ask why. Don’t stop, you idiot. You have a fifteen-minute head start. Run. But his body didn’t want to cooperate with his mind’s warnings.
* * * *
Elizabeth stood in the darkened bedroom, staring out the window at the form hovering on the porch of the guesthouse. Why did he hesitate? Jacob had followed her instructions to the letter. She heard the back door close, signaling his return to the main house. Still, Adam Montrose did not step off the porch of the guesthouse. Jade eyes narrowed. It was his only way out. If Jacob ‘neglected’ to lock the door, and Elizabeth were a few minutes late to the cottage, he would have ample time to make his escape. Why wasn’t he moving?

He should be halfway to his car by now, the keys had been placed on the hook next to the front door in plain sight. She’d done everything for him but guide him out the front gate and wave.
“Why isn’t he gone?” The words were softly spoken, accompanied by a marked frown. “Why do you hesitate, you foolish man?”
He turned and headed back into the house. Good, he was retrieving his car keys. He would be gone. Instead of reappearing, the door closed behind him. Her eyes widened when she realized what he’d just done. She sank into the chair beside the window and buried her face in her hands.
Her entire frame began shaking as something inside her welled up. It was a foreign feeling, something she couldn’t readily identify. Something warm and wet slid down her face. Startled, she pulled her hand away to stare at the dampness on her fingertips. “Why am I crying? I don’t even feel sad.”
And yet, her chest constricted painfully, as if she were being dealt a death blow. The hollowness inside her bubbled forth until a strangled sob burst its way from her throat. The floodgates were opened. She slid from the chair and onto the floor, curling her knees tightly to her chest. Silent sobs wracked her entire body as she folded her arms around her legs and buried her face into her knees. For the first time in more than five thousand years, the killer cried.~