Release date: February 18, 2015
Subgenre: Urban fantasy
About Shift of Time:
Rue Darrow is a newly made vampire, and she's alone in New Orleans, no
boyfriend, no son, and no friends. All she sees is an eternity spent
working at menial jobs just to pay the bills, hunting where it's safe,
and holding onto the her flagging human emotions.
Then Rue saves the life of a man in a dark alley. What she didn't realize was the man was Fae, and the attackers were demons. The grateful Fae wants to hire Rue to get back a treasure that was stolen from him, but he won't tell her what it is. Rue, who has never been in a fight in her life--before the alley scuffle--is thrust into a new, darker world where there are not only Fae but werewolves, demons, unidentified creatures, and even her old "buddy" Death.
Rue's not sure if she should take on the job, but well, it beats shift work.
Then Rue saves the life of a man in a dark alley. What she didn't realize was the man was Fae, and the attackers were demons. The grateful Fae wants to hire Rue to get back a treasure that was stolen from him, but he won't tell her what it is. Rue, who has never been in a fight in her life--before the alley scuffle--is thrust into a new, darker world where there are not only Fae but werewolves, demons, unidentified creatures, and even her old "buddy" Death.
Rue's not sure if she should take on the job, but well, it beats shift work.
Excerpt:
“Rue!”
I
stirred from my thoughts and focused on the manager. His high color indicated
he had called my name more than once, and I detected an elevated heartbeat. I
didn’t center on it because the pulse from a human heart was like waving candy
before a child. Best to focus on the manager’s expression of annoyance.
“Present.”
A
few snickers rose from the crowd. Did I mention vampirism brings on sarcasm?
Truly, it does. Scout’s honor.
The
manager’s temperature crept higher. “I need to switch around your schedule for
tomorrow through the rest of the week.”
I
had no problem with this and was used to working the desk, acting as a bellman,
and even washing dishes in the kitchen. I did it to get paid. The jobs were
menial, and I had one requirement.
The
manager flipped through the clipboard pages and scratched down some
information. “Lloyd’s going on vacation, so you’ll fill in. He works from six
a.m. until two p.m., so tomorrow—”
“No.”
Heads
swiveled in my direction. I froze, realized I stood too still, and shifted my weight to the other foot. The manager
threatened to pop a capillary. I hoped he wouldn’t.
“Excuse
me?”
I
tried not to stare at the bulging vein in his forehead.
“You’ll
work where I place you. Everyone here understands hours change. Sometimes you
work early, sometimes afternoon or overnight. We don’t play favorites, and everyone pays their dues.”
I
could talk to him later and change his mind. For some reason, my glamouring worked
perfectly when convincing people to forget I drank their blood. Other times,
not so much. Either I flubbed what I intended to say, or I tried too hard, and I’ll
just say, I could use a little glamouring on myself to forget those incidents. If
you’ll recall I have never killed a human. Let’s enjoy that stainless record
and move on.
Someone
elbowed me, and I glanced over to find it was Carl. His eyes were round, and
the smile was absent from his face. “Say okay, or he’ll fire you,” he whispered.
“He’s in a terrible mood.”
I
turned to the manager. The room lay in silence as everyone listened to the
argument play out. “I will work any position,” I said, my voice more deadpan
than I had meant it to be. “I don’t work days. I’m a night owl, and it
shouldn’t be a problem since most people like the day shift.”
“It
is a problem!”
I
knew this wasn’t going to end well for me, mainly because we were in a room
full of his subordinates, and men tended to have that darn thing called an ego
that they were bound and determined to protect. He stabbed the pen he held in
my direction.
“You’re
going to take over Lloyd’s hours permanently,
or you’re fired.”
Work
the day shift in a sunlit lobby, not to mention frequently running out to the
driveway to assist guests? He must be joking.
Amazon
About Audrey Claire:
Audrey Claire is the author of contemporary and urban fantasy
mysteries. She is the mother of two grown sons and lives in the south of
the United States. She enjoys traveling and reading. One day, she will
be brave enough to live overseas and have lots of adventures. For now,
everything is in her imagination, but that can be fun too!
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