Hey, my lovelies! This week, we have a treat for FoX Friday. Please give a warm welcome to debut author Gina Fluharty. Her first release, Banshee’s Bite, will hit stores on Tuesday, November 1st. I met Gina at the RWA Conference in San Diego this year, and she is a hoot and a half! It was like meeting a long, lost friend. 🙂 Read all about Gina and her Banshee, and comment below for a chance to win a digital copy of the book.

Gina Fluharty never met a piece of profanity that didn’t taste like sin-soaked heaven. She’s lived in a lot of places: Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, Small Town America, but nowhere has called to her like Portland, OR. It’s there that she wrestles all of her personal demons and turns them into playmates. After all, why exorcise such good source material when she can use it as research material instead?

Before we get bitten by the banshee, I want you to get to know Gina a bit better. I asked her some fun questions.

Did you always want to be an author?

YES! I used to dream of being the youngest published author and then I let student loan debt convince me that I had to get an ‘actual job’ get in the way.

Gah! Stupid student loans, lol. Why do you write romance?

Because I want to make every reader feel what my true love makes me feel. I live an ordinary life but with my real life hero, every day is magic.

Aww, that’s so sweet! How do you balance writing and your personal life?

OMG! I’m still trying to figure that out. Let me know if you have any tips/tricks.

Dude, I am the worst person when it comes to that. Why do you think I ask the question? 😉 Do you have any one-click or must-buy authors?

Kresley Cole, Xio Axelrod (shameless plug but totally true), Larissa Ione, and Ann Aguirre’s adult novels.

Okay, now I’m blushing. Also, your check is in the mail, lol. Do you believe in love/lust at first sight?

Lust definitely. I can’t say that I fell in love with the hubs at first sight but I can tell you that the moment our gazes met, I felt a soul-deep recognition. And I’ve felt that way with some women that have become my true friends. There’s a part of us that recognizes each other instantly.

What type of music do you listen to?

All types but my go-to is Hip Hop. I love to be able to sing at the top of my lungs while shaking my booty.

I can totally picture that, haha. What is your favorite body part on a man or woman?

Man- lips. Woman- eyes.

Nice! What’s your favorite pick up line?

THEY’RE ALL TERRIBLE!

LOL! True.

Be original. Once it’s a line, it should be forgotten.

That’s very good advice. So, what can readers expect from you next?

The actual first book. We’ll be publishing it as a prequel.

Looking forward to it! 🙂

The city of Portland only exists because of its vibrant spectral population, and someone is threatening that delicate balance.

Officer Gigi O’Shea is a good cop but a terrible banshee. A recent brush with death awakened unknown powers and forced her into a world of Preternatural creatures that would send a sane cop screaming. Everything about being a banshee conflicts with her cop nature. If she sings someone to death, how is that not murder? And to top it all off, the hottest man she’s ever wanted underneath her has threatened to kill her if she doesn’t get her shit together. Sex and death threats—who knew that would be so exciting?

Murdok abhors who and what Gigi is. As far as he’s concerned, banshees are weak and stupid, and Gigi is completely out of control. As the Council’s Cleaner, it’s his job to make sure she doesn’t blow their collective cover to humans. Unfortunately, he can’t just kill her. First he’ll have to attempt to train her. Damnit, he’s an executioner, not a professor—not when the voices of the dead he carries with him threaten his own control at every turn. He wants Gigi more than he’s wanted any woman in centuries. But so do his dead.

Now there’s more than solely her life at stake. As the resident banshee, Gigi’s the only one who can save the ghosts and Portland, and if she doesn’t find the strength to trust her new self, everyone dies.

Gina was sweet enough to bring along an excerpt, courtesy of her publisher, Loose ID. Enjoy!

***

“I wanna dress you up in filth.”

The ghost’s voice came out of nowhere. Low and pulsing with icy menace, it filled Gigi with dread. Gigi slammed her own mouth shut as her skin shivered and jumped like it was trying to crawl away without her in it. Breath hitched in her throat. Her heart began to pound in short, swift bursts. Not again. Not now. Please don’t ruin tonight, she prayed.

“That’s right. Run. I want to see that ass twitching like a manic metronome before I tear it apart.”

See? Ghosts were totally creepy. Stay frosty, damn it. Just shut it down and keep moving. Ghosts had no power over the living. Or so she hoped. So far, her experiences had been strictly auditory. Which seemed benign. Too bad they scared the shit out of her. Gigi looked around for Kaz, but in Gigi’s fight to keep from panicking, she’d lost Kaz in the crowd.

No worries. Gigi drew herself up and took a deep breath. Defiance stiffened her spine and slowed her steps to a halt.

Right into someone else’s path. Already shaky in her towering heels, Gigi was knocked off balance as someone careened into her side. The slick soles of her purple heels slid across the cobblestones, kicking her feet out from underneath her.

She was going down. Hard. As her ass rushed toward the ground, she prayed the impact wouldn’t catapult her breasts out of her dress and into the lightly humid air. The last thing she wanted was to flash the Preternatural denizens of Underground.

Hard arms whipped around her body. Firm hands gripped her ample ass, halting her downward momentum and lifting her free from disaster. Instead of her butt making intimate contact with ancient rock, Gigi’s breasts—still safe in the confines of her party dress—were pressed firmly against someone’s chest. A masculine chest.

Gigi looked down. The black nap of his expensive suit matched that of her dress so perfectly it looked like she was melting into him. Heat pumped off his body, flowing through hers in a smooth and heady wave.

Feet dangling inches above the street, Gigi tilted her head up.

Eyes the color of a pending storm stared down into hers. Firm but sensual lips curled in a small smile. The muscles next to his mouth shook as if unused to the action. And as charming as that small smile was, it never warmed the cool gray of his eyes.

Intrigued, Gigi smiled back. Her smile grew wider as the large hands cupping her rear flexed and pulled her in tighter. Tension coiled low in her belly. She could feel her skin begin to flush as heat rippled through her veins. Holy crap. They hadn’t said a word to each other, and already she was ready to tear his clothes off.

“You plan on keeping me up here all night?” she purred. “’Cause I could be down with that.” Gods, he was gorgeous. Like an accessible and lickable Tom Hiddleston. If his black hair was longer, Gigi would already have her fingers curled in it, pulling his lips down to where she wanted them—all over her body.

“Climb down off that man and get a move on. I’ve got guests waiting. And you have a promise to keep,” Kaz rumbled from right behind Mr. Tall, Dark, and Suckable.

Gigi sighed as annoyance curdled her lust. Figures. Trust her fierce beastie bestie to hold Gigi to her promise.

She pressed her cheek against the porcelain perfection of his. Lips close to his ear, she breathed, “Find me later,” and shimmied her way down his delectable body back to earth.

***

Hot damn! I can’t wait to grab this on Tuesday. Don’t forget to comment below for a chance to win a digital copy! Catch up with Gina on her website and on Facebook.