“Kenssie is a demon who feeds from secrets. Lately pickings have been slim, and she has grown so weak that her shield of invisibility is slipping. As the servant of a demon who eats embarrassment she already feels like she's the laughing stock of the demonic world. But the scorn of someone who thinks that Hawaiian shirts are the height of cool is the least of her worries.

Tell us a little about yourself.

The Secret Eater focuses on Kenssie, a demon who feeds on secrets. This is such a unique idea, what inspired you to create Kenssie and the demonic world she must live in?

Do you have a favorite line from The Secret Eater, and if so, why is it your favorite?

“I heal instantly. That's almost the same thing.”

If you could go back to when you first began writing The Secret Eater, do you have any advice you'd give yourself that you know now but wish you'd known then?

Today we have an excerpt from Camelia Miron Skiba's Born In Sin, book two in The Dacian Legends series, which is set to be released May 30th, 2013! Cami is also giving away a set of both books one and two in the series, so make sure you enter to win! Check out the synopsis:

“Loathing the thought of his beloved Oriana in the arms of another man, fearless Zyraxes delivers death upon the Roman enemy. With only the rugged land as his bed and the sky as his blanket, trouble finds him often.

Excerpt from Born In Sin:

“Such a fool!” Oriana’s eyes brand me with their intense glare. “Galtys’ women don’t awake everyone with their moans. Galtys’ indiscretion doesn’t offend me, but your actions do.” With both hands Oriana covers her mouth, blinking fast and shaking her head. “I … apologies, I do not know what got into me … a proper lady does not speak about such matters. Apologies.” 

“Oriana, I …” A foreign heat burns my face. “I … the women outside this chamber do not come in for good reason … people think of me as a … if my behavior were different than what they all know me for they’d suspect I hide something. I cannot draw attention to myself without risking your discovery. My duty is to keep you safe even if I must do things you disapprove of.” 

I hold her gaze when she looks at me as if reading my mind. Long ago I gave her my heart but she was too blind to see my love. Too blind or not interested. Granted I never spoke of my feelings, but my actions prove them. It never occurred to me that my behavior causes her grief. 

Oriana sighs. “I am nothing but a burden to you … I have no right to tell you what you can or cannot do. Your life is in danger because of me and yet I demand … I behave so childish.” She smiles briefly then looks down at the cloth in her lap. “I do not know how to show my gratitude for everything you have done—” 

“By the gods, Oriana, stop it!” I get up and walk away, turning my back to her. “I do not want your gratitude.”

She comes behind me, her Oriana scent—dewy earth, freshly cut grass and gladiolus enthralling me. In a small voice she says, “There is nothing else I have to give. I have no possessions, no gold to repay you.” 

I turn and seize her arms, anger and desperation blinding me. “Who speaks of gold or ransom, woman? Have I asked for any of those? Have I?” 

She opens her mouth to say something, pain twisting her face. When it finally dawns on me how rough I am, it’s too late. Galtys pushes me away whilst Oriana leans onto Thera, barely walking to the bed.

I reach for her. “Oriana!”

Giveaway:

About the Author:

“Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until a cute human boy who can somehow see through her faerie glamour follows her into the fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.

Excerpt from The Faerie Guardian:

I tiptoe across Nate’s bedroom floor to where he’s working at his desk. The rain pattering against the window helps conceal the sound of my footsteps. I stop directly behind his chair and quickly cover his eyes with my hands. 

“What the—” He jerks in fright, leaving a line of pen across his page. He reaches up to touch my hands. “Jeez, Vi, you trying to give me a heart attack?” 

“Let’s go somewhere,” I whisper in his ear without removing my hands from his eyes. 

“Uh, sure, why not?” 

I was expecting a little more enthusiasm, but ‘why not’ will have to do. I grab Nate’s hand, quickly open a doorway to the faerie paths on the wall beside his desk, and pull him into the darkness after me. He wraps his arms around me from behind and kisses my neck.

For a second, I forget where we’re going. 

Focus! 

Right. Yes. The destination. I move to his side, never letting go of his hand. “Don’t freak out when we get there,” I tell him. “I’d hate for you to plummet to your death.” 

“What?” He grips my hand tighter. “What do you—Whoa!” The forest appears around us. 

He grabs hold of a tree trunk on his other side and looks down. Down, down, down all the way to the forest floor. 

“The night we met, you asked me why I’d choose to live in a place like this, and I told you that without creepy creatures I’d have no job.” Nate nods, unable to look anywhere except down. “Well, I also live here because I find it incredibly beautiful.” 

“Right. Beautiful. And it’s a really long way to the ground.” 

“So don’t look down, Nate.” I raise his hand to my lips and kiss it. “Look around.”

I take my own advice and allow myself to soak up the wonder of this forest canopy world. Colors shift like smoke within the branch beneath our feet. Sprites jump from leaf to leaf, leaving sprinklings of glittery dust in the air behind them. Droplets of water are strung like pearls from the silver strands of a spider’s web. Bluebottle glow-bugs stick to the leaves and branches, lighting up the night with their blue-green bodies. And high above us, clouds are draped like sashes of color across the sky. Amethyst, azure, jade.

About the Author: