Blog Tour: The Witch Hunter (Nicole R Taylor)

Book Description: I was born into the world covered in blood, and that's exactly the way I left it.  

Witch Hunter. I have been asleep these past 150 years, until I was awoken by a haunting call.

Zachary Degaud was twenty three when he died. The problem was, he didn't stay that way. 
Present day, he's just another vampire with another unremarkable story. That is, until he manages to provoke a two thousand year old witch named Katrin, who wants to make him pay in the most horrible way imagined. 
Along with his brother Sam, newly made vampire Liz and their only witch ally, Gabby, his only chance for survival is to summon the ancient and unpredictable vampire known as the Witch Hunter. 
Zac is just looking for a way out of his psychopathic witch problems, but instead will find himself falling head first into a blood feud that has stretched thousands of years. 
Aya has been asleep for the past 150 years, until she was awoken by a haunting call. The witch she has been hunting for thousands of years, Katrin, has resurfaced and marked a young, annoyingly arrogant vampire by the name of Zachary Degaud. Unless she does something, he will die a slow and painful death. He has given her an opportunity to end the witch, but does she want to help him or leave him to his fate? 
Zac will get under her skin like no one else has and she just might find herself making the ultimate sacrifice before he is gone forever. 
They will both have to choose sides and look deep within themselves before the end. But, what Zac learns about himself, will surprise him most of all.

The Witch Hunter
Book One in the Witch Hunter Saga

Nicole R. Taylor

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Paranormal

ISBN: 978-1482061697

Number of pages: 300

Word Count: 72,000

Amazon Smashwords

Sometimes inspiration comes from the most random places. I was asked a while go by a friend (one of my beta readers) how I came up with the character of Aya.
It was when I was listening to one of my favorite bands ever, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, that I found her. I knew I wanted to write something new but had no idea where to begin. Then this song came on and when I listened closer to the words and it sounded like a character that I could write about. I had a scene floating around in my head for a while, but no ultimate story attached to it. (It was the scene where Zac and Aya first meet and what happens next - I won't give it away!) I was really into this album at the time and the song stood out and the rest is history.
I don't really know who the Aya is in the song, but she inspired a band to write a song about her, who in turn inspired me to write a whole series of novels.

She's a patient killer, a timeless hand

The choke of the falling sands

She's a proven saint with a witches tongue

The gods of war at her command

It was those few words that I drew on and created a whole person, desire, history and purpose for. I don't know what she would have been like if I didn't hear this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UGlU3lUz34


Zac is the ultimate flawed hero.
He desperately wants to do the right thing, but he believes himself incapable. The only thing that seems to hold him together is his brother, Sam. He's a smart ass, talks back like nothin' else and is, on most occasions, reckless. He plays at being the 'bad boy' but is it really just a defense mechanism?
When Aya suddenly appears, she is the one puzzle he cannot solve. Trying to solve her is the most frustrating and alluring thing he's done in decades and it drives him mad.

Aya is the ultimate poster child for revenge and self-sacrifice. She'd dedicated her afterlife to hunting witches, and procured a pretty scary reputation for it. She's killed and compelled her way through her existence and has never let anyone close. Her secrets are too great to let go to anyone. She truly believes that she is the only one who can be trusted. Until she meets Zac, she doesn't understand that there are others out there that could become her family. She doesn't believe at all.

It was inevitable for their characters to develop feelings for one another.

On one had you have Aya, who's this solitary figure, a secretive, powerful vampire who people call The Witch Hunter. She's feared. She doesn't need any help surviving on her own. Even after all the time she's been around, these feelings she has towards Zac are strange to her. She's killed and compelled to keep her secrets and letting someone else in? Well, that's the worst possible scenario for her.
And on the other hand you have Zac, who's this tortured soul, keeping everything at arms length because he just doesn't know how to deal with it all. He's an asshole because he doesn't want people to know how unhinged he really is. He's looking for something, but he doesn't know what. He feels like his whole life is just going around in meaningless circles. He's completely and utterly lost. But, he won't confide in anyone. Not even his brother. Not even himself.
The interesting thing is what they will do once they realize they have developed these feelings? Will it bring them together, or tear them apart? Who will fight it and who will pursue it? Will it be happily ever after, or will it destroy them all?
I guess you'll just have to read to find out.

About the Author
 Nicole R. Taylor is an Australian born paranormal, fantasy and contemporary fiction author. She is a graduate of the University of Ballarat Professional Writing and Editing programme and is a former music memorabilia sales person and grocery merchandiser. She currently lives in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia with a two year old rescue cat named, Burger. She enjoys reading, writing (of course!), traveling and a little too much chocolate. One day she hopes to sky dive, but has to work up the courage first. The first in her new paranormal fantasy series, The Witch Hunter Saga is currently available in e-edition and print. Learn more about her writing at: www.nicolertaylorwrites.com

www.nicolertaylorwrites.com 
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http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6907729.Nicole_R_Taylor 

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