Characters: Getting to Know Marcus Vroc

Copyright: Milica Sekulic

Ahhh, Marcus Vroc, with his long, white hair and steel-colored eyes, he manages to carry his tall & wiry frame with the air of solid stone. He is one nasty vampire, and yet Liz can't get him out of her mind. He entices her at every turn while he's alive, and torments her dreams after his death.

Marcus is the first supernatural creature Liz ever meets. He's the cause of her car wreck and manages to take out several people at the hospital in order to get to her. Luckily, he didn't make it that far before Rick swooped in and took Liz home. At that point, Liz still didn't know what was going on, so she had no idea Marcus was a vampire, only that this preternatural creature intrigues her.

Liz soon discovers that Marcus has a nasty past filled with murder and conquests. He is her birth father's lackey, sent to collect her for Gregory. Instead of taking her by force like he intended, he quickly sees that a smoother, gentler way might just be better for him. He's soon in Liz's head, as well as her head.

But then he pushes her too far and brings Rick into play. That's the last straw for Liz. You don't put her friends in danger's path!

Marcus Vroc may be dead by the end of book one, but you will still see plenty of him throughout the rest of the series.  As a matter of fact, you'll see a lot more of him in the upcoming Book 7 late 2015 or early 2016.

If you've read book 1, let me know what you thought of Marcus Vroc. What would you like to see from him in the upcoming book?

Characters: Getting to Know Annalise Baker

Image by Teresa Laing @ sxc.hu

I started this blog series a while back and haven't kept up with it, sooooo here's a new one.

Annalise Baker is Liz's mother. She is descended from very talented and powerful witches, but never seemed to have any powers of her own. Powers seem to skip generations in Annalise's family.

Annalise and Liz's step-father, Matthew, had a rough marriage both before and after Liz's conception. She finally divorced Matthew after 15 years of marriage and terrible abuse and torment.

When Adele, her best friend, drags Annalise away from home for a girls weekend, she meets Gregory. She quickly falls for him and unexpectedly falls into his bed. Thus, the conception of our hero.

When a gypsy soothsayer informs Annalise and Adele that the fate of her new daughter is in peril, the scared mother does the only thing she can to ensure a long life for her child. After several years of slowly dying from cancer (presumably), Annalise Baker passes on to the afterlife. This is where we meet Annalise.

In spirit form, she advises, informs, and helps our hero understand the new world she has been thrust into, and in the process finds her soul mate.

We hope Annalise and her soul mate are living out their happily ever afterlife!

Characters: Getting to Know Adele Brickman

Adele Brickman may only live a short time in book 1 of the Liz Baker series, but she's an integral part of Liz's life. Hell, she's the person who introduced Liz's mother to the vampire Gregory (Liz's bio-dad).

Adele had a rough childhood, but you wouldn't have known that if you didn't know her personally. Once she was old enough to get a job she was out of her parents' strict religious house. She and Liz's mom, Annalise, were the best of friends. One night when the two ladies were out on the town, Adele met the love of her life and Annalise met a demon of the night. Liz never knew any of this until after Adele's death at the hands of a murderous vampire, and Adele's massive fortune was willed to Liz.

Adele loved Liz like a daughter, but after Annalise's passing Adele turned her world toward the bottle. She had lost her husband and her best friend; her parents long since buried. She had no one left so she spent all her lucid hours sitting at the counter of Liz's bar.

Adele had a hard life, but that didn't prevent her from making sure Liz was well taken care of long after her death. Adele had more secrets than Liz knows: demons, fortunes, witchcraft, gypsies, and many more. Will Liz ever discover everything about Adele? And if so, will she be able to survive knowing everything Adele went through to secure a future for Liz and her sister?

We honor Adele Brickman.
Daughter. Wife. Best Friend. Loving "Aunt". Wealthy Benefactor.

Characters: Getting to Know Rick Curry

It's been a little while since I've done a "Getting to know..." I think the last one was about Chad.  Ahhh... Chad.  *Dreamy*

*Cough* Oh, sorry. Rick... yeah... let's get to Rick. Rick is a hottie himself, but as Liz shows him, he has nothing on Chad. We all feel bad for Rick, but he bounces back quite quickly.  Maybe a little too quickly.  Hmmm....

Rick Curry is the kind of blond hair, blue eyed cutie with a sparkly smile that can make you swoon, but you know it won't last, and one of Liz's oldest friends. They've known each other since grade school. He was a tag-along pest until be finally broke Liz's barriers down and she welcomed him into her confidence. They went through a lot as teenagers, but it wasn't until their 20's, and some terrible relationships for them both, that Liz saw Rick's boyfriend potential.

For years, Rick and Liz would play the on-again-off-again relationship game. Rick wanted more from her than she was willing to give. He finally realized that if he wanted to have any sort of relationship with Liz, he'd have to play it by her convoluted rules. At one point he even got a tattoo of Liz's zodiac sign because she'd mentioned to another woman that she liked guys with tattoos.  Yeah, that was a stupid move.

Rick is a small town factory worker. He's 100% country boy with his jeans, boots, and pickup truck. He likes small town living and can't imagine ever leaving Tremmel Crossing, Georgia. He wants to settle down with his love, in a nice house and yard, and have a brood of little ones. This is not in line with Liz's ideas of her future. And when Rick gets a little too clingy/bossy, she ends their many years of back and forth. But will it be forever?

Characters: Getting to Know Chad Langford

Today we're going to learn a little bit about Chad Langford.

Chad is the resident bouncer in Liz's bar, Athena's Ambrosia. At first look, he appears sullen, sour, gruff, but in truth he's a tender soul who wants nothing more than to live a happy life.

Chad Langford was a police officer on the Tremmel Crossing police force when something awful happened. To this day it's a deeply held secret as to what that something was. All we do know is it resulted in Chad "retiring" from the force in his early 30's with a substantial amount of compensation and a lot of mental baggage to last him a lifetime. Liz hopes one day he'll feel safe enough to tell her what happened, but she doesn't push him for the information.

Thirty-five with the rock hard abs of a twenty-five year old, all the ladies love Chad, though he'd rather most of their attentions were elsewhere. His hazel eyes and close cropped hair offer an aura of roughness to his sexy exterior, without a hint of his true inner self. Chad might be a fighter, but he'd rather be a lover. He wants the "Happily Ever After," but will he ever really get it? And will that be with Liz?

Feel free to ask Chad any questions you think of and we'll see if he's up to answering.  :D

Stay tuned next week when it'll be Rick's turn at Getting to Know the Characters of Liz Baker's world.

Characters: Getting to Know Liz Baker

Welcome to the first installment of Getting to Know the Characters. I will try to do one character each week, probably on Thursdays, from the Liz Baker series. We'll start it off with...

Meet Liz.  She's our reluctant heroine in my Liz Baker series.  Liz's life was simple; she thought she was content. Lingering thoughts in the back of her head suggested she might enjoy a more eventful life though.  But she knew she didn't want the husband, family, and white picket fence in her small town of Tremmel Crossing, Georgia. The town was too bland, too boring.

That is, before Liz found out the truth...

Born Lizbeth May Baker, she is the offspring of a human woman with Gypsy heritage and a male vampire with a god complex, though previously thought to be the prodigy of her abusive stepfather. Liz has an older sister, Jesika, who lives hours away and held a grudge against her for many years.

Liz owns a bar called Athena's Ambrosia. This is her pride and joy. She designed and decorated it from the ground up. She loves her loyal staff members like family, and they'd do almost anything for her. She has many loyal patrons, as well; people she's known for years, looks out for when they've had too much, and listens to when they tell the stories of their lives. Liz loves Athena's and all who enjoy their time there.

With a love of brightly colored nail polish, tight jeans, corsets, and tall leather boots, Liz commands attention from any she finds worthy of her curvaceous endowments, and doesn't bat an eyelash at a rambunctious romp in a cemetery. That's where she first discovers the dangers and secrets of her true parentage, and thus, her crazy, wild future in life.

To start your trip into Liz's life check out Time for Death (Liz Baker, book 1). It's always only $0.99 on Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook, and Smashwords.

If you have any questions you'd like to ask Liz post them below.  :D