20 Questions with...Lilith from KISSING PHOENIX

We're coming to the exciting, final stretch of the 20 Questions Valentine's Event! Today we welcome the heroine of Shona Husk's Kissing Phoenix, coming soon from Ellora's Cave....

When Lilith fell into lust with musician Aidan she never expected it to last. And she was right. Her doctor has given her months to live, and telling Aidan is the hardest thing she's ever done.

Aidan has been keeping his own secret. He is Vampire...but he can't turn Lilith and save her. The solution he proposes is illegal and dangerous and breaks every rule set up to protect non-humans from humans. He doesn't care. He will do anything to save the woman he loves.

Discovering the kiss of a Vampire and reveling in the erotic thrill, Lilith realizes her feelings are deeper than lust. But is giving up her humanity worth it?

Lilith was kind enough to sit down with our Cozy correspondent, Tink, earlier this week! Here's 20 Questions with Lilith St. Jack! Take it away, Tink....

Tink: Are you the first one on the dance floor or not so much?
Lilith: Maybe not the first because then everyone would be looking at me, but certainly not the last.

Tink: Do you prefer to spend the night at the theatre or at a bike show?
Lilith: Can I cheat and say rock concert?

Tink: Do you give relationship advice or think it’s a bad idea?
Lilith: Bad idea. I fell in love with a Vampire and didn’t even realize what he was.

Tink: Describe the ideal hero – rough and tumble highlander, titled gentleman of the ton, modern-day bad boy, or supernatural anti-hero?
Lilith: I think I have to say supernatural anti-hero since Aidan didn’t have a title back in the day.

Tink: Would you rather tell someone you love them or show it?
Lilith: Show it.

Tink: Travel to the past or into the future?
Lilith: The future, definitely the future.

Tink: Bubble bath or hot shower?
Lilith: Bath. I love being in water.

Tink: Flats or high heels?
Lilith: Flats. I’m a vet and I spend a lot of time on my feet.

Tink: Flowers or chocolate?
Lilith: Chocolate...was this a trick question?

Tink: G-rated or unrated?
Lilith: Unrated.

Tink: Alpha or beta?
Lilith: Alpha.

Tink: Would you make the first move or wait it out?
Lilith: I’d make the first move. Life is too short to sit around waiting.

Tink: Favorite love song?
Lilith: Anything Aidan writes.

Tink: For Valentine’s would you rather go out or stay in?
Lilith: Stay in. We spend too much time either apart or surrounded by other people.

Tink: Karaoke: yes or no?
Lilith: No. I have no musical talent, that’s Aidan’s department.

Tink: Describe your most romantic moment.
Lilith: The first time Aidan asked me out; I think he was expecting me to say no but I was already eyeing him up. We went to dinner and had so much fun he stayed for breakfast.

Tink: Boxers, briefs…or kilts?
Lilith: Briefs

Tink: What is your idea of a dream date?
Lilith: Something quiet with just the two us.

Tink: Valentine’s Day watch: sappy love story, romantic comedy or forgo all of the above and go with the action flick?
Lilith: Um, if I wanted to see anything romantic I’d be going by myself. So, action flick.

Tink: And, most importantly – do you like your man clean shaven or with a five o’clock shadow?
Lilith: Are we going out or staying in? I don’t mind either way.

Thank you, Lilith, for answering Tink's instrusive questions! Readers, if you'd like to learn more about Lilith and her book, Kissing Phoenix, visit author Shona Husk's website!

Blessed with a lively imagination, Shona Husk spent most of her childhood making up stories. As an adult she discovered romance novels and she hasn't looked back. Always fascinated by dark fairy tales and the paranormal, it's not uncommon to get to know spirits, vampires, were-creatures and demigods through her books. In her free time Shona likes to keep fit and get creative in the kitchen...Toblerone brownies anyone? When she relaxes with a glass of wine at the end of the week she likes to lose herself in a good book.

Thanks to Shona, here is a sneak peak into Kissing Phoenix....


“You don’t get to raise my hopes before telling me what you’re hiding.” And she was sure he was hiding something. The past couple of days he’d been somewhere else even when he was with her. That had been fine. She hadn’t been in the mood to talk anyway. She’d had her own secret to keep. It had taken her days to think of a way to tell him and even now it wasn’t going how she’d expected.

Aidan closed his eyes as if the words he was trying to find were written on his eyelids. He sighed and forced them out. “I’m Vampire.”

Lilith forced a laugh and stepped back. “You’re not a Vampire.” She crossed her arms. “I’ve seen you walk in daylight.”

“Daylight generally isn’t a problem.” His lips revealed elongated teeth as he spoke.

Long, delicately pointed outer incisors. Not shaped like an animal’s canines, for tearing into flesh.

No, these teeth were something else entirely, but no less dangerous. Trapped between wanting to run and frozen with fascination, her blood pounded in her ears. The room became tiny and airless. Aidan had fangs just like a Vampire should.

He closed the distance between them. Smooth, constant motion, lord of his domain. He moved like a predator. She’d never noticed his grace before. Now all she could do was watch as he took her hand, turned it over and ran a finger over the pale blue vein. Then he kissed the inside of her wrist like he was savoring the taste of her skin. Heat flowed from his touch and the pressure of his teeth and rose deep within her, awakening a part of her that had been dormant. Desire raced unrestrained through her blood and sparked every nerve. One touch and she was his. She waited for his fangs to pierce her flesh. Caught in a moment that shouldn’t be, her breath became trapped high in her throat.

Aidan’s gaze locked on hers as his tongue glided over the vein. Then he released her without biting. She gasped as if she’d glimpsed heaven and had it stolen. Her body trembled and ached.

Her blood was too hot to be contained within her flesh.

What had he done to her?

Her shaking hand found its way to her neck. Her pulse bounced hard beneath her fingertips.

Every touch, every lick of her neck had been for one reason. He wanted to bite her. Except she’d put money down he’d never actually bitten her.

Because Vampires don’t exist. Get a grip.

She was hallucinating. She’d entered a daydream while waiting for Aidan to come home, but the cooling curry in the air smelt real. The kiss had been very real, searing her skin. Aidan’s teeth looked very, very real. Her eyes narrowed. She was going to kill him if the teeth were fake. She’d be dead before it got to trial.

“Prove it, Dracula. Are the teeth real?”

She watched his incisors return to a more usual human shape and then lengthen again into needle sharp points. She shivered, her skin was like ice, but her heart raced at the sight. Fear and lust entwined to smother all remaining doubt. He wasn’t playing.

Aidan flicked his tongue over a tooth. “Real.”

Her mind skittered over the alien terrain. If he could walk in daylight, were all Vampire stories false? “Don’t Vampires drink blood?”

He nodded and the light caught his hair, turning brown to red. “When we can get it,” he said too casually.

She stepped back, feeling like a rabbit in a lion’s cage. Could he hear her pulse? The tremor in each breath? Her calves hit the sofa. If she ran, she’d never reach the door.


Tune in tomorrow for more from the final stretch of the 20 Questions Valentine's Event!