Guys, I am so forgetful. I meant to post this like three months ago. Haha.

I created this graphic for my computer background because it inspires me. This is one of Kara’s quotes from The Tomb of Blood (the book I’m working on right now). Now, I know most of you don’t know much about Kara yet (aside from what I might have told on here or social media, of course) because she wasn’t in The Stone of the Eklektos. But there is a reason that she is my favorite character.

I can easily say that out of all of the characters in my books, I relate most to Rose. She shares my insecurities, my quirks, and even many of my past experiences. Because of that, she holds a special place in my heart, and she’s often a source of inspiration to me, especially when she faces her fears with determination and courage that I don’t always have. 

But if I had to name the character that inspires me the MOST, it would be Kara. She has her fair share of flaws, of course, like all of my characters, but she’s strong in areas that I’m not. Kara is so confident and so sure of herself, and she always knows exactly what she’s doing. She doesn’t let anyone tear her down, discourage her, or silence her. 

Basically, she’s the opposite of me. And I love her for it. 

Not to mention, she’s an awesome, badbutt warrior, and you can’t NOT inspired by her badbuttery. (Wow, that’s probably the dorkiest word I’ve ever created.) 

Anyway, this image inspires me during my most insecure moments, so I figured I’d share it with you. 🙂

P.S. – In honor of the holidays, I am sharing an excerpt from The Tomb of Blood later. So, keep an eye out for that! 😉

Like most writers (I assume), I listen to music while I write. I listen to all kind of music (rock, blues, indie, classical, etc.), but regardless of the genre, I usually try to find music that fits the mood of what I’m writing. Hozier’s music makes up a large portion of my writing playlist because: 1) I love his music, and 2) his music has that dark, bluesy sound that fits the mood of so many scenes in my books. Well, lately, I have pretty much had his new song “Better Love” (the one that’s one the new Tarzan movie) on repeat because I’m working really hard on this semi-romantic/sexy-ish scene between Rose and The-Person-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (I don’t want to spoil anything), and that songs fits the scene perfectly because it’s so dark, somber, and sultry. Anyway, because I am a total dork who is obsessed with the book I’m writing, I made this little graphic. I hope you like it! =)

Okay… I promised an excerpt, and here it is! 🙂 I’ve been so nervous about which one I should post, so I really hope you like the one I picked! 🙂 This is from my upcoming book: The Tomb of Blood, which is the book that follows The Stone of the Eklektos in the Creatures of Darkness series. This scene should answer any questions you might have about how the Rose-and-Kara alliance happens…

from The Tomb of Blood, Creatures of Darkness: Book Two
© Britney Jackson
Featuring Rose, Kara, Kallias, and Some Dead Guy.

Rose nearly tripped over a broken tombstone as she tried to catch up with Kara. She reflexively mumbled an apology and continued walking, but while she was apologizing to the inanimate object, she failed to notice that Kara had already stopped. She collided with the strange, elusive vampire before she even looked up.
Kara didn’t budge. Her lips curved slowly into a smile. “Hi,” she murmured.
“Hi,” Rose replied awkwardly, blinking as she looked up and found Kara’s face directly in front of hers. She took an exaggerated step backward, and then, just for safe measure, she took another step backward.
Kara just watched her with an amused smile. “What did you want, Rose?”
Rose swallowed uneasily. “Kallias doesn’t trust you.”
“Of course he doesn’t,” Kara laughed. “I lie, and I’m good at it.”
“But Erik trusts you,” Rose stated.
Kara shrugged. “Erik is naïve.”
“So,” Rose sighed, “are you saying that you shouldn’t be trusted?”
“Do you trust me?” Kara asked.
“I try not to draw conclusions about people before I know them,” Rose said.
Kara’s cornflower-blue eyes sparkled with amusement. “And how do you plan to get to know me?”
“I have questions,” Rose explained. “I want you to answer them.”
Kara walked over to an old, ornate angel statue that was missing one of its wings. She leaned against the statue and crossed her arms. Her gaze traveled up and down Rose’s body for the fifteenth time that night, and Rose briefly wondered whether the strange vampire was trying to memorize every feature of her body. Those icy blue eyes finally returned to Rose’s face, and Kara’s lips tilted into a flirty smile. She extended her wrist causally. “Are you hungry?”
Rose blinked in shock. “You just met me, and you’re offering me your blood?”
Kara shrugged. “I can think of no better way to get to know someone than sharing blood.”
Rose stared blankly at her. “Answering my questions would be a good start.”
Kara chuckled lowly and crossed her arms, causing her thin, black tank top to stretch tight against her muscles. “Your loss.”
“I know that you were Alana’s lover,” Rose informed her.
Kara raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”
Rose sighed, “I want to know if you are still her lover.”
“That would depend on how you define lover,” Kara said.
“That doesn’t qualify as an answer,” Rose complained. “You realize that, right?”
Kara smiled. She stepped away from the broken angel statue and crossed the space between them, stepping over a cracked headstone before she reached Rose. “You are asking me questions because you want to know more about me, and I am asking you questions because I want to know more about you,” she stated. She leaned in close, too close, and whispered, “So far, I’m the only one winning this little game.”
Rose pressed her back up against the tombstone behind her in an attempt to keep a tiny bit of space between them. “What?” she sputtered. “You don’t know anything about me.”
For the sixteenth time—Rose had begun to keep count, by this point—Kara’s gaze swept down her body, lingering on a few very specific places. She offered Rose a cocky smirk. “You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?”
Rose swallowed nervously. “I just want to know which side you’re on.”
Kara laughed, “No one ever knows which side I’m on. It’s part of my appeal.”
Rose sighed, “So…what? You’re a double agent?”
Kara’s brows furrowed. “A what?”
“Sorry. Human term,” Rose muttered. “You’re playing both sides.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” Kara said. Her head tilted to the side, and her light blue eyes danced with curiosity. “Tell me what you think.”
“I think you disagree with what Alana’s doing,” Rose answered without hesitating. “I think you know her better than anyone else. I think you know what she is capable of, and you want to stop her.”
Kara’s eyebrows lifted, and a pleased smile spread across her face. “Then, it sounds like you already know which side I’m on.”
“What I don’t understand,” Rose continued, “is why you’re with her. Erik fell in love with Alana because he fell for her mind games, but you see through all of that. So, why are you with her?”
Kara stepped closer, allowing her hands to press lightly against the tombstone behind Rose, trapping Rose between the stone and her body. She leaned in close, as if she didn’t want anyone else to hear her, and for the first time all night, she answered Rose’s question. “Let’s just put it this way: I like to keep my friends close and my enemies closer, and I like to keep Alana very, very close.”
Rose tried to pull air through her lungs, but it didn’t seem to be happening, not with this strange, blue-haired vampire standing so close. “Then, you and I…” She swallowed. “We’re on the same side?”
Kara dropped her hands and took a step back, flashing a flirty smile at her. “Looks like it, sexy,” she said with wink. Then, she turned and strolled back into the tomb, leaving Rose alone in the moonlit cemetery.
Rose stared after the vampire for nearly half a minute before her mind started working again. “Did she just call me sexy?”
No one answered her.
Rose glanced at the tombstone beside her. “Right. You can’t talk. You’re dead. Been there, done that. But I still have a mouth. You don’t, obviously. That must suck.”
“Rose? Are you talking to a tombstone?”
Rose spun around toward the familiar voice, scowling as she found Kallias standing right behind her. “How long have you been there?”
“Long enough to worry about your sanity,” Kallias muttered.
Rose patted the top of the tombstone, as if it were a concrete puppy. “His name is George,” she said defensively. She squinted at the tombstone. “Or maybe Greg. Or Hollingsworth. I can’t tell. The guy’s been dead too long.”
Kallias chuckled. “We should get inside. The sun will rise soon.”
Rose nodded and followed him as he led the way into the tomb.
Kallias shoved the door open. “And the answer is yes.”
“Hmm?” Rose mumbled distractedly as she eyed an object on the floor that looked disturbingly similar to a human bone.
Kallias turned toward her. “Yes, she did call you sexy.”

Here is a tiny snippet of what I’m working on right now! I hope you like it! 🙂

I’m also planning on posting the cover and blurb for The Tomb of Blood soon, and I’ll post an excerpt eventually as well. So, keep an eye out for that, too.

I’ve had a good writing day so far, and when I have good writing days (or even decent writing days), all I want to do is talk about the book I’m writing. (I know…I’m such a dork. Shut up.) So, I figured, since I’ve already shared a preview of Alana with you, I’d share a preview of Kara this time. If you’ve finished The Stone of the Eklektos, you may have an idea of who Kara is and the kind of role that she plays in the rest of the series. (Hint: Pay attention to what Erik says to Rose and what Alana says to Erik.) Kara is my absolute favorite character to write. She is so much fun, and in my opinion, she’s the most bad-butt character of the entire series. As a former Viking, she has crazy-awesome battle skills, and she’s as sly and cunning as it gets. Interesting fact: I originally wrote Kara as one of the bad guys. It just made sense, considering she is in a relationship with Alana (the antagonist) and is second-in-command to Aaron (who definitely straddles the evil-line). But then, she blossomed as a character and turned out to be one of the good guys. Ha, who am I kidding? Kara is not “good,” exactly. She is still very much “bad,” just with some good mixed in, haha. Anyway, I’m in a good mood because I’ve been writing Kara scenes all day, and I thought I’d share a little of my weird good mood with you. I hope you all like Kara’s character as much as I do. 🙂

I’ve been hard at work on The Tomb of Blood (Book 2 of the Creatures of Darkness series), and it’s coming along…sometimes slowly, sometimes rapidly, and sometimes really, really sluggishly…but still, it’s coming along. And I figured, since several of you are already finished with The Stone of the Eklektos and are anxious for updates on The Tomb of Blood, I would go ahead and give you a preview of Alana. 🙂 If you have finished the first book, then you have already met Alana and probably have an idea of what she’s like. 😉 Alana is the antagonist of The Tomb of Blood. I may have said this before, but Alana is my favorite villain of the entire series. She’s not the most powerful (the most powerful is the villain of Book 4). And she’s not the scariest (the scariest is probably Theron). But she is just so complicated and so much fun to write. In her own version of the story, she is the hero, and humanity is the villain. Alana is a master of manipulation and the queen of mind games. She’s beautiful and seductive and irresistible. But whatever you do, don’t fall in love with her…because if you do, she’ll ruin your life. Don’t believe me? Just ask Erik or Kara. 😉

Alana’s character profile is now up on the Get to Know the Characters page as well, so you can find out more information about her there. It’s taking forever for me to finish Kallias’s profile and Erik’s profile, I know, but I promise I’ll have them up soon.

P.S. – I think everyone already knows this, but just in case you don’t, the paperback and Kindle version of the book are both available now and have been for several weeks. I posted on Facebook when the paperback became available, but I forgot to post the update on here. You can purchase the paperback or Kindle edition of the book at this link: https://amzn.com/B01FVLST9Q.