Today we have an AWESOME guest post by the extremely talented writing duo Ilona Andrews!
Their Top 5 moments in the Kate Daniels series will be posted on 5 blogs, starting today with us, here at Demon Lover’s. And what better way to kick things off, than with a giveaway!!
One lucky commenter will be chosen to receive a copy of Gunmetal Magic (read my review here)

***Note: please leave me your email address so I can get ahold of you. If you don’t, you won’t be disqualified by any means, but you’ll have to check back on Monday to see if you’ve won.***


Top Five Moments of Kate Daniels Series

The world has suffered a magic apocalypse. We pushed the technological progress too far, and now magic returned with a vengeance. It comes in waves, without warning, and vanishes as suddenly as it appears. When magic is up, planes drop out of the sky, cars stall, electricity dies. When magic is down, guns work and spells fail.

It’s a volatile, screwed-up world. Magic feeds on technology, gnawing down on skyscrappers until most of them topple and fall, leaving only skeletal husks behind. Monsters prowl the ruined streets, werebears and werehyenas stalk their prey; and the Masters of the Dead, necromancers driven by their thirst of knowledge and wealth, pilot blood-crazed vampires with their minds.
In this world lives Kate Daniels. Kate likes her sword a little too much and has a hard time controlling her mouth. The magic in her blood makes her a target, and she spent most of her life hiding in plain sight.  But sometimes even trained killers make friends and fall in love, and when the universe tries to kick them in the face, they kick back.

Every author has favorite moments in their series.  Gordon and I have many.  We’re easily bored, so we try to make each other laugh or go “Oooooh” at least once per scene.  The idea is to cram as much gratuitous coolness into every chapter as humanly possible.  Sometimes we come up with awesome moments, and sometimes it’s kind of wince-inducing.  We both had times when we’d ask each other, “Hey, this is what I’ve got.  I need something funny here.”  Sometimes the response is great and sometimes we just end up rolling our eyes and scrapping the dialogue.
With that in mind, here are some of our top favorite moments and how we came up with them. We will be posting one special moment on 5 different blogs, so stay tuned….
Hugs,
Gordon and Ilona
Moment #1: Here kitty, kitty. (Magic Bites)
We both count this moment as our favorite.  As Kate tries to untangle the murder of her guardian, her investigation puts her on a collision course with Curran, the Beastlord of Atlanta and the head of a giant Pack of shapeshifters.  Curran is a secretive figure, and he wants to meet in Unicorn Lane, a particularly nasty area in the middle of the night.  It’s a tactic designed to test and intimidate.  Unfortunately Kate doesn’t do well with intimidation.
A low, warning growl froze me in mid-move.  It came from the dark gaping hole in the building across the street and rolled through the ruins, awakening ancient memories of a time when humans were pathetic, hairless creatures cowering by the weak flame of the first fire and scanning the night with frightened eyes, for it held monstrous hungry killers.  My subconscious screamed in panic.  I held it in check and cracked my neck, slowly, one side then another.
…
My saber firmly in hand, I marched across the street and stepped through the opening.  The darkness swallowed me whole.
The lingering musky scent of a cat hit me. So, not a bear after all. 
Where was he?  I scanned the building, peering into the gloom.  Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the walls, creating a mirage of twilight and complete darkness.  I knew he was watching me.  Enjoying himself. 
I gripped the saber.  A shadow darker than the rest shifted at the opposite wall.  It was low, around the level of my waist.  It made no move in response to my glare.
Diplomacy was never my strong suit and my patience had run dry.  I crouched and looking at the shadow, called out, “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.”
Two golden eyes ignited in the shadow.  The darkness shifted and the eyes went up and up and up, towering above me.  A single enormous paw moved into the moonlight, disturbing the dust on the filthy floor. Wicked claws shot forth and withdrew.  A massive shoulder followed, its grey fur marked by faint smoky stripes.  The huge body shifted forward, coming at me, and I lost my balance and fell on my ass into the dirt.  Dear God, this wasn’t just a lion.  This thing had to be at least five feet at the shoulder.  And why was it striped?
The colossal cat circled me, half in the light, half in the shadow, the dark mane trembling as he moved. I scrambled to my feet and almost bumped into the grey muzzle.  We looked at each other, the lion and I, our gazes level.  Then I twisted around and began dusting off my jeans in a most undignified manner.
The lion vanished into a dark corner.  A whisper of power pulsed through the room, tugging at my senses.  If I did not know better, I would say that he had just changed. 
“Kitty, kitty?” asked a level male voice.
Next Stop:
Tuesday, July 31
 MOMENT #2
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