Brooklyn Ann | Bite at First Sight

I am so excited to be here to celebrate the release of BITE AT FIRST SIGHT! I am dizzy from all the kind things the reviewers have said about this book!

“The romance is delicious, exciting, and sexy... BITE AT FIRST SIGHT is an erotic love story with strong characters and great storytelling.” – Fresh Fiction

I must say it was fascinating to research medical practices of the early 19th century. So I'm going to share a few fun things I learned.

1.) Microscopes and knowledge of blood cells happened a LOT sooner than I thought.... in the Fifteenth century!! Antonie van Leeuwenhoek designed a microscope that could magnify up to 500 times. But the technique died with him, so his inventions were highly coveted by physicians and scientists of future generations. The device comes into play in my series.

They look very different than modern microscopes.

2.) But germ theory had yet to have been contemplated and doctors were lax in washing their hands and instruments. My heroine, Cassandra, is not as bad with this because she's a neat freak.

Tension charged the air the moment Rafael entered Lady Rosslyn’s laboratory for her first experiment. The fingers of his bad hand twitched as if aware of her presence. His stomach felt as if a leaden weight rolled around within. This had been a terrible idea. When she looked up from whatever gadget she was tinkering with, he opened his mouth to call the whole thing off. “Brilliant. You’re precisely on time,” she said with a businesslike smile, picking up a horrifically sharp instrument. “I would like to start by collecting a specimen of your blood.” Rafe clenched his teeth. Damn her irrepressible courage. How could she face him so coolly, wielding what was surely a torture device? He couldn’t allow her to have the upper hand. He strained to return her smile. “Very well. How shall we proceed?”

Lady Rosslyn gestured to a chair on her right. “If you would sit over there and, ah, roll up your shirt sleeves, I w-would be most obliged.”

Had that been a tremor in her voice? Rafe sat and studied her closer. Her hands shook as she placed the needle, a cloth, and two small squares of glass on a tray. The objects rattled on the tray as she carried it toward him. So she was nervous after all.

He frowned. Suddenly her trepidation didn’t please him as much. She planned to stick him with that instrument, so it would be more comforting if she was confident about it.

Forcing a smile, he attempted to joke. “I say, Countess, I am unaccustomed to having my blood drawn.”

3.) To be a "Doctor" all one pretty much had to do was speak Latin and Greek. And doctors only diagnosed illnesses and prescribed treatments.

They were unable to operate on a person (That was strictly a Surgeon's job) or even administer medication (That was for the apocathery) The Royal College of Physicians was also fairly corrupt, allowing wealthy students to buy their way in and instructors to utilize favoritism to determine who would pass the less than stringent courses.

In BITE AT FIRST SIGHT, Cassandra is mentored by the surgeon, Thomas Wakley. When he gives her the Oxford examination as a courtesy, she is disappointed with how simple it was.

4.) Use of anesthetics and pain killers were still rare. The treatments available at the time were Laudanum, Cannabis, and Ether, though the last was still mostly used for recreational purposes rather than medicinal. Later on in the 19th century, Morphine and Cocaine became the cure-alls in the medical world and I confess that I'm relieved the time period of this book missed that.

But one of the most effective treatments Cassandra used on Rafe was simple massage. As Hippocrates wrote: "The physician must be experienced in many things, but assuredly in rubbing." Naturally, this leads to some sexy-times.

5.) Obtaining cadavers.

Before 1830, it was only legal to obtain cadavers of executed criminals. This led to a vast shortage of bodies for medical students to study. So a new industry was formed. Grave robbers, called "Resurrection Men" sold cadavers to doctors and colleges. As Cassandra could not go to medical school, she had to hire her own Resurrection Men. Unfortunately, her hired hands kept disappearing so she decided to take matters into her own hands and went to the cemetery to procure her own. And thus the most fun opening scene I've ever written came to pass!

About BITE AT FIRST SIGHT

Her interest is purely scientific

Cassandra Burton wants to study medicine, surgery, healing, and everything related to the human body and its mysteries—and she's willing to rob graves to do it! But a lady can meet dark and dangerous characters lurking around the cemetery. And who could be more fascinating than Rafael Villar, Lord Vampire of London? If she could study his physiology, she could learn so much that would help humans. After all, he’s immortal—and Cassandra is now his prisoner…

Until she gets close enough to touch

As if Rafael didn’t have enough to worry about, with a rebellion brewing and his allies out of reach, now he’s confronted by a beautiful, fearless lady who wants to heal the scars he's borne for centuries. He can’t keep her, and he can’t let her go, and worst of all, he’s every bit as intrigued by her as she is by him.

About Brooklyn Ann

A lover of witty Regencies and dark paranormal romance, Brooklyn Ann combines the two in her new vampire series. The former mechanic turned author lives with her family in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads