Impulse, we got it

Hey, guess what? I'm blogging today LOL

But it's not for me. As you've probably seen, I've gotten bad about it. But, I have great news! I come bearing gifts. We've reached the time to give you a free book! Raven's Impulse!

You can get it here, and in case you forgot what the cover looks like:

 

 

It's free for a short time only. Want to read a little of our upcoming release, Temptation, an Isola Dei Sogni novel as well?

 

 

 

"Ah love." He cuddled her close and Meryl felt his heartbeat resonate through her. "I'm always there,.You chose to ignore it. You are my life and with me, in me at all times. I shouldn't have stayed and I did. I shouldn't have left like I did, but I had no option. Surely you knew you just had to show me you needed me and I'd be with you? If not in person, in your dreams. Even when you've called me all the names no self-respecting person should know let alone say." He paused and rubbed her shoulder. "Just because I'm not on show, doesn't mean I'm not here, not with you. Hold your hand out and let your heart feel me. You are mine, and even though you doubt it, it's true."

He ran his hand over her heart, and Meryl felt his heat burning into her. She melted as he kissed her, and his hand lifted her t-shirt and stroked her breast over the top of her bra. Her skin tingled and Meryl crossed her legs to stop the shivers of excitement she felt from being too obvious. She was on a plane for heavens sake. Okay she'd heard of the mile high club, but it was so not her.

He grinned, and tingles danced down her spine. "Ah my lovely Meryl just let yourself go. Purr for me." He nipped and sucked her shoulder and at the same time moved his hand to creep under the top of her jeans and touch her clit. Meryl groaned at the sweet sting he gave her, even as she arched into his palm. His breath was warm on her neck. "Oh sweet, I've so missed touching you. Come for me now." As he stroked and petted it was the perfect feeling of love, care, and being needed. She began to shake, and he drank her sighs and mewls of pleasure as his mouth covered hers in a long lingering kiss. With a silent scream she shattered. As she came down from one of the most exhilarating climaxes ever, his hands stroked her hair in a long soothing caress. If she were a cat she'd purr.

 Hold on. Cats? Purring? What the hell is going on? Her sleepy, sated state disappeared in a second.

 Meryl opened her eyes. All thoughts of her climax disappeared as she saw where she was. Sheesh, did I really make myself come with a dream? Hell I hope no one saw or heard me.  She checked—the blanket still covered her.

HOT HOT HOT

Excerpt from Search for Sorren

Hi everybody :)

I'm still alive and kicking. More than that, after two months of having my meds and one month of running, I feel pretty damn good. I've edited and re-posted Sex Rehearsal and Murder (quick erotica) and The Winds of Fire (Romantic Thriller with a military bent) on Smashwords here and here and on Amazon here and here. (there's even a customer review up from early on :) I edited The Ghost of Kristen's Past (TWF and TGKP are omniscient POV stuff I've been grousing about) and sent it off. I don't know if they take omniscient, so we'll find out won't we?

I've started editing (again!!) The Search for Sorren again. It's the full length novel for Splintered Lands that I should have had finished a YEAR ago...thankfully they're slow as molasses. For some reason (and really, I don't know why. In rereading it, I really like it!!) I'm having trouble finding my rhythm and have groused about it on more than one occasion. I worked hard to get over the 55k mark. I was stuck just under 54 and seemed like every word I wrote took an hour. :P Well, maybe this editing mode will help me to par this up into chapters (I was so into writing this, I forgot to do chapters right! in that 55k there's only 2 chapters!! LOLOL) So, that's going well :) I've already taken out a bunch of words, but I'm still up about a hundred words :) So wish me luck that some other emergency doesn't happen.

In celebration of my new found editing prowess, I want to share a piece of the first chapter. The main character has been fighting the council and refuses to give approval for the outlying areas to do an experimnet. The results of the experiment are as she feared--deadly. (Note: For the rules of this world, go to Splintered Lands and while there, check out Dangerous Journey, partly co-written by Anne-Mhairi Simpson and continued in a short story later :)

“Mistress Sherrone!” someone called her but she did not heed them. She stayed with Krong, not wanting him to die alone, if indeed he was going to die. “Sherrone!” this time the strident tones would not be ignored.

She looked around to see who was calling. It was Hielan. “What is it?” she asked resignedly.

“Ye need to move. We are going to attempt to roll the log off them, but need everyone to help move the—“ he stumbled. She saw him swallow hard, his adam’s apple jumping, high, then low, before he spoke again. “The bodies. We need to move them as quickly as possible so we can attempt to save the ones who are still alive.”

She nodded and squeezed Krong’s hand. “I have to go help,” she said, her voice strained with the tears she could not hold back . “Don’t leave this world while I’m gone,” she ordered. She stood up and turned to Hielan.

“Okay, show me where I can be of the most use,” she said, wiping her face with both of her hands, trying to regain her composure.

“Grab the ones still alive first, and move them as far as ye can away from the area. We don’t want any more accidents. After the live ones have been moved, we can put the ones who have already died there,” he pointed to a spot not too far. “It’s unlikely that the log will roll there, but if it does,” he trailed off.

If it does, the dead won’t feel it, she mentally finished for him. She did not want to say it aloud anymore than he did. “Good plan. I’ll see that the others who are unhurt help us with them.” She turned and moved to the nearest live person and began implementing the plan. She called out to the others to help, many of whom stood shocked, not moving or speaking. “We need to help those still alive get a fighting chance to live,” she ordered them. “Now come and aid us,” she ordered.

Many were shoved out of their shock by her terse words and began to do as she said. She lifted the torso of the first woman, grasped under her arms, clasping her hands together over the woman’s chest. She pushed her feet into the ground and stood up as much as she could and began to drag her over to the area Hielan had pointed out to her. The woman moaned and attempted to help, but her feet dangled uselessly and she could only look up at Sherrone.

The fear, pain, and sadness in the woman’s eyes almost broke Sherron’s composure, but she gritted her teeth and pulled. About half way to the designated area, Androna came and grabbed the woman’s legs under the knees and helped Sherrone move her.

Together they moved three people who were still alive and two who were not. By now, Sherrone’s emotions had steeled, and anger was making its way to the forefront. She kept moving, not letting her personal feelings get in the way, even when she saw that one of the dead people included the other woman who was on the council with her.

The area was finally clear. Sherrone stood to the side while the pushed the log off the men who had been caught under it. The men all screamed in pain as the weight was lifted off. She dropped down next to Krong as soon as Hielan gave the all clear sign. Never in her life had she seen so many dead and injured. Their community had grown to almost double in the last decade. But in one fell swoop, they had lost about a quarter of the adults.

She pushed that thought to the side as Krong smiled weakly at her. “I waited for you. But I’m afraid I cannot wait much longer before moving on to the next stop on the Great Path of Life.”

“Krong,” she wanted to deny his claim, but knew he was right. “I did na know ye believed as those in the temple high up the river do,” she said instead.

“Don’t tell the others on the council, but it is where the Haring people are from. We came to seek a different life but never lost our beliefs in a higher power. I must go now, down the next path in store for me,” he said, his voice barely a breath on the last word. He took in one deep breath, let it out. Then, no more.

She cried out against the fates and the council members who had approved of the experiment. She heard others crying as well as the townspeople realized the dead and dying were one of their own family members or their good friends. She did not know how they would find enough wood to do a proper burning burial without it becoming obvious that a large settlement lived there, but that would be a problem for tomorrow. For now, she stood up, her eyes boring into the gazes of the other members of the council, who looked away.

At tonight’s traditional follow up council meeting, she would have her say. And this time, they would listen. She took one last look at Krong and the others who had died and marched over to the other lead council member. The one who always opposed her and sided with a man no matter how wrong he was, Pflimer. Orion Pflimer.

“Orion! I would have words with ye,” she called out.

“Now, woman?” he asked in exasperation.

“My name is Mistress Sherrone. Or Council Woman Sherrone, if ye prefer,” she said through her teeth. “And aye, now.”

“What do ye want,” he said demandingly. “I’m a little busy ‘ere.”

“We’re all a little busy ‘ere,” she said pointedly. “Dealing with injuries and deaths that should na ha' occurred if the council had done its job.”

He looked around and she knew he was searching to see who else was listening before responding. “If ye were na such a shrew, then maybe more of the council would heed your words.”

Sherrone stared at him aghast. “If ye were less bigoted and listened to people regardless of whether they are man or woman, I would na have to demand to be heard. Ye are vile. I’m going to see to it that your seat on the council be revoked.” She turned and walked away before she said or did more in the heat of her rage.

It was nightfall before the injured had been taken home and the bodies placed near the burial site. They would start digging the graves and chopping the wood tomorrow. Ironically, they would be using the logs they had felled for the experiment. There were not enough trees to let the wood go to waste for sentimental reasons.

Tired, dirty, and hungry, she made her way with others to the council hall. More people than usual followed them. This would not be a typical follow up on an experiment. People’s emotions were riding high, and they wanted someone to pay. She did not blame them for she felt the same way.

She sat in her rough hewn chair. It was not as fancy as the others, for she had made it herself. All of them had chairs of sorts and one long table that separated them from the rest who attended the meeting. It was thick and heavy and made from some of the oldest trees they had seen in their area. Some had even speculated that they may have been some of the very few trees to have survived the splintering.

She ran her hand over the table and winced. Even her customary comfort in the idea of something that had outlasted human folly and nature’s wrath was to be denied her tonight. Her hands were blistered and cut from the clean up. It would be worse tomorrow.

:) anyways, I really like it. The dialogue is my own rendition of American south and Scottish accent :P LOLOL Well, off to copy and past to WP and then back to work :)

time for some sample writing

One of many books I'm considering writing a sequel to is Gal Friday Noir: Mayhem in Mexico (and yes, if you're wondering, I'm looking for a new title. I think the title is a little misleading. It's more action packed than noir suggests to me. Still, sigh.) I'm editing it while I'm on the home computer. This is the one driving me crazy making changes from first person present tense to first person past tense. I thought I was nearly finished and was doing a final run through... and the answer to that is no, not. Forgot I was interrupted :D

Anyways, here's a passage after Serena and her FBI agent partner, Joseph, has rescued her kids. She stays behind to ensure their escape and is now waiting for her own rescue once the kids are safe. We start with her talking:

"Another drug?" Oh just peachy keeno. Another drug. Another thing to worry about in the fight against these zombie monsters in human clothing.

"Yes. This one works to make the person more malleable to specific commands."

"Sounds dangerous. What if the wrong person gives them a command? Then what're you going to do? Give them counter commands until steam comes out their ears? I'm more impressed with your knock out drug," I said sarcastically.

"You're such a spitfire. Breaking the strong ones is so much more riveting for me. This drug works a lot like hypnosis works on the masses," she continued as if she hadn't just said she's going to break me. "While under the influence of this new drug, I can train the mind of whomever I want to do what I want, when I want."

"That's a lot of I wants. Hasn't anyone told you the old saying? Want in one, shit in the other and see which fills up faster? Because that's where I see this going." No way she'd developed mind control drugs for the Infected. Right?

I finally saw a frown cross her face. Good. My mother always said I could try the patience of a saint. She didn't find it funny when I told her that suffering was what made a person a saint and maybe I was put on Earth for making saints. I was a bit of a snot. Who was I kidding? I still qualified.

"You're a real smart ass. But you'll see. It takes a few doses to become effective but we'll get there. In the meantime, my friends and I are going to make sure you remember your stay here."

No doubt they would. I knew her old pals would be more than happy to stick the screws in and turn them. "The sourness in my disposition isn't due to the wonderfulness of my position. I'm quite confident you'll make my stay here memorable. Just remember, I'll be paying you back." If I lived through this ordeal.

"Bravado will get you nowhere but hurt. My men aren't as tolerant or forgiving of sarcastic humor as I am. But, the talking is over. I'm sure your cheek is feeling better compared to how it felt when you first got it. It seems to be healing at an alarming rate for a human. You're infected with the virus, I believe. How have you convinced the military otherwise?" She narrowed her eyes at me. "You can't cheat those tests. They don't leave you alone for a minute after they've verified  your identity. Fascinating."

She slapped my injured cheek. Hard.

My head snapped to the side in the aftermath of the blow. My eyesight was swimming. Shit. That hurt. While I was blinking to bring my eyes in focus, she slapped the other cheek. Now I was dizzy and sick. Fuck. She'd barely started and I was this sick? It was going to be a long day. God help me if I was here a week.

My head wass lolling around like a drunk in his favorite bar. I tried to speak, but couldn't at first. I finally regained the use of my tongue. "Is that all you got?"

She grabbed a fistful of my hair and jerked strait up. I swear stars were flying around her head after she cuffed my ears with her other hand. She yanked my head back so my neck was exposed. She took a knife from under her skirt which looked impressive when you were in my position. She scraped the knife down my neck.

The pain of the knife slicing burned against my skin. The blood ran down my neck to my shirt. I knew she planned on keeping me alive, but I wasn't looking forward to finding out how much torture my self-healing body could take without dying.

She let my head go and it bobbed like a buoy on water. My headache was exploding in little colored fireworks behind my eyes. Great. A stinking migraine to add to the list of pains. Thank you super virus, for making me so awesome.

 I wasn't even trying to focus my eyes on her. I didn't want to.

"You'll be left here while we make our arrangements with our traitor within the FBI. When I come back, I'll take you to your first bathroom run. You're our guest here. If there's anything you want, you just have to ask."

"Let me go?" I said sarcastically.

"You're being unreasonable," she replied mildly.

"Fine. How about Pizza Delivery? Or is that against hostage etiquette too?" My world was still spinning and my head still bobbed up and down.

She stepped forward and slapped me again with a quick snap of the wrist. My head jerked so far to the right, I was surprised when my neck didn't snap.

And hence starts the beginning of our captured heroines torture. Sigh. It was hard to write the whole bits. Especially in first person. Anywas, off to write some more. TATA for now.

For the first time in 3 years

I've doubted my ability as a writer. Seriously, all my other doubts boileddown to time. Do I have time to become the writer I know I need to be. But today, I had the thought that I was trying for no reason. I don't have many sales, I'm not getting positive responses from queries I send out and it's so hard now. Twice as hard with a day job, twice as hard with sick kids, and I've had both the last two weeks. which makes it all about ten times as hard. (trust me the math's right, even if it doesn't look like it on paper :) It's taken me most of the day to shut myself up and the whispers are still coming.

So, I'm posting an excerpt from Winds of Fire: Eagle Claw Series here, and the links. If you like it, please buy the book. If you like Harlequin's Blaze line, you'll probably like this as I'd originally intended it for them, but even after cutting scenes (which I now regret) I'm still 250 words over their max, so I toughened it up, (It's now a thriller with strong romantic elements instead of a romance w/ strong thriller elements. Wasn't on purpose, just happened as the scenes were cut!) and slam, bam, there it is! Here's the excerpt.

Victoria's fiance has taken off with her files and sold them to the highest bidder. She's in the process of a sting operation to buy them back in the midst of clearing her name of treason. We start with the two men she who have the stolen files:


The two men finally looked at each other and nodded and walked to the plank that went to the dock. They looked around uneasily as if expecting something. Her adrenalin kicked in and she went to high alert. Now was when something was supposed to happen. She could smell the fear wafting off the men as they approached her.


She did the swap as quickly as possible and instinctively dropped to the ground. Erica followed and a split second later, popping noise accompanied the men in front of her dropping. She had a frozen moment in time to decide whether to play dead or roll away. She chose to roll away and the wood splintered where she had dropped.

Erica was already up on her feet and squatting behind one of the pier's piles. Victoria grabbed both the money and the file cases and joined her. She pulled her Glock out and they waited for more shots. The silence droned on for a few seconds.

"Victoria, Erica. Come out, come out wherever you are," Kurt's voice rang through the still night air. Both women cursed under their breaths.

"I should have known you would be here, Kurt," Victoria replied. Neither woman moved.

"Of course. I had to draw you out somehow. You proved to be too good, even for the top brass. It is really too bad. If you were not so provincial, we could have ruled the world together. I'm going to send someone over to your position. Give them the cash and the files."

Victoria laughed coldly. "Yeah, right. You know I'll shoot the traitorous bastard that actually thinks I'll hand over sensitive files to them. You must hate this person. Despite your cavalier attitude, this isn't a game."

"Well, I'd hoped to test my men's loyalty. But, since you put it so bluntly, I'm afraid I'll have to save the test for another day. I didn't actually need those files. I simply wanted some ready cash as I was losing my army pension." His voice was suave. He could've been flirting with a debutante. It grated on Victoria's last nerve.

"So that's all the security of your country is worth to you? A few bucks? You make me sick," she retorted.

"Oh look. Now you've gone and hurt my feelings. I don't think I'll play anymore tonight. As much fun as this is, I want to be gone before your boyfriends get back from the goose chase I sent them on. I'm sure they realized it by now as neither the Colonel or the Captain are fools. I do regret the body I had to leave for them. Good help is hard to come by these days."


And there's your free piece of the book :D A reminder note, both kindle and smashwords let you read a bit for free, and I have allowed lending so you can share with your friends :D

And while writing this post I was told in no uncertain terms, by the main beta reader of this book, that I don't get to quit being a writer because she's hooked. I shall hold her words close to my heart whenever the whispers get too loud. For now, I'm off to do more housewife crap (although I now have a job :P) and finish up the spaghetti sauce, which my family only likes when I doctor it up to the hilt or make it from scratch. :D

Friday Excerpts

I'm thinking of doing this regularly. You have to be careful in this day and age of ebooks, but since I usually put up raw, unedited relatively small amounts, I'm in the clear. I think. LOL One of the reasons I put up the raw version is so that it never completely matches the finished versions which I send to agents/publishing houses. And always a random selection LOL It would take some serious work to find and piece together the excerpts that I've put out from my wide and various writing projects!

Intro: This is an excerpt from my newest project, the dark paranormal female noir. Backstory: She kills zombies. Only these zombies don't look like zombies yet. They have the virus and killing instincts, but are smarter, faster, and sexier than the average human until the final stages. I know, new twist, not tradition lore, yada yada, but I love my new book. Here's a taste for my female PI zombie killer.


Gal Friday Noir Series Excerpt


"I'm never submissive. Think you can handle a woman like me?" She thought he was going to fall to his knees. She had issued a direct challenge. She could see the lust in his eyes and the evil pull to his mouth as he imagined breaking her to his will. Side effect of the virus? Maybe. But she figured him for evil before the taint of zombie started in him.

"I know exactly how to handle a woman like you," he replied in a voice that shook.
Good. She had him now. Too arrogant to think a woman might have the same powers he did. "Why don't you follow me outside, honey. We can do some," she stopped, leaned over to his ear and whispered. "Talking."

He grabbed her hand and started pulling her to the front exit. She pulled him back in such a way that he whipped backed to her eye-to-eye. He was nearly panting from his lust.

"Not that way, honey. Out back." She tugged at his hand and turned away. When he didn't take a step to follow, she turned back. "I have something special to show you." Like a Saturday Night Special. Okay, so it was a Magnum 357. Why quibble? For him, she may use her knife. More personal that way. This one was a jackass with or without the zombie virus.

He leered at her and followed her back like, well, she laughed to herself, like the lamb to the slaughter. Only in his case, it was more like putting down a rabid dog before he hurt anyone else.

She swayed her hips as she walked and kept a low hum going. Hearing her voice would keep him in a semi-hypnotic state and easy to coerce. She had one last test to perform. One that she detested. She had to kiss him. Damn the accident. She was given psychic powers. Knew a certain amount without ever touching anyone.

But the deeper probe into the brain? She inwardly cringed. She couldn't kill him until she was one hundred percent sure he was a zombie, and not simply immune like herself. That meant kissing her target. Her working theory was the mark let their guard down the smallest amount, but it was enough for her to get in and see the mind.

She quickly dropped the one step to the back alleyway. She turned and slowly backed her way towards the dumpster. His eyes glittered and reflected a hardness that he had hidden from her earlier. Oh yeah, she was going to enjoy killing this one. How many others had he hurt or killed? Now for the final test.


Like her sass? I love her. She's my favorite character so far. It was Damian, the half-demon with a soul. Of course, she's all new and shiny and I just finished a long session of edits with Damian. Hmmm, now that I think about it, their both my favorites! One male, one female!

All comments, critiques welcome. I love input. Iiiiiiinnnnnppuuuuuuuuttt. Sorry. Eighties moment there. :D Have a good day!

Excerpt

Thanks to everyone who showed their concern and niceness regarding my daughter's well being :) Some on twitter and some here (and a couple both ways!) And to those who helped me through a rough patch yesterday. Thanks for being the bestest. Now, back to business, so to speak.

So, I'm editing, very, very, very, very, slowly. I mean, sllllllooooooooowwwwww. but it is good. Here's a quick excerpt from my paranormal, the Damian series that I am currently calling Ghost of Kristen's Past.



Before she responded, the detective's eyes glowed strangely and he turned toward the door. "Kenny is here."

Kristen could not remember the last time she had been in such a nervous state. Her mind fumbled for coherence and her body was in fight or flight mode. She mutely turned back to the door and opened it.

She was so not surprised to see Kenny coming up the walk. She let Kenny in and turned back to Detective Damian.

Kenny strode purposefully into the living room. "I'm here, obviously. What did you want?" he said abruptly as soon as he saw the detective.

"I need you to tell me everything you know. Half of Hell is after you and the other half will be once they find out that the two of you are Soulmates."



You like? That's the end of a chapter :D I really like that last line. One of my favorites. I know a book is good when I have favorites...

Happy Winter!

Day 15

Wow, what a day! My 2 yo is quite the handful. He has to dump out everything and anything he can get his hands on. Drinks are the worst problem. But lately, he's been having a go at the litter box. Whatever it is that gets him into the most trouble, that is what he repeats the most often.

I know, kid wants attention right? Well, sort of. He wants to get you playing with him with whatever he's not supposed to be doing (Ie turning on off TV/VCR/game system) and make you laugh. Problem is, he is so darn cute that it is hard not to!

Anyways, we played and wore him out. He's asleep right now. I'm afraid he will wake up soon :(

In the meantime, I am up past 29,600! yeah. Did a little catch up anyway. Now I'm only down 5,400 from my personal goal. Which is good! I don't remember where I was at last year, but I ended with 64k, so I'm slightly behind the pace set last year. However, this year, the story has given me fits and I'm having trouble turning my inner editor off. Means less problems editing later, but my word count is starting to suffer.

One thing that is good though, I put in a short chapter introducing the villian about four chapters sooner to up the ante a little bit. I mean, there's a murder in the first chapter, but we don't get much of a glimpse of the bad guy until later. I realised that would not do, so I put in a little voyeurism at the murder scene, and sent her off to have sex with her cohort in crime.

Here's a small excerpt from the last few days...


She felt that burning now, and touched herself quickly despite the public venue. She needed relief. She took one more look at all the faces, their fear and panic, the emergency workers who looked sickened.

Power hummed in her blood. She went around the back way and went home. He was there waiting, hard, wanting her as much as she wanted him. He was in it up to his eyeballs.

What was that called? She had seen it on television. Oh, yes, she remembered. Accessory after the fact. Same penalty. She smiled a pouty sexy smile at him. But, not as much fun.

She grabbed his hair and kissed him hard, then lost herself in the moment.

She had no idea how many witnesses were there. How many other world creatures rode the high with her.

If she had known there was a demon riding her as hard as she was riding her lust companion, that he had control over her, she would not have believed it. The power blinded her to all but her own needs and feelings.

She loved the kill. She was in control. She knew it.

The demonic laughter floating around the room was not heard by her or him. They didn't know it, but their time was up. Soon, very soon.

Day 6

I don't know what to say. Uber efficient today, despite my to elementary kids trying my patience beyond belief. This on top of a horrifyng spider incident which I shall relate another time.

I made awesome dinner, steak, peppers onions, corn, cheesy mashed potatoes, beer bread. Yep, my husband had a bad day and needed some loving.
My start numbers were weird, gonna take a stab at saying about the same as what I posted last night. (I forgot to look:( and I'm crazy you know)

I erased lots of the other projects word count (seriously, lots) and made myself go until I was still over the minimum word count needed for each day. Worked out to close to 3k for me today.

I also sent off more queries. One had a mistake in it. Way bummed. Oh well. Can't ignore that part of the business as lots of agents close up after Nano.

Good news? At my current pace, I'll be done by November 17 with the minimum word count. However, I'm containing my excitement as I know that if one of the queries I have out request a partial, then I'll be putting in more editing hours. (I do not track editing hours! Why do I want to give myself that kind of headache????)

For now, my word count stands at an official 18480. I hope to write more tonight, but there it is. Here is an excerpt from my paranormal work called "Ghost of Kristen's Past"




As soon as she said the words, she felt an intense evil looking at her. She whipped her head around to face whatever was coming at her and gasped.

Its one eye was big as the palm of her hand, and its lopsided grin showed rotted teeth-like objects in what she assumed was his mouth. Fear gripped her as panic numbed her mind. It lumbered toward her and she reacted instinctively.

Her mind exploded out psychic energy, narrowed in on the Ogre's eye. She watched as a hole appeared dead center and wisps of smoke circled the eye. The Ogre dropped the club-like weapon it was carrying. It put both hands over the eye and screeched.

She had no time to savor the victory though because more were headed here way. Detective Damian stopped a large portion, but there were too many for one—person?—to fight.
She felt Kenny at her back and smiled grimly. At least he was able to fight. Maybe this one would end better than their last fight. She took a step forward and punched the next lavender creature in the eye before focusing her energy on it. The two hurt Ogres screamed and danced around in pain, getting in the way of the oncoming demons.

Kenny stepped in front of her and picked up the two dropped clubs. He handed one to her. She nodded gratefully. They stood with their backs together. They kept moving, never exposing their backs as the demons tried to encircle them.

Kristen wished for her Guardian Angel. She had lived most of her life without ever knowing that she had one, but had come to appreciate hers real quick during the first battle against the demons.

She heard her blood pumping in her ears and felt the adrenalin coursing through her. She felt like a warrior. Except for that ball of fear in her gut. Then again, maybe that is how all warriors felt. She batted at the arm of an Ogre reaching for her. Surprisingly it shattered and bits flew into the air and spun around and around.

She ducked instinctively. She grabbed at Kenny pulling him down next to her as the pieces flew by their heads. She had no idea what would happen if a piece of demonic flesh were to hit them. Furthermore, she had no wish to know!

She watched Detective Damian cut off a green demon's head with his fingernails and gulped. She never wanted to get on his bad side. The demons were hissing and snarling and she felt overwhelmed by it all. She reached back and grabbed Kenny's free hand. It helped her focus and steadied her fears. She let go of his hand and gripped her bat with both hands.

bits & pieces

Here's the opening to new paranormal I started. What do you think?

His black fur rippled in the wind, gleaming under the blue rays of the full moon. He lifted his nose in the air, sniffing for hunters. Getting caught in wolf form was not on his list of things to do before he died. In fact, being caged might kill him.

He put his nose down to the ground. He had her scent. At first, she had been hard to follow, but her scent had grown stronger the deeper into the evergreens they were. As soon as he realized it, he slowed down his hunt. His instincts told him it was a trap. He still had to track her down. She had killed three pregnant women in his pack.


Here's an excerpt from the thriller Winds of Fire:

"Who would want to hurt either them or Eagle Claw? Perhaps they, whoever ‘they’ are, are trying to bring down all of us." Definitely something she planned to look at more closely. "I don’t like this." She repeated.

"Don’t like what?" a male voice intoned.

Victoria whirled around at the sound of his voice and was unprepared for his impact on her. She felt like someone punched her in the gut. It was Mario da Vinci. The one who got away. He had lost much of his accent, but none of his deep timbre. His golden brown eyes were harder than she remembered, and his short-cropped hair had grown out long enough for his natural wave to be noticeable and for the wind to have ruffled it out of place.

Not now, she thought. Out loud she said, "What are you doing here?"

"Hello to you too, Victoria. See you haven’t lost any of your cold shoulder since we last talked." His brown eyes were laughing, although the edge in his voice belied the joke.


Feel free to comment on likes/dislikes and any and all grammatical errors you might find. I'm seeking perfection. Haven't hit it yet.

Sleep. I found you.

Now if only my wallet would show up, I'd be peachy keen :D

Seriously, I have lost my wallet and have no clue where it has possibly gone. I know the last place I saw it and the only other place I've been before it's disappearance was noted is home. With a migraine. Needless to say, migraine's and lost wallets do not mix.

I have spent the last 5 days with severe headache and no wallet and little sleep. Last night, I slept in the neighborhood of 6.5 to 7 hours. That's like two nights worth of sleep! LOL My writing ought to explode today. Notice the blog is written??

I have beta readers and a writing partner. I'm ecstatic to be writing again with sleep and that kind of help. It is fate that I got sleep the same day my writing partner has first full day off work. Here I go!

At some point this week, I will post another excerpt from Quest for Riverhand. I am editing that one and my thriller, Winds of Fire. So maybe I will post from there as well. I am entering Winds of Fire's first 25 words (more or less) in a critique of sorts on another blog. I will post the link if I get in the first 50 :)

Have a great day everyone!

piece from fantasy book

This is healing chant from fantasy, Quest for Riverhand, as translated from Dragonspeak:

Fire surround us
Healing light be with us
Gods of Good, Gods of Chaos
Fix that broken in battle for justice
Fix that broken in search of truths
Magik of Earth flow through us
Touch this one, knit the bones
Blood heals, soul mends, heart beats.
It's very simple, but I like it. I will post greater excerpt later :D