Selena Blake's Blog, page 39
April 23, 2013
Games Demons Play-Snippet 7
Read the previous snippets: one | two | three | four | five | six
Izzy felt lightheaded and pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead. Blood pounded in her ears.
“Put your head between your knees,” he said, putting a hand between her shoulder blades. She wrapped her arms around her knees and let him push her forward. His palm was warm against her back, almost searing through the t-shirt material and black leather jacket.
“Surely if you can afford a Bugatti, you can afford to fix it,” he said several moments later.
She turned her head to the side and glared at him. It was not his fault, though. She was driving the ridiculously expensive car. She had wrecked it. “It is not my car,” she admitted and then hid her face against her forearms.
“Whose car is it?”
“My friend’s.”
“Surely he’ll understand the accident wasn’t your fault. A tire blowout isn’t anyone’s fault.”
Izzy frowned. “She,” she stressed the word, “will not understand.” Valencia would certainly not understand the invisible force pulling Izzy toward the car. The indescribable yearning. The desire that made her do things shouldn’t. Izzy didn’t understand it.
She tipped her head the other way and stared at the car. Such engineering perfection. Ruined. Her stomach heaved.
He rubbed her back.
Who was this gentle giant?
“I took it. Without asking.” She lifted her head. “I— I could not resist. She sits in the garage begging to be driven.”
Come back tomorrow for the last Excerpt Snippet. Who’s excited?!
April 22, 2013
Games Demons Play-Snippet 6
Read the previous snippets: one | two | three | four | five
She stumbled up the hillside to where Gorgeous lay, upside down, her windshield gaping open. Bits of her lay scattered on the slope. A fender. A side mirror.
Her lights blinded Izzy.
She squinched her lids shut and held out a hand to further shield herself.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” A twig snapped beneath his foot as he approached. A heavy hand settled on her left shoulder. Izzy spun away from him, hissing.
“Whoa! It’s okay, little vamp.”
“This is not okay!”
This was bad. So very bad. Valencia was going to kill her. She would not be surprised if the mansion had a dungeon somewhere. Valencia would lock her up for all eternity.
“It can be fixed.”
She started to tremble. “Fixed?” Izzy screeched, feeling more unraveled by the second.
Valencia saved her life. Turned her. Gave her a home. Protection. Taught her the ways of the vampire. And what had Izzy done? Wrecked the most expensive car in V’s stable.
Oh heavens. She was going to pass out. Was it possible for a vamp to pass out?
She quickly sat before she fell. The handsome man sat next to her. She squinted at the upside-down car.
“Do you have any idea how much it would cost to fix,” she waved her hand in the general direction of the Bugatti, “that?”
Come back tomorrow for the next Excerpt Snippet.
April 21, 2013
Games Demons Play–Snippet 5
Read the previous snippets: one | two | three | four
Something wet was trickling into her eye.
“Oh…” She moaned.
“I’ve got you,” a deep, masculine voice rumbled in her ears.
She tried to open her eyes. Her head pounded. Too much light. Was it morning already? Panic bolted through her and she struggled.
He murmured something in German. Then, “You’re going to hurt yourself,” the voice said again. Big hands held her wrists captive.
“Impossible,” she murmured.
“Don’t move.”
The words sent a fresh tendril of fear through her. Not again. No. Not again. Fear.
Struggle. Scream. Coco’s voice echoed through her mind. Scream. Fight.
For the briefest of seconds, Izzy took stock of her injures. Nothing felt broken. She opened her eyes and threw her arms out at the same time, breaking the man’s hold. He tumbled backward, clutching his nose, cussing.
Eyes wide, she sprang to her feet. She had to get to shelter. She had to get out of the sun.
“Jesus, woman!”
The man from the car.
It was still dark.
But, how—oh no. No. “No. No. No. No. No!”
Come back tomorrow for the next Excerpt Snippet.
April 20, 2013
Games Demons Play- Snippet 4
Read the previous snippets: one | two | three
She took the next exit, crossed over, and pointed the car toward home. If she hurried, she’d get her dry cleaning dropped off and be back in the garage with plenty of time to wipe Gorgeous down.
It couldn’t have been more than a minute later that the red Ferrari eased up next to her again. This time the passenger window was rolled down.
She’d been right. The driver was male. But more than that, he was big. She glanced his way again. What was it Avery called them? An uber hottie? Yes, that was it.
This uber hottie knew how to drive. Izzy found that very sexy.
If he was this handsome in uneven dashboard light, what would he look like across the table from her? Or better yet, in her bed?
She didn’t have time to imagine it. Gorgeous came up on a car and Izzy steered right. The Ferrari veered left. They passed the car and met up on the other side.
Obviously, he wasn’t in a hurry to be anywhere since he’d turned around to follow her. She reached down and pressed the button for the driver’s window. A loud bang echoed through the cab and Gorgeous jerked right. Izzy clutched the wheel. Gorgeous spun across the pavement. Then she rolled.
Come back tomorrow for the next Excerpt Snippet.
April 19, 2013
Games Demons Play–Snippet 3
Read the previous snippets: one | two
Gorgeous gave another burst of speed, her tires gripping the road like she was on rails. At two-sixty, she breezed by the Ferrari. Though she doubted the driver could see, she lifted a hand and gave a little see-ya-later wave.
The Bugatti was the fastest street-legal car in the world. Top speed of two hundred and sixty-seven miles per hour. There was something undeniably, irreplaceably sexy about being the very best. Driving the very best. Having the very best. To Izzy, that was the ultimate aphrodisiac.
If that guy wanted a race, he was going to lose.
She smiled when she saw his headlights in her rearview mirror again. The Ferrari crossed into the left lane and pulled up next to her. He was a smooth driver, she’d give him that. At least, she assumed the driver was male.
High on the power, the speed, she pressed the gas pedal a little further. The Ferrari matched her speed. A little more. Same result. Faster still. Faster until her heart was in her throat.
She let her foot off the gas. Gorgeous slowed. Izzy glanced at the dash. Damn. Dawn wasn’t too far away.
“It is time to go home,” she told the car, regretting that she could not stay out all day. One day she’d be as old as Valencia and could come and go as she pleased. Maybe one day she’d be as wealthy as Valencia and could afford a car like this.
Come back tomorrow for the next Excerpt Snippet.
Games Demons Play–Snippet 2
Did you drop by the Games Demons Play Cover Release Party Yesterday? Four copies of Fangs, Fur & Mistletoe are up for grabs and I know we have lots of new Wolfpack members who haven’t started the series yet. Head on over. There are multiple opportunities to put your name in the hat.
If you missed the first chapter of Games Demons Play, here’s a link to it. Games Demons Play, as you know, is the third book in the Mystic Isle series and it’s 25% longer than the first two books in the series. So for those of you who like longer (hot paranormal romance) books, this one’s for you.
I’ll be releasing a snippet a day until Release day, April 25th. So be sure to check my blog daily. And mark your calendar!
Snippet two picks up at the beginning of Chapter Two
A speed-limitless stretch of highway wasn’t that hard to find. Gorgeous answered every request for power and precision. Each time she shifted gears, Gorgeous threw Izzy deeper into the seat. And into love. The power was like a full body blow, but the leather seat broke her fall. Izzy lovingly stroked the steering wheel and spoke to the car in her native tongue.
The dial on the dashboard skipped past one hundred. One-twenty. One-thirty. Gorgeous wasn’t even straining. This car had been created for this road, Izzy was sure of it. And as she accelerated, the car dropped down, clinging to the road with a finely engineered mastery. Before her the road was deserted, curving gently, beckoning.
Empty.
At one-sixty-five Izzy let out a yip of pure glee. She’d bet her favorite boots that Valencia had never let Gorgeous run like this.
A pair of headlights flashed into her rearview mirror, skipped to the driver’s side mirror and then disappeared. A red flash caught her attention as it passed her on the left and disappeared down the road.
Frowning, she gritted her teeth together and pressed the accelerator harder. The engine gave her what she wanted. More power. More speed. One-seventy. One-eighty. One-ninety. Two-fifteen. At two hundred and thirty-five kilometers an hour, she saw the taillights of the Ferrari.
“You are mine,” she said out loud.
Come back tomorrow for the next Excerpt Snippet.
April 16, 2013
Games Demons Play Cover Release Party
April 15, 2013
Advice for Writers: Checklists are your friend!
This week’s lesson is a little early and inspired by a great twitter chat called #writersroad. Check it out. The topic is checklists for your writing.
I’m a big believer in checklists. In fact, I think it’s important to create checklists even if you never use it again. Why? Because the process of creating a checklist is important. It requires you to think things through and pull out the common threads and recurring actions.
For a long time I struggled with my process. It changed with every book I wrote.
When I finally took a good hard look at the steps I took with each book I wrote I could see where I was efficient, which areas I always completed and I was able to develop a handy dandy checklist. Now I’m never left floundering, wondering where I should go from here.
Here’s an example of my writing process:
Write first chapter
Revise
Write chapters 2 & 3
Revise as necessary
Write to the middle
Revise (looking for story arc, plot, characterization, what makes the book special, habits, theme, a running joke that ties the story together.)
Finish the book.
Print off and revise.
Send to CPs and Betas. Send exit survey.
Revise.
Send to editor.
Do final edits.
Make Final Copy.
Make amazon, nook, smash, blank copy.
Make Review copy.
Make Contest copy.
Publish.
I could go on and on, but that’s a good start. Do you use checklists in your writing?
April 5, 2013
Come Get Your Wolfpack Gear 25% Off!
Zazzle is running a sale today so you can get 25% off Wolfpack T-shirts! These are crazy-sexy-cool shirts in all sorts of styles from tank tops, to babydoll tees, long sleeved t-shirts to onesies for you little Wolfcub. Oh, and did I mention they come in a boat load of colors and sizes?
Here’s the current design:
It reads: I LIKE MY WEREWOLVES CAJUN
Yummy, yes?
Go get one! Start your summer off in style.
