Thea Harrison's Blog, page 2

Audio update (not much of one)

I thought I would share with you the message I received earlier this month from ACX about the The Unseen. You can find it in Bold below.

Sadly, ACX has lengthened their process time for approvals. They used to take (perhaps) a week to ten days, with a longer wait time around the many holiday releases. This lengthened wait time may or may not be a result from COVID-19.

Just be assured, the audio IS coming and will be available any day now. I check Amazon regularly for it and as soon as we see that it’s up we’ll be sure to let you know. If any of you see it first, please let us know.

THE UNSEEN: Friday Snippets (5)

THE UNSEEN IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON MY WEBSTORE!

Although THE UNSEEN won’t release through the vendors until July 13, you can purchase it NOW! You can still read the story on your favorite device, you’ll just have to load it onto the device first. Not familiar with how to load stories onto your device? We have a “how to” section at the top of the page. Click here to be taken to my webstore.

Or pre-order THE UNSEEN at any of these vendors:

Sadly, we will not be selling at Barnes and Noble for the time being. You can read why here: https://theaharrison.com/the-unseen-many-updates-and-the-blurb/

And now for the final snippet from THE UNSEEN! The novella will be available at most major ebook retails on Tuesday.

Please remember that when I post unedited draft work, it’s all subject to change or deletion. Anything you read will very likely contain typos and grammar issues that will be addressed during the editing process. For that reason, please don’t post this in other places. Happy reading!

~Thea

__________________________________

THE UNSEEN, Chapter Two (continued)

The rain came down in earnest now, and was threatening to turn into an outright storm, with lightning flickered in the distance. While his tough dragon’s hide provided all the shelter he needed, the woman and the dog he carried couldn’t repel the weather quite so easily. He shielded them as best he could with both front paws, and after he had landed on their front lawn and shapeshifted back into a man, he scooped the dog out of her arms, and they ran for shelter.

Once inside, she headed for the kitchen and he followed. She turned brisk and businesslike. “Please put him on the counter.”

“He’s filthy.”

Her blue eyes flashed, but her tone remained patient. “I know he is. Put him on the counter anyway. It can be cleaned later. I want to trim off that tangled fur while he’s quiet. You can keep him asleep for me, can’t you?”

“Of course.” Dragos laid the animal on the counter.

“Thank you, my love.” She reached up to give him a kiss, and some of his crankiness faded. “I’m going to make you a drink. Do you want coffee, tea, or brandy?”

One of the eternally fascinating aspects of mating and marriage was the infinite complexity and variety of their communication with each other. On the surface, Pia simply asked him if he wanted a drink, but in reality what she communicated was much more nuanced.

He took a moment to puzzle it out. Right now, she was both praising him for helping to rescue the dog and soothing his irritability at thwarting his attempt to foist the dog onto someone else.

Was she placating him because she was apologetic? No, that went too far. She had drawn a line, and she wasn’t sorry about it. But she was offering to reward him for letting her have her way.

Communicating with Pia could be every bit as complicated as dealing with inter-demesne relations. It also had the added bonus of being much more enjoyable. Pleased that he was (almost) certain he had figured it all out, he replied mildly, “I’ll take a brandy.”

She smiled. “Keep an eye on him until I get back, okay?”

“Sure.” Laying his hand on the dog’s torso, he scanned to make sure it was still deeply asleep.

Within a few moments, she returned with his brandy and a pair of scissors, and as he took a seat at the kitchen table, she unwrapped the sleeping dog and trimmed around its muzzle and face. After that, she lifted its tail to clip the hair around its rear end. Sipping his brandy, he watched her work.

After a moment, she remarked, “His collar says his name is Skeeter. I think he might be a Cockapoo? With maybe another breed mixed in. He has the bones of a good haircut. She must have had him groomed, maybe six weeks ago. He’s definitely due for another one. And of course, he had a bit of an incontinence problem in the house, poor baby.”

The brandy was one of his favorites and slid down his throat like golden fire. Casually, he offered, “I can hire someone to look after it full time, you know.”

Her blue gaze lifted from the dog, and she looked at him from underneath lowered brows. He returned her regard with a bland stare of his own. Pia wasn’t the only one who could say several things with one statement.

“Him.” Her tone had turned implacable. “Not it.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he had to concede that point. “Him.”

She turned back to her job. After she finished grooming the dog, she picked him up to lay him gently on the floor. Then she swept the clippings into the trash bin, cleaned the scissors and the countertop with disinfectant, and washed her hands. Clearly, her mind was busy at work on something. “We got Liam a puppy. Maybe we should have one for Niall too.”

“Liam took responsibility for his dog,” Dragos pointed out. “Niall is still just a baby.”

There was a wall clearly visible in those beautiful blue eyes of hers, and it was swiftly growing to a width and breadth that rivaled the Wall of China. “Niall might grow every bit as quickly as Liam did.”

“Niall hasn’t yet shown us what he’s capable of. Plus, the last thing we need is for him to stab the dog or set him on fire.”

“He wouldn’t,” Pia said with conviction. “We wouldn’t let him.” She filled one bowl with water, and the other with dog food. “We can’t keep Skeeter unconscious forever. You need to get him to eat and drink a bit more, then take him out.”

“I am not calling any creature Skeeter,” Dragos said. “And how did looking after him suddenly become my responsibility?”

Pia scowled. “He has lost his person and his home, and he hasn’t eaten for three days. You can keep him calm, and you can encourage him to eat and drink, so you can get him through the worst of the changes he has to face when he wakes up.”

She might have a point, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. “Fine,” he snapped. “We’re still leaving for Rhyacia in the morning.”

“I didn’t say we weren’t, my love.” As she reached up to kiss him, the front doorbell rang. Her scowl returned. “Who on earth could that be at this time of night?” Dragos spun toward the hall, but she caught his arm before he could escape. “You take care of Skeeter, and I’ll go answer it.”

She was not going to let him off the hook. He growled, “Fine.”

“Thank you, my love,” she murmured softly.

Damn it. Every time she used that tone of voice, he turned into a sucker. This woman had more power over him than anything else on earth. Succumbing to the inevitable, he gave her a swift kiss then turned his attention to his current albatross.

Crouching, he waked the dog gently. It still needed a bath, but it smelled better after Pia had given it a hygiene trim. As it sat up, he infused his words with Power again, as he murmured, “Be calm.” Whining, the dog licked his hand and shivered. He cupped the side of its head. It was too small and stringy to consider as a snack. “Eat, drink. All is well.”

When the dog obeyed, Dragos kept most of his attention on Pia as she answered the door. Not that he was concerned. While they enjoyed a great deal of privacy in the evenings, they did not live alone. Guards, the house staff, and grounds keepers resided in various buildings all around them. And besides, Dragos had erected his own wards all over the property. If whoever stood on their front doorstep meant to do them harm, he felt a high degree of certainty that he would know about it.

Still, anyone knocking on their door in the middle of the night had a story to tell, and chances were good that story would not be a usual one. He heard the hinges of the door creak as Pia opened it.

The fresh, wet scent of rain blew down the hall and into the kitchen, along with the astonishment in Pia’s voice. “Aryal! Niniane?”

“Pia!” Niniane exclaimed. “It’s so good to see you! I was afraid you might have left for Rhyacia before I could get here.”

Aryal and Niniane were here?

Niniane was a little slip of a Dark Fae woman who used to go by the nickname Tricks. She had lived as a refugee in his demesne (when it had been his demesne) for many years. Now, she had taken her rightful place as Queen of the Dark Fae and ruled in the Other land of Adriyel. Tiago, who had once been one of Dragos’s Wyr sentinels, had mated with her and left New York to go live with her.

The dog had finished gulping down its meal. Dragos strode to the kitchen door, opened it, and ordered, “Out. Do your business.”

The dog dashed out. Dragos barely paid attention. He was focused on the conversation going on at the front of the house.

Adriyel was some distance way, with crossover passageways that connected it to Chicago. Niniane and Aryal arriving together were not such an outlandish proposition, since they’d once been thick as thieves, but what was Niniane doing here? And why had she come without Tiago?

            There was a shuffle of footsteps on the hardwood floor, and a rustle of clothing. Dragos’s imagination suggested hugging and such.

“It’s wonderful to see you!” Pia said. “But what are you doing here?”

Niniane giggled—or sobbed?—and said, “I’ve decided to go with you.”

“What?” Pia said.

Aryal snapped, “You what?”

Out on the lawn, Skeeter had taken care of his business with remarkable promptness. He must have had to go for some time. Dragos snapped his fingers at the dog. “Inside. Now.”

Lifting its leg one last time, Skeeter dashed into the kitchen. Dragos shut the door and strode to the front of the house, the dog at his heels.

It was just as he suspected. The arrivals on their front doorstep had a story to tell.

__________________________________

Copyright: 2020 Teddy Harrison LLC

All rights reserved

Real talk, real life

I posted this rant on Facebook and then thought I’d post it on the blog. Real talk here, real life. How many of you have seen the memes that have been circulating that say this?

BEGINNING
***If you don’t come out of the pandemic with:

A new skill
A new income
A new expertise

You never lacked time, you lacked discipline.***
END

I just can’t keep my mouth shut over this.

FYI, this is complete and utter judgmental bullshit. It’s unimaginative. It tries to push onto us the performance porn that our culture prizes so highly, and to guilt-trip us if we haven’t measured up to *somebody else’s* expectation.

Many of you have children who have not been to school, and who may not be able to go to school in the fall. You have sick or elderly relatives. I, personally, know of one individual who has a disabled spouse who would die if they contracted COVID-19, so she quit her job and they are isolating and living off disability and savings.

In. Order. To. Save. His. Life.

Or maybe you are empathic and watching in horror as the world around us has seemed to catch fire with racisim and disease. Maybe you have lost your job. Maybe you have lost your job twice, now that many places are having to shut down again.

Maybe you have–and do–feel overwhelmed at trying to figure out how to meet the new challenges in your day. Maybe you’re battling depression and anxiety. There are intense new stressors we have to deal with every single day.

This reality that we’re in is isolating. It can be mentally and emotionally exhausting.

If ALL YOU DO is get enough sleep and take care of yourself, I’m proud of you. If you cook yourself healthy meals, look after your pets, find comfort in your favorite escape reads–I’m proud of you. If you’re able to take a walk and enjoy nature, if you can feel some measure of security in having a roof over your head, If you can call your loved ones, I AM PROUD OF YOU.

There’s a lot of toxic crap flying around right now. Don’t buy into it. Reach for your center, your spirituality, and if you can’t seem to locate it, reach for help. The pandemic can contribute to individual and collective trauma. Commonly observed reactions include panic, depression, hopelessness, anxiety, stress, grief, and PTSD. [Source link]

Remember, even if you might feel like it, you’re not alone.

One of my happy memories. This was a glorious sunset.

Much love,

Thea

The Unseen updates: ICYMI, No Nook, Print, Foreign Translations, Audio, Answers to Qs

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

You can purchase The Unseen NOW on my web store! Remember, this story has a cliffhanger. *Important–at the top of the page, we have a “how to” link to help you upload to your ereader device.*

BUY HERE NOW: https://theaharrison.com/shop/

AVAILABLE 7/13 from these retailers. Pre-order links are now available:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ZgJ11f
Apple: https://apple.co/2NyF4iM
Kobo: https://bit.ly/31lR8w8
Google Play: https://bit.ly/2YCKBeo

NO NOOK

Barnes and Noble: we will not be selling books at Barnes and Noble at this time. You can read why here: https://theaharrison.com/the-unseen-many-updates-and-the-b…/

THE PRINT VERSION IS AVAILABLE

https://amzn.to/3f9LUaC

FOREIGN TRANSLATIONS – German and Italian

GERMAN – The German translation should be available around September. No, I do not have a date. The wonderful Simone Heller will be translating again, and we’re processing the contract and finalizing details with her schedule now. It is coming, guys!

Die deutsche Übersetzung sollte etwa im September verfügbar sein. Nein, ich habe kein Date. Die wundervolle Simone Heller wird wieder übersetzen und wir bearbeiten den Vertrag und schließen die Details jetzt mit ihrem Zeitplan ab. Es kommt, Leute! (This is offered through Google translate and may have grammar errors.)

ITALIAN – I’m delighted to share that the Italian translation will be published by Triskell Edizioni! No, we do not have a date. We have finalized the contract for all four linked stories, and they are in process now.

Sono lieto di condividere che la traduzione italiana sarà pubblicata da Triskell Edizioni! No, non abbiamo una data. Abbiamo finalizzato il contratto per tutte e quattro le storie collegate e sono in corso ora. (This is offered through Google translate and may have grammer errors.)

AUDIO

Sophie Eastlake and I finalized the audio version TODAY, and it is now going through Audible/ACX’s screening process. We have no control over the date of this release; we’ve done everything there is to do on the project, and it’s out of our hands. It will likely be approved and for sale within a week or so. It all depends on how fast Audible/ACX is processing audiobooks. You can keep checking Amazon/Audible/iTunes for it.

GET ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

Last, but certainly not least – we are so thankful for your excitement for these stories! As soon as we know something, you will know something – always!

Also, please understand, we can’t run around and answer everybody’s individual questions that are posted on multiple social media sites. Trust me, down that path lies madness.

If you want to stay up to date on everything we know when we know it, please sign up for notifications on my blog. Better yet, sign up for my newsletter. It’s easy-peasy, and you’ll get all the latest news delivered to your inbox.

And here’s a photo of Sophie for you to enjoy. She’s working hard today.

THE UNSEEN: Friday Snippets (4)

THE UNSEEN: Friday Snippets (4)

Happy Friday! Once again it’s time for another snippet from THE UNSEEN! Not long now until THE UNSEEN releases through most major ebook vendors. And as a reminder, you can purchase the full novella now in my web store and skip the wait!

As always when I post snippets of unedited draft work, it’s all subject to change or deletion. Anything you read will very likely contain typos and grammar issues that will be addressed during the editing process. For that reason, please don’t post this in other places. Enjoy!

~Thea

WANT THE UNSEEN NOW? 

You can buy the full novella from my webstore now, before it’s available from the third-party vendors. If you can’t wait to read more, buy it today! Click here to be taken to my webstore.

Or pre-order THE UNSEEN at any of these vendors:

Amazon  |  Apple Books |  Kobo |  Google Play

__________________________________

THE UNSEEN, Chapter Two (continued)

That night, he lounged on their bed watching the late-night news, feet crossed at the ankles. He was going to miss the twenty four hour news channels. He’d hired someone to compile a summary report each week of the news, both human and Elder Races, and to collect various newspapers to have couriered to him. He might be withdrawing from earth, but he wasn’t going to stick his head in the sand. It always paid to stay informed. 

Pia lay back against a pile of pillows. She had just finished nursing the baby, and Niall had fallen asleep on her chest. The French doors were propped open, as they so often were, to the cool evening air that smelled damp with impending rain.

Stroking the baby’s dark, downy head, Pia crooned, “Who’s my stabby little psychopath?”

Dragos chuckled as he curled a hand around her knee. “You better not let him hear you say it like that when he’s in his Wyr form. He might get the idea that being a stabby little psychopath is a good thing.”

“I would never.” She grinned. “At the moment, he’s just a baby and he doesn’t know any better, but in his Wyr form he understands every single thing we say.”

“Only goes to prove what I’ve been saying for centuries,” he remarked lazily. “Animals are the most intelligent of all creatures.”

“Yes, and that’s not just the Wyr,” she agreed. “Mundane animals are super smart too. Anybody who is a pet owner can vouch for that…” She frowned. “Mundane. Pet owners. Oh no.” Holding Niall firmly, she lunged upright. “Dragos, get up and get dressed. We need to go to Miss Creedy’s house—we have to find out where she lived.”

She spoke quietly so she didn’t wake the baby, but the urgency in her words had him launching into action. Eva,he said telepathically as he yanked on a pair of jeans. We need you now.

Be right there, Eva replied. Even though he had probably woken her up, she sounded completely alert. What’s wrong?

I don’t know yet. He could already hear Eva running through the house toward them, so he switched to verbal speech. “What’s going on, Pia?”

She had already eased Niall onto the bed and was dressing quickly too. “Miss Creedy rescued a dog while Liam was in her class. He loved that dog. Said it was the ugliest thing, but so sweet and smart, and it really loved to learn tricks.” She looked at him, distressed. “She didn’t have any family, Dragos. What if nobody’s thought about the dog and it’s still at her house? It’s been three days since she died.”

“Right. I’ll find out her address.” As former lord of the Wyr demesne, Dragos still had access to certain databases. He passed Eva in the hallway and jogged down the steps to his office.

“Eva—oh good, there you are,” Pia said. “We need you to watch Niall for a while.”

While Eva and Pia’s voices floated downstairs, he logged into his computer and ran a few quick searches. When Pia’s quick footsteps sounded in the doorway, he had already stood. He angled his way around the desk.

“Got it,” he told her. “She lived on the other side of town. I can shapeshift and fly us there in a few minutes.”

“Okay. Wait.” She dashed to the kitchen and came back carrying a Tupperware container filled with the bacon she had cooked for breakfast. “I hope somebody already thought to check her house for pets. If they haven’t yet… well, I hope it’s still alive.”

Dragos didn’t understand the need to keep pets. To him, animals were either predator or prey—and since he was the ultimate apex predator, he didn’t concern himself too much with the niceties of those distinctions.

But he did understand the emotions people attached to their pets, and he understood all too well the emotional upset that now darkened Pia’s scent. And the thought of any mundane animal being neglected or abused was distasteful, to say the least.

“It’s going to be all right,” he told her, resting a hand on her slender back. “If it’s alive, we’ll help it.”

Rain started to fall as they strode out the front door and across the lawn. When they were far enough away from the house, Dragos shapeshifted, expanding in size rapidly until Pia shrank in his perspective to the size of a doll. The dragon bent his head to her. She touched his muzzle, a quick, affectionate gesture, and then he scooped her up to nestle her in a secure cage of his claws and launched into the air.

Once they had decided to leave the city and move upstate, Dragos had made a point to learn every detail of the back and side roads of his new terrain. Well versed in the layout of the nearby town, he flew with exact precision to the street where Elizabeth Creedy had lived.

Once there, it took only a few moments to figure out the location of her street address. Within minutes the dragon touched down silently in the middle of the road in front of a small, well-kept craftsman-style house.

It was close to midnight, and the surrounding neighborhood was mostly dark and quiet. Streetlamps provided regular sparks of illumination that highlighted spitting rain and newly formed puddles on slick asphalt. A few lights shone in windows, but Dragos felt certain there weren’t any witnesses to their arrival. Setting Pia carefully on her feet, he folded back his wings and shapeshifted back into his human form. 

Pia gave him a mute glance. She was so obviously bracing herself to discover something grim and sad inside, he shook his head and plucked the Tupperware container out of her hand.

“You don’t have to do this.” He kept his voice quiet. “I can. Wait here.”

“As much as I love you, I have to say, you’re a very scary sight to most people.” She spoke as quietly as he did. Her eyes were huge shadows in her pale face. “Imagine how scary you’ll be to one starving, traumatized dog.”

“At this point, it might be scared enough of anything and be inclined to bite,” he told her. “I’ll take care of it.”

Plus, if the dog was in bad enough shape that it had to be put down, he could do that quickly without the added emotional distress it would cause Pia if she were present.

“Okay.” She twisted her hands together. “Be gentle.”

He nodded and strode up the walk to the dead woman’s house. As he crossed the porch to the front door, the boards underneath creaked. Hysterical barking erupted from deep inside the house.

He paused to glance back at Pia. That answered the main question. The dog was in the house and still alive. And it was in decent enough shape to be energetic about intruders.

Grasping the doorknob, he broke the lock with one quick flex and eased inside. The smell of urine and feces assaulted his nose. Abruptly, the barking stopped. Dragos followed the telltale sounds of scrabbling until he reached a shadowed bedroom. His keen eyesight could see very well by the dim light of a nearby streetlamp. Miss Creedy had been tidy. The bed was made, the drawers and closets neatly closed.

He could hear the stressed breathing and terrified heartbeat of the dog cowering underneath the bed. Going down on one knee, he infused his voice with Power.

“You’re safe,” he said. “Come out now.” 

It was a mundane creature. Normally, it wouldn’t understand a total stranger who chose to carry on a conversation with it, but the magical compulsion in Dragos’s words brought it out from underneath the bed. It stank. When he laid his hand on its shivering back, he could clearly feel its spine and ribcage underneath the tangled fur.

A quick scan told him several things. It was not a young dog, perhaps nine or ten years old. It weighed around twenty-five pounds but should weigh closer to thirty, but while it was suffering from hunger and stress, its underlying constitution was sound.

“Good dog,” he told it. He set down the Tupperware container and opened the lid. When he offered it a piece of bacon, the dog hung its head and refused to take it. “Eat.”

More trembling, underneath his hand. Timidly the dog took the bacon from his fingers. The taste must have triggered its appetite because it wolfed the piece down. Dragos offered another piece. This one was snatched out of his fingers and inhaled. He fed the dog a third piece. Then a fourth.

A soft footstep sounded behind him. Pia had slipped into the house. He said telepathically, Could you bring some water?

Of course.

Within moments, she stepped into the bedroom carrying a bowl of fresh water, which she set down beside Dragos’s foot. The dog’s trembling had increased at her presence. Moving the bowl closer to it, Dragos said, “Drink.”

It obeyed, lunging at the water in ravenous gulps.

When it lifted its dripping muzzle from the bowl, Dragos said, “Good dog.” He cast a sleep spell, and the dog folded onto the floor with an exhausted sigh.

Pia’s voice sounded thick with unshed tears. “That was fairly excruciating.”

“It didn’t want to eat. I had to compel it.” Dragos straightened out of his crouch.

“I’m not surprised. It’s scared to death.” Pia moved to the doorway. “I’m going to turn on the light now.”

A moment later, light flooded room. Together they regarded the sleeping animal on the floor. After a moment, Dragos said, “That really is the ugliest dog I’ve ever seen.”

Pia tilted her head. “It’s a he, not an it.” She went to the bed where a crocheted throw lay folded at the foot. “This will smell like home. Hopefully that will be a comfort.” Shaking it out, she knelt to wrap it around the sleeping dog.

“Right.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll call animal control.”

Pia rose to her feet and turned to face him. “Dragos Cuelebre, you’ll do no such thing.”

He paused with his phone halfway to his ear. “I won’t?”

“We’re taking him home with us.”

An avalanche of reasons for why they should do no such thing crowded his mind. He said, “Pia—.”

Tilting her chin, she held up a stiffened finger. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. This dog was loved by a good woman who was kind to our son. She’s dead now, and you can keep him from pining to death and make him eat. We’re taking him home tonight.”

She had called him by his full name, and that stiffened finger meant business. Apparently, now was not the time to bring up the sex and the sleeping, and the indulgent breakfast that had been on his agenda before crossing over to Rhyacia.

Biting the insides of his cheeks, he kept his tone mild. “I see.”

She knelt again to wrap the sleeping dog in the throw. “I’m so angry for not thinking of this sooner. The poor thing didn’t have to go through the last three days.”

“Go easy on yourself. It’s not like you were close friends with Miss Creedy,” he felt compelled to point out. “There were any number of people who knew her better and could also have thought of this sooner—like the principal at her school, and the other teachers.”

“I know. That doesn’t make it any easier. At least he didn’t die, and we can help him now.” She picked up the dog and stood. “Could you see if there’s any dog food we can bring with us? It’ll be better for him if he can eat the food he’s used to, at least for the next week or so. Be sure to grab his dog bowls.”

“All right.” A quick search of the kitchen unearthed a premium dry dog food along with several cans of wet. Tossing everything into a paper shopping bag, he joined her where she waited by the front door. “This should tide it over until we figure out what to do with it.”

“It’s a him, not an it!” She glowered, but his tact had its limits and he had no true remorse to offer. She sighed. “Okay, let’s go home.”

“Sounds good to me.” He was all too glad to leave that place that smelled like abandonment and stress. Escorting her outside, he changed into the dragon, scooped her up, dog and all, and headed home.

__________________________________

Copyright: 2020 Teddy Harrison LLC

All rights reserved

THE UNSEEN: Friday Snippets (3)

THE UNSEEN IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON MY WEBSTORE!

Although THE UNSEEN won’t release through the vendors until July 13, you can purchase it NOW! You can still read the story on your favorite device, you’ll just have to load it onto the device first. Not familiar with how to load stories onto your device? We have a “how to” section at the top of the page. Click here to be taken to my webstore.

Or pre-order THE UNSEEN at any of these vendors:

Amazon  |  Apple Books |  Kobo |  Google Play

Sadly, we will not be selling at Barnes and Noble for the time being. You can read why here: https://theaharrison.com/the-unseen-many-updates-and-the-blurb/

And now for today’s snippet. Please remember that when I post unedited draft work, it’s all subject to change or deletion. Anything you read will very likely contain typos and grammar issues that will be addressed during the editing process. For that reason, please don’t post this in other places. I hope you enjoy!

~Thea

__________________________________

THE UNSEEN, Chapter Two

Finally, everything was done. Dragos had given away his demesne. It turned out, an old dragon could learn new tricks, do new things. Could decide on taking new adventures.

Rune and his mate Carling left their home in Florida to settle in a spacious apartment in Cuelebre Tower that had been specially fitted with Vampyre safety shutters, and Dragos had to admit that was one thing he never thought he would see happen.

All necessary paperwork was completed, the t’s were crossed, the i’s dotted. The official shit had been vetted by demesne lawyers. As for the unofficial shit…

Well, the Wyr sentinels were well versed in handling any unofficial shit.

They’d had a huge going away bash in the Tower ballroom. The food was fabulous, the liquor ever-flowing, and people gave them presents even though Dragos and Pia had specifically stated in the invitations, no presents, please. And if Dragos’s eyes had glazed over at the excruciating number of Wyr who got all fucking weepy at him, nobody mentioned it. Pia kept a close eye on him and rescued him whenever things became too heartfelt.

The main thing was, everybody survived and had a good time.

Pia got to dance with Quentin, her old friend and former employer. Now Quentin was a sentinel—another thing Dragos had never thought to see—and he was mated to another sentinel, the harpy Aryal, who had the dubious honor of being the most insane female Dragos had ever met.

Aryal tried to needle Graydon into a wrestling match. Graydon had resigned his sentinel position and was moving to Rhyacia with his mate Beluviel. They were new parents also, and Pia and Beluviel were close friends. While Pia did have Eva, Eva didn’t have children, nor was she mated. It would be good for Pia to also have Beluviel in Rhyacia, and Dragos had to admit, it would be good for him to have Graydon.

Annoyed with Aryal’s antics, Graydon kept brushing her off until she threw up her hands and walked away, only to circle around and tackle him from behind. That cleared a space around them quickly.

Startled into laughter, Beluviel dashed away from the pair. Graydon roared curses as he fought to get out of the harpy’s clutches. A betting pool was established within moments; the inhabitants of Cuelebre Tower were well experienced with how to respond to this sort of thing. 

As Quentin wandered away from the fight with Pia on his arm, Dragos heard him say to her with a smiling shrug, “She’s my mate, not my problem.”

Dragos and Pia’s oldest son Liam took leave from college to attend the party, and Dragos used the opportunity to study Liam as his son cruised through the crowd, a smiling, easy-going predator.

Now fully as tall and as powerfully built as Dragos, Liam’s handsome features, blond hair, and blue eyes were like catnip to most of the women and several of the men. Liam fended off advances with casual poise, and Dragos smiled to himself as he realized Liam had learned a lot more from college than just schoolwork and magic spells.

He was the golden son, the heir apparent. New York was his for the taking if he wanted it, and New York was speaking its mind loud and clear as it said yes, please. But when it came right down to it, would Liam choose to take over ruling the demesne in New York? Only time would tell how that story played out.

Dragos kept the penthouse at the top of Cuelebre Tower. Maybe, eventually, he would give it to Liam, but that also had yet to be decided. For now, it remained his and Pia’s.

He also kept most of the money. (There was quite a lot of it.) Sorting out the money was the biggest headache out of everything, because Dragos had always treated his finances as fungible and moved funds from his personal and business accounts to the demesne, or back again as needed.

In the end, he kept his favorite business ventures, all of them steady money earners and capable of operating efficiently without his constant hand at the helm, and he resigned from the boards and signed over the stock from others. Nation building in Rhyacia was going to be expensive. He felt no compunction about keeping most of the liquid assets, while leaving the demesne enough in its operating budget to see it to the end of the first calendar year.

With the businesses he signed over and some decent management, the New York Wyr demesne would remain solvent and build back up to affluence within five to seven years. The rents alone from the businesses and restaurants located in Cuelebre Tower would fund the essential functions of the Wyr demesne. They had enough to pay the bills, all administrative, legal and sentinel salaries, and to keep the lights on. They would do just fine.

One night, when Dragos had traveled to New York for business and had left Pia and Niall at home upstate, the sentinels threw him and Graydon another, unofficial bash at Quentin’s bar. This one was a much more private and raucous affair. During it, Aryal and the others gave him a large, oddly shaped present. It stood waist high, and when Drago tore off the wrapping, he uncovered it was a gold sundial.

“Get it?” Aryal nudged his shoulder. “It’s a gold retirement watch! But this one will work in an Other land. Hahaha!”

As Dragos raised his eyebrows, Quentin said, “She’s been waiting weeks to say that.”

Aryal confessed. “Actually, it’s so big it’s gold plated—it’s not solid. But it’s plated with quality gold! We made sure of that when we stole it. Don’t you fucking love it?”

A giant gold watch made with purloined treasure. Dragos laughed. “I do. I really fucking love it.”

“Booyah,” Bayne said, eyes gleaming with a smile. “We thought you might.”

Eventually, close to dawn, that party wound down too. Graydon walked away with a giant bag of cloth diapers and a case of antique scotch. Dragos flew back to upstate New York with the sundial and a smile on his face.

All final tasks had been completed in a reasonable amount of time, and all challenges had been surmounted. While Dragos would never lay claim to understanding women, he had listened to his wife air her issues and he had pleased her well with her gift of toiletries. For someone who knew he was not a very good man, he liked to think he was a good mate and husband. He was a good dragon.

Liam promised to visit them in Rhyacia within the next month. The sentinels swore they rotate in visits for their vacations, and by the eagerness in their expressions, Dragos knew they were speaking the truth. Dragos, Pia, and Niall’s clothes were packed. Earlier that day, Graydon and Bel, along with their baby daughter and Bel’s cadre of dedicated Elven attendants, had already crossed over.

Everything was well in hand. Life moved on, even if not all of it was rosy. Over the weekend, Eva had broken the news that Elizabeth Creedy, one of Liam’s old elementary school teachers, had died in a car crash on Friday night. That saddened Pia deeply as she had liked Miss Creedy, but Dragos barely remembered what the woman looked like.

“She was so young, only in her forties,” Pia said. “And I don’t think she had any family. I remember she once said that the children in her classroom were her family. Liam’s going to be really sad to hear she died. She was so nice to him.”

Liam had also grown at such an accelerated pace he hadn’t stayed in one classroom for very long, so he hadn’t formed lifelong attachments to anybody. Dragos was rather proud that he avoided mentioning that, since he knew he wasn’t always the most tactful of creatures.

“Let’s not interrupt him any further while he’s at school,” he suggested. “He’s had enough disruptions this year. We can always break the news when he comes to visit.”

Pia gave that some thought. “That makes sense, I guess.”

The conversation moved on to other things, and the last hours of their remaining time on Earth flew by, until at last it was their final evening. Dragos looked forward to a good night of sleep and sex, not in that order, enjoying a great, homecooked breakfast in the morning, and crossing over to Rhyacia around midmorning.

 Of course, that would be when things slid sideways, as they did every fucking time things went too fucking smoothly in his life.

__________________________________

Copyright: 2020 Teddy Harrison LLC

All rights reserved

The Unseen – Many Updates and the Blurb

Back by popular vote (for those who don’t know), The Unseen is the first of four encore novellas that I’m writing about Dragos and Pia. These are a series of linked stories, and they want to be told in a different way than I have told stories before. These are (hopefully) going to read like a serialized story.

Normally I don’t like cliffhangers, so I don’t write them. But these are different. There will be cliffhangers, guys.

I’m sorry, but that’s all there is to it. It is what it is. Cliffhangers. The good news is, the stories will be released pretty quickly, so you won’t have long to wait for each one.

The story has been finished and edited. We’re compiling the final file now, getting it formatted, and we are ON TARGET for having the story available for purchase through my website on 6/27.

There is no pre-order capacity on my website. As soon as the story is up we’ll be hopping up and down and yelling about it.

Audio—yes, there will be an audio version. Sophie Eastlake is on board! *throws confetti* I’ll be sending her the final file tomorrow, and she will start recording. No, there won’t be a coordinated release.

The audio will come after the release of the e-book and paperback. Always remember: when we know something you will too. When the audio is available, we will hop up and down and shout about it! Promise!

Now that the blurb is finished, we’re going to get pre-orders up, and as soon as we have those links we’ll share links with you for Amazon, Kobo, Apple, and Google Play for wide release on 7/13.

NOOK READERS Sadly, I will not be distributing new releases through Barnes and Noble for the time being. With COVID-19 and the massive hit to the economy, Barnes and Noble is struggling to survive. Authors received notice that they’re not paying some of their royalty obligations. While Barnes and Noble have protected self-published authors thus far from this shortfall, there is no guarantee they will pay royalties in full to self-published authors moving forward.

I want so badly for Barnes and Noble to survive, but I’m not willing to risk the revenue from my sales to their liquidity crisis, or potentially sacrifice a paycheck that I need to pay my rent and buy food if they withhold from paying their royalty obligation. For that reason, Nook readers will need to buy my stories from my website for now.

This will work (at least for this title) in your favor, because you’ll own the story outright and will upload it yourself to your e-reader. If Barnes and Noble do go under, I’m not quite sure what will happen to Nook and the stories readers have already purchased.

When I have confidence that Barnes and Noble will survive and pay their royalty obligation, I will release books through them again.

More not-so-fun stuff. As you know all too well, 2020 has been hard for everybody.

That includes me.

One of my challenges has included being in downtown Denver for the protests. Don’t misunderstand – I adamantly support Black Lives Matter, and the protests have been important and legitimate in every conceivable way. If I weren’t in the risk group for COVID-19 I would have considered joining them.

As you also no doubt already know, there has been some activity that has not been legitimate, such as damage done to property and looting. (None of this has been done by legitimate protestors!) In Denver, while we had curfews, I heard sirens at night and a pop-pop-pop sound that I do not believe was cars backfiring.

I was never in danger, but it was stressful and uncertain. I did more than pay attention to the curfews—I made sure I was in my house with the doors locked before nightfall.

The stress of this messed with my ability to write with the warmth and humor that these stories should have.

I’ve been working on strategies to maintain my writing voice and protect my creativity. I am writing, and I like what I’m producing. But it is a challenging to project with any degree of certainty when the second story will come out. It may be August – which is one month after the wide release of The Unseen.

Or it may be September.

EITHER WAY THE NEXT STORY WILL COME QUICKLY.

I just can’t and won’t promise August with any degree of certainty. Have faith and rest assured, as soon as I know something, you’ll know it too.

Did you make it through all that text?

Now for the fun stuff! There’s the blurb of The Unseen (to be available for purchase on my website on Saturday!).

From NYT bestselling author Thea Harrison comes the first in an explosive new quartet of stories set in the Elder Races world…. Dragos and Pia are back by popular vote!

***THIS STORY ENDS IN A CLIFFHANGER***

Saying goodbye to their old life in the Wyr demesne in New York may be hard, but Dragos and Pia are determined to create a new life in the Other land of Rhyacia.

At first, everything seems idyllic. Rhyacia is paradisiacal. Accompanied by old friends and new allies, the future looks safe and bright for Dragos, Pia, and baby Niall.

But strange things are happening beneath the picturesque façade. Items move unaccompanied, buildings collapse without justifiable cause, and even the most Powerful residents of Rhyacia can provide no logical explanation for the events transpiring. Whispered rumors point to something called the unseen.

As Dragos and Pia investigate, they uncover a greater mystery than they could have imagined, and they realize the startling truth…

They’re not alone in Rhyacia. The land Dragos had thought was uninhabited hides many secrets, a shocking history that’s not quite ready to be buried, and something more.

Something ancient, evil, and hungry. Something that wants to consume Dragos and take everything he holds dear.

Something that just may be powerful enough to overcome the dragon…

***This is book 1 in a series of 4 connected novellas. The first three books in this set will end in cliffhangers.***

*whispers* Cliffhangers

THE UNSEEN: Friday Snippets (2)

THE UNSEEN: Friday Snippets (2)

Happy Friday! Are you ready for another snippet from my upcoming novella, THE UNSEEN? This section finishes off chapter 1.

Please remember, as always when I post snippets of unedited draft work, it’s all subject to change or deletion. Anything you read will very likely contain typos and grammar issues that will be addressed during the editing process. For that reason, please don’t post this in other places. 

Happy reading!

Thea

__________________________________

THE UNSEEN, Chapter 1 (continued)

After that, time sped up and felt inexorable. Thoughts like, this is the second to last time I’ll be eating toast at this kitchen counter or that’s the last episode of The Bachelor I’ll be watching for a while kept floating through her mind, and she felt close to tears more often than not.

Late in the afternoon the next day, she walked around the corner of the downstairs hallway to find Dragos leaning one shoulder against the doorway to his office. He was dressed simply, in a black T-shirt that stretched across his powerful broad chest, and faded jeans that had seen better days, one booted foot kicked over the other. His arms were folded, the massive muscles in forearms and biceps delineated under the deep bronze skin.

He looked grim, but when he spoke, his voice was gentle. “When are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”

She stopped in her tracks, feeling flat-footed. So much for thinking that she had kept her inner upheaval private. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, before she could say, “I promise I will when I’ve figured out the right words to say.”

His hard, sexy mouth tightened. He didn’t like that—but then, he never liked anything that refused to give him whatever he wanted the moment he demanded it. “Tell me now. I don’t care if you use the wrong words.”

She gave him a wry look. “Only someone who hasn’t heard the wrong words could say something like that.” At the baffled frustration in his expression, she said more softly, by way of apology, “I thought I was doing a better job of hiding things.”

His frustration melted into anger. “You’re not supposed to be hiding anything from me,” he growled. Moving away from the doorway, he advanced on her, clamping both hands on her shoulders.

“I wasn’t intentionally hiding things from you,” she said as she looked up into his narrowed gold gaze. Anger sparked. “I’m not deceitful with you, ever. Period.”

The tension in his hands eased. “I know.”

Okay then. That was a little better.

“I’m just working things out in my head,” she told him. “I get to do that, you know. I get to sort through my thoughts and feelings to figure out what I should say, what I want to say, and what is even true about what I’m feeling. And that means I need to understand what I’m feeling before I can talk about it.”

He scrutinized her features, then said grimly, “That sounds like a lot of bullshit and prevarication to me.”

“Does it?” She blinked, more taken aback than ever. “I don’t mean it that way. Dragos, in the time we’ve been together we’ve gone through a lot of change. A lot. This move is more change, and this one is a whopper. We’re not wrong for deciding to go to Rhyacia, and we shouldn’t back out of the decision, but I also get to feel my feelings over it.” She looked around and felt her face crumple. “I love this house. This is our home, the one we built together. It doesn’t mean I won’t love our new home that we’re also building together. But I don’t love the new one yet.”

Understanding eased his expression. He pulled her into his arms. She rested her cheek against his chest and slid her arms around his waist. He murmured into her hair, “Are we moving too fast? Do you want to take a couple more weeks before we cross over? Or even another month or two?”

Relishing the hard muscle underneath the cotton of his shirt, she shook her head. “No, but thank you for suggesting it. I think I’ll feel better when we’re over there and having our adventure, instead of being here and constantly saying goodbye to everything. At this point, I think it’s just time for us to go.” Then, because she wanted to be scrupulous, she added carefully, “That may not be quite everything I want to say, but it’s the essence of what I’m working on. Since a lot of this was my suggestion, I feel like I should be handling things better than I am. When I figure out anything else that I need to talk about, I’ll tell you. Okay?”

“Fair enough.” His arms tightened before he let her go and stood back. “Come here. I have something for you.”

“You do?” Wiping her face, she followed him into his office, looking around. While Dragos had never been anything less than welcoming and she certainly stepped inside whenever she felt like it, this room was definitely his domain. His personality was stamped all over the elegant, masculine furnishings.

A hand carved box sat on his desk. Even as her curious gaze fell on it, he scooped it up with one hand and presented it to her.

She gave him a sidelong smile then focused her attention on the box itself. Designed in an art nouveau style, the craftmanship was beautiful. Peacocks and butterflies adorned the top and sides, inlaid with amethyst, blue calcite, labradorite, citrine, and other stones she was unfamiliar with. She held it closer to absorb the details of the intricate, delicate carving. “This is remarkable.”

“It’s a commissioned piece.” A hint of satisfaction entered his deep voice. “Nobody else has anything like this. The designs were created specifically for you. Open it.”

She did and found smaller carved pieces inside, each one a delight, the wood polished to a deep golden glow. A familiar scent escaped the box as she had opened it. Comprehension began to dawn.

Exclaiming in delight, she set down the bigger box to pick out one of the smaller pieces inside. It was round and cylindrical, with lapis lazuli inlaid in a swirling pattern like ocean waves. It was shaped remarkably like…

A tube of lipstick?

She pulled off the cap and experimentally tried to twist the base, then watched in disbelief as a fresh, unused piece of her favorite lipstick rose out of the thin golden wood tube.

“You didn’t,” she said.

“Didn’t I?” Smiling, he watched her explore the contents.

Carefully closing the lipstick again and setting it aside, she opened a slender box with a carved orchid on the top, inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Inside was a fresh palette of her favorite eye shadow, accompanied with a small, exquisite wooden application wand tipped with what looked like a small piece of natural sponge.

And then another box—this one with a seashell engraved on top, inlaid with abalone. Inside, she found her favorite blush, with a brush made of wood and sable. In an oval cylinder, inlaid with rose quartz, she found her favorite antiperspirant gel had been injected into the container. There wasn’t a piece of plastic in any of the toiletries in the box.

The thing about feeling your feelings: sometimes they were so huge and complex, you couldn’t figure out how to put words to them.

Lifting her gaze, she met his. Her voice wobbled slightly as she said, “You had someone create these incredible works of art for me, and you made them put makeup from Target in them?”

Beginning to look baffled again, he shrugged. “They’re your favorite, right?”

“Yes,” she whispered, stroking the gorgeous lipstick case.

“I had the artisan create copies of every piece,” he told her. “You can order more of anything, any time you’re ready for it, and he’ll ship a fresh box to you. When you’ve received it, you can send back the used one, and he’ll clean it up and refill it with new cosmetics.” One long finger hooked underneath her chin, and he tilted her face up. “Don’t you like it?”

She said with perfect sincerity, “I think this is the nicest thing you’ve ever done for me.”

He still looked faintly mystified as he stroked along her cheek with his thumb. “I’ve bought you plenty of jewelry that cost a hundred or a thousand times what this makeup box cost.”

Amusement curved her lips. Yes, he had, and it was a measure of his love for her that he was able to actually give the jewelry to her after he had acquired it. But as much as she loved that the dragon gave her jewels, those outrageously expensive pieces never meant as much to her as they did to him.

This, however, was purely about her. He had seen her struggling to let go of something that was pretty minor in the grand scheme of life, and he had taken steps to make sure she didn’t have to. He could have had the makeup inserted into disposable cardboard shapes, and that would have been astonishing and thoughtful enough, but, being Dragos, he had to turn the whole project into treasure.

“Thank you. I love it with all my heart,” she said. Hooking an arm around his neck, she drew his head down to hers.

“That’s all that matters, then,” he said against her lips. His voice had turned husky.

She had told him what she could of the things she struggled with, but there were some things she could never tell him. Never. Savoring his mouth and every sensual detail of his long, hard body pressed against her, she locked down those secrets tight in the deepest, most private part of her soul.

After all, they had already discussed it, two months ago after Pia and Rune’s mate Carling had been kidnapped. The kidnapping had been a ploy by a crazed and embittered Elf to trap and destroy Dragos Cuelebre, who was known throughout the Elder Races as the Great Beast. During that nightmare, Pia had been forced to give birth to Niall in a cave and had met Dragos’s brother, Lord Azrael, the god of Death.

Once, she had just been a New York girl who wore makeup from Target and got freaked out over having feelings for a dragon. She was an herbivore who had to be secretive by nature, while he was the ultimate predator. Falling in love and mating with him had felt earthshaking and immense all on its own.

But coping long term with the reality of mating with Dragos was like opening an infinity of nesting puzzle boxes. As soon as she opened one and thought she had a grasp on things, she found another box to open, another reality even more immense than the one before.

She remembered the conversation they’d had after the kidnapping as if it had happened yesterday. How many Primal Powers are there? she had asked. The Elder Races only have seven in their pantheon.

You got me, Dragos had said with a shrug. I don’t really have anything to do with them, except I used to have a… let’s call it a certain rapport with Azrael.

He hadn’t been lying, exactly; she was certain of that. But his gold gaze had slid away from hers when he had said it.

And Azrael had said to her, You, of all people, should know how closely related death and the dragon are.

She did, or at least she had thought she had. But there were consequences to that close relation that she had never before queried, until then.

When she’d talked to Dragos, she’d tried to make light of it. To make it safe, as she’d asked him, We’re not going to talk about the pressures of godhood or anything like that?

And he’d brushed the whole thing off. Pia, what does godhood mean? Tiago is a thunderbird. More than half my sentinels have been worshipped as gods in Egypt. Look at the Djinn and what they can do. Hell, look at yourself in the mirror—look at yourself when you’re in your Wyr form. Unless something or someone kills you, you are going to live indefinitely, and your blood heals any wound. That’s pretty damn miraculous in my book. There are many of the Elder Races who have been called gods at one point or other in history, and just as many who have been called demons.

His logic had been unassailable. He was right, but….

But.

Dragos was her husband, her mate, her dedicated lover, and most fierce protector, and yet in many ways he was still a total mystery to her. Some days, she couldn’t help but run that conversation again through her mind. Some days, she felt just like a New York girl who had gotten lost on a lonely road in a country so foreign she didn’t even know its name.

And the only thing that brought her home again was this: his mouth, his hands, his scent. Her body knew every exciting detail of his and craved it. She craved him.

When he shut the door to his office and turned back to her, his movements were tight with the hunger that drove him. She was already moving, stripping off her shirt and wriggling out of her jeans.

As she kicked out of them, he wound one hard arm underneath her hips and lifted her onto the desk. They often took their time with foreplay and teasing, laughing together under the velvet cloak of an indulgent midnight, but this was not one of those times.

He yanked off her underwear, and she eagerly wound her legs around his waist while she pulled his T-shirt over his head to reveal the heavy musculature of his tremendous chest. When he eased the thick, broad head of his erection against her opening, she was wet and ready. Her head fell back, eyes closed, as he entered her.

They fit together like the oldest, truest magic: yin and yang; male and female; dark and light.

It was only during times like these when she felt relief from the doubts and insecurities that plagued her. When all her doubts were vaporized in the heat of passion, and the deepest, most private part of her soul said to him, I don’t care who or what you are. You’re mine.

You’re mine.

__________________________________

Copyright: 2020 Teddy Harrison LLC

All rights reserved

Spotlight on… Sonya Bateman

The SFWA Fantastic Beasts Bundle is only available for one more day! Before it’s gone for good, I have one more author I want to spotlight. This week, I’m thrilled to be spotlighting Sonya Bateman!

Sonya is a genre-spanning author of urban fantasy, paranormal, and fairy tale retellings, who also publishes psychological thrillers and crime thrillers as S.W. Vaughn. It’s fair to say she keeps herself busy! Her two popular urban fantasy series are The DeathSpeaker Codex and the Gavyn Donatti series.

The DeathSpeaker Codex currently a 10 book series, and it follows Gideon Black, a man who thought he was human… until the dead start talking to him, a werewolf drags him into a secret world of Others, and he uncovers abilities within himself that he didn’t know were there.

Cursing Stones, book 1 in the Avalon Rising series, is the novel included in the SFWA Fantastic Beasts Bundle. This book is filled with ancient magic, legends you only think you know, mystery, monsters, and a reluctant heroine you can’t help but love.

What exactly is Cursing Stones about? 

Home is where the monsters are…

Rhiannon ‘Rain’ Finlay sucks at being a druid. Her gift of communicating with animals works just fine, but she doesn’t know a Thurisaz rune from a Wunjo, and she can’t even cast a circle of protection without a cheat sheet. That’s why she decided to leave her tiny village on the Isle of Parthas, North Sea, for a normal non-magical life halfway around the world.

But when her beloved grandfather disappears along with a handful of villagers, she’s forced to return home and use her gift — and her crappy druid magic — to help them. Unfortunately, she’s not exactly prepared to face the very real monsters that are popping up all over, from mutant spiders to banshees, black dogs … and worse.

That’s when she learns all the crazy stories her father told her growing up, about the old deserted castle on the island having belonged to King Arthur, might not be so crazy after all.

The legends are real. They’re returning to Parthas.

And they have unfinished business with Rain Finlay.

Cursing Stones is available as part of the SFWA Fantastic Beasts bundle. This bundle is available only from May 27, 2020 until June 18, 2020 [THAT’S TOMORROW] via Story Bundle. For more information on how this works, please click here. To purchase some or all of the fantastic books in this bundle, please click here.

And make sure you check out all of Sonya’s books, including Wrong Side of Hell (book 1 in The DeathSpeaker Codex), Master of None (book 1 in the Gavyn Donatti series), and Red (book 1 in the Fairy Tale Reboot series).

THE UNSEEN: Friday Snippets (1)

THE UNSEEN: Friday Snippets (1)

Happy Friday! Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing lots of news. One of the most exciting is that The Unseen is now in the editing process! That means it will be available to you very quickly. I’m hoping to have it uploaded for purchase from my webstore on June 27. It will release at Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, and Kobo on July 13. Because those dates are coming up fast, I’m going to start releasing Friday snippets today, with a new snippet going up every Friday until the July 13th wide release day. Each snippet will be around 2,000 words long, with the understanding that I’ll break whenever there seems to be a good place in the narrative. 

As always when I post snippets of unedited draft work, it’s all subject to change or deletion. Anything you read will very likely contain typos and grammar issues that will be addressed during the editing process. For that reason, please don’t post this in other places. 

Happy reading!

Thea

———–

“What exactly do you pack when you’re leaving earth for good?” Pia murmured.

She stared at the huge pile of clothes and personal items she had heaped on the king-sized bed she shared with her husband and mate, Dragos Cuelebre, in the house they had built in upstate New York.

When she and Dragos had made the decision to leave the Wyr demesne in New York and move to the Other land of Rhyacia, they had agreed to not pack any household items. Everything they had required to furnish their spacious house in upstate New York would remain intact and ready for any time they might choose to return.

But that didn’t make the impending move simple or easy. Their decision had sparked Pia into an intense buying spree for new household items that they sent into the Other land in regular shipments. Despite Pia’s original intention to focus solely on their new baby Niall, she had been unable to remain detached from the process. This was to be her new home, and she needed to feel comfortable in it. She couldn’t just step back and let someone else create the whole thing for her.

Color schemes had to be decided upon. Bedding, curtains, carpets (all of which meant the number of rooms and room dimensions needed to be decided upon), kitchenware, bath linens, and more—and every decision had to take into account that while Other lands were rife with magic, modern technologies such as electricity and gas-run vehicles didn’t work there. Goodbye, KitchenAid stand up mixer and Keurig coffee makers. Hello, manual hand mixers and French press coffee makers.

What items of furniture would they transport, and what could be made on site? Rhyacia was roughly the size of Greenland. Currently it was a vast stretch of undeveloped land that Dragos had discovered and protected long ago, just in case he might ever decide to do something with it some day.

His contingency planning had become a reality. Now, the community in Rhyacia was new and growing at an exponential rate, fueled by Wyr who were leaving New York in huge droves as they enthusiastically embraced the new challenge.

Very soon what had once been a vast tract of pristine, undeveloped land would become a nation, and Rhyacia would be self-supporting in every conceivable way, but that hadn’t happened yet. While money was no object in designing their house (a fact that still felt foreign and exotic to Pia), intensive thought and effort had to go into planning every detail, since most of what they wanted and needed had to be shipped in. Massive cargo caravans transporting a wide variety of goods including shelf stable and freeze-dried food, tents, eco-friendly prefab housing, and other building materials crossed over to the Other land daily.

In the meantime, Dragos had to follow through with his decision to abdicate as Lord of the Wyr in New York – a position he had held for hundreds of years. He had been intensely busy both with building plans for their new house and working with the sentinels in New York to facilitate a transfer of power to Rune, his former First sentinel, who would act as regent until Pia and Dragos’s oldest son Liam decided if he wanted to take over.

Because Dragos was often in New York, many of the household decisions Pia needed him to weigh in on had been made via text. Finally, after two months of intense activity, it was time to pack clothes and toiletries. They would leave for Rhyacia in two days.

Pia regarded the containers of blush, eyeshadow, mascara and lipstick she held in her hands. She wasn’t clear on how rough the living conditions would be in the new settlement. How likely was it that she would want to wear makeup any time soon? But this move wasn’t exactly like they were traveling to another neighborhood with a strip mall located a few blocks away where she could buy anything she needed. If she didn’t take things now, she wouldn’t have access to anything like it again very easily.

Her gaze traveled to the nearby French doors, propped open to let in a warm afternoon breeze. Eva had taken Pia’s youngest son Niall outside to give her a break so she could get some serious packing done. While Niall was a helpless two-month old baby in his human form, in his Wyr form he was hell on four hooves…. and he liked to stay in his Wyr form.

Eva had changed into her canine Wyr form as well. She chased Niall’s tiny racy bronze form across the freshly mown lawn. When Niall spun and lowered his equine head to point his horn at Eva, Pia laughed under her breath. That little boy loved to stab things. Eva barked at him, and he tore off in a different direction. Eva lunged in pursuit, and they disappeared from Pia’s line of sight.

She loved everything about the scene outside. Her disaster baby; her best friend. Every detail of the landscaping had been a choice she’d helped to make. When she had first met and mated with Dragos, she’d had to learn to love his penthouse in Cuelebre Tower—and she’d succeeded. She’d made a few changes, claimed the kitchen as her own, and lavished all her attention on decorating their first son Liam’s nursery.

This place was different. She and Dragos had chosen everything about it together. She had helped to create this home from the ground up, and she loved every inch of it.

Man, she was going to miss that KitchenAid mixer. Her chest constricted and the peaceful outdoor scene disappeared as her eyes flooded with moisture.

Firm footsteps sounded as Dragos walked up behind her. One massive hand came down to cover both of hers, makeup and all. He said in her ear, “Remember, we agreed. No plastic.”

 “I know what we said, but… none at all?” she asked in dismay. She picked up a plastic container of antiperspirant. It was her favorite brand. She’d been using it for forever.

“None.” His tone was final. “We’re not going to create a trash or pollution problem in Rhyacia.”

Tilting one shoulder up, she sighed. “I don’t disagree.”

The heat from his tall, muscular body warming her back and legs eased some of the ache she was feeling. He buried his face in her neck and inhaled. His lips moved against her sensitive skin, as he murmured, “Besides, I like the way you smell.”

 Mmm, delicious. But she would not give into the temptation to go boneless against him. She still had too many items outstanding on her To-Do list. “Did you ever consider the reason why you might like the way I smell is because of my choice in toiletries?” She pulled out her container of mascara and brandished it in front of his eyes. “I’m so fair, I’m almost an albino. Where do you think my eyelashes come from?”

 “I have seen you plenty of times without your makeup, and you’re gorgeous.” He ran his mouth along the line of her jaw. “Unless I miss my guess, you’re not wearing makeup right now.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” she demanded.

He paused, then said cautiously, “This is a female thing, isn’t it?”

To Dragos, the female experience was a vast continent filled with baffling mysteries and countless pitfalls, but at the moment she felt too sad to smile. Resting her cheek against the side of his head, she said, “Yes, this is a female thing.”

“Hm.” He scooped up her makeup and antiperspirant. “I’ll take these.”

“What?” she exclaimed. “Why? We haven’t left for Rhyacia yet.”

“You’ll see.” When she spun on her heel to confront him, he raised one sleek black eyebrow. His brutally handsome features were relaxed in an expression of subtle amusement. “That’s all for now. Carry on.”

Her mouth fell open to argue more, but he had already wheeled away and strode out of their bedroom suite.

“I was going to take a shower with some of that,” she muttered crankily. Then what he had said hit her. She shouted after him, “What do you mean I smell?”

His deep laughter floated up the stairs. A few moments later she heard the distant sound of the front door opening and closing.

“It’s not like any of that was special anyway.” She made a face at the empty doorway and whispered, “Because I’m just a New York girl who likes to shop at Target.”

Without the distraction of Dragos’s intense, vital presence, the ache welled up again. There was no one to watch or question what she did next. Burying her face in her hands, she let the tears come.

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