Annie Anderson's Blog, page 6

Do Opposites Attract?

It's the Question as Old as Time...

Plucky girl meets broody guy... But do opposites really attract, and if they do, why do they work?  I believe opposites attract (I'm currently in married to my complete opposite. Eleven years in March! Woo hoo!!) So I know a relationship like this can work.

But WHY? Here are three reasons why I believe opposites attract:

1. It almost forces people out of their shell.Out of the two of us, my hubs is the outgoing one, so when I could stay in my house and Netflix it up 24/7, the hubs has the weird necessity to go outside. Freaking weirdo.  BUT once I go outside  - either hanging out with friends or even going for a hike, I'm glad I went.

2. It gets you to try new things.I would NEVER have tried rock climbing if it hadn't been for the hubs, and he would never have realized the wondrous goodness of a action movie marathon accompanied by copious amounts of junk food. I learned how to speed up and he learned how to slow down.

3. It brings a new perspective.When I have a problem and can't figure out the answer to or if I need a new point of view, I ask the hubs. Not just because he's the hubs, but because he always has a different perspective than I do. The way he looks at a problem - even after almost 12 years together - is very different than my own. Usually his view either calms my neurotic ass down or gets me out of my own head so I can solve my problem myself.

Evangeline Black and West Carmichael are total opposites. She's a powerfully sassy queen and he's a broody assassin. Want to see these opposites attract? Look below!

~ Rising Ashes ~
Ashes to Ashes
Book Three

Evan-
Trent has lost his fucking mind, I think as I raise my hands in surrender. The three of us have stopped in our tracks on the immaculate brick paver pathway, waiting for the crazy man to decide if he’s going to kill us or not. I hope not, but with the way my life is going right now, I’m not holding out hope for some miracle.

“Get off my land, Evangeline. Whatever you want, I’m not helping you,” Trent growls, stepping across the threshold onto the porch, and I see my opening.

I don’t wait for Aidan or Cam who I can tell are still trying to come up with an exit strategy. I love them like brothers, but they will just fuck this up for me.

I don’t wait for Trent to say another word, either. Who knows what has that fucker in a twist. Instead of the showdown he probably expects, I travel just to the side of the open door and wrench the gun right out of his dumbass hands, tossing it to Cam with one hand and with the other, I grab the top cartilage of his ear and bend his big ass frame to my lips.

“That is no way to treat your Queen. Apologize. Now,” I hiss into his ear. When his mouth screws up into a grimace but no apology passes his lips, I decide he needs a lesson. Before he knows what hit him, his nose is bleeding, and he’s flat on his back on his own porch with my boot digging into his chest.

“You were saying?” I ask on a growl. I haven’t phased, and I don’t need to. I can do plenty all on my girly fucking lonesome, thank you very much.

The crazed smile that breaks across his face is mildly disturbing and a bit endearing. He looks like a proud papa and his favorite child just learned to walk, or at least in my case, learned how to kick someone’s ass.

“Evangeline, my Queen, how nice to see you again. Welcome to my home. Please do come in,” he says genially enough that I remove my boot heel from his ribs.

“Trent, good to see you. I have a favor to ask. You up for it?” I ask as I smile sweetly down to him.His smile is manic, but I pay it no mind. Trent is Mercury personified.

“Absolutely.”

Click HERE to See What Happens Next!

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Meet the Queen

I took the chance to interview Evangeline Black.

I met with Evangeline in her home in an opulent penthouse in a Denver high-rise. A busy woman, she only had a quick minute for me, but we got some good answers in.

Singing is a passion of yours. What is your favorite song?
That's like asking you which kid is your favorite child, sheesh! I can tell you my favorite song to sing, though. I'm in love with Raign's version of "Knocking on Heavens Door."
I've heard it. It's a beautiful song, but I'm partial to the original, Bob Dylan version. Do you ever get a chance to sing in front of other people or did that stop in the 20s'?
The Bob Dylan version is amazeballs, for sure. I don't have much time to sneak away to sing, to be honest. Running this 'kingdom' so to speak is daunting.

How is that going BTW, the whole running the world shiz?
I don't run the world, I just help. And it has its ups and downs. There is some pretty awful stuff heading our way if Aurelia has anything to say about it, so I'm not sitting back eating bon-bons just yet. It helps that I have a sexy man to bounce ideas off of and who has finally seen the light as far as the whole relationship stuff goes.

Speaking of the relationship stuff, will we see some wedding bells and patter of little feet in the near future?
The wedding stuff isn't really our thing - species-wise, anyway - so probably not. For us Wraiths, it is bite and boom: married. Way less headache and no need for the endless thank-you notes. The babies thing... we'll work on it in a bit, but I don't think it's the right time just yet, but who knows?

You've had a multitude of changes recently. How are you dealing with how much your world has changed?
I have good days and bad days. I miss my parents, of course, but then I look at how few years humans have with their parents and know that I got so many good years and memories with my Mom and Dad. It's hard sometimes because I want to call my Mom and tell her something or ask my Dad's advice about how to deal with a particular faction, and I can't. West and I have been dealing with their passing and the added responsibilities together, and together the pain is dimming some.It is so good that you two are leaning on each other.I think so, too. We are closer now than we've ever been.

So, you dig the beard, huh?
LOL, yes. The beard and I are very good friends. I think I'd boycott sex if he shaved it off.

Thank you so much for speaking with me. Enjoy that beard for all of us, please.

Are you dying to get a better look at the King's Assassin?You just might...Need a teaser to whet your pallet?

~ Rising Ashes ~
Ashes to Ashes
Book Three

Evan – 1928 – Los Angeles, CA
The first time I met West Carmichael, I was singing at a speakeasy in Los Angeles. My parents didn’t know where I was, and for the first time in a long time, neither did Aurelia. Hiding from a Seer is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but a special cloaking amulet from a witch friend seemed to have worked wonders. It was pretty. A sapphire the size of my thumbnail set in a silver filigree setting hanging from a thin chain that rests just below my collarbone. It wasn’t the nicest piece of jewelry I owned, but it was my favorite.

Maybe because it granted my freedom.
Or maybe because it matched my royal blue silk charmeuse gown to perfection. I used to hate dressing up, but this dress made me feel like a woman. It was an off the shoulder number with a daring sweetheart neckline – far ahead of its time. It fit like a second skin until it hit my thighs and then flared out like a calla lily into a delicate but short train. It may not have been the most comfortable dress I owned, but it made me feel like a sexy siren. Something that with my diminutive height, I rarely felt.

I was alone – finally alone even in this sea of people– after so much time with the ones I loved breathing down my neck. It was like a vacation. I needed something of my own. A secret, a life, something to break away from my family. Something that didn’t say princess or royalty.

Something that let me just be me. Singing was it for me.I was ending my five-song set with a favorite of mine, an old Jane Greene song when I saw him. I’d seen him around town a few times, when I was shopping by myself or when I watched a boxing match at the Olympic Auditorium, a scandalous activity for an unchaperoned young lady.

But we’d never met.

He was handsome. I even daresay beautiful, if you can call a man like that beautiful. He was tall – taller than anyone in the room by nearly a whole head –and built so powerfully he made the other men look like pitiful adolescents dressed up in their daddy’s clothes. It was difficult to tell if his hair was as dark as it seemed in the low light of the secret club, but it appeared black in the dim. Dressed to the nines in a brilliant black suit, he moved with grace through the crowd until he found his seat at the only open table in the joint, folding his huge frame into the chair with the grace of a jaguar. Papa had taken me to Brazil when I was just a little girl, and we saw the big cats roam the rainforests. He moved just like those jungle cats, scanning the room for prey and threats, watching everything with disinterest, as if he could take or leave the sights and sounds and people. As if he were bored in this raucous party that seemed to never end.

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Start the Ashes to Ashes series for FREE!!

Want to start the Ashes to Ashes series for FREE?Enter a Giveaway where everyone wins!! We All Fall Down is a collection of short stories from the Ashes to Ashes series. The prize is the first story,Betrayed,and takes place beforeScattered Ashes(Ashes to Ashes, #1).Betrayedis a perfect introduction to the Ashes to Ashes series!!EnterHERE!EDIT:If you had trouble downloading your copy, the error has now been resolved. The Bookfunnel & Mailchimp integration is still very new, and there was an unanticipated kink in the line that we worked together to fix. Download your copyHERE.About the prize:BetrayedThe deck is stacked against Rhys Stevens...His best friend stole the girl he loves, he's pretty sure he has to commit treason, and if things go how he thinks they will, he's going to have to kill a couple of people. And that's the good news...Aurelia Constantine hasn't been one for rules.Don't run, don't be loud, do what you're told... If she listened to all of her mother's rules, she might as well hand over her life right now. But Aurelia is off to make her own life, even if she has to step on some toes to do it.Plans are derailed, blood is spilled, and when the dust settles... the war has just begun.

3 Reasons Why Beards Are the Best...

Annie, why the hell do all your main men always have scruff/beards/facial hair?
Do I have to answer this question? Shouldn't it be obvious? Evidently, there are peeps out there who don't like facial hair. WHAT?!? Yes, my thoughts exactly.  Don't get me wrong, there are some men who cannot pull off the scruff, and for that, dear sirs, I am sorry.

But the ones who can... sigh...

So, why are beards the absolute best? Here are 3 reasons why...

1. It turns boys into men.
I'm not talking emotionally because, let's face it, slapping some facial hair on a chin ain't gonna do it BUT when a guy grows a nice, healthy beard it takes him out of the "boy" category.

2. It's scratchy.
Yes, for that reason alone, beards are the best. I'm not going to go into specifics. You know exactly what I mean. If I have to spell it out, WHAT ARE YOU DOING READING MY BOOKS??
Don't make me call your mother.

3. They take patience.
If a man can grow a beard (and the hubs thankfully can) he can put the time and effort into other things... kinda like dealing with my crazy ass. (I'm not really crazy per se... I'm just... well... spirited. *wink, wink*)

So why all the talk of beards?
The hero in Rising Ashes is a beard-rocking, no-talking, alpha-male which I think is the perfect complement to my jabber-mouth pixie of a heroine.

Rising Ashes
Ashes to Ashes
Book Three

West Carmichael is not my real name.
It is the name I pulled from thin air over five hundred years ago. I don’t come from royalty—I come from the dregs of the ethereal. As the King’s assassin, I have more blood on my hands than most. I don’t deserve her. I don’t deserve anyone. But I will keep her safe.
Even if I die trying.

Evangeline Black.
My name sounds like the heroine of a historical romance novel – not that I read those or anything. My life so far: Dead parents? Check. Broken heart? Check. Evil mistress of darkness, hell-bent on power and thirsty for my death? Big. Honking. Check. But this mess won’t get cleaned up by itself. I’ve got a job to do.

As these two reluctant hearts fight their pull, they must decide if they want to fall apart in the midst of the chaos swarming around them or yield to their hearts…
and rise.

Are you dying to get a better look at the King's Assassin?
You just might...
Need a teaser to whet your pallet?

West
You would think people would know by now.

But they don’t.

People as a whole are dumb, lazy bastards only out for themselves. Maybe it’s just Wraiths that are like this. Maybe outside factions see us as the cockroaches of the ethereal because of the way we act. I think it is probably a few ruining it for the rest of us.

Welcome to the ethereal! Where we don’t give a shit what color you are, but if you have powers we don’t like, well, then fuck you.

I silently chuckle a little to myself.

Yep, the game show host in my head has lost his nut. Good times.

I stay in the shadows, not too hard up here on the cliff top, crouched in the darkness of a yawning crevasse and watch as Wraiths in fancy funeral dresses and tuxes prepare to fight a battle they can’t win. A few haul long-range precision rifles from narrow, padded gun cases.

I guess they aren’t fucking around anymore.

They are dressed very differently from me. While they look refined and out of place as they spoil for a fight, I look right at home with the prospect of a good, old fashioned blood bath in my black fighting leathers and body armor.Luck favors the prepared, so the saying goes, and I am very, very lucky.

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

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Raid Asher's Bookshelf

I Raided Asher's Bookshelf...
So if you don't hear from me again, I'm telling you now, it was worth it.

Asher loves to read.
LOVES it.
Every time he has a spare minute and he's not in his workshop, he's reading. There are bookshelves all over the house filled with books - mostly sci-fi and horror, but also autobiographies, historical fiction, and a bit of romance.

These are my top ten picks from Asher's bookshelf:
Needful Things - Steven King
The Demon's Lexicon - Sarah Rees Brennan
Days Gone Bad - Eric Asher
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Grave Sight - Charlaine Harris
The Restorer - Amanda Stevens
Grave Witch - Kalayna Price
Forgotten Sins - Rebecca Zanetti
The Martian - Andy Weir
Skinwalker - Faith Hunter

Now, I noticed that Mena had a bookshelf all to herself filled - FILLED, I tell you - with romance novels. Historical, Sci-Fi, Mysteries, Thrillers, Contemporary... All of the romance.

Here are my top ten picks from Mena's shelf:
Heart-Shaped Hack - Tracey Garvis-Graves
Grin and Beard It - Penny Reid
Wild & Free - Kristen Ashley
Play - Kylie Scott
Dark Lover - J.R. Ward
Bait - M. Mabie
The Understatement of the Year - Sarina Bowen
Crushing Misery - Kinsey Taylor
The One - Danielle Allen
Making Faces - Amy Harmon

Go check out all of these awesome books, and let me know what you think!

Falling Ashes
Ashes to Ashes
Book Two

Asher
Trying to hold onto a pissed off, scared-out-of-his-mind Cam is like trying to grip a wet fish – fucking impossible. West is no help because Evan has gone from the focused, linear-thinking, happy-go-lucky woman I’ve known all her life to a half-mad she-cat on steroids. Forcing Evan to do anything is like signing your own death warrant, so West is attempting to calm her down gently, but he’s not making much headway.

I’m focusing on keeping everyone calm, but I feel this pull, this hook in my chest, and I can’t stay downstairs playing babysitter. Out of everyone, I should be the staid one. I should be the one that is constant – that follows orders – but it’s me who breaks rank first and heads upstairs before anyone can grab me. For some insane reason, I take the stairs instead of traveling, and when I open the doors, I think I’ll probably regret that sixty-second trip for the rest of my life.

I don’t remember growling. I don’t remember moving, but when Mena looks up at me, I’m already trying to get to her – trying to get her away from that darkness clutched in her fist. I see the decision cross her face as soon as she makes it, she’ll do anything to save the people she loves, and somehow that includes me.

No, no, no!

“Mena!” I roar, forgetting my purpose, for-getting my oath to John, only knowing that I’ll follow her down to the depths of hell if I have to.

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!

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Falling Ashes

Let Me Just Borrow That Chisel...

I pried some answers from Asher.
You’re welcome.

I met with Mr. Crane in his workshop at his home in Evergreen, CO. He was in the middle of carving a tree-of-life table top with some rather deadly looking chisels so I promised to be on my best behavior, but I’m throwing in the caveat that my PA Barb Shuler provided most of these questions. (Sorry, Barb, I’m not getting killed for your curiosity, woman.)

Your house – where you kept yourself from time to time – was it a place of solace or a place to find yourself?
A bit of both, I think. More than anything I think it was a place to recharge and have some time to myself. I can only stand Cam for just so long before I want to kill him, so getting some space helps.

One of the questions I get asked the most is how old you are. Care to share?
I suppose. I was born in 1696, so I just celebrated my 320th birthday.

So you’re an old man now. Where were you born?
I was born in a very small Wraith village in Ireland. We didn’t have much, but I didn’t want for anything. I started out with a good family and I was accepted into another one.

Speaking of your adopted family, what makes one pledge their life to the King? Is it for honor? Prestige? Or just because you were planning on being an eternal bachelor?
I owed my life to John. I wanted to protect him as he protected me so many years ago. But the Guardian mantle isn’t meant to be forever. Usually when a Guardian takes a mate, they are released from their vow. I just didn’t think I would ever find my mate, so I had no intention of being released.

What was it like when you noticed Mena that first time?
Jarring to say the least. I never thought I would get a mate, and then to get one so late in life, it was a definite surprise. But more than that, no one tells you the almost physical response you have to hearing your mate's voice for the first time. It takes your focus – that was once on your charge or yourself or your family – and turns it to your mate. I wanted to know everything about her – but seeing her in that hospital bed just twisted my heart. I couldn't control my reaction. I don't think anyone in my position would have been able to either.

Thank you so much for answering all of my questions, Asher. Until next time...


Falling Ashes
Ashes to Ashes
Book Two

Asher
Right this second, I want to know who did this to her. I want to know if it was just Iva or a host of her Soldiers. I want to rip the skin and muscle from their bones as they watch. I want to consume them until they are left writhing in the depths of hell.

My brain seems to split in two. I want to maim and murder, but I also want to comfort her. I can almost taste the bitterness of her distress, how much she must hate people looking at her, talking to her after so many years of captivity. I want to see her eyes. I want to know what she’s thinking. I can’t take the waiting, and I move Ian out of the way and then West and then Evan, making my way to the left side of her bed.

I hear the faint sounds of protests and shouts beyond the harsh buzzing in my ears, but I don’t care. I know my hands are taloned, but I can’t think about reining in my phase. I reach out to touch her fidgeting fingers and in surprise, her head finally rises so I can see her face. Her eyes are wide and fringed in black lashes that make her beautiful olive green irises pop. Her forehead and the left side of her face are covered in bruises, and her nose is pert and cute, even if it’s a little swollen. Her cheekbones are high and sharp, and as soon as I can, I’m making her eat until she bursts.

Those eyes that just a second ago were startled, swiftly turn from surprised to angry and in a flash her irises turn from green to gold. The last thought of consciousness I have before she shocks me stupid is how pretty her eyes are when she’s mad.

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Playlists, Pinterest & the Modern Age

Mena has been out of touch for the last fifty years...
Prison will do that to you. She had no idea about the wonders of music from the last 50 years or computers or all the new ways we interact with each other on any given day.

I put together playlists for all my books, but the one for Mena, I took special care to include all of the songs I thought she might like and truly represent how she was feeling in each of the scenes. If you are a music lover and dig book playlists, you are welcome to check out the Falling Ashes Playlist on Spotify.

Here are the highlights:
Locked in a Cage - Brick + Mortar
Blood Hands - Royal Blood
Holding on to Hell - Gin Wigmore
I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
Running Up That Hill - Placebo
Coming Down - Dum Dum Girls
Family - Noah Gundersen
Way Down We Go - Kaleo
My Body Is a Cage - Arcade Fire
Throne - Bring Me the Horizon

If you want to check out the other songs on the list (and there are about 33) head over to Spotify and check it out.
Yes, I have a song for every single little thing in this book.
Yes, it is so long it isn't even funny.
No, I'm not sorry.
Go and be amazed at my music-picking genius.

You know you've been sucked into a Pinterest-pinning marathon of epic proportions at one point or another.
Don't lie to me. I know.

Are you a visual person? Me too. I get sucked into Pinterest and keep on pinning into the wee hours of the night. I can live there if I totally forget I have grown-up responsibilities.

Each of the books in the Ashes to Ashes series has a board dedicated to all of the inspiration and ideas for each of the books. The Falling Ashes one is a particular favorite of mine.

If you want to get a peek into my mind, (that's a scary concept) see my cast of characters, and get all the visuals for Falling Ashes, come visit the Pinterest page.

Falling Ashes
Ashes to Ashes
Book Two

Mena
One second I’m trying to mind my manners and be as invisible as possible given the circumstances and the next some huge, black-eyed Wraith is trying to grab my injured hand. My right hand has been smashed and snapped and crushed so many times over the years. And just for kicks, Iva would rub Morganite dust in my open wounds. She was a peach, that woman.

I still can’t move my pinkie finger. I’m pretty sure I never will, and seeing the sharp talons of a fully phased Wraith trying to grab my hand… well, sanctuary or not, I’m damn well going to have my defenses up.

What concerns me the most about this whole situation is that I haven’t been in this house for more than an hour and I’ve already shocked someone. Granted, this time it was on purpose, but I’m genuinely fearful of the next time. I feel it building under my skin. That itch, that urge.

I haven’t felt it in years, but the burn is coming.

“What in the cold depths of hell was that?” I screech as I look over the edge of my hospital bed to peer at the man I just juiced. Everyone seems to have frozen just before things start moving at hyper speed.

Aurelia appears in front of me, looking murderous. Flames are licking up her arms already, and she looks about three seconds from turning the man who tried to touch me to ash.

The dark-haired guard steps in front of the King, ready to tear my head off if necessary. A low, rumbling growl vibrates from his chest. Evan and West look torn between the King and myself, and the brothers, Aidan and Ian, are trying to hold in their snickering. They’re failing, though, and the shorter one, Ian, can’t help doubling over and letting out a roar of laughter.

“She… she… she… well, that’s a crash and burn if I ever saw one,” Ian guffaws. Aidan, who was trying not to lose it, tosses his head back and explodes with a booming laugh.

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Sibling Rivalry Is No Joke

I asked Mena some questions...And I was afraid. Very, very afraid.(Not really. She loves me. Kinda. I just don’t want to piss her off)I met with Mena in her home on the outskirts of Evergreen, CO, a mountain town just outside of Denver.You have been touted as the "quiet one" of the Constantine twins. Tell me, how true is this?It’s a little bit true, but usually whatever is falling out of my twin’s mouth has probably passed through my brain at some point. We’re not as different as our parents would have liked to believe.What was it like to know your parents were keeping you and Aurelia apart – even though it was for a good reason?It was a special sort of awful, actually. I felt some serious guilt about it because I knew she was pretty much on her own. I can’t imagine what it was like for her to grow up with no one to talk to. I understand that both my parents had been hiding in plain sight for a very long time, but I regret the choices they made that hurt her. I wish they would have either left the Legion or done something – anything – else.The struggles you’ve endured have been gut wrenching. How did you cope with them all while fighting off Iva and her magic?Don’t go easy on me, Jesus. Well, I had fifty years to cope, so I’d say I did it very, very slowly. Iva thought that solitary confinement was an appropriate punishment, and it gave me time to think about everything that had happened while I was stewing in my cell. There were somethings I just had the time to figure out on my own, and other things only came into focus after I was rescued. It helped that I have a natural ability that kept Iva out of my mind, but also I had hope. Hope that my sister would find me, hope that was thankfully given when I needed it the most.Okay, back to easy. You have recently discovered the NHL. Do you have a team you prefer, and how exactly do you watch TV without blowing it up?Yes! I love hockey. It is so freaking gut-wrenching. I almost can’t handle the stress of watching it. And I’m not allowed within fifteen feet of the TV. I’ve blown up three so far and after the Penguins won the Stanley Cup… I may have fried all of the electronics in the house.Electricians must love you, huh?We have one on speed dial. The poor bastard.How do you get around all the possible hiccups in such a technological age?We’re still working out the kinks. I’m getting better at controlling my Aegis, but I have off days just like everyone else. Asher has been an incredible help with everything, and voice-command technology is becoming more available, so that’s a win.Thank you so much, Mena, for being willing to talk to me. Until next time…Mena was considered the "good sister." Yeah... right.~ Falling Ashes ~Ashes to AshesBook TwoMena Constantine is pissed off.Finally freed from her fifty-year imprisonment by a maniacal leader, she is desperately trying to recover and get her life back. Problem is, the life she had is long gone. Struggling under the weight of her memories and healing from the wounds of her captivity, she can't seem to catch a break. Every waking moment, death seems like a relief she would welcome.Asher Crane is a dead man.As a Guardian to the King, his only purpose in life is to keep the King alive. And he's failing. Miserably. With the King ill, the Queen dying, and zero plans for a successor, he's pretty much screwed. Because if the King dies, the law says Asher dies, too.As these two wounded souls collide in a series of bloody and unfortunate events, they will clutch to the last shreds of life before death beats down their door.Need a teaser to whet your pallet?Look below.~ Falling Ashes ~Ashes to AshesBook TwoMena - 1965Mama always told me never to use my power.Never, ever.Because using it could get me killed. Or worse, she would say, because death is not the worst thing.Death is just a step in life.I roll my mother’s words over in my mind as I try to move without being touched through the throng ofteenagers hell-bent on getting to the movie theater just behind me. One little shock, one little slip, and it’s all over.No more disguise.No more hiding.No more normal life – or normal for me anyway.It is so hard to keep my power leashed. Holding it inside me for days and days, waiting until I can get to a secluded spot in the desert to release this pent up urge. Like the revving of an engine just before the green light, my body thrums, waiting for the press of the pedal.Since maturity, it’s getting harder and harder to hold it, harder to keep inside. That’s all I’ve been doing. Since birth, I’ve been playing normal, while my twin lived a normal life. She never had to bite her tongue or mask her natural reactions. Never had to watch every single step as if one mistake would tip her hand. She never had to hide, and that’s all I’ve ever done.We were born of the same womb, but couldn’t be more different. I’m tall, she’s short. I’m quiet, she’s loud. I think before I speak, she doesn’t.She’s a Seer.I’m an Aegis.I turn my thoughts from my twin, who left me in the hell of my own solitude so many years ago, and try and tamp my emotions down.The bulbs in the marquee are shiny and new, the adolescents giggle and push as they move past. The times change so quickly. Just ten years ago, the girls were wearing poodle skirts and saddle shoes, now they are wearing miniskirts and tall boots. Strange how quickly things can turn on a dime.Want even MORE Legion?Join my Closed FB Group Annie Anderson's Legion for games, giveaways, teasers, memes and random thoughts.Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.JOIN NOW

Birthday Shenanigans AKA: Sales & Giveaways

It's My Birthday Week! (AKA: SALE!)I turn the magical 33 this week, and because of this auspicious occasion (I have a serious love for the number 3) I am putting ALL THREE books in the Ashes to Ashes series onSALE! That's right, Scattered Ashes, Falling Ashes AND the newly released Rising Ashes, are onSALEuntil Labor Day. Get them while you can!Ashes to Ashes Series SALE!I LOVE Gifts (AKA: It's GIVEAWAY TIME!)I will be running several birthday giveaways in my FB group, The Legion during my birthday week. If you'd like to see regular shenanigans and malarkey, plus participate in some awesome giveaways, I'd join if I were you.JOIN THE LEGION FB GROUP HERE!That's all I have for right now, but I reserve the right to bug you later.XOXOAnnie

Meet Aurelia Constantine

I asked Aurelia some questions...I got to sit down with Rhys over a week ago to get some answers to some hard-hitting questions. Now it is time to meet the woman of the hour - Aurelia Constantine.Again, I have to start with the name bit. Everyone mispronounces your name and it drives me nuts, so can you teach these peeps how to say your name?That's funny because you and I know all about the problems with this pronunciation, don't we?Yes. We do. My oldest daughter was supposed to be named Aurelia, but one of our friends made a crude joke - one I'm sure you've heard once or twice before...Not twice by the same person, that's for sure. My name is pronounced AH-Rail-Ee-Ya. One of Annie's dear friends advised her against the name for her daughter based on the crude jokes middle school and high school boys could make out of her name. I'd heard the joke a few times, so I'm glad your oldest girl has a less-likely-to-be-made-fun-of name.Me too. Okay, that the easy one. On to the hard stuff. What was it that ran through your head when you were attacked in the gallery and Rhys of all people busted in to save the day?About goddamn time? I knew he was outside, I know where Rhys is at all times - I think it's a bond thing as well as the whole Seer stuff, so I knew he was out there. Unfortunately, I didn't know the Soldiers were going to attack. I knew something bad was going to happen, especially after that morning's vision, and then all hell breaks loose in the middle of my show and here he comes after I'd already pretty much handled it. I was pissed, but relieved too. I felt a little safer with him there, which was a mixed bag of awful until I got my shit sorted out.What was it like to trust him, to trust the man that was responsible for so much of your pain, albeit not all of it was his fault.It was hard. In a way, the bond helped us. I felt safer with him, I think that is why I pushed him away for so long. I think in the back of my mind I knew if I let him tell me his side I wouldn’t hate him anymore. And for the longest time the hate was what kept me going. It is one of the things I’m sorry for, but wouldn’t really change. I needed to hate him so I could keep going – keep living. I would have packed it in ages ago without it. Luckily, he doesn’t hate me for blaming him, and that is one of the things I am most grateful for.That bizarrely makes sense. Thank you, Aurelia, for taking the time to talk with me! Until next time!!~Scattered Ashes~Ashes to AshesBook OneRhys“Aurelia, stop!” I shout. But she’s not listening. Of course, she’s not listening.This is going to hurt.As quick as I can, I rush her, hooking my arm around her waist, keeping her from lighting up this whole building like Christmas morning. I flip her over, trying to keep her hands away from me while also trying to keep from knocking her around. I’m only marginally successful, and now we have matching cuts on our left cheek. I’m lucky she didn’t take out my eye. But now we’ve got bigger problems than some piddly little nick.Skippy, the Douche Clown, has reached one of the Eagles, albeit he’s hobbling like an old man. It’s completely possible she damaged his spine in that move. Only he seems to be having trouble concentrating because he is still trying to chamber a round. Seriously? Did Iva send the bottom of the barrel, or what?“Time to go,” I say as I try to scoop her compact little body up, but she’s having none of it.“Don’t touch me, you abominable prick!” she screams at the same time she realizes it’s me. She slaps my hands from her waist.Normally, she’d try and kill me. Again. But I think Skippy is a bigger threat than I am at this point.“I was trying to keep you from frying me. Don’t blame me for attempting to save your Goddamn life. Again”, I growl, irritated I can’t even be the good fucking Samaritan with this woman.“I wasn’t in danger of losing my life, you moron. I am perfectly aware of where I am and the simple fact I’m basically in a fucking metal box. I’m also aware of how the laws of conductivity work as well as a vast number of other laws of motherfucking physics. I’m not trying to kill anyone else, and there are some wounded people still here. I was just going to slit his throat like a good little girl.”Want even MORE Legion?Join my Closed FB Group Annie Anderson's Legion for games, giveaways, teasers, memes and random thoughts.Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.JOIN NOW