Sarah Cass's Blog: Sarah's StoryLines, page 32

Dax Varley, Sleepy Hollow, and a Yummy Top Ten Tuesday

I’ve adored the Legend of Sleepy Hollow since I was a willowy, knobby-kneed third-grader as skinny as Ichabod Crane himself. So it was no surprise that I’d one day write a novel based on that legend.

Over time, there’ve been lots of tellings, retellings, and odd adaptations. One of the best came in 1999 when Tim Burton released his version, and Ichabod transformed from scarecrow to scrumptious. But could there ever be another Crane as gorgeous as Johnny Depp? Ahem. Turns out, yeah. Fox has gifted us with the new series, “Sleepy Hollow.” And it’s so farfetched and implausible, I knew it’d be great fun.

So here are the Top Ten reasons “Sleepy Hollow” makes me lose my head.  

10. Ichabod’s Coat. It’s just old and scrappy enough to be its own character. When they resort to clothing him in modern attire, that coat had better stay!

9. Time Travel. Crane is transported to the 21st century and must learn the ways of technological age. Not so smooth. It’s like teaching your mom how to take a selfie.

8. Tom Mison. Uh…just look at him.

 

7. The Apocalypse. The Four Horseman, two witnesses, and seven years to stop it. So we get at least seven seasons, right? The Winchesters and Buffy had their shot. Now the end of days has come to Sleepy Hollow.

6. The Village of Sleepy Hollow- Population 144,000. A place whose apocalyptic population sounds more like a town than a village. But with such a great atmosphere…who’s counting?

5. Lt. Abbie Mills. She’s a woman with authority, a gun, and a “get outta my face” attitude.  Cute and kickass…a winning combination.

4. Terminator-style Headless Horseman. Badass? Yeah. He’s Death himself, as in The Four Horseman. Sure he can slice a head or two with a saber, but give him a semi-automatic and watch out!

3. Ichabod’s Amazing Expressions. The man is displaced in time and his introduction to this new age is one of the most adorable things to grace the small screen. You just want to kiss that boyish face.

2. History and Mystery. Who knew our founding fathers were so cryptic? Okay, Dan Brown and Nicholas Cage, that’s who. But still. This show’s a cocktail of historical twists.

1. Ichabod Crane. A 250-year-old dead guy who can get our tingly parts twitching. He’s wise, witty, sexy and smooth – all why wearing clunky boots and a high collar coat. I’ll take two please.

 

SEVERED – A Tale of Sleepy Hollow

By Dax Varley

| Amazon |

Blurb:

Katrina’s still haunted by her encounter with the Headless Horseman – the night he beckoned to her. Now he has risen again, slashing heads and terrorizing the quiet countryside.

Her only joy during this dismal darkness comes when Ichabod Crane, a gorgeous young man from Connecticut, moves to Sleepy Hollow and their attraction turns to romance.

When the Horseman marks Ichabod as his next victim, Katrina, despite dangerous efforts to save him, sees no other choice than for them to flee.

But the Horseman awaits. Now it’s up to her to sever  the horror and alter the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

*~*

Excerpt:

1790…Then

The Horseman…he is real. He came for me.

I sat, gazing out my chamber window. A ground mist had collected, hovering over the glen. Then I heard him, distant at first, approaching within the fog. His race with the night thundered a rhythm. My heart drummed to each beat.

Within moments, I saw him – a headless outline of black within a gray cloud. As though sensing my eyes upon him, he slowed his phantom steed, circling once. The horse reared, pawing the haze. The Horseman quickly drew his sword and sliced the air.

I dropped down below the windowsill, my breath coming in shallow gasps. Had I doomed myself by daring to peek? I quivered, hugging my knees.

He is not real. He is not real.

Moments passed. Then slowly, I inched to the edge of the sill. Hiding in the shadows, I moved the curtain just a whisper.

The Horseman was still there, but now he’d turned…toward my window. My heart hammered and my blood ran as cold as the Hudson River.

He knows I’m watching.

His hand reached out – beckoning…inviting …bewitching me. A gray breath of evil played upon my neck, and my name wafted through the mist.

Katrina.

I struggled against the force that summoned me, tightening every muscle, every nerve, refusing to move an inch. My body quaked, but I kept my mind as sharp as The Horseman’s blade. I will not come. I will not.

Still he remained. No wind. No stars. Just the ivory fog. And that hand…

Katrina.

When I thought I couldn’t hold back a second more, he spurred his massive steed. And like a midnight blast, he flew, charging across the countryside.

I collapsed, trembling, heaving. Finding strength, I crawled upon my bed. I dared not move. I dared not sleep. I lay within my quilt, knotted in fear.

The Horseman …he is real. He came for me. And I knew not when he’d return.

 

 

 

Tuesday Tales – Railing – Leap

The prompt this week is Railing.

I pulled out an old favorite. My shorty-short paranormal romance, Leap.

As a refresher, Jayde is a “Player”. A rare and unique psychic that sees the future of each individual person as strings like a violin’s, that she can “play” and change if she wants or needs to.

Magnar is a “Keeper” a sort of magical lawmaker for all Keepers, protectors and enforcers.  They are usually immune to most magics and unreadable by psychics, empaths, etc…but in the course of the story Jayde and Magnar discovered that they have a unique bond that supercedes the general rule that Keepers and creatures cannot mix.

This short scene is from my prologue of sorts, and leaves the door open for the possible (probable?) series that might be born out of this.

 

Jayde leaned on the railing, her eyes closed and magic at a minimum. With her powers turned down she could focus on the normal, everyday hum of activity around her. Tourists gasped at the sightof the falls, local grumbled about tourists, the powerful thunder of the water pouring over the edge into the pool below.

They’d spent too much time at Niagara. Afterglow and the realization of their destiny as mates despite their disparate roles in the creature world had kept her and Magnar snug in his private cave beneath the powerful force that was the Canadian falls.

Footsteps passed to the right and left, but her ears picked up one set carrying on a steady beat. The hum of her body was beyond magic as he drew near. She smiled as he pressed his body against hers. “Did you get everything?”

“Your violin is safe, nestled near my guitar at our next destination.” His voice strummed her nerves as his breath brushed her ear. “Just as you are safe near me.”

She curved back against him, to make sure her ass brushed him seductively. “I’m safe until you’re distracted.”

“Even then,” he whispered. “I protect you more fiercely.”

“Where to next?”

“New Orleans.” He wrapped his arm around her waist. “We’ll stay in populated areas until we’re sure of the plan, but even there we’ll have trouble.”

“I’m ready for battle. Always have been. The question is, are you ready to fight what you didn’t know was the enemy?”

“I don’t like that you think it’s a Keeper.” His arm tensed around her waist, the seductive note in his voice hardened into anger. “I hate rules, but even I would never betray the rule that we are here for creatures’ protection. Not their destruction.”

“It only makes sense. They’re masked to me. With the exception of you, all Keepers are but mere shadows to my senses.” She sighed when a shift of the wind brought the cool mist of the falls toward them.

“Can you tell what’s ahead?”

“I know our lives will be in danger.”

His warm chuckle carried through her body. “I could have told you that.”

“We will have moments of joy.”

“I like that.”

“But beyond that. The future is too uncertain. Everything changes, including our future.” She laced her fingers through his.

“As long as you have my back in battle.”

“And you have mine.”

“I’ll take the unknown.”

 

*~*

Hope you enjoyed it!  Click on the Tuesday Tales badge to see more excellent entries!!

*~*

 

 

Sunday Snippet 7 – Changing Tracks

Welcome back to the Weekend Writing Warriors!

I’m still keeping you all intrigued with the beginning of the series Changing Tracks (The Dominion Falls Series book 1).

Continuing just a few paragraphs away from last week when Cole all but admitted his jealousy…we come back to him and Jane.  Here Cole admits that he doesn’t know what he’s doing attempting anything close to a relationship:

“Jane.” The full length of him pressed into her back, his hands grasping her elbows in a firm but gentle hold. “I don’t know how.”

“How to what?” She remained still during his silence to give him time to come up with anything. Part of her hoped he’d admit the weakness, the rest of her feared he’d retaliate with a sarcastic answer. No answer came, which comforted her fear enough that she relaxed back against him. She set her hand on his, “I noticed.”

*Next week will follow this up, because the rest needs to be said and seen

*~*

Did you like this sample, too?  You can pick up the whole series now!!

*~*











*~*

*~*

Head back on over to the Weekend Writing Warriors to read many more wonderful offerings!

Shifters: An Anthology by Suzanne Rock

 | Amazon | ARe | Smashwords | BN |

Out just in time for Halloween, this ebook anthology of alpha male shifters is a compilation of three of my most popular M/F erotic stories. Within the first 48 hours, this bundle became an All Romance Ebooks top 20 best seller, and an Amazon top 50 best seller in anthologies. If bought separately, all of these books owuld cost $9.97. If you bought together, you’ll get one book for FREE.

Included in this series:

Cria – Aleta runs the ancient breeding race to gain her freedom, but when she runs into someone from her past deep within the Amazon rain forest, she must decide if freedom is truly what her heart desires.

Spyder’s Web – A tough cop tracks down a beautiful serial killer and discovers that things aren’t always what they seem.

Up on the Housetop – Chloe goes up to the rooftop of her childhood home to escape her controlling family and discovers an an erotic adventure she will never forget.

*~*

Below is an excerpt from one of of the shifter stories, Up on the Housetop:

This time her father had gone too far.

Chloe Bradford threw open the window, grabbed the open bottle of Cristal, and walked out onto her third-floor bedroom balcony. After a few minutes of pitiful acrobatics and a long string of curses, she managed to pull herself up onto the roof. For some reason, the climb had seemed much easier when she was sixteen.

“Damn, my glass.” Chloe carefully placed the bottle down and climbed back into her bedroom.

“Where did it go?” She scanned the pink and white walls in disgust. Chloe had loved the color scheme back when her mother had picked it out. Then again, she’d been only eight at the time. Now, at thirty-two, it made her think of a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. When she’d gone off to college, she thought she’d never see this place again. She’d been wrong. Funny how some things come full circle.

Frowning, she crossed her arms in front of her chest. No glass. Maybe she left it downstairs. Too bad. She’d much rather drink from the bottle than go back down there and subject herself to that humiliation again. It was a “drink from the bottle” type of night, anyway.

She shimmied back out to her champagne on the roof. The Spanish-style mansion was like a lot of the other houses in the area. The roof was very flat and a nightmare during times of rain, but it was perfect for a teenager or two to get away from their parents for a few hours.

Or for a middle-aged woman to hide from a marriage proposal.

Chloe took a seat and placed her almost-full bottle next to her. It had been a long time since she’d come out here to wish on the stars and dream of her future.

Now she just wanted to escape it.

She sighed and held up the bottle of Cristal to the full moon hanging low in the sky. She wasn’t much of a drinker and wasn’t exactly a fan of champagne, but desperate times called for desperate measures. After the huge fight, she just wanted to get out of there. She had grabbed the closest bottle and left her parents and boyfriend gaping in the dining room below.

She brought the champagne to her lips. The bubbly liquid tickled her throat as she gulped it down. What happened to her life?

When she was a little girl, she had dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. Her senior year in high school, she’d gotten accepted into a program at Juilliard. A few months later, she’d become engaged to her high school sweetheart. For a while it seemed like everything was going great.

Then, a semester before she was due to graduate, her life changed forever.

Chloe blinked back tears and took another sip of champagne.

Marcus, her older brother, and her fiancé, Zach, had gone backpacking in Montana. They never returned. A frenzied search turned up her brother’s body but not Zach’s. She shivered as she thought back to that day when they had heard the news. The autopsy revealed that Marcus was mauled by some large animal, a bear or a wolf or something. Zach’s body was never found.

Marcus had been groomed to take over the family business and control the bulk of their inheritance. Chloe would receive a small stipend from the family coffers to live on, but she could otherwise do as she pleased. After that day, she was the sole heir to the Bradford family fortune. Now it was now up to her, not Marcus, to keep the business going when her father retired.

That meant no more school.

No more friends.

No more life.

She should’ve told her father to shove the inheritance, but Chloe loved her parents and knew they were grieving. She’d only intended to stay in Texas for a short time, but somehow she had ended up being her father’s shadow for the past eleven years.

She took another sip of champagne and leaned back on her elbows. Clouds had moved in, hiding the stars and blanketing the moon. She remembered when she and Zach used to climb up here at night to have sex underneath the night sky. It had been so wonderful back then. Before her new responsibilities. Before Karl.

“Why did Karl have to propose tonight? On Christmas Eve?” she asked the moon.

It didn’t answer.

Her father was behind the proposal; she knew it. They were all expecting her to say yes, but the words caught in her throat. She just couldn’t.

She refused to spend the rest of her days as boring Mrs. Karl Radcliffe, heiress to the Bradford billions. Karl was nice enough, but there was no chemistry between them, at least not the type of chemistry she had shared with Zach. But Zach was gone, and it was her

Zach.

Get over it, Chloe. It’s time to move on.

Accepting Karl’s proposal was like giving up on the idea that Zach would return and free her from this miserable life. After a marriage to Karl, there would be no more going back. No more hope. No more dreaming of what could have been. The young, innocent, fun-loving Chloe would finally be dead.

“I wish I could escape this place.” She stood and swayed slightly. “Escape my family.” Tilting her head back and raising her arms, she shouted at the moon. “I don’t want this life anymore, do you hear me? Take it back.”

Silence.

“What’s wrong with me?” Chloe dropped her arms and pushed her curly mop of hair from her face. “Why can’t I just tell them to take the inheritance and shove it?”

She knew why. She was chicken. Her parents were the only family she had left. They’d been through so much with her brother’s death, and she didn’t want to add to their grief. “For once I wish I didn’t have to do what was expected of me,” she said to the moon. “I just want to be me.”

Who was she, anyway? At one time she thought she knew. She was a dreamer, an artist, a lover. Now…

Now she was just going through the motions. Sighing, she took one last slug from the champagne bottle and tossed it over the side of the house.

As the bottle left her hand, guilt immediately took hold. Good girls didn’t throw bottles of Cristal. Nor did they yell at the moon.

A giggle welled up in her throat, and she covered her mouth. She knew she would eventually have to marry boring Karl to appease her parents, but for tonight she’d pretend she was that hopeful teenager, and Zach was once again by her side.

Wait a minute.

Chloe frowned. No crash. If you throw a bottle of champagne over the edge of the house, you would expect it to crash when it hit the ground, right? She made her way over to the edge of the roof and peered down. It was so hard to see anything in the dark. Sinking to her hands and knees, she squinted into the darkness below.

There was movement, a shifting of shadow. Then…nothing.

“Who’s there?” And where’s my Cristal? She bent farther over the side of the house.

There it was again. Something was down there.

“Come out into the streetlight where I can see you.”

She counted to ten, or maybe it was three. It was hard to tell in her present state. Still nothing happened.

“I know someone is down there. Show yourself.”

The wind picked up, rustling the wind chimes on the front of the house. The unseasonably cool Texas night gave her a chill. She shivered and pulled the shawl her mother had made for her over her strapless blouse.

“Shouldn’t you be with your family?”

Chloe jumped up and whirled around. A large, muscular figure stood on the rooftop behind her, just a few feet away. His hair hung loose around his shoulders, and the bottom of his open trench coat lifted slightly in the breeze. Shadows fell over his face, masking his identity. He tilted his head to the side, as if to study her.

How did he get up here?

Her eyes shifted to the large tree, looming behind him. Okay, one question answered. Now for another one…

“Who are you?”

“I think a more relevant question is: why are you out here on Christmas Eve when your family is having dinner inside?” His low voice sounded gravelly, as if he had a cold or sore throat, yet it seemed strangely familiar. The stranger took a step closer to the tree and deeper into the shadows.

“How did you know…?” She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “What I do up here is my business. You’re intruding.”

“You asked me to come up here.”

Chloe snorted and put her hands on her hips. “I did not.”

“You did. You said ‘show yourself.’”

Oh yeah, she did say that, didn’t she? “What are you doing out here? A late-night stroll?”

He chuckled. “You could say that.”

Chloe shifted her gaze down to the long, winding driveway below them. It led from the front steps, down around a sculpture her father had commissioned long ago, between two thin rows of trees, and stopped at the gate leading into the property.

Late-night stroll, her ass. Nobody got on or off this property unless it was approved. How did he get past the guards? “You must have gotten lost, then. This is private property, you know.”

He laughed again, a deep, rich laugh that sent tingles over her skin. “I see you haven’t changed much.”

So, he knew her. The voice sounded familiar, but with the man’s face in shadow, Chloe couldn’t tell his identity.

He didn’t mean her harm; she knew it instinctively. There was something about the way he spoke, the way he moved, that didn’t seem threatening. Then again, maybe it was just the Cristal that made her less wary. She closed her eyes in concentration. That voice… It was rough and sensual, like silk sheets against bare skin. So familiar…

“Do you know my father?”

“You could say that, yes.” His voice caressed her ears, making her heart flutter. “I knew your whole family, once.”

“Ha! I knew it.” This man worked for her father. He’d probably been over to the house numerous times. It explained why he was in the driveway, how he knew her, and why the voice sounded so familiar. “So does my father know you are up on the roof with me?” She opened her eyes.

Where did he go?

A light breeze blew over her, ruffling her blonde curls. She spun around in a circle. “Is this some sort of joke?”

“No, Chloe. No joke.” The stranger’s warm breath brushed against the back of her neck. She shivered as the faint mix of sandalwood and spice reached her nose.

She knew that smell. Chloe started to turn, but firm hands grabbed her shoulders and faced her forward again.

“I never thought I’d see you again,” the stranger whispered.

No, he wasn’t a stranger. He knew her. That voice… If she could just clear the fog of Cristal in her brain, she just knew she’d be able to identify him.

“Who are you…?”

*~*

Bio: 

A lifetime New Englander, Suzanne married her college sweetheart and has been with him for over twenty years. Every summer she drags her husband and two daughters to Maine on a quest for the perfect lobster dinner. Every fall she can be found down in Foxboro, Massachusetts cheering on her favorite football team. In between those trips, she’s a chauffeur, a maid, a chef, an event planner, a hairdresser, a wardrobe stylist, a tutor and a sometimes masseuse. To keep her sanity, she often drinks copious amounts of coffee and stares at the blank screen of her laptop, dreaming of great adventures. Sometimes she even writes them down for others to enjoy.

Suzanne also writes mainstream romances under the pen name Ava Conway (www.AvaConway.com).

Website: www.SuzanneRock.com

Blog: Romance on a Budget: www.suzannerock.wordpress.com

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SuzanneRockAuthor

Twitter: www.twitter.com/Suzanne_Rock

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/Suzanne_Rock

Writing Workshops: http://suzannerock.com/workshops/

Get Cozy with Nox of Jill Hughey’s Little Witch

I’m visiting with Nox in the cozy front room of his house in Ribeauville, a small town in Francia, where he and his wife, Salena work for the lord of the town. Nox is relaxing in a simple wooden chair by the circular hearth.

Did you have a happy childhood?  “I did,” he says slowly. “I grew up on a tenant farm not far out of town. Although I had to work hard, it was a decent, simple life. I also had a good friend nearby. Grant and I managed to get into all sorts of mischief together.”

You seemed a little doubtful about the answer to that question. “My childhood ended abruptly at age 14 when my parents and little brother died of an illness that ravaged our whole community. Theophilus, the Lord of Ribeauville, brought me here to work as his houseboy, though the housekeeper seemed to want me to stay in the stables instead of interfering in her domain.” He smiles at the recollection, then sobers. “That was a difficult time.”

I can only imagine how hard that was. Do you think the loss affected you? He nods. “There is no doubt. I am very reluctant to get attached to people. Salena is the only person I’ve really taken a risk with and we had to reach a crisis to make me take that jump.”

How did you meet Salena? “On the one hand, I’ve known Salena all my life since she is Grant’s little sister. But, on the other hand, in a way it feels like I met her for the first time when she caught me in a moment of dejection at a spot overlooking my childhood home. When I saw her on the road, I knew almost immediately it was her, yet she was so cautious with me. I did not think I looked like an untrustworthy fellow and here was a pretty young woman acting as if I was going to murder her where she stood! Only later did I come learn that some of her neighbors considered her something of a witch, so she is understandably cautious around people in general.”

Why would they think she is a witch? “Mostly because of one hateful woman who twisted a series of coincidences to turn the community against Salena and her family.”

Were you immediately attracted to her once she realized you were a friend? “Of course. She is beautiful, with her golden eyes that other people see as a sign of evil in her. What nonsense!” he says dismissively. “The most touching thing she did that day was to remember my family.” His voice softens. “She told me a story about my brother Diem that I had not known. It was so wonderful after all these years to have someone talk about them, to be with someone who remembered.”

Have you renewed your friendship with Grant? “Absolutely. It was partly through him that Salena and I kept being thrown together, not that either of us minded.”

Did he mind? Nox laughs. “He was shocked. Like most men, he did not think of his sister as attractive or available, and he considered me part of the family, so to see the two of us together went against his grain for a while. His wife helped at a few critical times with keeping him out of the way.”

Did anyone else encourage you? “Theo gave me some good counsel. And his wife, Lily, also.” He laughs again. “I don’t think Lily could have planned all the little actions that fed my interest in Salena during a particular visit to town. If she did, she should plan battles for the emperor.”

What happens now? What does your future hold? “We are settling into married life, and Salena into her new work with the Lady of Ribeauville. We hope for children, though the idea of another precious person in my life makes me sweat. I just want Salena to be safe so we can enjoy decades of happiness together. Keeping her by my side is the only thing that worries me any more.”

*~*

| Amazon |

The night is dark. The moon is bright. She brings his heart into her light.

The fifth book in the Evolution Series and a 49,000 word historical romance novella.

A vicious neighbor uses a series of coincidences to label Salena as the local moon-charmer, making her an outcast in rural Francia. When Salena encounters her brother’s childhood friend, Nox, out on business for the Lord of Ribeauville, she fears he will accept the locals’ tales about her, especially since they relate to the death of his family a decade before. He is, instead, as charmed by her as she is by him.

Nox’s sympathy for Salena evolves into affection in spite of his strict rule against close ties with people. Afraid to risk another loss like that of his youth, he abruptly ends their relationship, unaware that Salena has already been downtrodden by her father denying her request to venture farther out into the world.

A threat to Salena’s family prompts her to run away in the hopes of protecting those she loves while forging a new path for her life. Too late, Nox discovers that she has also run away with his scarred heart.

The books in the Evolution Series in chronological order are Unbidden, Second Love: A Short Historical Romance Story, Redeemed, Vain, and Little Witch. The Evolution Series is set what we now know as France and Bavaria in the years after Charlemagne’s death.

*~*~*

EXCERPT from Little Witch: Historical Romance Novella

“I remember them,” Salena blurted.

Nox inhaled sharply but she could not stop her words now that the thought was in her head. “Your mother always took pity on me because you boys did not like playing with a girl. I remember Diem used to spit at me to try to make me go away. He could spit farther than you or Grant.” She gave a sad laugh. “He always wanted the two of you to himself. One day when you hid from him he was stuck with me and he taught me to spit. You should have seen his face when I spit all the way from the door to the side of the road.”

Nox’s face was still averted, his eyes trained on the house. “I can picture him.” His voice wavered.

She should not have spoken of his family. “It must be very difficult for you,” she said.

He cleared his throat. “What must be?”

“To, um, to have people to miss for the rest of your life.”

His head pivoted abruptly so he could look at her. For a brief, excruciating moment, all the shields a person carried against others dropped away from him. She saw him as he must have looked on the day his last family member died, leaving him devastated and terrified and alone.

“I am sorry,” she blurted. “I should not speak of those times. My memories must just make it harder.”

He lifted a hand to stop her. “No.” He cleared his throat again. “I liked your story. Diem really taught you to spit?” he asked cautiously.

“He did, though I have not practiced for years, I assure you.”

He chuckled.  “It is nice to meet someone who remembers and, maybe, understands.”

“I can’t claim to understand,” she demurred. “I have been very lucky.”

His lips turned up in a thin suggestion of a smile. “I have been lucky, too, in a way,” he said, clearly hoping to put her at ease again. “Part of my luck has been my job with the Lord of Ribeauville. He would expect me to get on with it.” He brushed his hands together. “Do you know of the property in dispute?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Would you be able to take me to it? I mean, if you think your parents would not mind.”

*~*

If you want to keep in touch with Jill Hughey she blogs at http://jillhughey.blogspot.com, she is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jillhugheyromance, and she tweets @jillhughey.

 

 

Hump Day Hook 46 – Dark Territory

Another Hump Day Hook!

Another week of Dark Territory.

Since I was MIA during the release of Dark Territory (The Dominion Falls Series book 3), what with my kid being in the hospital and life falling into general disarray and chaos…I have yet to have had a GIVEAWAY.

So today I’m having a giveaway!!  1 lucky commenter will win their choice of one of my Dominion Falls series books – or if they have them all, one of my others (I just had a horror short released in an anthology, too).

The giveaway will end on Friday night, October 18th at 11PM.

Now onto the hook.  Jane sees her brother again for the first time since her near-death by hanging. She reveals the depth of her pain:

“What is it?” Slowly he sank into the chair beside her again.

I remember everything about that day.

“You said that.”

Every time I close my eyes, it happens again. The nightmares are much more than nightmares. I remember it, over and over again. Have you ever had a nightmare in which you could not scream?

*~*

Did you like this sample?  You can pick up the whole series now!!

Changing Tracks

*~*

Derailed











*~*

Dark Territory

*~*

Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published.  Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library!  To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:

Tuesday Tales – Picture Prompt Inspires an Ice Age

The prompt this week is this lovely fall scene picture. Beautiful, isn’t it? Inspiring, romantic, even…yeah…I went a different way.

Unfortunately, as with the last picture prompt, Deep Fried Sweethearts can’t be the story…since that’s a Valentine’s story and there’s no lovely fall scenes there. So, instead I’m bringing a new story.

I’m calling it a sci-fi, but it’s a loose description for now since I’m not fully sure where I’m going with it. This was inspired by some show I saw on NatGeo when my kid was in the hospital and it’s been rolling around in my head since. So, I give you the start of a new story that has yet to be named. The place filler name for now is Ice Age.

 

The beginning of the end came on a beautiful autumn day. I remember clearly. My mother predicted everything that happened before and after. Even if she hadn’t taught me everything before her death during the asteroidal panic, she left me with all of the information on her data discs.

Before the year 2050 all glaciers had melted, leaving the world alarmed as political heads ranted about the predicted greenhouse effect and the loss of species they would later forget about. The loss of the glaciers wasn’t fast and scientists had sworn they could fix it, but they never did, and neither did all of the green-living speeches of the millennial humans.

For the more level-headed scientists, the changes did more than drown Florida, New York City and most coastlines, leaving them to become massive marine playgrounds. It brought about another ecological shift; and right under the panicked politicians noses the new Ice Age began.

Like the melting of the glaciers, the re-appearance happened slow.

In 2119 my grandfather happily began to track the forming of the glaciers, because they meant hope for the rebirth of the earth. While most of the world worried about what a renewed ice age would do to the landscape and billions of humans, scientists once again reassured they could handle it.

After all, glaciers move slow.

Of course they do, until you add in an asteroid tumbling toward earth. An asteroid that the powers that be not-so-wisely decided to blow to smithereens in my eighth year of life.

That was the day my mother took me for one last autumn ride through the rolling hills of Indiana. She told me to take in every aspect, the bright yellows and reds, the smell of crisp autumn air.

“Everything changes tonight,” she predicted.

She was right.

 

*~*

Hope you enjoyed it!  Click on the Tuesday Tales badge to see more excellent entries!!

*~*

 

 

Sunday Snippet 6 – Changing Tracks

Welcome back to the Weekend Writing Warriors!

I’m still keeping you all intrigued with the beginning of the series Changing Tracks (The Dominion Falls Series book 1).

We come upon Jane, my amnesiac with the eidetic memory, and Cole…who is feeling a little jealous thanks to rumors the town is spreading around about her visits to the army camp and a certain Major Webb:

“Are you still jealous?”

“You bedded him yet?”

“No.” Hands on her hips, she lifted her chin in defiance, “I haven’t even been to bed with you and you are in my room at all sorts of inappropriate hours.”

“And you’re at the army camp at inappropriate hours too.”

“So you are jealous, good to know.”

He narrowed his eyes, his fists clenching tight until the muscles of his arms showed through his tight sleeves; a harrumph redirected her attention back to his frowning lips, “Wonder if you’ve always been this difficult.”

“Long as I can remember.”

*Creative editing employed to make this fit the 8…but I had to include that last line.

*~*

Did you like this sample, too?  You can pick up the whole series now!!

*~*











*~*

*~*

Head back on over to the Weekend Writing Warriors to read many more wonderful offerings!

The post Sunday Snippet 6 – Changing Tracks appeared first on Redefining Perfect.

Journey of the Magi by Barbara Edwards – FREE today!

| Amazon |

Widow Noel Martin never breaks promises, and she promised her kids they’d have Christmas at her childhood home in Connecticut. But driving across country takes money. Noel is broke when a snowstorm blows them into a tiny Minnesota café owned by a man who can change her mind. She accepts his offer of a job. Despite her attraction to him, she makes it clear she is only temporary help.

Dan Longstreet isn’t adopting any more strays, but he needs a waitress. Dan works so hard to make his café a success, he doesn’t have time for love. Though Noel’s slender blonde beauty stuns him and her two adorable children tug at his heart, he denies how they threaten to change his life.

When tragedy strikes, their new-found love is the first victim. Noel can’t stay and Dan can’t leave. Will their journey be the gift that reunites them?

Excerpt:

Even with her knit hat pulled down over her ears, her high cheekbones and the up­-tilted tip of her nose flamed as bright red as a cheap statue of a Christmas elf. She blinked in the bright light.

Dan’s pulse leaped like a startled deer. He knew everyone who frequented the Deer Run Lounge and Cafe. She was no local wife searching for an overdue husband or one of the three women who made a living, if you could call it that, picking up the lumberjacks and mill workers for an hour or two.

His blood heated but he managed to control his urges by slowly polishing a clean glass and setting it in the rack for the next day’s trade. Dan nodded hello.

Her over-sized man’s winter coat trailed to her ankles, but she visibly shook. He wanted to tell her to take off her coat and get warm. She removed her gloves, pulling the fingers off one by one until her white hands shone in the dim light. A pale circle around her ring finger marked the recent removal of a band.

She returned Dan’s stare. “Is that sign in the window still good? Do you need an experienced waitress?” Her flat, emotionless voice didn’t match the way her fingers twisted round and round her gloves. His palms itched to cover hers until she calmed.

“Yeah.” He nodded slowly, his mouth dry. Something in him yearned for her to be more than a passing stranger.

*~*

Please follow, friend or like me. I love to hear from my readers.

Blog http://barbaraedwardscomments.wordpress.com/

Website http://barbaraedwards.net

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraEdwards.Author

Twitter  https://www.twitter.com/Barb_ed

Amazon Author’s Page http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003F6ZK1A?tag=redefiperfec-20

GoodReads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/496095.Barbara_Edwards

Shelfari http://www.shelfari.com/authorbarbara_edwards

LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=160401513&trk=hb_tab_pro_top

LibraryThing http://www.librarything.com/profile/barbaraedwards2

Facebook like page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barbar...

Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/102148715...

The post Journey of the Magi by Barbara Edwards – FREE today! appeared first on Redefining Perfect.

Writing vs. Reality – Guest Author Ashley Nemer

Here I am – a writer struggling to find a way to balance life, reality and dreams.

I know I can’t speak for others but I know for me, this seems like an impossible task some days. There is just too many things going on in life that something has to give. It’s finding that item that you can do without. That movie you don’t HAVE to see so you can stay home for two hours in quiet and write out a scene. It’s getting up early, churning out a few hundred words then hitting the streets and working on your day job.

I worry that I miss out on part of life to stay home and follow that dream I feel burning deep inside. Then when I do take moments to set the dream aside and experience life, I feel guilty that I’m letting myself down. It is a constant struggle I feel deep inside.

That’s why I have a rule, every three months I take one month off. That way, I know, at least for a quarter of the year I am guilt free in spending time basking in the sun, driving around town, chilling at the movies or simply cuddling on the couch reading a book.

I think that’s what is the hardest part about writing – it isn’t creating the characters or worlds, its balancing the world you live in. As a writer you have a few…Reality – your everyday life with family and friends, Your world when you’re writing – the world that blocks everything out and puts you into what I call a zone, nothing but extreme focus and concentration. And then the worlds you create in your mind and then deliver onto paper. These are the worlds that occupy your thoughts, your dreams and what sometimes you mistake for actual reality.

I’m hoping one day I’ll be able to quit the day job so I can focus on just my writing for eight hours and then live my life in the reality that everyone else exists in.

One day – that dream will come true.

*~*

The Art of Safkhet Presents – The Blood Series

| Amazon |

Blood Purple

In a world we think we know, live other races entirely hidden from the mortal perspective.  Creatures of legend, of fable and myth, their very history and nature have allowed them to walk side by side with humans since time immemorial.  They are warriors, they are hunters, and they are Algula.  Vampire.  And in their own midst, a battle is brewing for supremacy, for dominance, that can and will affect all around them.  Old hatred never dies and vengeance is a fiery sword that cuts a bloody swath.

Will be Available in Print and E-book formats

 | Amazon | BN | Smashwords |

Blood Yellow

The lines are drawn, and Zayn and Nikole must face each other in a battle of forgiveness and power; each attempting to right their wrongs, each battling their own inner demons.

Haydar and Leigh prepare for war, rounding their men and setting into motion courses that cannot be undone.

The tales will fall in line as the four of them come face to face with each other, and they will watch loved ones perish.

When the dust settles and dawn breaks, who’s going to be left standing and who will be missing? Will Nikole forgive Zayn for his betrayal? Will Leigh and Haydar overcome their differences? Will Adara say yes?

Blood Yellow…Because the stories only just begun….

Will be Available in Print and E-book Formats

 

 

Excerpt:

Dominic pulled up to the house, looking up at the tall wall surrounding the mansion. The red brick cast a shadow over the car, making it unseen from the side of the road, the perfect place to hide. He opened the door and the cool evening breeze hit him hard. The smell of the mountains captivated him. Getting out, he started to walk along the wall, analyzing his options of entry. His leg still throbbed, the warm blood running down it. His mind couldn’t stop thinking about his omm. Had that really been her? He knew he was worthless as an ebn’, and he killed her after all. If he hadn’t been born, she would still be alive, and his abb wouldn’t have such hatred for him.

He heard something off in the distance, pausing to listen closely while inclining his head towards the tree line. He saw two animals a few feet away, a doe and her fawn. Lucky fucking animal to have an omm who tended to him, he thought. No one understood what it was like, killing their own omm. The failure of knowing you were letting everyone down didn’t matter the age, you still fucking failed. He walked for half a mile looking for a weakness in the wall, a place to set up his attack. He saw a foot hold up ahead. It looked like an old ladder was attached to the wall. Dominic ran his hand over the indentations on the wall, gripping his hands in them. Looking back over his shoulder at the deer, he let out a sigh. “Fuck you, Omm. You left me to rot at the hand of my abb. Now it’s time to fucking end this war.”

He started to scale the wall, right hand, left foot, left hand, right foot, over and over. Reaching the top he peered over the rim. He saw the lights shining on the grounds, the dogs walking the grass patrolling for intruders. He pulled himself up, supporting his weight on the wall.

“Dominic, this isn’t you, stop this. This is your abb’s, fight not yours.” Dominic hissed his fangs out toward the voice.

“What do you want now? I thought I told you to leave me the fuck alone, like you have my whole fucking life.” He pulled his lower half up onto the wall, looking down at the dogs walking in the grass. “You never cared about me. Why are you trying to stop me?”

Her translucent form grazed his hand then went up to his cheek, cupping it. He could feel the coolness from her form; his body yearned for love, for compassion. How could he take love and tenderness from someone who was the first to betray him?

“Dominic, I love you, never doubt that. My love for you started the moment you were conceived. I had your akh and okht for your abb but you, you were for me, someone I could love and claim as mine. You were all I wanted.”

“LIAR! All you do is lie!”

He felt the tears in his eyes form and then blinked as they started to roll down his cheek. He was such a coward, worthless and weak. Look at him, crying on a wall to his omm. What kind of man does this shit? He looked back to the mother doe, she was cleaning her fawn. Lucky son of a bitch. “Why are you just now showing up? Why can’t you just answer me?”

Sarah started to shake her head at him, trying to make him see. “Dominic, I am here to help you save yourself. I don’t want the only child I loved to die not knowing a parent’s love. Let me help you; let me show you what you mean to me.”

Dominic shook his head no with a flurry of anger. “It’s too late for me.”

*~*

Author Bio

Ashley is married and lives in Houston with her husband Tony. They have two dogs, Toto and Doogie. They have been together for over 8 and a 1/2 years and he brings her more joy than she could ever imagine as a child. She loves to read and has been hooked on the romance genre ever since her lifelong best friend Laura gave her “Ashes to Ashes’ by Tami Hoag to read when they were younger.

Ashley finds her strength through her family, especially her parents. They always support her in life; they push her to strive for greatness. There once was a motto that Ashley heard in her youth through her Taekwondo life ‘Reach for the Stars’ and that is what Ashley has always done. It was through her upbringing that the values Ashley has and displays come from. With her parents always cheering her on in life she was able to grow up having faith in herself and her ability to conquer the world.

Author Information: Ashley Nemer Website Facebook Twitter

The post Writing vs. Reality – Guest Author Ashley Nemer appeared first on Redefining Perfect.