E.A. Price's Blog, page 9

The Bear and the Unicorn

HiThere's been a few delays but the next Supernatural Enforcers Agency is now available.  It's called The Bear and the Unicorn and you can read the blurbhere.I'm now onto the next gargoyles book - When a Gargoyle Flies, and hope to give you some news about that soon.Take careElizabeth

Holiday Mates

HelloFirst of all - thank you to everyone for your kind messages following my last message, it was lovely to receive them all.  You're all awesome!Secondly, all the holiday themed SEA stories are now available to buy from Amazon in one collection called Holiday Mates.  All the stories are still available to readhere, but if you want it for your device, you can purchase it too.Thirdly, below is a small peak at the start of The Bear and the Unicorn - upcoming book 5 of the SEA series.  It's about a character called Zane - a bear shifter (I do love bears!)Take careElizabeth***Zane scowled at his lawyer as his inner bear grumbled.  “Is that the best you could do?”Harry mopped his brow.  “We won.”“Hardly!  I lost my fucking job.  I’ve got community service, and I have to pay damages.”“But no jail time…”“Community.  Service,” ground out the irate bear shifter.Harry looked flummoxed.  With all due respect to Harry ‘bloodhound’ Heckler, he was hardly what anyone could call a decent litigator.  Harry was an ambulance chaser.  He was a good ambulance chaser – once he got the scent of a potential settlement, he didn’t let up - hence the nickname.  But at the end of the day, he was an ambulance chaser.The majority of his other clients were trying to sue for damages for any multitude of reasons – his last client had slipped on a banana at a Speed-E-Mart.  The rest filed suits for sexual harassment – one based on the telling of a joke and the female sexual organ and something to do with apple pie.  The point being that Harry’s cases rarely made it to court.  Most just settled out of court for a decent but generally low amount of money - because neither his clients nor the companies or individuals they were suing wanted it to get that far.  But Zane’s case really had called for some real arguing.Stalking.  Assault.  Dangerous inability to control the inner bear.The bear in question snarled.None of this was Zane’s fault.  Okay, some of it was his fault.  Most of it.  Maybe all of it.His bear – damn perfidious beast – had no sympathy.  He had been against getting involved from the start.  But then, if it weren’t for the animal’s horrific temper, things might not be so bad.  Zane threw that back in his hairy snout, and yeah, the bear had the grace to hide behind his paws.Zane’s high school girlfriend called him for help.  Her asshole lawyer ex was stiffing her on alimony, and she wanted Zane to do something about it.  Melissa was just as pretty as the day in freshman year when she batted her eyelashes at him and got him to pull the fire alarm to get her out of detention.  Smoky brown eyes, red, sensual lips, and dimples.  She was his kryptonite.   He’d left their small town at eighteen, joined the army, trying to make a name for himself.  Plus the local judge – his own father! – had kind of pushed the army on him after he stole one or two or six cars.  This will straighten you out boy he boomed before banging his gavel.Melissa in a tearful goodbye said she’d wait for Zane forever.  Forever didn’t last long.  A month later she sent a letter saying she’d moved to Los Lobos and was engaged to a law student called Roger – a bighorn sheep shifter of all things.  That was the last he saw or heard from her until she turned up on his doorstep crying her eyes out a few months back.  Asshole Roger had fooled around on her, dumped her with two kids and was refusing to pay her the money she needed to live.Zane saw red.He didn’t think it through.  He should have gone the legal route, but he rarely thought anything through.  Poor impulse control?  Nah, he was just a hothead.  Especially when it came to Melissa.  When she told him their high school music teacher hit on her - aggressively, he didn’t even think.  Mr. Lazlow was in traction for nine months, and Zane got kicked out of school.  Strangely, he’d always thought Mr. Lazlow was gay – given that he was married to a guy and all.As for Roger, Zane tried talking to him nicely, but no, Roger had been remorseless.  Wouldn’t listen.  Insisted Melissa communicate only through her lawyer.  Wouldn’t even give Zane the time of day.  So Zane took it upon himself to be wherever Roger the dick was – his home, his work, his dates with his new girlfriend, his parents’ home…  Yeah, so maybe it was technically stalking.Finally, Roger cracked and told Zane to leave him the fuck alone and then the rest was a little hazy after the sheep called Melissa a cold-hearted bitch.Zane hit him.  Then he shifted.  His bear tried to maul him.  He wasn’t proud of that…  He was a little proud of it.  Damn fluffy sheep didn’t even see it coming.  He’d enjoyed reliving that moment over and over.  What happened after, less so.He was brought up before a tribunal at work – a panel made up of Supernatural Council members as well as his boss’ boss, Juliet – head of the branch of the Supernatural Enforcers Agency where he worked as an investigator.  Not many friendly faces there.  None, in fact.On a lucky note, Roger wasn’t exactly keen to press charges.  He wanted the matter to go away quietly.  He was a divorce lawyer – the last thing he wanted was everyone knowing his own divorce had created such a shit storm.  Might put people off using him for their divorces.  He was happy to settle for money to pay his hospital bills and a restraining order for Zane.Plus, added to Zane’s interactions with Roger, there might have been one or two or twelve complaints about his conduct and behavior during investigations.  Something about being belligerent, intimidating, threatening… and so on and so forth and what have you.The tribunal concluded that he was too dangerous to keep in their employ, and he was being terminated, effective immediately.Harry was pleased with the overall result.  Zane, less so.Although Harry was just pleased to get out a room filled with such a large bunch of terrifying and dominant supernatural creatures.  They didn’t get on the Council by being kind and considerate.  Harry’s voice barely reached more than a squeak in their presence.Zane caught sight of Juliet gliding out of the meeting room.“Hey, fangs,” he called.  It wasn’t in him to be deferential to anyone.  Something he and his barbaric bear agreed on.She turned, rolling her dark eyes at him.  To look at Juliet, no one would guess she was a centuries-old vampire.  She looked twenty-one at the most.  She was a tiny woman with long, inky black hair, full lips painted red and smoky eyes.  Perhaps the only thing that gave her away was her unusually pale skin.  Although Juliet could manage brief periods in the sunlight, obviously she didn’t tan.  She looked like a small, china doll – especially as she no longer felt the need to breathe.A faint smile ghosted her full lips.  “Mr. Matthews.”“Can I appeal this decision?” he demanded.Juliet met his angry stare, not even acknowledging the furious beast bubbling below the surface, readying to be let out.  She could out dominate any alpha shifter if she wanted.“No,” she said snippily.  “There is no one to appeal to.  As far as you are concerned, the Council members are gods, and there is no one higher.”Zane ran his hands through his hair.  “This is ridiculous.”Juliet’s stance softened slightly.  “In spite of what many people think, I’m not heartless.”  She flashed her fangs.  “My heart just doesn’t beat anymore.  Try taking some anger management classes.  If you can prove that you have your temper under control and that you will once again be an asset to the SEA, then I will ask that the decision be reviewed.  But I don’t want to see you in this building again until that day.  Is that clear?”“But…”“Is that clear?”  Her eyes flashed dangerously.Ice-cold tingles shot down his back, reminding him that as sweet as Juliet looked, she was still a blood sucking fiend.  His shoulders sagged a little, and he mumbled in agreement.  Pussy rumbled his bear.“Why don’t you find work as a security guard or something similar?  Prove you can be a good employee – it will certainly help your future case.”He grunted, and she left, gliding away with unnatural speed before he could add anything to the conversation.Security guard – bah.  Not his kind of thing.  And he doubted the LLPD would take him.  They took some shifters, but they were a bit choosy.  Plus he might have threatened one or two or fifteen LLPD police officers with bodily harm over the years.  Nah, he didn’t want them breathing down his neck.  He loved his job.  He loved being an investigator.  And if the SEA wouldn’t let him, he’d do it on his own.

An apology...

HiFirst of all, an apology - the last few weeks I've pretty much been completely AWOL from my computer and haven't been writing or responding to messages.  I'm afraid I've had an ongoing family emergency and my attention was elsewhere.  I promise I wouldn't have been so rude if it hadn't been necessary. I don't like to go into details but thankfully, things are improving now and I can start getting back to normal.  I managed to crack open my laptop the other day and have started trawling through my e-mails.  If you have sent me a question I am intending to reply.  It's not nice to be ignored - so I am sorry.To try and ease myself back into the swing of things - seriously it feels like eons since I wrote anything! - I've put together a short story for the Supernatural Enforcers Agency about Rick the lion shifter (hence the pic) which (belatedly, I know) touches on Fathers Day.  You can read ithere.I am intending to publish it on Amazon along with all the other holiday shorts I've done this year - and will be doing so hopefully in a day or two.  Will post when it's available.For now I'm picking up where I left off with the latest SEA story - the Bear and the Unicorn (Zane's story).  Which I hope won't take too long.Take care guysElizabeth

Mother's Day!

HiI've posted some new Mother's Day stories.  There are two shorts for Grey Wolf Pack characters and a longer one for the Supernatural Enforcers Agency - see the links below (permanent links can also be found on the series web pages).  Also, there's a link below for a Cinco de Mayo SEA story, sent out earlier in the week in my newsletter.Enjoy and happy Mother's Day to everyone!Enforcers Agency Stories:Cinco de O-My!Mother's Day Mix-upGrey Wolf Stories:BoundariesM-O-T-H-E-R'-S D-A-Y

When a Gargoyle Lives is live

HelloThe second book in the gargoyles series - When A Gargoyle Lives - is now live.  Seeherefor the blurb.  Forewarning though, like the first it has an ending - I always have to have a happy ending for my main couple - but in the grand scheme of things, it does kind of end on a cliffhanger.  I have plans for more in the series, and a kind of ongoing storyline, and I hope the next will be out later in the year.Take careEAP

New Gargoyles Coming Soon

The next in the Gargoyles series is imminent, for now, here is draft peek of what's to come.*Luc growled and stretched his limbs as he awoke from his sleep.  He breathed in the damp night air and snarled softly.  After hundreds of years of sleep, he would never take waking up for granted.Luc flicked his tail impatiently, as the rest of his clan awoke, stretching and grumbling, relieved that they had woken at all.  It was not something humans could understand.  Gargoyles’ sleep was enforced.  They turned to stone during the day; they had no choice in the matter.  Being trapped in sleep, neither dead nor alive was tortuous.Of course, now he had a very good incentive to wish to wake.  He had a mate.  His own mate.  A female he could not live without.  A human with pretty brown hair and soft curves and a penchant for driving him crazy in a very good way.  He surveyed his clan.  They believed his mating with Kylie was for the sake of the clan.  As far as they knew, she was the only person on earth who could awaken the gargoyles, and they thought he mated her to keep her close.  They were wrong.  She was fated for him.  Gargoyles were not known for their finer feelings, most eschewed the idea of love for political alliances and breeding, but he was different.  He loved Kylie more than his hard heart could sometimes bear.  And the gods help him, she knew it.For the past months, they had been searching through the Professor’s books to find his fellow gargoyles.  Slowly, they were bringing them back to the house in Devil’s Hang Kylie was waking them.  The process was too slow for his liking.Luc had liked Professor Hardcastle, but the mad had been fond of riddles and had kept the locations of the other gargoyles well hidden.  Unlocking the riddles and puzzles was proving difficult and then the time it took to find the gargoyles and transport them was taking too long.  The last gargoyle they found was in Brazil and that had taken over a week to transport back to the house.  Kylie had suggested she travel to the gargoyles, but she would have to go without him, and that was unacceptable.  The gargoyles were disorientated when they woke; they could hurt her.  He needed to be there.  He needed to be with her.  He needed her close at all times.  Luc was trying to lead the gargoyles, and he could not do it without her love and support.So far they had woken four gargoyles, none from his previous clan.  Gracchus, a male a few years older than him, he was a calm influence on the other gargoyles but somewhat jaded.  A young, frightened female called Annis with a broken wing who was no more a fighter than he was a court jester.  Amalric, a young male coming of age who butted horns with Luc at every given opportunity and met his leadership with sullen opposition, and a male called Dragoslava who… who had not come out of his sleep with his full faculties.  They knew it would be a possibility – bing asleep for so long could not possibly have a positive effect, but the violence they all saw in Dragoslava’s eyes made even Gracchus pause.At the permission of Andrew Hardcastle, the current owner, Luc allowed the other gargoyles to roam the house and grounds as they pleased.  And had permitted them to go hunting out in the woods under his supervision – it was important they not show themselves to humans.Dragoslava remained chained in the basement.  They hoped that Dragoslava would improve and that his current incarceration was merely a temporary condition.  If not, Luc would do what was necessary to ensure the clan’s survival.  As clan leader in the past, he had performed this duty many times.  It was never something he relished.  He did not take lives lightly, but as leader, the duty should fall to him.  He could not ask a member of his clan to do something he would not do himself.  However, the fact that he was mated now would make the task difficult.  He doubted Kylie would be able to accept his explanation and feared it would cause a rift between them.  There was one thing being mated to a gargoyle and knowing of their brutal natures; it was another witnessing it first hand.Hopefully, it would not come to that.  Hopefully, they would be able to awaken more gargoyles soon.  Perhaps they would get a healer.  Annis had rudimentary skills, but she needed more training.Luc would never admit it to his mate, but he was disappointed with the state of affairs.  His clan back in the day had been one of the strongest, brothers and sisters united.  He had envisioned rebuilding his clan with warriors – creatures strong enough to withstand the scrutiny and would undoubtedly endure when humans finally learned of their existence again.  It seemed unlikely his clan would ever be the same.  But he could not tell Kylie this.  Kylie would take it as a failure on her part.  Nothing was further from the truth.  Without her, he would have nothing and he would be nothing.  He lived, and he had taken her as his mate - that was something that could not have happened back when he was born.  Their relationship would never have been accepted.  Although he would always carry the sadness of how many of his kind had died, forging forward and creating a new existence for the gargoyles was important.  A life where there would be no segregation between the species, where they existed alongside each other without the fear or repulsion, he saw in far too many humans growing up.He would not wish for his children to be treated as outsiders or animals… if he and Kylie can produce offspring.  No other gargoyle had mated with a human, so that was not something that he knew about.  It something he wanted, but not something that outweighed the need to free his brothers and sisters.At that moment, though, he needed to see his mate, he would ensure her safety and then enjoy the pleasure of her soft body.  Sleep had left him hungry in more ways than one.He nodded at his clan mates, which was met with mixed reactions and then went into the house.

Happy Easter

HiI hope everyone is enjoying Easter.  To be honest I don't really do anything to celebrate, but I do have to admit that I can't resist picking up a couple of chocolate eggs.I recently saw the film Zootropolis and loved it - I'm a sucker for cartoons - so of course, with Easter coming up I had to have a SEA story with a bunny named Judy.  It's called Egghunters and can be readhere.I've been enjoying writing all the holiday themed SEA stories so far this year (all of which can be read online, see here forlinks), so I reckon I will continue the theme and next up will be a mother's day story in May.For now, enjoy the rest of Easter and try not to eat too much chocolate - I know, you're only human!Take careElizabeth

Happy St. Patrick's Day

HiHappy St. Patrick's Day for Thursday.  Whether you celebrate it or not, I hope everyone has a lovely day.  I've written a mini SEA story called Lucky Charmed, which can be readhere.  Please enjoy.Best wishesElizabeth

The Reluctant Mate

HiBeen a bit of a delay on this one - I've been in bed sick, high temperature, aching all over, wailing like a banshee - but am finally better and am pleased to say that the newest addition to the Grey Wolf Pack, The Reluctant Mate, is now available.  There are some links below to buy it and you can read the blurbhere.Now that I'm back in the land of the living and I've finally tamed my inbox (I was in bed for a week and a half there were over two thousand e-mails in it!!!) I'm working on getting back on track with my writing schedule, so hopefully will be able to let you know where I am with things soon.Best wishesEAmazon links:USUKAUSCA