It’s all in the details

As much fun as a story is to write, editing the story is a blast. At the same time, I’m pulling out hair (all mine) and doubling-timing the eating of chips and sweets to keep up with what all the characters are doing. New twists and turns in Midnight Wildes are keeping me on my toes.

I’m still adding more details and cutting scenes. Below is a scene I just cut involving Cesar and Isabella.

Isabella first showed up in Midnight Loyalties. She’s back in Midnight Wildes, keeping humans safe, dodging assassins, and looking for a good time. Cesar’s still calling the shots, but this time, he’s up against an enemy that might actually kill him.

Bur first: Let me show you this picture of Isabella. I finally got an image from AI that looks like the character in my head.

Isabella searching the Las Vegas Strip for Cesar. 

Cut scene from Midnight Wildes: Isabella wakes

Cesar leaned back in the chair as though he were comfortable, but he wasn’t. Outside the secure door, in the hallways, in the other secure rooms, in the Cave, and even in the upstairs Speakeasy, his plans turned into actions. For now, his job required him to sit with Isabella, who needed someone strong enough to hold her here when she woke, just in case.

He studied her face. Thin, pale skin once again covered the muscles and sinews. Eyelids once again fluttered over the smooth mounds of her eyes. Even a few eyelashes fluttered as though she dreamed. Tuffs of dark brown hair promised to fill out and once again caress her neck. Her hands, unmoving on the sheet covering her nakedness, once more held fingers with nails soft and buttery.

For the briefest of moments, he closed his eyes, picturing her before the attack. That was the image he wanted to see, but his meditation broke at the croaking of her voice. 

“Everything hurts.”

Cesar reached out his hand to hers but pulled it back, unsure if her new skin was ready for touch. “You awake?” he asked. “Or are you talking in your sleep?”

“Asshole,” she muttered from a mouth once again surrounded by lips that, like the rest of her, were much too white to be real. “Why does everything hurt?” 

Isabella opened her eyes, once so dark, so clear green they begged to be dived into. The now so pale green they could be white, scanned the room. She whispered, “I thought I’d walked into the sun.”

“You almost did,” Cesar said. 

“A light – It was so bright, it burned.” Isabella lifted her right hand to her face, barely touching it. Her face grimaced with effort. “Everything hurts.” She held her hand in front of her face, eyes staring at her too-white palms, then the too-white fingers. “Cesar? I – I-”

Isabella tried to sit, but only made it to one elbow when her face creased with pain and she lay back down.“Jinkies! Marcus? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. A few bumps and bruises, but nothing that didn’t heal.”

“And I told Frank I’d keep him safe.” Her eyes fluttered as though she’d sleep.

Cesar ladled blood from the warmer on the nightstand and held it to Issy’s lips. “Drink. You’ve got a long way to go before you’re well enough to get out of bed.”

Before the cup reached her lips, she tried to sit up again. “Did I kill anyone?”

Peace,

L.K. Latham

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