FOR YOUR HEART -- Sneaky Peek 3:

Sneaky Peek #3 from my upcoming novel, FOR YOUR HEART (Coming October 31, 2013)  Check out the description on Goodreads.  If you love it, mark it on your to-be-read list and tell your friends! 

            “You know, Lovely, you shouldn’t have run from me yesterday.”

            Freezing, I look up.  Green Man is sitting on the window sill, his long, raven-black hair outlining him like a death shroud.

            Instinct kicks in and I turn to flee, but he magically appears in front of me, his massive body blocking the door.  He flashes a dark smirk.  “There really is no need to run.” 

            I backpedal until my butt hits a sink.  Dread leaks to my toes, making my bones feel like linguini.  Good thing I already went to the bathroom because I’d be peeing my pants in terror right now.  Slapping my hands over my eyes, I start that age old manta, “You’re not real.  You’re not real.  You’re not real.”

            “Aren’t I?” He’s so close I feel his breath on my face, sense his body on the tips of the tiny hairs on my face.  “Shall I convince you I am real?”

            I peek between my fingers.  He’s there.  He’s lost his Ren Faire garb and is dressed in a school uniform – which is weird – and his handsome face is near enough that too deep a breath would bring his nose to mine.  I lean backward until I’m practically sitting in the sink.  I want to turn away, to run, but he has his hands planted on both sides of me. 

            What do I do?  How do I make him go away?  Am I psychotic?  Schizophrenic?  Should I even be talking to him?  Does humoring hallucinations make psychosis better or worse?  Maybe if I can figure out what he wants, he’ll go away?

            I struggle for my voice.  “W-what do you want?”

            He takes a step back, giving me room to breathe.  “Just to talk.”  He gestures toward my half tucked in shirt.  “Please continue with your business.”

            I ignore his prompt and back around the first sink.  “T-talk?  Y-you’re not going to hurt me?”

            He cocks his head and raises his hands.  “I don’t have any weapons.”

            Glancing at his big paws, I say, “You don’t need weapons.”

            He shoves his fingers into his pockets.  “I’m only here to talk.”  He circles me.  I try to spin to keep tabs on him, but he’s back on the sill before I see him move.  He’s quick.  Unnaturally so. With reflexes that fast, he certainly could’ve done anything he wanted to me already.

            “H-how do I know you won’t hurt me?”

            “You have my word.  I won’t hurt you.” He shrugs.  “For now.”

            I swallow the massive lump in my throat.  “For now?”

            He smirks.  “For now.”

Two Weeks Notice

The edits on my two shorts for Tease should be coming along in mid-July.  My cover for The Alchemist's Perfect Instrument is done.  It's lovely!

Also... My agent likes the edits on Scar-Crossed!

She's meeting with one more editor on on the 19th and then we're going to start sending out the manuscript for Scar-Crossed.  I'm so excited it's finally happening!  Now all I have to do is come up with a clear idea for the sequel o.O

I have a couple of ideas, but then I've had sequel ideas for the past year and none of them seem to thrill me when I write them out.  Oh well, I guess I'll just have to deal!

On top of figuring all that out, I have a couple of little projects that I can work on.  I think I'm going to take her up on the short for a Chicken-Soup spoof and I'll put the erotica on hold.  Erotica isn't really my thing and I'd rather work on the things I'm passionate about...at least until this becomes something I do as a full-time professional.  She wants me to put Tamrin and Fawning on the back-burner and work on something that's in another genre so she can show it to an E- or an Indie-Publisher.  That way I can get my foot in multiple doors.  So, I'm going to try re-vamping (no pun intended) Will of the Fallen and finishing The Great White Light.

Everyone wish me luck!

A Heart to Heart with Neek

This weekend I sat in on a panel at FaerieCon and I learned that I'm not the only author whose characters are like real people.

Odd, I know, but I think every other author will agree with me on this. No, we don't need meds and we're not all fans of Inkheart. We're just really good at creating characters. So good, in fact, that sometimes it's almost like they have a life of their own. They become like children or friends. You end up having discussions and arguments with them. Sometimes they do things that you don't want them to do and then you have to figure out how to get them out of it. ...And as Maggie Stiefvater put it, sometimes you just get so frustrated with them that you have to drag them through a side story where they die horribly before you can get them to cooperate.

So, in light of that I decided to spin a little spoof between myself and one of the characters from my WIP. I've been having some problems because Neek (Nekehleis) is trying to jump the gun in this YA steampunk romance. So I think I'll let him try it his way and see what happens. *Sinister Smile* Maybe he'll cooperate after this. Hope you enjoy!

I’m about a quarter of the way through chapter twelve. Neek and Adelle are meditating after one of their classes. Neek opens one eye, peeks at Adelle. She’s got her eyes closed, her brow is furrowed in concentration and she’s got that pout she does. He thinks about how much he likes that intense expression on her face; how much he wants to touch the hair that spills around her face and shoulders; how hard she's trying to get this right -- all for that brat, Madlyn. Neek suddenly shakes his head.

I growl under my breath, annoyed that he’s interrupting my process. “What now?”

Neek takes a deep breath, lets it out. I stare at him expectantly, knowing he’s about to say something he knows I’m not going to like. “I’m going to kiss her.”

I blink. “What?" I squeak. "Now? You can’t do that!”

He cocks his head, stares at her lovingly. Oh, if only she saw that expression. She’d kill him for sure. “Why not?”

I throw up my hands, upsetting my tea and scaring the cat. “Are you stupid? She’s your enemy’s daughter!”

“Yeah, so?”

“So, she’s trying to kill you.” I start mopping up my tea.

“Yes, I know. I had a vision about that, remember? I’ve got that whole Solar Seer thing going for me.”

“See? Even Ehleis is trying to tell you that she’s trying to kill you. Use your head, Neek, I made you smart for a reason.”

“And?”

“What if you mean “and?” Hello! If she kills you I won’t have a story and Ehleis won’t have a Blessing. We’re covering our asses here.”

Neek bites his lip. “Maybe if I kiss her, she won’t kill me.”

“If you kiss her I’ll have to make her kill you,” I say with a sigh. “I made her that way. The readers expect it.”

“I’ll take my chances and hope you like me enough not to let Adelle kill me. The readers will like it better if I kiss her. Sex sells.”

I get a bad mental image of attempting to navigate a love scene around Neek's wings and Adelle's ridiculous outfit. Scowling, I attempt a new approach. “Sleeping with the heiress of the Empire? The empire that’s besmirching the natural world with it’s mechanical abominations and alchemical warfare? Ehleis wouldn’t like it.”

Neek’s eyes widen. “No? I think it’s an excellent idea.”

“You’re seventeen, Neek, the only thought processes you have come through your penis.”

“Well, my penis thinks it’s an excellent idea,” Neek says with a shrug. “Besides, wasn’t Ehleis the one who told us to go forth and prosper?”

I cross my arms. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting you two prosper, Neek. This isn’t Twilight.”

Neek glances out the window. “No, I’d say it’s just about mid-morning. That's a great time for sex. We can have lunch afterward.”

I slap my palm against my forehead. “No it’s a- Oh, just forget it.”

“So,” Neek ventures cautiously. “Kissing Adelle?”

“If I had my way you’d wait a few chapters before doing that. I’m not responsible for what happens if you kiss her before she’s ready.”

Neek grins. “Of course not.”

I give him a worried look. He's really going to do it. Stupid kid. “She’s still carrying that dagger under her skirt.”

His grin grows a little wider. “I know.”

I lean back and give him my most petulant expression I can manage. “I really hate working with you sometimes.”

Neek cuts his eyes at me. “You’re no gift to fiction yourself, A.L.. I mean, violet eyes? Come on, even Lilith got it better than I did.”

"Oh, have I offended your masculinity?" I reach out, pull the keyboard closer, and threateningly settle my fingers back on home row. “It's not too late to make them pink. Now shut up and kiss her already, I want to get to the part where she circumcises you.”

Double Timing It.

Sorry I've sucked at posting lately. It's worth the baited breath, promise! Wait for it, wait for it, ready? If you're staring at the image and thinking I'm going to tell you I'm preggers, get over it! I finished another book! (Which is my mental equivalent to birthing a child. Trust me it's a slow painful process and yes, you can get fat from it).

Introducing Scar-Crossed, my new young adult paranormal romance! Officially stand alone quality. Officially not a tome. Officially dark and romantic. Officially another book with a drool worthy love interest. Officially going to be heck and half to sell to an agent cause the market for paranormal romance isn't exactly starving for fairy angst, but it's a bit more marketable than TWLID. So, I'm excited.

The first two betas currently have it and then it's off to at least six more. This time I'm being more careful with who I send it to, so hopefully I'll get faster and better feedback than with TWLID.

On another exciting note: I went to Arisia this past weekend and it rocked. I watched a number of panels on folklore and fairy tales, oh, and gender and female protags. I wanted to get on some of those panels and make connections to my book! (That's a good thing) It means that I'm really starting to come into myself as a novelist. I was a little surprised that many of the novelists on these panels didn't talk about their own writing when they obviously could have. I mean, come on, promote yourself people!

I got to go to a book-launch party for Danielle Ackley-McPhail's new novel The Halfling's Court. It sounds like a very exciting novel and I'll be purchasing it when I go to Lunacon this year. You should get it too, just 'cause Danielle is awesome. I also met a photographer/UF novelist and a historical reenactment guy...who gave me an intensive lesson on the use of the highland hand-and-a-half sword. (Exciting because now I can write believable sword-play scenes in the Blood Heritage Series). To cap off my vacation, I got caught in a snowstorm on the way home! BUT, I mapped out the plot to the sequel to Scar-Crossed and I wrote the first chapter this past Monday.

I'll be writing more, but I have to finish all the library books that I took out. I think I've read eight since since my last post? Maybe more? I'm trying to study my genre, so it's all about the YA paranormal/urban fantasy novels these days. I'm not even going to bother critiquing them because I've gone through so many. Just pray no one takes my idea before I can pitch the novel.