Been there. Didn’t burn down the house, but… (And yes, there’s a book in this video. So many ideas, so little time. LOLOL) (And posting Saturday because I got the date wrong when I preposted. 
)
Have a great weekend!
Have I mentioned I’m convinced the Universe is a writer? And more often than not it writes romance? Today’s thoughts can be considered two ways.
Silver, do you ever wonder whether you’re on the right path?
Do you sometimes feel vulnerable in new relationships?
Does certainty elude you when big decisions loom?
Outstanding! Fantastic! All the legends who came before you also said, “YES!”
Walking on sunshine,
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®P.S. Humility shows respect, Silver. Respect shows love. And love can only exist when there’s a vision for prosperity, a belief in your own worthiness, and a sense that all is exactly as it should be. Cool, huh? Bring on the “butterflies.”
As a writer, I always wonder whether I’m on the right path. And did I start in the right place? This is a dilemma that’s been eating my lunch with THE DEVIL’S CUT. I’m not the only author to fight this battle. I most often feel vulnerable about a new book. I have no fingernails left by the time I get reports back from beta readers, and then see those first few crucial reviews after the book releases. And I am NEVER certain. About anything. I believe most authors are humble at their core. I’m not sure how this shows respect, but who am I to argue with the Universe? Respect and love. True it’s difficult to have one without the other. Just ask Caleb and Ariel. And see? That’s where the message also veers away from the writer and off into the process of writing–characters, plot, narrative, dialogue. All those things that make up the book as a whole.
So…before I break my brain, I’ll just retreat into the days of my teen-aged self and leave you with these two not-so-original thoughts: Butterflies are free and if you love something, let go. If it comes back, its yours. If it doesn’t, it never really was. Peace out. 😉
Today’s #1lineWed theme is to post the last line of the chapter. Since I’m such a rule-breaker, I’ll give you the last paragraph of a few of the chapters (remember this is draft mode still, kay?).
Chapter 1 – Standing Outside the Fire
Standing alone, [Caleb] raised his right arm, his hand angled ramrod stiff across his forehead in salute. He lowered his hand to his side and spoke from his heart. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, Roy. But rest easy, my friend. I’ll take care of it.” He turned away and trudged toward his car. “I’ll give the devil his due.”
Chapter 3 – Talk is Cheap
Something was out there. Something old and patient. Something with the patience of a born predator. Something so steeped in evil that every hair on his body was standing on end. He’d just pulled up at the TeePee and parked when that man called him about that horse, only in this case, it was the illegal drug kind rather than the four-legged. Copying down the info the DEA agent passed along, Caleb didn’t like the feeling settling deep in his gut. Devils and lost pups and a darkness settling over the desert. The time for talking was over. It was time to get down and dirty.
And one last snippet to tease you with…
Chapter 16 – If You Only Knew
Adele closed the program before her partner could respond. Swiveling, her nose bumped Caleb’s. “Dude, personal space.”
“I like personal space.” His lips brushed across hers as he spoke.
“Stop that.”
“What’s that they say? All work, no play?”
“We don’t have time to play.”
“Says you.”
“Caleb—”
She didn’t get the warning out as he kissed her deeply then growled. “Play now. Work later.”
“Okay. That works.”
****
So there you have it. Would you turn the page and start the next chapter? Do you have any last lines to share?
Since B.E. and Liza asked nicely, I’m sharing FIFTY SHADES OF BLOOD with y’all. It’s just for fun. There will be no book or novella to follow. Consider it a silly Halloween Treat…or Trick, depending on whether or not you like it.
Fifty Shades of Blood
“Mr. Tepes will see you now.”
Mina glanced up from her notebook. The impeccably dressed receptionist looked disdainful. Standing, she tugged her ill-fitting cardigan into place. Snagging this interview with Vlad Tepes, the reclusive billionaire his enemies called Dracula behind his back, was a real coup. She stepped through the open door into the man’s inner sanctum. The door closed behind her. She was alone. Curiosity batted her with kitten paws but she refused to do more than glance around.
“Sit.”
The command whispered across the back of her neck and Mina stumbled forward. Gaining balance, she pivoted. The man she’d come to see stood inches from her. Wetting her bottom lip, his eyes followed the movement of her tongue as she assessed him. Hair like a raven’s wing, too long to be fashionable, yet fitting the hard planes of his features. Compelling eyes, of the same color and glitter as a handful of sapphires, fringed in black lashes almost too beautiful for a man. She raised her chin, refusing to be cowed, and extended her hand.
“Mr. Tepes, I’m—”
“Mina Harker. Yes. I know. Sit. I won’t tell you again.” He stepped away, only to lean his very sexy butt against the desk, long, muscular legs crossed at the ankles, arms loose at his sides.
She sat. What else was there to do, really?
“I want to—”
“What? What do you want, Mina? To question me? To thank me? To fuck me?”
Her lungs froze, trapping her breath. The sardonic lift of his lips parodied a smile, but his eyes remained remote. She found her voice. “I’m hardly your type.”
Leaning forward, he inhaled deeply. “O negative. The universal donor. Just my type.”
“Eww. That’s just creepy.”
A laugh erupted from deep within his chest and rolled across her like an avalanche of all things sexy.
“You will learn, Mina Harker. And soon.”
“Uhm. No.”
“A challenge. Before you leave me, I will teach you many things, the first among them will be your submission.”
“Well, alrighty then. I think we’re done here.” Mina pushed out of the chair but her knees wouldn’t hold her. Totally freaked, she wanted only to escape. Long fingers curled around her biceps, holding her in place.
“I think not. I’m not done with you.”
She squeaked and stammered. “Why me?”
“You fascinate me. An unprepossessing human female on the surface, but I sense great…passion. I wish to explore that side of your nature.”
He drew her closer, tilting her chin up and to the side so her neck was bared to him. His lips—and something sharp—grazed her skin. “I will strip you of your fears, sweet Mina, and then I will teach you to become the woman you are meant to be.”
She shivered and whimpered. Breathless, she murmured, “Will it hurt?”
“Exquisitely.” His lips brushed her forehead. “Come for me, Mina.”
She did, shuddering. A climax from a kiss. And she couldn’t stop, couldn’t say no.
****
We had a word count limit and this is what I came up with. I hope you enjoyed. Tomorrow…words/snippets from THE DEVIL’S CUT!
There was a weekend. I know this because I had an OKRWA meeting and it’s only on Saturdays. And there was baseball. Of the 14U variety. I even ended up keeping score during Sunday morning’s game when the catcher’s mom/scorekeeper got dirt (love that Oklahoma wind–NOT!) in her eyes. It was fun. At OKRWA, I read the entries for our Halloween Writing Challenge. Mine didn’t win. If you ask nicely, maybe I’ll post it tomorrow as a Tuesday Tidbit. 😉 Not a tease because it’s not a book, simply a very short story.
What else?
Sports: OSU had the day off. OU beat up Kansas State. And I shouldn’t have been rooting for Michigan. I think I jinxed them. Sorry, B.E. 😦 Baseball, the Cubs aren’t doing too good against the hated Mets. Royals are up 2-0 over the Bluejays. ‘Nuff said ’bout that.
Writing: THE DEVIL’S CUT came out about 71K. Longer than I anticipated. It’s out with my CP and my betas. I admit I’m sweating this one a bit. Still not sure I got the opening right. We’ll see what they say. I’m also waiting on the cover. I’ll do a reveal as soon as I have it in my hot, little hands. Spent a few days last week dickering over the title for RDR#3. At the moment, it looks like it will be THE BOSS AND HIS COWGIRL. It’s Harlequin category, being in the Desire line. I can live with it. It will release Summer of 2016 but I don’t have an exact date yet. Will pass it along as soon as I know. I’ve got to do some formatting on TDC while I’m waiting on edits and then I’m diving into RDR#4, which will hopefully be easier to title. Working title is LAST COWGIRL STANDING. I do have a backup but it’s a secret. *shhhhh* #4 is more lighthearted and will be fun to finish.
Reading: I’m still in a slump, mostly. Rereading bits and pieces of both of Nalini Singh’s series–Guildhunter/Archangle and the Psi/Changlings. I made myself stop a full reread of Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels. And no, Ev, no spoilers. Just…listen faster! 😆 New books–DRAGOS GOES TO WASHINGTON. Thea Harrison has written a fun one. Big changes coming for Dragos and Pia. Currently reading A KISS BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE (Remy Chandler #1) by Thomas E. Sniegoski. Remy is a Boston PI who also happens to be an angel. It’s…interesting. Evidently, there are quite a few books in the series and luckily, my library system carries them. Not sure I’ll keep going after the first but so far, so good. Oh, I’m at 199 books on my Goodreads challenge, which was originally 200. I’ve upped it to 210 and will likely up it again.
TV: Uhm…I’m way behind on the DVR. New shows still in the mix: “Code Black,” “Blindspot,” (though I’m behind on it), and “The Player.” I also need to catch up on “The Bastard Executioner.” I have to be in the right headspace to watch it.
Aaannnndddd….that’s about it from here. Who are you rooting for, writing about, or reading?
Argh! And FLAIL! And all that angsty writerly stuff. I really thought I get THE DEVIL’S CUT finished yesterday–first draft anyway. Then I hit chapter 26. Which is the big battle between good and evil. And I discovered that I’d never “seen” Nikos in dragon form. So I had to research. And look at pictures. And stuff like that there. For one freaking paragraph! But he’s oh so pretty now. 😉 I also have to figure out the battle itself. I have a gargoyle (Varrick not Roman), a fae warrior (Ariel), Nikos (crafty dragon that he is), a master vampire (you don’t think Sinjen would leave Sade alone with Nikos do you?), a werewolf hero (Go, Caleb! Go, Caleb!), and two human females–one of the snarky, kick-ass type, the other a scientist pretty much freaked out by all the magic/magicks.
So…Guess what I did last night and will be doing today–after coffee with my CP? Yup. Battle plans. Then I have the resolution (HEA for the H/h) and a brief epilogue to set up the next book. Which is mostly written. Because…PINK. You’ll understand when you read the book. Oh, the epilogue, not the next book. So…anyway. Today’s #1LineWed is all about first lines. So here are a few…
Chapter 1: Standing Outside the Fire
“Right now, I’d give anything to be somewhere else.”
***
Chapter 2: Takes a Lot to Know a Man
Time to give the devil his due.
***
Chapter 4: Take My Body Home
It was time to get down and dirty.
***
Chapter 7: Death is a Dialog
Monsters. Caleb had met his quota of them in his life and a fair share of them had been human.
So, whatcha think? And who has some first lines to share? Post from you’re own work if you’re a writer or a first line from a book you’re reading that really caught your eye (being sure to list the title and author so we can all go check it out!) Have a happy Hump Day!
Monday. Again. I don’t know why it surprises me that this day pops up every seven days. Weird how that works, huh? *rolls eyes* I’ve got a bad case of the “Don’t Wanna’s.” Don’t wanna write. Don’t wanna market. Don’t wanna sleep. Don’t wanna eat–unless it is sweet, gooey, and very bad for my caloric intake. *sigh* Why yes, I am nearing the end of a difficult book, why do you ask?
Okay enough of that Downer Debbie shit. Let’s get to the roundup of weekend activities! Tally ho!
Sports: 1 out of 3 ain’t bad, right? Or I guess, actually 2 out 4. Cardinals won one game, lost one. Game 3 is today. OSU Cowboys beat West Virginia, as the underdogs, but they had to score a touchdown in OT to do it. OU lost to unranked Texas. The state immediately went into mourning. You think I’m kidding. I’m not. OU/Texas is a HUGE deal. OSU (the REAL OSU) is now ranked 16 and OU is ranked 19 in the NCAA Top 25. This almost qualifies as a miracle.
TV: Didn’t do much DVR catching up. Lots of baseball on and I can read while semi-paying attention to the game.
Reading: Not reading anything new either. I’m in the doldrums and doing the whole comfort read thing. I’ve just reread the first few In Death books and rereading them 3 times in a year would be excessive even for me. So I’m sort of team reading Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series and Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter/Archangel series. I’m telling myself I’m doing this because they are best-selling authors and I’m trying to figure out what their magic is. Reading them since I’m working on my own Urban Fantasy series should be a big no but I’m ignoring my own rules. Surprisingly, I’m not intimidated as I have been–sort of–in the past. They’re all (IA is a wife/husband team) excellent writers with good solid worldbuilding and compelling characters. And you know what? My Penumbra world is solid and I like to think the characters are compelling. We’ll see. Part of me is just really frustrated. I have enough ego to believe that I’m just as good as they are so what “magic” do they possess that they sell hundreds of thousands of copies (if not millions) and I just limp along… Ah well. Rather than hanging it up, it just makes me want to write harder.
Writing: Speaking of… Looks like RDR#3 will have a Summer 2016 release. Not sure of the exact date and no title has been determined yet. When I post a title here for the Harlequin books, it’s with the knowledge that it’s a working title. I was lucky that COWGIRL’S DON’T CRY (the original/working title) made the cut. THE COWGIRL’S LITTLE SECRET came from my editors with a little help from marketing. I should know something this week or next. I’m tying up some loose ends in THE DEVIL’S CUT. I have maybe 2 or 3 more chapters and an epilogue to write. Or less, if I just snip the threads. *bwahaha*
How many of you have read the Kate Daniels series? Kate, who I guess is technically the main character, has issues. Especially when it comes to relationships. Enter Curran, the Beast Lord. The dude arrived on the scene and took over the shapeshifter population at the ripe old age of 15. He’s 30 now and not only a force of nature but a force to be reckoned with. And he wants Kate. She wants him. It’s painful to watch their struggles. This is a case of me wanting to slam their heads together and scream, “Damn it! Just sit down and freaking talk, you idiots!” But…issues. On both sides. The authors really set this up well and rather than bouncing my Kindle off the wall, I just seethe quietly and wait for them to see the light. It’s a fine line to walk and the Andrewses do it well. I have to admit, when I first got Sade and Sinjen together in SEASON OF THE WITCH, I considered making them dance around each other. For several books. Sade would be watching her friends get their mates and HEAs and she’d be fencing with a master vampire and then, when Nikos appeared on the scene, a suave but dangerous dragon. They wouldn’t let me, or rather Sinjen wouldn’t. But I’m learning something with this 3rd book (since Sinjen doesn’t interact with Sade until the second–BLACK MAGIC being a prequel that was written AFTER SOTW but takes place before). Sade, too, has issues. Sinjen is already committed. Now he has to convince her. I know when she commits to him. It’s a book/novella away. I’ll talk about my weird brain and story/series arcs some day. All I can say is thank goodness for Scrivener so I can keep track of it all.
So anyway, I have no idea why I brought that up. Just a little Monday morning musing. I’m dressing up tonight for a formal deal. Lawyer Guy will be in a tux. I’ll be in a fancy dress. His office partner’s father is being posthumously honored with a big education award. Since it’s at the Western Heritage Center and Museum, I get to wear my Justin boots. I will have happy feet. My week is mapped out with getting this freaking book finished! What about y’all? Have a good weekend? How’d your teams do? And what do you have on tap for the upcoming week? Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends and Happy Columbus Day to my American ones.
I watched a lot of videos trying to pick one for today. I went through almost the whole playlist for THE DEVIL’S CUT but man…while the songs fit the mood and scenes at various points in the book, the videos? Downers. I want to smile and go, “Yeah…” So, I reprise a favorite song I haven’t heard in awhile and a fun video. I leave you for a weekend of writing/work with Brantley Gilbert’s BOTTOMS UP! Enjoy and have a bottoms up kind of weekend.
At first, I laughed. I mean, seriously? Me act normal? That’s like inviting a wolf to dinner and expecting him to sit at the table, linen napkin in his lap, cutting his meat and eating with a fork. Just ain’t gonna happen. Because…well, all those legions of the unseen doing my bidding, aka the voices in my head. See, I really do think the Universe is a writer and it’s teasing us with these cloaked messages about characters and world-building and things that go bump in our brains when we need inspiration. So anyway, take what you will from this week’s message.
Just act normal, Silver.
If you let just anyone know about your awareness of the legions in the unseen doing your bidding, or the population shifts now being sparked by your very words, or the circumstances and events presently being crafted by your thoughts, you just might create the illusion that you’re from a not-so-distant parallel star system, possessing mysterious powers, favored by fate, here to save the world.
And, man-oh-man, you do not want that to happen.
SILVER!!!
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®Not that you won’t skip, dance, and move boldly a lot more, Silver, but we don’t recommend blatantly conversing with your angels, for example, in the grocery store, yet.
Don’t mind me. I’m just over here skipping, dancing, and boldly conversing with my angels in the check-out line because…IDEAS!
Today’s #1LineWed is all about dialogue. Characters talking means telling rather than showing. That’s a good thing, as opposed to that whole show is better than tell thing. Info dumps (telling) is not good. Bringing out info/back story via conversation? Much better! Of course, sometimes, characters talk too much. LOLOL
Here’s a long excerpt with lots of talking, starring my favorite mundane FBI agent, Sade Marquis. This is edited to keep that in mind as Sade goes head-to-head with a less than cooperative werewolf while she’s searching for the missing Caleb.
****
Survival. Sade was beginning to wonder if it was overrated. After a quick call to the director’s Admin, Alice, she’d caught a plane to Albuquerque. With no leads, she’d gone back to the beginning. She stood over the grave of Bear Montoya in Carlsbad. She read Caleb’s emails. And here she was bouncing along a sorry excuse for a road headed to a place named Buhmfuch. Seriously? Could her life get any more fucked up? She should have known better to ask the Universe because, pulling up at the Teepee Motor Court, she discovered that yes, yes it could.
Two guys lounged on metal, shell-back lawn chairs near the front door. A furtive-eyed woman with scraggly gray hair slammed the motel office door shut as Sade climbed out of her rental SUV. Low-key, Alice had said. No official vehicles. Yeah. Right.
Sade approached but stayed back about ten feet. Her reflexes were good, despite lack of sleep. She could take them down before they reached her, especially since her Sig was loaded with silver bullets.
“Yo, dawgs.”
“Bitch.”
Okay. The big guy first. Sade stared him in the eye, but watched the second man in her peripheral vision. Multi-tasking. Always helpful when surviving a close encounter of the magicks kind.
“I see we’ve met. I want to talk to your Alpha.”
“You’re talkin’.”
She laughed. Loud and long. Slapped her thigh. Wheezed in air. Then sobered immediately. “Yeah, right. You’re the Alpha. Good one. You should be a comedian. Listen up, Benji. Orrin Johnson. Take me to him now or I’m calling in air support. Y’all won’t like fighter jets buzzing the desert floor. Trust me.”
“You don’t got that power.”
“Wanna bet?”
She slipped her phone from her jacket pocket and hoped like hell she had bars. When the guy blinked first, she gloated. She still had the best poker face to come out of Quantico.
“I gotta tell ’im who’s comin’.”
“Marquis. Sade Marquis.”
The smaller guy beside him gulped. “Aw, hell, Buddy. Do you know who this is?”
“Sh’up, Moe. Don’t know. Don’t care.”
“You should, man. You should.”
Sade expected the man to go belly up and pee himself. Buddy didn’t seem at all impressed. She would disabuse him of that. Soon.
An hour’s drive over a non-existent road later, she stood in the center of a ragtag community of campers, trailers, and an old school bus. The Alpha of the Johnson pack was everything she hated about werewolves. Thank the gods Caleb had grown up a Jones. The alpha of the Jones pack, Romulus Jones, was rough around the edges, a redneck of the first order, but the man had class.
She opened negotiations. “Caleb Jones.”
Johnson scratched grimy fingers across a tobacco-juice-stained wife beater that might have been white. Once. A decade or two ago. “Don’t know who you’re talkin’ about.”
“Yeah, I think you do. Something about missing wolf pups? Ring a bell?”
“Nope.”
“Where’s Mimi?”
“Whatchu want with her?”
“I hear he took her on a shopping trip.”
Her eyes flicked to the largest trailer, caught movement at the window. “Hey, Mimi! C’mon out and join the party.”
“Leave my girl outta this.”
Seething now, Sade demanded, “Where is he?”
The werewolf alpha scratched his chin. “Don’t know.”
“When did you last see him?”
“Couple months ago.”
She wanted to scream in frustration. Or beat the crap out of the shifter. Neither was likely to happen. Warning growls from the pack trailed off and the cool desert night dropped a few degrees. Sinjen. Here. She could feel him. But how? Why? He was supposed to be in Chicago.
“Come, Sade. They can do nothing.”
His voice washed over her, touched lonely places she’d dammed up since leaving him. “I have to find Caleb.”
“I know.”
She whirled, fists clenched and ready for battle. The look on his face undid her. Like air seeping from a balloon, her tension deflated. His full lips curled into a knowing smile.
“Come with me.” He held out his hand and she took it without thought. With a curt nod to the pack, he led her away.
Inside her SUV, Sinjen cupped her cheek and traced her lips with his thumb. “I’ve missed you.”
“Me too you. Caleb’s in trouble, Sinjen.”
“Then I will help you. The monster under this bed is unlike any you’ve faced before.”
“I’ll figure out a way to kill it.”
“And I will figure out a way to protect you.”
“Nice to know you have my back.”
“And your front.”
“No time to play, Sinjen.”
“There is always time for this.” The vampire kissed her, his lips branding her mouth. “There. That’s better. Now let’s go wolf hunting.”
“If he’s dead, I’m going to kill him.”
****
What about y’all? What are your characters talking about?
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