Weekend Writing Warriors

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I’m putting up the  whole first draft of chapter one of my current WIP, Slit Mouth, piece by piece. Links to the earlier paragraphs are at the bottom of the post.

I also have a question for those who have read the whole piece so far. My partner has been reading the story and has said that the first bit comes off as though the author is racist. So I’m asking if you get that impression or if it’s obvious that I’m trying to create an unlikable character?

In an effort to get a grip, Dave excused himself and went straight into his tiny kitchen to get drinks. Jesus, he was losing his shit. He stared at his trembling hands. Sarah’s betrayal had really done a number on him, hadn’t it. In his darkest moments he thought he might have bought it on himself. He’d been a pretty shit husband in those last few years, but there was no excuse for what she’d done. He may have been lazy and not around for her and the kids, preferring work and the club over family life, but he’d never cheated. Not once, though god knew he’d been tempted. Never as badly as now, with that little Japanese sweet thing out in his living room. Why was he freaked out? His stomach quivered with unease and his scalp prickled.

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4    Part 5    Part 6

grudge

Welcome DONINA LYNN

Today I have the wonderful Donina Lynne dropping by for a latte. Join us for a cuppa and help celebrate Donina’s new paranormal release, Curse Of The Beast.

Take it away Donina,

CURSE OF THE BEAST by DONINA LYNN

He wants revenge. She wants to save him from what he’s determined to become.

Thank you having me here today! I’m so excited to be sharing my first paranormal romance with you!

Curse Of The Beast is a story about how life can throw so much in your direction that you’re ready to wave the white flag and surrender. Grayson, our shapeshifting hero, has not only reached that point, he’s been pushed over it when his father is murdered. Grayson is alone, angry, tired of struggling and is more than ready to give up everything. That is, until, he meets the one person that can show him there is still something worth fighting for—love.

I hope you enjoy the story and make sure you take a moment to head on over and like my new Facebook author page HERE. Everyone that does is automatically entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card. Winner to be announced on Halloween! Good Luck! 

cursebeastcover

BLURB:

All of his life, Grayson Blackpaw lived by the rules of the half-breeds. He heeded the warnings and fought to keep the animal within under control, only to have his father murdered by the very thing his kind could never harm. Even if it means cursing himself to spend the rest of his days as a beast, Grayson was going to find the human responsible and make them pay—with their life.

Shapeshifters exist. Summer Jenkins wouldn’t have believed it herself, if she hadn’t watched a cougar change into a man before her very eyes. It doesn’t hurt when the man is as delectable as Grayson, either. Utterly droolworthy, Grayson sends her pulse racing and her heart falling…fast. But when Grayson admits that he’s willing to give up everything for the sake of revenge, will love be enough or can nothing stop the curse of the beast?

EXCERPT:

Summer inched over on the couch until her knees brushed against his, and she placed her hand on his thigh. It was a simple gesture of reassurance but the heat of her hand seeped through the denim, branding his skin and shooting higher. Desire flooded his veins and Summer’s breathing hitched when she felt it course through him. “He wasn’t the only one to touch me in some way, Grayson.”

Beginning to slowly make her way up his inner leg, Grayson grabbed her wrist before she closed what little distance there was left. If she made it to her destination, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. He was already growing rigid in mere anticipation of her touching his length. If she actually made contact, he would lose what little restraint he held on to.

Summer. I would like nothing more than to pull that dress up, plunge deep inside and take you over and over again, letting you know exactly how much I want you. But, we can’t. I won’t take the chance of hurting you.”

You’re not going to hurt me. Worrying that you will is enough for me to know that you won’t.”

You can’t know that because even I don’t. Summer, you need to understand there’s a chance I will do exactly that.” Grayson shook his head and took a breath. He wasn’t sure he could explain the constant battle of wills that had been waging inside of him for as long as he could remember, or how he’d been losing, but he needed to try. It wasn’t him just being overly cautious, there was a real danger. If he lost what little hold he had on the cougar while he was with her, he didn’t know what would or could happen. Grayson didn’t even want to think of the possibilities. “The lure of our animal halves is strong. The more we give in to them, the stronger they become. The stronger they become, the more we give in to them. Without something to stop the progression, the animal and its instincts become the predominant half and slowly overpower the human’s ability to remain in control.”

So the worst that can happen is you shift into the cougar. I can handle…”

Grayson shook his head to cut her off. That damn stubbornness of hers was more than a little frustrating. “No Summer, you can’t. The worst that can happen is not the cougar. It’s the beast.”

BUY LINKS:

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First review for Scar Tissue.

Picking up from within the story-line of ‘Lunacy and the Vampire’, Evie Jayne continues to build on her richly developed fantasy world in ‘Scar Tissue’. Introducing new powerful immortals and mortals Evie expertly navigates the turbulent emotions involved in cross-species relationships and the frustration of fate within a storyline that is consistent and engaging. The female warriors are captivating and oh so very sexy as are their powerful male counterparts. Rife with potent erotic experiences and the determination to overcome evil while battling the potential of evil within, this is a fantasy world that mimics human nature and desire while capturing your attention with a relentless pace. On a philosophical note, I admire Evie Jayne’s ability to weave multiple belief systems into her fantasy world without diminishing any of them. I was hooked from the first paragraph and am left wondering what next for the light Dominion as they battle the age’s long war against the dark Dominion.

Errant Satiety

scar-tissue

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/scar-tissue-by-evie-jayne/

http://www.amazon.com/Scar-Tissue-Dominion-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00NICNAHM/ref=la_B0097B1XEK_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411887161&sr=1-2

Friday Foreplay.

I’m not that good at keeping things steady and my life seems to be a bit of a ride the waves experience. Ebbs and lulls, swells and silences abound. So I came up with the idea of doing a Friday posting of a snippet of my writing. This is a new thing to try to get me blogging a bit more regularly.  Lets see if it works.

Today I’m going to give you a few sentences from my current WIP. This story is as yet un-named, though the series is called Kith and Kin and is an urban fantasy.

Penny slammed her down, throwing his weight onto her. Her knees hit the boards with a resounding crack and pain stabbed up through her thighs.

“If you want to survive this night, stay fucking still and keep your mouth shut,” he said.

“Who is he?” she said.

Penny’s eyes narrowed and his fingers dug even more painfully into her skin.

“Someone higher up the food chain than you and no one you need to worry about right now.”

“He’s someone,” she said.

Penny shook her. “You’re not fucking listening to me. You have no idea how much danger you’re in.”

“It’s pretty obvious,” she snapped, glaring up at him. Anger crawled around her gut like a rabid dog. Her spine prickled, the animal clawing to get out and savage the big bastards throat.

New Release

It’s out!

The safe suburban life you lead is a lie. Your myths and nightmares are the truth. From the shadows and hidden places we watch you, stalk you, feed on you…

Caden James is a rare subspecies of vampire. That’s bad enough, but it’s only going to get worse. The 2nd maturation is almost upon him, when he will fall into the Dark Dominion. Unless he can find the female fated to save his soul. Sounds simple, find her and stop his descent into horror.

Except with Parry O’Morrigan, nothing is simple.

Parry’s past has scarred her physically and psychologically, leaving her with a bone deep fear of vampires. Until she crosses the path of a fanged warrior who sets her blood on fire.

Thrown together, the pair track the creator of a new breed of zombie. As the hunt heats up, so does the passion between them. Can Parry overcome her past? Even if she can, Cade’s fate may yet destroy the only female he’s ever cared about.

Excerpt:

Lust and aggression shifted under his skin. He needed to get her under him, to mark her and make her his. Her near death at the hands of the revenant had stripped away much of the control. Bloodlust roiled through him.

He fought to keep from baring his throbbing fangs at her. He had to be sane about this. His nature could not be the leader in this confrontation.

“You’re hurt,” he said and forced himself to take a step back from her, and then another. All he wanted was to close the gap between them. Her chin jerked in acknowledgment, but she lifted one black brow in a blasé arch.

He shifted forward, unable to stop himself, the pull towards her magnetic. Her blade rose, pointed straight at his throat. He was fully aware that with a flick of that fine boned wrist could part his head from his neck. The thought made him smile. Wild sidhe, dangerous female.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said.

Memories of her body pushed hard against his in that alley three weeks ago flickered in his mind. The feeling of her small muscular back against his chest, her ass pressed into the ache between his thighs. He growled low in his chest.

“You sure?” she said.

With infinite care he lowered his own sword. When the bloodstained tip scraped on the ground he released the handle. It clattered on the gravel with a metallic ring. Sometimes actions were better than words.

“What else?” she said. He shuffled his left foot forward and let her see the hilt of the dagger in his boot sheath.

“Get rid of it.”

He bent slowly, feeling her gaze follow his movement. After tossing the blade at her feet he stood up.

“What else?” she repeated.

He had to smile, even though he knew it exposed his fangs to her. Not like she wasn’t fully aware of what he was anyway. Of course she knew he wouldn’t be lightly armed. Hell, her sisters had taught the Abstainer soldiers.

He pulled his coat back from his shoulders, exposing the harnesses that were strapped to his chest, hips and thigh. He unsheathed blade after blade and tossed them at her feet like a deadly offering. Apt, his bloodstained hands were all he had to give her. No gentleness, no reverence or refinement. Those things weren’t in him.

He was a curse, murder on two legs, death with a vampiric heartbeat. He didn’t deserve her, but he would have her anyway. He needed her to save what little was left of his soul.

As he laid the last blade at her feet she nodded, but one of her twin swords stayed pointed in his direction. Cade fought the urge to knock it away and cross the ground between them. Not the right time for that. He’d fucked it up the first time he’d met her, manhandling her body as if he had the right. Then losing it on the revenant tonight. Could he have done anything to make it any clearer what he was?

“I remember you, Abstainer,” she said.

His lips curled. Good, that was good.

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/scar-tissue-by-evie-jayne/

scar-tissue

Weekend Warriors #10

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My tenth installment in Weekend Warriors. That’s something to celebrate.

This little snippet is from my about to be released novel, Scar Tissue.

Their glazes met, luminosity flashing in his. He raised the mug
to his mouth and sipped, never taking his demanding stare off her.
Parry didn’t need the blood scent to tell her exactly what he drank.
Was he trying to creep her out? No, he was challenging her with his
hard gaze and the arrogant tilt of his stubble shadowed jaw. He
wanted her fully aware of what he was. As if she could ever forget
that. Or what it had felt like when the savage had kissed her that night
in the alley.

If you like what you read pop over and hit the buy now. http://www.evernightpublishing.com/scar-tissue-by-evie-jayne/

Book 1 in this series is currently on pre-release sale. Pop on over and have a look.  http://www.evernightpublishing.com/lunacy-and-the-vampire-by-evie-jayne/

Cover reveal. Scar Tissue.

My cover has arrived from Evernight! This is a fraught moment for me. If you’ve read earlier posts from me you might have caught on that I’m not a fan of the bodice ripping, heavy make up or overtly erotic cover, so waiting for a reveal can be a little tense. What am I going to get, will I hate it, how much will I hate it? 

As you can probably imagine, I opened the image with my breath bated and my eyes half shut. I needn’t have bothered! There is so much I like about my new cover. The colours and look follow on in theme from the first book in the series, which I’m thrilled about.

No nail polish, no bright red lipstick! My girl is a warrior, not a beauty queen. I love the tattoo, it’s primitiveness and the blending that makes it look like it belongs on his skin. The models they have used have caught the gritty feel of my characters. The backdrop is perfect, letting the reader know that they’re in for a darker read. I love that it’s obviously a romance and obviously paranormal. 

Sour Cherry design and Evernight Publishing. Thank you. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Weekend Warriors #7

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I haven’t done this for a couple of weeks. Life has been a bit frantic with children, dogs, goats and horses. Sometimes I think it’s odd that such a country girl writes such urban stories. Don’t ask me why. Maybe it’s because I can’t imagine my world of monsters staying hidden in less populated areas.

Anyway this one is once again from my WIP.

Something fluttered in Parry stomach. A warning? “How come?”

“His kind, they need to find their Ves’ tacha. She’s like this fated mate or something. Meant to save him from the final fall.” Quinn’s voice was conversational, light and easy as if she wasn’t saying something so frightening. As if her words weren’t making a cold sweat break out over Parry’s skin and her throat close tight in a fisted knot. This wasn’t happening. No way, no how. Abso-fucken-lutely not.

Weekend Warriors 6

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My sixth 8 sentence installment, well nine in this case, but I’m counting the dialogue as one because this snippet needs the last sentence. So, this is from my WIP, very early in the budding relationship between my two main characters. Hope you enjoy.

Just when she was thinking he might be…safe…he reached forward and dipped his finger in the blood and lifted it to his mouth. Her gut rolled when his tongue darted out and he tasted it. His jaw clenched and a subtle shudder ran through his body. Her panic was almost instantaneous and it was all she could do not to take a step away from him. Hell she wanted to run as fast and as far as she could. She forced herself to stand still, to not react to the fear hammering through her body.

“It’s human,” he said.

“Oh.” What was she supposed to say? Thanks for the info, dude, but could have lived without the visuals?